Coffee of the Day 6-23-2013

Greetings!

I haven't posted in a bit, but have been reading and enjoying coffee. Today I want to talk about Counter Culture's La Golondrina coffee. Counter Culture, based in Durham, NC is a leader in the specialty coffee business. Founded in 1995, Counter Culture prides itself on establishing direct relationships with the farmers, purchasing the coffee at a higher price than many other coffee companies. 

La Golondrina is an organic coffee from Cauca region of Colombia. According to Counter Culture:

Our unique La Golondrina project, however, partners with Cauda's most talented, dedicated farmers to source only the best lots of each harvest, creating the most sublime Colombian coffee experience there is.

This is a washed process coffee, dried on patios and raised beds, for approximately 10 days. Counter Culture says this coffee "has notes of cherry and caramel and a hint of savoriness supporting La Golodrina's classic citrusy brightness."

So how did it fare with me? We first tried this in our drip coffee maker, than in the French Press. The French Press truly brings out the notes which Counter Culture wants you to experience. For the record, this was not a fresh coffee. I purchased it at Fresh Market, with a roasting date of March on it. Whatever process Counter Culture uses, the coffee did not taste old. Kudos to them for this. Yes, I got the cherry and caramel notes. 

How strong was the coffee? As you know I go on the Cher Scale. Is it a love tap, or a Nicholas Cage "SnapOutOfIt" slap from "Moonstruck." This one wakes you up. I give it a pretty strong 8 out of 10 on the strength scale. This is a GOOD MORNING coffee.

I would imagine Counter Culture coffee is better fresher. Sadly, I am not near any of their places. Maybe one day....

This is a really good cup of coffee my friends. Find it and enjoy.

Charlie

Break Glass in Case of Emergency

There is coffee out there that we keep JUST in case we have no coffee, or it's a couple days until pay day, or there is an emergency. It's Eight O'Clock Coffee. Yes, I know what I am saying. Yes, I know what it tastes like. Yes, it is whole bean. Sometimes you need a $5 bag of coffee in reserve, or all Hell breaks loose without coffee.

Who knows....maybe Chemex will make it taste better.

Charlie

"Do You Know What Your Problem Is?"

Today was another learning day on the barista trail. Lattes, cappuccinos and other exotic drinks were on tap for me today. They key is the milk and how you froth it. For most drinks, if you want great smooth froth, whole milk is what you want. 2% is next best. Skim doesn't really froth well, but a lot of people want it.

As I was trying over and over again, a co-worker said, "Do you know what your problem is?" It became a joke, as we went on. My problem was not listening to the milk. Say what? You got to listen to the milk? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

Here's the thing, coffee making, no matter the science is still a sensory endeavor. As you brew it, you have to be aware of everything. I know, I know, we are used to putting coffee in a brewer, pressing start, and then - POW!!! COFFEE!!!

I not only have to listen to the milk, I have to look at the milk. You don't want a foamy pillow, you want the froth to be much smoother than that. Afterall how can you make latte art with pillowy foam?

Of course that was my next lesson. I have to say the hearts I attempted, looked more like wild onions. Maybe a new category of latte art???

A co-worker in my running life, went to Starbucks to get a latte. When he came back, I asked him how they made it. He told me they pressed the buttons, he heard the milk foam, and was handed a latte.

Here is what I did today. I poured and watched a pour over coffee, to be sure I was doing it correctly. I listened and watched the milk and the espresso so I could be sure I was making a great coffee drink. I tasted my test tries. Some I liked, others, not so much.

Using your senses makes the drink better....trust me.

Charlie

Today's Cup of Coffee 6-4-2013

This morning's review is a bit different. As I mentioned yesterday, we baristas in training have been asked to brew coffee in various methods. This morning I took some of Bee Coffee Roasters Ethiopian, and brewed in the Chemex. 

To let you know, I don't have a scale, so weighing the amount of beans to brew isn't an option. I did this by sight. I wanted to be sure I had enough coffee for Mark and me, but not to cause any issues in the brewing process. In the end, I still think I ground too much, be that as it may. 

I also don't have a kettle or pouring kettle. I have a pot and a stove. I made sure not to boil the coffee. My sight gauge was based on what I had seen in the kettle at work. Tiny bubbles, but not boiling bubbles. You assume around 185-200 degrees. 

Once I had everything set in the Chemex, I slowly added the water, first creating the dome, then as the process continued, making sure all the grounds were in water. I did a small stir to make sure the grounds were all getting wet. It takes about 4 minutes to do this process properly. 

Typically I drink my coffee with Splenda and Soy Milk, but in an effort to duplicate what we will ask customers to do soon, I drank the first few sips just black. Ethiopian coffee is a lighter roast. Typically this is a mellower coffee. So no face slapping here.

What did I notice as I sipped? This coffee tastes like a darker, but mellow black tea. I don't find sweetness to it. Mark thought there was a hint of cocoa in it. I would see it would be a more bitter cocoa, than a chocolate flavor. 

I prefer this coffee while it is hotter, rather than cooler. This is pretty much in line with how I feel when I drink tea. I think the initial flavors vanish as the coffee cools. 

At some point I would like to try this in a French Press. For now I think the Chemex adds to the tea like quality of this coffee. If you get this coffee from Bee Coffee Roaster, I recommend a Chemex method over a drip method. With drip, you tend to let the coffee sit for a while. As I finish this cup, as I mentioned, I think the flavors change, and in a pot, sitting on the counter, oils separate, and the makeup of what makes that coffee good evolves. With some coffees, they go bitter the longer they sit. This one isn't bitter. It just tastes different.

Will be working on other coffees this week.

Charlie

The Freedom to Create

It isn't often you get to be creative in a retail or restaurant environment. As I am learning the ins and outs of being a Barista, I have been challenged to try creative things with coffee. I was given a couple small bags of coffee, and was asked to try different brew methods, experiment, and report what I do, and how it tastes. In my other life as a runner guy, I don't get to use my creativity like that, so this is a terrific opportunity for me.

I can use Chemex, French Press, Drip, whatever I have at my disposal. I can attempt to create a bolder flavor, or a lighter flavor. Nothing was said about adding, or not adding anything to the coffee like cocca, or another ingrediant, but I might try it. This is how drinks are developed I believe.

As we Baristas In Training(BITs) are beginning to learn, the role we have is more than dispensing coffee or coffee drinks. We need to be able to educate our customers, make suggestions, off advice. You can't do anything like that until you get down and dirty with the coffee.

So the experimenting will begin this week. Should be a fun assignment.

Charlie

The Plight of Dark Roast

Over the last week, I have been reading articles about dark roast coffee. I think a good many of us were brought up with a French Roast coffee, and were told that was a good coffee. I mean come on, it's French, so why wouldn't it be good. Right? Well....

Dark roast, as I have been reading, hides a multitude of sins in some cases. You may have poorer quality beans. You may have some older beans. In some cases, you may have just roasted the coffee too much. 

When you look at a dark roast, you will see the beans are shiny. This is the oils in the coffee coming out. If the beans are too shiny, that is a coffee which has been over roasted. My parents used to get beans like this all the time. For a long time I thought the pretty shiny beans were what you wanted. Not so.

Roasters today are playing with lighter and more medium roasts. Those seem to be the roasts which extract the most flavor out of a coffee. As always roasting is an art and science. You want a balance of sorts, but you want to play around to see if you can create something amazing. 

My feeling is if the roast is too light, you have a blander coffee, of course this is going to be dependent on the type of coffee you are roasting. In an era of "blondes, mediums, and bolds," you want to have a coffee which is going to be more than palatable. You want it to make you feel good as you drink it. 

Now if you like the dark roasts, terrific. I will encourage the dark roast lovers to expand their horizons, and see what something less roasted will do for you.

Charlie

Today's Cup of Coffee 6-1-2013

Hubbard and Cravens is an Indianapolis roaster, with locations throughout the area. I have been in their stores a few times for coffee, and have had their pour over of the day, which is usually pretty good. This time I brought some beans home to brew. I got a bag of Burundi Kavanza Bourbon. Bourbon coffee, for those who aren't aware, is a type of coffee from an arabica species. It is usually grown in altitudes of 3200 ft - 6500ft. 


Hubbard and Cravens describes this coffee as "a clean and delicate flavor, with notes of grapefruit and honey." They say there is a well-balanced acidity, which is creamy with a tart finish.  So....how did I like it? 

For starters the coffee was roasted in April, so it is still fairly fresh. I definitely get the grapefruit, maybe not the honey. Tart finish is not how I would describe it. Mark thought it had a metallic taste to it. I get what Mark means. I thought there was an odd aftertaste to it. 

Is this a morning coffee? Well if you want a slap in the face, on our Cher scale this coffee will give you a love tap. It's not a strong coffee. I would recommend it for after a meal. It's pretty mellow. That's not a bad thing, just don't expect it to wake you up in the morning. 

Hubbard and Cravens roasts some pretty good coffee. I think the fresher it is, the better. Check them out at www.hubbardandcravens.com

Charlie