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!