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 […]

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, […]

Review: Klatch Golden Bean Espresso Blend (Upland, California)

TL;DR: If you love espresso, GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS ASAP!!! I’m actually finding it a little hard to organize my thoughts on this espresso. How do you explain the beauty of a sunrise? How can you put into words what happens to you when you hear your musical soulmate? That’s what tasting this amazing roast from […]

Review: Heart Coffee Roasters Kenya Kiangoi (Portland, Oregon)

After my lovely experience reviewing Heart Coffee Roasters Stereo Blend, I was very much looking forward to visiting a Heart cafe location while in Portland and picking up some of their single-origin beans. There were multiple locations in Portland and I don’t think I ended up at the biggest one, but the smallish location I visited […]

Review: Sterling Coffee Roasters Kenya Nyeri Gachatha AA (Portland, Oregon)

This post begins a streak of 5 reviews of Portland-based roasters, and I couldn’t be happier about it! My trip to Oregon was sheer delight; I enjoyed gorgeous sunny weather with a nice cool breeze, mouth-watering food, and of course superb coffee. I’m starting with Sterling partly because it’s the “oldest” coffee in the bunch […]

Review: Chromatic Coffee Gamut Espresso (San Jose, California)

I have a new favorite espresso blend!!! With a name like Chromatic, this is clearly an espresso blend after my own heart. This coffee company has been on my list of must-try roasters for some time now. I was very much hoping to get my hands on a bag of Chromatic Coffee during my recent trip […]

Review: Ascension Peruvian Silk Blend (Dallas, Texas)

I don’t visit too many coffee shops in Dallas regularly, but Ascension is one of my favorites when I do go out for a cup. You can taste the great care that they put into their craft in every drink you receive at their cafe. They feature various roasters from time to time (I had […]

Review: Cultivar Colombia La Esperanza (Dallas, Texas)

During my last trip to Los Angeles, I had a little time to kill before returning my rental car, so I decided to try out Cognoscenti Coffee on my way to LAX. They had coffee from multiple roasters offered that day, none of which I had tried yet (Commonwealth and Four Barrel among them), and I opted to […]

Review: Espresso Vivace Roasteria Dolce blend (Seattle, Washington)

As a musician, I’m a sucker for any coffee company that uses music references (the “Brahmsian” characteristics of Blue Bottle’s Hayes Valley Espresso comes to mind). Naturally, Seattle’s Espresso Vivace Roasteria was a must on my list of my cafes to visit. This cafe is a bit different than most in that they only serve espresso […]

Review: Square One Panama La Esmeralda Gesha (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

I picked up this bag of Square One at a Gregorys Coffee location in New York City, and I have been impatiently looking forward to tasting it. Now, for those who are not aware, Gesha (or Geisha – it’s spelled both ways and no one seems to know which way is “right”) coffees have a reputation for being extra-special compared […]