Happy Birthday to Us

We’re one year old today!

Till I started my own, I never realized how hard it is to pinpoint the birthday of a business.  The idea was debated for months, if not years leading up to the end of 2006.  We bought a building and incorporated in December 2006.  The roaster was built and we settled on the property in late 2007.  We had state government clearance to sell in December 2007.  Our first sale, technically, was December 13, 2007.  All these were important milestones… but…

The web site went live on January 27, 2008.  And without a web site, you’re just not in business these days.  So we picked January 27 as our birthday.

We’ve made a lot of great friends this year.  And we look forward to serving you well in Year 2.  Thanks for your patronage.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?): on the brithday of the company, I sit here sipping a ristretto of single origin natural Ethiopia Sidamo Shanta Golba.  I love these naturals straight up.

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Fire in the Hole!

<Read this post in your best Anthony Bourdain voice and I promise you it will sound better>

Tonight I made my first fired tea.  In several batches.  It was harder than I thought it would be, and it didn’t come out exactly right each time.  In fact, it came out exactly right only once, curiously enough the first time I tried.  My shop smelled like a 1970′s Pink Floyd concert.  But it worked.  And thus begins another life-long obsession, I suspect.

What is fired tea, you ask?  It’s green tea, roasted.  The one that got me started on this is hojicha, a tea I first tried while Japan.  Hojicha, the traditionally charcoal-fired version of bancha, or second blush of sencha, sounds like a romantic, artisan creation.  And it is.  But in that uniquely Japanese way, it is also eminently practical.

You see, bancha is an inferior tea.  The first of seasonal green tea is called sencha, and it is universally prized around the world.  After the branches are bare, the second push arrives, and is harvested.  This ugly duckling of a tea, coarse and twiggy, is called bancha.  If bancha were coffee, it would be Vietnamese robusta.  Yuck.   So in true Japanese fashion, they take something undesirable, and turn it into something prized.  With fire.  Hojicha.

Sencha

Bancha. This is actually the best looking bancha I've ever seen; it looks better than some sencha. I wouldn't fire anything that looked this good. Well, OK, maybe I would. Fire, heh heh.

It’s understandable why the Japanese were driven to do this.  Any of you who have been to Japan know that real estate is at a premium.  They can’t just farm more land and harvest more sencha to make enough to earn a living.  No, they need to utilize the land to its fullest.  And hojicha is one way of doing that.  Hoji magically transforms the rough and relatively flavorless bancha into a beautiful, less astringent tea, with lovely grain and cereal flavors.  It’s just short of miraculous, really.

Hojicha. This one is a little twiggy.

So once again, I had the distinct advantage of knowing just enough to be dangerous, and not nearly enough to be useful.  If there’s one thing I can do, I figured, it’s roast.  And roast I did.  How hot?  How long?  How much air?  How much agitation?  All complete mysteries to me.  And they pretty much still are.  But I got it right once, and that was all it took.  I am hooked.

It turns out that hojicha is usually pan fired over charcoal.  In retrospect, I can clearly see the wisdom of this technique.  As you might have guessed, that’s not exactly what I did.  What I did… is to remain a secret.  Why? Well, the obvious reason is proprietary competitive advantage.  And that’s true, to a certain extent.  But the real reason is embarrassment.  I know I looked like Rube Goldberg, but with enough BTUs to torch a house.  What I did tonight was dangerous and silly.  And fun.  And unexpectedly productive.  And my secret.

I would offer you some of my hoji to try, but the batch I got right yielded just enough for a few servings.  I sent what was left after my sampling to a friend in Atlanta with his coffee order.  I look forward, as always, to his sometimes harsh, but always honest feedback.  I suspect he will encourage me to continue.

And as I research the field, I realize that hojicha is but one type of fired tea.  People have been doing this to all kinds of beverages for a very long time.  Looks like I have some catching up to do.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?): Hoji!  I drank all of the batch that worked, now I’m working on some of the less perfect batches, and they’re still good.

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Old School: That’s How They Roll

I’m talking about my parents, of course, and how they make coffee.  No method is too labor intense, no device too archaic.  And, not suprisingly, the apple has not fallen far from the tree.

We visited the folks at the Pennsylvania farmstead in between Christmas and New Year’s, as those of you who

Here's the Muddy Dog herself, down on the farm. Who said a dog can't smile? That is literally a sh_t-eating grin - I saw what she was eating right before the photo.

placed orders that week now fully realize; of course, I needed to bring coffee.  So as I was getting ready to turn out the lights in the roastery Christmas eve, I assembled a couple boxes and gathered up every roasted bean I could find in the shop to give away to my family.  All the Friends & Family trimmings that the walk-in customers have come to love (walk in and buy a couple pounds, and I throw in a bag of trimmings for free!).  All the unsold bulk coffees.  All the retail finished goods.  Everything.  All told, I boxed up about 35 pounds of coffee (mind you, I had been concentrating on depleting the inventory for about a week at that point).  I was determined to start 2009 with absolutely no inventory – a gesture that my accountant loves.

Upon arrival, my brothers descended on the boxes like a pack of ravenous wolves.  Still, my parents were left with a pretty amazing array of coffees.  And we drank a lot of them over the week.  And as interesting as all those coffees were, it’s how they were brewed that was more interesting.  All those who think you need fancy new technology to make great coffee, prepare to be amazed.

Those who know me know that I have a hard time starting the day without a simple, straight espresso.  Mom and Dad have no fancy espresso machine.  Nor do they want one – no space in their kitchen.  So we went old school: moka pot.  For the uninitiated, a moka is how most Italians in Italy make their coffee at home (at least the ones I know).  The device is simple, just three pieces.  A bottom vessel to contain the water, a filter basket shaped like a funnel, and a pot to catch the finished coffee.  The principal of operation is simple, too.  Fill the bottom vessel up to the pressure relief valve.  Fill the basket with finely ground coffee, in this case our Classic Italian Espresso, strike it level, do not tamp.  Assemble the pot.  Place onto a heat source.  As the water heats, the air above it heats.  As the air heats, it expands, pushing on the water.  The only place for the water to go (path of least resistance) is up the funnel, through the coffee, into the pot.  It makes a really good, stiff coffee.  You don’t get the same oil emulsification (crema) that happens at 9 bars of pressure, but it’s still damn good.  And cheap, and simple, and easy to store in the cabinet.

Moka pot, and espresso blend. That stove was new sometime in the 70's.

Here's what it looks like apart. This is a plain, old, aluminum Bialetti brand moka. We sell a fancy stainless steel version, as well as the aluminum classic.

Basket filled, struck level, no tamp, ready to assemble.

Pure Magic...

Still, a little tedious if you have a crowd, which we did at times.  In that case, we drag out the old vacuum pot.  Yeah, we could have used the percolator, but as I established in a post last summer, that one actually takes some skill to use well.

Vac pots date back to the mid 1800′s, purportedly invented by a guy named Napier, a maritime engineer.  Principle of operation is the same as the moka – bottom vessel for water, top vessel shaped like a funnel, with funnel rod extending to bottom of water vessel.  In between there is a filter of some sort.  Water heats, air heats, air pushes on water, water follows path of least resistance up funnel and mixes with ground coffee in that vessel.  Only difference in this case is that you keep it on the heat as long as you want the coffee to steep.  Then remove it from the heat.  As the bottom vessel cools, it creates a vacuum (this is, basically, how a canning jar works, too).  The vacuum sucks the brewed coffee through the filter and into the pot.  Done.

Vac pots were hugely popular before WWII.  Restaurants had huge gangs of them.  They were in every household, in numerous brands – Cory, Nicro, Sunbeam, and more.  All types of filter mechanisms.  At one time I had a collection of them, but I try not to pack rat and sold them all except one or two.  Even today, they are available if not popular.  Bodum makes the most mainstream of them, the Santos.  The device in the movie The Bucket List was a vacuum pot (the Royal), a different configuration but same principle.

Here's Mom's Vac Pot. She's clumsy, so stainless is how she rolls. I think this one is a Nicro, but not sure. It uses a Cory glass filter rod, probably not original.

Put the filter rod in, then add the coffee. A bit of technique - heat the water a little with the pot unassembled, then put them together. It's more viscerally satisfying to seethe thing work as soome as you assemble it, and you can start timing your agitation, otherwise you're waiting for the water to heat, in which case I get distracted then the next thing you know it's been gurgling for who knows how long.

Assmebled, water starting to move into upper chamber. Stir a little as the water rises to get all the coffee wetted.

Let it steep, on the heat, for about three minutes, then remove from heat and watch the vacuum work almost immediately

It's done when the grinds are sucked dry. remove the upper vessel and serve.

My favorite coffee of the week was the Mexico Organic Dry-Process Nayarit.  I’m a sucker for a good natural.

Even if you don’t use these methods every day, it’s fun to experiment with them and inexpensive to buy the equipment – look on eBay to get what you need.  They work great, they give you infinite control, and you’ll feel good about mastering a new technique.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?): I’m working on a couple new blends for a potential new coffee shop customer.  The dark house blend is a variation on the Christmas Blend theme.  I’ll keep you posted.

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Merry Christmas

You may notice that I usually say Happy Holidays.  To me, this is more than a matter of politicial correctness, as we celebrate multiple religious holidays in our home, and we have many friends from around the world who are non-Christian.  To all of them – Happy Holidays!

But today is Christmas!  So Merry Christmas!

I had sent a thank you sentiment to our mailing list, but want to repeat it here in case you were one of those who didn’t receive or didn’t open our message.

We have the world’s best customers.  Thank you to each and every one.  It has been a joy serving you this year, and we value the many friendships we’ve made.  We had a very successful first year despite an economic meltdown of historic proportions, and we owe that success to you. We wish you a joyous and safe holiday season.

On a related note, how did you do with buying local for holidays this year?  I just tallied up my personal spending (which was right around the national average, much to my surprise, as I thought I would spend less).  Drum roll, please………. 79% of my purchases (by dollar amount) were made from people less than 50 miles away, whom I know by first name, and who produced (grew, fabaricated, etc.) the goods themselves.  And the gifts were nicer than anything I could have purchased from a big box store.  Who gives lamb as a gift anymore?  Well, I’m here to tell you that it made some people on my gift list very happy, indeed.

Santa was good to me, too.  I got a couple new coffee books I’ll be reading this week – The Espresso Quest, and God in a Cup.  They sound like good reading.  I’ll let you know.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  I had quite an array of choice this morning.  We finished up the year with about 35 lbs assorted finished goods, which I boxed up and will bringing to my family in Pennsylvania tomorrow.  But today, they are all on my dining room table.  So what did I pick?  Classic Italian Espresso.  Call me a purist.  I have been thinking about what I will drink on New Year’s Day, however.  New Year’s is one of my special coffee days of the year, where I do something special and savor it.  I usually use my coffee siphon on New Year’s (did you see the movie The Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson’s fancy coffee brewer?  I had that same brewer (The Royal) long before the movie.)   I haven’t made a decision on the coffee yet.

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au naturale, anyone?

This is the part that I love about this job – adding new coffees to the menu.  Especially naturals, a particular favorite of mine.

For those wondering, a “natural” is also known as a dry-process coffee because the fruit is dried in the sun instead of dunked in water (which results in a “washed” coffee), which is not exactly “unnatural”.  The net result of natural processing is an earthier, fruiter cup, frequently “winey”.

Once again I was smitten with an Ethiopian Sidamo.  It’s hard for me to say I have an absolute favorite origin, but certainly within regions I do have faves.  In Africa, it’s Ethiopia for me.  And within Ethiopia, it’s southern Ethiopia.  And within southern Ethiopia, give me the naturals.

And so, from the Shanta Golba Cooperative  comes this lovely elixir.  Baby A (aka Veggie Girl) and I spent about ten minutes this morning just sniffing it and trying to describe the dry aromas.  She said “bananas”, and then I could smell them, too, in addition to nearly overwhelming sweet fruits like cherry.  In the cup, the fruits absolutely assault you before retreating to allow the dusky leather to reveal itself in the finish.  If this coffee were wine, it would be a cuvee of savignon blanc (for the sharpness), merlot (for the fruit) and sangiovese (for the finish).  I know it sounds weird, but it works, I promise.

To add to the appeal, it’s Organic, Fair Trade Certified.  You gotta try this one, with the caveat that, like other naturals, they are not for everyone.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  The Golba inspired me, and might be the one coffee worthy of blending with the Guji (though the question “why?” may still be valid).  So I whipped up an experimental espresso, code named Blonde, not for its IQ but rather for its finish – ultra light (I just realized in addition to the color, the analogy works with the stereotype, too), like interupt first crack light, which for those of you who blend know is always risky, but especially so for espresso.  I’m sipping it now, thinking it needs another day to rest.  Or it may need another 10 degrees of finish temperature.  It’s so far from the norm of how I blend I’m not sure what to say about it.  The quality is excellent, for what it is – a sharp, bright, fruity espresso reminiscent of Cafe Fiorre – it’s the best one I’ve ever had.  The question is whether espresso should taste like this, and to answer that I will need other opinions.  So to all my espresso homies – come over and get some, then give me you opinions.

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Crunchy Granola

Literally.

Last night I made some granola bars.  This morning, I wanted to get to the roastery early, so I grabbed some of the granola off the baking sheet, put it in a Pyrex bowl, and off to the shop I went.

I like to share, so I put my granola out to share with customers who stopped in for coffee.  You would think I was feeding them caviar, the way some them raved.  And a few people asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Preface:  There’s not really any right or wrong way to do this.  It’s grains, nuts and seeds, with some fat and sweetener.  Roughly 8:0.6:1, grains:fat:sweet, or thereabouts.  The only “trick” to it is that your “dough” should be sticky enough to make into a doughball without crumbling.  Also, big chunks tend not to bind as well, so chop big things into smaller pieces.  Improvise your own recipe based on this one.

Preheat oven to 350F

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup flax meal (so if you don’t have this, I would pulverize nuts into a powder instead and substitute)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped cashews (I like the salted ones, then I don’t use any more salt.  If you use unsalted nuts you may want to add a teaspoon or so of salt)
1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 stick butter, melted
I also added about a 1/4 cup of apple syrup we got as a gift from somebody who went to Canada.  Completely optional.  But dried apples (chopped) would probably be nice in these bars.

Mix the dry ingredients, then the wet into the dry.  Mix thoroughly.  Grease a large baking pan (I use an 11 x 13 b/c it’s the largest I have – a little bigger would be better).  Spread the dougn evenly and pack it down as hard as possible (use something big and flat to press on it).  Should be 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

Bake for 20-30 minutes till brown (it will be really soft while hot – just make sure the edges are browned, and don’t mess with it while it’s hot).  Remove from oven, lower temp to 200F, and allow to cool for 20 minutes or longer.  Cut into desired serving sizes.  Break up portions and place on a flat baking sheet (parchment paper aids cleanup).  Pop back into the 200F oven.  For a moderate crunchiness (“al dente”) bake another three hours.  For really crunchy, bake longer (5 hours).  I time things such that I put the oven on timer and put them in when I go to bed.  So they bake for a few hours, then stay in a cooling oven for a few more.  Consume within a week or two, or freeze (I don’t bake them dry enough to store at room temp indefinitely)

Incidentally, you can make dog treats much the same way – equal parts grain and flour, a few eggs and a cup of melted peanut butter.  Follow the same procedure for baking, but dry the hell out of them so they store at room temperature – 8 to 10 hours in a 200F oven.   Then you can gross out your kids by eating dog treats.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?): I’ve had a craving for Mexico Oaxaca Pluma don Eduardo for several days now.  So I whipped up a pump pot this morning before the customers started arriving.  Hopefully by next week I’ll be trying it on my new Fetco ECO brewer (yay!) – better coffee, and better for the planet (although I felt the teeth nip my butt with the bite it took out of my wallet – it ain’t easy being green!).

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Size Matters….

I’m talking about coffee bags.  What did you think I was talking about?  The song by Joe Nichols?

This has been an enduring debate here at the roastery.  It was something we didn’t give a lot of thought to in the beginning; we rolled out the company offering retail put-ups in half and full pounds.  That’s how people buy coffee, right?

Well, I can tell you that half pounds have turned out to be a royal PITA (look it up in Urban Dictionary).  So much so that after careful consideration we have been phasing them out.  So full pounds are the answer, right?  I’m not convinced.

Many of our customers like the fact that we offer full pounds.  There is something viscerally satisfying about buying coffee in one pound increments.  It smacks of value.  It’s how we are mentally calibrated.

Then how come hardly anyone else does it?  Most of the coffees offered in supermarkets, specialty stores, and by our competitors are in quantities other than one pound.  The most popular put-up seems to be 12 ounces, but 10 ounces seems popular, too.

One answer is that they are trying to pull a fast one on you.  This is the conventional wisdom among customers who seem to have a strong preference for one pound retail put-ups.  I would argue it’s more complicated than that.

It seems like most users (with a few exceptions – you know who you are!) consume less than a pound per week.  So smaller put-ups make sense.  They can spend less per transaction to get enough to use for a period of time that it will remain fresh.  They can buy two 12-ounce put-ups that will last about two weeks.

So the question is, should we switch from 16 to 12-ounce put-ups?  We want your opinions.

Assume that you will pay just a fraction more on a per pound basis to account for the fact that we use the same bag for a 12 oz as we do for a 16 oz put-up.  Think of 16 oz as being equal to 100%.  Obviously 12 oz is 75% of that.  So if a pound were $10, it follows logically that 12 oz should cost $7.50, right?  Not so fast.  Let’s assume, for sake of argument, that bags and labels cost $0.50 each.  10 lbs used to require 10 bags, or $5.00 worth of bags.  That was baked into the 1 lb price.  So if you bought 10 lbs, you paid $100: $95 for coffee, $5 for bags.  If you buy the same 10 lbs 12 oz at a time, you will buy 13 bags (yeah, I know it’s 13.3, but go with it to make the math easy).  So now it’s the same $95 for coffee, plus $0.50×13=$6.50 for bags, or $101.50 total.  That works out to $10.15 per pound, or $7.81 per 12-oz package.  Whew!  Get it?

I can tell you that, ultimately, it will be either 12 OR 16 oz packages, not both.  Maybe we’ll test market both for a period.  But before we do that, we would like to have your opinion.  Take the poll!

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  I indulged in a little guilty pleasure today – I drank coffee that I actually roasted for myself (be still, my heart).  Usually I drink samples, or whatever hasn’t sold after 10 days or so.  I used to think it was a Dad thing, before I realized it’s small business owner thing, too.  Last week I received a new load of green coffee, including one very special natural Ethiopia Sidamo, from Golba.  Nestled in the south of Ethiopia, along the border of Kenya and not too terribly far west of Somalia live the Shanta Golba cooperative, producers of amazing organic, Fair Trade Certified, Pure Joy In A Cup.  This is another amazing fruit-forward cup, like the Boldgrain we had mid-year, and not entirely dissimilar from the Guji we have in stock now, too.  Yes indeed, I am smitten by naturals.  Look for this one on the web site sometime next week.

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It’s the little things…

We labor under the assumption that you would like for us to stay in business.  With that in mind, I finally figured out how to exclude active specials (the items with a slash through the regular price, and a lower price in red) from additional discounting, i.e., coupon codes.  This means that for products on special you can’t get an additional discount.

I know, it make me sound like the Grinch.  Which in some ways is appropriate, especially since it’s my favorite holiday movie of all time (Charlie Brown Thanksgiving loses by a hair).  I’m even tempted to apologize, but I don’t think an apology is necessary.  Any of you who see the car I drive know I’m not getting rich off this job, and we offer great deals on a super-premium product.  So thanks for your understanding and continued patronage!

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  At home the only thing I had around was a bag of When Pigz Fly Blend, named after our friends with the eclectic gift shop at 11125 Six Forks Road in Raleigh.  I do this blend just for them, you can only get it at their store.  It’s a versatile coffee – I’m enjoying it as espresso, when I formulated it for drip.  It’s Indonesian earthy with a high-end South Anerican punch, too.

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New Mexico Decaf in the house!

By now you may be getting the idea that I REALLY like Mexican coffee.  One clue is the fact that I have more Mexican offerings than any other origin – five Mexicans at current time!  Right now I’m stocking don Eduardo (also back in the house after an absence!), Oaxaca Mixteca Organic Fair Trade, Chiapas Organic, Nayarit Organic Dry Process (different, and a Roastmaster’s Reserve!), and the latest, described below, Miravalles Organic Decaf.   That’s probably too many, so enjoy them while you can.

Our latest just arrived last week – Organic Mexico Miravalles Mountain Water Process.  “Mountain Water” is the trade name of the process used by the company descamex, which operates an ultra-modern facility in Mexico using water from the Pica de Orizaba mountain.  In terms of process, conceptually it is the same as Swiss Water Decaf, yet my experience is that Mountain Water produces a vastly superior cup quality.  The most noticeable difference is in how the beans roast.  Swiss Water results in an extremely dark bean (before roasting, it looks almost like it has already been roasted), which ultimately results in a very dark appearance for the finished bean.  This has caused some customer confusion when I tell them it’s a light or medium roast (which it is, by virtue of actual roast temperature), yet it appears to be french roast.  The Mountain Water beans behave nicely during roasting, emitting the usual visual and auditory cues ones expects when roasting high quality green coffee.  And a medium finish LOOKS like a medium finish.

Anyway, this cup is classic Mexico – smooth and balanced, like a Oaxaca.  Not so surprising given that Miravalles is the geographic origin of this coffee, which is physically located just north of Oaxaca.

http:/www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  Christmas Blend!  Man, I’ve got Christmas Blend coming out the ears.  We vended an event in Cary over the weekend, and it had much lower attendance than anyone had predicted.  Hence I’ve got a lot of finished goods on hand.  Look for more specials this week.

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Unchain Yourself

When is the last time you thought about your shopping habits?  I mean REALLY thought about them?

This was a big year for that kind of thinking in our household.  Having started our independent business in January, we’ve had ample opportunity to reflect on our shopping habits, and to take notice of our customers’ habits.

Here’s my conclusion: too many of us (I include my former self in this group) are junk collectors on auto-pilot.

Many of us say that we like to patronize independent business.  We like the thought of heterogeneity in our community – things that lack “sameness”.  Yet when it comes time to vote with our wallets, where do we go?  Target?

I came across an article published by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund about the anti-chain movement of the 1920′s and 30′s.  Turns out that ten years before my dad was born, people were railing against Sears and JC Penney, the WalMarts and Targets of their day.  Everything old is new again.  But as I read the article, I found myself increasingly annoyed.  The focus then, and to some extent now, was on the use of legislation to prevent the spread of chain stores.  Unsurprisingly, it failed then, and it will fail now.  And no good Libertarian can support that approach, anyway

What we should realize is that we have a weapon much more powerful than laws.  We have free choice regarding where we spend our money.  Every day.  Every purchase.  Every dollar.

I’m not unrealistic, however.  I know that the convenience offered by big box stores is very powerful.  I know that franchises are owned by real, local families.  I know that some people just don’t care about this issue, or more appropriately, they don’t see it as an issue.  Hell, some people may even prefer chain stores to the unabashed quirkiness of some small businesses.

But if you are one of the people who want more independent business in your community, do something about it this holiday season.  Buy from them.  Yeah, it’s that simple.

I’ll go so far as to propose that you set a goal.  How about you satisfy half your gift list with goods from independent businesses?

Make a list.  Keep score.  Make sure you put your money where your mouth is – I will.

http://www.muddydogcoffee.com

WWJD (What Would Jim Drink today?):  Now that the farmers’ market season is over, I get to spend Saturday mornings outdoors making good use of my North Carolina Lifetime Sportsman License.  I spent this morning in a 40-degree blind with my “old school” classic green field thermos (yes, I’ve had it since I was a kid, it has dents older than some of the people reading this blog); at 5:15 AM this morning I was sipping a new blend that I’ve been working on just for thermal storage.  Have you ever noticed that coffee from a thermos tastes different than freshly brewed?  This is the effect of oxidation, manifested as heightened acidity.  I worked for months to formulate a blend that would minimize this problem (that’s a lot of thermos coffee, in case you were wondering).  Yes, it oxidizes, the trick was to find beans whose flavor profile actually benefits from a little oxidation (if that’s possible!).  I’m still tweaking but should release it soon.  My working name is Duck Blind Blend.  In case you can’t wait, I’ll give you a good alternative – it’s a variation of my Christmas Blend.

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