This is the second bag I had the pleasure of trying from ManLao River Coffee; for more details about them and about the coffee industry in China, check out my previous post. ManLao River’s description of their Munroe Butterly Espresso sums up their goal with this espresso blend better than I could, so I’ll just […]
Review: ManLao River Coffee China Nagy Peaberry (Kunming, Yunnan, China)
When you think of coffee-growing countries, what places immediately come to mind? For me, I think of Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, and Guatemala. China wasn’t even on my radar as a coffee origin at all until last year, but the coffee industry in China has been quietly and steadily growing for decades. Tea is still […]
Review: Intelligentsia Coffee Honey Badger Espresso (Chicago, Illinois)
During my short visit to Chicago in February, I popped into Intelligentsia Coffee’s Monadnock location and picked up this bag of their Honey Badger Espresso. They had lots of really fresh beans that day, but I was curious to see if I would like this better than their Black Cat Classic. Whole bean: Fresh, fruity, […]
Review: Ipsento Coffee Roasters Wildfire Espresso, now known as Cascade Espresso (Chicago, Illinois)
Ipsento Coffee Roasters is another Chicago-area coffee roaster I wanted to visit on my trip, but when I discovered I could order fresh beans from Ipsento via Javaya, it was a no-brainer. Since I purchased this bag of Ipsento’s Wildfire Espresso, they’ve apparently renamed the blend and are now calling it their Cascade Espresso. As […]
Review: Abacus Coffee Roasters Algorithm Blend (Chicago, Illinois)
I bought this bag from the folks at Javaya, whom I’ve written about before. I had a short trip to Chicago planned back in mid-February and I initially thought I might be able to make time to purchase this from Abacus directly, but I soon figured out there was no way I’d have the time […]
Review: Cuvée Coffee Stella Cometa Espresso Blend (Austin, Texas)
This bag came from a trip to our local Whole Foods. I continue to be really grateful that they feature freshly roasted beans from local and local-ish roasters like Cuvée. Whole bean: These beans were roasted very evenly and I’d classify it as a light-to-medium roast. I sometimes get questions regarding espresso roasts, as if […]
The Top 10 Most Prestigious Coffees in the World
Note from Margaret: This is a guest post from Zach Parkes, the brains behind the site Try New Coffee. All opinions expressed are his own and are not necessarily endorsed by me (though in reading this post, I noted that we do share a lot of the same opinions!). Thanks for writing this guest post, Zach! The 10 Most Prestigious Coffees […]
Review: Volcán de Fuego 1895 Single-Estate Coffee (San Diego, California)
When the folks at Volcán de Fuego reached out to me about trying some of their beans, they won me over quite quickly mainly because of their very clear dedication to freshness and quality. The fact that I’m quite fond of Guatemalan coffee didn’t hurt either! Volcán de Fuego’s 1895 (named after their processing plant […]
Pitchfork Midwinter and “the sky of timelessness”
Upon arriving in Chicago earlier this month, I got a text from my good friend Debbie, breezily instructing me to “have an amazing time!!!!!!!” Just 36 hours later, my head was swimming with everything I had seen and heard, and I will always think of the words “amazing time” differently going forward. It was my […]
Review: Edison Coffee Co. Ethiopia Worka, Washed (Flower Mound, Texas)
This bag came into my life unexpectedly when two lovely friends of mine surprised me with this coffee! They knew I was very impressed with Edison Coffee Co. the last time I tried their beans, and their local coffee shop features Edison. Such a sweet gesture! Whole bean: These look like heirloom beans – very […]