Dangerous Grounds

Coffee + Indiana Jones = "Dangerous Grounds." That is really the only way I can describe this reality how on The Travel Channel. If you haven't seen it, the show follows the adventures of Todd Charmichel, founder of La Colombe - http://www.lacolombe.com, as he journeys to exotic places in search of new, interesting and undiscovered coffees.

In an episode I watched recently, Charmichel traveled to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, to look for a new coffee. His adventure pitted him against coffee cartels, government officials, hyenas, and locals who were initially wary of him.

Sometimes there is an adventure, sometimes, it seems a bit over the top. Either way, this is an entertaining show, with a great way to show viewers just how difficult and dangerous producing coffee can be.

The second season will premiere on January 28 at 9pm ET. In this first episode, Todd goes to Nepal. I'll be honest, I didn't know they grew coffee in Nepal, but with the altitude, it makes sense. Should be pretty interesting.

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/dangerous-grounds

Charlie

The Anticipation of the First Cup

One of the things I think about before my head hits the pillow each night, is that first cup of coffee in the morning. What addiction? If I have different coffees in the house, I think about which one to brew and how to brew it. Mark doesn't think about it, because he is just happy to have a good cup of coffee that doesn't have Folgers on the label.

What I like about trying different brewing methods is actually watching it happen. To be honest, it's pretty boring to sit in front of your Mr. Coffee and watch coffee come down from a mysterious covered cone. Once you use a French Press or Chemex, you feel more involved in the process and it's like you're creating something.

Did I mention grinding the beans? You got to measure that right, and then it's a game. You want to grind just right, not too fine, not too coarse.

Then there's that first sip.....did you make it right? Is too strong? Is it weak? You just want to be sure you made a good cup of coffee. Then you sip it....and 9 times out of 10...Ahhhhhhhhh!

I know there is an art to coffee making, I mean come on, look at all the cool crewing methods. Maybe that plays into it? Maybe it's just an obsession.  Still I love waiting for the first cup of the day.

Charlie

More Mixed Beans

We've all done it. Sometimes we do it with great success. Sometimes we want to spit out the coffee, wash our mouths, and try to forget what we just had. I'm talking about mixed beans coffee. I've written about it before. This is when you have the end of one bag of coffee, and you combine it with another coffee. Today we have the outstanding Nicaraguan coffee I recently reviewed by Bow Truss, with the nuttier El Salvadoran I also wrote on from Dark Matter. So how did it turn out?

Mark was concerned that the coffee looked light. I let him know that there is more caffeine in a lighter roast coffee. Both of these coffees are on the lighter end of a medium roast, so that makes sense.

What comes out in these two coffees is a strong cocoa taste of the Bow Truss, with the earthier, nuttier aftertaste of the Dark Matter. The blended very well. You smell more of the Bow Truss, but the Dark Matter comes through. For the record, it was 70% Bow Truss and 30% Dark Matter.

Both coffees went through a washed process in their development. The Bow Truss is the darker roast of the two, but it's a minimal difference.

On our Face Slapping Scale....the Bow Truss was a Cher slapping Nicolas Cage(10 out of 10), the Dark Matter was a less harsh slap. These strength these two bring is more an 8. It will wake you up, not as mellow when it's just the Dark Matter.

Maybe these two roasters should talk? I think they could make an interesting blend. All in all a good experiment.

Charlie

Coffee For Thought

Every now and then I come across various articles which discuss coffee statistics. Here are some interesting ones I thought I would share with you.


28% of coffee drinkers take it black.
30% sweeten their coffee.
55% of coffee drinkers would rather gain 10 lbs than give up coffee.
Americans drink 146 BILLION cups of coffee per year. We drink more coffee than anyone.
The average American worker spend $1,092 on coffee a year.
New Yorkers drink 7 times more coffee than any other cities in the U.S.
If you drank 100 cups of coffee at a time - it would be lethal.
Brewed espresso has 2.5% fat, brewed coffee has 0.6% fat.
The first webcam was invented at Cambridge University, and it was focused on a coffee pot, so researchers could see when the coffee was done.

Charlie

Your Coffee Dollars and Social Justice

Mostly when we think of coffee and social change, we think about fair trade, and what happens to the farmers and the farming communities. Today I'm going to ask you to think about something else. What happens when the roasters and hence the consumers use/drink coffee from countries which violate human rights practices?

I give you the case of Uganda. Within the last decade conservative Christian groups have gone into Uganda, and presented workshops, seminars and revivals on the "evils of homosexuality. " Their efforts have had direct correlation to legislation which has made it all the way to the prime minister, which would jail, not only LGBT people, but people who know they are gay or transgendered. This is only slightly watered down, as the penalty for gay people in the original bill was death.

There are various roasters who do business with Ugandan coffee growers. Do we encourage them not to do business in this country? Do we as consumers decide not to drink Ugandan coffee if faced with that prospect?  If the answer to those questions is yes, does something like that have an impact which could help LGBT Ugandans?

There are times boycotts work. Other times, they make no difference whatsoever. I can only tell you what I plan to do.

As a gay man, I can't turn my back on my Ugandan LGBT brothers and sisters. I will be asking questions when I am getting coffee, if they know if Ugandan coffee is part of the blend, and I will opt for something else.

Is it fair to Ugandan growers who have no ill will towards gay people? No it isn't, but if enough people rally behind this, maybe this empowers LGBT supports to let the government know that their bottom line is hurting, and it hurts the country's bottom line.

Curious on your thoughts.

Charlie

The Issue of Gift Cards

Lately I have been reading about a trend where independent coffee houses are offering to allow people to use Starbucks gift cards in their establishments. I will admit this puzzles me. In my job, we have a competing store that has done the same thing, that if you go in with my stores gift certificate, they will allow you to use it.

From a marketing standpoint, I get it. From a bottom line, I think that is horrible business. In essence, you are not taking any money, and you are giving away products/drinks. The gift card/certificates have no monetary value to your business, and to be honest, Starbucks already has the money. So if I have a $10 Starbucks card, and use it at "Ye Olde Local CoffeeHouse" that business is basically giving me $10 worth of food and drink. That can't be good for margins.

Perhaps there is someone with a bit more business know how than I have can explain it to me.

Again, I get it from a marketing standpoint. Rally around the local business, and don't use the big pots' card. But the big guy already has the money, and doesn't care if you come in and redeem it or not.

So who is really being helped?

Charlie

Coffee Should Taste Like Coffee - Even Dunkin Donuts Coffee

I have said some pretty snarky things about Dunkin Donuts coffee in the past. I've said it tastes like motor oil. That isn't fair, and I'm sorry. I have never had motor oil, so for me to compare the taste of the coffee to motor oil is wrong.

A co-worker was stunned that I brought in Dunkin Donuts coffee to work the other day. To be honest, they were the only place I went that didn't have a long line. So it was a convenience issue, and not a taste issue. I just wanted coffee.

When I went in to the donut store, they asked me if I would like a "Turbo Shot." I asked what that was. Seems they will put a shot of espresso in the coffee. In other places I have heard that called a "Depth Charge." Anyway, I thought I would try it, thinking it might improve the coffee.

There's an old saying, and it is true in the case of this coffee, with an espresso shot ; "Two wrongs don't make a right." It was strong coffee to be sure, but there was almost no taste. If you are the most freaking popular coffee in America, or so they like the brag, how do you make a coffee with no flavor? I tasted the cream and the Splenda I put in, and NO COFFEE!

Now, I have wonderful friends who think this coffee is terrific. I challenge them to explain to me why it is so terrific, because this is one mystery that not even the great Sherlock Holmes could unravel.

Charlie