It’s always nice to look back at the end of the year and to take stock of all the great coffees I got to try throughout the last twelve months. This was a good year – I was really pleased to discover quite a few new (to me) roasters that I enjoy very much! The […]
Musings (Coffee-related)
Review: Blue Bottle Perfectly Ground for Pour Over (Oakland, California)
When I bought Blue Bottle’s Kenya Embu Gikirima in whole bean format, I placed an order at the same time for the same coffee in Perfectly Ground, ground for pourover. Perfectly Ground is the name for Blue Bottle’s new line of coffee which has been ground and then directly sealed in individual oxygen-free bags so […]
The best of 2016
It’s that time again! I had fun recalling the last 12 months of coffee adventures, though I realized that my coffee consumption was down from this time last year. In 2015, I was generally aiming to write two bean reviews a week, but I found that schedule to be unsustainable; in 2016, I was pretty […]
The Best of 2015
This time of year, indie-music snobs the world over take great pleasure in making and criticizing each others’ year-end best-of lists. I didn’t make a list of my favorite albums because I really didn’t buy very many this year (though, I do have a favorite album – “Carrie and Lowell” by Sufjan Stevens. Devastating, beautiful, haunting, […]
Bags: Does size matter?
In my highly unscientific observations over the past couple of years, I have observed a trend of coffee companies packaging their coffee into smaller and smaller bag sizes. What gives? Well, I think there are probably a number of reasons why companies might choose to go for certain bag sizes over others. Let’s look at the pros and […]
Advice: What should I order at a third-wave coffee shop?
Third-wave coffee shops are popping up everywhere. Walking into one is quite different from walking into a Starbucks; the menu is different, the equipment is different, and it can be a little intimidating if you don’t know what to expect. A quick history lesson for anyone that isn’t familiar with the coffee “waves”: First wave: […]
A general guide to single-origin coffees
One of the more fun but frustrating parts of getting into single-origin specialty coffee is trying to figure out where to start. Let’s say that you have resolved to start buying specialty coffee, and you pop into your local specialty coffee shop. You are overwhelmed by the array of bags on the shelf. What do you […]
How to host a coffee cupping at home
What is a coffee cupping? It’s like a wine tasting, but with coffee. Roasters will have cuppings regularly with their staff to analyze their product for consistency, defects, etc. Cafes will sometimes hold cuppings open to the public for people interested in learning more about coffee and about the differences possible between roasts, countries of […]
Gift ideas for coffee lovers
Looking for that perfect gift for the coffee addict in your life? Trying to impress that cute barista? Here are some ideas bound to please coffee lovers on your gift list, at a variety of price points! I can’t promise you a date with the barista, though. $25-30 and under: 1) Coffee mugs: If your java-junkie […]
Coffee snobbery (Or, Don’t Judge Me Bro)
The best cup of coffee is the one you like best. Let me repeat this: The BEST cup of coffee is the one YOU like best. Obviously, I really really like coffee. I take it very seriously, and I spend way more time and energy on it than the average person. Yes, this means I […]