Coffee Review: Esmeralda Leon from Klatch Coffee

I've recently had the pleasure of drinking some Esmeralda Leon from Klatch Coffee.  From their website, the growers separated this lot due to its "multi-layered and complex" flavor, which is validated by a 96 score (highest I've seen) from Coffee Review (great website btw).  Hit the jump to see how I feel about it!

Coffee Video: Good eats episode on Coffee!

For anyone who's never heard of Good Eats, it's an awesome show about all thing edible hosted by Alton Brown.  He's talking about coffee here - going through where it comes from, how it's made, and how to brew.  Check it out, it's worth it!

Side note: Alton, use a burr grinder!

Pour Over Guide: Chemex + paper filter

 

 In my last post I wrote about making pour over coffee with a Chemex and Kone filter.  However, the more common way you'll see pour over coffee being made is with paper filter.  Since I'm still using the Chemex, I elected to go with a filter made by and designed for Chemex.  I chose the Unbleached version because it's got less paper taste and therefore less chance of ruining your coffee!  After the jump, I'll detail my method using paper filters and compare it to using the Kone.

Pour Over Guide with Kone & Chemex

With the popularity of pour over coffee at 3rd wave coffee shops ever increasing, I thought it'd be a good idea to write up a guide for anyone wanted to try it themselves.  For this guide, I'll be using the Chemex and Kone filter.  I will writeup a guide later using a paper filter.  While the general idea of pour over is similar to you automatic coffee machines, pour over provide much greater control over flow of water, brew time and temperature, and it allows a preinfusion stage. Join my after the jump to get started!

Review: Coava Kone Filter

Coava Kone

  Today, I'll do a review on the Coava Kone metal filter.  It's designed to be used in a Chemex pour over (more on chemex soon).  It's a single sheet of stainless steel with laser etched holes folded into shape and provides a reusable solution for pour over filter. With introductions out of the way, let's brew a cup!

Coffee Review: Colombia Hacienda El Roble

Colombia Hacienda El Roble straight out of packaging

Yesterday I got the Colombia Hacienda El Roble from Stumptown Coffee Roasters. It's a direct trade, single origin coffee and marks the second coffee I've bought from them.  The first one (forget the name) wasn't bad, but it didn't stand out at all. However, I kept on hearing good things about stumptown so I gave it another try - Let's see how it does this time around

New Arrival: Black Cat Classic Espresso

Black Cat Classic Espresso is a classic

Today, I received the Black Cat Classic Espresso coffee blend from Intelligentsia Coffee online coffee store. I have heard about this espresso for longer than I can remember yet this is the first time I bought some.  For some reason, I really like the packaging for this coffee.  The red and black and the SMELL when I first took it out the box is really enticing.  I could talk about how good it smell all day, but let's get to how it tastes!

Current Drinking: Carmen Natural Panama

Carmen Natural from Kuma

My new coffee came in same time as my AirScape canister, talk about good timing! Anyways, it's called Carmen Natural Panama from Kuma Coffee online coffee store. On their website, they say "Story:  Our friend Carlos Aguilera only prepped 20 bags worth of his natural processed coffee this year..." so basically because it sounded like limited supply, i bought one (yes im a sucker).  Find out if it can live up to the hype..

Airscape Cannister Arrivel & Review

Airscape Coffee Canister

I recently ordered two AirScape coffee canisters from Seattle Coffee Gear that just arrived!  Tip: make sure to wash first! It has a plastic chemical smell to it.  It did go away after a wash though so I'm not too worried.  Coincidentally, it came on the same day as my new coffee Carmen Natural Panama from Kuma Coffee so i was able to store fresh coffee in it right away. So, what's the inside look like and how did it fare?

Rancilio Rocky pour over

111 was totally an coincidence

First morning with my new rocky grinder, I made some pour over in the Chemex V60 with a Kone metal filter per daily routine.  I find that the pour over (or drip if you will) brew method gives me a cleaner and smoother cup than french press, making it the preferred morning coffee routine.  What you see there is the initial pour, where the coffee should bloom to around the 1 minute mark.  I was supposed to pour to 100g... but wasn't really awake yet so.. we got 111.  After bloom, pour in rest of water (I used 24 g coffee with 400 g of water) which should take you to the 2 minute mark and let coffee flow through til 2:45 -  3:00.

Presso manual espresso machine pt2

With my Rocky in hand, it's time for part 2 of my Presso trial.  Using the same equipment aside from grinder and same coffee as before, I dialed in the grinder.  I few tries later, here's what I got

Rancilio Rocky Arrival and Initial Impressions!

There she is!

My finally arrived!! There it is sitting on the counter top awaiting its maiden voyage. First impressions of the machine: it is bigger and heavier than it looks in the pictures! but feel really solid and well made.  There were some coffee grounds on the unit but this is NORMAL! These grinders are tested by manufacturer so if yours comes like that, don't fret.  As you can see the default setting is at a 10, which seems like a common starting point for espresso.  The unit comes with nice quality user manual in different languages.  The packaging was very secure, so much so i had to spend some time just to take it out. There is a switch for main power, switch for turning on grinding (you have to hold this button down), and a button you hold down to adjust grind setting. Last thing I want to note about this grinder is it's stepped, meaning the grind settings are discreet step and not continuous.  This means if your dialing in you shot, you may get stuck between two grind setting and although this can me remedied with changing tamping strength it's not ideal.  Personally, I chose stepped since it'll be an all purpose grinder, I wanted to be able to change between drip, press, espresso easily.  I didn't jump to the Presso next to it immediately since I wanted to just try out the grinder first.  Found out what it's first usage was after the break...

Currently Drinking: Ethiopia Tukant

What you're looking at is the lovely lid of my coffee container.  What's inside is the Ethiopia Tuktant from Blue Bottle in San Francisco.  If anyone's visiting SF I highly recommend it, there's a store in Mint Plaza and one in Ferry building. The lines can get pretty longs though, but they do have a online coffee store

Presso manual espresso machine pt1

One of my most recent toys is the Presso espresso machine. It's a budget manual espresso machine costing around 150 dollars, making it great for beginner home baristas.  It does not require electricity, which makes it a great thing for camping.  It's a simpler espresso brew method and as you can see from the picture, you pour boiling water into the water storage at the top, put in perfectly tamped (major issue! and lots of failed attempts) coffee in portafilter and press down on the two arms.

Welcome to my Coffee World!

Hey everybody! With this blog I hope to share all the fun and enjoyment (and sometimes frustrations) from my coffee endeavors.  Being an avid coffee drinker, I predict this blog will be filled up quickly.  The goal here is really to share my experiences to help anyone looking to get into the art of coffee.  Without further ado, let us set off with high spirits and a jittery hand!