Recent Developments (Some Shameless Filler)

If you happen to attend Northwestern University, you'll know all too well that the first week back from break is a difficult one. Even though you may still have most of the same classes (especially if you're in a year-long math or science sequence), you'll more than likely have different professors who covered different material first quarter, and who likely expect that you've learned more material than you actually have. So, I've kind of been a little buried playing the catchup game, and I'm pretty much back where I'd like to be.

So, this post is basically just to let all four (or so) of you who actually know about this blog know that I haven't forgotten about this yet, and that I'm actually working on two different reviews for what may be a dual review. I have acquired a half-pound sample of a Rwandan from Intelligentsia (finally, I review Chicago coffee) as well as 500g of A Chinese coffee. You read that right, Rwandan and Chinese, side by side in what will be a brilliant comparison piece. If you're a highly experienced coffee drinker, you probably know what to expect, but unless you happen to be God's gift to coffee, I bet you've never had a Yunnan coffee. So, stay tuned, I hope to have this piece up (complete with shiny pictures) by the beginning of next week.

Also, if you're ever taking a Megabus from Chicago, DRESS WARM (really warm). About 50 of my fellow travelers and I were waiting on Canal street for about 80 minutes in the sleet and freezing rain before the bus FINALLY showed up. That being said, now that we're actually on the freeway, I'm quite enjoying the complimentary wifi (when it works). It's slow and clunky, but so is the bus, so I think it's fitting. I'm actually going to be publishing this while cruising along at 70mph or so...how about that.

That's all for now,

Eric

A Presidential Coffee

Coffee Roaster: Mighty Good Coffee Co.
Coffee Name: Obama Blend
Origin: Blend featuring Kenyan AA, Hawaiian Kauai, and Indonesian coffees
Price: $15/lb. at their website

First and foremost, let me commend Mighty Good Coffee of Ann Arbor, MI for their originality.  They've been roasting this unique blend since October 18th, and I read just a day ago that now Kona Joe will be releasing a similar product on inauguration day.  I'm sure that Kona Joe will be quite successful with this blend seeing as they get a little more press than the little roasters, but to give credit where credit is due, Mighty Good did it first as far as I know.  In fact, this blend has been around for so long, that it's gotten quite the reputation around Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas.  It seems that most people either absolutely love this blend, or absolutely hate it, and truth be told, how much people like it seems surprisingly proportional to how much the same people like Barack Obama.  Normally I try to keep politics out of coffee, but this particular bag was given to me as a gift, so I just had to try it.

The election now seems to be a distant memory, and I'm eagerly awaiting the 20th, but politics aside, I wanted to see what, if anything, was inside the stylish bag and past the political pandering.  I was initially disappointed that the coffee bag didn't have a roast date printed anywhere.  Mighty Good Coffee hand delivers their coffee the day after its roasted to Ann Arbor residents (and will ship the freshly roasted coffee to people living outside Ann Arbor), but if you buy it in a store or receive a bag as a gift, there's no way of definitively knowing when your coffee was roasted.  This being said, the beans smelled pleasantly fresh when I opened the bag, so I'm going to make a (very reasonable) guess and say that the beans were roasted within 72 hours of the review.

Grinding this blend was a treat for the most part.  As I pulled out the tray and wafted the fragrant aromas towards my nose, I enjoyed an almost savory sensation.  There is certainly a bit of spice to the smell of the grounds, but the scent also evokes memories of ripe, red fruit.  Oddly enough, while I was preparing the grinds, I noticed a new smell and couldn't quite place it until I was about ready to begin brewing: the combination of savory, spicy, and fruity smells combined to give me the sensation that I was smelling roasting tomatos, as odd as it sounds.

I prepared the coffee with my Moka Express twice.  The first time I was afraid that I may have used too high of a heat, so I made a second cup over a lower flame.  I threw out my notes on the first cup, and this review is based on the second cup.

The first thing I noticed when I drank this blend is the citrusy brightness, much like semi-sweet lemonade, or maybe even limeade.  I've tasted a smattering of brightly flavored coffees, but there was something particularly bright about this cup...almost obnoxiously so.  The flavors became a little more balanced as the earthy tones started to come through, but the brightness of this coffee really dominates the cup.  If you dig a little deeper and really let the coffee touch every inch of your palette, somewhere within the earthy undertones you may detect certain herbal flavors in this blend, and I do think I tasted a hint of cashew in this coffee.  The body of this coffee feels a little thin, but I actually think the more slender body actually works with these flavors.  The finish is far from the smooth, smoky finish of the Colombian I had been drinking, and instead, this coffee dances on the front-most third of my tongue for ages.  The exceptionally bright, fruity finish actually comes across as quite refreshing.

This isn't exactly a well behaved cup of coffee, but it doesn't stop it from being enjoyable.  Don't mistake this cup of coffee as representing that stately gentleman who will soon run our country, on the contrary, this blend comes across as more of a hyperactive child.  Imagine that the eight-year old down the streetwith ADD takes a trip to his grandmother's house for the Holidays, and the batteries to his Nintendo DS die on the car ride.  Without any videogames to occupy his young mind, both he and his imagination run freely in the well decorated home.  He runs up the stairs, jumps on the neatly made beds, slides down the banister, and has a grand old time beating his grandparents with their newly upholstered couch pillows.  To me, this blend behaves similarly.  It's a little hard to handle, it can be all over the place, but it's sweet, loveable, and of course FUN.

I get the impression that this coffee is a wonderful afternoon or evening treat.  I'd imagine that it would be best served with a desert as fun as the coffee itself, perhaps a Baked Alaska?  I'd also like to try this coffee iced, if only to further enhance the refreshing qualities.

Bottom Line:  This blend is as refreshing as it is original with enough complexity to keep me drinking, but it might be a little bright for some and a little thin for others.  Although the real Obama may be ready to lead, this coffee just wants to have a good time.

The Disclaimer

Now that I've gotten that pesky introductory post out of the way, I can get to the fun stuff! First a little bit of a disclaimer:

BEGIN DISCLAIMER:

I am well aware that there are well-established conventions for reviewing coffee. I am perfectly aware of the various point systems and cupping-numbers and the standards in protocol that one should follow to arrive at these numbers. I am aware of all of these things because I have a very limited amount of casual cupping experience under my belt, but it was enough to get a general feel for the art. All of this being said, for the most part I am going to throw all of this out in favor for purely descriptive review of coffee. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers and the scientific method, but I just don't think that a series of numbers (let alone a single number) can really describe a cup of coffee.

When I make my coffee, I will likely not be follow rigid cupping protocol, and instead, I'll be preparing coffee in the manner I find most enjoyable (Moka Express and/or French Press depending on my mood/how much time I have).  Finally, keep in mind that I've only been drinking coffee for a little over four and a half years, so I don't have nearly the amount of experience as other cuppers out there, but I intend to continue to expand my tasting horizons, and I intend to keep posting as I continue to learn the trade.  Never take any single review as definitive, no matter how well written it is nor how well renown the cupper is.  What I like may disgust you, and what you like may not suit me either.

END DISCLAIMER

What Is and What Will Be

If you haven't guessed from the title of this page, you have stumbled (accidentally or otherwise) upon what will come to be an outlet for a college student's musings about one of the most important beverages in existence.  Perhaps primarily due to its abundance of caffeine, coffee has come to be a staple of the college student’s diet, and yet I have found that many college students, perhaps even a majority, are in the dark as to what they’re actually drinking.  Millions of people walk into chain-cafés every day and overpay for weak, stale, and/or foul-tasting swill, and few ever complain.  Millions of people are perfectly content with their bitter medicine so long as it helps them to wake up in the morning, to get through the day, or to keep them awake through the night.  I can’t hope to help millions of people, but if I can reach a mere handful of people and show them what they’re missing out on, this blog will have been worth the effort.

First, let me quickly introduce myself before I outline my goals in creating this blog.  My name is Eric, and I am currently a freshman at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.  I have no idea what I’m going to major in, so please don’t ask (unless you want to hear me ramble for an hour or two about why I can’t make up my  mind), but if I could minor in coffee, I would.  I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I still return every so often to visit my family during vacations, and my girlfriend every other weekend.  I started drinking coffee during my freshman year in high school primarily for the caffeine, but I would learn to appreciate the drink in Europe during the summer before sophomore year.

It seems that all of my peers took something away from my high school choir’s tour through Austria and Germany.  Some were inspired by the incredible history, or the grand architecture, others found themselves never wanting to leave the surreal splendor of the Alps.  Although I appreciated these things, I don’t think anything made quite as lasting of an impression as my morning coffee one breakfast in Innsbruck.  I had been up late the night before and had rehearsals scheduled all through the day, so in order to wake myself up, I poured myself a mug of coffee.  As I lazily took that first slurp, a host of flavors washed over my palette, the likes of which I had never before experienced.  For once, my coffee wasn’t weak nor was it overwhelmingly bitter!  It had taste and texture and I found myself not needing to sweeten it with sugar or thicken it with cream.  Perhaps it was partially the romance of being in Austria, but I swear those cups of coffee may have been the best I can remember.

For years I tried to recreate those sensations, those tastes.  I discovered the french press sophomore year and started grinding coffee coarse with a blade grinder.  I tried coffee from grocery stores and coffee shops, and slowly but surely found myself recognizing new flavors in every cup.  Finally, the Summer before college, my girlfriend gave me a Bialetti Moka Express for my birthday and I found myself closer to that Austrian cup than I had ever been before.

These days, I brew coffee one of two ways: in my Bialetti Moka Express or in my Bodum french press.  I always grind my beans immediately before brewing using a small Zassenhaus coffee mill (both pictured above), and I try to only brew with beans roasted within a week or so.  Trust me, if you can grind your beans fresh and acquire them freshly roasted, the taste of your coffee will improve 200% regardless of your brewing method.

Now then, a few quick goals of this blog include:

1. Improving the quality of coffee of all who read this blog by sharing what I have learned in my coffee exploits.  I intend to do this by reviewing different coffees (blends and single origins) from a variety of stores and geographic locations, sharing brewing tips I have picked up, and offering more general suggestions on the topic of enjoying coffee.
   
2. Saving college students (and others) money!  You don't need to spend $1000 on an espresso machine to completely replace starbucks!  You can make superior tasting coffee for far less!
   
3. Generating discussion about coffee farming.  I hope to discuss the issues facing coffee farmers, and the issues of sustainable and eco-friendly coffee growing.
   

Alright, well, that's enough for now.  Later on tonight or tomorrow, I'll start things off with my first coffee review.

Looking forward to getting this thing going,

Eric