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 […]
Central America
Review: Publik Coffee Roasters El Salvador Calera Blanco (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Thanks again to my friend Alison for sending me this bag! Publik Coffee Roasters took their name from the Dutch word for community, with the idea that coffee is something that brings people together. This bag did not have any tasting notes on it, so I went into this with no preconceived notions about what […]
Review: Summer Moon Organic Sweet Hearth (Austin, Texas)
My dear friend Julee brought me this bag from a recent trip to Austin, knowing I would be intrigued by the workings of this roaster. Summer Moon Wood-Fired Coffee Roasters is a company that does everything old-school. They built their brick hearth by hand, one brick at a time. They use no electricity or modern technology […]
Review: Stumptown Ecuador Cariamanga Organic (Portland, Oregon)
This bag of Stumptown beans was an impulse buy; it ended up being the final bag of coffee beans I purchased while in Seattle. I had never tried beans from Ecuador before but the description on the bag sounded good, and the beans were extremely fresh. Incidentally, almost all of the cafes I bought beans […]
Review: Kaladi Brothers Coffee Costa Rica San Pablo (Anchorage, Alaska)
When I visited Seattle, my intention was to pick up as many locally-roasted Pacific Northwest coffees as I could feasibly drink in the next few weeks. This bag of Kaladi Brothers was the sole exception I made, mostly because I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance to try coffee from an Alaskan roaster without […]
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 […]
Review: Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters Rosemont Crest blend (Dallas, Texas)
Time to review another OCCR offering! I don’t typically drink a lot of coffee blends, but this was the freshest option I saw at my local Whole Foods, at 6 days post-roast. When I’m tasting a new coffee, I attempt to not look at the tasting notes ahead of time, so that I don’t get influenced by […]
Review: Porch Culture El Salvador Finca Santa Emilia (Tyler, Texas)
A recent work trip to East Texas introduced me to Porch Culture Coffee Roasters, which is a microroaster based in the city of Tyler. (Fun fact: for local subscribers, they deliver via bicycle!) I picked up this bag at The Foundry Coffee House, and also sampled a cup of Porch Culture’s Colombian beans brewed in […]
Review: Coffee del Rey Guatemala Huehuetenango (Plano, Texas)
Coffee del Rey is a VERY local roaster to me, located less than 10 miles from my house. It is a company that operates on a similar business model to TOMS. For every pound of coffee sold, they provide a pack of non-GMO heritage fruit/vegetable seeds in partnership with training from other organizations to start community gardens […]
Review: Three Ships Nicaragua Los Cipreses de Loma Fria (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
I almost didn’t write up a review for this coffee, but I decided it would be a golden opportunity to try a little experiment with home roasting. If nothing else, I will have this bag of beans to thank for helping me dip my toe into the waters of roasting coffee beans at home! I’ve […]