Amor Perfecto Cafe, Colombia
Founded in 1997, Amor Perfecto is one of Colombia’s pioneering specialty coffee roasters. From their base in Bogotá, their reach is beginning to expand outside of the country as well (their coffee is now available through Amazon – though I’d try to find a fresher source myself). I lucked out when I visited as the...
Catación Pública – must-visit cafe in Bogotá
Up on a hill in Usaquén, in the northern part of Bogotá, I had the pleasure of meeting Jaime Duque, owner of Catación Pública – and a man on a mission. You see, for many in Colombia, like most countries where coffee production is a major sector of the economy, the best coffee is often ironically out of...
A Look Back: Los Angeles Coffee Culture (Part 3)
Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2 of my look back at LA’s growing Coffee Culture, it’s time to look at what has changed over time: Handsome Coffee Roasters: recently acquired by Blue Bottle and in the midst of being assimilated, so it remains to be seen what happens here! In the mean time, here’s...
A Roadtrip to Coffee in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada, calls itself the ‘biggest little city in the world,’ so I shouldn’t have been surprised during a recent road trip to find not one, but two specialty coffee roasters had set up shop – Hub Coffee Roasters, and Magpie Coffee Roasters. Better known for its gambling industry, I came to town expecting what...
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 &...
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! 2012 was my first year living back in the US after being abroad since 2008. As you can see above, I had a lot of great coffees while reacquainting myself with American roasters and a specialty coffee industry that has developed a lot over the past few years. Two coffees that stood...
Handsome Coffee Roasters, Los Angeles
Los Angeles’ coffee scene has been steadily growing since I left it back in 2008, and one of the most acclaimed newcomers is Handsome Coffee Roasters. Based in the Downtown Arts District, Handsome was founded by several Intelligentsia expatriates: Michael Phillips, the 2010 World Barista Champion; Tyler J. Wells, former manager of Intelli’s Pasadena cafe;...
Coffee Subscription Roundup Review
I’ve noticed a growing number of subscription coffee services promising to bring you great coffee by mail once or twice a month. Each one has a slightly different take on this and I thought I’d lay them out below, with a few of my own thoughts and experiences. Tonx Coffee Perhaps the most well known...
Koppi Cafe & Roastery, Helsingborg, Sweden
When I first moved to Sweden every coffee geek I met spoke in reverent tones about this mysterious cafe and roastery called Koppi in a little town named Helsingborg an hour or so north of Malmö. It was described as the best cafe in Sweden, at the vanguard of the Swedish specialty coffee industry, all...
Kuma Coffee Roaster, Seattle
Two delicious coffees arrived in the mail recently, courtesy of Mark at Kuma Coffee. Kuma is a Seattle based roaster that’s been around since 2007: “In 2007 I started a small hobby business in which I roasted only a few pounds at a time for friends, local grocery stores and farmers markets. By 2009 we...
Tonx Coffee – Bolivia Buena Vista Mill
I just signed up for Tonx Coffee’s subscription using their $10 off coupon and thought I should share my experience. The first shipment I received was a coffee from Bolivia’s Buena Vista Mill. The silver packaging is iconic, and hard to photograph. The written materials in the box walk a fine line between personable accessibility...
Tonx Coffee Subscription Discount
Tonx Coffee is offering a $10 discount on subscriptions. If you’ve followed the specialty coffee industry for any length of time, you’ve probably seen or heard the name Tonx float around. Tonx is Tony Konecny: Tony began his descent into coffee madness as a barista and then head roaster at Seattle’s seminal Victrola Coffee and...
