Archive for the 'general coffee' Category

Metolius River and Kenya Giakanja Coop

The ambiance set by clear morning light and this Kenyan from the Giakanja Cooperative Mill in Nyeri match perfectly.

Light Streaming through Ponderosa Pines along the banks of the Metolius River

Light Streaming through Ponderosa Pines along the banks of the Metolius River

This was a casual morning cupping - one where it happens as you wake up… The beauty of this coffee pulled me immediately out of my frozen slumber. Yes, the air was chilled, felt like dry ice, but with bright morning light glinting off the Metolius River as it burbled by the site. I got full round fruits, melons playing in a bed of rich stone fruit (without any hint of starch). Intense flavor mingled with the clear bright yellow, almost white light coming through the tops of majestic Ponderosa Pines along the Green Ridge line.

On a plate in front of me, a slice of pan fried (in butter, of course) sourdough bread topped with Cheddar and slices of real Tomato. The Satisfying tartness of the sour starter, crispy and chewy, the caramelized / browned butters sweetness supports the bright marmalade-like fruitiness of this Nyeri district Kenyan. The fact that I stretched the Millard phase of the roast a tiny bit, giving the fruits a bit less clarity, but more intertwined complexity works well with the acidulous nature of good fresh tomatoes.

Bolivia San Ignacio, iced. sumptuous

I had just a small amount of the that San Ignacio left (~18g, to be exact) and it is hot as a mutha here right now, so I set out to make a delicate, fully satisfying iced coffee. (Vietnamese stye)

Bolivia San Ignacio as it\'s brewing, icing

Bolivia San Ignacio as it's brewing, icing

Sweet isn’t quite enough of a word for it. The buttery body (mmm) that was in hot cup, completely turned inward, and became more of a perceived sense than actual flavor - like jabbing your finger in the stick of warm butter sitting on the butcher block, maybe even on a slab of Himalayan pink salt, and putting it in your mouth. Warmth. Oily. Yummy.

Then. And then… that delicate flower of sweetness takes off, floats lightly, and clearly above the cool ice and butter. Like finding lost berries and cream. Clear hints of cherry and super ripe raspberries (just like the amazingly juicy ones Christy just brought home from the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island the other day…) ‘Twas beauty. Total beauty. ‘Nother please… If only I had some more.

I still need to post the roast notes from this batch…

Brazil. Carmo de Minas. Fazenda Esperança.

This is alertness beautifully balanced with elegant patience. Summery. Well structured. It’s clarity cuts through me like sitting in the sun porch on bright mornings. Bright warmth, eye squinty and attentive.

Beautiful, clean, light and floral sweetness. Grapefruit like undercurrent helps round out structure - especially in the mid range temperatures as the cup cools. It shows a lighter body than most other Brazils - even compared to the more citrusy, nutty sul de Minas region or certain Central American coffees - this tends toward the light side. But don’t take this for thin. It has depth and structure.

Brazil Carmo de Minas. Fazenda Esperança at a light roast. just about city plus

Said sample of Brazil Carmo de Minas at a light - city plus - roast in order to preserve the delicateness of the yellow bourbon varietal. You can see that the surface color is still mottled as it hasn’t progressed far enough past first crack to even the surface out… Not a bad thing at this stage of roast. The interior is very even and consistent with the surface color.. and by the way, this is the first roast that I am satisfied with since hooking up the Pinhalense…

yep.-)

Pinhalense, Deft Coffee. Sample Roaster Box

Qishr

Qishr - tea from coffee husks.

A traditional tea in Yemen made from coffee husks. I mean, yeah! okay, I’m gonna try it - purely out of curiosity. So I got a 1/2 pound of qishr from sweetmarias when I saw it available - no expectations of what it was other than Tom’s description (good, not great. Rosehips. Ginger Tea). But what the hell. I’ve paid more for a cup of coffee that was awful, so at worst, I am better informed and out 5 bucks.

Well, i don’t know if I will actually make it through the entire 1/2 pound I bought. Not that it is all bad, actually, and there are some very interesting things going on in the tea, but it left a pretty acrid and biter finish that was not at all to my liking. And it lasted for a long long time.

Qishr. Tea made from dried coffee husks.

Unsealing the bag released powerful aroma of apple, clover, the Portland Rose Gardens in full bloom - an intensity like standing under a magnolia tree in full bloom, but not quite the same syrupy depth. It’s actually very beautiful to see - looking to me a lot like a certain cinnamon and honey encrusted pistachio shells.

Them being husks, I fully expected it to be earthy, spicy, and, well, husky - but that was just not there in the aroma. Just intense fruit like I was sticking my nose in a vat of juiced apples. Maybe all the earth was in the brew?

After that… mildly tea-like, but more like mild, thin good coffee - traces from that same aroma, hints of the sweet rose flavor. Overall, nice.. And then I sat and worked for a while, and then it started showing itself. Bitter. Astringency. Acridity. And it went on for a while.

It was pleasant until that. That harsh acrid overtone - pasting itself across my tongue. Rough, harsh and started killing my buzz. I don’t want to go back to that. It was worse than poorly toasted black tea. Worse than

I think I might try putting some in the oil over a tea light and let it fill the room with its smell. Dim the lights & spin some Tosca. I Want Some Honey. Loud.

Vinyl Honey

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

First I read this. And I thought, well, if Starbucks wants to put Clovers in their stores, then, I support that. it puts money into a company that deserves to expand. It puts a machine that can be used to help educate people to the variations of different origins, estates, lots, etc in a huge number of stores. Places where asking what an origin is (to the barista) is just a return of blank stares. I am fully aware that it isn’t going to change the mediocrity of their coffee, just as (re)training their baristas for 3 hours isn’t going to turn their shops into a place to go for an exquisite ristretto mean to be savored. But Starbucks isn’t the bottom of the barrel, either.

But then I read the link he pointed to. And my heart sank. Oh shit. Starbucks didn’t purchase a bunch of clovers - which would likely have pushed the price down, making it more reachable to the micro-level, third-wave (insert term of choice) specialty roasters and cafes that really really lust after these things for the sole purpose of being able to present amazing coffees better. They went out and fucking bought the company. I agree with Tom. This is a sad day for specialty coffee. 
I guess we all have to start saving for something like blue bottle’s siphon bar.

A drawing from my journal a couple years ago

I decided a bit back that I was going to go back through and scan, then post some stuff from my old coffee journals. They will be everything that seems a bit interesting, from sketched of diagrams for the roaster, to diagrams of tastes (I have been diagraming out how I wanted certain coffees to taste based on my initial cuppings or intention with it—like espresso), to attempts to organize, segment and otherwise understand the roast process. I have a lot of those. Some make no sense, though I bet they did at the time I drew them.So here is the first post, a drawing that I did while I was pulling (a lot) of shots of various origins to figure out the blend and roast profile for an espresso (I eventually called it Loam). I am pretty sure that at the time I drew this image, I was simply pulling shots from as many different origins as I could—whatever I had on hand and could get samples of at the time. This one was Sumatra Mandheling (PWN Fancy Select). I did end up using it in the final blend.Sumatra Mandheling PWN home

Monday morning, me, coffee, and the KBOO Food Collective / Food Show

A bit last minute, but this Monday morning (Aug 20th) at 10:00 am, I’m going to join my good friend Mark Bitterman (of the Meadow, where you can get amazing flowers, finishing salts, chocoaltes and wines) on the KBOO Food Show to talk a bit about coffee (particularly home coffee roasting). If you are so inclined, tune in.

I will post more a little closer to the airing with links and places to look at.

there is a bit more information here, and a link to to stream the show at the top of the page.

Thanks, Victrola Coffee Roasters

A belated, but hearty thanks to Keith at Victrola for, well, generally being a great guy who obviously cares about his craft. And to Jen and Chris for creating a business that gives that passion a place to grow. Not that there are any questions about it, but it clearly shows in their cafes and their coffee that they are passionate about what they do. And on top of it, they are very welcoming as well… It just great.

Anyway, I was Seattle last week and had happened into meeting Keith (Victrola’s roaster) on Wednesday when I had a couple early morning hours to get a good coffee…We had a good conversation about coffees, roasting, drum and roaster design and just things. And he was gracious enough to invite me back for a cupping of their Panama auction lot later that day. Sadly, I couldn’t make it then, but he offered to re-arrange his cupping schedule so I could make it back on Friday. I fully appreciate that he was willing to accommodate my schedule - even though showed up right when they were trying to figure out why they had a ton of water pouring down the inside of their walls, and into the roasting room… turns out there was a crazy leak in their ceiling! (I hope that got fixed pretty painlessly…)

So, we cupped some real nice coffees—particrually their Yirg, a Columbian and a new Retro Mandheling that was quite nice and crisply spicy. I was in between one place and another, so was in a bit of a hurry (turned out I didn’t need to rush, shit) so when I left, I totally forgot that I’d meant to get a lb of the Columbian—it’s sweet, nice nutty balance kinda made be wanna drink it all week—espically since I haven’t been placing that much attention on Columbians lately… Ahh well, next time, cause I will be back in.

Thanks again and best of luck with that leak.

COFFEE IS FOOD

Coffee to me is a personal choice of foods. Yeah, coffee is food, like choosing a particular pepper from the different heirloom varietals on the market stand… Of course I know, easily, whether I am wanting a chili pepper, not sweet pepper, but will I be looking for a pasillia or guarillo.. a chili mulato? There are subtlties between each of these, but casually, they are really similiar…

When I am purchasing green coffee…. Winter, I’m often looking for comfort food… those cold, dark Portland mornings need something seriously deep, heavy. But in the summer I want something crisp and light bodied cause it’s freaking 95° out and heavy foods make me feel bogged down like eating meatloaf in 90% humidity. So anyway, I know I’m gonna be following it with mojitos by 2 and don’t want to still be mulling over the long finish of that cerrado when the fresh mint, lime and rum starts flowing. Or somewhere in between…