Ryan and I got an early start this past Friday with a cupping of a few of my production roasts from Thursday. While the coffee certainly needed to settle a little longer, we did get a bit of glimpse into how the batches came out. I always find myself too eager and jump the gun on cupping. From what I could tell the Costa Rica Cafetalera Herbazu was spot on- super crisp, clean, lots of lemon, relaxed body and well rounded. I’ll reevaluate on Monday and see how my notes compare those taken on Friday.
I will not be serving coffee at the Farmers Market tomorrow, however Ryan will be filling in for me. He’s got an amazing line up of retail bags, as well as a couple press pots for sale.
I will be giving a lecture and demonstration this Sunday from 2:00-3:30 hosted by 18 Reasons on Brewing The Perfect Cup. The bulk of this talk will be focused on rudimentary coffee theory dealing with the dynamics of selecting a proper grind setting, the stages of extraction and how these two correlate between 3 main brewing methods. We will of course be brewing throughout and following along in a handmade unbound pamphlet I’ve put together, special for this event. Tickets are $20.00 (online at 18 Reasons) and if I remember correctly are limited to only 20 seats.
For as long as I can recall, I’ve always struggled with siphon brewing systems- mainly because the yield from a cloth filter tends to be overwhelmingly refined. Even after adjusting every variable independently and simultaneously, the cup always lacked that luster found in other commonly used brewing methods. However, in both press pots and pour overs, one is limited in reducing the latitude of temperature change throughout the brew cycle, because a constant applied heat source is not possible. Albeit this is where my unrelenting fascination with siphon brewers is rooted- the ability to stabilize temperature. With that being said, the only factor I’ve been unable to change is that which is inherent to each brewing method- the filtration.
My first attempt: Replacement Bodum screen attached between the metal disc and spring grouping.
For this initial brew I used this year’s first batch of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe III (natural processed) which yielded a cup in the middle of what you would expect from a Chemex paired with a press pot. All of the blueberry typically found in a NP Ethiopia was well pronounced while still producing a perceived mouth feel heavy enough to satisfy those who favor full-bodied brews. A small amount of sediment was left at the bottom of the cup, yet far less than I expected. Perhaps this has something to do with the pull of the vacuum, as apposed to the forcing motion of a press pot. The final cup turned out pretty much as I had hoped it would, which reminded me very much so of a cup of Clovered coffee. In all it was a pleasant give and take between a refined/ aggressive cup.
In hopes of counteracting the caffeine, a tasting of three Dogfishhead brews later ensued.
If in the past month you’ve stopped by our warehouse before 10am, you’ve more than likely heard the Woods’ album At Rear Home being played. I’m pretty sure everyone is getting tired of it by now, but aside from the track with the cats, it’s a solid slow morning record.
For this Sunday’s Farmers Market I’ll be pressing our Guatemala FInca El Injerto and preparing our Costa Rica Cafelareta Herbazu on the Chemex. Come early for cold brew as it normally sells out first! As always, I’ll have a mix of retail bags and if you insist, I can weigh out some Costa Rica for you while it lasts.
Every Sunday from 10:00am-2:00pm
Divisadero at Grove st
Ape Do Good printed a special run of 8oz. bags for our first Whole Foods location which is having a grand opening tomorrow. Stop by, pick up some coffee, and tell the staff how much you love our coffee!
This past weekend Haus barista, Ryan and I made our way up to Seattle for a 48 hour accelerated (yes, pun intended) coffee bar tour and visit to this year’s Coffee Fest. While we did have several priorities lined up and a very specific agenda, unfortunately a few were missed out on (Leah- I’m still bummed I couldn’t make the cupping with you!). However, that’s not to say we didn’t get cracked-out on some of the industries best coffees, visit world renowned cafes and try out the latest coffee toys. Without boring you with a minute to minute log of coffee jargon, notes, and two guy’s nerdiness, some of the highlights are as followed.
Raul Rodas of Guatemala (not pictured), competing out of region began his performance with an extraction of fruits in a syphon for his signature drink, which he later added to his espresso as the final product. I thought that what he ended up using the extraction for was a bit disappointing (even if I was drooling towards the end) though the idea of using a syphon to extract something other than coffee is certainly intriguing.
While it was difficult to pry myself away from Espresso Part’s modified 5 group murdered-out paddle Linea, we barely made it to Stumptown’s 3:00 cupping in the basement of their cafe which serves not only as their roasting works, but also as cupping lab and training facility. I can’t recall all of the coffees on the table, though as you can image their Panama Don Pachi Geisha Varietal was the super star and tasted like the left over milk from a bowl of Fruit Loops.
Mahlkönig had a booth set up which with was riddled with even more bizarre looking grinders than their past stock. They even had a portion grinder I’ve yet to see or hear of, that looked like a meat grinder. My interest was lost with much of their grinders, but look at how great the Guatemala F (imagine it without the brew basket holder) and R2D2 look together! Ditting shared their booth and was exhibiting a rad little grinder I doubt is made for home use, yet would fit nicely in my kitchen.
Victrola certainly toped my list of memorable cafes I’d love to have around my corner. The shots at both cafes we visited were served up proper and left me feeling satisfied- short, but not too short, syrupy, bright with a pleasantly sweet finish.
One of the places Ryan lined up for to stay was a punk house/ venue. I’m pretty sure we covered all of our bases in Seattle.
We didn’t get a chance to visit a Vivace location for drinks, though I did manage to purchase a pound of their Espresso Vita, which was pulling nicely in our warehouse yesterday. Lots of sweet pine!
After squeezing in every last minute we could at the convention on Saturday afternoon we made it back to San Francisco in time to get a few hours of sleep and serve up coffee at this past Sunday’s market. I’m still detoxing from all the coffee, though it was well worth it.
I know it’s a bit last minute, however I will be making an appearance at De La Paz account, The Stable Cafe Saturday, September 12th from 9:00am- 2:00pm for a guest barista shift. The occasion which has beckoned me in- The Stable will be one of many venues for this years American Institute of Achritechture’s San Francisco home tour. I’m absolutely thrilled to work with the staff at The Stable, as they do so many things right- not a detail is ever over looked. Plus it’s always nice to get behind the bar and make drinks for a change. Dwell magazine has also written up a fine little article explaining a bit of the history and background regarding the building as well as it’s current operation which can be found here. Be sure to stop in and say hi!
No matter how busy our small three person operation may get, we always find time to constantly cup and stay on top of our roasts. Yesterday we received a shipment of a few more bags of the Brazil Fazenda Esperanca, though two different lots from the last round. We’ll roast the new batch Monday and cup on Tuesday.
Earlier this week we received a few new Brazils and of those we have roasted the Fazenda Esperanca Lot #475, which has been both brewing and cupping rather well. We are still working on our suggested brewing specs, though right now I’m still thinking the amount of solids being withheld in a paper Chemex filter yields a clarity in the cup that a press pot seems to mask. So far in this cup we have been finding: A sweet tobacco, Flowers, and Cinnamon bun fragrance and aroma, heavy, silky body which coats the tongue evenly. Subtle, yet noticeably present acidity which leads to notes ranging from dried fruit (apricot) to butter popcorn to chocolate. This cup also tends to have a short almost muted finish that begins with sweet cocoa and approaches savory hints towards the end.
As of right now, this coffee can only be purchased here, and here tomorrow. We’ll keep you posted as our cafes begin to offer the Esperanca.
For tomorrow’s market I will be brewing from the first batch of our new unwashed Sidamo. As per usual, this Sidamo has a crisp, bright upfront acidity and full of berries. Though it is naturally processed, the final cup is rather clean and lacks the muffled earthiness which tends to follow these coffees.
A big thank you is in line for those who bought up all of the Panama Carmen Estate I had with me last week. Sure, it was a bit more expensive, but if the smiles from the folks who came early enough to purchace a cup or bag are any indicator, I’d say it was more than well worth it. Unfortunately, we have temporarily ran out; however I hope to bring it back next week. Also, through Mojo, we are selling these conical bur grinders which are perfect for home use and highly recommended.
Today was certainly one of the busiest I’ve seen at the warehouse thus far. Jason spent most of the day in front of the roaster, Greg was on the road and in the east bay, while I had a couple of training sessions with some folks at Pirate Cat cafe and Matthew from Mojo. I must also add he did great and I’m eager to stop in for a cappuccino next time I’m in the Western Edition. We also had a giant wholesale order to prepare, which needless to say, sadly put a damper on this morning’s cupping. Friday we will be back on schedule and cupping some new arrivals, though I’m not too sure which ones. The Panama Carmen Estate should be in the mix as well as a brand new washed Sidamo. Regardless, we are all very excited about the new crops.
Greg is all loaded up and off to make a Haus run.
I began making a Friday afternoon mix for the warehouse, loosely based around lo-fi pop songs, but it went a bit rouge.
We should have an idea by tomorrow of what I will be brewing for this Sunday’s market so be sure to check back for a heads up. If you’d like to join us for the cupping on Friday at 9:30, send an email and let us know you will be here. Also, if you’d like to just check out the warehouse and/or stop in for a cup of coffee, someone is normally here from 9:30- 4:00.
For tomorrow’s market I will be pressing the majority of the coffee as usual; however I’m bringing a very limited bag of our newest coffee which is from Carlos Aguilera’s Carmen Estate (Panama). Frankly, I haven’t been too excited about centrals in quite a while now, but this brilliant coffee has certainly won me over. I will have 2 pounds tomorrow which will get the Chemex treatment and out of that I will sell 8oz bags on request while it lasts. See you tomorrow!
With every Sunday that we make it out to the Divisadero Farmers Market to set up our stand, more and more people seem to be coming back regularly for their weekly bag of coffee- or morning cup. This is great because it gives us a platform to meet the people who drink our coffee and geek out about everything coffee related. Also, the past two markets I’ve found myself worry about running out of retail bags and bulk for brewing.
Each week I’ve been trying out new things and attempting to offer as much as I can within the limits of serving coffee out of a garage. This week’s new addition was cold brewed iced coffee, which turned out to be a great seller. That will most likely become somewhat of a permanent offering. We’re very pleased with the way things have been going so far. If you have any suggestions or would like to request we make an addition of something we are not currently offering feel free to send us an email. Check back later in the week for a head’s up on what we’ll be brewing on Sunday.
Divisadero Farmers Market
Grove St. at Divisadero
Every Sunday
10:00am-2:00pm
We have a bunch of new and exciting coffees for the summer. All our Centrals are finally rolling in and we cant wait to finally get them in and start roasting. A few of our current favorites are Costa Rica Las Lajas (honey processed and thick), El Salvador San Emilio (100% Bourbon Pulped Natural), Guatemala El Injerto (this farm just keeps winning coe after coe), and our Kenya AA Gatina (92 point coffee that is perfect in every way).
In the next few weeks expect to see new coffee from Costa Rica , Panama, Nicaragua, Kenya, and a bunch of new Brazil micro lots.
Cupping at the warehouse is going great and getting more popular every week.
Send us an email to reserve a spot. They are still on MWF at 9:30am. If that time doesn’t work, maybe we can schedule something special.
