We are super excited to introduce our new Spirit Mountain Dominican Republic coffee. It’s a great coffee with a great cause. All proceeds from our purchase of this coffee go to fund the scholarship program for the Doulos Discovery School. You can read more about it on our website.
We use a use a light roast for this delicate coffee. It has mild acidity with smooth, milk chocolate flavors.
You should try it.
A new Guatemala Huehuetenango.
When Brian and I first decided to start a coffee roastery, a couple of things were certain: we would find a great Ethiopian Sidamo that tasted like a cup of blueberries, and we would carry a coffee from Guatemala (preferrably from the Huehuetenango region). We have decided to try out a different “huehue”. It’s really good. Read about it on our web site - it’s a cool story.
Local delivery
We have been doing local “milk-man” style local deliveries to the suburbs of north Dallas for a couple of months now, but there was no mention of it on our website. Now there is. If you are local to us - let us know - I’ll send you a price list and delivery schedule. I will then bring coffee right to your door.
Time for another FAQ’s post. The first “frequently asked question” I have already written on was about how I make my coffee at home. You can read it on my March 28 post. Now I need to talk about bean storage.
Let me just say right off the bat - don’t put coffee beans in your freezer or refrigerator. There seems to be a lot of debate among family members and friends as to the proper way to store coffee. To all of you who think putting coffee into a freezer is a bad idea - you win. Freezers and refrigerators not only do wacky things to the moisture content in coffee (causing it to go stale quicker rather than slower), they can also impart off flavors to the coffee. A refrigerator is an especially bad idea.
Now, I must say that there are some within the coffee biz that claim it is ok to freeze coffee “once”. If long term storage of roasted coffee is an absolute must - if you are leaving on a trip and there is no way you could work through your fresh roasted coffee any time soon - you can freeze it. Once it is taken out of the freezer, however, you are not to put it back. Don’t keep your coffee in your freezer. Never use the freezer as a place to store coffee that you are working your way through. Most of the people that put coffee in the freezer are doing just that. I say “stop”.
Well, if you are not to store in the fridge or freezer - what are you to do?
Good question. Here are my tips
1. Remember - the window for optimum flavor of fresh roasted coffee is 3 days to 2 weeks. So, the first tip to coffee storage is to not try to store too much. Don’t have more coffee on hand than you could go through in 2 weeks. That’s why - by the way - our “milk-man-style” coffee delivery service to the north Dallas suburbs is such a great idea. If you go through a pound a week, get a pound of coffee that was roasted that week. Your coffee will always be fresh.
2. The staling process is sped up dramatically with grinding. If you are concerned with coffee freshness and the proper storage of coffee, you should probably invest in a grinder. Store coffee whole bean and grind just before brewing. So much of a coffee’s distinctive flavor is wrapped up in the aroma. If you have ever smelled just ground coffee, you know the explosion of aromas that is present. You want those aromas in your coffee. That aroma starts to disipate rather quickly and the coffee starts getting stale right away once it is ground. (By the way - if you are in the market for a grinder, there are two common types to choose from, blade and burr. Blade grinders are usually a good bit less expensive. If your brewing method is always drip, a blade grinder should be fine. If you ever use other brewing methods like french press or espresso, you really need a burr grinder.)
3. To store coffee, you want to keep it away from air, moisture, heat, and light - in that order. I think the ideal way to store coffee is in an air-tight glass or ceramic jar in your kitchen pantry. Or, you could put your opened coffee bag into a secondary zip lock bag to cut down air circulation and then place that into your pantry. If you happen to have a larger amount of coffee than you can go through in a two week time period (like if you buy your coffee in 5 lb bags), divide the coffee into two air-tight containters (both room temp and out of the light). Leave one of the containers sealed until the first one is empty.
We are proud to announce the unveiling of 5 new blends: Sunshiney Day, Creative Juice, Philosopher’s Blend, The Hybrid, and Espresso.
These have been in the works and awaiting public acknowledgement for quite awhile now. Each of our blends is created from coffees purchased at or above “fair trade” prices with an emphasis on the sustainable well-being of our growers. They are each amazing and distinctive.
While it is cool to focus on single origin coffees and refine your palate to differentiate unique flavor profiles of producing countries and regions - it is also true that there are quite a few great flavor profiles that cannot be found in a single origin coffee. The most common example of this is coffee specifically designed to be brewed in an espresso machine. The full body, natural sweetness, low acidity, lingering aftertaste, intense flavor that characterizes a good espresso is rarely found in a single origin coffee all by itself. Espresso is usually made from a blend of at least 2 (sometimes 5 or more) single origin coffees.
Over the next few blog posts, I give each blend its rightful turn. Today I want to talk about “Sunshiney Day”.
Sunshiney Day was probably our easiest blend to create. It seemed like a natural combination of coffees. We came up with this recipe early in our blend R&D, and just fell in love with it. It remains Kelly’s favorite. (Kelly is Greg’s wife and Mark’s sister-in-law).
Sunshiney Day is our “breakfast blend”. It’s the most mild of all our blends. But, by mild I don’t mean weak or bland. It’s rich and flavorful. It has a smooth nuttiness to it with a hint of fruity zippiness. It’s bright (higher acidity tasted more on the front of the palate) and clean (meaning it does not have a long and lingering aftertaste). It’s yummy.
It really is a great cup to have early in the morning while you’re watching the sunrise (or contemplating what it might have looked like, if you’re a later riser). This is not a brooding cup.
Kelly says it makes her happy. She thinks it will make you happy too. In fact, she thinks it would be nearly impossible to be grumpy while drinking “Sunshiney Day”.
That’s quite a claim - and a great challenge, if you ask me. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think.
If you live in the North Dallas area, come and visit the Water’s Creek Farmer’s Market from 9:00am till 1:00pm on Saturdays. Water’s Creek is an upscale shopping / residential area on the SW corner of Bethany and Central in Allen. It’s super nice. We are there every Saturday selling coffee by the cup and by the pound.
Come by and see us.
Click on the “Press Room” page to read a recent article about Mark’s Brothers in THINK Magazine.
We have had several people express interest in some type of educational gathering that would allow them to taste coffees side by side. On May 12 at 7:00pm we are going to have a coffee tasting and dessert pairing at Bake Rejoice in Downtown Plano. I have seen the menu that Joyce (the owner of Bake Rejoice) will be preparing for the evening. It’s going to be great. Her stuff is awesome.
The first part of the evening will be all about the coffee. We’ll talk about what makes specialty coffee so… special. We will taste the differences between a bright and lively coffee, a deep and earthy coffee, a fruity coffee, and a well balanced cup.
Then we will explore how certain coffees can make certain desserts come alive.
Everyone will be able to taste some amazing creations by Joyce and will leave with a half pound of the coffee of their choice. It’s gonna be a great evening.
Cost is $15. Tickets can be picked up at Bake Rejoice (1545 Avenue K, suite 159, Plano 75074 - ph. 469-467-4842 ) or at our shop (1915 North Central Expressway, suite 340, Plano ).
Space is limited.
Contact me if you have any questions (972) 832-4818.
No, it’s not what your dad did on Sunday afternoons while watching football on TV. “Rest and de-gas” is what coffee has to do after it is roasted and before it’s ground and brewed. Coffee vents off CO2 after it is roasted. That’s why specialty coffee bags often have that one-way degassing valve, which lets CO2 out but does not let oxygen in. (Oxygen makes coffee go stale.)
That degassing process takes a good bit of the smoky flavor away from the coffee. We tend to like the idea of leaving the roastery with a bag of coffee that is still warm - as if it were a loaf of bread or something. But, if you were to grind and brew that warm coffee, it would taste a bit like you were licking an ashtray. Give it a few days and the flavors will mellow and sweeten. If you happen to come by the shop and pick up some coffee that I have roasted that day, you should wait at least 24 hours before brewing (48 would be even better). And, in the case of our Brazil Yellow Bourbon and our Sulawesi Torajaland - you should probably wait a good 4 days or more.
So - when in doubt - give ample time to rest and de-gas.
Words to live by, my friend.
We have known for some time that one of our top priorities as we talk to local cafes and coffee shops about our coffees would be to come up with a great espresso blend. I think we have done it.
On our website I mention that our Brazil Yellow Bourbon makes a good single origin espresso. And it does. As single origins go, it’s one of the best I’ve tasted. But there is a reason why most coffees that are designed to be brewed in espresso machines are blends. It is very difficult for a single origin coffee to have all the flavor attributes that are needed for a good espresso.
A good espresso should have a deep toned full body, a natural sweetness, and a flavor that is so intense it lingers on your palate for a good 20 minutes after you drink it.
So - in my quest I have been drinking a lot of espresso - and have been f-f-feeling pretty j-j-jittery too. Lots of caffeine.
One blend has clearly risen to the top - not only in our straight espresso comparison but also in our sweet, milk-based caramel latte comparison. At some point we may offer this espresso blend on our web site. But for now it’s going to our local, wholesale customers who use espresso as one of the main parts of their business.
I hope they like my new blend as much as I do.
One of the most common questions I receive is, “how do you brew your coffee?” It’s a great question. When there are only two ingredients (ground coffee and hot water), it matters how those two ingredients come together. The ratio of coffee to water, the coarseness of the grind, the brewing method, the amount of time the water and coffee are in contact, the temperature of the water, the quality of the water, the quality of the beans, the freshness of the roast, the amount of time that has elapsed between grinding and brewing - all affect the flavor of the coffee.
Here are some of the crucial things to remember:
1. Grind just before brewing (if you own a grinder)
2. Grind just fine enough not to clog your filter (if you’re brewing drip coffee)
3. Maintain the correct ratios. I recommend using 10 grams of coffee (about 2 Tablespoons) per 6oz of water. If you are using a drip coffee maker, those number gradations on your pot are usually referring to 6 oz cups. So, a 6 cup coffee maker is taking 36 oz of water. The best way to remember is to use 2 Tablespoons of coffee per number on your coffee pot. If you fill it to the 6, you need 12 Tablespoons of coffee.
Most people I have talked to are not using enough ground coffee. The result is that the coffee that people make at home is often thin and bitter. If the ratio of ground coffee to water is not right (if there is too much water) - you get “over extracted” coffee. You start pulling bitter flavors out that you would rather not include in your cup.
The problem is - using 2 Tablespoons per 6 oz of water is often quite a bit more ground coffee than people are used to using. It makes your morning or afternoon coffee a bit more expensive. Even as a coffee fanatic, I usually only drink 2 cups a day - 2 really, really good cups per day.
Making coffee with the correct ratios will result in a much richer, less bitter cup. It also makes for a pretty strong cup of coffee - which I like - but not everyone does.
Here is another problem… A lot of lower cost coffee makers are not designed to handle that much ground coffee. If you have a 12 cup coffee maker and you try to put in 24 Tablespoons of ground coffee, you will probably find yourself filling up your filter basket. This will probably overflow when you start brewing. If you have one of those coffee makers, you might need to start making half pots.
4. Your water needs to be just off boil. A common problem that people face when making coffee at home is that their coffee maker is not getting their water hot enough. One of the features in higher priced coffee makers is they often guarantee a water temp of around 200 to 205 degrees. The water needs to be just off boil. If you are using good coffee that is fresh roasted and ground, and if you are using the correct ratios but are not getting great coffee - it could be that your water is not getting hot enough. You might need to upgrade your coffee maker.
5. Lastly, you never want to cook your coffee after it is brewed. Don’t let it sit on a hot plate for hours. If you need your coffee to stay hot, you should use a thermal carafe.
Well, back to the original question - “how do I prefer to make coffee?”
I don’t use a drip coffee maker. I follow the same principle as a drip maker, but I make it manually from a tea kettle. I make one cup at a time. This ensures that I have plenty of room in my filter to use the correct amount of coffee. It also ensures that my water is just off boil. I wait for a rolling boil in my tea kettle, and then I pour it over the grounds. It is a low tech, low cost way to get a great morning or afternoon cup.
French press is another great low tech, low cost alternative. I’ll talk about how to make a great French press in another post.
For now, here are some pictures of the coffee I made this morning.
It was really good.
