Flame-Roasted Artisan Coffee...

I am happy to present a new product that I call Flame-Roasted Artisan coffee.  This is a single-origin bean but it is roasted by hand-and-flame only.  There is nothing electrically driven or heated in this roasting process - it is just me versus nature, in the age old way of cooking that our great-grandparents had mastered, attempting to roast a perfect coffee.


I roasted a test batch of the Indian Monsooned Malabar and sampled the product.  WOW!  This roasting method produces a raw and rich coffee as many of the beans roast to perfection while others are less roasted retaining the intrinsic flavor of the bean.  This coffee is certainly roasted just as as our elders used to know, love, and enjoy.


I presently (12/27/2011) have 9-6C packages prepared as samples for people who want to try the brew.  These packages are FREE while they last for anyone who wants to come and pick one up.  The only string is that I want you to tell me your opinion of the product after you have tried it.  These are available to people on a first-come-first-serve basis.  Please shoot me an email if I may expect you.  

Jamaican Blue Mountain

One of my clients who had gotten coffee for Thanksgiving said that one of his friends had some of the coffee and asked if I would roast some Jamaican Blue Moon?  So he asked me to look into it and get back with his friend.  So I did look into it and decided that I could do it for $48.00 a pound.  I called the friend and he ordered 2 pounds without batting an eye.


When the Blue Mountain I ordered came in I first inspected the green beans themselves.  Perrrrffect, absolutely perfect.  Each bean appeared to have been hand chosen and hand washed.  Each was a beautiful shade of light green and each was as clean as freshly washed infant.


When I began to roast the Blue Mountain, many of the beans began to blow out of the machine to the waste bin - Eeeek!!!  At $48.00 a pound I was burning my hands trying to save these most precious and expensive beans.  I told my wife how the price changed in my mind the value of the individual beans themselves.  The fact that many of the beans were blowing out of the machine indicated that the water-content of the beans themselves were much lower than the standard beans that I was used to cooking.  Proving that it was indeed unique.  The chaff was less than normal and they roasted up without any complaint.  I was careful to not roast too much past the first crack in order to retain the natural flavor of the bean.


I would never had paid the price for this coffee but since I had some in the house, and I was selling it to a client,  I decided that I had better brew some and taste it.  I have decided to refrain from an extensive review of this coffee here (lest my praise be deemed not worthy) but I will point out that the flavor of the Jamaican Blue Mountain has the best balance that I have ever tasted in a coffee before.


PS.  If you are still looking for the perfect Christmas gift, I still have Gift Certificates available that I can wrap and drop ship for you.  Email me for details.

Mexican Chiapas

On the Southern most edge of Mexico, just before you get to Guatemala, is Chiapas (chee-ah-pass).  Once there you may ask the locals for a cup of cafe and they will give you a brew from of their home-grown beans.

The Chiapas is a mild cup that sports a dominant fruit-wine flavor.  Roasted just 60-seconds into the second-crack this bean's profile was just slightly Full-City roasted.  Here the flavor of the roast is obvious while the intrinsic flavor of the bean remains present.

While this bean is roasted a strong smoky-nut aroma is revealed making the roaster assume that nut will be present in the flavor however that flavor never materialized.  Only a sweet aroma that had a dry-wine effect was present.  Overall it was a clean cup that nosed sweet and sipped brightly a midst a panorama of floral notes.

Sumatra Tarbarita Peaberry

One of my favorite coffees is the Peaberry.  This coffee has a unique flavor like the added chicory of Louisiana but it is not as dominant and it is natural to this type of bean.

The aroma is very pleasant sporting a mocha scent that is a touch sweet.  The flavor is so good and smooth that it makes me want to cry with delight.  Alright, maybe crying is a little much but it really is a great flavor.  It has a smoothly sweetness that finishes very clean.  We tried it with some 90% chocolate and the sweetness of this brew exploded and brought a generous cacophony of flavor to be delved into by the taster of deep exploration.

I have always been partial to the Peaberry from Papau New Guinea but this Sumnatran ranks right up there with one of the best.

Gift Key

NEW for the Christmas season is the Anchor Bay Roasts Gift Key.  When your friend or loved one receives this gift they will open a little black box to discover a gold skeleton key inside with a card informing them that they have just received an Anchor Bay Roast Gift Key worth however much money you put on it for them.  


The gift never expires so if they put it aside only to come across it in a year - it will still be valid.


Be sure to get your coffee lover this gift and they will thank you for months to come.

Gene Cafe'

A week ago I did two coffee roasting demos and I featured the Bali Blue Moon.  I used the professional Gene Café roaster and the coffee turned out much different from my first experience roasting in the popcorn poppers.  In my opinion the coffee was under-roasted in the first demo and over-roasted in the second.  Both seemed a touch bitter to me but my guests were gracious enough to tell me that the coffee was good – at least better than the Maxwell House they had just drank.  So I decided that I need to roast a couple batches and get to know what was going on.

The first batch that I roasted was called a "High-Roast" (464 deg. F: 15 min.) in the Gene Café.  It was on the under-roasted side and left the bean rawer than it was roasted.  When I ground it and brewed it we (me and my wife) sampled it and found it to be true to its description of very fruity in flavor.  My wife commented that it reminded her of an Orange Zinger tea.  Indeed we could identify that this bean was actually grown between tangerine and orange trees.  However, my wife and I not being fans of Orange Zinger tea ended up dumping the pot and moving on to roast #2.

This second batch I moved up a notch on the roasting scale to "City-Roast" (482 deg. F: 17 min.) which was enough more to take the coffee from under-roasted to almost perfectly roasted (I say almost perfectly roasted because I don't know what perfect is in the world of coffee).  This coffee tasted balanced with only undertones of the fruitiness (like seeing something in the periphery) from the previous roast.  The natural nuttiness of this bean blended with the fruit dominance and made the fruit as though it were just a memory and an ever so slight chocolate note on the finish and after taste.   

What is the difference between roasting with the popcorn poppers and the fancy Gene Café?  There are two main ones as I see it.  First, roasting with the popcorn poppers is more of an art form as the result is singularly dependent upon a human to listen, look, and determine when the beans have been roasted enough.  When roasting with the Gene Café the human need only set the controls for the result they desire and then they are free to push start to begin the automatic process.  And second, I consider the two roasting methods best described as the "Petal-to-the-Metal Roasting" versus the "Oh-Dear-Heaven-I-Think-My-Grandma-is-Behind-the-Wheel Roasting" methods.  With the PttM method, the heat is full and furious and takes about 7 minutes to roast a batch of green beans and the ODHITMGiBtW method is well, about 30-35 minutes from start to finish per batch.  Granted, the ODHITMGiBtW method makes about twice what the PttM method does per batch but since I am the type of person who would rather drive 50 miles out of my way to avoid 5 minutes of stop-and-go traffic can you guess which method I prefer?

So, as it turns out, I have tried the Bali Blue Moon three or four different ways now and the result has always been a different.  Coffee is truly like wine tasting in that there is much to be explored in each cup if only we will take the time to go spelunking.  Please, the next time you have a cup of coffee consider exploring your cup and be determined to experience it fully.

7 Pounds of Pure Joy...

Yes, a baby would meet the description but no - it's not a baby of which I write.  I am talking about the 7 pounds of coffee orders that I roasted and filled today.  It took all day as I am working on efficiency practices and such but the whole time I could not help but be thankful for the orders that are coming in.  There are a lot of people who want FRESH coffee for this Thanksgiving's festivities.


Speaking of my efficiency efforts, I have created an online form that I can send to people when they request coffee.  Take a look and make suggestions for improvements if you like or just order some coffee.

Bali Blue Moon

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Just South-East of Vietnam in the Flores Sea comes the Bali Blue Moon.  Highly regulated and hand-washed this bean looked very promising.


While I roasted I noticed that there was very little chaff.  It smoked a little on the initial heat-up and then it did not smoke again until the end of the roast.  I read that this coffee was better when the bean was roasted to a Full-City Roast so I took it in to the Second Crack when the flecking was quite evident.  The beans looked very good and dry except for a couple that showed signs of oiling.


I brewed with the syphon pot which uses a slightly higher than normal grind/water ratio.  The coffee I would say was strong because of this but not so strong that bitterness became a factor.  

On a scale from 1 - 10 I rate this coffee a 9 - Right up there with the Peaberry.  The aroma is fruity like a sweet-and-sour sauce and very pleasing to the nose.  The flavor was solid and smooth as it boasted of a cocoa-bean note as well as a mellow tone.  The brightness of this cup was medium though it was quite complex and deep.  The body of this cup was buttery and weighed on the pallet long enough to let you know it was there and lingered on the tongue like a fond memory.

The "Holiday Stash"

I am pleased to announce a new product...


Would you like to shine during these holidays as the champion of good coffee?  Of course you would.  Many people will serve coffee and call it good, but will they actually serve fresh coffee and then explain why it is fresh?  Not likely.  


This holiday season you will serve single-origin fresh-roasted coffee and delightedly watch people's eyes light up as they gasp in delight.  Someone may faint, but that reaction is a highly rare reaction and should not dissuade you from serving the best.


Presenting the "Holiday Stash" that you may serve to your guests after dinner or during dessert.  


As many people will flourish that they are breaking out the best wine for the occasion, you may flourish the fact that you are not serving just any old blend of coffee that your bought at the grocery store.  Sure, that store-bought stuff might be tasty, but coffee from Anchor Bay Roasts is in a league of its own, because it is all-natural and freshly roasted just days before you brew it.


For just $17.50 (includes S&H), you can serve three 12-cup pots of liquid heaven and watch your guests experience single-origin fresh-roasted coffee for the very first time.  It is a great way to honor your guests this year.

Looks Can Be Deceiving & The Label...

Sumatra Iskandar Premium  & Yemen Mocca Sanani

Can you see the difference in the bean quality?  


It is quite remarkable to look at a batch of both and see the uniformity of the Sumatran verses the unkempt look of the Yemen.  The Sumatran is a quality coffee and certainly lives up to its name of Premium but the Yemen certainly has a chocolate note to it that draws the observant taster back time and time again.  It would be easy to be lured to the Sumatran coffee because of the beauty of the beans but that would be a mistake.  Good as it is the Mocca coffee is very pleasing and has an aroma that takes me back to grandma's stove as she let the homemade chocolate pudding cool.  


Both are very pleasing coffees in their own rites and both need to be experienced to be understood.


The Label...  


I've been all over the place with the development of the label but I have finally landed at this configuration.  

The X and the YELLOW text are not part of the label

LINE 1: This is the disclaimer that I am required to have under the Cottage Food Law 
LINE 2: Company Name
LINE 3: Tag Line
LINE 4: Contact Info
LINE 5: Coffee Type | Date Roasted | Weight | How many cups the bag makes
LINE 6: Website Address

NEW Easter Egg...

The winner of the October Easter Egg is Darlene L. from Chesterfield.  Darlene will be getting a pot of Sumatran Iskandar Premium.  This is a hand-washed bean that is both wet & dry processed and its flavor is truly premo.  I am betting that her toes are going to curl at the first sip. ;-)

There is a NEW easter egg on the web page.  Go to www.anchorbayroasts.com to find it and you too could win FREE coffee.

Who Wants FREE Coffee?

And another coffee snob is inked!

Today is the last day for you to find the easter egg on the Anchor Bay Roasts website.  If you find it you will be entered into the October  drawing to win a package (12C pot) of coffee.


This month's easter egg is literally sitting out in the open for you to find.  In fact, if you CLICK THIS LINK you will be taken directly to the page with the easter egg.  Sorry, all finds after 12am Eastern Time will not count.

And the Winner IS?

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It was a great time as I prepared and served the coffee to about 25 guests at a birthday party last night.  The winner of the night was certainly the syphon pots.  Not only was the coffee served a very rare Indian Monsooned Malabar but the guests saw and smelled the beans as they roasted and ground for the brewing pots.  Their eyebrows shot up a half-inch as when they tasted the goodness of God in their cups.


There was one lady in particular who was not necessarily fond of coffee but her husband was.  As I explained the intricacies of the Monsooned bean, how it was seasoned in a particular monsoon season, and how he will never again taste that particular coffee again because the season is passed and so is the crop - she immediately reached over to taste what was certainly a once in a life time experience.  Needless to say she got inked as a result.

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She got inked?  Yes, everyone who became a snob last night got inked.  Tattooed that is.  As every membership has a ritual so does becoming a coffee snob.  So everyone left with a great memory and experience but also with a new tattoo. Don't worry, it was a temp tattoo because I am a coward where needles come into play. ;-)


If you are ever in the need for a once in a lifetime experience for your guests, please be sure to remember that I will provide you with a coffee roasting demonstration.


---
Also, if you have not yet seen our press releases - be sure to check them out below.

Coffee Demo for Birthday Party...

Tonight I am doing a coffee demonstration for a wife's (ahem) 29th birthday party.  First I am serving samples of regular Maxwell House coffee so that everyone can be remind of the norm, then I will be brewing up some Moccca Sanani from Yemen with filtered water.  It will be fun to see how high the eye brows fly up on the foreheads of people when they taste the difference.  I will be percolating & French-pressing the Mocca so people will experience the different tastes in brewing.  I will also be French-pressings some Organic Royal Select Decaf from Peru.  

While all of this is going on I will be roasting a Monsooned Malabar from India.  This will be the crowd-pleaser because not only is it an awesome coffee it will be the freshest coffee that the guests have ever had and I will be making it in Syphon pots.  Can you saw fun?


CHANGING SUBJECTS...


There are only a few more days left for people to find the easter egg for September.  If you want to be entered into the drawing for the FREE coffee, take some time on the Anchor Bay Roasts website and find the easter egg.

Papau New Guinea - Peaberry

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If you have not seen the new Press Release you can click here to see it.  I think it will be worth your time - but I am biased of course.




I roasted one of my favorite beans last night and am getting ready to go brew some now.  It is amazing to me that my coffee excites me as it does.


70% of this crop is used by Australia and Germany so the rest of the world is lucky (and I mean that) to get the other 30%.  It makes this coffee a little more rare in the states.


The flavor of this coffee is absolutely complex as it contains layer after layer of vivid flavors that require palatial separation to be understood.  The first time my wife and I sampled this bean we were floored by the flavors that all swam together in the one cup which seems to be characteristic to the peaberry - my wife described the experience like a dinner plate of food all mixed together needing to be separated.  This coffee is absolutely amazing - Mmmm, I cannot wait.


EASTER EGG!!!  There are only a few more days left for you to find the easter egg on the Anchor Bay Roasts website.  Find it and you will be added to the names in the drawing for this month.

Press Release...

October 23, 2011

Coffee, Tea, & FREE...

Harvest Moon

So I have had to expand into some teas as I am learning that there are haters among us.  Can you believe that there actually are people who hate coffee?  My land, next thing you know people will be marching on Wall Street. :-o

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I discovered these things called Flowering Teas.  They are hand woven flowers with tea that are wrapped up into a ball.  When hot water is poured over the ball it slowly steeps while is blossoms before your eyes.  I must admit, I'm not a tea lover but when I watch this tea open before my eyes I am compelled to at least try it.  I now have this on hand for those rare times when I have people in my demonstrations who don't like coffee.


Have you seen the press release?  In this release the spokes person (me) announces the very big news that Anchor Bay Roasts is open for business.  During the PR you are likely to feel the tears well up in your eyes, but don't worry - I wasn't fired for it. ;-)


Finally...  There is still time for you to find the easter-egg on the Anchor Bay Roasts website and get entered into the drawing for FREE coffee.  So far only 4 people have done it so your odds of winning are pretty good.


Good Luck!

Flowers or Coffee?

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I was thinking today how a husband invited me to do a roasting demonstration at his wife's birthday party.  It dawned on me that any middle school kid can buy flowers to show his affection to his girl but it takes a man with real insight to get his love such a rare treasure for her birthday.  She's going to love it!


Since it is the holiday season, please let me know if I can provide you with some coffee for your special events - your guests will do a double back-flip with a single twist when they taste how good your coffee is.  (You do know that is hyperbole right?)  Take a look at what I have to offer.


If you have not yet taken the time to find the easter egg on the website - lucky for you there is still time.  Go over to the Anchor Bay Roasts website, find that easter egg, and you will be entered in (with the other 3 people) this month's drawing for FREE coffee.

You Guessed Where?

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Yesterday I left you hanging when I told you that my wife got a tattoo and asked if you could guess where she put it.  No, no, she did not put it on her bottom of her left heel - that would just be silly.  Instead, she put it on the back of her neck so that all the people behind her in the line at the grocery store might see it.  Her pixie cut makes this a very strategic place for it too.


There are only 10 more days to go for this month's easter egg.  So far there have only been 2 people who have found it so it could be an easy contest between them.  If you want to look for the easter egg and a chance to win the FREE coffee, visit the website and spend a few minutes reading through and looking for it - it really is out in the open.  Good Luck!


Also, if you have not had a chance to view the 2:20 video press-release I invite you to take a look-see at http://anchorbayroasts.blogspot.com/2011/10/press-release.html.

Anchor Bay Roasts TATTOO!!!

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I was wracking my brain trying to figure out how to make the experience of coffee demonstrations last longer than just the length of time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.  Then it hit me - I'll design a tattoo!  Ha!  That will last longer than a cup of coffee.  So even though I lack a logo I designed a tattoo that everyone will want - a smiley face tattoo.

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So everyone in my immediate family has been marked so far and as I create further posts I will insert pictures of them sporting their new tats.  Then, as more and more people join us coffee snobs at Anchor Bay Roasts I will include their pictures as well.  However, I guess to be fair I need to go first so here I am sporting my new tat.


For the next post I will be featuring my wife's tat - and you will not guess where she chose to sport hers.  I'll post the picture tomorrow.


In the mean-time, have you seen the video of our official Press-Release?  If not, click here to watch the 3 minute video of my recorded live press release.

Press Release...

October 18, 2011

The Sweetest 1 Tenth of 1 Percent (00.175%)

He was casually doing his work and moving along the hall when he noticed it - that smell.  He started walking to find the source when he came upon it - we were brewing the coffee and it smelled like heaven.  He inquired how much he had to pay for a cup but the church told the janitor that he was welcome to enjoy - no charge.  He did enjoy and now he will forever be a coffee snob.


I talked with the janitor at the school where our church meets at length about the attributes of fresh coffee.  Before I left he asked me if there was any coffee that he could buy.  I sold him an extra bag (2 pots for him) and he gave me $3.50 in exchange.  This is the sweetest $3.50 that I had earned to date because he was sold by the smell alone - the taste just sealed the deal.


I have been asked where I plan to find the "coffee snobs" but it appears that they will be finding me.

Do You Know Why Easter Uses Eggs?

No really, I was asking a serious question because I have no idea why the Easter Egg is used for this holiday.  A rabbit does not lay eggs...


However, while we are on the subject of easter eggs, were you aware that there is one somewhere on the Anchor Bay Roasts website?  If you find it you will be entered into this month's drawing for FREE coffee.  BTW, there has only been one person who has found it this month so odds are really in your favor.


Good Luck!

Honestly...

The coffee that I roast is not for everyone - It is expensive and it is not at all convenient.  I know it, you know, and even my 7 year old knows it.


But then again, a Lexus or BMW is expensive and those companies are bold enough to expect their owners to go through the inconvenience of firing uncle Wilbur's Backyard Auto Care service so that they might have their cars properly maintained in their further expensive Service Centers.


As I think about it, I do individually roast single-origin coffee fresh per customer, I do package each order in proper ratio to each customer's specific brewing style, and I do spend a bunch of time roasting each small batch order because I will not make or sell in bulk.  So I guess that while my coffee is more expensive than the stale stuff in the grocery store and more inconvenient than simply tossing a bag into your cart, at the end of the day there are still quite a few people who prefer to drive a Lexus or BMW.


So no, the coffee that I roast is not for everyone.

anchorbayroasts.com

Coffee Like a Great Lake - Improve Your Coffee Part 3

I remember a television show when I was a kid called "That's Incredible" where a guy said that he could identify each of Michigan's Great Lakes by the flavor of the water.  The man claimed that each of the Great Lakes were notable because of the impurities in their water.  And when he was given samples in a blind taste test - sure enough he identified them - 5 for 5.

I say all that to point out that the water that we make coffee with should be filtered-water.  I first learned this lesson when my brother-in-law made coffee using filtered water and I noticed a significant difference in the taste.  Then I really noticed a difference when I used water gathered in a snow storm in my Michigan Snow Coffee trial - it was not good.  It was because of both of these experiences that I can honestly say that you can improve the taste of your coffee by improving the quality of the water that you use.  If you doubt me just make your coffee with

Do I Sell Flavored Creamers?

I was asked this while talking with someone about doing a coffee demonstration for them.  While I was not offended nor insulted I just told the client honestly, "If you are going to add flavoring to my coffee, you might as well save yourself some money and buy something inexpensive at the grocery store."


When I say this, I am not trying to be catty or snobbish but the reality is that the coffee that I sell is not cheap and if someone is just going to put flavoring in it anyway they can save themselves a few bucks and add the flavor to cheaper coffee -   The result would be the same.


The point of Anchor Bay Roast is to help people to experience the coffee that they drink - not the flavors that they add.  Coffee, especially freshly-roasted unadulterated single-origin coffee, has a wonderful flavor and many wonderful characteristics to experience in it.  Tasting coffee (properly called cupping) is akin to wine tasting in my world.  Each cup is to be recognized as a unique experience but helping people to experience their coffee is impossible if they put additives in the coffee that I prepare and serve to them.


Lots of people do not really believe me when I tell them this but good coffee does not need creamer, sugar, and or other flavors to be added because God already put all the flavor necessary in the beans that He created.  All we need is good coffee - And good coffee is often most difficult to come by.

Please Allow Me To Introduce...

I am sorry I forgot to do this earlier...


Please allow me to introduce myself,  my name is John and I roast coffee.  While I will not be so bold as to proclaim my coffee as the best in the world - it is still a very good experience.


Why is it good?  Because while the common coffee bean is a very sturdy product (remaining good after 2 years in its green state if stored in a dry and cool location) it still goes stale in just 2 weeks after being roasted.  This means that the stuff that you purchase is usually stale and often altered in order to maintain its consistent brand flavor.  With my fresh-brewed single-origin coffee it rarely tastes the same from pot to pot but it is always fresh and very yummy (if I am allowed this small boast).


My company is Anchor Bay Roasts and I would like to help you experience your coffee.

www.anchorbayroasts.com

The Coffee Goddess

I needed to roast some coffee for myself today and my daughter wants to learn the art - so I started her on her training.  She roasted her first batch of beans today to a Full-City roast- a Rwandan Bugisu.   This is not my favorite bean and I certainly would not serve it to customers, however it is a perfect bean for learning how to roast with.


She is pictured holding her first batch.  She learned how much bean to put in the roaster, how to assess its color and listen for its two-separate cracks.  As I write this she will not let me forget that we still yet need to grind and brew a cup for sampling.  


Ahhh, my little snob is blossoming...


Please visit anchorbayroasts.com and find this month's easter-egg for your chance to win FREE coffee.  This is the good stuff too, none of the bland stuff.  I figure that when you taste fresh single origin coffee that all other coffee you drink will suffer in comparison.

October Easter Egg

There is an easter egg on anchorbayroasts.com.  


If you locate it you will be eligible for a FREE 2.5oz package of coffee (That's one 12-cup pot).  There has been just one person who has located it so far so your odds are good if you find it.


Last month's easter egg was a bit tricky but this one is right out in the open for everyone to see.  If you cannot find it it is simply because you are not reading the pages.  (oopsies, was that a hint I just let slip?)


Happy hunting!

Coffee Sale...

Hi there.  Today (10/11/2011) I am offering 5 - 12c pots of coffee (12.5oz) for just $15.00 + shipping!


The coffee is a Mocca Sanini from Yemen - and it is fabulous.  The very moment that you first smell this brew you will be returned to the days when you stood over the stove and smelled your grandma cooking chocolate pudding.  As this cup cools you will experience a note of cocoa in the taste like a baker's chocolate - not sweet but rich.  This bean is nutty with a strong earth tone and begs to be experienced.


Email me now to taste this delightfully-and-artfully-crafted fresh-roasted single-origin coffee.

Coffee Like ?- Improve your Coffee Part 2

I wanted to come up with a snappy metaphor for coffee grind that worked but I just couldn't think of one this morning.  I'm sure that I will think of one later in the afternoon but for now - I have nothing...


Another key to improving your coffee at home is to understand the grind that you use.  If you use a process of brewing that steeps or washes your grounds with hot water then you may use a grind that is more course.  However, if the hot water that you use is simply running through the grounds once then you want a grind that is finer.  And further still, if you use a brewing process that mostly blasts steam through your grounds you want to go with a grind that is more akin to dust.


Most people who grind their own coffee at home use a hand-held blade grinder.  The problem with this type of grinder is that the final grind is not very consistent and the blades tend to heat the beans and further cook them. However, if you would have further control over the grind that results then you will want to look into a burr-mill grinder.  These are a few dollars more but certainly worth it if you are seeking a better cup of coffee.

October Easter Egg...

There is an October easter egg on the www.anchorbayroasts.com website.  If you find it you will be entered in the drawing for the FREE pot of coffee.  The egg is obvious so the only reason you would not be able to locate it is because you really are not trying.


Good Luck!

Coffee Like Motorcycles - Improve Your Coffee Part 1...

Ratio is a key to good coffee.  


When I had a 4-wheeler with a 2-stroke engine I had to mix oil with the gas.  There was a certain percentage of oil that had to be added to the gas for the engine to run properly: Add too much oil and it smoked - Add too little and it seized.  Coffee is the same.  Add too much coffee to your water and it is too strong (I know, hard to do but follow me here will ya?) - add too little and you're lucky to get bad tasting tea.


What ratio of grind:water do you use to make coffee?  You have likely learned that you just throw so many scoops in and hit the button right?  Try weighing your coffee.  I know this is a pain but really, you will thank me.  


1. Find out how many ounces of water you use in a pot of coffee.  
- Cups of coffee are 5 ozs. each.  So if you have a 12-cup pot you have (12 * 5) 60 ozs. of water.  


2. Now multiply the ounces of water with .042 ...  This results in a number that indicates how much grind (by weight) to use for your pot.


- 12 C = 2.5 oz
- 10 C = 2.1 oz
- 8 C = 1.7 oz
- 6 C = 1.25 oz
- 4 C = .85 oz
- 3 C = .65 oz
- 2 C = .40 oz


As a disclaimer, coffee tastes are subjective so you may be used to just heaping the coffee grind into your maker as drinking strong coffee.  Using the lower ratio may indeed make you think that the coffee is too weak.  Actually, your coffee is fine it's just that your 2-stroke engine is not smoking as much.

How To Buy My FRESH Coffee...

I have had a few questions about how a person can buy the coffee that I roast.  So I thought that I had better explain.

First, I will not sell more coffee to you than what you actually think you will use in 14 days.  The reason for this is simple - fresh coffee is the goal.  If I were to sell you a month's worth of coffee, this would be good for my cash-flow as a budding business but selling bulk like that ensures that my coffee would be stale at some point when you consume it.  Coffee (as the Brits put it) "goes off" in just 14 days.  I believe that if you were to taste my coffee stale you would think to yourself, "Huh, this coffee does not taste any better than the stuff that I buy at the store."  So by limiting the quantity that I will sell to you at one time I hope that you will never have a stale cup of coffee from Anchor Bay Roasts.

Second, Anchor Bay Roasts is governed by what is called the Cottage Food Law of 2010.  The law states that I may not sell my coffee online or through a distributor of any kind.  The idea is that the end consumer of the coffee must have a direct line of contact to me in case there is ever any complaint.  I have written more about this on the website so please go there if you desire more info.

In the end, I may indeed be shooting myself in the foot by not selling large quantities of coffee to the people who request it but one of my core values is to make sure that every cup of coffee that you get from me is fresh.  Because really, if all you want is the standard stale cup of coffee you can just pick some up at your local grocery store and save yourself some time and money.

September Easter Egg Winner...

There were just four people who found the easter egg for the month of September, the winner is Denise from New Haven, MI. - Denise, you will be getting your FREE coffee ASAP and thanks for playing.  As for the 3 runners-up, I have a consolation prize for you but don't get too excited, it is cheesy and I am still waiting for it to arrive around the 18th of October.  When it comes I will mail it to you.


Now, there is also an easter egg on the website someplace for the month of October.  I plan to make this one easier because I actually want people to play.  People who find it will be entered into the October drawing for FREE coffee.  And if I failed to mention it earlier I should mention this disclaimer now, I will only ship the FREE coffee to the contiguous 48 states.


Good Luck!

Final Day for the September Easter Egg Drawing.

Only 4 people have found the easter egg on the landing page of anchorbayroasts.com.  You could get your name added to the drawing by visiting and finding it too.  When you do, you have a chance at winning FREE coffee too!


Good Luck.

Happy Belated National Coffee Day!

I had never heard of such a thing but then a friend of mine told me about it, then I saw that another friend and his wife got "their free cup" at a popular doughnut shop.  I guess I should have jumped on the bandwagon huh? Well, it's not yet too late.


For everyone who submits an original poem about their love of coffee at the Anchor Bay Roasts website between now 11:59pm tomorrow night - I will put into a drawing for a 2.5oz package of my new Sumatra -  Iskandar Premium.  This Sumatran will not only make your vocal chords reflexively say "YUM" but I am betting that the lucky winner will become a coffee snob for life because all other coffee will pale in comparison. So let me hear the depth of your coffee love.  (Sorry, no international shipments or Alaska & Hawaii.)

Sumatra - Iskandar Premium

When the farmers (all women) pick the Iskandar berries they immediately remove the beans from the pulp and hand wash them in order to remove any excess pulp.  Then it is sent to the processor where it is sun dried and cured being raked and turned many times.  After the beans have dried they are hand inspected for quality and then only the best beans are allowed entrance into the Premium bag.  


It would take an economist to figure out how many man hours goes into each bean and then how many beans goes into each cup!


First off I noticed that the aroma shouts the character of this cup.  It rolls along with a rich earthy scent that begs you to come back for more.  My wife wondered if I was drinking her cup as I brought it to her but I merely had my nose buried in and smelling the wonderful promise.


I sat with my cup and blew and smelled for a while.  Then when I took a sip it was a perfect temperature.  I was delighted with a deep-earthy flavor that was pregnant with botanicals - but not flowery.  The body was creamy and rich setting heavy on the tongue and not at all watered down.  It was one of those coffee that illicited an audible "YUM" from me.


When I start my monthly coffee klatch roasting club (something that is begging to be begun) I think I will certainly be presenting this Sumatran.

New Service for Birthdays...

A friend asked me to make 5lbs. of coffee for her husband's birthday gift.  I declined.  Do I need the business - yes.  So why did I give up the opportunity?  Because 5lbs. will sit in someone's cupboard, fridge or freezer for quite a while.  Since coffee goes stale in just 2 weeks I don't want people making my coffee and thinking to themselves that it tastes just like the rest of the stale coffee that they drink.  So, I created The Coffee Gift and made it one of the services that I provide at Anchor Bay Roasts.  Check it out and get your co-worker, friend, or loved one one of the best gifts that you could ever get them.

A New Experience

Please do not worry, I am now and will always be a coffee drinker, but I need to discover a fun experience for my non-coffee drinking clients.  Today, I made a pot of tea with something called a "flowering" tea.  This is a hand-stitched bunch of teas that are sewn into a ball and when boiling water is added it slowly absorbed the water and blooms into a beautiful flower. After 4-5 minutes the tea is ready to be drank.

This was a fun experience for the whole family because the kids liked watching it bloom as well as tasting the result.  The tea seems to me to be what tea should be but the experience made it something that I would have loved to have done on a first-date. ;-)

On another note.  There is still time to visit www.anchorbayroasts.com (the landing page) and find the easter egg to be put in the drawing for the free coffee.  Good luck!

Which is True?

When I was a kid I always used to see my grandma with her coffee cup.  As I grew I learned that she did indeed drink coffee in the mornings but in the evenings it was actually Pabst Blue Ribbon in her cup.


I once went to a hoity-toity wine tasting in Lansing, MI and as I was standing behind a lady to get some wine I watched her get a glass of Merlot and ask the server for "a couple of packets of sugar" to put in her glass.  I was not actually appalled but I did find it amusing that she had not even tasted the wine and she was asking for an additive.  You know, good wine does not need sugar and if wine does it is not actually good wine.


The same is to be said about coffee - it actually has a good-tasting God-designed flavor that can be experienced in each cup.  If it does not then you either have bad coffee or you do not really like coffee to begin with.


What's in your cup?


anchorbayroasts.com

Do You Have a Poem in Your Soul?

Besides being a great warrior, King David was a man of great passion.  His Psalms are the music of the souls of men - and have been for thousands of years.  Like King David, many of us have deep emotions that spill from us like rains from the Michigan sky in the forms of the words that we write.  Do you have a passion for coffee?  Would you share it with the class?  We would be much obliged.

http://www.anchorbayroasts.com/poetry.html