OK, if you read this, you need to promise me when I make it big in the coffee world, you won't steal my secrets. Then again, how do you know I am telling you the real blends? Mwa ha ha ha....
Ahem. Back to this post. As I mentioned previously, I have been playing around with coffees for espresso extraction. I have sampled a lot of stuff individually as so-called "single origin" (SO)espresso to get a sense of individual personalities. I'll remind you that the high-pressure extraction of espresso does strange things to coffee. Tasting something as drip coffee doesn't necessarily translate into the small cup.
I decided that I wanted to start with the excellent Uganda Bugisu AA I have. As a SO espresso, it is earthy, sweet, and supremely malty. It also does a good job cutting through milk. I decided to use that as a base and came up with the following:
50% Uganda Bugisu AA
25% Mexico LaJoya bourbon
10% Aged Sumatra
15% Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley '07
I was looking for something with decent complexity, very sweet, and subtly fruity. I roasted it just a few snaps into second crack about 5 days ago and had a chance to try it today for the first time. Not bad at all for a first attempt!
The straight shot was a bit more acidic than I planned for, but not unpleasantly so. It was fairly well balanced, medium bodied, with a long, lingering woody finish. I assume that is the result of the aged coffee. In milk, the maltiness of the Uganda came through, but things were a bit more muted than I would like.
There are a couple of ways I want to take this next time. First, I think swapping out a part of the Mexico for some Yemeni coffee would add some additional complexity and reduce the acidity. Also, I think substituting the Mexico for a pulp-natural Central American coffee would add more sweetness and some more body.
_____________________________________________
Update made to Ethiopia Korate Wet Process
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A parting salute
I don't often feel a strong impulse to post here. I am a busy guy, and I fit blogging in with lots of other stuff. It gets lower priority than most other things, and I get around to it when I can. The events of the last few days, president-wise, have got me doing a lot of thinking, and I find a sudden strong need to write it down. This may not be the popular thing to say these days, but such is the soapbox I have that I'll use it.
Thank you, George W. Bush.
There, I said it. Get over it.
I think history will look kindly upon the two terms of Bush, though it will take a long time to see things properly through the lens of time. Was it perfect? By no means. Domestically I disagreed with the Republican spending spree, implicitly condoned by the president. The idiotic interest rate reductions and devaluing of the dollar by the Fed is part of why we are where we are today. On the international front, outsourcing the Iran problem to the feckless Europeans was a mistake, and the dealings with North Korea were laughable at best. Too free a hand with the various Secretaries of State, methinks. In the end, though it gets down to this:
Do you remember 9/11? I do.
On that day, everything changed for me. I lost family, and so did many others. I remember the sheer panic of that day, wondering whether my father and brother were alive. A cousin of mine, a great guy, was caught in an elevator while the fires raged. He stayed in the elevator and helped two women out first, just before the tower collapsed. He never left that elevator, but the ladies were able to escape.
I remember the anthrax attacks. I remember the uncertainty around whether we would be attacked again.
I remember the blackout of 2003, watching the sun go down outside my house and looking at the total lack of lights, wondering whether this was another attack.
I remember.
To this day I can't think about this stuff without getting very upset. I just had to step away from my computer after I typed this to cry a bit. I'm glad I am in my office eating lunch.
The simple fact is that we have been safe in the US since 9/11 while other places around the world have not been. I thank George W. Bush and our great men in uniform for this. I also have tremendous respect for a man who despite being so reviled never got vindictive or angry, but continued to do the right thing even when it wasn't politically expedient. It was shown yet again in the weeks during which power was smoothly transferred to the president-elect.
It saddens me that so many people seem to have forgotten about that day and what came after. It is human nature to want to put those sorts of memories behind you. But you know what? Your ability to do that at its very essence was made possible by George W. Bush's administration. In a strange way I am glad that people can complain about how things were handled, about how we should do things different. That means that it is working; we are winning, though it is far from over.
And what about our next president? Well, I couldn't disagree more philosophically with him. Still, though, he won fair and square, so he deserves his chance. He'll have my support, if not my agreement. I think he'll find things not quite so easy when the mantle of power is upon him, and I hope he can make the same kind of tough decisions that his predecessor made without thought for personal gain or politics.
Thank you, George W. Bush.
There, I said it. Get over it.
I think history will look kindly upon the two terms of Bush, though it will take a long time to see things properly through the lens of time. Was it perfect? By no means. Domestically I disagreed with the Republican spending spree, implicitly condoned by the president. The idiotic interest rate reductions and devaluing of the dollar by the Fed is part of why we are where we are today. On the international front, outsourcing the Iran problem to the feckless Europeans was a mistake, and the dealings with North Korea were laughable at best. Too free a hand with the various Secretaries of State, methinks. In the end, though it gets down to this:
Do you remember 9/11? I do.
On that day, everything changed for me. I lost family, and so did many others. I remember the sheer panic of that day, wondering whether my father and brother were alive. A cousin of mine, a great guy, was caught in an elevator while the fires raged. He stayed in the elevator and helped two women out first, just before the tower collapsed. He never left that elevator, but the ladies were able to escape.
I remember the anthrax attacks. I remember the uncertainty around whether we would be attacked again.
I remember the blackout of 2003, watching the sun go down outside my house and looking at the total lack of lights, wondering whether this was another attack.
I remember.
To this day I can't think about this stuff without getting very upset. I just had to step away from my computer after I typed this to cry a bit. I'm glad I am in my office eating lunch.
The simple fact is that we have been safe in the US since 9/11 while other places around the world have not been. I thank George W. Bush and our great men in uniform for this. I also have tremendous respect for a man who despite being so reviled never got vindictive or angry, but continued to do the right thing even when it wasn't politically expedient. It was shown yet again in the weeks during which power was smoothly transferred to the president-elect.
It saddens me that so many people seem to have forgotten about that day and what came after. It is human nature to want to put those sorts of memories behind you. But you know what? Your ability to do that at its very essence was made possible by George W. Bush's administration. In a strange way I am glad that people can complain about how things were handled, about how we should do things different. That means that it is working; we are winning, though it is far from over.
And what about our next president? Well, I couldn't disagree more philosophically with him. Still, though, he won fair and square, so he deserves his chance. He'll have my support, if not my agreement. I think he'll find things not quite so easy when the mantle of power is upon him, and I hope he can make the same kind of tough decisions that his predecessor made without thought for personal gain or politics.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Bing Dao Mystery
A while ago I ordered a bunch of samples from Scott at Yunnan Sourcing, including a couple of samples of teas with leaves (supposedly) from BingDao (Ice Island). I think I was prompted by a post over at the Half Dipper, briefly talking about Bingdao and its (supposed) cooling sensation that the tea imparts in the mouth. I am a fan of minty/menthol/camphor types of tastes in pu'er tea (interestingly, I am not much of a mint guy in foods), so I splurged on a couple. I ordered a 2008 Mengku Shuangjiang Bingdao, and a 2002 CNNP Bingdao.
OK, now it gets interesting. When the teas arrived from China - sparking a bout of eye-rolling from my wife when she had to receive the box from the postperson - the two sample bags were labeled identically, both as the 2008 Mengku. Which was which?
Looking at the tea, they were clearly different. One was a more brownish color, presumably the 2002 tea (you may have to zoom in to see the difference):
As an aside, has anyone noticed that chunks of pu'er tea look just like something you would scrape off the bottom of your shoe on a muddy day? Yum.
Tasting them over a few days, it was confirmed again that they were different. The younger looking and tasting tea had notes like this:
And the second, presumable older tea:
and later:
Based on those tastings, I picked up a cake of the 2008 Mengku. At the same time, there was still a bit of lingering doubt about the tea I thought was the 2002 CNNP, so I asked Scott to throw in another (properly checked and labeled) sample for me to verify things.
Guess what? This tea tasted different yet again. Either I am seeing variation from sample to sample, or the original tea I received was something else entirely. Since it was the tastiest of the bunch, it is a shame that I don't know what it is. I am tempted to pick up a cake of the 2002 CNNP BingDao to assuage my curiousity, but I think I am going to let this mystery stay the way it is.
OK, now it gets interesting. When the teas arrived from China - sparking a bout of eye-rolling from my wife when she had to receive the box from the postperson - the two sample bags were labeled identically, both as the 2008 Mengku. Which was which?
Looking at the tea, they were clearly different. One was a more brownish color, presumably the 2002 tea (you may have to zoom in to see the difference):
As an aside, has anyone noticed that chunks of pu'er tea look just like something you would scrape off the bottom of your shoe on a muddy day? Yum.
Tasting them over a few days, it was confirmed again that they were different. The younger looking and tasting tea had notes like this:
6g in 120mL gaiwan at work. Medium compression, somewhat tippy. Aroma is unique - cotton candy, camphor, sweet 'shroom, low-toned and earthy. Quite rich in taste, pungent, long huigan. Lots of energy in this one - my hands are shaking and my head is throbbing a bit. Also, there is a nice cooling sensation in the mouth.
And the second, presumable older tea:
This is a really nice adolescent pu'er. It has picked up enough of that aged character to be interesting; mahogany, leather, old books. No sign of wet mustiness. The flavor is very sweet and there is a decent cooling sensation on the tongue. Quite nice and a reasonable price for a 6 year old tea. The aroma alone is worth the price of admission.
and later:
2002 CNNP Bingdao. There is a bit of a mystery about this tea. I have it as a sample, which was part of a group which were mislabeled. I am almost certain I am drinking this particular tea, but I have another sample for confirmation coming in my next order from China. A couple of folks have cakes of this that they weren't happy with, but this sample is excellent. Rich and oily, with aromas of old books and charred wood. Nice rust color, perfectly clear. The characteristic bingdao cooling sensation is there as well
Based on those tastings, I picked up a cake of the 2008 Mengku. At the same time, there was still a bit of lingering doubt about the tea I thought was the 2002 CNNP, so I asked Scott to throw in another (properly checked and labeled) sample for me to verify things.
Guess what? This tea tasted different yet again. Either I am seeing variation from sample to sample, or the original tea I received was something else entirely. Since it was the tastiest of the bunch, it is a shame that I don't know what it is. I am tempted to pick up a cake of the 2002 CNNP BingDao to assuage my curiousity, but I think I am going to let this mystery stay the way it is.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Brazil Pocos de Caldas - Fazenda Barreiro
Have you ever gotten really excited about something based on its description and then ended up being totally disappointed after you got it? That pretty much sums up my experience with this coffee. I have been doing a lot of thinking about espresso lately, and trying to come up with a blend of my own. Before even getting to that, however, I have been exploring individual coffees to get a taste picture in my mind, hoping that will make things easier.
Quoting Tom from SweetMarias:
Wow - sounds awesome, doesn't it? I picked up a pound and roasted it a few snaps into second crack:
This had some seriously dry, leathery aromas during roasting.
Bottom line - I wasn't impressed. In fact, I felt a bit let down. As espresso, I found it quite one-dimensional. Low acid, dry and leathery, but without any interesting character to it. I played around with temperature, time, and grind, and couldn't find a good operating point. As drip coffee it was a bit better - waxy bittersweet chocolate was the theme. I am just not a fan of Brazil coffees with the exception of Poco Fundo, I suppose.
Quoting Tom from SweetMarias:
"... This is a very unusual and complex coffee, and has won quite a few accolades: BSCA and COE in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and Illy award in 2007. The dry fragrance is has strong nut tones, sunflower seed, and savory qualities. There are hints of fresh leather, which perhaps doesn't seem like something you want to smell in your coffee, but it is very attractive in this cup! The aromatics have hints of ripe muscat grape and a bit of banana sweetness, as well as hazelnut roast tonality. Cup flavors are so unique, with toasted almond, savory spice, honey and bee pollen sweetness. The cup is very dense, oily, thick. I get a raw sunflower seed flavor, and hints of olive oil. The overall flavor profile is concentrated in the middle ranges, without high acidic effect or (at my City+ cupping roast) dark, pungent deep tones. As it cools, it seems thicker and thicker. I start to get a single-malt scotch flavor from the coffee, with a tiny suggestion of roasted red pepper. For me, this is a unique flavor experience overall, that might have aspects of Indonesian coffee (low acidity, rustic sweetness), even Aged Sumatra (leathery hints), but is also unique when I line it up against other natural and pulp-natural Brazils on the cupping table. I can easily pick it out of the line-up every time in blind cupping."
Wow - sounds awesome, doesn't it? I picked up a pound and roasted it a few snaps into second crack:
This had some seriously dry, leathery aromas during roasting.
Bottom line - I wasn't impressed. In fact, I felt a bit let down. As espresso, I found it quite one-dimensional. Low acid, dry and leathery, but without any interesting character to it. I played around with temperature, time, and grind, and couldn't find a good operating point. As drip coffee it was a bit better - waxy bittersweet chocolate was the theme. I am just not a fan of Brazil coffees with the exception of Poco Fundo, I suppose.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Let's Talk Tea, and eFriends
Well, the title of this blog refers to coffee and tea, but I have been remiss in discussing anything about tea. Part of that is the fact that there are so many good tea blogs out there, the quintessential one being the Half Dipper, which you can link to from the left side of the page. From there, there are many other links to other blogs. I am not sure I have anything unique to add, and I am such a poor photographer, so I have hesitated to say anything.
That being said, I spend a lot of time drinking and thinking about tea, most particularly pu'er, that unique, Chinese, ageable, funky product that comes in frisbee-sized disks and other unique shapes. For those not familiar with the story of pu'er, WikiCha is a good resource, and David does a great job of discussing these teas as well at the Half Dipper. I think I am going to have some entries around tea and see how it goes, the first one a bit about some Bing Dao teas I have been drinking lately, and a mysterious set of unlabeled samples.
Thinking about tea started me thinking about TeaChums I have who pass around samples of tea to each other, and then into the broader category of what I call eFriends. This is a peculiar development of the internet era. In principle the growth in internet forums and other pastimes would seem to make humans less likely to interact with each other in real life. Everyone hides behind the written word, with facades and made-up attributes; sitting in front of a computer and developing eRelationships that don't exist beyond the electrons flying over the computer wires.
That's not always the case, though. I spend a fair amount of time on internet forums, and I have formed friendships with many people. What is a bit peculiar is that I interact with them in physical ways. I regularly send coffee and teas that I think are interesting to other people I have met on the internet, and have received much in return. One friend has lent me items from his kitchen to try out, others have sent me aftershaves and colognes, and the list goes on. My wife is somewhat leery, and I think a bit jealous. She has become used to packages showing up at the door from people, and now recognizes many of the names by sight. The fact that I have "internet friends" seems entirely natural to me. In some cases, I have gone as far as meeting people in person. It is always fascinating to compare the impression your mind has formed on the basis of the written word to the real thing.
So why do I mention this? I think that it is a small but good sign for the human race. I think that while internet interactions and eFriends are great, I don't think this is the end of the human race, with all of us shut up by ourselves in front of computers, becoming a race of mole-men afraid to come out of our darkened rooms. The real human need of contact, whether face to face, or by the sharing of physical objects, will still shine through. For someone like myself, who expresses himself well enough through the written word, but is an incredibly shy and reserved person in real life, all this becomes an important outlet.
So let's all have some fun, drink some good coffee, tea, or spirits, and talk to each other. This way when the machines take over, we'll be ready with our counter-attack strategy
That being said, I spend a lot of time drinking and thinking about tea, most particularly pu'er, that unique, Chinese, ageable, funky product that comes in frisbee-sized disks and other unique shapes. For those not familiar with the story of pu'er, WikiCha is a good resource, and David does a great job of discussing these teas as well at the Half Dipper. I think I am going to have some entries around tea and see how it goes, the first one a bit about some Bing Dao teas I have been drinking lately, and a mysterious set of unlabeled samples.
Thinking about tea started me thinking about TeaChums I have who pass around samples of tea to each other, and then into the broader category of what I call eFriends. This is a peculiar development of the internet era. In principle the growth in internet forums and other pastimes would seem to make humans less likely to interact with each other in real life. Everyone hides behind the written word, with facades and made-up attributes; sitting in front of a computer and developing eRelationships that don't exist beyond the electrons flying over the computer wires.
That's not always the case, though. I spend a fair amount of time on internet forums, and I have formed friendships with many people. What is a bit peculiar is that I interact with them in physical ways. I regularly send coffee and teas that I think are interesting to other people I have met on the internet, and have received much in return. One friend has lent me items from his kitchen to try out, others have sent me aftershaves and colognes, and the list goes on. My wife is somewhat leery, and I think a bit jealous. She has become used to packages showing up at the door from people, and now recognizes many of the names by sight. The fact that I have "internet friends" seems entirely natural to me. In some cases, I have gone as far as meeting people in person. It is always fascinating to compare the impression your mind has formed on the basis of the written word to the real thing.
So why do I mention this? I think that it is a small but good sign for the human race. I think that while internet interactions and eFriends are great, I don't think this is the end of the human race, with all of us shut up by ourselves in front of computers, becoming a race of mole-men afraid to come out of our darkened rooms. The real human need of contact, whether face to face, or by the sharing of physical objects, will still shine through. For someone like myself, who expresses himself well enough through the written word, but is an incredibly shy and reserved person in real life, all this becomes an important outlet.
So let's all have some fun, drink some good coffee, tea, or spirits, and talk to each other. This way when the machines take over, we'll be ready with our counter-attack strategy
Monday, January 5, 2009
A New Year
First and foremost, a Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone!
It has been about a month since I updated anything here. The first two weeks of that were out-of-control workloads and insanity in my day job, leading up to my vacation. After that was a (mostly) blissful two weeks at home over the holidays, doing little other than spending time with my family, and EATING.
Under normal circumstances I am a guy who leads a healthy lifestyle. I get up early every morning and hit the gym, eat more or less healthy stuff, cook a lot so I know I am eating non-processed foods, etc. However, the last few weeks of every year I let myself go nuts and eat a whole lot of crap. In addition, I cook a bunch of meals for Christmas, New Years, etc. that have become a bit of a tradition in my family, which are, shall we say, a bit on the heavy side. At this point, I am feeling awfully bloated, so I was happy to brave the ice today to hit the gym.
For those who want a bit more information on what I have been cooking, here you go:
Christmas Day(I am Jewish, but what the hey ;-) )
Roasted duck with port wine & rosemary reduction
Lyonnaise potatoes, cooked in the duck fat
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Wine: a bottle of 1994 Raymond Reserve Cabernet
New Years Eve
Roasted Rack of lamb with red wine sauce
Smashed red skin potatoes with butter, cheese, and chives
Honey glazed carrots
Chocolate Mousse
Wine: a bottle of 1999 Chateau de Beaucastel. Oh, man was this fantastic....
And so on; last night I made a 9 pound ham for two adults and three young kids. Why? No idea, really.
As for coffee, I have had some good, some bad. Honestly, I haven't had the energy to really intellectualize over it lately. I roast, I enjoy, and that is that for the most part. I do get the sense, however, that I am missing something. I am not sure whether it is equipment, roasting profiles, or something else, but I feel like I am on the verge of learning something important, but I don't know what it is. Hopefully 2009 will provide some insight.
Lastly, this blog. What now? Does anyone really give a hoot about coffee roasting profiles? Likely not. These pages do serve as my roasting log, however, and I use them as such. I also have been drinking a huge amount of teas, which I could in principle talk about. There are so many good tea blogs out there already that I am not sure my voice adds anything to the mix. We shall see.
It has been about a month since I updated anything here. The first two weeks of that were out-of-control workloads and insanity in my day job, leading up to my vacation. After that was a (mostly) blissful two weeks at home over the holidays, doing little other than spending time with my family, and EATING.
Under normal circumstances I am a guy who leads a healthy lifestyle. I get up early every morning and hit the gym, eat more or less healthy stuff, cook a lot so I know I am eating non-processed foods, etc. However, the last few weeks of every year I let myself go nuts and eat a whole lot of crap. In addition, I cook a bunch of meals for Christmas, New Years, etc. that have become a bit of a tradition in my family, which are, shall we say, a bit on the heavy side. At this point, I am feeling awfully bloated, so I was happy to brave the ice today to hit the gym.
For those who want a bit more information on what I have been cooking, here you go:
Christmas Day(I am Jewish, but what the hey ;-) )
Roasted duck with port wine & rosemary reduction
Lyonnaise potatoes, cooked in the duck fat
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Wine: a bottle of 1994 Raymond Reserve Cabernet
New Years Eve
Roasted Rack of lamb with red wine sauce
Smashed red skin potatoes with butter, cheese, and chives
Honey glazed carrots
Chocolate Mousse
Wine: a bottle of 1999 Chateau de Beaucastel. Oh, man was this fantastic....
And so on; last night I made a 9 pound ham for two adults and three young kids. Why? No idea, really.
As for coffee, I have had some good, some bad. Honestly, I haven't had the energy to really intellectualize over it lately. I roast, I enjoy, and that is that for the most part. I do get the sense, however, that I am missing something. I am not sure whether it is equipment, roasting profiles, or something else, but I feel like I am on the verge of learning something important, but I don't know what it is. Hopefully 2009 will provide some insight.
Lastly, this blog. What now? Does anyone really give a hoot about coffee roasting profiles? Likely not. These pages do serve as my roasting log, however, and I use them as such. I also have been drinking a huge amount of teas, which I could in principle talk about. There are so many good tea blogs out there already that I am not sure my voice adds anything to the mix. We shall see.
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