Review: Once in a Blue Moon

There is the old saying, "Once in blue moon." That typically means something as rare as a blue moon appearing is going on. In the coffee world, once in a blue moon, is when you find a coffee that tastes like joy in a cup. Blue moon for this review is referring to Hubbard and Cravens Bali Blue Moon Organic.

In the past, the only Indonesian coffee I have had has been Sumatra. I'll be frank, I'm not a fan of most Sumatran coffees. There is an earthiness that bothers my stomach. It just doesn't appeal to my senses either. Hubbard and Cravens, after an issue I recently had there, was very kind to give me some coffee. It was recommended that I try the Bali Blue Moon Organic. I was a bit leery based on my feelings for Sumatra, but I thought why not. One of the best coffee decisions I have made.

I made some on the French Press for Mark and me yesterday. As I opened the bag, I smelled a sweeter smell, but not sugary sweet. It was a floral sweet, combined with a vanilla like aroma. Once I ground the coffee, the aroma was even stronger.

My first taste was without anything. No earthiness. I got a vanilla like, but not like an opened bottle of vanilla. It was a faint taste. There was no earthy quality to it like the Sumatras. This is a smooth coffee, full of body. For the second cup, I added the usual Splenda and Soy Creamer. Still tasted what I did before, and felt the soy actually enhanced what I experienced.

Mark and I both smiled as we drank this. I think it's a good sign when the people drinking the coffee are smiling about it. Right? We agreed this is one amazing coffee.

Now on our Cher scale of strength, this is not a strong coffee from a taste standpoint. It's a mellow one. Imainge Cher's character in Mask, giving her son, played my Eric Stolz a motherly hug. I felt a hug with this coffee. It's a 4.5 on the strength scale(1-10).  Yup...I love this coffee. I give it high marks. I expect to see this one on my year end list of best coffees for 2014.

Well done Hubbard and Cravens. This coffee is a Bali High!

Charlie

Coffee Memory: The Roaster

If you haven’t been to a coffee drying area or roasting facility, you need to do this once in your life. It’s one of those experiences which your senses will thank you for. There is nothing spectacular looking about any of these facilities(usually).

When I was in Costa Rica in 2008, we went to a local coffee cooperative, and outside the coffee beans were drying in the sun. What struck me first was the visual sensation. All these beans laid flat, looking green. I hadn’t really experienced coffee in this form. Typically I had seen it as dark beans, or what was poured into my cup. This was visually fascinating to me, and I took it all in.

The second part was the aroma of the place. The smell came from inside where the coffee was being roasted. When you walking into a roasting facility, you are hit immediately with a strong coffee smell.  It almost knocks you out, because it’s so strong. Now, not only could we see the dark colored beans I was used to, but the smell of warm coffee permeated everywhere. I wanted a cup of coffee right then and there.

When you watch coffee being roasted, you are seeing the roaster take care to make sure he isn’t over or under roasting the coffee. He/she is keeping an eye on the color, listening for first crack, and constantly checking the coffee in the roaster. It’s like watching an artist create a painting or sculpture. Again, what a great scene for the eyes.

Finally, we got to sample some of the coffee. Later we would go through a cupping, but in this instance, we were given a cup of coffee. With everything I experienced, I had a greater appreciation for what was in the cup. I took my time, smelled the coffee, and then took some gentle sips, so I could get a full sense of the flavor. I must have done something wrong, because I wanted seconds….and thirds. J

Some roasters offer customers an opportunity to tour roasting facilities. I highly suggest doing this. Once you do, you will never drink a cup of coffee the same way.

Charlie

I Take the Death Wish Challenge

Taunting me on my Twitter feed, and throughout my internet is Death Wish Coffee. You may have heard about these folks, they claim to have the world's strongest coffee. Well, just as soon as I can scrape enough pennies from the bottom of my coffee/can/bank, I am ordering some of this coffee, and then we'll see just how strong this is.

This means when I drink it, it better be a 10 on our Cher scale of strength. That's when Cher slaps the crap out of Nicolas Cage in "Moonstruck" and tells him to "snap out of it!"

We will see how strong you are you scary looking coffee.


:-)Charlie

Another Be Polite Talk

A few months ago my assistant manager brought in a canister of Folgers coffee. He wanted to make sure we had coffee in the store for our coffee maker. He offered to make me  some. I didn't want to be rude, so I accepted his offer.

I noticed he didn't drink any. When I asked him why, he told me he likes the smell of coffee but not the taste. So really he got the coffee for me.

I've written in the past about not being rude when someone serves you bad or questionable coffee. So from time to.time, I've had some of the Folgers.

Every now and then I bring in some coffee from home to brew, and he enjoys the smell of that. So all in all everyone is pleased. I bring this up, because coffee lovers do get the snob brand. I understand the humorous comments....or bitchy comments I sometimes make about bad coffee add to the snob factor. I just want to be clear though, we shouldn't make anyone feel bad about the coffee they serve. It's a thoughtful thing to make or bring coffee for someone. Be polite, and drink it.

Charlie

Take a Ride on the EL

For those who have never been to Chicago, all you need to know is there is a thriving coffee culture and community which rivals Seattle or Portland. Heck, CoffeeCon began in Chicago, and is now spreading across the country. Should you find yourself in the Windy City, you might need a map of where the great coffee houses are.

Thanks to cornerofthecafe.com, there is now an EL map to get you to the local coffee establishments. What's the EL you ask? For those not in the know, the EL is the Elevated Train system in Chicago. Parts of it do go underground, but most of it is above ground.

For a look at the map go to.....

http://www.cornerofthecafe.com/chicago-el-map-beta/

My favorite spots are Bow Truss, Intelligentsia, Metropolis, Bridgeport and Star Lounge(Home to Dark Matter Coffee). A good portion of the coffee houses are on the north side. This isn't a surprise, as the more trendy parts of the city are north. Still there are gems all over Chicagoland to visit, and now you have a handy map.

Charlie

Mega Coffee Review

Today I have not one, not two, but three coffees to review....it's a MEGA COFFEE REVIEW!!!


Coffee#1 - Starbucks has a coffee called Breakfast Blend, which we have been trying. Starbucks is not giving a lot of specifics about this coffee, other than it's a light roast, with low acidity, and it comes from various regions.

On their website, they insist they want this coffee to appeal to a "variety of palettes." Typically that means to me....bland. If I want bland, I can drink their dreaded Pike Place coffee....which is like a glorified Dunkin Donuts. So we have brewed this in the French Press, and all in all it's a decent coffee. I tasted a dark nutty flavor, which did not have the usual burnt taste that most Starbucks coffees have. I could tell this was an older coffee. I checked the bag...the "best by" date is June, so I figured it wouldn't be too old a coffee.

They call this a mellow coffee. It is. on the strength scale, this is Cher giving Chaz a love tap on the top of the head.

Coffee#2 - Starbucks Veranda Blend. Starbucks has a "Blonde Roast"which is a light roast coffee. I haven't had this before, but I've wanted to try it. Note to self, don't drink this again. Here is how Starbucks describes this coffee:

In Latin America, coffee farms are often run by families, with their own homes on the same land where their coffee grows. We’ve sipped coffee with these farmers for decades, sitting on their verandas, overlooking the lush beauty of the coffee trees rolling out in the distance. Most times it was a lightly roasted coffee like this one. It took us more than 80 tries to get it right—mellow and flavorful with a nice softness.

80 tries???? Girl, do try again, this is one bad cup of coffee. The barista did a pour over, which in most circles means a pretty decent cup of coffee. At first sip, I tasted a light chocolate flavor, which was soon replaced by a pretty bad after taste. Still I drank it, because I wanted to give it a try. Since it took Starbucks 80 tries to get this right, I figured 80 sips would be enough for me to tell you NOT to drink this coffee. Who cares if' it's strong or not....drink the Pike Place over this. Better yet....get some coffee at 7-11.

Coffee #3 - Fresh Market offers a Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend. Now, Jamaican Blue Mountain is supposed to be one of the best coffees in the world. This was a blend though, so not the real deal. Didn't have the $30 to spend on the real stuff.

This is a light roast coffee, which has a pleasant taste. It has a nice roasty taste, but to be honest, I couldn't tell what the flavors in the coffee were. I've had a few cups, and just don't have this one figured out.

For a light roast, I found that it did wake me up. We'll say it's Cher giving Meryl Streep a bit of a shake in "Silkwood", meaning a 5 on the strength scale.

So there you have it....three coffees. None blew me away....eager to have a coffee really get me going.

Charlie

Au Revoir French Press: Mon Dieu!

Late last week I read a blurb in the coffee news which bothered me. Portland coffee institution Stumptown, who has long served French Press coffee at their Portland locations is going drip. This is pretty big news in the coffee world. Why is this happening?

Stumptown has toyed with this in their expanding markets in New York City and Los Angeles, towns, not known for patient customers. Portland though is a more laid back town. Surely the people there can spend some quality minutes in order to get a really great cup of coffee.
As reported at Spridge.com:

“It’s been a long time coming,” a barista at Stumptown’s Division Cafe told us. The company’s Director of Education Jonathan Seilaff was on hand to monitor and calibrate the Fetco brewers and Ditting grinders.
“We asked our Portland baristas if they wanted to make the change – and they unanimously said yes,” Mr. Sielaff told Sprudge. “We still love French Press, but we like it best fresh. We still brew French Press to order like our Chemex offerings.”

So now French Press will move over to the oddity of the coffee world, and backing away from the mainstream. Thank goodness I know coffee houses which serve some great coffee in a manner coffee was meant to be brewed(Yes....I'm talking to you Bee Coffee Roasters).

Is this the end of the French Press? Are we as a society in that big of a rush? Are K-Cups are Stumptown next?

God I hope not.

Charlie