Burr Mill Grinder

I am as giddy as a school-girl at her senior prom! I finally got a Burr grinder and ever since I have been learning about coffee everything that I read states that it improves the flavor of coffee. This unit is as pictured but it was refurbished and only cost $19.99 plus shipping. That is a lot less costly than new and I will get the experience of it before it dies on me in a year or two.

The burr made its maiden voyage by grinding the Pastoral Gold blend that I had roasted yesterday. While the grounds were indeed uniformly ground and they smelled great the coffee did not taste any better than they did yesterday - in fact they tasted worse as the bitterness that I noted in them came out in full force. I will have to write an addendum when I finally ground a good bean.

Pastoral Gold - BLENDED

Guatemala
Sumatra

This is my first blend - 50% Antigua-Patoral (Guatemala), 50% Aceh-Gold (Sumatra). The actual blend is unknown as I roasted 50/50 green beans but the moisture that cooked off of each bean is different and so the actual blend may be 49/51, 48,52 or some slight variation from 50/50. The roast was a standard City Roast in order to allow each bean to retain its intrinsic flavoring.

The aroma possesses the smell of nature, not like goat-cheese but more like the smell of a wood pile at the cottage up North. Mixed in with a smell of nature is a definite smell of warm chocolate pudding. I, however, kept smelling this blend hoping to discover more but to no avail.

The body is normal if something like "normal" actually exists. I am always hopeful that I will discover a mouth-feel that wows me and need search no more. Alas, the "wow" is not here.

The flavor is fun as a single cup runs a gambit of flavors while cooling. My first sip demonstrated a bitterness that was not really bitter but rather it was a lack of sweetness. I could detect no notes of chocolate even though the aroma screamed of it. I thought this cup was a bust but as I sipped and the brew cooled I realized that the flavor changed significantly. As the cup cooled it demonstrated a sweetness that was not noticeable at first. I also detected a floweriness in the nose during the lingering flavors.

Blending the two coffees together was a nice experience as it made me try to detect the individual coffees in this blend. If I had to rate this blend it would be bottom shelf for sure - a Johnnie Walker Red

Tres Rios La Magnolia - 2

Costa Rica

With this second batch of Magnolia I went light on the roast in order to taste the bean's intrinsic flavoring. What happened was that I did not find it to be as dynamic as I had hoped. My first experience with this bean was wonderful but that was with a dark roasted bean. While I did not dislike the coffee I suspect that this bean needs to be roasted enough to have the sugars in it caramelized in order for the flavors to be exploited.

With that said, I like this bean because it seems to have a wide variety in the flavoring and I am left with much yet to explore. I think the next roast will be a very dark Espresso roast and then made into a cup of espresso. I 'll let you know how it turns out.

Kona Coffee

A friend of ours gave me a new expired bag of Kona coffee from the Gold Coffee Company.

I will not say that I did not like it but it certainly was not as good as some have made it out to be. Of course the problem could have been that it was stale, or it could have been that is just the nature of mass produced coffee, or it could even be that their website said that they were proud of their Full City Roast and so I suspect that that dark of a roast did not let the intrinsic flavors come through. Whatever the deal was I think I will have to roast my own beans to get a true assessment of Kona.

Converting The World To Coffee - One Doubter at a Time

So I had a meeting yesterday and I took my thermos filled with a freshly brewed pot of Mysore Nugget. Usually all that is in the office is a pot of some poorly made 8 O'Clock coffee brewed with regular tap water. My friends know that I am a bit of an enthusiast when it comes to coffee (that's a polite way of saying snob) and when I offered one guy a cup of my brew he asked if he was allowed to put flavored cream in it. My brain screamed "ARE YOU OUT OF YOU MIND?" but I graciously told him he could put anything that he wanted in it.

Well I poured him a cup and much to his credit he at least sampled it before putting anything in it. I was surprised when he stopped me in mid sentence with a "Wow, this is good coffee!" exclamation.

I don't think he added the flavoring.

Mysore - Nugget (Extra Bold) - 2

India

I roasted these beans to a light City roast - removed from the flame just before the First Crack ended. The beans and the ground smelled exquisite. When brewed this bean releases an aroma that fills the house with anticipation of the first cup.

The Mysore has a definite earthy flavor which suggests a nut tone in its effect. Although it is a very complex taste which some suggest has a chocolate note and spice sensation as well. The flavor was certainly more describable at a lighter roast.

The body was full and rich which assists the buttery flavor that is present. I used 1.75oz of ground to make a 8-cup pot. It was a very good cup and I highly suggest it to all who seek a very good cup of coffee.

This is a very fine bean from India and I am looking forward to more experiences from that part of the world in the not too distant future.

Mocca Matari - 3

Yemen

Can you say "YUM"?

This is now the third time that I have roasted this bean and I only kept it on the heat until the First Crack was about finished. I did not want to over roast these beans as doing so greatly diminishes the flavor. I once considered the Kimel Peaberry to be my favorite but I really think this one is the finer of the two. I must try them side by side to make a real determination but I will have to wait until I get some more of the Peaberry first. ;-)

Bugisu (100% Organic) - 2

Uganda

I have drank this City Roasted brew now for the second and third pots. Again it was dominated by a woody unsophisticated flavor. After a few cups I found that I looked forward to the next cup but that is (I suspect) due to the fact that I love coffee and not because this coffee is all that special.

In fact, the Bugisu is quite boring in that it does not have any attributes that are worth exploring. The experience of this cup is only a bit slightly better than McDonalds coffee.