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Drinking vs. Tasting

Written by Letoto on Oct 21st, 2009
When the Average Joe goes to seek out his usual Cup of Joe, the tendency is that there is not a whole lot of variety to it. In most cases, the idea that there are "origins" or "roasting profiles" or "in-season offerings" go against the very spirit of that indomitable, dependable constant: a simple cup of coffee. A little cream, a little sugar, and all is well with the world...right?
coffee philosophy
coffee tasting

Drinking vs. Tasting: Brewing Parameters

Written by Letoto on Oct 29th, 2009
In the blogging, twittering, and generally-interneting specialty coffee world, there seems to be a renewed interest in not just the way we brew coffee, but particularly in the specifics involved in the ways we brew coffee. Take, for instance, the french press: it allows coarsely-ground coffee to be saturated with hot, almost-boiling water for roughly four minutes to create a brew that is then filtered by the pressing action of the french press, thereby separating the grounds from what has now become brewed coffee.
chemex
coffee philosophy
coffee science
coffee tasting
french press

Going Bonko

Written by Letoto on Nov 9th, 2009
On Sunday, I had an interesting experience with one of my favorite coffees from the past several months, the natural-processed Ethiopia Wondo Bonko Sidamo. This coffee, whose greens came from PT's in Kansas, has that lush bouquet of distinctive fruited notes, both on the tongue and in the nose. I had roasted a batch of this to just a shade past first crack on Saturday afternoon, making it very young in the post-roast sense. I brewed up a batch in the morning using the V60, then did the same in the afternoon.
coffee tasting
cupping
home roasting
roasting

Drinking vs. Tasting: Syphon Silliness

Written by Letoto on Nov 12th, 2009
Why does a light-roasted, natural-processed Ethiopian often give off a great deal more of the herbal bitter notes, rather than the fruited notes foretold by the dry and wet aromas, when brewed in a syphon? This is one of those brewing conundrums that has been sitting around in my head for several months now. Take a batch of roasted coffee and brew it in a press or in a pour-over, and bam! you get tons of berry notes all up in your retronasals, you know? But just as often as not, that same roast will yield a syphon pot that is...just...lacking.
coffee science
coffee tasting
siphon

Friday Morning Cup: Panama La Berlina Estate Typica

Written by Letoto on Feb 12th, 2010

This morning, I pressed a batch of Panama La Berlina Estate Typica. I remember it having a wonderful, full and round mouthfeel, quite viscous and pleasant. I go back and forth between thinking it's a bit syrupy and a bit hefty, like whole milk. No chalkiness, either, which is extra nice. And its taste? Brightness like a Central American coffee often has, with citrus fruit notes that fade into a graham cracker finish. It's a somewhat juicy cup, too, in that it doesn't give off too much of a drying sensation.

coffee tasting
french press

Tuesday Morning Cup: 60% Costa Rica Don Mayo La Ponderosa Bourbon & 40% of Ethiopia Beloya Selection Eight

Written by Letoto on Mar 2nd, 2010

This morning, I brewed a batch in the V60 at home, then brought it here to the office. Since I had a lot of leftover batches lying around my kitchen, I combined the end of two batches to get an acceptable amount of coffee for my desired yield size. The coffees? Roughly 60% of Costa Rica Don Mayo La Ponderosa Bourbon and 40% of Ethiopia Beloya Selection Eight, both of which were kept on the lighter side of the roasting spectrum.

coffee tasting
hario
home roasting
pour over
v60

Sippin' on Sidama - Thank You PT's!

Written by Peter Sieg on Apr 8th, 2010

PT's Coffee very graciously sent us bags and bags of coffee and espresso for the Bash a couple of weeks ago. There was some Ehtiopia Sidama Ardi Natural left over and we snatched it up for our office enjoyment (which is what we are sipping on this morning). The citrus fruit notes have mellowed out a bit after a couple of weeks but there is still a deep, sweet fruit and spice taste that is keeping me well satisfied. Thank you PT's and thank you Mike!

coffee tasting
pt's coffee

Upcoming Cupping Blogs and Coffee 101

Written by Lee Sill on Apr 13th, 2010

We are planning to add a new focus for the blog in the next several weeks. Starting soon, we hope to regularly review coffee from different roasters locally here in Louisville, as well as across the country (and beyond!). This will provide us with an opportunity to not only cup great coffee in the office, but also to provide those reading our blog exposure to roasters and shops who are bringing specialty coffee to the mainstream. Get excited; we sure are! And to all you roasters out there, you are welcome to send us free samples, if you wish!

coffee 101
coffee tasting
intelligentsia
louisville
mike phillips

The Versatile Aeropress

Written by Peter Sieg on Apr 23rd, 2010

We received our first shipment of Aerobie Aeropress brewers this morning. I wasn't sure what to expect from a frisbee manufacturer, but the reviews I've read were all very positive. As soon as we could, Lee and I both headed off to the break room to brew up the first two cups. Lee used more water with a medium grind. I used less water with a grind only a little coarser than espresso.

aeropress
coffee science
coffee tasting
lee sill
manual brewing
unboxing

Tasting Blog: Kenya AA Chania Estate French Mission by La Terza Artisan Coffee Roasterie

Written by Lee Sill on May 5th, 2010

This is the first of what we hope to be many tasting blogs in the future featuring roasters from Louisville, the Midwest, and nationally. Our hopes in doing this are threefold. First, we want to bring exposure to great roasters and shops we believe are doing good in the specialty coffee movement. Second, we want to introduce these roasters to the readers of our blog. And third, we love trying out great coffees in the office!

coffee tasting
manual brewing

Tasting Blog: Ethiopia Sidamo Haile Selassie by La Grange Coffee Roasters

Written by Lee Sill on Jul 7th, 2010

A few months back we came up with the idea to start writing regular blogs that would feature different roasters from around Louisville, the Midwest, and even nationally that we felt were doing great things in coffee. Like we stated in the first blog, we hope that we are able to bring exposure to these roasters, and we love tasting new coffees!

chris cockrell
coffee tasting
la grange coffee roasters

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