Deft. Coffee Roasters. » Dave

Dave — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:46:07 +0000

The daily rhythm of grinding for the press in anticipation of thick, rich, and even chewy, coffee has given way – perhaps because of possibly because of these endlessly recurring spring rains – to a strong desire for the cleanliness and clarity of a finer grind and a glass filter. This is a place where the discernment of favors and the aromatic nuances drift more like maple tree propellers falling through cloudless, bright sun than forcing themselves up through fine loam.
Certainly, there are beauties in both methods, of course. The press pot is wonderful for those mornings where the winter rain or snow is hanging heavily over the edge of the roof just as the late morning sun is warming it into an even heavier slop… in those moments, I need a coffee that can withstand the slushy plop as it slips over the gutter onto the front stoop. But when the desire for spring and summer rolls around, the feeling I want in the morning is fresh liveliness… and it’s the vac pot that can deliver.

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Slow Coffee

Dave — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:08:24 +0000

Here is an acknowledgment that coffee, very much like all other agricultural (seasonal) products, are the result of keen human endeavors. That the distance between consumers and producers has obscured any clear appreciation of the stories it takes to bring anything of quality to the world.
It’s a call to slow your pace and appreciate where your morning ritual has come from, who it has come from, and take into account it’s place in the world.
You can find out more at the links below.
Slow Coffee
The Institute of Slowness

Kudos to 1000 Faces Coffee. It’s awesome to see this sort of involvement in coffee culture.

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Roots

Dave — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:06:00 +0000

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been putting down my log charts and allowing myself to roast mostly by feel. It’s not that I’m abandoning the numbers I use to profile roasts—in fact I was still paying attention to times and temperatures, I just wasn’t recording them as I usually do—it’s that I want to more deeply ingrain my feel for the roast. And to do that, I had to step away from the raw data and use what I know, what I sense, to guide the profile. SoI have been paying close attention to times, and I will return to keeping detailed logs. But for now, the distance I am imposing on myself has been refreshing and enlightening, much like backpacking in the deep woods. Just nature. Just coffee. And clear focus.
I’ll post more once I’ve collected my thoughts.

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Long Lasting

Dave — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:40:16 +0000

It’s been a super full week – taxes and other things – so it’s been difficult to make up some shortfall from Sunday’s roasting. So this morning pulled out a bit of the Aged Sumatra that I roasted a week and a half ago… this coffee has legs. Although it doesn’t have the freshness that it did a week ago, it hasn’t lost it’s depth either. Very very nice.

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Wee Hours at the Roaster

Dave — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:34:27 +0000

Roasting early today. Checking aroma at first crack, I am almost chewing on the complexity. No related posts. No related posts.

Aged

Dave — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:41:56 +0000

Aged. First cupping of a three year old coffee and I’m so happy with it. After a week of cupping good and decent coffees, with only one or two standouts, this one is a clear choice for me.
Intense, thick, pepper and spice – cardomon, brown sugar, burnt caramel, and a deep woody-earthy dry-chocolate base.
The roast could be brought a slight bit more – just touching second crack – to bring the caramelization out more, but other than that I am happy with the balance.
Be sure to give it 3 days rest.
Oh, and it lingers.

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Peru El Guabo

Dave — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:35:40 +0000

Just did a first cupping of a new Peru coffee – El Guabo… Very impressed. It was what I call a casual cupping, which means I don’t score it and just note my experience with it. It’s something I do with most all the coffees to get to how it strikes me emotionally than, say, the degree of complexity or whatnot.
Anyway, it was quite elegant – hazlenut base, smooth medium-full body with hints of vanilla and apricot (especially in the dry aroma). Great balance. I kept thinking to myself that I could simply drink this all day long and neither get bored of it nor feel that I had to pay attention to it.

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Good news for the Ethiopian ECX

Dave — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:59:14 +0000

There’s been a great deal of not unwarranted moaning within the specialty coffee industry about Ethiopia’s new Exchange system, and how it hadn’t been set up with allowances for direct trade with farms and how that would essentially make it impossible to get the same high quality coffees that we have been getting used to over the past few years…
This morning, I came across an article that states the ECX has responded to these concerns (contrary to some reporting, they never ignored them, they just didn’t deal with the issue…). Anyway, it seems that it’s being corrected for next year… Eleni Gabre-Madhin, chief executive officer of the ECX, said in an interview that the exchange will begin offering a direct buying service to encourage exactly the type of buying we have grown to love.
Awesome. Cause I would sorely miss some years without any wet-processed Koratie.

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Daterra Farms Sweet Collection (from Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Dave — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:20:46 +0000

Well, it’s simply that the rustic sweetness of this sample just stuck with me. Honestly, I wasn’t going to purchase this since I was already ordering another of their coffees. Not that I thought it wasn’t a great coffee, but I was clearly referencing the deep complex fruit of their Espresso Reserve. But after a few weeks, I was still thinking about this one. The rustic sweetness of Muskovado Sugar draping over light cocoa and chocolate just kept coming back into my mind. So here we are, and there you go. A smooth, classic Brazil coffee with tons of old world sweetness and chocolate from one of the most innovative, quality-driven estates in Brazil.

Iced Coffee

Dave — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:26:06 +0000

With the recent wave of 100°+ weather, I turn to iced coffee.

This'll help with the heat

Here’s how:
12g La Berlina Estate from Boquete, Panama (or other, nicely balanced, floral, sweet coffee)
2 blocks of solid, cold ice, in some sort of tray
At least 1 box fan
Fill a 16 oz glass as high as possible with cubed ice
Grind coffee slightly finer than you would for press pot
Put coffee in a Vietnamese Coffee brewer & screw filter top onto coffee with light pressure
Place on top of glass with ice
Add just enough hot water (about 1tsp should be enough) to wet the grounds, wait a minute or two
Add hot water, filling it to the top of the brewing cup
Wait, while the sweet goodness slowly drips down over the ice
While that is happening, place the blocks of ice in a couple trays, and set in front of a fan
Make sure the fan is placed so that it is blowing cool(er) air to where you are sitting
By this time, your iced coffee should be about done
Add as much ice to the glass as it will hold
Sit down in front of the iced fan, with your iced coffee and enjoy!

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New Coffee: La Berlina (Typica varietal) from Boquete, Panama

Dave — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:52:02 +0000

Grown on old Typica coffee trees at around 1900 meters, this coffee has a softer touch than the Daterra Espresso Reserve. Medium bodied, with caramel – more than sugar – that comes through as the cup cools. First whiff is sweet, fruity with a nicely balanced toffee, cocao background to it. As a varietal, this doesn’t have the heavier fruit (blueberry, huckleberry) that a typica coffee from Harrar or Sidamo might – it’s softer, lighter than that. Subtly stretched out. There is the influence of climate and the growers particular skill showing through – giving it a character that is completely enjoyable early early in the morning, or mid-afternoon as an http://www.deftcoffee.com/2008/08/06/bolivia-san-ignacio-iced-sumptuous/.

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New Coffee: Daterra Farms Espresso Reserve from Minas Gerais, Brazil

Dave — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:47:13 +0000

From the Cerrado region in Minas Gerais, Brazil comes a wonderfully complex Brazilian coffee. Daterra has long been on the forefront of producer technology, but that isn’t why I am so fond of their coffees. It’s the flavor. A rich, full-bodied chocolate & cocao base that mingle with deeply fruited layers of raisin and black cherry delivers an extraordinarily balanced, structured cup with a long, sweet finish.

This particular coffee is a blend of three varietals, grown and selected from different plots on the farms, and although it has espresso in the name, it is equally suited for press and drip brewing.

And to top it all off, this coffee is certified by Utz Kapeh & The Rainforest Alliance.

The Kenyan Coffee System

Dave — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:39:47 +0000

I was directed to an article in The Standard about changes to the Kenyan coffee system that apparently are taking effect immediately…
Is Kenya taking a learning lesson from Ethiopia, and not doing the same thing? It looks like this is a good thing – something which will increase transparency and traceability in Kenyan Coffees – something that the new ECX in Ethiopia has made difficult over the past year or so.
Through the article mentioned above is thin in terms of detail, I think that this is a great step for creating a sustainable system of coffee, equitable to the ones who grow and process it, that is open and where price can be based on quality.

OMG. WTF? Starbucks buys Clover (Coffee Equipment Company).

Couple coffees are out…

Dave — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:19:05 +0000

Quick post to let people know that two coffees are now run out: ‘Bonko’ Black Sun (from Dara Woreda, Sidamo, Ethiopia), and the Kebado Wet-processed (from Sidamo, Ethiopia).

I’m currently cupping new coffees to replace them, stay tuned…

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Bonko Farm “Black Sun” from Dara Woreda, Sidamo, Ethiopia.

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:35:20 +0000

Rich like the marbling of Kobe beef. Medium-heavy body. Stone fruits – like apricot and the light starch of a real good, I mean amazingly smooth and even textured, pear – weave complex, layered dolphin patterns through a bed of bittersweet cocao and chocolate. (this coffee is currently sold out) Related posts:Kebado Wet-processed from Kebado, [...] Related posts: