Review: Rare Bird Coffee Roasters Colombia La Hermosa (Falls Church, Virginia)

I visited the Rare Bird Coffee Roasters cafe in early January 2023. Normally, I prefer to drink black coffee, but if I see an unusual item on a cafe’s menu, I’ll try it out of curiosity. That morning, I tried their cardamom vanilla latte (very sweet, creamy, and dessert-like), and picked up a bag of […]

Review: Black Diesel Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

I’ve enjoyed drinking coffee for decades, but I still remember the one coffee that changed everything, the one that awakened my senses and introduced me to a world I never knew existed. The coffee was a natural-processed Ethiopian, and I remember marveling at its sweetness, the blueberry aroma, and how much I enjoyed drinking it […]

Review: Drum Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Banko Gotiti FTO (Missoula, Montana)

I first heard about Drum Coffee via my friend Brandon, a fantastically talented percussionist who happened to stop in at one of their locations while on a road trip. My first reaction to the roaster’s name was, ha, nice pun (since I figured they use a drum roaster to roast their coffee beans). But on […]

Review: 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters Colombia El Madrigal (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

The one Canadian roaster I was familiar with (just from my time browsing coffee forums) was 49th Parallel, so I knew that I needed to definitely make finding their coffee a priority. I had hoped that Revolver Coffee would be carrying some (with no car on this trip, it would have been nice to have […]

Review: JJ Bean Coffee Roasters Kenya Othaya (Vancouver/Toronto, Canada)

This coffee was an impulse buy – I had taken a trip to visit Lemonade Gluten-Free Bakery on Cambie St. (and enjoyed every bite of the roughly $30 worth of baked goods I purchased over the next two days!), and JJ Bean was just a short walk from the bakery (literally about one minute – […]

Review: Monarch Coffee Honduras Pablo Cruz (Kansas City, Missouri)

This is the second bag I picked up from Monarch Coffee in Kansas City. Their space inside their shop is gorgeous, and I was really impressed with the free drip coffee they gave me with my purchase of this bag (check out my review of Monarch’s Colombia Finca El Cajon for more on that). This […]

Review: Edison Coffee Co. Ethiopia Kochere (Flower Mound, Texas)

For companies out there using Instagram to engage with potential customers: Just so you know, it does work. I got followed on Instagram by a new coffee shop in the Dallas area, called Native Coffee Co. They are located not far from Shutterbug’s office, and they recently extended their business hours, which allowed for me […]

Review: BeanFruit Coffee Company Ethiopia Sidama Guji (Jackson, Mississippi)

This is the second of two bags of coffee I had the pleasure of receiving from the BeanFruit Coffee Company, based in the Jackson, Mississippi area. Their Kenya Nyeri Chinga Peaberry really knocked my socks off, and I was excited to see how this washed coffee from Ethiopia compared; I do have a soft spot […]

Review: Madcap Coffee Roasters Ecuador Pepe Azul (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

I’ve been wanting to try Madcap Coffee for a long time. I’ve seen their name mentioned in multiple “best of” lists over the years, I like their logo, and I like the fact that they’re based in Michigan (as I have fond memories of my time in that state for graduate school). All of the […]

Review: Roseline Coffee Roasters Ethiopia Gera (Portland, Oregon)

I know I bring them up a lot on this blog, but I have to give props to Houndstooth Coffee in Dallas for continuing to offer an intriguing rotating selection of roasters in addition to their house roaster (Tweed). On a recent visit, I was delighted to see bags of Roseline Coffee! I have reviewed […]