Life is Tough!

I had a great tasing session in my PJs at home the other day. I tasted Ojo de Agua Typica, Catura and Dona Berta all from Panama. The Dona Berta was amazing. Coffee+PJs=:)

Coffee Confusion

I had an interesting realization the other day while riding the A train. I was trying to put myself into the shoes of a confused customer at Starbucks not quite knowing what size "Venti" was or what the hell a "Frappuccino" is and just wanting a cup of coffee. Then I thought about how confusing it can be to get a "regula coffee light an' sweet" at Grumpy. When presented with a choice of different origins, some people don't know what it means and get a little frustrated before we have a chance to educate them. I feel bad sometimes because they want something so simple, "a little sumpn sumpn to wake up in the morning". I think I have decided to stop feeling bad though. Here is my realization: coffee IS exotic and there really is nothing regular about it. It has ALWAYS (meaning since before Americans started drinking it) come from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sumatra, Colombia, Brazil, etc, etc. For some reason, many people have forgotten that this stuff comes from some of the wildest places on Earth before it gets to the can, the pod, the packet, or the bag. This is not a new thing. In the 1600s, coffee hit Europe with a fashionable edge, consumers thought it to be what exciting, exotic, foreign people drank to enlighten themselves. They felt like they were getting cultured by drinking it. I still agree with that. I don't think I believe in "Regula Coffee" any more. Don't forget about the wildness in your cup!

You say Geisha I say Gesha. Don't call this one off!

So as some of you may know from being good little blog readers, the Cafe Grumpy blog tells a story of two young men by the names of Joseph Brodsky and Steven Holt paying a visit to our shop. These events are described on said blog. This will cover the events following. We all went to a rock and roll performance that included fellow barista, Felice on drums. It was his band, Vesper's cd release party in the Lower East Side. Joe and Steve met up with us at Arlene's for drinks and coffee talk. Awesome! (from what I remember). The next day I was invited to join the two at their hotel to mill coffee samples from Panama. I was not aware of what that entailed but I really didn't care. It sounded like a great way for a bouncing baby coffee geek to spend his Sunday. Holy Crap! I didn't realize that we would be milling a naturally processed Geisha from Panama with our feet ($100/lb green). As my hangover subsided, I began to feel the gravity and importance of this coffee. No one has really produced a coffee like this yet and I was grinding it into a screen with my boot (don't worry it is cooked at over 400 degrees after that) on the hotel room floor. Joe took the seeds to Dallis Coffee to roast them. He sent us a sample. I will most definitely blog about the cupping results. Anyway, we made tea out of the dried cherries and parchment. It was interesting and tangy. There were only wine glasses in the hotel but hey, it made us feel a little more elegant drinking Geisha tea out of them. We also milled some washed Geisha from Esmeralda and a couple other farms in Panama. I think I can speak for many coffee geeks out there in saying that we all desire to get as close as we can to the plant or the farm from which our delicious, brown elixir came. One step closer. Thanks guys!