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.