Guatemala is back! This one is a great classic Guatemala with hints of grapefruit and chocolate. The other new coffee is a Kenya Peaberry. This one is complex and with spice and floral notes. Available now.
Sadly, the last of the Guatemala Finca Carmona is gone. More from this great origin will be on the way, so stay tuned.
We have a new Sumatra in stock – this one is a peaberry. Most coffee fruits have two half hemispherical “beans”, but a common genetic fluke is to have a single rounded seed in some of the cherries. These were traditionally sorted out as a defect because they don’t roast at the same rate as the normal beans. Someone eventually figured out that the peaberries, when roasted by themselves had a distinctive flavor profile.
Get it while it lasts…
Clever Dripper Pre-Orders
Jun 29
I posted a few weeks back about one of my favorite ways to brew coffee – the Clever Dripper. I have an opportunity to purchase these at wholesale cost. If I can get 6 pre-orders, I’ll buy a case. I already have 2 that have expressed interest, so only 4 to go…
If you missed my earlier post, the clever dripper is a simple pour over cone that uses standard cone shaped filters but has a valve at the bottom. The valve is what makes this so clever. You can fill up the cone with coffee and hot water from a kettle (190 deg is best) and let it steep like a french press. When you place the dripper over a cup or pot, the valve opens to let the coffee out. Its all the deep extraction of a french press without the sludge.
At home I use my Clever Dripper with a washable hemp cloth filter. Like This one.
Comment here, on Facebook, or send me an email to let me know if I can add you to the list.
I got a new bag of Kenya in – Kenya Nyeri Tegu AB. Nyeri is the region where this is grown and Tegu is the processing mill and washing station it comes through. I would describe this one as sweet and fruity with good body. Sweet Marias, the importer for this one, has more detail. You may or may not taste all these things …
“The dry fragrance is sweet with vanilla, almond essence, and floral elements. The darker roasts have increasingly potent brown sugar and plum note on the grounds. The wet aroma has hope flower in the light roast, but winey black currant in darker roasts and on the break…
Dark berry notes that weren’t present at 12 hours of rest really emerged at 24 hours rest, and were even more intense at 48 hours <after roasting>. At the right roast, the mouthfeel has this interesting “fatty” confectionery quality, but this could be an effect of the flavors. C+ is where I got this coffee to sing for me, the body is nice and the melon is intense with a muscovado sugar… so sweet. This is not the most citric or acidic Kenya, and some will find it less compelling as such. I think the balance, body and depth are welcome qualities.”
The Sumatra is not significantly different from the Sumatra I had previously. I get batches that look cleaner than others sometimes, but Sumatra always seems to be predictably the same – low acid, earthy flavors you expect from a Sumatra.
Three Times in Three Days
May 25
I knew I was getting low on a few beans, but never expected to have three runs on the three coffees I was lowest on three days in a row. Last night I roasted the last of the Sumatra Classic Mandheling. That means no Sumatra, and no more Standard Blend until my re-order arrives next week.
Speaking of re-order. The beans I’m replacing are $1-$3/lb more than I paid last order (which was about $1-$3 more than the previous). I need to run some numbers. I hate to raise prices again, but at such low volumes it may be unavoidable.
Another one bites the dust
May 24
I roasted the last of the Kenya today. This one has been on my top 2 favorites since it arrived. It will be missed. Reordering more coffee this morning. I have a couple of Kenyan coffees to chose from, not so much on the Sulawesi…
If you missed yesterday’s post, I have a group buy going. If I can get 6 pre-orders on the Clever Dripper coffee brewer, I can make an order and sell them at $12 each. We have 2 already, so 4 more orders and I’ll get them on the way.
If you dont know what a Clever Dripper is, its basically a filter cone, but it has a valve at the bottom that allows you to fill the cone and let the coffee sit for a minute like a French Press before filtering out to your cup or pot.
Today, we say goodbye to the Sulawesi Peaberry. The last pound was roasted and delivered yesterday. It has been one of my, and many of my customers’ favorite beans. I’m working on getting more variety in stock, but a lot of countries haven’t started shipping this season’s crop yet. Stay tuned – there will certainly be more to come…
Now for the good news. One of my favorite brewing methods is the Clever Dripper I found at Sweet Marias. This is a pour over filter cone that gives you all the goodness of a French Press with a clean filtered result that isn’t muddy as French Press can sometimes be. There is a rubber stopper at the bottom. This allows you to add your coffee, then fill up the cone with hot water and a let it sit. When you set the cone device over a cup, or in my case, a ceramic pot, the valve opens and the coffee comes out. Read more here
I can sell these wholesale from Sweet Marias and sell them to you for $12 delivered (in local delivery area) if I can get 6 pre-orders. If you are interested let me know and I’ll put you down.
A study begun in 1986 and ran through 2006 has found that men who consumed six or more cups a day (and I thought I drank a lot of coffee) had a significantly lower risk of developing prostate cancer and an even lower risk when looking at the most lethal forms or prostate cancer.
As usual with most studied of this kind, this is merely a strongly observed association with drinking coffee and prostate cancer. Causality is suspected to be associated with coffees well known anti-oxidant properties, but it will take more study to find out exactly what is going on.
In the meantime, I’m going back for a refill…
Avoca Is Open
Mar 17
If you haven’t heard, Avoca coffee shop on Magnolia has opened. We stopped by tonight to check it out. They have great hours – 6am to 10pm. I was excited to see a Cortado on the menu. If you arent familiiar with this drink, its a double-shot of espresso “cut” with steamed milk. The espresso was smooth and well balanced. I was happy to find that this shop doesn’t follow the current trend of burning the beans, missing out on all the great flavors possible. They also have pour-over and press pot coffee on the menu – all signs to me that these guys know good coffee.
We will definitely be coming back. Its a great place to hang out with great hours and great coffee that’s roasted right here in the neighborhood. Making a living with coffee is no easy task, but these guys seem to have right ingredients in place. I wish them success. You should definitely stop by and have a cup or take home some beans.
Caffeinating the Cowtown
Feb 27
This year, runners from the Cowtown Marathon made their way through the Fairmount neighborhood. Residents came out to the park for pancakes and coffee and to cheer on the runners. LocallyRoasted took care of the coffee part with 12 pots of coffee. Supporting the supporters of the runners is about as close to running a marathon as I get.
