Mistaken Experience

So, I haven’t updated in a while.  Why?  I guess I haven’t had a whole lot to say.  Since captain webmaster has updated wordpress (by my request mind you) I haven’t been able to upload pictures.  Why would this ever mean that I would be more hesitant to post for you?  Well, every time I pour a really nice latte, draw you some ugly picture with awful proportions, or find a picture of myself on the internets that makes a fool out of me, I can’t post it for you.  I found a temporary fix for such a thing with…..  Flickr.  I’ll just toss the picture in from there, because I can still totally do that.  Whats this mean for you?  Most consitant posting maybe?  Probably not, but we can hope.  How are things?  Things are well, thanks for asking.  Whats new?  Not very much at all, working hard.  Any projects on the horizon?  Its going to be a fun summer, thats all I’ve got to say!  Stay tuned pweeese.

~Me

I has them

This is just a random rosetta I did at the Bonhoeffer’s barista Jam.  I’m not super proud of it, but I had such a good time, and they were such awesome hosts that I thought I had to post something.  More latte art is on the way if this stupid video ever uploads ><

It DID upload, it just took a long time!
Bad Rosetta

Colombian melange is probably my favorite coffee we have right now.  Its the prefect balance of sweet, robust, and fruit bright tones.  So what is Colombian melange, and how is it different from our regular Colombian?  Our regular Colombian is a medium roast coffee.  We pull that around 15 to 20 seconds into the second crack, which is about the same amount of time before the second crack would be allowed into earnest.  Colombian melange is a blend of Colombian medium, full city, and french roasts.  Medium for brightness, full city for its balanced fruit tones and sweetness, french for its robust top notes and deep finish.  What I like so much about this cup is how its everything you like about the Colombian medium, and then it throws in all these extra subtleties.  What I really like about this coffee is the way its bright with muddled fruit tones, with a really full, balanced body.  The aroma is sweet, and distinctly coffee.  When I smell this , I smell coffee, in the best possible way.  Its sweet and bright, and robust without being over the top.  If we are going to pick out bits from the cuppy wheel of doom…. *gets cuppy wheel of doom out*  I would say light cocoa, a nice body with hints of pepper, slight hints of raspberry in the sweet, delicate finish.  Come on Adam, tell me I’m wrong….  Just try XD

I’m curious to see if I like this more, or if I like Colombian full city as a stand alone more, because I like the full city a lot too.

Just for kicks…

Brazil Extra French, AeroPress

A worker in New Boston has been having me roast her a bunch of extra french coffees.  We’ve been going through all the origins, and its been a while since I’ve documented a cupping.  So lets jump into things.

The first thing that comes to mind is the sheer depth to the roast itself.  This coffee was a full minute after second crack in earnest;  It was starting to stop entirely.   The aroma is reminicent of burnt toast and roasted nuts.

The Sip

Not a lot in the sip itself.  The tip of the toung leaves a very noticable absence of taste.  Most of what I taste is just from roast itself.  This is a really dark coffee.  Hints of spruce hit the top of my mouth as we move into the finish.  Any hints of the licorice that may have been present in the full city or french have all but vanished.  The subtleties of the coffee have been replaced with a depth and smoothness.  There is a certain harshness to the coffee, but its not totally enjoyable.  If nothing else, the coffee is a rich representation of what I would call a very classic, dark coffee.  The depth lingers long after the sip, deep into the finish.  This would make a very good dessert coffee, as the sweetness and depth would hold up greatly to such sweet desserts.  Its very smooth, which handles nicely to bitter treats such as dark chocolate.

Tanzania Full City, Fetco Drip

A slightly sweet, fruity aroma is slightly lacking in punancy. You can tell, jumping into this cup that its a an east African.

I’ve let this cool off quite a bit as to bring out the fruitiness.  An incredibly bright coffee comes through.  The fruit overtones are incredible in this cup.  A pleasant acidness hits the tip of the tung with gusto.  Bright berries and deep stone fruit penetrate the palate and make way for a strong body, with lemony vanilla topnotes.  I was going through a period of not enjoying this coffee, but this cup has been a pleasent reminder of how enjoyable simple drip can be.  If you like a bright fruity cup, you will love this tanzania full city.  Next week I’m doing some cinnamon roast tanzania, and I’ll see if I can remember to cup if for you all.  I doubt anyone is really interested, but I don’t care.  Coffee for you.

For the sake of it, I really just wanted to say that I just need a little time to be sad.  I’ll be fine in like a week or two, but really, for like at least a week, I’m going to just be sad.  Its just how I cope with such things.  Its not the end of the world, things will be right again soon, but for a little while, I’m just going to be sad.  Give me two weeks, that’s all.

Okay, I wish I had something funny or snarky to say, but I don’t.  I don’t have anything clever or sarcastic to say.  Wish on a star once, regret it forever.  Make the same mistake a second time, maybe you’re a fool.  Sure, maybe it’s not the reason you’re so sad and broken.  I mean, obviously wishing on a star can’t really hurt you inside.  It’s not going to tear you apart.  Sometimes you get what you wish for.  Maybe a short month after you made that wish, its going to come back and bite you.  The first time I wished on a star in a long time, I half got my wish.  The feelings that fell from that night ended up in one of the most devistating falling outs I’ve ever had.  The second time, I got exactly what I wanted, and thought that maybe the stars had found pitty on me.  Well, I don’t know if they had a hand in what was to transpire, or if everything really was my own fault.  I don’t know what I did.  I don’t know what to do.  I’m just so confused, and scared, and sad…

I think its important to note, that this won’t keep me from wishing on stars, though I wish it would.

Don’t get it!

Seriously, don’t get the flu, its horrible.

Today I roasted some coffee in my barn. I used a hot air popcorn popper. I could only do a large handful at a time, but it worked really well. I’ve got about a pound of my own espresso blend that I’ll cup tomorrow. It’s Colombian full city, Mexican full city (dark), Brazil french, Peru full city, and Peru french. We’ll see how it goes. It should be nice and chocolaty with a good sweetness and some nuttiness. I hope its as good as it looks… *crosses fingers*