tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84588444505793484502024-03-05T00:02:15.976-08:00Coffee IlluminatiUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-89355986829708236642013-02-03T17:12:00.000-08:002013-02-03T17:12:00.537-08:00Hartmann DubbelThis week the DoubleShot is set to release the second in a two-coffee series from Finca Hartmann in Panama. Both coffees are from micro-lots, exclusive to the DoubleShot. The first release was the Hartmann Honey, and the second, set to hit the shelves on Tuesday, February 5, is the Hartmann Natural. <br />
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The Coffee Illuminati will be having an event at the DoubleShot on Saturday, February 16 to taste these two coffees side-by-side. The event will start at 10a in the side room near where the kitchen is located.<br />
<br />I'll have just returned from a 6-day trip to Panama, including a couple of days at the two Hartmann farms: Palo Verde and Ojo de Agua. At the Hartmann Dubbel event, I'll spend a few minutes sharing my experiences there, and I'll tell you all about the two coffees we are about to taste, and then we'll commence sipping these coffees.<br />
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As always, we have two goals in putting on these events. One is to educate coffee drinkers more about different aspects of coffee, so that consumers like yourselves will understand what and how much goes into producing quality coffee and the hands that must toil in order to get the coffee from the nursery all the way to the sweet nectar we enjoy every day. The second goal of the Coffee Illuminati is to align ourselves with the farmers in a way where we can try to give back to those who produce our coffees. We can't affect the whole world. And we're a very small company, so we can't even affect a large swath of coffee producers. But we want to do what we can, and your donations help us do that. Each time we have an event, all the money we raise goes toward a charitable cause that helps children and families in coffee-growing areas where we buy coffee. So at each event, we request a $10 donation to the Coffee Illuminati to help us make these projects happen.<br />
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This trip to Panama, we'll be taking as many soccer balls as we can fit in our luggage, and at the farms we will inflate them and give them to the kids whose parents pick your coffee. I'll get some pictures for you. The other mission I have while at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates is to see about using our funds to build a swingset for the Ngöbe-Buglé children, whose families live on the farm and pick all of the Ninety Plus Gesha coffees.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-2206256262968421822013-01-14T06:22:00.000-08:002013-01-14T06:22:17.266-08:00Your donation for foodAt the last event we held here at the DoubleShot, before things got busy during the holidays, we raised money for a scholarship fund that we've given to in the past. But the money raised at the event wasn't enough to help a student pay for housing and tuition for a semester, as is our usual donation, so we decided to help a different cause.<br />
Hogares Juveniles Campesinos is a house in Concordia, Colombia that hosts students from the rural areas of Concordia that go to school in town but have no relatives or a place to stay during the weekdays. The house gets support from the Colombian government, but the money comes too little and too late, so they struggle to survive. This service is so important because it serves the children of low-wage coffee pickers, allowing them to go to school and get an education. So we gave your donations of $200 to Hogares Juveniles Campesinos (Farmers' Kids' Home) to help them buy groceries. I thank you and they send their thanks to you. Below are some pictures from the home.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-39321277137768352682012-07-21T07:33:00.000-07:002012-07-21T07:33:10.923-07:00Coffee Contrasting EventOn Thursday, August 2 at 7p at the DoubleShot we will have another coffee tasting event. We will brew 12 of our most delicious coffees for you to taste, compare, and contrast side-by-side. This will be another informal tasting. We will explain the format at the beginning and set everyone loose to sip the brews, and a few of us will be on-hand to answer questions during the event. The coffees will be set up so you can either blind taste everything or you can look online at each one to see what it is and what we thought of it. We strongly suggest, if you don't have one, that you download a QR Code Reader app before the event.<br />
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We will be taking $10 donations again for this event, and even if you can't make it you're still welcome to make a donation to the Coffee Illuminati. Please let us know if you plan to come, either by telling your barista at the DoubleShot or by emailing: info@coffeeilluminati.com.<br />
You can make donations by cash or check (made out to Coffee Illuminati) or online by clicking the donate button at the bottom of this page: http://coffeeilluminati.com/help.html<br />
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Proceeds from this event will be used to give a $1000 scholarship to a needy teenager in Concordia, Colombia who wants to go to university in Medellin. The scholarship will pay for the student's tuition for a semester. We have done this a couple of times in the past and the students really need and appreciate the help.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-23102969930159153422012-06-13T11:06:00.000-07:002012-06-13T15:42:07.763-07:00brewing forum June 28<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're having a brewing forum on June 28 at 7p at the DoubleShot featuring Alfredo Correa's Colombia San Rafael. Register at the store or shoot an email to info@coffeeilluminati.com. Credit card donations can now be made online: <a href="http://coffeeilluminati.com/help.html">http://coffeeilluminati.com/help.html</a> </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-28414919679207111292010-10-09T17:39:00.001-07:002010-10-09T17:47:19.352-07:00More space, more timeSo, we've expanded. You probably know that.<div><br /></div><div>Along with the needed space, it's given me a bit more time- mostly, I think, because I've given away some more of my bar hours to Garth and Michael in exchange for a bit more sleep, roasting during the daytime, and getting things done that seem to be neglected.</div><div>Including the Coffee Illuminati.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want to have a coffee tasting soon. But, of course, there are things coming up we need to steer clear of. I'm hoping to go on vacation to Sedona next week. Hoping.</div><div>Garth and I are headed to Rio Negro in Costa Rica in November.</div><div>And much more.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, I wanted to post links to some stuff I've been reading that is interesting:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.coffeeclubnetwork.com/redes/form/post?pub_id=2131">http://www.coffeeclubnetwork.com/redes/form/post?pub_id=2131</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=40774&t=Flooding+causes+evacuation+of+refugees+in+Guatemala">http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=40774&t=Flooding+causes+evacuation+of+refugees+in+Guatemala</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://sprudge.com/aguagate-questioning-castillo-at-the-2010-colombia-cup-of-excellence.html">http://sprudge.com/aguagate-questioning-castillo-at-the-2010-colombia-cup-of-excellence.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I asked Cristina about this last article and here's what she said:</div><div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">My opinion is divided on this matter.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">I was very sad when I found out many growers from Concordia are changing to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">Variedad Castillo, you know obviously my reasons, but when I heard everyones</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">story, I agree that unfortunately that is the reality these days and they</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">have to make their living. Coffee rust has been so dramatic in the last 2</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">years, that people who had Caturra lost their crop. There was nothing that</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">could stopped it, besides pesticides are very expensive and some people used</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">them 6 to 8 times a year and did not work either.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">Coffee rust make the folliage to fall, so the beans do not mature and the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">tree finally takes 2 years to recover.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">I understand the FNC wants to increase production and protect the grower but</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">what I do not like and disagree is that they lie about the variety. We all</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">understand and the growers as well, that the variedad castillo is more</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:medium;">resistant and more productive but lower quality. That is the reality.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">P.d. Lets hope nature gives us back the good weather to be able to keep<br />Caturra in our farms."<br /></span></span><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-47522378895078448942010-05-20T05:14:00.000-07:002010-05-20T05:55:02.929-07:00Change change changeI haven't blogged in a while. Sorry about that.<br />I may have mentioned before that we're working on re-structuring the Coffee Illuminati, and I may need your help.<br />And patience. <br /><br />Part of what is taking up so much time is the impending expansion into the space next door, where Chrome was. That new space will be our main counter and seating area, with some seating still in the old space. There is a door between the two, which has been hidden behind the lockers. You may have seen us walking behind the lockers and disappearing lately. Not Narnia.<br /><br />The story about us and El Boton Natural finally came out in Wine Specator. It's in the current issue, which may or may not yet be on the shelves, but subscribers are receiving the issue now. This is exciting for us. For one, it's a huge magazine- it has the biggest readership in the world. It's well-respected and read by people who, theoretically, can appreciate what we do. And hopefully it will mean a large, sustained increase in online sales. So far so good.<br />I'm trying to remind myself that, even if we didn't get a jump in sales, it's still a big deal.<br /><br />Last night I roasted 20 new samples. Some are from Cafe Imports and some are from a new broker I haven't used before, called Mercanta. I'll be tasting them over the next couple days. Hopefully we'll find some gems.<br /><br />I also have been working hard to try and make new contacts in various countries for coffees. I met a girl named Rouki at SCAA who lives in Guatemala City and has a lot of contacts with producers around the world. She has been connecting me with people in Guatemala (she says there are farmers producing some Geisha), Honduras, Nicaragua, and Kenya. I'm also trying to work out trips to these places if the contacts play out and I am able to acquire some unique and delicious coffees.<br /><br />Kari and I have been trying to find time to plan for the DoubleShot Duathlon this year. It's going to be October 2 at Osage Hills State Park. Just one race this year. The proceeds from the races we put on go to help out various projects for coffee producing families. Check out the (very minimal) webpage: <a href="http://www.DoubleShotDuathlon.com">www.DoubleShotDuathlon.com</a><br /><br />We've been talking about having a tasting of all our coffees, but time keeps getting away. We may wait and do it in the new space. That should be cool.<br /><br />One last thing. I did buy another coffee from Ninety Plus, the people who brought us the Aricha and Beloya. It's called Nekisse. I think it's even better than the coffees from them before. Which is saying a lot. I suspect it won't be long until I roast it. Burning a hole in my pocket.<br /><br />If you come to the DS, today there are two coffees sitting out on the cupping table. They are supposed to be the same coffee. The one on your right is the high-quality coffee we're used to seeing in this coffee and the one on the left is what we were sent this time. What a problem. You can see that there can be extreme variations in quality, and if I'm not careful and attentive, we can end up drinking crappy coffee. I guess I'm going to have to probe each bag that comes in and make sure it is what it's supposed to be. One more thing to add to the list.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-57645692835262285942010-02-23T12:21:00.000-08:002010-02-23T12:39:52.763-08:00GuatemalaI've been contemplating another trip soon and Guatemala keeps coming to mind, despite the trouble I had last time and the events of the past year or two.<div><br /></div><div>If you haven't been keeping up, you should read these stories. It's a sad situation.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.dhauckphoto.com/blog/?p=170">http://www.dhauckphoto.com/blog/?p=170</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14guatemala.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14guatemala.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/Never-ending?lang=es">http://www.radiomundoreal.fm/Never-ending?lang=es</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/25810892@N04/3541262537/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/25810892@N04/3541262537/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Probably a bad time to go. Also a bad time to turn our backs on Guatemalan coffee farmers.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-73646727945731920252010-02-01T11:26:00.000-08:002010-02-01T11:29:14.490-08:00Legesse SherefaJust received a few new coffees: Natural Yirgacheffe, Burundi Kirimiro from the Mwurire washing station, Yemen Harazi, also the El Boton Natural, Colombia La Alondra, and more Kenya French Mission and Tanzania Peaberry.<div><br /></div><div>While I was looking for info about the Nat Yirg, I googled the exporter's name and found this story: <a href="http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/9426">http://www.ethiopianreview.com/articles/9426</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Amazing what is happening in Ethiopia. Good coffees have been few and far between from there this year.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-11391175171455070852010-01-25T08:47:00.000-08:002010-01-25T09:15:22.356-08:00HaitiI'm sure you've all been following the disaster in Haiti. It's terrible, and every time I hear about it, I wish I could do something to help.<div><br /></div><div>A long time ago, before I opened the DoubleShot, I was in really good physical condition. I could run, ride, paddle, or whatever all day long. And all night. And all day again. I could literally go and go and go without wearing out. I realized at some point that I had an unusual ability, probably partly natural and partly because I worked at it so hard. But once I understood that I could do things other normal people couldn't do, I started to feel that I should use the ability for good. And I racked my brain trying to figure out how I could get a few more people like myself together and find an organization that would allow us to go at a moment's notice to places like Haiti, to deliver supplies and help people and to go where vehicles and other people couldn't get to very easily. I really could've been a force back then, had I known how to use it. As the years have worn on, I'm now just an average person. I've worked so much in this business that I've let my physical abilities falter. That bothers me, and I wish I were still in shape enough to help in Haiti. And I wish I had the time, resources, and know-how to get there and help. But I don't. So I sit here behind my computer trying to think of another way to help. Donating money? Ugh. I know they need stuff, but blindly giving money makes me queasy. </div><div>If you have a source to give money to help Haitians, do let us know.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I've been thinking about Haiti's history. They were a French colony a long time ago and were producing half of the worlds coffee at the time. Which is an amazing because it's a small... half of an island. The other half is the Dominican Republic. </div><div>The coffee and sugar industry in Haiti was run by plantation owners and worked by slaves. In 1791 the slaves began the only successful slave rebellion in known world history. As a result, their economy was wrecked and has never recovered. The plantation owners were killed and coffee crops were destroyed or neglected. Their coffee production plummeted by 45 percent.</div><div><br /></div><div>In recent years, a French organization called FACN with the help of USAID have developed a blend called Haitian Bleu, which is supposed to compete in the specialty market. Unfortunately I've never really heard of it and don't know anything about the coffee. So I'm thinking their efforts might not be that effective.</div><div>I started thinking. After this horrible disaster, there is going to have to be rebuilding. In my opinion, rebuilding the same thing they had before the earthquake is not going to make their lives better. I'm wondering if there could be an opportunity for the Specialty coffee industry to step in and try to guide and help them retool their coffee industry. Maybe Tim Schilling, who directed the programs in Rwanda that have bee incredibly successful, could lend his expertise to Haiti's coffee growers. Maybe changing just a few things and educating Haitians about the state of Specialty coffee today could have a huge impact on their economy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Is it possible that Haiti could become a big player in the coffee industry again?</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know.</div><div><br /></div><div>What are your thoughts? How can we help?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-49761703617174112832009-12-26T07:59:00.000-08:002009-12-26T08:55:52.177-08:00Happy Day Off DayIt's been a rough season, work-wise, around here. Isaiah, Garth, and I have been working way too much, and on top of it, they are preparing to compete in the South Central Regional Barista Competition in Austin January 7-10. We're all tired, and for sure enjoyed the day off yesterday.<div><br /></div><div>But we haven't lost our zeal for coffee. I hope you all got the chance to try the Panama Gesha La Esmeralda. That was our special coffee this year. I thought it was really good. I also roasted the El Boton Natural that I hauled back from Colombia in my suitcase. We'll have more of that (a lot of it) probably mid-January.</div><div>I just read a blog entry written by a guy I've never heard of, but I really enjoyed it and I agree with what he wrote. I thought the comments below it were interesting too. Many of the big players in the industry seemed to try and defend their positions. Here it is:</div><div><a href="http://theotherblackstuff.ie/thoughts/challenging-flavours/">http://theotherblackstuff.ie/thoughts/challenging-flavours/</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's something too about new botanical discoveries this year, including varietals of coffee: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8424817.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8424817.stm</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I am speaking at Philbrook Museum on January 14 (Thursday) at 530p for a group called Tulsa Green Drinks. Generally they get together for drinks and listen to someone speak about something related to sustainability. They're giving me 20 minutes, which you know isn't much if you've ever come to listen to me speak in the past. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to talk about yet, but it will most likely skim the issues with buying coffee and the responsibility I feel regarding coffee producers. You should come. I'd like to fill the house and see a lot of familiar faces there. And hopefully I'll discuss some things, in a different format, than you've been exposed to. You can pick up passes to attend at the DoubleShot if you want to come. Read about it here: <a href="http://tulsagreendrinks.blogspot.com/2009/12/january-green-drinks-at-philbrook.html">http://tulsagreendrinks.blogspot.com/2009/12/january-green-drinks-at-philbrook.html</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-19409955276209103592009-12-17T04:33:00.000-08:002009-12-17T05:38:11.057-08:00Colombian CoffeesMore news about our coffees in Colombia. <div>The El Boton Natural is in a shipping container in port in Colombia, waiting to get loaded onto a ship. Before they can, every coffee in a container must be cupped by the Coffee Quality arm of the FNC (The Federation). Yesterday they cupped the El Boton and rejected it, which means it could not be exported. Cristina asked me to write a letter to the head of the Coffee Quality institute, stating my intention to buy the El Boton based on its unique cup profile. I did that, and he accepted my letter, allowing for the export of our coffee. Whew. </div><div>It will ship out on the 22nd and arrive in Oakland on the 10th of January. We will get it on a truck at that time and it should be here by the 18th, if there are no holdups in customs or whatever. </div><div>Remember, also in this container is a coffee from a farmer named Octavio Restrepo whose farm is called La Alondra. <a href="http://www.doubleshotcoffee.com/Origin/La_Alondra.html">You can see pictures of La Alondra here</a>. This coffee will be good- chocolate, raisins, cinnamon, and a big, silky body.</div><div>I haven't mentioned the story of another coffee we'll hopefully be buying soon. Because I don't want to spread this around. I don't want to set a precedent for every situation like this, and I don't want to focus so much on a story as I do the coffee that results from it. That's my job, to worry about who gets what and how and where we get coffee. But I'm going to tell you this story anyway. While I was in Medellin, Cristina told me about an old couple named Gabriel and Orfilia Escobar. They own a very small farm called Las Animas (around 2 acres) outside Concordia. They work this farm by themselves, and Cristina told me they produce delicious coffee, but in very small quantities. Apparently Gabriel has been ill and his vision has been deteriorating until he finally fell completely blind. Orfilia has been tending to him, afraid to leave him in the house alone. So their coffee is not being harvested. Orfilia called Cristina to tell her the story and ask if Cristina could buy their farm so they could move into town and be able to support themselves. This story really bothered me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. What can I do? So one day I called Cristina and asked her if I could hire people to pick the coffee for Las Animas. She said she would find out. My one stipulation was this. I wanted them to dry-process the coffee, like Ariel is doing at El Boton. I promised her I would buy it even if it wasn't good. Cristina told me they have a marquesina, like the one Ariel built (a raised drying bed). Cristina called and talked to Orfilia about it, explaining the process over and over. Because it sounds stupid to them. But Orfilia let us pay for pickers and she laid the coffee out on the marquesina. Las Animas is planted all in Caturra, so it is a different varietal from the Maragogipe planted at El Boton. Orfilia dry-processed some coffee and sent it to Cristina. It is only a small amount, but when Cristina cupped it she said it was delicious. She seemed very excited about it. So hopefully we will have some of this coffee to buy soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other thing I need to find out about is another small experiment Ariel is doing at El Boton. While we were there, he seemed distressed that all the coffee cherries weren't completely red. He talked to the farm manager, Luis, and they discussed why and what for. Luis said they have to pick coffee that is at least half-ripe because they will not be back to that area for another week, and by then those cherries would be overripe. In spanish they call the ones that are half-ripe and half green, PINTON. Ariel argued that Luis wouldn't eat an avocado if it were pinton; he would buy one that is maduro (ripe). Because when an avocado or a mango or any other fruit is ripe, it is sweet and delicious, but when it is pinton (or unripe), it is sour and bitter. Ariel argued that coffee is probably the same way. In general, coffee producers do not drink their own coffee. They export all the good coffee and drink the worst coffee or instant coffee. So they don't know. And Luis doesn't drink coffee at all. So Ariel told Luis to separate one square foot on the marquesina for ONLY pinton cherries and another square foot for ONLY maduro cherries. Cristina will cup them side-by-side and we will see the results. What effect does ripeness of cherry have on the cup?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-81425030991168640012009-12-07T13:20:00.001-08:002009-12-07T13:22:32.655-08:00Colombia ChatThis Thursday 12/10 at 7p we'll meet up down here at the DoubleShot to chat about Colombia. I won't have any pictures to show and don't have an agenda to talk about, so bring your questions. And whatever you want to drink. I'll brew some coffee, but if you want beer, whiskey, or whatever, feel free to bring it with you. We'll just hang out and celebrate Colombian coffee.<div><br /></div><div>See you then.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-74822581051384981472009-11-30T14:28:00.000-08:002009-11-30T14:32:56.831-08:00Colombia ReportI posted pictures from this last trip here: <a href="http://www.doubleshotcoffee.com/Origin/Colombia_09-2.html">http://www.doubleshotcoffee.com/Origin/Colombia_09-2.html</a><div><br /></div><div>I am thinking maybe about doing a discussion of the trip, but a little different than usual. Let me know what you think of this idea.</div><div>Thinking about having a time where we just have an informal chit-chat about it. Maybe BYOB or whatever. Sit down, talk about Colombia and coffee in general, and just enjoy each other's company. Thoughts? Times y'all might be available? Do tell.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-77001108589727937832009-11-21T12:28:00.000-08:002009-11-21T12:44:00.286-08:00ConcordiaIndeed I am in Colombia again. It has been a good trip so far. I'm getting to know people here and that makes things easier. I met a couple farmers today, one we sold a year ago and one I'm buying in December. It's good.<br />Wanted you to know two things.<br />I donated $1000 to the community center project. $250 of that was proceeds from the races Kari and I put on this year. I hope we can think of another fund raiser to give a little more to the cause. They were very happy for the donation.<br />Second, I'm speaking at the Philbrook on Jan 14 at 530p. It's an event called Green Drinks and everyone is invited. Please put it on your calender.<br />Third, I'm going to try to smuggle 30 pounds of El Boton natural on the plane. Well, smuggle might be a bit of a strong word...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-8612567165202694172009-11-02T16:58:00.000-08:002009-11-02T18:19:31.164-08:00MagazinesA couple of really exciting things for us here at the DoubleShot.<div>Fresh Cup Magazine asked me to write a story for their Roasters Realm column about the El Boton Natural. I wrote the first draft today. It needs work.</div><div>More importantly (and you should keep this on the DL), Mark Pendergrast is going to write a story about the El Boton Natural for Wine Spectator Magazine! THE Mark Pendergrast, author of UNCOMMON GROUNDS. Wow. Wine Spectator Magazine. Hittin' the bigtime! </div><div>Let's keep that between me and y'all. Should come out in March, so we have plenty of time to forget about it. (Not Me!)</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm headed to Colombia Nov 18-25. Let's try to come up with some sort of a fund raiser before then (I know that's soon) so I can deliver some money to them to help with their project.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-82286074914148945302009-10-21T09:43:00.000-07:002009-10-21T10:19:03.454-07:00What a Wonderful World...So...I've been reading again :) Today's recommended reading list contains three books, none of which are [directly] about coffee. But my English teacher in ninth grade had a quote by Chief Seattle painted on his wall: "All things are connected like the blood that unites us all." I haven't read the quote in context, so don't know exactly what Chief Seattle was talking about at that point--however, the more I learn about foods, flavors/aromas, etc, the more this quote seems to be true! Hopefully the following will explain:<br />Book 1 is Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." This is a book to read with a dictionary--but even if you don't have one at hand, it's completely fascinating! It's a chronicle of one year in which Annie Dillard lived by Tinker Creek in Virginia. Every day she went out to observe nature--bringning home praying mantis egg sacs, learning to stalk muskrats, etc. The book is as much about the beauty of nature as it is about its horrors. She spends alot of time on parasites--because they make up the majority of the world's organisms! And she reflects on what it means to live in a world that is both so wonderful and so painful. I learned so much about nature reading this book, I came away wondering how it's so easy to be 'an adult'--to see things mundanely. When in reality, it should be possible to live an entire life with "a child's curiousity" because things are so complex we'll never know it all! Here is a quote from my favorite paragraph in the book, and this is the most obvious way the book connects with coffee :) Annie talks about finding a wounded butterfly in a gas-station parking lot. She coaxes it onto her finger. "The closing of his wings fanned an almost imperceptible redolence at my face, and I leaned closer. I could barely scent a sweetness, I could almost name it...fireflies, sparklers--honey-suckle. He smelled like honeysuckle; I couldn't believe it. I knew that many male butterflies exuded distinctive odors from special scent glands, but I thought that only laboratory instruments could detect those odors compounded of many, many butterflies. I had read a list of the improbable scents of butterflies: sandalwood, chocolate, heliotrope, sweet pea...." <br /> So, maybe you start out thinking, "I want to be able to smell the different aromas in my coffee. To move beyond thinking coffee smells like coffee, tastes like coffee, end of story." And as you start developing your ability to smell and taste subtleties in coffee, you're developing skills that can be used to make your chocolate-consuming, wine-tasting, cigar-smoking...and even your butterfly-holding experiences more rich and complete! <br /> The next two books are about chocolate, but they might have to be kept for a later post. But here is a quote from one, "The Chocolate Connoisseur" by Chloe Doutre-Roussel. This is a woman who has spent admirable amounts of time and money--ever since she was just 13 years old!!--learning to taste chocolate scientifically, recording her observations, etc. Chloe writes, about learning how to smell aromas in chocolate: "Experience the scents of wet weather. If you're in the woods, smell the soil and the leaves. Breathe in the odor of a tree trunk. When you go to the market, take a sniff of each basket of mushrooms, herbs, fruit, and flowers. Do all this and you will rediscover the potential of your sense of smell. We all have the ability, but many of us have forgotten it." See? all those things--the mushrooms, the herbs, the weather, coffee <3 --all help us to enjoy each other! But they're all so different. even a chocolate that tastes like mushrooms...is nothing like eating a mushroom! <br /> Okay, very quickly, the third book is Mort Rosenblum's "Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light." But more on that, and chocolate itself, later. :) Hope you all have a wonderful day! Oh, final question: What are some of your favorite chocolates?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-55759514627194359072009-10-12T14:00:00.001-07:002009-10-12T14:06:23.576-07:00El Boton NaturalIf you're following me on twitter, you probably already know that the small bag (45 pounds) of coffee from El Boton came in today via FedEx. It is the dry-processed coffee we've been waiting for. Isaiah and Garth were planning to use this coffee in their competition in Austin at the end of this month. But we just found out that the competition isn't until January, so we have this to play with. The samples we've had were really difficult to roast, but they tasted so good anyway. We tasted the sweetest, fruitiest coffee in the world. It was every bit as good as the best Ethiopian we've had. I'm roasting it tonight for the first time. That's a tough roast because I don't know what's going to happen during the roast cycle. But we'll have one batch for sale tomorrow. When it's gone, it's gone. <div>Because of the demanding processing, ridiculous shipping method, and limited availability, I have to charge $30 per pound for it. But you should try it. Even if it's just a press or a pourover here at the DSCC. </div><div>As far as I know, this is the only Colombian natural in the U.S. Maybe the only one to reach our shores in the past 50 years. Hey hey!</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, it's available online here: <a href="http://doubleshotcoffee.com/store/index.php?productID=83">http://doubleshotcoffee.com/store/index.php?productID=83</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-46107903565384187032009-10-05T17:01:00.001-07:002009-10-05T17:01:49.183-07:00Happy Birthday Tara Bowen!Just found out it's Tara's Bday.<div>Hope you're having a good one!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-88070807646787164472009-09-24T15:15:00.001-07:002009-09-24T15:20:04.485-07:00New Coffees<div>I ordered a few new coffees. Here are the notes about some of them from Cafe Imports.</div><div>Kenya Chania French Mission Varietal, new crop Tanzania Songea Peaberry, and Ethiopia Harrar East Haraghe Highlands. I also ordered a Brazil Ipanema Yellow Icatu from Beccor, which will be a good coffee.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3lUthlJBLHZJ9b9VKdJJw6LocbTF3JT_VtKR-DiJHlo4ttxdj_UmIq2rm1VZMt7gmyLTjSF-jOTv78k-cx-6NB_oko0UOThTt5JozxSwGKbJ2rfMHSMDORCW8UEEJdjmMNydmVJVUBw/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3lUthlJBLHZJ9b9VKdJJw6LocbTF3JT_VtKR-DiJHlo4ttxdj_UmIq2rm1VZMt7gmyLTjSF-jOTv78k-cx-6NB_oko0UOThTt5JozxSwGKbJ2rfMHSMDORCW8UEEJdjmMNydmVJVUBw/s320/Picture+5.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385161549086434610" /></a><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1NkMsrOEdsInea5JPRqzGf11Vte4Xtbs2TuBkuYJOqkipyX-PEwbyQWgi2jw_P9KmDcFBTTHS90f0HWrbk-MDemeM0q7a5E2b_H_b3SPnIvY0ffeNaDEbBT8QJLYAqqS1BGPlgQhgSU/s1600-h/Picture+4.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1NkMsrOEdsInea5JPRqzGf11Vte4Xtbs2TuBkuYJOqkipyX-PEwbyQWgi2jw_P9KmDcFBTTHS90f0HWrbk-MDemeM0q7a5E2b_H_b3SPnIvY0ffeNaDEbBT8QJLYAqqS1BGPlgQhgSU/s320/Picture+4.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385161542093425026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nUaevajorNivha7HC3nWRLG7ZLeNcTJ8BnOa-Q65VhazwucgymjiNZPjKEMrkAVawQ-iN0lMlozH7efkALLhdLnR_PP8MmpC7qJMO59ROcDnQKvqzPrMe1mxjn0T7ZvMlH95nwaSiso/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nUaevajorNivha7HC3nWRLG7ZLeNcTJ8BnOa-Q65VhazwucgymjiNZPjKEMrkAVawQ-iN0lMlozH7efkALLhdLnR_PP8MmpC7qJMO59ROcDnQKvqzPrMe1mxjn0T7ZvMlH95nwaSiso/s320/Picture+2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385161537177459698" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-60170694197516420162009-09-16T05:18:00.000-07:002009-09-16T07:02:04.184-07:00KenyaI got up early this morning and sample roasted four Kenyans from Cafe Imports. The guys from Hanson are coming in this afternoon to taste them and potentially sell one of them on their website. I hope.<div>I'm doing a little research, so I don't sound so ignorant if they ask questions. Thought I'd share with you.</div><div>As far as I can tell, there are 8 grades of coffee coming out of Kenya. </div><div>AA is the highest grade, but all it really means is th</div><div>at it is a 18 or 17 screen (18/64 or 17/64 inch). </div><div>AB is a 16 screen. </div><div>PB - Peaberries are sorted out and make up about 10% of the crop. </div><div>C grade is smaller than AB.</div><div>TT is the size of AA and AB, but are less dense, and separated via air pressure.</div><div>T grade are very light and broken pieces.</div><div>It appears there are two other grades of coffee, but I'm not certain what they are. I'm sure at least one of them is a designation of domestic consumption coffee.</div><div><br /></div><div>Most coffee produced in Kenya is Arabica. But there are many, many different varietals grown there. The French Mission Varietal is one of the oldest types of coffee in Kenya. It is a Bourbon strand brought over from Reunion Island by French missionaries in the late 1800s. Bourbon coffee developed (sort-of) naturally. The British East India Company sold seeds from Aden, Yemen to the French, who planted them on the island of Bourbon (which is now called Reunion). After a few generations on the island it took on unique characteristics. It is generally more "robust" than Typica and tends to have a higher production. The trees and cherries have a distinctive look, as well.</div><div>Some hybrid varietals are grown in Kenya. SL-28 was created by Scott Labs from Bourbon and Ethiopian Mokka varietals. (From Sweet Maria's site:) "It supposedly is selected from Tanganyika DR cultivar, found by A.D Trench on a trip through Tanzania, and has similar drought resistant properties. DR is of French Mission Bourbon origin. Many prefer SL-28 to the other successful... cultivar SL-34." I don't know who A.D. Trench is and I can't seem to find anything on the internet about him.</div><div>SL-34 is another hybrid produced by Scott Labs. (Again from Sweet Maria's:) "It supposedly is selected from French Mission Bourbon trees at Loresho Estate in Kabete Kenya. SL types are responsible for 90% of Kenya coffees. SL-34 has better yields than SL-28, and is grown at lower altitudes than SL-28." Generally, a higher-yielding varietal that produces well at lower elevations doesn't taste as good, so that's my assumption.</div><div>RUIRU 11: "is named for the station at Ruiru, Kenya where it was developed in the '70s and released in 1986. The initial tests were with Hibrido de Timor (a cross between Arabica and Robusta, resistant to Coffee Leaf Rust) and Rume Sudan, an original coffee strain resistant to Coffee Berry Disease. Later they added SL-28 and SL-34 inputs due to poor cup character of the early tests. The Robusta content of Ruiru 11 is still an issue, and the cup does not match the quality of the SL types."</div><div>Here is a map of Kenya with the growing regions highlighted.</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpVuDJs4b3EVTwR_qcxnqi7BsF-Y4oAo4aqSCNn48NzSL-s6FPpxrE5mXAsJMmORMmoxNy1Z4rvea09uOjfW2MpjW9rswQAn9v5f1mF_X7WQFMb9urxDyiTHW-a9YoLswHgi-a-XIHLc/s320/coffee_growing_regions.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382061593821622658" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-21123842534025576242009-09-11T10:21:00.000-07:002009-09-11T10:53:34.387-07:00Follow-up to The Perfect CappuccinoGood afternoon! Thanks to everyone who came to watch The Perfect Cappuccino! If you were unable to make it, I think you can still purchase it at Doubleshot, or online at www.cappuccinomovie.com. It's wonderful!<br />Watching it reminded me of a book I read awhile ago (actually, long enough ago that I no longer remember it vividly, so this is going to be a 'book review' in a very superficial sense...): Starbucked by Taylor Clark. It's at the Central Library. If you watched the movie and are curious to learn more about this omnipresent company for whatever reason (I read it to fuel an anti-Starbucks bias, although it is a fairly balanced book), you should check it out! Since I don't remember anything, here is a trivia quote from the back of the book: "Americans now drink so much coffee that scientists have detected caffeine in many of the nation's rivers, lakes, and bays--and even in treated drinking water." Interesting--<br />Secondly, if you watched the movie you'll remember when Amy showed clips from old coffee commercials. Here are some Blues lyrics written by Mississippi John Hurt, copyrighted in 1963...back in the days where prepackaged coffee was the only option. *Shudder* They're in the same vein as those old commercials: "This is the 'Coffee Blues,' I likes a certain brand--Maxwell's House--it's good till the last drop, just like it says on the can. I used to have a girl cookin' a good Maxwell House. She moved away. Some said to Memphis and some said to Leland, but I found her. I wanted her to cook me some good Maxwell's House. You understand, if I can get me just a spoonful of Maxwell's House, do me much good as two or three cups this other coffee..." <br />Don't know if that was originally written as a commerical for Maxwell's House, or if the songwriter really did love Maxwell's enough to include it in a song, but...there you have it. :)<br /><br />Finally, an interaction-question: A personal "goal" is to learn how to say "I like Coffee" in as many languages as possible. If you are able to say/write "I like coffee" in a foreign tongue, please share! I think in German it's "Der Kaffee schmeckt mir gut"--literally, the coffee tastes good to me. <br />Thanks, and I hope you all have a great day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-31449652006171769442009-09-09T13:12:00.000-07:002009-09-09T13:18:44.302-07:00The Perfect CappuccinoI hope you all will do your best to make it to the screening of The Perfect Cappuccino here tomorrow night at 7p. I got the projector and a big screen. We're going to have a live video web chat with Amy Ferraris afterward. Should be a fun time. Please come and bring people. We'll open the doors at 6p, so come early to socialize and drink coffee.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-25266018220126745472009-09-02T06:37:00.000-07:002009-09-02T06:50:17.218-07:00Colombian Coffee ChildrenThis is something that has slid onto the back burner over the past few weeks. It's on my mind again now though. <div>I'm referring to the community center they are proposing to build in Concordia for the poorer coffee workers' children. We talked about finding a way to raise money to help. </div><div>Obviously we could do anything. We could have a bake sale and send them $200 and feel good about ourselves that we did something to help. But that's not much help. Nothing we do will be A LOT of help, but I feel that we can do something. </div><div>One thing that we already do is put on the DoubleShot races. This is the fourth year for it. And this year, we decided to do three duathlons and one six hour mountain bike race. The second duathlon is this weekend at Osage Hills State Park. We've always donated proceeds from the races to a charity (Coffee Kids). This year we decided to set up our own 501(3)c not-for-profit organization so we could do more than just give to an overall cause. This way we can donate directly to the project in Concordia. Or do other things I've thought about doing, such as building swing sets or taking soccer balls for the kids. If we don't do it this way, our all-consuming government will tax the hell out of me. It's not easy to give to charitable causes. </div><div>You can see the website for the DoubleShot Duathlon series here: <a href="http://www.doubleshotduathlon.com/">www.DoubleshotDuathlon.com</a></div><div>If you'd like to come volunteer (hang out, help a little, drink coffee and beer, and eat hotdogs), please send an email to Kari: Kari@DoubleShotDuathlon.com</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, let's try to get back on track and thinking about what we could do to raise money for this project. I think we should help. If you have ideas, post them in the comments of this blog or email me.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-85937331682236640072009-08-26T08:40:00.000-07:002009-08-27T06:21:35.380-07:00Colombia and CappuccinoFirst, I've decided that we should push back the showing of the film The Perfect Cappuccino to the evening of Thursday, September 10 at 7p. It lasts 90 minutes and then we'll (hopefully) have a live video chat with Amy Ferraris, the filmmaker. Stay tuned for details. <div><br /></div><div>The coffee experiments are going really good. I skyped with Cristina a couple days ago and we talked about all that is happening with these developments. She told me the first sample was with red Maragogipe dried on concrete, and it was really great. The second sample Ariel used yellow Maragogipe (they ripen yellow instead of red), dried on raised beds and covered with a cloth. She said it wasn't as good- cooled more astringent and green. She thinks it's because it's harder to tell if the yellows are ripe or not, so more unripe could've gotten in. Also the cloth he used to cover the coffee wasn't porous enough and the coffee may have gotten too hot. So he did another sample with red Maragogipe dried on raised beds and covered with a more porous cloth. She hadn't tasted it yet when I talked to her.</div><div>The first two samples Ariel milled at his mill on the farm. The sample I got still had silverskin on the outside of the beans and on that was a lot of sugars, so when I roasted it, it suddenly looked like it was burning. This third sample, Ariel brought to Cristina's father's dry mill in Medellin. They have better equipment and she's hoping they can polish the silverskin off the coffee, so it looks more like a washed coffee and roasts better. She was hoping to get that lot of coffee in two days ago, after I talked to her. Then she was going to roast and cup it hopefully today. This could be the one. If it works out, there's a possibility she can get us a few bags. And THAT would be awesome. Right now, we're the only people in the world who are even talking about natural coffee from Colombia. The FNC (Colombian Coffee Federation) is not going to let this coffee out of the country if they find out about it, so the key is to mix the bags in with a container of other coffee and try to sneak it through.</div><div>She told me that she had the same experiment done at one of her father's farms in Concordia, and the coffee was a Caturrra variety. She said it was sweet, a lot brighter (higher acidity) and not as complex as the Maragogipe. Could be interesting though.</div><div>I asked her about having Alfredo do this with his coffee. She said she asked him to and he had been too busy with the beginning of their harvest. But she asked him again and she was hoping that he had done it. This could actually change the face of Colombian coffee forever. And we're involved. Exciting.</div><div>I can't wait to taste the next samples.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8458844450579348450.post-50674556209584556172009-08-10T17:13:00.000-07:002009-08-10T20:49:29.920-07:00Most ExcitingThis is one of the most exciting events of my coffee career. I've learned so much (yet so little) in my few years on the industry, and the more I learn, the more it enables me to ask questions. Those questions sometimes have answers and sometimes they don't. Usually one answer brings more questions than I had before.<div>So the last time I was in Colombia, we were asking lots of questions as usual. What makes the coffee taste the way it does? What if we did things differently? What if we planted a different varietal of tree? What if we fermented the coffee instead of running it through a desmucilaginadora? What happens if we ferment it for 12 hours or 24 hours or 36 hours? How does it change the flavor? What if we put it in refrigerated tanks and introduced lager yeast? Or what if we fermented it with Trappist yeast? Yum. How much different does it taste if we dry the parchment in the sun as opposed to using a static dryer? And what if we process the coffee using pulped natural method or dry processing instead of wet? Interesting.</div><div>Finally, at Ariel's farm, El Boton, we found a place where we could experiment with a couple of these questions. We asked Ariel a lot of these questions. I told him what I have learned in my travels to other origins and I described coffee from other countries. The people in Colombia only get to drink Colombian coffee, so they don't know what it's like to taste coffees from exotic locales around the world. We are fortunate in this way. Ariel is a curious guy with the means to play, so he agreed to do these experiments with small lots. He divided a lot into four batches. One he fermented 24 hours. One he fermented 36 hours. Cristina said these two were not very good, and we didn't get samples of them. The third part he processed using the pulped natural method. That means he stripped the skins off the cherries and dried the beans with the parchment and mucilage still intact. The fourth he dried the cherries whole. Ariel built raised beds to dry the coffee on for these last two methods. These are the two samples I received from Cristina last week. </div><div>I roasted them yesterday (along with 20 other samples). I waited until I really had the sample roaster as dialed in as I was going to get it, and then I roasted these Colombians. There was only enough for one roast, so one shot and I had to get it right. I was more than slightly concerned because everything was going fine with all the other coffees, but when I was roasting the Natural it suddenly seemed to be burning. For no reason. It hadn't even hit second crack. But I could see (by drawing samples) that the outsides were beginning to get shiny. Not good. So I dropped it. I thought I had ruined it, for sure. The Honey (pulped natural) roasted just fine.</div><div>Today I cupped them on a table with 6 other coffees, including Ariel's regular coffee (which is run through a desmucilaginadora). By the way, all of the coffees from El Boton are maragogipe, which means they are larger beans. Usually these coffees are a bit flatter than other types, but I had cupped Ariel's maragogipe a couple weeks ago and found it to be very interesting. It had a nice acidity, chocolate and nut flavors, and some dark fruits or grape in the nose. </div><div>As soon as I ground the Boton Natural, my nose lit up. The fruits were jumping off that coffee like crazy. I started to get excited. When I took my first sip... well, it was an amazing experience. It was like a great natural Harrar or a really complex natural Sidamo. Just freaking amazing coffee. The pulped natural was pretty good, but nothing like the natural.</div><div>Now I have more questions. The processing method dramatically changed the taste of that ONE LOT of coffee. Is it repeatable? We'll see. Cristina is cupping another batch tomorrow in her office in Medellin and is going to call me on skype afterward. Would coffee of a different varietal (besides maragogipe) taste the same, just as good, not as good? How much does terroir actually affect the taste of coffee? The soil, climate, elevation, and agricultural methods affect the taste, but compared to processing, how much? </div><div>This thing has big, juicy fruit fragrances and a bit of vanilla in the aroma. Very fruity taste that was a lot like artificial, intense cherry you find in flavored gum or soda. Lots of other tastes muddied the waters and added insane amounts of complexity, but I haven't even gotten that far yet. I'm still reeling from the sweetness on my palate.</div><div>I know Cristina is amazed and excited. Ariel is very excited as well. We have no idea how we could get these coffees exported to the US because the Federation has such a tight grip on exports, there's no way they would let this go through if they sampled it. </div><div>My thoughts run much deeper. What if...</div><div>What if this is the thing that makes Concordia famous? Could it be that we've discovered something about Colombian coffee that could make it a highly sought-after coffee destination? Could this replace Ethiopian coffees on the market, since that origin is so wrought with problems? I'm sure Cristina is thinking the same thing. This could be huge. I'm wondering what Alfredo's coffee (San Rafael) would taste like if we processed it exactly the same way. What if, somehow, Cristina were to find a way to change the rules of the Federation, so that they would let her export this coffee? Or maybe she could find a different way to send it to the US. I'm telling you, this is the beginning of something REALLY BIG.</div><div>When you taste it, you'll understand.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3