Coffee Variety Family Tree – from Cafe Imports
If you ever wanted to see how all the different coffee varieties are related, this coffee variety family tree by Cafe Imports is pretty great. Most specialty coffee roasters include information about the coffee variety on their labels, but it can be difficult to keep track or make sense of – next time, take a...
Cultural Context and Coffee Tasting Notes
If you’re not already reading it, you should check out Peter Giuliano’s blog “Pax Coffea” on Tumblr. The former director of coffee for Counter Culture and current head of the SCAA’s Symposium has a unique angle on coffee, and a wealth of knowledge to share. In a recent post he gets to the bottom of...
Inside Cenicafé, Colombia’s national coffee research center
Earlier this year I visited Colombia to see how coffee is grown, harvested, and processed. One of the most exciting, geeky parts of that trip was our visit to Cenicafé, Colombia’s 77 year old national coffee research center. Cenicafé is one of the world’s leading centers for scientific coffee research, looking for innovative ways to...
World Barista Championship 2015 Live Stream
If you’re not immersed in the specialty coffee world, you might have missed that this is one of the biggest weekends in coffee – the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s humbly named annual “Event,” which also hosts the 2015 World Barista Championship. Now, these coffee competitions haven’t always been fun to watch. In fact, up...
Where does coffee come from? A Colombian case study (Part 2)
If you missed Part 1 of my recent trip with Cafe de Colombia, check it out at “Where does coffee come from?.” We left off where farmer Alirio Rios and his pickers had harvested the coffee cherries. The next step is to remove the seeds at the beneficiadero, or processing station on the farm. It’s an...
Where does coffee come from? A Colombian Case Study
A lot of terms are thrown around to describe where coffee comes from. This is especially true in our world of ‘single origin’ coffees, where we’re more interested in epicurean discovery than a quick jolt of caffeine or a ‘bold,’ ‘balanced’ base for a cup full of milk and sugar. The more we focus on...
New Books about Coffee Roasting & Production
Two coffee books worth checking out – one recently released by Scott Rao, called ‘The Coffee Roaster’s Companion,’ and another coming soon by James Hoffmann, called ‘The World Atlas of Coffee: From Beans to Brewing — Coffees Explored, Explained and Enjoyed.’ The Coffee Roaster’s Companion A co-owner of Montreal’s Cafe Myriade, Scott Rao has published...
Instant Coffee Past and Present
Smithsonian magazine started a recent article with the question, “is there a future for instant coffee?” For most of us reading this site, the answer is probably no (right?!) but this is an interesting point of departure for a tour of the current instant coffee market and its history. They point out that the instant...
Inside the Service Economy – Brooklyn’s Barista Class
A long, personal, winding tale of one barista’s experiences and ruminations. Take a look at what life is like on the other side of the bar, and how it feels to be part of the socio-economic evolution of New York’s gentrifying neighborhoods and the service industry that symbiotically subsists on it and helps the process...
Check out Stumptown Coffee’s source videos
I just came across these awesome videos put out by Stumptown Coffee & produced by filmmaker Trevor Fife, showcasing the various locations where they source coffee and the people that live and work in and around the farms. Check them out below and get a brief, beautiful glimpse into where your high-end coffees are coming...
Recommended Specialty Coffee Roasters
The first step in improving your coffee at home is to start with fresh beans from a quality focused roaster. If you can find one locally, even better. I recently realized that I don’t have a consolidated list of recommended roasters on FRSHGRND, so I’ve started making a list here. I plan to update &...
Huell Howser on LA’s New Coffee Culture
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Huell Howser has had a number of shows on public television exploring California’s many hidden gems, history, and culture, and he’s something of an institution with his primary show, California’s Gold, spanning 18 seasons. I grew up watching them, though sadly he passed away last week, so in memory I...
