Yes, I know - I'm always taking too long between posts.
I am getting ready for a trip to Israel, hoping the coffee on the trip will not be too bad. Is that a sign that I think about coffee too much? I have laid out all of this money for the best tour with the best accommodations and my big worry is the coffee over there?
I supposed I could always send out to Turkey for some good coffee - did I ever blog about my trip to the Turkish embassy in NYC? Probably not. The group I was with almost had to drag me out at the end because I wanted to drink more of the coffee. Yum :)
So where was I... Oh yes, rambling about my trip. So of course I do not want to waste any coffee. That being said I have finished off all of the coffee in the house and needed to pick up just a little bit to get me through the next few days. So off I go this morning to my favorite coffee roaster, Georgio. I was going to just grab a quick quarter pound of beans of one of my favorite blends, but he had a bean on the menu that I had not seen or tried yet: Ethiopian Cup of Excellence. This one just came in recently and he expects to be out of it quickly, so I grabbed a quarter pound.
I am sipping it as I type this. It is nice, a bit mellower than what I normally drink, especially in the morning, but it has a nice undertone to it - a hint of deep earthy richness that just kind of sits in the background and lets you know it is there without being the primary flavor or texture of the coffee. I think I like it. I also think I had better not fall in love with it, since by the time I am back in the US in September I expect it to be long gone.
Long Island Press ran a great seven page story this week about coffee, entitles Everything You Know About Coffee is Wrong. You should read it - good stuff. Bad Long Islanders. Learn about coffee!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Coffee for a party?
I was at my local coffee shop discussing a partyu that I have coming up in a few weeks. That led to a conversation of what type of coffee to serve and how much to make?
What I was told was that Columbian is always a good choice. However, I think I will disagree in this case. This particular event is a brunch that will begin around 1 pm. Knowing many of the people there, I think that perhaps a blend will be the way to go this time.
The blend I am thinking about is one that I have mentioned in a previous post: Georgio's Testarossa blend. However I do believe that the numbers are correct: 1 pound of coffee for every 35 people invited.
What I am going to do is have bags pre-ground for the party for 50- and 100-cup pots. Not too pre-ground though. We always want our coffee to be nice and fresh!
What I was told was that Columbian is always a good choice. However, I think I will disagree in this case. This particular event is a brunch that will begin around 1 pm. Knowing many of the people there, I think that perhaps a blend will be the way to go this time.
The blend I am thinking about is one that I have mentioned in a previous post: Georgio's Testarossa blend. However I do believe that the numbers are correct: 1 pound of coffee for every 35 people invited.
What I am going to do is have bags pre-ground for the party for 50- and 100-cup pots. Not too pre-ground though. We always want our coffee to be nice and fresh!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
My daughter discovers coffee
My daughter is a Junior in High School. She has been around coffee all her life, but only recently has she learned to appreciate it - much to the chagrin of my wife.
Our house has a order to it in the morning in which each person wakes up, gets ready then goes downstairs. There is some overlap, but generally my wife (last) gets down just as my daughter (first) is going to school or just afterwards. The order is: Daughter (5:30), Son (6:00), me (6:15), wife (6:45). Each of those changes a bit, but that is roughly it. My daughter leaves for school at 6:45, so the wife-daughter connection does not happen every morning.
This morning it did, but my daughter had gotten up ealry to cram in some studying for today's AP exam, so coffee was made early and she had more than usual. I had my morning cup and sat down to check email and watch the news. After my daughter had left my wife went to pour her coffee and there was only a half cup left.
I am so glad I will not be home when they see each other this afternoon!
Our house has a order to it in the morning in which each person wakes up, gets ready then goes downstairs. There is some overlap, but generally my wife (last) gets down just as my daughter (first) is going to school or just afterwards. The order is: Daughter (5:30), Son (6:00), me (6:15), wife (6:45). Each of those changes a bit, but that is roughly it. My daughter leaves for school at 6:45, so the wife-daughter connection does not happen every morning.
This morning it did, but my daughter had gotten up ealry to cram in some studying for today's AP exam, so coffee was made early and she had more than usual. I had my morning cup and sat down to check email and watch the news. After my daughter had left my wife went to pour her coffee and there was only a half cup left.
I am so glad I will not be home when they see each other this afternoon!
Monday, April 27, 2009
A tasting!
I was lucky enough to attend a coffee tasting recently at Georgio's Coffee. I cannot begin to tell you how fun and informative this is. I cannot begin to describe how awake I was for the next 24 hours as well from all of the caffeine!
We started with 3 coffees, each coarsely ground in cups and then added hot water. stir and sit for 4 mins. taste. Wow! This is apparently how coffee is tasted when the buyers go down to decide which one they want 100 pounds of. Every feature of the coffee is magnified. The African (Ethiopian) has a distinct flavor of lemon. The brazillian had little taste and the Columbian was just wonderful. you could tell it would make a great cup of coffee.
When then had some brewed Columbian, then the real treat. A cup of Rwanda Kabuye "Cup Of Excellence". This coffee sells for $40/lb and I can see why. If I had money to throw away, as many families in our area do, I would have bought 10 pounds of the stuff.
But alas, I am on a budget and for the free pounnd allowance my wife and I got a pound of Peaberry Bourbon and Georgio's great Testarossa blend.
If you ever get to go to a tasting, be sure to go!
...and if you are wondering, I do not work for Georgio, nor do I get paid by him. I just love his coffees!
We started with 3 coffees, each coarsely ground in cups and then added hot water. stir and sit for 4 mins. taste. Wow! This is apparently how coffee is tasted when the buyers go down to decide which one they want 100 pounds of. Every feature of the coffee is magnified. The African (Ethiopian) has a distinct flavor of lemon. The brazillian had little taste and the Columbian was just wonderful. you could tell it would make a great cup of coffee.
When then had some brewed Columbian, then the real treat. A cup of Rwanda Kabuye "Cup Of Excellence". This coffee sells for $40/lb and I can see why. If I had money to throw away, as many families in our area do, I would have bought 10 pounds of the stuff.
But alas, I am on a budget and for the free pounnd allowance my wife and I got a pound of Peaberry Bourbon and Georgio's great Testarossa blend.
If you ever get to go to a tasting, be sure to go!
...and if you are wondering, I do not work for Georgio, nor do I get paid by him. I just love his coffees!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Some Dos and Don'ts for coffee enjoyment
As I was driving to work this morning, after posting that initial blog entry, I thought of some of the discussions I have recently had with people about coffee. The one message I seem to be conferring over and over is that "coffee is not candy." If you really want to enjoy coffee, you should not be drinking it with milk/creamer/creamer and/or sugar/sweetner. If that is what you like them that is fine, but it is not too much different from a coffee-flavored hot chocolate.
Most of the time I hear this from people who think that good coffee comes in the resealable red plastic container on the supermarket shelf. YUK! That is like saying that fine chocolate comes from Pennsylvania.
I would like to state a few things that I have found that can make coffee far more enjoyable, especially for those newbies out there. Not all of these will be agreed upon by everyone, but this is my take on coffee enjoyment Dos and Don'ts:
- Never (and I mean never) put your coffee in the refrigerator. That just dries it out and makes it taste like the stuff you get at the deli.
- Grind your coffee as you are ready to use it. This one is the quickest way to better coffee. Even moderately good beans which are freshly ground will make your coffee experience catapult to the next level
- Use a burr grinder. Those grinders with the rotating blade on the top are for grinding spices, not for coffee. They work great for cardamom if you like Indian cooking. Keep the coffee away.
- Roast your own, or at least get your coffee in small batches from a good roaster. I'll plug my favorite roaster below. If you are curious about roasting your own beans, my friend Adam swears by Sweet Marias for all of his roasting needs. He occassionally sends me fresh roasted beans and they are quite yummy!
- A permanent metal coffee filter will allow the oils from the ground coffee to get through and enhance your flavor far more than paper filters will. If you have to use paper filters, try to use the brown ones instead of the bleached ones.
I am including a link to an amazon store that will feature some of the things I have talked about here. I don't actually expect to make anything off of it, it is more of a guide to help out. I will continue to link to other places.
Here is the link: http://astore.amazon.com/coffeecoffeec-20
I hope these help some people out.
Lastly I want to plug my favorite coffee roaster. If you happen to live on Long Island and can get to Huntington, visit Georgio's. He is on Jericho Tpk, just west of Route 110. Here is a link to a review.
Most of the time I hear this from people who think that good coffee comes in the resealable red plastic container on the supermarket shelf. YUK! That is like saying that fine chocolate comes from Pennsylvania.
I would like to state a few things that I have found that can make coffee far more enjoyable, especially for those newbies out there. Not all of these will be agreed upon by everyone, but this is my take on coffee enjoyment Dos and Don'ts:
- Never (and I mean never) put your coffee in the refrigerator. That just dries it out and makes it taste like the stuff you get at the deli.
- Grind your coffee as you are ready to use it. This one is the quickest way to better coffee. Even moderately good beans which are freshly ground will make your coffee experience catapult to the next level
- Use a burr grinder. Those grinders with the rotating blade on the top are for grinding spices, not for coffee. They work great for cardamom if you like Indian cooking. Keep the coffee away.
- Roast your own, or at least get your coffee in small batches from a good roaster. I'll plug my favorite roaster below. If you are curious about roasting your own beans, my friend Adam swears by Sweet Marias for all of his roasting needs. He occassionally sends me fresh roasted beans and they are quite yummy!
- A permanent metal coffee filter will allow the oils from the ground coffee to get through and enhance your flavor far more than paper filters will. If you have to use paper filters, try to use the brown ones instead of the bleached ones.
I am including a link to an amazon store that will feature some of the things I have talked about here. I don't actually expect to make anything off of it, it is more of a guide to help out. I will continue to link to other places.
Here is the link: http://astore.amazon.com/coffeecoffeec-20
I hope these help some people out.
Lastly I want to plug my favorite coffee roaster. If you happen to live on Long Island and can get to Huntington, visit Georgio's. He is on Jericho Tpk, just west of Route 110. Here is a link to a review.
coffee coffee coffee???
What does it mean? I am a coffee addict. Like so many in my chosen profession (computer programmer), coffee is how a get through the day.
I wanted to make a place where I could tell coffee stories, share coffee tips and maybe even get a few if anyone reads this.
I discovered coffee as a teenager at the local deli while I was having breakfast instead of being in my second period class. In college, a couple of guys that lived down the hall from me (second floor Wilkeson dorm, SUNY Buffalo) in 1982 whose names I seem to remember being Adam and Chris, introduced me to Puerto Rican coffee. That was the first time I discovered that drinking coffee could truly be enjoyable.
I'll post more later on - I just wanted to get a first post up and get this rolling.
I wanted to make a place where I could tell coffee stories, share coffee tips and maybe even get a few if anyone reads this.
I discovered coffee as a teenager at the local deli while I was having breakfast instead of being in my second period class. In college, a couple of guys that lived down the hall from me (second floor Wilkeson dorm, SUNY Buffalo) in 1982 whose names I seem to remember being Adam and Chris, introduced me to Puerto Rican coffee. That was the first time I discovered that drinking coffee could truly be enjoyable.
I'll post more later on - I just wanted to get a first post up and get this rolling.
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