Planet Doppio - The Coffee Metablog

Kenya, January 2012: 1

2012-02-06T17:00:53+00:00

MONDAY

Oh, Kenya, Kenya, Kenya. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to come back here, ‘cause your coffees are delicious and your land is beautiful. Maybe it was the Nairobi traffic that put me off, cause in all fairness, it’s still atrocious! But in spite of spending yesterday green with food poisoning (thanks Virgin Atlantic) I couldn’t be happier to be back during a very interesting year for Kenyan coffees, with the harvest being the biggest they’ve seen in a good few years; more than double of last year. Last year prices were also through the roof with very little coffee available and a C at dizzying heights, but this year the C is settling back down a bit and with cherry supply so rich; the farmers’ expectations of even better prices this crop is unrealistic and a hard expectation to manage for the marketing agents.

The system in Kenya is unlike most countries in that the majority of coffee is sold via auction, although there is a second window open for buying outside of this platform should you want to/be able to. Growers are typically small with shambas of 0.5 to 1 hectares and perhaps as little as 50 trees each, so they pool their coffee together at their local factories; wet mills that buy the cherry and process it to exportable parchment, then sell it via marketing agents to exporters.

The first day of cupping was spent with Dormans who have helped us find and bring in many of our favourite Kenyas over the years. I’m traveling with Ben from San Francisco and Mie from Vancouver, and having sent through a wishlist of coffees to try before arrival we got straight to it alongside the wonderful Bridget, Kennedy and Daniel. Amidst the 4-500+ samples they cup every day just checking auction samples, arrivals and stock, you feel quite daunted by the speed and palate fatigue about to conspire against you while people like Bridget breeze in and out sipping through the cups calling out scores. It’s pretty full on but the lab is set up to run like clockwork, led by John and Dixon in charge of each their 5 and 4 barrel Probat sample roaster, churning out impressively precise and consistent roast levels. I panic if I have to run more than 2 of my 5 barrels at a time, so someone like John, who now close to retiring has been doing this for over 30 years, really makes me want to do better. I’m not sure I could ever do what the cupping team does every day though, the acidic coffees just dry out your tastebuds so fast- taking breaks have never been so needed and effective.

Before they even get to the roasting you have Wilson checking every sample of green that come in from the warehouses, screening 100 grams to find out if the bean sizes really are what they say on the bag. I had a little go myself and to my surprise one of the samples being marketed as a AA, only contained 40% beans at screen 18+, the rest being a manky mix of small beans, shells and debris. This is not to say that that 40% of actual AA would not be delicious, but you have to leverage your price if bidding on a lot like this to reflect the fact that once you’ve cleaned it up at your own mill you’re left with more than half of the lot unsellable at AA prices.
Along the wall of windows looking out onto the lush gardens at Dorman, Sam and his crew will line up sections of 15-20 coffees at a time, two bowls of each sample holding 16 grams of coffee, pour the cups half full, steep them for 4 minutes before giving them a quick stir and then top up with more water. After a skim and a wait till they’ve cooled, you cup and give your verdict, while the next flight of coffees is already steeping further down the table. And so it goes in stages, a constant circle of coffees roasting, grinding, brewing, cooling and cupping. There is no 24 hour rest after roasting, no sniffing of the grounds or the break, no cupping from hot through to cool, no elaborate note taking and deliberating over half points. While I tried to note down as quickly as I could what flavours I could find and what I might use the lot for, Bridget would frequently overtake me calling out her scores of 323, 233, 232/2, 223/4 and so on, to the assistant closely following her and writing the results into the auction catalogue.

The numbers are quick evaluations on three main categories of assessment:

Washed coffees:
Acidity:
Strong
Good (FAQ plus)
Reasonable (FAQ plus)
Light (FAQ minus)
Very Light
None

Body:
Heavy
Reasonable
Light
Very Little
None

Flavour:
Strong
Good
Some
Slight
Very little
None

Unwashed/Mbuni:
Acidity:
Slight
Light
Thin/None

Body:
Light
Medium
Heavy

Flavour:
Fair/Good
Fair
Slightly quakery
Slightly earthy
Harsh
Musty
Sourish
Potato
Fermented
Full earthy
Geil
Quakery

Given that 111’s are apparently a bit like unicorns, what we’d be hoping to find would be 222’s at best, and I was very excited to see what we’d get out of a sample of a recent delivery of Tegu which was on one of the tables in AA, AB as well as PB screenings. But it became apparent across this and many other factory lots that the AA’s aren’t really that popping this year and that the AB selections in many cases are as good or even better. There might be many reasons for this, an unusual growing cycle and large crop depleting or abnormally distributing nutrients, facilities at factories and mills struggling with the volumes causing less than ideal drying and storing conditions being two that I feel there must be most validity to.

After a brief lunch with Chris and Teya and a run down on the Dorman cafes remodeling plans, we returned for more cupping and a chat about Dorman’s plans for moving into other African countries, all which sounds very exciting and will be great to follow closely in the years to come.

TUESDAY

We squeezed in another cupping at Dorman in the morning, but as Tuesdays are the only auction days we only made two tables before having to head out. The auction takes place once pr week during the season, with a break in June and July and perhaps fortnightly auctions in the slow weeks either side of the summer holiday. The exporters receive samples of all the coffees to be auctioned off in the following week so they can cup, check the quality and plan for what they wish to bid on, then they head to the auction house and get their trigger finger ready to push the button that drives the prices up, a dollar at a time. It sounds a bit more exciting than it actually is, the room is a medium sized auditorium with a big screen hung up for all to follow the lots coming up, the prices as it goes up and the names of the winning bidders. Up to 50-70 traders might be in at a time, sat at their regular seats, and the bidding on a lot stops when only one trader is still pushing the button. (Apparently in Tanzania the bidding goes as longs as any button is pushed, so a single trader can effectively keep raising his bid by no letting go of the button fast enough, even if no one else is pushing theirs.) Each marketing agent has their slot in the day and the order rotates from week to week. Each marketing agent may also have any grade from AA through AB, PB, C, T, TT, UG or UG1 to sell (that’s for washed coffees, naturals are sold as MH- Mbuni Heavy and ML- Mbuni Light) so if you’re only interested in AA lots, but from several marketing agents, you quickly end up spending full days at the auction waiting for your lots to come up. I’m told it’s wise to pack a lunch and perhaps bring some magazines if you know you’re in for a long one, but even if you’re not actively bidding yourself- many traders will follow closely what everyone else is buying and what prices they go for, taking full advantage of the transparency this system offers.

While the auction room might not be the most thrilling place to sit and watch for hours on end, you could always go up to the sample room where they keep the bags of 21 kg green the mills send down every week via their marketing agents. They will also cup these samples and give some indication to the farmers on what prices hey should expect. The regular exporters can then each get 200g of these samples for their evaluations, and 160g are retained by the mill for reference in any arbitrations that might pop up after sale. After the auction is done, the winning exporter can go get another 500g to take back for further cupping and distribution to potential end buyers.

The benches and shelves of brown paper bags with outturn numbers, grade descriptors and lot size indications scribbled on them seemed to go on for miles in this place. In front of each bag a small tray with some of the contents is places so that any exporters can easily inspect the lots if needed. Macharia, who was prepping some trays as we arrived, gave me an auction catalogue and took me through some of the various grades to be found- it’s quite the contrast when you see AA’s and T’s or ML’s displayed next to eachother.

Today we also drove north towards Nyeri to visit the Central Kenya Coffee Mill, slowly creeping out of Nairobi in the middle of the horrendous Nairobi-Thika highway roadworks, burning rubber and rubbish along the wayside and trucks, motorcycles and fully stuffed mutatus making up traffic rules and lanes as they went along. Once into busy Zimmerman it got a bit more peaceful, burning scrap making way to furniture makers creating and selling their pieces, stalls overflowing with fruits and vegetables, building materials of every sort on offer and people seeking shade from the hot midday sun. Where the road has not yet been paved you drive through belts where the 10 meters of greenery on either side of the road is just covered in the red dust from the soil, and you have contrasts like huge apartment complexes being constructed across the road form fields of produce where women are hunched over in the scorching heat weeding and tending to their crops.

The first stop on the way was the CMS managed Yadini Estate near Ruiru, a fun looking little town where music playing on streetcorners and shops called things like ‘The Pork Place’ instantly made me take a liking to it. Yadini was established in the early 1920’s and has 27 sections across 83 hectares, 7 of the plots SL, the rest Ruiru11 and a Batian plot in planning. Batian is a variety that was released in 2010, developed to have much the same resistance to pests as the Ruiru11 from 1985, but to cup at a quality more like the SL’s- and yield well of course. I’m wondering if I’ll be able to cup any on this trip, I’m generally careful about getting too excited or too skeptical about this sort of thing, but I’m always open to cup.

At Yadini we were greeted by their agronomist Hezron who guided us through a small section of the estate, explaining about their work. He filled us in on their tight routines in using fertilizers and fungicides, with leaf rust and coffee berry disease being the two main threats to the Kenyan coffee stocks. We also see some trees affected by berry moth, turning cherries black on the branch. Magnesium, lime, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium etc is used to add the needed nutrients, and dug out divets between trees and rows ensure water can be retained and leaves and cuttings slowly compost. Bluegrass is grown betweeen rows helping to prevent erosion but also providing organic material. The murram soil here is so different from the spungy, soft, green carpets of undergrowth you see in many other countries, it’s so hard and barren, dusty and dry, it’s not hard to see why they need to invest a lot of money into fertilizers here. But the trees all look healthy and strong, capped at 6 feet tall as this is how high the arm on the tractor spraying fungicides will go, and of course it makes it easier to pick the top of the trees without having to use ladders. Some of the trees on this farm have absolutely massive trunks at the base, very old root systems that have expanded over the years as pruning has kept the upwards growth young for carrying good yields. The practice of stumping here is done differently for the Ruiru and the SL, as one has a denser growth than the other and benefits more from better access to sunlight. For the Ruirus, two main mama trunks are kept on the tree. At 7 years, one of them is stumped, leaving the one mama still producing while 2 new shoots are allowed to develop from the root. After another two years, the old mama is chopped off and the two young branches are allowed to continue on to 7 years, when one of them will be cut, etc etc. For the SL’s, three mamas are the standard, two being cut at 7 years and three new ones allowed to come up, then at 4-5 years the remaining old mama is cut. Pruning is a main concern here to keep the yield up, and June is the time when Hezron will know if the pruning has been successful, if the crop is looking to be a good one, and how much money he needs to find in his budget to finance the feed for the needs of his trees.

Besides the soil here being different, another thing we’re not seeing much is shade trees. Herzon did feel he had a good number at Yadini, but they were nothing like we’re used to seeing, and certainly too few to be very effective in doing the job they’re supposed to. They also prune these trees from the bottom up, removing the branches that would be doing the shading best in the first place. A lot of these trees are not just grown for shade though, they also get used for timber when they reach a certain height, and so you might have to choose if you want to prioritize shade or the option of another income stream. I feel like there must be a compromise but hey, I don’t know anything about native Kenyan trees so can’t really suggest anything.

In the nursery we come across the 10 000 Batian seedlings and young trees that are being planted here as well as being sold to neighbouring farms at 30KES/tree. As for other varietals Hezron has some knowledge of the K7, but other then slightly longer branches he considers it similar to the SLs and so not of any use in replanting here. Yield is obviously of key importance and some of the data from the Coffee Research Station in Ruiru show Batian to outperform Ruiru by 0.5 tonnes per hectare. They averaged about 1400kg pr hectare last year, and this year leveled at 2 tonnes/hectare. Pickers are paid 60 schilling per debe, a 20 liter bucket that holds about 14kg of cherry. These are tipped into collection tanks before the full days harvest is pulped, and dry fermented for about 10 hours. After going through the washing channels the parchment is soaked overnight to improve the colour of it, an argument I don’t fully understand the reasoning behind but somehow it has beneficial results on the cup so then I guess we’re all good. This soaking water is changed every 6 hours to avoid over fermentation, and the water is re-used to pulp the next day’s pickings. Once out of the soaking tanks the parchment needs to lose its skin water within a few hours to prevent rotting, and the total drying period would be 6-12 days; weather dependent. If the weather gets too hot they have the option of covering the beds with netting to prevent the parchment from cracking, but down here in Ruiru it’s so hot I’m sure they must struggle to shade it enough at times.

Driving on to Thika we made a brief visit in to see Sustainable Management Services, who represented a few of the coffees we had last year and are doing some in depth and fascinating work out here. Julius and Charles were very good to see us even if we were an hour late, and still able to give us a great overview of the company structure so that we can cup with them back in Nairobi and have a better idea of how their chain of custody works. With their own dry mill just being finished off now they’ll have a fly crop to test all the logistics before the next full crop comes in, and people are expecting it to be as big as or even bigger than this year.

We had a deadline to get to the Serena Mountain Lodge before the park gates closed so Zachary our driver spared no effort in getting us there on time, out of Thika (who refer to themselves as The Birmingham of Kenya!) as school children were being herded along by their teachers, people carrying or ferrying firewood on their bikes to cook dinner with, and taxi motorcycles with three people piled up, blasting music as they rode along grinning and having the best time with it. We hit Karatina at about 5pm, took the obligatory picture of Hotel Starbucks, and continued north to the Mount Kenya National Park. At 2195 masl we pullet up to a beautiful lodge hotel where we were to spend a night just surrounded by trees, animals, and a bunch of safari clad bird watchers. It’s pretty chilly up here so I declined the offer of being woken up in the night should any wildlife come down to the nearby waterhinghole, and after a lovely dinner I’m just pleased to have crawled into bed before nine to find a hot water bottle at the foot end.

Concordia Coffee Systems Closes Over $6 Million Financing

2012-02-06T17:00:32+00:00

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Concordia Coffee Systems, the world's leading manufacturer of self-serve commercial espresso systems, announced it has raised $6.5 million in new financing …

Incredible Zen Table project makes coffee tables interesting

2012-02-06T17:00:29+00:00

Coffee tables are rarely very interactive, and unless there’s something very interesting sitting on top of them, aren’t usually the focal point of a room either. This would all change if you owned a Zen Table, though.

Coffee and Tea Foodservice Trends in the U.S.

2012-02-06T17:00:26+00:00

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Coffee and Tea Foodservice Trends in the U.S. http://www.reportlinker.com/p0769021/Coffee-and-Tea-Foodservice-Trends-in-the-US- …

Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. to Report Its Fourth Quarter and 2011 Year-End Results

2012-02-06T17:00:26+00:00

Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. today announced that it will release its fourth quarter and 2011 year-end results on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® Goes to Washington

2012-02-06T17:00:25+00:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – In the midst of this caffeinated campaign season, folks inside and outside the beltway are about to see their coffee & tea stock options rise when The Coffee Bean …

Starbucks to Partner with Ai Ni Group to Bring China’s Yunnan Coffee to the World

2012-02-06T17:00:25+00:00

As part of its ongoing efforts to help elevate the coffee industry in China’s Yunnan Province, Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it has signed an agreement to form a joint-venture company with Ai Ni Group, one of the province’s most established coffee operators and agricultural companies in Yunnan.

Uganda raises 2011/12 coffee export forecast to 3.2 mln bags

2012-02-06T17:00:24+00:00

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda revised its projected coffee exports for the 2011/12 season up to 3.2 million 60-kg bags on Monday from a previous estimate of 3.0 million bags, an official at the industry regulator told Reuters. "We implemented a tree planting programme three years ago in central and south western regions and these trees are now maturing," Norman Mutekanga, manager for Strategy and …

Montreal coffee business is steeped in hard work

2012-02-06T17:00:24+00:00

Olympian turned entrepreneur Craig Buntin, 31, is offering a new way for Canadian caffeine junkies to get their fi Teabean White Coffee.

Analysis: Single-cup coffee sales seen growing

2012-02-06T17:00:23+00:00

NEW YORK/BANGALORE (Reuters) – Sara Lee Corp Executive Chairman Jan Bennink thinks it is time for his company to reinvest in the single-serve coffee market. Back in 2001, when it teamed up with Philips to launch the Senseo machines that brew single cups of coffee in seconds, it was a pioneer of that market. But in recent years it let that business languish, especially in the United States …

Coffee co. Peet's shares rise on analyst upgrade

2012-02-06T17:00:21+00:00

Shares of Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. rose Friday, hitting a 52-week high, after a Baird analyst lifted his rating on the coffee company, saying he expects fast earnings growth starting later in 2012.

Coffee: Blend or Single Origin?

2012-02-06T13:00:39+00:00

This is a guest post by Marina Salsbury. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

Coffee shares some similarities with Scotch Whiskey. No, coffee is not going to bring you into an imbibed buzz; rather, coffee, like Scotch, is available in a single origin or a blend. Each style of coffee has its own distinct and special qualities. These stir up quite a bit of coffee conversation as to what is better, the single bean or the blend.

When talking about a blend with coffee, what happens is a mixing and blending or different types of bean from different geographic locales. For example, “Breakfast Blends” may be comprised of a dark roasted bean from Central America along with softer and blonder beans from the foothills of the Andes.

Single origin coffee is just that; beans from one geographic region like Kenya or Sumatra, as examples. Single bean coffees, depending on the region they are from are often more expensive than blends because many of the more specialized beans come at a higher price.

But how does a blend or single origin effect the farmer, coffee company or the coffee drinker?

There are differing social impacts for either type of coffee. There are regions where inexpensive plantations use exploitive methods to harvest the beans. Many grocery store brands use these beans, most frequently sold as blends, thus keeping the costs low for the general consumer. This comes at the cost of flavor and freshness though, as the beans are stored for lengthy periods and are put through industrial roasts.

The Quebec and Ontario based “Second Cup” maintains an ethic to use fair trade coffee and roast in less industrial ways. According to Second Cup, this is a more equitable method of getting the beans as the local farmers get a better profit for a more “green” way of harvesting.

This is all well and good, but how do the gourmet blends fare against the tastes of single blends? As reported by Starbucks, single origin coffee gets the best reviews from those who seek out a darker and more robust dark roast while blends are given great reviews for morning coffees and mellower drinks.

According to MBA Online, finding a balance between brand equity and product quality is an important aspect of marketing. John Moore, who has worked with Starbucks and Whole Foods asserted that “when a company makes money, makes employees happy, and makes customers happy, it makes a strong brand.”

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Marina Salsbury planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way instead into online writing after college. She writes all around the Web about everything from education to exercise.

Photo by puuikibeach.

Coffee: Blend or Single Origin? is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Mugged: Better Morning Blend [Kifu]

2012-02-06T09:38:58+00:00

What does Mugged mean? Subject: Kifu Coffee Roasters Mugged: Better Morning Blend Rating: 3+ [see key] If there's two types of coffee blends you can find at most coffee roasters, it's an espresso blend and a morning blend. The espresso blend serves a function (it's the blend we use for our espresso) but the morning blend seems to be something carried over from early

Scandinavian Travels

2012-02-05T21:20:30+00:00

I used to write a lot more on here about what I was doing, where I was visiting etc. I realised today that I’ve pretty much stopped doing that. Explaining why that is wouldn’t be particularly interesting, but instead I’ll write a little about a couple of trips I’ve taken recently.

Unsurprisingly I have a few air miles stocked up, and with Anette travelling (Sumatra and Kenya) I had some weekends to spare and the chance to travel very cheaply indeed. The first trip I took was over to see the Coffee Collective. This is embarrassing: Despite being in Copenhagen for the WBC in 2008, and being there again for NBC last year, I had never been to the Coffee Collective’s shop on Jægersborggade. This needed to be fixed. It was good to see both of their shops, drink some tasty coffee, cup a bit and just hang out in their shops.

This weekend I went to visit Oslo, and of course see the Tims at Tim Wendelboe. I also managed a quick visit to Java (thank you again for coffee!) and also Kaffa (thanks Björnar!) – I love seeing other roasteries because I’m fascinated by the different way companies overcome challenges and manage processes. I hope I’m not alone in finding weigh and fill machine workflow interesting….

Again – embarrassing: This was my first visit to Tim Wendelboe. I hadn’t been in Oslo since August 2006 - before Tim had found a space.

These are both businesses that I feel a bit of an attachment too, if only because they’ve been operational for a similar amount of time. They’re run by people my own age, and the whole WBC connection is a thing I suppose. They are both businesses that have inspired me over the years, as well as made me jealous or annoyed that their coffees were so good. They’re also run by people who’ve been totally honest in their feedback when tasting our coffee – for better or worse – which is an absolute rarity in this industry, and indescribably valuable. We face, in some ways, common challenges – though each have different markets and consumption trends. For example – London may have the advantage in population density but we don’t have a strong culture of brewing, serving or drinking drip coffees which obviously impacts buying practices.

On both occasions I brought our coffees to taste. On both occasions the coffees had been roasted on Thursday, I had cupped them in London on Friday and then cupped them again on Saturday in either Copenhagen or Oslo. The impact of water on the coffees blows my mind. Worrying about water isn’t new – brewing coffee with London water pretty much obliterates any interesting or unique flavour characteristics in a coffee. In Copenhagen we were cupping with reverse osmosis treated water (we have similar systems) and in Oslo the water is very soft, and just taste/odour filtered.¹

Technically both times the water was within spec – not too hard, not too much TDS. The coffees in Copenhagen were suddenly flat, though we later cupped one at different water TDS quantities and got better results from a slightly higher TDS than the Collective would usually use. This higher TDS would turn out to negatively affect their coffees. In Oslo one coffee noticeably improved (I had worried it was bordering on a touch light in London), others were good and one tasted much worse. I know water effects coffee taste – it was just shocking to be reminded how much of a difference small changes make.

This wrecks my head. The idea that each company is roasting based on a feedback loop of cupping, and in each case water is throwing a variable into the mix. As much we might roast espresso to work at a certain dose and extraction, we may be roasting coffee to work well with the water in our roasteries. This probably merits a whole other post when my head doesn’t hurt so much from thinking about it.

The result from each trip was the same – I was inspired, full of ideas and grateful for the chance to talk about all the stressful stuff of running a business with like minds. On each occasion I am exceedingly grateful for the incredible hospitality shown by my hosts. I’m looking forward to seeing them in London soon, and I definitely won’t wait so long to go back….

Footnotes:

I am aware that flying with these coffees may have had an effect, but I am increasingly skeptical of the excuse of air travel on poor cup quality

Coffee co. Peet's shares rise on analyst upgrade

2012-02-05T17:00:02+00:00

Shares of Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. rose Friday, hitting a 52-week high, after a Baird analyst lifted his rating on the coffee company, saying he expects fast earnings growth starting later in 2012.

Coffee co. Peet's shares rise on analyst upgrade

2012-02-04T17:00:26+00:00

Shares of Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. rose Friday, hitting a 52-week high, after a Baird analyst lifted his rating on the coffee company, saying he expects fast earnings growth starting later in 2012.

Assessments of Starbucks CAFE Practices

2012-02-03T21:36:51+00:00

Starbucks has been assessing the impacts of its CAFE Practices coffee sourcing program. While other big coffee companies trumpet their empty sustainability claims, Starbucks has been releasing these reports with a minimum of flag-waving and no attempt at greenwashing.

Lady Gaga’s Coffee: Coffee Del Sol El Salvador Alicia

2012-02-03T14:00:43+00:00

The Drink: Coffee Del Sol El Salvador Alicia
Type: Whole Bean Microlot
Overall Rating: 4 Out Of 5 Coffee Mugs

I’ve heard that Lady Gaga loves her coffee, I know because I get alerts sent to my email whenever a new a coffee related story is published online, but I had no idea that she was growing her own coffee in El Salvador.

Okay, maybe it’s not the same Lady Gaga. Maybe it’s the Lady Gaga of coffee, the nickname that Aida Batlle, a fifth generation coffee farmer has earned (I didn’t make it up) because her crops are among the most sought after like a platinum record.

Not too long ago, I had a chance to check out Batlle’s latest hit, the Alicia Microlot roasted by Coffee Del Sol. A microlot is a small number of “hand picked” green coffee beans, usually the top quality that a farmer or cooperative produces. Literally the cream of the crop.

I worried that it was all just hype, but my mouth started to water as I let the aroma float out of my mug and into my nose. There was scents of dark chocolate, Cinnamon Toast Crunch (yes, the cereal) and a hint of smoke.

I was hooked from the first sip. There was a nutty, chocolate flavor that mixed with a sweetness that reminded me of strawberry syrup. It was a very smoothy, very drinkable cup of coffee.

Twelve ounces of roasted beans from the Alicia Microlot is $13 via Coffee Del Sol.

Overall, Coffee Del Sol El Salvador Alicia is a simple, yet very delicious cup of coffee. It earned a four on the Daily Shot Of Coffee rating scale, mainly because I could see myself drinking a lot of this coffee.

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P.S. If you’re a coffee company/roaster and you would like to see your coffee reviewed, please visit the contact page.

Fine Print.

Lady Gaga’s Coffee: Coffee Del Sol El Salvador Alicia is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

A polite request

2012-02-03T13:38:06+00:00

I’ve drafted this post a few times, and unfortunately it has come out as being either rude, or patronising or a bit ranty. This makes me pretty angry, but I don’t think it is fair to jump straight into being rude about it. I’d like to avoid that and simply make a polite request to baristas. This is not directed to any individual in particular, and I see it in every country I visit, in every barista competition I see online…

Please, please use the handles on cups. Please don’t hold cups any other way. Holding the cup with your fingers around the rim is not professional. It doesn’t help you pour latte art better, it is just a habit – it may take some breaking but it is worth the effort. (I think pouring while holding the handle actually helps with symmetry).

I have big, fat, useless fingers and I don’t find handles a problem. This is not an acceptable excuse.

So please – can we work to get rid of this habit?

Berkeley Coffee Enters into Agreement to Acquire DTS8 Coffee

2012-02-02T17:00:57+00:00

Berkeley Coffee & Tea, Inc. announced today that pursuant to a Purchase and Sale Agreement dated January 31, 2012, Berkeley Coffee & Tea, Inc. will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of DTS8 Holdings Co., Ltd.

Interview With Alex From Baristing: What You Can Learn From An Accidental Barista

2012-02-02T14:00:38+00:00

This week Alex Beecher, the writer behind the coffee blog Baristing. I’ve been a fan of his writing since I first stumbled across his blog back in 2010. Since then I’ve been checking in from time to time and enjoying his words and point of view. I like his blog because it isn’t just another blog with coffee reviews. It’s his writing that makes his blog stand out. Anyways, enough of me rambling, let’s get on to the interview.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what your role is in the coffee industry?
I’m a 23-year-old guy, recently graduated from the University of Kansas, with a degree in English. I spend between 35 and 50 hours a week at the coffee bar I manage, and split my time otherwise between reading and running.

How did you get into the coffee business?
Completely by accident. I worked in a campus food court, which had a coffee bar. They were short one day, and I was told to help. I failed, probably, and only managed to get in the way. But despite that, I was instantly hooked. Milk steaming seamed at that point the most interesting thing in the world.

Did you need any special training prior to starting?
I may have needed it, but I certainly didn’t get it. Youtube and coffee blogs trained me, as I sought some level of competency. At that point, it was just a matter of trial and error. Those early customers were my guinea pigs; I only hope my drinks weren’t too awful.

What’s your favorite thing about being a barista?
The craft and the people. I know that’s two things, but I just can’t choose. I love that every drink is a process, and that I get to produce a tangible product that takes some measure of skill and technique to get right. But I could never be a roaster, because the interaction provided by customers is essential.

What’s something that you know now, but wish you knew when you were starting out?
Not a thing. That coffee and the preparation thereof is an endlessly deep rabbit hole appeals to me immensely. To have knowledge planted, rather than discovered, would be like having a movie spoiled.

Any funny stories happen while you’ve been a barista?
Many. Though there have been more dramatic occasions, for me, nothing tops an older lady politely telling me that I “got foam on her cappuccino”.

Any advice you have for someone looking to become a barista?
Get a liberal arts degree. But seriously, there are infinite paths, with only one thing in common: Enthusiasm. As someone who does get to hire people, that’s the one thing I look for above all else. To be a good barista, you have to want to be a good barista. To work for NASA, they may want a degree in aerospace engineering. To play in the NBA, it helps to be 6’6 and have a 40-inch vertical. But anyone can steam perfect milk, provided they care enough to learn. Love coffee, love people, and convey that to anyone who happens to be hiring.

What’s your favorite coffee?
Coffee, to me, is a beverage greatly enhanced by context. A double espresso, pulled by an attentive and dedicated barista, consumed from a ceramic demitasse at the bar, is as good as it gets. Also, good company and conversation make anything taste better. If I have to pick one bean though, it’s Yirgacheffe, almost every time.

I know you have a blog, can you tell us where to find it and a little bit about it?
http://baristing.blogspot.com/ I started the blog when my facebook friends grew agitated by my frequent coffee related status updates. It remains very stream of consciousness, with nothing like a purpose or a message. At best, I hope it inspires people to think about coffee as something more than a caffeine delivery vessel, and those who prepare it as more than customer service automatons. Though that sounds suspiciously like a purpose.

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Are you in the coffee biz? Want to talk coffee and help future baristas, roasters and more people that love coffee? Hit me up via the contact form. I would love to chat.

Interview With Alex From Baristing: What You Can Learn From An Accidental Barista is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Starbucks and Caribou Coffee Benefit From Strong North American Market

2012-02-01T17:01:18+00:00

NEW YORK, NY– – Coffee stocks have performed well in the early stages of 2012. While Europe's economic crisis weighs on demand in the region, coffee companies have benefited from strong North American …

Recovering North America Market Boosts Growth for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Coffee Holding

2012-02-01T17:01:18+00:00

Alaska Airlines and Starbucks Team Up to Serve Freshly Brewed Coffee Onboard

2012-02-01T17:01:17+00:00

SEATTLE, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Alaska Airlines begins serving freshly brewed Starbucks® coffee today to customers onboard all flights."We're proud to offer customers premium coffee from the …

Single-serve coffee drinkers switch out of convenience

2012-02-01T17:01:16+00:00

Convenience and taste are continuing to drive up demand for single-cup coffee in the US, as new market research reveals that 17 percent of coffee drinkers say they prefer to get their morning cup of joe from a pod-style machine.

Will Global Coffee Giant Starbucks Conquer India?

2012-02-01T17:01:16+00:00

Kenya top coffee price edges up at latest sale

2012-02-01T17:01:14+00:00

NAIROBI (Reuters) – The top price for Kenyan benchmark grade AA coffee crept up to $529 per 50-kg bag at this week's sale from $526 per 50-kg bag in the previous auction, while the volume sold fell, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) said on Wednesday. Kenya is a small producer compared with other regional growers, but its specialty beans are famous for their high quality and are sought after for …

SCAA Instructor Development Program

2012-02-01T15:30:27+00:00

A while ago I posted about barista training – and got some great responses. This is an area that, as an industry, we’ve certainly got a long way go to achieve what we ought to do.

When I was down in New Zealand last year I was lucky enough to be able to attend the SCAA’s Instructor Development Program course that was being run there. It was great to do a course that combined solid educational theory, but put together by people sympathetic to the specific challenges of coffee and barista training. I cannot adequately describe how much I enjoyed it. Barista training is still a part of my day to day work, and learning about how to train has been on my list of “stuff to do” for a while.

I feel much more capable in my capacity to create a training program, structure lesson plans and how to teach in a way that has direct, effective outcomes.

I’m pleased to announce that we (Square Mile) are going to help host the SCAA’s course in London. The course is a single day and will be run twice on the 2nd of 3rd of March. The venue isn’t yet confirmed but will be either in Central London or just out by the Roastery.

Tickets are available now. Discounts are available for SCAA members, but the course is open to anyone:

Friday

Saturday

UPDATE: You need to register to use the SCAA website – this is like signing up for a forum, and not signing up for membership. The fee is for the course only – not for membership.

To clarify – I/we do not profit from ticket sales. We just wanted to see this program be available to those in the UK/Europe.

I believe this is the best $200 ($185 for SCAA members!) that you can spend on learning in coffee – especially if you do any sort of training as part of your profession. I suspect that this may appeal to people across Europe so I think places may fill up quickly. I’d recommend moving fast if you’re tempted.

Best Sellers in Coffee, Tea & Espresso On Amazon: January 2012

2012-02-01T14:00:15+00:00

I came across this list: Best Sellers in Coffee, Tea & Espresso On Amazon earlier this month and I thought it would be fun to do a quick recap of the list once a month. I think it’s interesting to see what made the list (replacement filters and carafes?), what methods of making coffee are popular (Aeropress, French Press, Stovetop Espresso Maker), etc.

With each item on the list, I threw in my two cents about it at the end.

#1 Cuisinart DCC-RWF1 Replacement Coffeemaker Water Filters, Set of 2
by Cuisinart
4.5 out of 5 stars (190)
List Price: $14.99
Price: $5.84
You Save: $9.15 (61%)
25 used & new from $4.45
Really, this was number one? Apparently people that shop on Amazon love their replacement water filters. Not what I was guessing would be number one, but okay.

#2 Krups 203-42 Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder with Stainless-Steel blades, Black
by Krups
4.3 out of 5 stars (728)
List Price: $24.00
Price: $19.99
You Save: $4.01 (17%)
26 used & new from $17.39
A simple, yet effective coffee grinder. It’s by no means the best coffee grinder out there, but it’s a great price and a perfect entry level coffee grinder.

#3 Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
by Aerobie
4.6 out of 5 stars (1,048)
List Price: $29.99
Price: $25.95
You Save: $4.04 (13%)
I think it’s awesome that the Aeropress made the list. I loved this simple way to make a single serving of coffee, it makes coffee that’s extremely smooth and flavorful.

#4 Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter
by Keurig
3.3 out of 5 stars (963)
Price: $18.99
31 used & new from $9.99
I’ve been using my Keurig a whole lot less, but when I do I’m usually using a reusable filter. It’s not the best cup of coffee, but I like using my own coffee and the results are generally better than 90% of the K-Cups that I’ve tried.

#5 Senseo Dark Roast Coffee, 18-Count Pods (Pack of 6)
by Senseo
4.3 out of 5 stars (125)
List Price: $33.26
Price: $29.27
You Save: $3.99 (12%)
11 new from $27.99
Another random entry on the best sellers list. Of everything coffee that Amazon sells, I’m surprised this one made the list.

#6 Cuisinart DCC-1200PRC 12-Cup Replacement Carafe-Black
by Cuisinart
3.9 out of 5 stars (221)
List Price: $33.00
Price: $21.89
You Save: $11.11 (34%)
22 used & new from $17.95
It looks like a lot of people are break their glass carafes! At least that’s the only reason that I could figure out that a replacement carafe made the list.

#7 Proctor Silex K2070Y 1 Liter Electric Kettle
by Proctor Silex
4.1 out of 5 stars (675)
Price: $15.99
26 used & new from $10.99
I’ve been debating getting an electric kettle for my French Press. This is a pretty good price for one.

#8 Cuisinart DCC-1200 Brew Central 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black/Brushed Metal
by Cuisinart
3.9 out of 5 stars (2,660)
List Price: $145.00
Price: $67.59
You Save: $77.41 (53%)
58 used & new from $28.99
This is a nice coffee maker, but my favorite version was the one with the built in grinder. With or without, Cuisinart makes some above average drip coffee makers.

#9 Bodum Brazil 8 cup French Press Coffee Maker, 34 oz, Black
by Bodum
4.4 out of 5 stars (354)
List Price: $27.00
Price: $19.74
You Save: $7.26 (27%)
This is the very similar to the French Press that I use on an almost daily basis. I love it, simple but makes awesome coffee.

#10 Bialetti 6800 Moka Express 6-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker
by Bialetti
4.6 out of 5 stars (241)
List Price: $29.99
Price: $22.00
You Save: $7.99 (27%)
34 used & new from $17.00
Awesome to see that this made the list! I had no idea that stovetop espresso makers were so popular.

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Side note, links in the above article are my affiliate links. In other words, I get a small commission if you buy something from Amazon after you click on the link. It’s not a lot, but it does help the Daily Shot Of Coffee engines running.

Want more info about coffee equipment? Stay tuned via our Facebook and Twitter.

Best Sellers in Coffee, Tea & Espresso On Amazon: January 2012 is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

KRUPS Looking for Best Coffee Shops and Baristas in the US

2012-01-31T22:33:25+00:00

We know you love your coffee, but do you have a coffee shop that you absolutely love?

Forget about Starbucks and all the coffee chains you’ll find in just about every corner of every city. I’m talking about the little shops that no one else in the world might know about, but that locals swear on. If you have a coffee shop in mind, you might want to enter your fave shop for the “KRUPS Best Brew Awards 2012″.

The awards is KRUPS way of honoring the best coffee shops throughout New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. Those who want to have a say on who wins only need to go to KRUPS USA Facebook page to be able to cast your vote. Note that voting will be limited to coffee shops on their list (from last year’s awards), but you still get to do a write up on your fave coffee shop in case it isn’t on the list.

Voting started yesterday and is only open till February 24, so you’d better start spreading the word if you’re rooting for a shop.

The best baristas also get a nod from KRUPS as they accept entries for a seat on the “KRUPS Coffee Council”, who with the rest of the Coffee Council members will get to help KRUPS out year round during regional events and promotions, media opportunities, new product demonstrations and more. If you want to be a coffee council entrant, you must submit a “video of yourself (3 minutes or less), in which you describe who you are as a person and as a barista, explain why you would be the best barista in your area to sit on the KRUPS Coffee Council, and demonstrate your knowledge and skill in preparing one coffee or espresso-based beverage.”

Image via KrupsUSA

Coffee Drinkers Like Their joe One Cup at a Time, Reports Mintel

2012-01-31T17:01:10+00:00

CHICAGO, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Most consumers would agree that their morning doesn't officially start until they've enjoyed their first cup of joe—whether they brew at home, at work, or stop at …

Is Coffee The Preferred Beverage Of Indie Music?

2012-01-31T17:01:09+00:00

Yesterday Magazine?s Grub Street published a short piece on the coffee obsessions of James Murphy, co-founder of electronic label DFA Records and frontman of departed dance-punk act LCD Soundsystem. It turns out Murphy is looking to take his java joy to a new level with his own espresso brand, a project he?s still working on: …

Fresh Brews: Things You Don’t Know About Coffee, Roasting Your Own Coffee And More

2012-01-31T14:00:47+00:00

Welcome to the January edition of Fresh Brews, a round up of everything awesome to weird in the coffee world and blogosphere. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you may remember me putting together a round up weekly. Writing the round up weekly was a little too overwhelming, so now I’m working on a monthly recap of my favorite coffee news articles and blog posts. You can find these articles and other blog posts on a more frequent basis via the Daily Shot Of Coffee Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Muddy Dog Coffee: 10 Ways to drink better coffee in 2012
If your new years resolution was to drink better coffee, Muddy Dog Coffee wrote the perfect article for you. If your new years resolution wasn’t to drink better coffee, what’s wrong with you? Just joking.

Eat Drink Better 17 Things You Didn’t Know about Coffee
I know way too much about coffee, but this neat-o info graphic showed me a couple of things that I didn’t know.

National Geogrpahic: How Coffee Changed America
Tea gets all of the spot light in American history, but it was our friend coffee that changed America for the better. Don’t believe me, check out this article/infographic.

The Salt: Drink Coffee? Off With Your Head!
Part 2 of our little history lesson. Coffee is widely accepted in our culture now, but in the past drinking coffee could land you in jail or worse.

I Need Coffee: Roast Your Own Coffee
If you’ve been debating roasting your own beans, here’s an article that will guide you through the process. I’ve been thinking about roasting my own coffee for years now, I think in 2012 I’ll finally have to make some time try it.

Baristing: Review of Reviewing
Over at Baristing, Alex examines who asks us coffee reviewers (and reviewers in general) to review and why should we do it in the first place.

Passion For The Pint: How To Use Coffee In Your Next Homebrew
A little bit of a shameless plug for my other blog, but if you’re into homebrewing and you’re reading Daily Shot Of Coffee, here’s an article that you can probably use.

Creative Loafing: Spice up your morning
If you’re coffee is getting a little boring, the fine folks over at Creative Loafing have some ways to spice up your coffee life.

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Stay connected via Facebook and Twitter for all sorts of random coffee geekery.

Photo by Swiv.

Fresh Brews: Things You Don’t Know About Coffee, Roasting Your Own Coffee And More is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

new logo and design

2012-01-30T22:56:05+00:00

Yes, we're changing up the design. Let us know what you think, as it shall prove to be an ongoing work over the next few weeks.

Coffee no longer grounds for beheading

2012-01-30T17:01:19+00:00

We all know coffee powers us. Now, it’s helping to power the planet. Thankfully, it can no longer get you executed. Starting with that last part, NPR’s Adam Cole just recounted the history of coffee prohibition, including 17th-century Ottoman ruler Sultan Murad IV’s habit of walking around Istanbul dressed as a commoner so he could personally decapitate coffee drinkers with his hundred-pound …

Starbucks coffee stores in India to open this 2012, a joint venture with Tata Coffee Limited

2012-01-30T17:01:14+00:00

Starbucks stores in India are being set to open this 2012, after a 50/50 joint venture Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Coffee Limited called Tata Starbucks Limited was recently established . Starbucks logo Image Credit: Starbucks.com According to a press release by Starbucks on Monday, January 30, 2012, Starbucks coffee stores will be developed in [...]

Four Amazing Things to Do With Coffee Grounds

2012-01-30T14:00:44+00:00

This is a guest post by Sharon Hurley. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

Freshly brewed coffee is an amazing sensory experience, but dealing with the coffee grounds left behind is much less interesting. Most of us just throw those in the bin, but if you do that you could be missing a trick, as there are lots of ways to use them around the home. Here are a few tips.

Keep the Bugs at Bay

Coffee grounds are great for pest control. In particular, ants don’t like them so if you want to keep ants out of your house and off your plants, then use coffee grounds. For plants, mix the coffee grounds with hot water and then pour over any anthills that you find. This also gets rid of certain kinds of worms, snails, slugs and other insects. If you put coffee grounds in front of the entrances to your home then no ants should come in. It even works on fleas, it seems, though your dog might look at you a bit strangely if you pour coffee over him.

Garden Benefits

Still in the garden, coffee grounds are a great addition to fertilizer and will help your plants really grow. Anything that grows in acidic soil will benefit from the addition of coffee grounds which will help to make the soil richer. Pick your plants carefully, though; you wouldn’t want to kill your ficus! Coffee grounds also help with the growth of certain types of vegetables. Stick some coffee grounds in with your carrot seeds and see what happens. And there’s an added benefit too – if your garden is covered in coffee grounds, it will deter any cats who see it as a large litter tray.

Around the Home

Coffee grounds are great for masking odours – even if you end up with the smell of coffee instead, that’s a major improvement, isn’t it? If you have smells in your freezer or anywhere, drying the coffee grounds and keeping them handy will make the place smell much nicer. Coffee grounds also work to camouflage scratches on your furniture. In the kitchen, consider using coffee grounds instead your usual barbecue mix to create tasty smoked food. And coffee grounds are also great for dyeing or staining fabric (deliberately, rather than accidentally).

Healthy Coffee Options

Turning to health, the abrasive qualities of coffee grounds make them a great exfoliant. Instead of paying big money for expensive creams, just take your used coffee grounds and give your skin a treatment. Coffee grounds are also said to be a great hair conditioner and, mixed with other substances, useful for dealing with cellulite. See? You may never have to throw away your coffee grounds again.

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Freelance writer Sharon Hurley loves the idea of keeping bugs at bay with coffee grounds. She writes for Eden Springs, the UK’s no. 1 bottled water cooler supplier who also offer office coffee machine rental.

Photo by How can I recycle this.

Four Amazing Things to Do With Coffee Grounds is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

CC: Apple Pie Bakery Cafe (CIA)

2012-01-29T22:49:25+00:00

What does CC mean? Subject: Apple Pie Bakery Cafe Location: Hyde Park, NY Free WiFi ? : yes Rating: 6+ [see key] To be perfectly honest, a lot of mainstream chefs have let me down with the breadth of their culinary knowledge. Sure they know their food, and most at least understand their wine, but very few masters of the kitchen seem to have even heard of high quality

Turning Off Comments

2012-01-29T16:22:08+00:00

This is something that I have been thinking about for a while. Before I do so across the site I want to explain my thinking on this, because initially it seems contrary to so much of what I am trying to accomplish with this blog.

I never intended this blog to be “all broadcast, no discussion”. It was started because it seemed a way to focus and catalogue my learning in coffee. It soon became a tool to interact with people all over the globe. It accelerated my learning by connecting me with baristas, roasters, producers and others in the industry. At points it became a hub for interesting, and occasionally important conversations. Some of my favourite things about the blog have been the comments in the past. Why, then, would I get rid of that?

I’m interested in using this blog to ask questions. I ought to be focusing on questions that can’t really be answered in the short form of a blog comment. Twitter has filled that niche pretty nicely. I believe, increasingly, that if you’ve put a lot of time and effort into writing a long blog comment then you should probably take that extra small step and publish it on your own blog. Setting up a blog takes barely 5 minutes on a service like Tumblr or WordPress or even Google+. Often we’ll change what we write because it is a blog comment. We’ll simply, we’ll shorten or just ignore things that are important because it is just a blog comment. Sadly commenting will often sufficiently scratch the itch of needing to respond to the point, that a fuller explanation rarely follows.

If I were to implement a “No Comments” policy I would make sure to add links to people’s blogs who’ve posted great replies at the bottom of my post. I’m interested in discussion, in considered long form responses on various topics – but if you’ve taken the time to create it then you should own it and control it and its presentation.

This is not about me looking to turn off public criticism of my thinking or my ideas. There remain many effective ways to tell me you think I said a stupid thing, and I plan to listen to you if you say that. I wish to remain part of a discussion, rather than to appear to be just barking out my coffee “wisdom” at the world.

There is some pretty interesting reading on the topic on here. Articles like this have certainly influenced my thinking, and the contrary opinions posted leave me with nagging doubts. I don’t think there is a clear cut answer on the subject, but I think the link is a great read.

I confess I’ve noticed a tendency in myself when it comes to reading comments on other blogs: the more comments there are the less likely I am to read them. Services like Disqus might do a pretty good job of sorting by quality but I’ll still rarely read comments – limited time and attention often win out over trying to fight through the signal to noise ratio. While my useful of Instapaper to read long form stuff probably plays a role in this (which doesn’t save the comments, only the article’s text), I have to accept that if I don’t really read comments on other blogs then perhaps I am over-valuing them to readers on my own. Maybe they are also feeding a need for personal validation in my writing that might be unhealthy. I say maybe, but really mean probably. I look back on so many posts where I’ve openly asked for comments and now it just looks a bit needy.

Most articles about Comments Off bring up the idea of controlling how your site looks. This is my website and I pay my money every year to cover the costs of hosting it. I paid someone to make it look better and hopefully be easier to read. I refuse to put ads on here, despite the fact that I could probably make some decent money doing so, because I hate how they look, and dislike the message they send. From an aesthetic perspective comments remain pretty hard to crowbar in, to make easily readable and a desirable visual addition. They slow the page loads too – something that bothers me more and more.

I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to contribute in the past with a comment on my blog. I’ve learned a lot. Over the last 7 and a bit years I have posted 764 posts and received 7.634 comments on those posts in total. I want to make clear that if you’ve left a comment here in the past day, week, month or year – please don’t take this as me being ungrateful or rude – it is not meant that way. Should I take the step to turn off commenting for future posts I’ll make sure that all previous comments are archived, and will always be available. I’ve not yet made my final decision but at the moment I am strongly leaning towards turning them off.

I’ve turned comments off on this post (doing otherwise would seem a little odd), and I expect to take a little heat for this on twitter and via email too. I’ll do my best to respond where I can.

Forbes Earnings Preview: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

2012-01-28T17:01:08+00:00

Analysts expect higher profit for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) when the company reports its first quarter results on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. The consensus estimate is calling for profit of 36 cents a share, reflecting a rise from 18 cents per share a year ago.

Coffee Profits: So, How Much Do You Spend on Coffee in a Year?

2012-01-28T17:01:06+00:00

Admit it, if you're an American who drinks coffee — Americans consume an average 3.1 cups of 9 oz. of coffee per day — then you probably know deep down what kind of toll the habit takes on a wallet.

Discussing Brew Methods

2012-01-28T13:24:58+00:00

This post is a follow up to the poll I posted a little while ago. I was wondering if my own thinking about brew methods mirrored others, or whether they were different. I admit it was something of a flawed poll, but I wanted to use it as a stepping stone to this larger post. (This is a long blog post.)

My thinking in this revolves around the fact that we often talk about how a certain brewer could highlight certain aspects of a coffee’s taste and quality. I want to explore this idea in a little more depth, because this is such a fuzzy idea that I don’t think it is particularly helpful.

I’m going to avoid talking about specific manufacturers of equipment, primarily because I have a conflict of interest in this area.

I should also point out that a great deal of this post can be written off as anecdotal, and I’m more than happy to discuss contradictory experiences or opinions.

What do you want to highlight?

I figure the best place to start is by taking a slightly more objective look at the potential characteristics of a coffee that we might be highlighting. Most scoresheets used for cupping exist to assess green coffee but there are sheets used for other purposes. There are certain common attributes that are assessed:

- Sweetness
- Acidity
- Mouthfeel/Body
- Balance
- Aroma
- Flavour
- Finish

When brewing a coffee we should be thinking about how the process impacts each of these attributes and presents. How do we influence each of these factors with our equipment and technique? This is a more difficult question to answer, because it is all so interconnected.

Most of the above attributes are primarily linked to extraction. The coffee itself is obviously the determining factor of how much sweetness is available, or how much positive acidity is available for us to capture in the cup but the quality and quantity of each of these in the brew is tied to extraction.

Extraction remains a sticky topic. I believe that uniformity of extraction is important, and also that whatever people consider their desirable range of extraction is tied heavily to the grinder and its particle size distribution. Regardless of what your desired level of extraction is, there are certain factors that have a strong influence when we are brewing. Two of these are deeply interconnected:

- Grind Size
- Contact Time

The first two have the most obvious connection – the grind size determines surface area of coffee exposed and the rate at which solubles extract, and with all brew methods we must be careful to balance our grind size and our contact time. You can brew a french press at a number of different grind sizes and have good results as long as the contact time is appropriate.

The moment you read that another thought might pop into your head – which is that surely brew time has an effect on brew temperature. If I grind very coarsely, requiring a longer steep in my press pot, then surely the average temperature of the brew will be much lower?

Temperature is still something that we don’t really understand in brewing coffee. We’re happy to talk about espresso brewing temperatures, yet references to the brewing temperature of drip coffees is remarkably absent from published recipes or discussion. Temperature has a brute force effect on extraction – it supplies energy required for a soluble to enter a solution, so generally the more heat you have the more extraction you have.

Along with overall extraction we have the extra effect of thresholds of temperature required for certain compounds to be extracted. The best example of this are the negative, bitter qualities we extract from even light roasted coffees when the brew temperature is very high, up towards boiling point. Brewing at lower temperatures – 80C/175F for example – allows a reasonable mechanical extraction of the coffee, resulting in reasonable body, simplistic sweetness but overall a cup lacking complexity and character. This experiment also highlights the unusual effect of temperature on acidity. Brewing at temperatures like these doesn’t result in the sour cups we might come to expect, instead the acidity is notably absent – requiring more temperature to be fully extracted.

Back to Brewers

Temperature often seems to be a separate factor from brew method – more a function of technique and recipe rather than the brewer itself. This is mostly true – your brewing temperature is determined by the temperature of water you start with, and the thermal mass you achieve in your brewing liquor/slurry. A pourover brew with the bed kept very, very low with a slower pour will have a lower brewing temp than a faster pour and a higher cone – presuming water starting at the same temperature. This is often exaggerated further by a slow pour from a pouring kettle which is losing heat as well.

This isn’t to presume an ideal technique, just to highlight that the brewer doesn’t really control the temperature. Except for one: the syphon. I find it odd that the temperature profile of this brewer isn’t discussed more. It is rare to brew coffee in an environment where the temperature is held stable across a period of 1 to 4 minutes, as we usually do not add any energy beyond the brewing water to the brew. Many people dislike the taste, or are simply disappointed by, the taste of coffee from a syphon. Some might argue that this is because the person brewing lacks the particular ridiculous ninja stirring skills, but more likely the temperature profile of the brew is what is making it stand apart.¹ In terms of combining infusion and pressure driven percolation it is remarkably similar to an aeropress – something which rarely is discussed.

Speaking of stirring we can discuss agitation. This is a topic that we are a little squeamish about as an industry, because we’ll almost instantly wheel out the words “inconsistent” or “unrepeatable”. Usually this is in relation to the manual movement of the coffee with a tool – such as stirring the bloom of a pourover, or stirring the slurry of a syphon. I’m skeptical of magical stirring techniques in any brew, and it feels like we should also be looking at the other agitation going on – when the water hits the coffee. How we pour, where we pour, from how high we pour – all this and more will affect the movement of the coffee in the bed and more movement will result in more extraction.

Once again – this isn’t really a function of our chosen brew method – more our chosen technique.

So far there really hasn’t been much about the brewing process that is determined by the brewing device, rather than the brewing human.

Filtration

As we look to other attributes of the coffee an obvious place to see the impact of the brewer is the influence filtration medium. One important aspect of coffee is how it feels to drink – the body, the mouthfeel, the texture.

This is determined by several things divided into two categories: Dissolved things and Undissolved things.

The quantity of dissolved things determines our strength, the more solubles the stronger the drink will be and the heavier the body and mouthfeel will be. This is linked the extraction (technique again) and recipe – not the brewer itself. The coffee determines the composition of the solubles, and certain coffees contain solubles that increase our perception of mouthfeel. All brew methods produce a cup where the dissolved solids play a fundamental role.

Undissolved solids are interesting too. The undissolved we most often talk about are the lipids (oils) in the coffee, and also the tiny pieces of coffee that can be suspended in the brew. These both have strong influences on the mouthfeel of the resulting coffee, not always in a beneficial way.

Paper filters are considered the most thorough way to remove the undissolved solids, resulting in a much clearer brew with an attribute we would often describe as clean. Cloth filters allow through more of the undissolved materials, noticeably the lipid fraction but also some of the fines too. However, there is usually so little fines overall that we usually experience a fuller mouthfeel – something most enjoy and I think cloth would be a more popular filtration method if it weren’t for the annoyances of maintaining the cloth and preventing it imparting unpleasant flavours. This leaves metal filtration which simply removes the largest pieces of suspended material (i.e. the bulk of the brewing grounds) and results in a cloudier, muddier brew that can still be incredibly enjoyable even if that final mouthfeel is probably worth leaving in the cup.

So far, with the various factors discussed, it appears that the brewer has relatively little influence on cup quality compared to technique and few brewers demand certain techniques – instead allowing infinite varieties of recipes, methods of agitation, or brew temperatures to be used. There is, however, one more distinguishing factor that should be discussed.

Infusion Vs Percolation

This is probably the biggest distinction between brewers, and the most important. We have brewers that are solely infusion – like a french press – where extraction occurs as coffee infuses into the water. We have percolation brewers where water flows through a bed of coffee, washing out soluble materials, and we have hybrid brewers where both occur at different stages – such as a syphon where the water a coffee steep, before the heat is removed and the water is dragged through the bed of coffee against the paper or cloth filter.

When it comes to assessing techniques and extraction I think it is fair to say that using infusion it is easier to achieve relatively uniform extraction, compared to percolation. With percolation something is driving the movement of the water – it might be gravity, or applied pressure – but this means that paths of least resistance are preferable for the brewing water. We must adapt techniques to allow for this, and help prevent too much uneven brewing.

Uneven brewing is a problem because it is so hard to measure – outside of taste. I firmly believe that measuring overall extraction is incredibly useful and has many practical applications. The critics of measurement have often cited our inability to measure evenness as a reason to not bother measuring at all. This makes absolutely sense to me, but perhaps not hugely on topic. (Clarification: AndyS points out that this is a horribly phrased, confusing sentence. My explanation in the comments follows.)

The fact that extraction measurement can’t quantify evenness is not a reason to abandon and ignore a very useful tool that does exactly what it promises: to measure how much of the total coffee was extracted. Pointing out what it can’t do as a flaw creates something of a straw man argument to me. Same thing as pointing out that it is misused and therefore a bad tool. (which I see online a lot too)

Creating a brew recipe

Have I argued that any brew method should be able to brew any coffee as desired, or have I argued the opposite? To answer the question I thought I’d look at how I might make a choice about how I would want to present different coffees, and how I’d choose a brew method or recipe.

If I love a coffee because it has a plump, sweet fruit quality then I might choose to brew it using cloth filtration at a slightly higher recipe than usual. Considering I take 60g/l as my own preferred starting point, I might instead brew at 65g/l to further emphasise the body. When talking about the coffee I want to highlight a few simple reasons why someone would enjoy it, and then use my prep to make those points evident. Plush, rich, heavy, jammy mouthfeel is a big promise, but I feel that if fulfilled a great experience would be had.

Conversely, if I loved the light, delicate tea-like quality of a floral coffee then I might drop back to 55g/l, and make sure it was paper filtered and brewed with a relatively hot brewing liquor. Sometimes reducing concentration can help with clarity. I’m not saying all coffees like this would be brewed this way, but to instead talk a bit about how we might think about our recipes and analyse our brewing choices.

I don’t think I’ve really come to any conclusion here, nor did I really mean to. I just wanted the opportunity to write up a few thoughts on brewing and try and give them some structure. I’m open to input on this, open to disagreement and probably being wrong about a whole heap of things. On the one hand I feel like I’ve missed out a great deal but on the other hand this post is probably long enough! I look forward to your feedback!

Footnotes:

My personal preference for coffees to brew in syphons would be very light roasted, dense coffees, that are often difficult to extract

The curse of the spud

2012-01-28T01:43:40+00:00

Bugs, bacteria, and the potato defect in East African coffee. Very nerdy post.

Even Great Coffee Can Go Average When It’s Pre-Ground: Intelligentsia

2012-01-27T14:00:23+00:00

One of the first coffee shops that really blew me away was Intelligentsia in Chicago. I remember visiting it and think it was like traveling to Mecca. Opening the doors to their shop was like opening the doors to a brand new world.

And for me it was a brand new world at the time. It was the first place that I could go for a shot of espresso and really enjoy it. It was the first place that I could really soak up the magical world of coffee and marvel at all of the different coffees they carried and all of the different ways that they could brew those beans.

To this day, anytime I head back to Chicago to visit, I try to find time to visit their shop near Millennium Park.

So, it’s pretty safe to say that I was excited when NeedCaffeine.com, the only non-Intellgentsia distributor of their coffee online offered to send me some of their coffee to review. Unfortunately that excitement was muted when I opened up the box.

The Drink: Intelligentsia Lil’ Bit Lighter Blend Coffee
Type: Ground Blend
Overall Rating: 3.25 Out Of 5

The grin on my face shrunk as I took out the bag of Lil’ Bit Lighter Blend and I saw that it was pre-ground. I was still looking forward to trying it, but I knew that it wasn’t going to be the same as whole bean. I know I may sound a little bit like a spoiled child, but using whole beans and grinding it yourself right before you brew your coffee does make a difference.

Here’s an experiment to try: Buy two bags of the exact same coffee, one whole bean and one pre-ground. Brew them both up and I bet that you’ll be able to taste a difference. I’ll bet that the whole bean coffee will be more flavorful and enjoyable.

But that’s neither here or there now. (I just have to make a note to myself to always ask to review whole bean coffee in the future.) Now, I just have to move on do the review. I brewed it using a pour over, and read a little bit about the coffee. It still sounded like an interesting coffee.

Dominated by chocolate and a lingering finish of caramel and pecan, this full bodied cup enlivens the palate with fig, dried mango, and crisp acidity.
-NeedCaffeine description

As soon as I put the cup of coffee in front of my nose, I picked up on the nutty flavor. There was also a sweetness, that reminded kettle corn. I picked up on hints of grapefruit, honey and some spices. There was a lot going on, but it smelled toned down.

The nutty flavor came out in the sip too. There it mixed with a grapefruit flavor that came with a hint of tartness in an otherwise very smooth sip coffee. There was a fruity, wine like flavor in the background.

A 16 ounce bag of Intelligentsia Lil’ Bit Lighter Blend Coffee is $14.69 via Need Caffeine and is available in whole bean or ground.

Intelligentsia Lil’ Bit Lighter Blend Coffee was good, but it wasn’t great. I just felt like there could’ve been more to it. It earned just a slightly above average rating of 3.25 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale.

The Drink: Intelligentsia Flying Blend Coffee
Type: Ground Blend
Overall Rating: 3.25 Out Of 5 Coffee Mugs

Next up was the Intelligentsia Flying Blend. I’ll have to admit, I was a little bit curious about this one because there was no description about the beans or where they are from other than that they were grown at 1250-1800 meters and were from Latin America. However, just because I don’t know the origin of the beans, doesn’t mean that I’m just going to throw the coffee out. If it tastes good, where the beans are from matter a whole lot less.

A harmonious and versatile blend that offers a full, earth body with chocolate tones, hints of fruit and toffee.
-NeedCaffeine description

Flying Blend started off with a sweet honey like aroma. In the background there was an earthiness and the smell of vegetables. However, it was difficult to really pick up on exactly what I was smelling, I probably spent a few minutes just sniffing my coffee.

The flavors were a little hard to determine too, like they were all muted and blended together. I did pick up on a earthy and nutty flavor at the start of the sip. Towards the end their was a honey and wine like flavor.

It was an extremely smooth, clean cup of coffee.

Sixteen ounces of the Flying Blend is $14.69 via the NeedCaffeine website.

Overall, I liked the Flying Blend from Intelligentsia, but I didn’t love it. It ended up with a 3.25 rating also. It was good, but I think it was probably a lot better right after it was ground.

The Drink: Intelligentsia Infinite Festival Coffee
Type: Ground Blend
Overall Rating: 3.5 Out Of 5 Coffee Mugs

The third and final coffee that NeedCaffeine sent my way was the Intelligentsia Infinite Festival Coffee.

It was also pre-ground, but I did notice something on this bag (the other two also had it) that there was a roasted on date. My coffee was roasted on 1/11/2012. That’s something a lot of coffee roasters (even those who just sell whole bean) seem to be afraid to put on their labels, so they get a huge thumbs up for that.

A harmonious and versatile blend that offers a full, earth body with chocolate tones, hints of fruit and toffee.
-NeedCaffeine Description

The Infinite Festival Blend greeted my nose with a wine like aroma. I also picked up on a sweet, milk chocolate. It was good, but it still seemed like it was muted.

As far as flavors, I picked up on an earthiness, cigar like flavor (imagine chewing on the end of a fine cigar) and a wine flavor. It was a smooth sip, with just a hint of citrus tartness towards the end. It was a fun coffee to drink, but it tasted a little mellowed out.

Intelligentsia Infinite Festival Coffee is $14.45 for a pound.

Overall, Intelligentsia Infinite Festival Coffee was my favorite one in this group. It was a good coffee and earned a respectable 3.5 on the 5 point scale. It would probably beat out a lot of whole bean coffees, but I still feel like it had this toned down quality to it.

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Fine Print.

Even Great Coffee Can Go Average When It’s Pre-Ground: Intelligentsia is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Coffee Holding Co., Inc. Reports Record Sales and Year End Results

2012-01-26T17:01:13+00:00

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Coffee Holding Co., Inc. today announced its operating results for the year ended October 31, 2011. In this release, the Company:

Interview With Chase Mann, The Coffee Pro

2012-01-26T13:03:07+00:00

Chase Mann

And What He Can Teach You About the Coffee Biz

Over the past week or so, I’ve interviewed via email Chase Mann, aka the Coffee Pro. Chase is loaded with information about the coffee business and there is a lot that anyone looking to get into the coffee business or move up in the coffee world could learn from him.

Chase was kind enough to let me pick his brain so that I could share some of that information with you, so a huuuuuge thanks goes out to him for taking the time to chat with me.

Enough of me talking, let’s get to the interview…

What’s your role in the coffee industry?

Creative Coffee Pro & Consultant … barista, customer service, trainer, and social media manager all for Cafe Moto … coffee business consulting on the side with non-competitors to Cafe Moto.

Did you need an specific training for the position before you got started?

I’ve worked for 14 years as a barista and in management of coffee shops & coffee roasters. You need to keep abreast of changes and keep working as a barista to truly keep your pulse on the industry. I always tell coffee enthusiasts that they should start as a barista in the industry because most companies offer specialized training that helps you get a solid foundation to build upon and to advance upward from.

What’s your favorite part of working in the coffee industry?

Meeting coffee enthusiasts and sharing my coffee passion with them and hopefully educating them even more about the bean, it’s history, the origin countries and the coffee industry as a whole.

What is one thing that you know now, that you wish you knew when you started?

During years 2 through 5 of being a barista and coffee industry worker, I thought I knew it all about coffee and I think I was somewhat arrogant with that knowledge. I was a little arrogant coffee snob barista. Once I realized that coffee knowledge is a continual growth field and accepted the fact that your tastes are different than my tastes, I became much less of a know-it-all coffee snob and much more open to other people’s methods and tastes. I wish I had my coffee humbleness from the get-go and approached other people’s methods and tastes the way that I do now. I don’t know it all and I can learn a lot from truly studying why other baristas may do something different than I. Some people like a flavored coffee or a flavored creamer in their coffee … get over it coffee snob baristas … it’s their mouth, their tummy, and their preference … serve it with a smile

Can you tell us about a mistake/funny story about something that happened when you were just getting into the industry. Something that we can learn from?

A mistake that the owner of my first coffee job, a coffee roaster, made was to open a second location solely because of the success of her first location. She picked a decent location, but it had high overhead costs. She had no training manuals and no systems in place to replicate the success of her first location and had to close the second one within 2 years. Systems need to be in place before you even consider expanding.

Any tips that you have for someone looking to get into the coffee industry?

Any company worth working for will hire you based most on your personality … coffee knowledge can be taught to anyone, but you can’t teach someone to have a personality. Exhibit energy, nobody wants to hire a slacker as the face of their coffee business, be positive, smile a lot, truly listen when people are talking to you, repeat questions back so they know you’ve understood them, express your interest in making an experience for the customer each time they visit, and always ask questions … never say “no” when you’re asked in an interview “do you have any questions?”.

Where do you hope to be in five years?

I hope to be the nationally recognized Headmaster of the Cafe Moto Coffee Lab & Barista Training Academy … which I envision creating over the next few years. Or creating my very own Barista Academy if needs be.

Would the Barista Academy be online or in person?

The Barista Academy will have both online and offline elements, including ebooks & ecourses (I’ve already been working on these for MyCoffeePro.com). The Barista Academy for Cafe Moto would be in an actual school onsite for 3 day, 4 day, and 5 day courses … and special Advanced Courses available on a per day basis. Cafe Moto has a separate building on site already that just needs to be outfitted properly. Having the school onsite at Cafe Moto gives students access to our Cafe, our Cash & Carry, our Roasting Plant & Production facilities … they can be truly immersed in the major aspects of the coffee business.

What’s your favorite coffee and why?

Ethiopian … since it’s the motherland of known coffee species.

Tell me about where we can find you online and your online projects.

My main website is www.mycoffeepro.com, but I also own and operate many others.

You can find out more here: http://about.me/MyCoffeePro

What can I find at mycoffeepro.com and why should I visit there?

The Average Joe (coffee enthusiasts) will find a basic understanding of coffee … what I call “Coffee Class”: history, beanology (science of the bean), cultivation, processing, espresso knowledge, frothing techniques, brewing methods, latte art tips, coffee terminology, coffee recipes … it’s all a work in progress and will continue to always be so I think.

Coffee Pros (coffee professionals) will find posts which further educate seasoned baristas and posts for coffee business owners with tips & suggestions on marketing and operating a coffee business.

If you work in the coffee world and would like to be interviewed, shot me a message via the contact form. I would love to talk to you next.

Interview With Chase Mann, The Coffee Pro is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Give Your Twitter the Equivalent of a Caffeine Boost with InstaBG

2012-01-26T04:44:49+00:00

Previous generations saw dads in the morning with a cup of coffee in hand and the day’s newspaper on the other. Today, this translates to a cup of coffee in one hand while surfing the Internet for news and checking Twitter for the latest tweets. If you are hooked to Twitter though, this probably means checking Twitter throughout the day. As for drinking coffee, no matter how much of a caffeine addict you are, the number of cups you down each day will never equal the number of times you go online to check your friends’ tweets and send out a tweet yourself. The good news is that even without a cup of coffee in your hand you can still be reminded of your love for coffee by using a customized coffee theme as your Twitter background.

Customizing your Twitter background need not be complicated. In fact, you can easily change your background, even have it automatically changed daily, by using a service called InstaBG. InstaBG makes use of Instagram photos to generate Twitter backgrounds that you can use to liven up your own Twitter account. To get free Twitter backgrounds from InstaBG all you need to do is log in to the website using your TwitterID, tweak the options, preview your background image, and click on “Set this image to Twitter” to see the changes on your Twitter page.

InstaBG-generated collage using “coffee” as tag

InstaBG-generated collage using “caffeine” as tag

What’s even better is that you can choose the theme/tags of the Instagram photos that will be used as part of your Twitter background, just like the caffeine and coffee photos I used to come up with collage above. You can also choose the background color, tile size, and spacing between photos.

So why settle for a boring Twitter page when you can liven things up with a coffee-themed background?

Twitter backgrounds generated using InstaBG

DSOC Podcast 2: Barista On Duty (BODY) And More Than Fair

2012-01-25T14:00:28+00:00

This week’s Daily Shot Of Coffee Podcast features a name that is probably familiar to any long term readers of this blog. It’s Johnny Milton the main man behind the Barista On Duty (BODY) an independent coffee roaster based that focuses on high quality small batch coffees.

I’ve had a number of Barista On Duty Coffees over the past couple of years, a number of good ones. So many good coffees that I couldn’t decide which ones to include here, so I just decide to include this link to the search results for all of the BODY posts on this blog.

Barista On Duty doesn’t just stop at roasting amazing coffees, they’re also on a mission to spread the word about good coffee, while helping the often marginalized people grow the coffee and get the coffee to our mugs. However, instead of me trying to explain that, I’ll Johnny himself do that in this week’s podcast.

Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or the Podcast RSS.

Podcast Notes:

Learn more about Barista On Duty Coffee via their website or purchase their coffee or Cush Coffee.

Connect with Barista On Duty on Facebook and Twitter or via Cush Coffee on Facebook and Twitter.

DSOC Podcast 2: Barista On Duty (BODY) And More Than Fair is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

This week the DailyShotOfCoffee.com Podcast features Johnny Milton, the man behind Barista On Duty. BODY isn't just your average coffee roaster. This company has a plan to improve the lives of everyone from the farmers that grow the coffee to the people drinking the coffee.

Site updates

2012-01-25T13:56:59+00:00

I’ve recently done some tweaks and improvements of the foundation and background information on the site: I’ve updated some of the important primary background posts: What is shade-grown coffee?, The [...]

Tanzania coffee prices rise on higher demand

2012-01-24T17:00:22+00:00

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Tanzania's coffee prices rose at last week's auction, driven by demand from exporters for high-quality beans, the regulator Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) said on Tuesday. The number of bags offered for sale at the auction more than doubled from the previous sale as growers increased supply to take advantage of rising prices. State-run TCB said 18,616 60-kg bags were …

Coffee Futures Tumble, Sugar Prices Steady

2012-01-24T17:00:20+00:00

Arabica coffee futures fell over 3 percent on Monday on investor long liquidation after speculators had cut their short positions, while raw sugar was little changed on cautious dealings as Europe's uncertain ability to contain the debt crisis.

Green Mountain Coffee Riding Keurig Craze To $61 Stock Price

2012-01-24T17:00:14+00:00

The single-cup coffee market in the U.S. is dominated by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters with its proprietary Keurig K-Cup brewing system. K-Cup portion packs and Keurig single-cup brewers and related accessories contribute a significant proportion to GMCR’s revenues, approximately 84% share in 2011.

How To Upgrade Your Coffee Without Spending An Arm And A Leg

2012-01-24T14:00:53+00:00

I’ll admit that I’m a little bit of a coffee nerd now, but not too long ago, I was the guy pulling into the Dukin Donuts drive-thru and asking for extra cream and sugar for my coffee. Even at home, I would make my coffee then drown it cream and bury it in sugar. I loved coffee, just not the taste. The problem was that I was drinking really low quality coffee so of course I had to hide the actual taste. There were no flavors like chocolate with hints of honey or a sweet wine like flavor in those coffees that come out of a plastic tub bought at the grocery store.

So, how does one get into good coffee? (Some might call it specialty coffee, but that’s more of an industry term that you don’t have to worry about for now.)

It’s probably easier than you think and you can do it without spending your entire paycheck. Although, I have to warn you once you get into the world of good coffee, you’re going to start spending more and more on awesome coffee gadgets. Trust me, it just kind of happens. One day you just have a drip coffee maker on your kitchen counter, the next day you have 17 ways of making coffee in your kitchen.

First, start by buying bags of whole bean coffee instead of the giant tubs of pre-ground coffee. There’s two problems with those giant tubs of pre-ground coffee. The first is that once coffee is ground, it starts to lose it’s flavor within fifteen minutes. Who knows how long they were wasting away on those shelves at the grocery store. The second is that those coffee corporations that make those giant plastic tubs are using the lowest quality coffee possible so that they can make the most profit possible.

If your grocery store is like mine, they probably have some good whole bean coffee offerings. There’s 8 O’Clock, Jim’s Organic Coffee, etc. They’re a huge step up from those giant plastic tubs. Of course, for extra credit you can check out what your local coffee roaster/shop is selling or buy coffee from a place online like Go Coffee Go (Side note, that’s an affiliate link to my friends at Go Coffee Go. If you buy coffee via that link I’ll get a small commission that helps keep DSOC running.) From your local coffee roaster or from a high quality online coffee shop, you’re much more likely to get high quality coffee.

Now that you’re buying whole bean, you’re going to need a coffee grinder if you don’t already have one. The coffee snobs will tell you that you’ll need a burr grinder (my affiliate link to the cool people over at Amazon), which is true for best results. However, if you’re just looking to improve your coffee without spending an arm or a leg, you can start with a simple blade grinder for less than twenty dollars. Check out my review of my blade grinder that I used before I moved up to a burr grinder. Buy the blade grinder now and you can always move up to a better grinder later.

The coffee snobs will also tell you that you’ll need to ditch your drip coffee maker for a French Press. I love my French Press, but you can keep using the coffee maker on your kitchen counter until you decide you want to upgrade. However, I am going to make you do one thing before you use it again. Clean your coffee maker! When was the last time that you did that? Never? Yeah, that was me for a long time too. For best results, you should clean it at least once a month. It isn’t that hard, doesn’t take too long and is totally worth it. Check out this article I wrote about how to clean your coffee maker.

Now that you’re buying whole bean coffee, using a coffee grinder and your coffee maker is clean, it’s time to try your coffee without the cream and sugar. I have a feeling it’ll be a lot more drinkable than it used to be. Give it a shot, you can always add the cream or sugar later on if you still want to (although a little less cream and sugar I hope). As you’re drinking your cream free and sugar-less coffee, try to identify what you smell and taste. There’s no right or wrong answer, just try to id those scents and flavors.

There you did it! You upgraded your coffee! If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask them in the comment section below and I’ll be glad to help out where I can.

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Photo by Josh Liba.

How To Upgrade Your Coffee Without Spending An Arm And A Leg is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Mugged: Geisha [Sea Island]

2012-01-24T08:48:17+00:00

What does Mugged mean? Subject: Sea Island Coffee Mugged: Geisha, Costa Rica Rating: 4+ [see key] It's hard to believe that coffee trees used to be confined to East Africa, especially in today's world economy where a place with the right climate will grow coffee on at least one farm. Some places, like the island of Java, trace it's coffee trees to about the 17th

Gourmet Coffee for the Budget-Conscious

2012-01-23T17:01:11+00:00

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Who doesn't like waking up to the freshly brewed aroma of gourmet coffee, or just enjoying a hot cup of joe as an afternoon pick-me-up? January is Coffee Gourmet International Month, an event "dedicated to introducing coffee lovers everywhere to the pleasures of truly gourmet coffee." …

Bodum Bistro Drip Coffee Maker: It’s Not Bitter

2012-01-23T17:01:09+00:00

Danish kitchenware supremo Bodum has granted itself a do-over on the worst machine in your kitchen: the coffee-embittering drip machine. The new Bistro is a cross between old-school percolator and currently-fashionable pour-over coffee. And for convenience, it looks hard to beat. When you wake up, you head–like any rational human–to the kitchen to make coffee. [...]

Loaded With Flavor And Information: El Salvador Santa Ana From REV Coffee

2012-01-23T14:00:02+00:00

The Drink: El Salvador Santa Ana From REV Coffee
Type: Whole Bean Single Origin
Overall Rating: Four Out Of Five Coffee Mugs

Last week, the cool people over at REV Coffee (I’ve never met them so I’m just assuming they’re cool, but I think it’s a safe assumption), a roaster in Smyrna, Georgia sent me a bag of their El Salvador Santa Ana.

REV Coffee Label - Click For Larger Image

I liked a lot of things about this coffee and I’ll get into them further down in this post, but the first thing I noticed wasn’t the coffee. It was the design of the bag. I really liked the information that they included, it was like a checklist of all of the things I would like to know before buying a bag of coffee, with a couple of bonus pieces of information for extra points.

To start with, they included a roasted on date. Mine was roasted on a January 9th. Way too many coffee roasters don’t include it, for one reason or another. Which is a shame, because coffee loses it’s flavor even in it’s whole bean form. The best coffee is 3-14 days old (depending on what expert you ask, on the type of coffee, how it was roasted, etc). It’s almost like a lot of roasters are afraid to say when their coffee was roasted because it isn’t fresh and it would cut into their bottom lines, yeah I said it. Of course, there’s other reasons, but that’s one that flashes into my head when I open up a bag of coffee and it doesn’t smell full of flavor.

The package also included a map of Central America, pinpointing in El Salvador where the coffee was grown. Not really something that I would say is required, but it was a nice bonus piece of information.

The front of the bag tells what farm grew the coffee, Cerro Las Rannas. Probably not the most valuable piece of information to someone that’s just getting into coffee, but drink enough coffee and you’ll start to recognize names of farms. For me I like to see that the roaster knows the name of the farm, which hopefully means they know where their coffee is coming from. I swear some roasters couldn’t answer that question.

The bag also mentions this coffee’s varietal, bourbon and how it was processed, pulp natural, sun dried. For someone just getting into coffee, not the most helpful pieces of information, but it’s good information to start paying attention to. In future coffee reviews, I’ll explain more what it means.

The bag also has their tasting notes, juicy, lively, tropical fruit. I like to read the tasting notes, but only after I’ve actually tasted the coffee myself and wrote down my own notes, that way I’m not influenced by what they smell and tasted. Of course, you don’t have to do that, in fact if you’re looking through bags of coffee, you probably want to look at the tasting notes so you know that you’re getting a coffee that you’re going to like.

With all that being said, it’s not just the packaging that matters. What’s in the package is pretty important too. Even the best designed bag that’s filled with information won’t make up for a poor quality coffee.

From the first sniff, I knew that I wasn’t dealing with a poor quality coffee. In fact, just opening up the bag and smelling the beans brought out my happy face.

After I brewed it in my French Press and poured it into my cup, I smelled all sorts of delicious aromas. There was a fruity aroma that I liked, but just couldn’t my finger exactly on what fruit it was, no matter how much I smelled it. There were also hints of spices that reminded me of Christmas, a hint of cinnamon and a dash or two of sugar.

My nose loved it and so did my tongue. It was a smooth coffee, with a light body (how heavy it felt on my tongue) and full of flavor. First there was a sweet fruity flavor, then a tart grapefruit like flavor. There were hints of cinnamon and allspice in the background.

A 12 ounce bag of El Salvador Santa Ana from REV Coffee is $14.99. It’s a little bit above average in the specialty coffee world, but I think it’s worth it, because you’ll taste the difference from a bag of coffee that’s $7.99.

Overall, El Salvador Santa Rita from REV Coffee earned an excellent rating of four out of five coffee mugs on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. This would be the perfect coffee for someone that doesn’t want a dark, over powering coffee. For anyone new to specialty coffee and wants to try to identify the smells and tastes, this would be a good coffee to start with.

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P.S. If you’re a coffee company/roaster and you would like to see your coffee reviewed, please visit the contact page.

Fine Print.

Loaded With Flavor And Information: El Salvador Santa Ana From REV Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Anette’s trip reports

2012-01-22T22:54:41+00:00

One of the things I’d like to do this year with this blog is highlight coffee writing that I think is great, from all around the web. You could argue that this particular selection is self serving, so here’s the clear disclaimer: These articles were posted on our company blog. I generally try not to link to work stuff on here, but sometimes I think it is entirely appropriate.

Recently Anette has started to write up her travels, starting with Ethiopia in November, and continuing last week with Sumatra. I really enjoy reading these posts, a genuine mixture of her personality, bountiful information and her insight. (The fact that English isn’t even her first language shames my poor language skills so deeply.) I also really like that these are written by someone travelling to learn, and looking to share the information collected. I have no idea how she records as much information as she does!

Posting these makes me realise that there aren’t enough posts like this out there, or (more likely) I’m just not looking in the right places. Feel free to link me up in the comments! (I read Coffee Collective’s posts, Tim Wendelboe’s and Tom Owens mostly)

I think these posts are very much worth reading – yes, yes I am probably extra biased because of who is writing them, but if you put the time in reading them (they’re pretty long) then I’m confident you’ll come to the same conclusion. (That they were worth reading, not that I am biased!)

Sumatra 1
Sumatra 2
Sumatra 3

Ethiopia 1
Ethiopia 2
Ethiopia 3
Ethiopia 4
Ethiopia 5

Instapaper is your friend for this sort of thing!

Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality – Dec 2011

2012-01-21T18:35:54+00:00

The Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality award is designed to recognize exceptional coffees carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal and to highlight the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup [...]

Can Coffee Really Thwart Type 2 Diabetes?

2012-01-21T17:00:30+00:00

Title: Can Coffee Really Thwart Type 2 Diabetes? Category: Health News Created: 1/19/2012 6:05:00 PM Last Editorial Review: 1/20/2012