Kahura Peabery

Kenya

I just roasted another Peabery - this makes the forth kind so far. As I type I am waiting for it to fully steep so that I can taste it. I am so excited I might just wet myself (ok, not really but I am excited).

This bean seemed to be more dense than any other bean. I usually roast 2/3 C of green beans without incident but this time the air was not moving the beans to roast them evenly. So, I did what anyone would do - I stood there shaking the roaster.

(Be right back, I have to get the coffee and I think I hear the baby crying)
(Alright, I got the coffee and the baby is babbling and contained safely in her crib)

This cup smells wonderful, like an autumn evening after the leaves have fallen. I mean, this cup smells "take her home to mother" good. It is a pleasure to just sit and smell her beauty and imagine that first kiss. When I dared to lean over for a peck on the cheek I was rewarded with a passion that only a woman can deliver. The flavor is woody and nutty with a depth that only Alice's rabbit hole can know. This flavor begs for a pallet to cause to rejoice and it makes the angels sing. If only I were in the business of roasting coffee - the world would know peace.

I highly recommend this Kahura Peabery...

Kigoma Peaberry

Tanzania

Just like the Paupa New Guinea, this Peaberry possesses a sophisticated flavor that only the most seasoned coffee lovers will appreciate. Like the flavor of Borolo Pio Cesare, this coffee is full of complexity.

This is a good coffee but one I fear will not be liked by most poeple. It really must be drank like a wine because one must approach it like the connesuer of wine rather than a teenager drinking a Budweiser. I do appreciate it for a change but the flavor is odd (sort of like chickory flavoring) and so it will not become my favorite.

Biggby Coffee

Alright, alright, I realize that I have been spending way too much time trying and posting about store bought coffee. You are correct to be getting sick of it and considering me a turn-coat because this site was founded upon the purism of freshly home-roasted coffee. I promise, I will return to my roots but for now, well, I have to use this store bought coffee before it gets any more stale.

I don't know if you have noticed one of the 150 or so Biggby stores that have popped up in 6 states. But they are around us and I've noticed. I would like to do some research concerning their business model and how they plan to compete with Starbuck's and the others but I'll leave that for another day. Today I'll simply talk about the coffee.

I could say it is "AWESOME!", I could say that it is "great", I could say that I have been converted from my home-roasting ways but then I would be a liar. At best the Biggby Coffee was a lot better than the Ugly Mug and light years passed the Seattle's Best. I would concede that it is on par with Dunkin's Coffee and less burnt than Charbucks. So if you want a really great cup of coffee learn to home roast.

Ugly Mug Coffee

It would seem that my latest coffee exploits have veered away from the original scope of this blog (to review my home roasted coffees) - but hey, at least I am still posting.

I tried a new coffee from the store called Ugly Mug Coffee. It's not all that great but a heck of a lot better than my Seattle's Best sample. The best part of this Memphis brew seems to me to be the packaging and the dreadful morning pictures of people that they use on their packaging and website.

Oh. The taste review? Hold on a sec while I go brew a cup...... Alright, here it is.

This roast is called "BOLD" and while it is certainly dark roasted the flavor nor the aroma calls out to me. This could be in part because the package indicates that it would have been best if used by last month but hey - that explains why it was on sale. However, the flavor is good enough that I am not trying to figure out what I can mix it with to mask any annoying attributes.

This brew does remind me of a cup of coffee that I can only get in the office break room, early in the winter morning when it is still dark and nobody else is there to disturb the few moments of peace before the work day begins. The coffee made from a mass packet of grounds that has been in the cupboard for only God knows how long and brewed with office sink water. In those moments it is not the flavor of the cup that stands out but the peacefulness and warmth of the moment.

So Ugly Mug Coffee is not exceptional coffee but it does seem to have a nostalgic quality about it.

Dunkin Donuts

I purchased a bag of Dunkin Donuts coffee to have on hand when I was out of fresh roasted beans. I have to say that I was expecting something really extraordinary by the way people gush about the stuff. I found it a little bitter with a flowery note. It was better than Seattle's Best - but then again Folger's is better than Seattle's Best is.

To correct the DD's bitter and floral taste I did add a 50% mix of Seattle's Best to the mix and it was not a bad blend at all. I need to sample it again but I think I found a decent blend of store bought coffees. I'll keep you posted.

Seattle's Best Coffee

I've not been able to roast coffee as quickly as I drink it so I have a stash of store bought coffee that I use when I am empty. I picked up a bag of something called Seattle's Best Coffee and I must say that this stuff is horrible!!! It is considered a "dark roast" which simply means that it is burned, they could be using any bean from anywhere because there is no flavor to this cup except the taste of burn. They call this sludge Seattle's Best Coffee and I cannot help but feel sorry for the folks in Seattle if this is the best that they have. The name reminds me of that beer Milwaukee's Best which is also pretty sad for the people of Milwaukee.

El Salvador Organic - Cuzcachapa

The fun of this coffee began the moment that I tried to pronounce its name. I finally have it phonetically but I am quite sure that my accent is way off. ;-)

I roasted this bean to just through the 1st crack and it ground just slightly darker than cinnamon. The flavor is very full and is supposed to have a definite chocolate note. I did not notice this, what is dominant to me is the floral qualities of this bean. I am sensitive to the florals because I'm especially fond of them.

The body of this cup is wonderful! As it cooled and I could take a full swallow I realized that this is a very viscous coffee which makes it more a meal than a warm and comforting drink.

The next time I roast this bean I will take it through the 2nd Crack and explore the flavors through caramelized sugars.

Indonesian - Timor (Organic)

This has been a nice tasting coffee (it could be the coffee or is could be that I drank the Columbian House from the freezer for a week before I got around to roasting). I roasted these beans just seconds into the second crack which gave me a grind that smells faintly of cocoa. Even my 5 year old daughter commented how good it smelled.

This is an organic coffee which always leaves me skeptical but the coffee is surprisingly flavorful. It has a fruity note and as it cools there is a definite chocolate flavor that emerges.

I gave this coffee to friends as a gift and one of the recipients emailed me that they really loved the coffee. i suspect that it is the first time that they ever had a coffee that was roasted less than 24 hrs of its brewing and consumption.

Boqette - Carmen (Panama SHB)

The name "Boqette" is very fitting from this Panamanian bean. While roasting the floral perfume fragrance is very noticeable and when this coffee is brewed the house smells of its aroma.

The flavor is rich and satisfying without the least trace of bitter. Even as this cup cools the flavor is stable and always pleasurable.

It was a very fast transition between the 1st and 2nd cracks so I had to be very careful not to over-roast these beans.

Cepicafe - Peru

This is an organic Peruvian coffee. It has been quite a few weeks since I last sampled it but what was noteworthy was that the flavor in this bean required that it be roasted well into the 2nd crack. If it was not French Roasted then the flavor was not pleasant, but after it had been roasted to very-dark the flavor was indeed good.

How Much Coffee You Drink...

25 people responded to the question "How Many Cups Of Coffee Per Day Do You Consume?" Here's how it shook out.


The survey was flawed in that it did not allow people the option to choose "Ewwww! - NO Cups." SO it is a good thing that I am not getting paid for this.

However, for the 25 cultured people who responded, the majority (68%) said that they drink 5 or less cups of coffee per day while just 12% said that they drink more than 5 and 20% responded by indicating that their only source of fluid intake is coffee.

What are the implications of this survey's results? First, that only a lousy 25 people in over 30 days came to this blog AND could bother clicking a button (no, no, I'm not bitter). And second, that 20% of the survey group probrably need to drink some straight water once in a while - I mean really, your kidney's need a break once in a while.

Sulawesi

Kalossi

The taste of the this Sulawesi is unique in a peaberry-ish sort of way. Its dominant attributes are its remarkable, almost chocolate, aroma and its Spicy note which makes it flavor akin to the peaberry.

The raw beans were a darker green - indicating a higher moisture content. They roasted to a very nice Full City without creating much chaff. The smell from the roasting process lingered quite a long time (in comparison to other beans) which made the house quite pleasant.

I am going to like the rest of these beans for sure.

Coffee Link of Great Importance

I feel that following my absence I should post a link to a coffee thought of great importance.
Here is this gem: Ominous Comma
Please consider it a public service.

Kigoma Peaberry

Tanzania

Just like the Paupa New Guinea, this Peaberry possesses a sophisticated flavor that only the most seasoned coffee lovers will appreciate. Like the flavor of Borolo Pio Cesare, this coffee is full of complexity.

This is a good coffee but one I fear will not be liked by most people. It really must be drank like a wine because one must approach it like the taster of dine wine rather than a teenager drinking a Budweiser. I do appreciate it for a change but the flavor is odd (sort of like chicory flavoring) and so it will not become my favorite.

NEW Coffee Arrived!

I just received 35 lbs. of green beans! It took over 3 weeks to get my order because the sale at the supplier was such a success that they ran out of some of the beans that I ordered. So, as a way of mollifying me they gave me 4 cork coasters which are pictured at the bottom corners of the photo.

I tried to expand my horizons with this order. I got a pound of Panama Boquette SHB which I am looking forward to trying, as well as a Mexican Altura Pluma. I also got more of some of the beans that I really liked the last time - such as a 5# bag of the Papua New Guinea - Kimel Peaberry. (One thing that is really meaningless but makes me happy is that the 5# bags are burlap sacks which adds a bit of ambiance to the whole process.)

With this new batch of beans I plan to be roasting on a regular basis again and will post new content with each new experience.

Finca Pastoral Bourbon (Blend #7)

1oz - Nicaragua - Finca San Jose
1oz. - Guatemala - Antigua Pastoral
1 oz. - Rwanda - Washed Bourbon

This blend was alright but nothing spectacular. I liked that the acidity was very low (if at all detectable) which made it a very smooth flavor. However, I noted a floral quality in the nose with the after taste which was not overpowering nor was it bad - I just hapen to not especially care for the floral notes.

How Many Cups Do You Drink?

I have just been informed that there is a flaw with the above poll. There is no option for 0-cups per day.

Huh.. Silly me, this is a blog about coffee and so I did not figure it appropriate to add zero cups as an option. But, since my wife reads this blog I guess I will have to consider her as an option.

Sorry honey.

How You Drink Your Coffee?

I posted a survey on this blog and 33 people responded. Here's the skinny.

54% of this blog readers drink their coffee the way that God intended - black!
18% drink their coffee with just cream
21% drink coffee with cream & sugar
6% add some sort of flavoring to their brew

This means that almost half of the people who responded to the survey don't really drink coffee but rather some form of coffee drink. Now, far be it from me to tell people how to drink their coffee (but I will anyway) but if you need to add something to your coffee then the coffee that you are starting with is not very good. And if all you are served is Charbucks, Maxwell House, or Folgers then your dilemma is clear - you need some good coffee.

I hope that through this blog that you will discover good coffee - sooner rather than later. Stay posted as I will continue to explore the wide range of single-crop and blended-coffees in the time to come.

Buy Only Michigan Grown Coffee

We all heard Governor Granholm's appeal in last night's State of the State Address to buy Michigan products. So I am posting this list of the very best coffee grown in Michigan.

Study - Coffee a Cure for Everything

I was given this study. I have no citations. But I do have a link to MSNBC which is as good as having it written on tablets of stone.

You may not agree with my assessment of MSNBC - BUT it does not matter. Coffee, according to science, CURES EVERYTHING!

Now before you poo poo this - it is science. I have it in a print out on my desk. You must believe it.

"NEW YORK- . . . a new study suggests that middle aged adults who regularly drink a cup of java may have a lower risk of developing dementia later in life."

Hello - has no one noticed that I drink coffee and am brilliant? (note Coffee Shock post for proof )

"coffee drinkers have lower risks of several diseases. . ."
Does anyone else see an answer here to the health care crisis that Democrats and Republicans can get behind?

The article has it's own moments of dementia such as the one where it says "no one is recommending that people start drinking coffee. . ." Hmm - the rest of you non coffee drinkers just go ahead and die - leave the coffee, and the world, to us.

"Researchers do not know if it's components of coffee itself — like caffeine or certain antioxidants — or something else about coffee drinkers that explains the recent study observations." Hello??? All of the above. Since the whole world is reading this blog they ought to know that by now.

"More research is needed to determine whether coffee is truly protective, but for now, Eskelinen said, 'those people who have been drinking coffee can still do so in good conscience.'"

Well - I for one will do my part for science and do my research. I shall continue to post my findings here in the interest of science until the Anchor Bay people (or the guys in the black helicopters circling around outside) silence me.

Coffee Shock

Well - after the first roasting experience (see the smoke filled pics in Thom's Rebuttal post) I went out and bought a air popcorn popper. Rushing home I put some green coffee beans in and plugged it in.

Out they all popped! So I tried again with fewer beans. Out they came too.

So I emailed our illustrious blogger the "Mr. Reverend, John Rock" of Anchor Bay fame.

His response - are you putting too much coffee in the roaster?

WHAT!!! How can the words "too much" and "coffee" ever go together. I mean - can you have too much love? Can there ever be too much care and peace in the world? How can anyone have too much coffee. Too much "running with scissors" perhaps. Too much fun with a slinky (which frankly after you send it down the stairs once kind of looses its appeal) - but too much coffee?
But I tried, I went back and put ONE bean in the popper. OUT it came!

Well I emailed Mr. Rev. Rock again - he is the coffee guru (or was until the next advice).

"you may need to open the machine and install a resistor to the fan circuit."

OK - I am smart - I have a Ph.D. and can figure things out. In fact - I am the smartest guy I know. Of all the people I like to listen to - my favorite is me. So here goes, I open my new (though now that I have opened it - no longer under warranty - popper) and put in a resistor. All the while talking my ever so smart self through the process. I am very cool like that.
I can already taste the roasted goodness of the coffee on its way.

Small amount of test beans added. Looked at wall socket and put plug in. . . .















Well - a few hours later - hands still shaking - clothing freshly laundered - I went back to roasting in the fry pan (batteries now out of the smoke detector).


And this morning I had a cup of good coffee.

Thom will be stopping by Thursday to pick up his coffee beans - more roasting wisdom from the brilliant team of Thom and Malcolm will be posted as they are made available.

South-American Pale (Blend #6)

1oz - Brazil Mogiana
1oz - Bolivian CIAPEC
1oz - Guatemala Palhu SHB Huehuetenango

This recipe was roasted to the point that the Second Crack was just beginning. And while it suffers in comparison to the Manna it possesses its own classic flavor. My wife describes it as more "chewy" and much "stronger" coffee - something akin to Camp-Fire coffee.

I do not find anything special about this blend but it is good all the same. This is a cup to enjoy while sitting out on the porch on a brisk fall morning.

Coffee Froth

When I make and pour a coffee with the French Press I get a froth that settles on top of my cup. I don't know why but I like it. Somehow it says "This is a great cup of coffee."

I know that my liking the stuff is irrational. It has no extraordinary flavor, it does not add to the body of the cup, and it does not clean the lid of the garbage can. It serves no identifiable purpose. But like the foam on top of a pint of Guinness, it is still somehow comforting and expected. If it were not there I would look away ashamed as if my mother came over in just her knickers.

So, I love the stuff - that much is true and only my psycho-therapist might begin to know why. But what really boggles my understanding of the world is that I don't know what to call it beside "Coffee Froth." Calling it "Coffee Froth" is as disrespectful to me as if I called my wife "Hey You!" The stuff needs a name and I shall not rest until I have come up with the perfect name. You can help too! Leave me your suggestions and together we can right this wrong and I can stop call my wife "Whatsername."

BINGO! I Call It "Manna" (Blend #5)

Have you ever wondered how some flavors were developed? I suppose much of it is just like it happens in the commercial where one idiot is walking down the street eating a chocolate bar while some other fool is walking down an adjoining street eating peanut butter from the jar, both so engrossed in their snacks that "POW" they run into each other and the chocolate accidentally got into the peanut butter and the Peanut Butter Cup emerges. OR... Some chemical engineer needs to come up with a new flavor to save his hide from the unemployment line and starts mixing all sorts of wacky flavors until "BINGO" they invent a winner.

Well I, like the chemical engineer, keep putting coffee beans together in the hopes of finding a Bingo. Yesterday I found a winner and I call it "Manna"

1 oz. Zimbabwe Salimba
1 oz. Kenyan Gichi Kiambu
1 oz. Sumatran Aceh Gold

I roasted this batch to a Full-City+ removing the heat just as the second crack was starting. I brewed it in the french press which created a very full body cup but not (as my wife commonly refers to it) chewy. And the aroma was mildly sweet and fragrant with no hint of a rogue acidity.

The flavor was full, deep and rich - free of free floating background taste-nuances and bitters. This cup was so good that my wife suggested that I make this for her tea-party this Saturday. Even though my wife is developing a taste for good coffee, this is a huge compliment to the flavor of this blend.

I am going to blend this again to make sure that I get a consistent cup and when I do I think I will take on Timmy Horton's.

Coffee Dreams - Thom's Rebuttal!

Well - as promised Thom has seen fit to change his 50% plus of the Coffee Dreams post. John - is seriously considering that allowing me to be a guest blogger may have ended his blogging career.
Here is Thom's take on the coffee roasting experience.

The Other Side…

It was still early, Friday night around 5:30 PM and Malcolm had already called me three times, left voice mails for my wife twice, and sent out several text messages and emails. The messages were all the same: Thom, do not come over before 10 AM – otherwise, you might not like what you find (imagine Malcolm sitting in his wife’s pink bathrobe at his computer creating fabulous stories of grandeur and laughing hysterically to himself).

[I note here that Thom fails to account for the Oatmeal Breakfast Stout in the bathrobe pocket - but then this is his rebuttal - so I shall let him continue]

Due to snow and a pregnant wife asking for just three more things to be done before leaving, I didn’t arrive at Malcolm’s until 10:30 AM. I drove faster and faster though, worried that my friend would not wait for me, but instead pioneer ahead without me. Finally I arrived… and was somewhat concerned at the sight of hazy smoke pouring out as Malcolm guiltily opened the door. He had indeed begun without me; luckily though it was with just a handful of beans in a skillet to make what he repeatedly called Cowboy Coffee. It was wonderful – the smell was deep and strong, the color a black mocha. The steam coming off the mug actually tickled my nose and forced a slight giggle out of me (which I quickly covered with a cough).

After much debate, two spreadsheets, a PowerPoint presentation, and a heads/tails toss of the coin, we started roasting the Costa Rican beans. I spent the first hour trying to distract Malcolm, so as to keep him from continually opening the oven door and frowning at the beans: “Why aren’t you popping!” Finally, after turning up the oven and hearing a few lonely pops, we pulled beans out. We both sampled a few and found them to our liking. We set them aside and immediately began roasting the Brazilian beans. We played with the oven settings – going from 410 to 425, trying to find the golden spot – the perfect temperature. We heard a glorious sound after only 5 minutes... it was a choir of popping, aww yes, such a sweet popping sound, like little angles clapping their hands to our hard work.

The smile upon Malcolm’s face was indescribable – the kind of smile that makes every wrinkle disappear and the eyes glaze over with contentment. We congratulated each other - our second batch was successfully roasting away, quickly approaching the famous 2nd pop… just as we had hoped and dreamed it would.

The process was at its end – we were happy, sad, wired and exhausted. What a morning… why oh why had it taken us so long in life to rediscover the simple and beautiful process of roasting our own coffee. It was at this point I noticed Malcolm fondly holding the bowl of yummy roasted coffee beans close to his chest. He had a look in his eyes… the look of pure determination, “this is mine.. mine.. all mine.” I realized then we had not discussed how, if at all, we were going to divide the beans. I knew I had one chance at breaking through to Malcolm and so I did the only thing I could, I casually handed Malcolm a paper bag and with arms wide declared loudly, “well done my friend, now, let’s hug it out.” Needless to say, I left with half the beans, of which I’m now enjoying my first cup.

Ok – time for a reality check: The process was very fun and exciting, though in the oven on a pan seems to take a considerably long time – about 1-2 hours depending on how dark you want to go.
I’ve heard about a popcorn popper that works much quicker – any comments out there? The taste of the coffee is satisfactory; I would call it a light bodied smooth blended taste. It isn’t nearly as harsh/dark/acidic as I sometimes like my coffee, but still good. I think we needed to roast it longer to bring out a more robust flavor. I’m excited to try again and again and again.

Thanks for believing in us!

Cafe Du Monde

My friend Darlene brought me some Cafe' Du Monde from New Orleans to try. The object of this coffee is that it has a Chicory additive which is a flavor developed by the French in New Orleans during the Civil War and a shortage of coffee proper.

So I eagerly brewed some up as I looked forward to yet another coffee experience. Although it is not my favorite, it has a very unique flavor. So unique in fact that if I were used to the chicory flavoring in my coffee I would notice its absence and likely be unhappy with just plain coffee.

This was a very dark roasted coffee, darker than anything I try to roast. I suspect that this roast is very close to charcoal. Which explains its use. Chicory was added to very dark roasted coffee as a way of taking the "bitter edge" off. I understand this because when coffee is over roasted the sugars first "carmelize" then they scortch. This scortching actually burns the sugars and oils and creates a bitter/burned taste. So the chicory is added to take the edge off.

The only way that I can explain the aroma is by telling you to try and remember what the wood-shop classroom smelled like when you were in school. It was woody and dominant. The taste was basically the same - wood shop in a cup. I am not criticizing the flavor nor am I suggesting that I did not like it but that is just the way it was.

All in all, I am happy to have the experience of the chicory. Would I buy it for myself? Not likely. Would I turn this brew down at a friend's home? No. What I will say for it was that it was indeed tasty and UNIQUE.

Coffee Roasting Nightmares and Dreams

It was early, 5:30 AM, I wanted to be asleep but the intense desire to begin my new life as a coffee roaster was driving me to near insanity. I had already speed dialed Thom, who was supposed to be here at 10 AM to help me roast. He had angrily turned his phone off after the 4:55 AM call. I sat by my oven, already warmed up to 400 degrees and ran the green Mogiana coffee beans through my fingers. 'Oh sweet toasty Brazilians! Roast! Roast!'. Tears of anticipation welled up in my eyes as I imagined that first cup of the sweet fruit of the labors from my new life. Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the pounding on my door. Rushing down I opened it to my friend Thom, visibly angry, holding a 12 gauge over/under shotgun and wearing snow boots and his wife's lacy pink bathrobe which he had obviously grabbed by accident in the dark. I immediately thought about two things. First, the elegant workmanship of this remarkable shotgun and second, my own deep wish that his lovely wife had been a bit taller, as the short pink robe made the moment very awkward.
Thom, not by nature a morning person, waved the gun and shouted "Why in the world would you call me at this time in the morning!!!?" I began to utter an apology, while looking discretely away, when suddenly the aroma of the coffee beans I had already begun to roast in the skillet on my stove overtook us. As the aroma overcame us, tears came to both our eyes. We realized that whatever differences we might have regarding the hour of the morning to get up - we were united in our love of coffee.
"Let's hug it out buddy" I said (a very discrete hug followed)

Thom responded "Let's get to roasting coffee!"
We quickly drank the potent brew which we had whipped up in the cast iron skillet as our hardy pioneer forefathers had done for centuries before and now we went on to the oven process. That deep calling that had brought us both here this morning also brought us together. Calling and brotherhood demanded that we finish the quest that we had begun. New lives as real live amature coffee roasters.

Whilst sampling a delightful breakfast stout (from a bottle Thom had discovered in the pocket of his wife's bathrobe) Thom and I began the roasting process in a 400 degree convection oven. The smoke alarm went off and I called John Rock, editor of this blog, for advice. As usual he had his answer machine on. We opened the door to the sub zero cold and quickly the smoke cleared. Thom, now wearing a long over coat was by far the better coffee roaster novice. His advice was invaluable. We began with some Costa Rican beans (less expensive) and roasted them to a toasty brown. They didn't seem to make the distinctive first pop that the beans in the skillett had done. We discovered that we needed to turn the oven up another 10 degrees. Then we went on to the Brazilian beans as the house filled up with the smokey goodness of fresh roasted coffee. Thom suggested that we roast some lighter and some darker and then mix them. This seemed to be the best way to go. Having finished the roasting process, and having mixed the lighter and darker beans together we suddenly heard. . . .

A Friend's Coffee Roasting Experience

My friend Malcolm has this funny way of getting me into new things. First it was beer tasting, then it was wine tasting, then it was scotch tasting (do you notice a theme?). He likely would have gotten me into cigar smoking were it not for the fact that I had quit smoking after having spent over 10 years with the habit (my wife doth protest this particular vice). So now it is my turn to influence him, he liked the idea of roasting his own coffee so he decided to give it a try.

He obtained some Brazilian Mogiana green beans and decided that Saturday morning he would roast them at 400 deg/f in the oven on a cookie sheet. I have not tried the oven roasting method so I was particularly interested in his results. The only advice that I offered him was to take the battery out of his smoke detector and then I waited to learn how it went.

The following day I took my son out on a Daddy-Son Date and when I returned home I had a 20 second message on my answering machine. Click **** HERE **** to listen to the message.

Horse Nugget (Blend #4)

1 oz. Harar Horse
1 oz. Mysore Nugget
1 oz. Tres Rios La Magnolia

Sometimes the best part of creating the blend is the naming process. ("Horse Nugget" - HA! That's rich.)

I took an ounce of each of these three beans and roasted them together. I roasted to a very dark French Roast. The resulting aroma of the grounds were spectacular but the aroma did not necessarily equate to a spectacular flavor. Please don't misunderstand, the coffee was a good solid cup but it suffered in comparison to the aroma.

The flavor of this hot cup is little better than standard. The acidity was very low which made the flavor very smooth. A good cup of coffee to drink but it is not something that screams "make me again!" As the cup cooled a sort of defect arose in the taste as a bitterness that attacked the back of the tongue began to develop.

I've been using these three beans in various concoctions of blends and I have yet to come up with something that I really like. I think for the next blend I will abandon these and move on to something brand new.

Anchor Bay Roasts roast

As this blog is titled "ANCHOR BAY ROASTS" (meaning coffee roasts) I never thought that I would ever be writing about Pot Roasts. However, today is the day that I cross-over for a moment and tell you how a bovinian delectablity is actually meaningful to coffee - and thus this blog.

Today my wife made a roast in the Crock Pot and used a cup of strong brewed coffee as a base to cook it in. It was delicious. It did not taste of coffee as strongly as I would have liked but it was still very flavorful.

I have read articles about cooking beef in distilled spirits (whiskey, vodka, rum etc.) and while it sounds yummy who wants to spend $30 on a bottle of liquor just to dump it on a pot-roast? For my budget, I'll just stick with coffee.

Bold And Clean

I had some left over grounds that I used to make Turkish coffee the other day - Very fine. So I added 2 Tbsp. to my French Press and poured boiling water on them. After a minute or two I pressed and poured.

The coffee is quite good. It seems to taste less aggressive than the Turkish boil but yet it has a ruggedness that would make John Wayne proud. The coffee is strong with a good body. The grounds are from the Bolivian CIAPEC bean which was roasted to Full-City+. Although there is nothing wrong with the CIAPEC I think this would be an excellent brew with another, more interesting bean.

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 3

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 1
An Experience Experiment - Pt. 2

RESULTS:
Each method of coffee brewing was evaluated by our two evaluators (again, the scientifically challenged wife and me) for six different attributes. Since there were just 4 brews, each one was evaluated against the other on a 1-4 scale (1 being first or best & 4 being least or worst)

• It is worthy of note that my wife (always the girl) thought that the Perk had the best flavor and that shows the subjective nature of this study. The girl liked the tea-like nature of the coffee produced by the Perk and I preferred the heartier flavor of the Press. My wife's reaction to the flavor of the Turk was (and I quote) "Eeeww, yuck!" and I kind of liked its stout-beer like quality. My wife claimed that the Turk was "chewy" but I thought it had a very enjoyable "full" body and flavor.

So what is my highly scientific conclusion? I conclude that my original hypothesis was indeed correct and it has now been proven as a fact. It is my opinion that the original hypothesis should now be restated as the Theory of Coffee-Brewology. I name it, I claim it, therefor it must be forever so... "THE SAME EXACT COFFEE BREWED BY DIFFERENT BREWING METHODS DOES PRODUCE DIFFERENT RESULTS."

And oh yeah Van, it tastes different too.

Thanks for reading...

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 2

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 1

THE VARIABLES:

There are a few variables in this experiment which likely effects the outcome. These are how the coffee was actually brewed, the grounds used in each brewing method, and the very subjective nature of our testing group's (me and my wife) perspective.

While this subjectivity is not scientific it is the best that I could do.

BREWING PROCESSES:

1. Drip
2. French Press
3. Percolator
4. Turkish Boil

DRIP:

The drip coffee maker is the standard way that people make coffee in our country. My drip coffee maker is standard but it has a coned screen filter which allows the oils to be released with the brewed coffee.

An oversight in this experiment is that I did not include a drip coffee maker with a paper filter. Ah well, I will have to remedy this for another day and another post.

FRENCH PRESS:
The French Press is a very popular method for brewing coffee among coffee enthusiasts. I like mine simply because it will brew a single cup of coffee without leaving me with left overs to microwave for two days. I know that true coffee snobs will never, ever, drink microwaved coffee but this proves that I am more of a cheapskate than a real snob.

PERCOLATOR:
I bought this percolator just for this experiment. I have not had much experience with the Perk but I am looking forward to doing coffee for company with it. It looks quite elegant and it reminds me of my grandmother's from the 1970's. All I need is a lime green table cloth and people will call me Carrol Brady.

TURKISH BOIL:
Although I could not make a genuine Turkish coffee (because I could not find my Cezve) I did use a sauce pan to slow brew the coffee to make a Turkish style brew. It turned out pretty good and I think it accomplished the mission of the experiment.

When I re-run the experiment with the paper filters (in a drip coffee maker) I will also use a cezve for a genuine Turkish Coffee.

THE GRIND:
The grind was an unavoidable variable. Each brewing method requires a certain grind in order to make the coffee that it produces "good".

The Drip Method requires a moderate grind (not too fine and not too course) to make the optimum coffee. From 1 being the finest grind and 17 being the most coarse - the Drip was ground at a 6.
The Press Method does not require a very fine ground as it steeps the grounds in hot water for 4 minutes. I ground the beans for the Press at the coarsest 17 setting.
The Percolator Method washes the grounds continuously with hot water and does not need a fine ground. So I also ground this at a 17.
The Turkish Method uses a very fine ground as to get every last bit of goodness out of the bean. I used the finest grinding setting - #1.

I am sure that the different grinds effected the resultant brews but I felt that I had to use the grounds that the individual brewing methods methods required.

THE TESTERS:
Me and my wife are the last of the variables. It was our job to taste and evaluate each brew against all the rest. It was quite difficult at times to decide between a couple of them but in the end we did our best. The fact that my wife and I did not come to the same conclusions indicate that this whole experiment is really about our individual experiences rather than a scientific conclusion.

Please return as tomorrow I will detail the results of the experiment...

An Experience Experiment - Pt. 1

The next couple of posts come about because of a reader's request. Van (the reader) wanted to know what happened to the flavor of coffee based upon the brewing method. So, I put my 7th. grade science class thinking cap on and devised the following science experiment. (I hope you are reading Mr. Kawalski)

• HYPOTHESIS: The same exact coffee brewed by different brewing methods produces differing results. (Mr. Kawalski should be proud)

THE STANDARD METRIC:

1. COFFEE: Bolivean - CIAPEC (100% Organic)
2. ROASTED: Full-City+
3. WATER/COFFEE RATIO: 5 oz. (liquid) : 1 Tbsp. (ground)
4. WATER: Filtered by Brita

TOOLS:

• Green Beans
• Popcorn Air-Popper (coffee roaster)
• Coffee Grinder
  
• Weight Scale
• Pyrex Liquid Measure
  
• 1/2 Cup Measuring Cup
• 1 Tbsp. Teaspoon
  
• Knife
• Sauce Pan
• French Coffee Press
• Drip Coffee Maker
• Percolator Coffee Maker
• 4 - Coffee Cups
• Filtered Water
  

Tomorrow I will begin to describe the variables of the experiment. Stay Tuned...