Hottop Roaster Review

It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post here, so I figured when I did, it should be significant.  I think this one qualifies.
Yesterday I had the good fortune to spend an hour with a customer and friend, Mike M., observing the operations of his Hottop roaster.  We are authorized resellers of Hottops, [...]

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El Salvador Sam Emilio Pulped Natural

I’ve been so caught up in minutiae lately that I realized I forgot blog about this new arrival: El Salvador San Emilio Pulped Natural.
A pulped natural is the love child of wet process and dry process.  In wet process (aka washed), the cherry is fermented for a good, long time, depupled, then the (now clean) [...]

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Paper or Plastic?

Paper or plastic?  It’s no longer just a question you hear at the supermarket – now you have the same choice when you buy espresso from us.
Some of you may recall that when we launched this business in late 2007, we bagged coffee in red plastic valve bags.  That didn’t last long, based on feedback [...]

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Sweet Jane

The Raisin talked to me.  It suggested a new espresso, one that’s sweet and syrupy.  The first try was pretty damn good.  It oozes from the portafilter, and falls to the cup, a deep reddish brown, and for half a minute is nothing but crema.  Knock one back, and the tip of your tongue takes [...]

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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
placed orders that week [...]

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Attention Espresso Geeks

Are you engaged in the eternal search for the God Shot?  Do you think about whether espresso blends should be pre or post-roast blended?  Do you own multiple grinders for different styles of coffee preparation?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be interested to join me as I begin to [...]

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Good Is The Enemy of Great: The Central European Coffee Scene

As a foodie, I remember a time when I would look forward to going to Europe – great food, great wine, great coffee, far better than what could easily be found in the States.  That was maybe twenty years ago.  A lot has changed in two decades.
Yesterday, I stepped off a plane from Europe, having [...]

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Some New Espresso Gifts

Getting ready for the holiday gift-giving season by adding some new items to the web site…
First up is a beautiful, stainless steel stovetop espresso maker from gnali & zani.  Clean, modern, with rubberized handle.  6-cup capacity.

Other new item is a Bialetti set – 6-cup aluminum moka pot with four espresso cups and saucers.

Both items are [...]

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Organic Breakfast Blend – Now Making Espresso

Talk about embarassing.  Seems the coffee guy was pretty much out of coffee this morning.  This is not a usual occurrence, as you might imagine.  Typically my counters and dining room table are covered with small bags of origins I’m cupping and blends in progress, at a minimum.  But last weekend we had some dinner [...]

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Ten Minute Farmers’ Market Meal

I hear three complaints about real food that drive me nuts:
1. It’s not affordable
2. It takes too long to prepare
3. You need to be a good cook to make it appealing
So while pulling together dinner tonight, a regular Monday night with work and kid activities, it occurred to me that the meal [...]

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