Saturday, April 24, 2010

Coffee Shipment

We received 5 bags of coffee on Wednesday.  I've been using a lot of Sumatran, especially the Gayo Supreme fair trade/organic.  I use a Sumatran in several of my blends and sales of some of these have been increasing rapidly.  These are all coffees that we use regularly with the exception of a different Peru and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.  The LaFlorida is no longer available until the next crop comes out this summer.  The replacement is Peru  Cooparm.  This is very similar to the LaFlorida, smooth and rich with milk chocolate notes and a buttery finish.  I had the opportunity to cup the new Organic Yirgacheffe when I visited Royal Coffee earlier this month.  It is a fantastic coffee, smooth with intense floral and blueberry notes and nice body and acidity.  Any coffee lover will find this a very fine and interesting coffee.  The other coffee that arrived is FTO Guatemala Huehuetenango.  This is another coffee that we use a lot of.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Coffee House Name

I have made an offer to purchase The Field's Coffeehouse(Jack & Wezzie's) in Potsdam and the offer was accepted.  Lisa and I are very excited about this.  I think it will be a huge challenge as well  as a lot of fun.  If the bank and owner of the building agree with my plans we will be making big changes to the shop.  The setup will be totally different, and much more functional.  

We will also be changing the name.  I have a lot of ideas, but would like to ask for help with this from my readers.  If any of you suggest a name and I decide to use it, you will win one pound of St. Lawrence Valley Roasters (your choice) coffee per month for 6 months.  I'm hoping this will generate some good input and maybe some discussion.  Thanks ahead of time for your help with this.

The Really Big Show



We have spent the last two days at Cheel Arena at The St. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce's "Really Big Show".  It was a lot of fun and we met a lot of coffee lovers, some who were familiar with our coffee and some who were not.  Show's like this are great because they give us a new group to meet and talk to.  I love to talk coffee and to help folks learn more about my favorite beverage.  It also is a chance to reconnect with old friends and aquaintances.  Joanne Roberts form The Chamber of Commerce does a great job planning and setting up these events.  Thanks Joanne!

Here are three pics from the show.  As usual I forgot to take many.  

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Road Trip

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Our trip began on Tuesday afternoon.  The ride was long, rainy and windy.  There was a 2 hour delay on the thruway. Due to an accident it took 2 hours to go 4 miles.  The heavy rain and wind made driving difficult in heavy traffic.  It was a long day.  We finally arrived at our Motel at 10:30pm. 

Wednesday was much better.  It was still windy, but with blue skies and sunshine. We had a great visit and roaster demonstration from Chris Crain at Delaware City Coffee in Claymont Delaware. Chis sells Geometrico Roasters. Geometrico is his own brand.  They are unique in appearance because the metal around the drum is a hexagon.  Chis also served us a very nice cup of Papua New Guinea coffee.                                   
                                                                             

Our next stop was Rojo's Roastery in Lambertville, NJ. David Waldman is the owner and roaster. His roaster is a restores 1950's vintage Probat which he purchased from the original owners in France.  It is a beautiful machine.  We had a fantastic cup of David's Guatemalan Huehuetenango.  Wow, an amazing coffee!!  David's shop is very interesting.  In addition to coffee he also stocks many types of coffee equipment for home and shop use.
                                             
Then it was off to Rook Coffee Roasters in Oakhurst NJ..  This is a brand new business.  We enjoyed Ethiopian Harrar and a great talk with Holly and Shawn the owners/roasters. They roast with a 3 kilo US Roasters Roaster and are putting out great coffee.  All of the coffee they serve is pour over. 

The final stop of the day was at Jersey Shore Roasters in Leonardo, NJ.  This  turned out to be just down the street from where my nephew grew up.   Andy and Paul showed us their operation and we talked for an hour while tasting one of their blends and some Sumatran.  Jersey Shore has been in business for about 5 years and use a 5 kilo Ambex Roaster.  They are also at a stage where they need larger capacity and are also looking to upgrade to a larger machine.  They also offer many of the same coffees that I do, and buy primarily from Royal, NY. 

That night we stayed with some old friends in Atlantic Highlands NJ.  This is my nephews hometown.  It was great to get back and visit.  Thanks to Linda and Chris Lucas for the hospitality, great dinner, and great time.    

Peace!