ROASTe Blogs

More miscellanea (bit of a tradition now) for those who might appreciate it…

1. The name of Wrecking Ball’s new espresso blend: Pillow Fight. For some reason this makes me smile, which it seems is their intention (see quote below). Mission accomplished, people! I’m glad they didn’t choose “Tickle Monster,” as that phrase has now acquired an icky Jerry Sandusky vibe (for me at least).

I have had a lot of good coffee lately between the new lot of coffees that I have gotten from Mtn. Air Roasting Company and all of the others. And I have found that the amount of bad coffee that I have gotten so far this year is probably limited to two or three bags, however the amount of coffee that has wow'd me is probably even less.

So what I am wondering is; what coffees out there that have been wow'ing you?

The West Bean is a micro-roaster located in San Diego, CA, that in a sense aligns itself more with the older- than the newer-school West Coast roasters. More like old-time Peet's or Starbucks than Ritual or Four Barrel. That is, the roasts that I've sampled are medium-dark, more dark than medium.

I currently have a one-pound bag of their Honduras Capucas in my pantry.

Bypass brewing is when part of the brewing water does not go through the coffee itself. The technique should be familiar to anyone who has ever owned an Aeropress, since the included instructions describe the process: one brews a concentrate which is then diluted. While I don't like bypass brewing so extreme as the standard (which is actually nonstandard!) Aeropress technique, I do appreciate more subtle uses of the technique.

This morning I brewed up PT's Bolivia, which is still tasting great even though it's fairly old in coffee time.

I'm pretty excited for my next coffee order from Roaste to arrive. Although I have heard so much about Espresso Vivace Roasteria I have never actually get to try them before.  However, since it is offered here on Roaste, I decided to take a plunge and order two of their blends. And that was two days ago and right now I'm eagerly waiting for the arrival of the mail man as it is predicted to arrive today. 

Tonx Coffee is headed by a couple of long-time coffee professionals. They're currently based in Los Angeles, and their goal is to locate small lots of very good coffee, quickly construct a good roast profile, and ship the beans out fresh to their subscribers. They offer a 6 oz biweekly and a 12 oz biweekly plan, in either regular or decaf.

I find myself temporarily without a steamer - now that the espresso maker is back, the steamer has decided to lose its seal. Until I find a way to replace the gasket, I'm without my usual indulgence -- cappuccino. Or I was. Yesterday, I decided to try volumizing my cream for cappuccino manually and...

Summer is here and if you are a coffee fiend like the rest of us you are probably drinking your coffee a little bit more often on ice lately.

I have talked about iced coffee in the past, and I know there have been others here that have done the same. I just wanted to share how I have been brewing my iced coffee recently as I have updated it a bit from what I was doing before. Now as with everything your tastes and results may vary.

 After spending months in the gym, Carolina Classic is ready to debut his slimming new look... and just in time for Summer!  Carolina Classic and all his Iron Brew friends have committed to a lifestyle change that includes living right and a zero calorie diet.  The dumpy, out of shape Iron Brew look is a thing of the past.  

Congratulations Carolina Classic!

Read more

Every once in a while I’ll order an affogato. The last few have been at a great gelato shop called Pitango just a few steps from the Baltimore Harbor in Fells Point. I’m stuck in a delicious rut: cardamom gelato with a double shot of Counter Culture’s Toscana pulled on top using a 2-group Faema. Highly recommended.

Mountain Air Roasting is a small-batch roaster located in Asheville, North Carolina. They offer a quality product at a nice price point. In fact, if you order a six-pack of their beans, the price per bag is only a little more than $8. Purchased a la carte, each bag runs $12 for 12 oz., which makes me nostalgic for 2010, when that price-point was almost the industry standard.

It's been three weeks since my Trifecta MB arrived, and I'm familiar enough now with this machine's features, usability, and effectiveness to start making review posts. How about some unboxing pictures first, though?

The Trifecta arrived double-boxed. That “delicate electrical instrument” label on the outer box made me smile.

I know I mentioned this last week, but here's another reminder. The fun begins tomorrow (6/12)! I'll try to make time to watch Counter Culture's Katie Carguilo at least; her set-up starts at 9:36 a.m. EDT, and her "performance" goes from 9:51 to 10:06.

- WBC's site

- livestream links

Since very early on in my blogging tenure, I’ve been composing in Word and [very important] saving the file as plain text before I copy the contents and paste them into ROASTe’s text editor. This has worked well for me. Of course, you can compose your posts without leaving the site if you’d like to; that’s just not my preference.

I am of course referring to Williams and Sonoma, when it comes to coffee they are a very cruel cruel dispicable place. If you don't know Williams and Somona is a kitchen supply store, and carrying a wide variety of mid to high end kitchen goods. They also tend to carry a variety of different food stuffs, mainly stuff with long shelf lifes; mixes for batters and some different pickled goods, and of course coffee.