Early on in my specialty coffee journey, I learned about the “rule of 15s”: for best flavor, use ground coffee within 15 minutes, roasted whole bean coffee within 15 days, and green coffee within 15 months. If this rule of thumb holds true across the industry, that means many coffee roasters could be working with […]
Author: Margaret
The Third Thing: the ‘Sound’ of Interpersonal Synergy
I don’t listen to podcasts very often, but one that I do subscribe to is Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast all about “the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.” Host Dallas Taylor often asks his guests the same question: What is your favorite sound? It’s a great question to ponder: what sound […]
Review: Klatch Coffee Hawaii Rusty’s Ka’u (Upland, California)
The Ka’u district of Hawaii is the largest and southernmost district of the Big Island, with the North and South Kona districts bordering it to the west. Coffee from Hawaii (Kona coffee in particular) is world-famous for its smooth, sweet flavor profile, but it’s rare to see 100% Kona coffee being sold, as it fetches […]
Review: Tweed Coffee Two-Step Decaf, Sugarcane Process (Dallas, Texas)
Most of the time when I’m doing coffee tastings, I have to evaluate the coffee first thing in the morning because caffeine lingers so long in my system, I can’t sleep properly if I consume caffeine later in the day. It can be a little hard to properly enjoy the coffee if I’m bleary-eyed from […]
Review: Clever Dripper, 18 oz brewer
My experience with immersion brewing methods has so far consisted of my beloved French presses and my AeroPress. I know there are a lot of AeroPress fans out there (there’s even a World AeroPress Championship tournament coming up next week!), but after owning and using mine for many years, I’ve finally accepted that we’re just […]
Review: Turntable Lab Coffee for Records Blend 1 (Brooklyn, New York)
I’ve never visited the physical Turntable Lab location in Brooklyn, but I’ve shopped on their website a few times for records and accessories. While browsing their merch tab, I happened to see that they offer coffee, and it intrigued me enough to buy their Blend 1, which is a medium roast coffee from Oaxaca, Mexico. […]
Rhythm, Compatibility, and Riley’s In C
Have you ever noticed that when we talk about people we really love being around, it’s easy to speak of our connection in rhythmic terms? “We’re on the same wavelength.”“It’s like they’re tuned to the same frequency as me.”“She and I vibe so well together!”“He and I, we just click.”“We’re so in sync!” There are […]
Review: Kuma Coffee Ethiopia Suke Quto (Seattle, Washington)
I had last tried beans from Kuma Coffee back in 2015, not long after I had started this blog. I remember liking their coffee for its fruity, bright notes, but I also remember struggling a bit in my first tasting because I was picking up on a papery taste from the unbleached filter I was […]
Reflections: About last night…
Last night, I attended a live performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 for full orchestra. In practically any other year, that sentence would be relatively unremarkable. I often attend symphony concerts, and I love Mahler. But in 2021? I feel like that sentence needs to be rewritten as: LAST NIGHT, I attended a LIVE PERFORMANCE […]
Review: Roseline Coffee Oro Seasonal Blend (Portland, Oregon)
Every now and then, I come across a coffee that I feel like virtually everyone will like, that will please a wide variety of palates and make folks happy to drink every morning. This is one of those coffees! On their website, Roseline has this description for this blend: When coffee has been processed and […]