Today's Cup of Coffee 3/29/2013

In deciding what coffee to have this week, we decided to get a different coffee from the fine folks at the Second Chance Coffee Company with their I Have a Bean brand. I wrote about them a couple weeks ago.

http://javarunnerscoffeejourney.blogspot.com/2013/03/great-coffee-and-second-chance.html

Initially we tried their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Adado FTO. That coffee had a tea-like quality. I liked it, but it isn't a coffee I would get on a regular basis. This time we got Peru Norte FTO.

In their descriptions of the coffee, chocolate places a pretty large role in the flavor and the aroma. According to their website:

"In the cup, the flavors chocolate, caramel and nut combine with the soft notes of fig and spice." "Flavors linger with a very pleasant, slightly smoky finish."

So what did I encounter in this coffee?

This coffee has more body and a stronger flavor than the Ethiopian. I suspect the roast is more of a darker roast. That comes though. When I opened the bag, my nose was struck by the smoky aroma, which I liked a great deal. If I like what I smell, then I can't want to start grinding it.

Maybe I have had too many caramels in my life, but I rarely taste that in my coffee. In this coffee, I get the sense of the chocolate, and the nutty flavor. Fig? I need to eat something other than Fig Newtons to know if I am tasting fig. (Note: for those new to the blog, I am a pretty basic "how does it taste" guy. Maybe I need some more refinement :-) )

Here is the bottom line - I love this coffee. I love the aroma when it is whole bean, when it is ground, and when it is in the cup. This is a fairly strong cup of coffee. On the face slapping scale 1-10, 1 being a mere brush, and 10 being a Cher slaps Nicholas Cage in "Moonstruck," this is a 7.

I Have a Bean is making some great coffee folks. Try some, and spread the word.

www.ihaveabean.com

Charlie

Equality Thank You

Thank you Metropolis Coffee in Chicago. I saw this on your Facebook page.


Thank you Howard Schultz for standing up for LGBT people at your recent shareholder's meeting.

My partner Mark and I greatly appreciate all the support out there for marriage equality.

Charlie

Win Tickets to CoffeeCon2013

CoffeeCON 2013 is coming soon, Saturday, May 4 to be exact. CoffeeCON is a one day event where coffee lovers like you and I gather and learn about all things coffee. I have been invited to be an official blogger of the event, and will be reporting on all the day’s activities. 

http://www.coffee-con.com

There will be lectures and demonstrations, and of course coffee. You can learn about everything from pour over methods to coffee sustainability. There are labs on Aeropress and Chemex brewing. Workshops on Turkish Coffee and coffee and food pairings will go on. You may even learn there is a right way to grind coffee.

Specialty coffee pioneer George Howell will speak. Howell established Coffee Connection in Cambridge, MA in 1974. He is one of the people who taught us there is a craft to coffee roasting. He eventually sold his business and a little recipe called the Frappuccino to Starbucks. The Specialty Coffee Association of America(SCAA) presented Howell with a lifetime achievement awards in 1996. 

Also speaking will be Christy Thorns, Director of Sourcing and Quality Control for Allegro Coffee. Thorns will talk about environmental and growing issues in the coffee world. 

This is an informative and very fun time, and I am so excited to be going this year. 

Here is a look at last year’s event.....

Want to go? CoffeeCON has provided me with 10 complimentary tickets to give away. How to you snag a pair? CONTEST TIME!!!!!!

In 25 words or less, tell me about your favorite coffee moment. This can be as fun as you like, or as serious as you like. Heck you can even throw in a picture of you with your coffee if you like.  Be creative with this!

Email entries to me by Midnight, April 15. The 5 best entries will each get a pair of tickets to this year’s event, courtesy of CoffeeCON. Winners will be notified between April 16th and April 20th. Email your entries to:

javarunner1962@gmail.com

Good luck, and let’s have some coffee together in May.

Charlie

"God in a Cup"

Adventures in exotic countries, three driven men on a quest, passion, betrayal, heartache, ego, and a Geisha, all sound like the makings of action adventure film, Instead this is a story about coffee. Michaele Weissman’s 2008 book, “God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee” is a detailed look at how three leaders in the specialty coffee world are constantly in search of their ideal, or perfect coffee. To be honest, it’s more than that. “God in a Cup” is a frank essay on the state of the coffee industry. 

To understand where we are now, Weissman provides a brief history lesson. Coffee has been through three waves. The first wave was prior to, and during World War I. Coffee was nothing special. It was a kickstart to your day, and processed in a way which took flavor and nuance away from the coffee.

The second wave laid the foundation for coffee as we know it. This occurred between the mid-1960s to the 1990s. Men like Alfred Peet, Erna Knutsen, and George Howell, created the specialty coffee businesses as well as the Specialty Coffee Association of America. These men were developing the art and science of roasting coffee, and introducing it to a society that was ll too familiar with instant coffee, or heavily processed coffee. This was the time Starbucks was founded(by Peet), and the industry began to take off.

The third wave can best be described as innovation, adventure, deal-making, ego driven and desire. It is this wave that Weissman focuses on. In particular she introduces us to three men who are similar and very different at the same time: Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia Coffee, Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee and Peter Giuliano of Counter Culture Coffee.

Each man and their companies are laser focused on finding the absolute coffee, cultivating it, roasting it, and selling it to the public. Each one has their own style though. Watts is the adventurer. He is the main buyer for Intelligentsia in Chicago, and travels the world, living on the edge, taking risks to make sure he is acquiring the best coffee. Weissman describes him as the “rock star” of the industry. He takes risks, and people worry his risk taking will mean the end of him. “Weissman writes, “There’s some recognition in the specialty coffee community that the intensity and the fearlessness that Geoff brings to his work and life is the very quality that might kill him. Every movement seems to have a tragic hero, and Geoff may be ours.” 

Watts’ main rival and friend is Peter Giuliano of Counter Culture Coffee of Durham, NC.  Whereas Watts may be flying by the seat of his pants, Giuliano is more measured and more particular. His focus on the coffee is so great, it is part of the reason his marriage is failing. Weissman paints him as a man who, in his quest, wants to be part of something so special, the personal life comes second. 

If Watts and Giuliano are the adventurers, Duane Sorenson is the hippie, but not your typical one. The hippie movement was about anti-establishment, which Sorenson is. A few hits on the bong with him, and you get that about him. At the same time, he will spend whatever it takes to produce the best coffee in the world - period. Part Cheech and Chong, part Donald Trump. 

Once the major players are introduced, Weissman takes readers on a journey which introduces us to Cup of Excellence competitions, journeys to Ethiopia to learn the ins and outs of coffee politics, what is good and bad about Fair Trade coffee, and of course Geisha. I’ll explain Geisha in a bit, but there are also some interesting themes in this book. 

Youth is served. All the major players are in their 20s and 30s. This is good and bad from standpoint. I like the fact that coffee is drawing in younger people. They are innovating and working to make the plight of coffee farmers better. What is bad is for people like me. Selfish I know, but I wonder what role a 50 year old like me would play in the coffee world. I wonder this, because I wonder if coffee is my next career. Me aside, everything I read shows the baristas and the roasters are the younger set.

Coffee is the new wine. Throughout the book, the coffee guys talk about varietals, essences, aromas, tastes as if they are describing wine. I had not made the correlation previously, but why not? Why not experience coffee the way you would a fine wine. Both  products are agricultural in origin. Both are cultivated and developed for improved quality and taste. Both are sampled in similar manner(even down the the spitting).

Geisha seems to represent all the themes coming together. Weissman writes, “ Mention you are traveling to Boquete, Panama, and specialty coffee guys get a dreamy look in their eyes.” Yes, Geisha seems to be the ultimate coffee to these folks. 

What is it about this coffee which evokes a romance and desire? Geisha is primarily known as a coffee from Panama, though its origins can be traced to Ethiopia. The tree is a hearty tree, and the coffee is difficult to produce. Still coffee guys fall in love with this coffee, like they would with a woman of their dreams. 

This book is filled with Coffee 101 tips and information. There are plenty of stories about  how to bargain for the best coffee price. There are also plenty of juicy gossipy stories about the three big companies at the center of the specialty coffee world. 

If there is a weakness(for me), it’s the passages where Weissman places herself as part of the story. My interest was in what she reports, and not her impressions or insinuating herself into situations. I would have preferred she remove herself from the story. Still this does not deter how I feel about “God in a Cup.” If you haven’t read this, do, and you will gain greater understanding about specialty coffee.

Charlie

Today's Cup of Coffee 3/22/2013

This morning I purchased a bold pick of the day from Starbucks. This was their Tribute Coffee. I have had this before, and I think it's fine. What happened though was not fine.

I thought the coffee had an odd taste to it, like not what I have had before in a Tribute. Still I sipped it. 30 minutes later I felt like I was going to throw up. The smell of the coffee makes me feel dizzy and sick. I tried to drink it, thinking this was just a momentary thing, but now when I drink it, a few minutes later the same feeling comes back.

Bad beans? Bad water? Bad brewing? Can anyone shed light on this?

I have contacted Starbucks to let them know this happened. Will let you know what they say.

Charlie

Dear White Castle

Dear White Castle,

Your "hamburgers" have a certain reputation for what they do to one's digestive system. Now I see you are selling coffee?

For all that is good in this world, please don't do this to coffee beans! Some poor farmer has broken his back to produce a nice product, and Lord knows what you are doing to it. Please....stop.

Respectfully,
Charlie

Coffee Party USA

This morning we were visited by my friend Kris, and an assortment of brewing techniques. We called it our coffee party!

You will see the usual suspects ranging from Chemex to French press. The idea was we would try coffee based on the brewing technique. The two coffees we used were a decaf espresso and a Peruvian coffee, both roasted by Kris. 

Our first trial was the espresso, using the Chemex and the Hario. Part of my coffee journey is to learn an understand the various brewing techniques. The more advanced coffee lovers will already know what I am talking about, but the newer people are in the same boat I'm in. So I apologize to those who may be more advanced in the coffee world.

With the Chemex system, coffee will only come into contact with the filter and a non-porous glass. This system is designed to take a lot of the impurities and bitterness out of coffee. In our tasting today, we found that the flavor of the espresso was very mellow. There was little bite to it.

With the Hario, the cone shape adds what they call "depth" to the coffee. There is a larger hole where the coffee drips into the pot. The size of the hole can dictate the change the taste of coffee, based on how it is flowing into the pot. 

So which method did we prefer. All three of us decided the Hario made the espresso taste fuller, more like what we would expect an espresso roast to taste like.

Next we compared the Hario to the porcelain drip system(second left in the picture above. The difference between the two systems is the Hario has a larger hole. The porcelain drip system has a tiny hole. Kris told me the porcelain system is one she sees most coffee houses use for a pour over. 

Again in this case the Hario seemed to have the better taste, however it was closer this time, and I don't believe it was unanimous. In theory the smaller hole drip process would seem to have a better taste and flavor, because the water has more time to interact with the coffee before it goes into the cup or pot. I will only speak for me, I thought the Hario was much better.

For our next test, we ground the Peruvian coffee, and we used the French Press and the Clever Coffee Dripper. 

These systems take more time. The both have a filter which prevents grounds from getting into the coffee. Still some ground can make their way to the bottom of the cup. 

I believe we were all in agreement that we liked both of these of all the methods we tried today. The coffee tasted stronger to us. We liked the bite and fullness of the coffee. 

I wouldn't turn down any coffee from any of the brewing techniques we had today, but for me, I preferred the French Press the best. It tasted more like coffee from my coffee maker. Of course this may more the more refined drinker cringe by my saying that, but hey, my blog, my likes. :-)

This was a terrific morning. We all got a bit overloaded on coffee. I think professional cuppers and tasters have stronger stomachs than we do. Still it was fascinating to see what a difference a cup of coffee is based on the brewing method.

Charlie