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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538 Mon, 11 Aug 2025 19:00:20 +0000 bread, coffee, chocolate, yoga and all in brooklyn to boot... https://bccy.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (fortune) Blogger 2263 1 25 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-9008717 Sun, 10 Jul 2022 17:27:00 +0000 2022-07-10T18:30:53.124-07:00 it's coming to the end of the first 48 hours for the bread starter. . .
tonite after yoga i'll go home and check it out. it's at the point where it should have that wet-dog/ocean-breeze smell -- but in a <b>good</b> way. like the last batch, i am starting it on rye and farro.
as of this very minute i am saving my pennies to buy the just-released english translation of <a href="https://www.cannelle.com/VIPpCALVEL_fr.html">dr. raymond clavel's</a> 1990 french classic <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0834216469/qid=1011895288/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_8_1/002-9890472-4404815">the taste of bread</a>. this is a great addition to the <a href="https://www.bbga.org/resourcesandmerchandise.html">set of videotapes</a> he made.
dr. clavel is the world's leading authority on bread. its chemistry, its history, its technique. there is nothing he does not know, and he has over the last 40 years pretty much single-handedly maintained and revived the world's interest in <i>real</i> bread. definitely use your favorite comparison search engine (i like <a href="https://www.bookpricer.com">bookpricer</a>, which seems to have vanished recently, or <a href="https://www.addall.com/New/BrowseCompare.cgi?isbn=0834216469">addall</a>) to find the best price for this expensive book. it will be filled with an endless amount of detailed scientific information on bread chemistry that will probably go completely over my head. but it will also have the techniques you need to create real french breads.
with this book in my hands and a month of reading, i expect to ditch all current recipes and be transformed. real bread, made the real way, at home. here we go. . . . <div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2002/01/its-coming-to-end-of-first-48-hours.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-108438477170177998 Sun, 10 Jul 2022 16:58:00 +0000 2022-07-10T18:28:57.806-07:00 sidamo, the original coffee who needs to brush your hair in the morning when you have the chance <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">to cup</a> coffee? especially when the coffee is k.'s ethiopian sidamo.
sidamo is said to be the original home of coffee, and <a href="https://gbgm-umc.org/photos/844710b.jpg">the people</a> have tended coffee trees since before 900 c.e., although most credit the yemeni with first growing coffee for commerce. <a href="https://www.scaa.org/shop/product_detail.asp?productid=R100100">ukers</a> says that early ethiopians blended coffee cherries with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallow">tallow</a> into a paste for yummy snacks, as well as fermented them into a wine.
devoted readers <a href="https://home.earthlink.net/~frelkins/2004_05_09_archive.html#108429106576669830">may recall</a> that when this coffee was a few hours out of the roaster, i happened to toss it into my yoga bag and carry it to my normal vinyasa class. at which point i was surrounded by yoginis (including 2 who are genuine, fearsome-type new york lawyers!) demanding beans.
luckily it was after class, so the clamor was pleasant and mellow; the lawyers had fortunately already stowed their shark teeth dentures in their <a href="https://a1624.g.akamai.net/7/1624/1463/infinite/www.saksfifthavenue.com/media/images/products/enlarge/E0470827642131_6e4a0.jpg">purses</a>. this clearly came about because the sidamo has the purest "fresh coffee" scent i've smelled in a long time. simply mouth-watering.
i'm going to declare the roast on this <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/flavor.htm">washed</a>, grade 2, euro prep coffee medium-viennese. and after the usual cupping procedure, i'm ready to call this rich, scrumptious coffee. it's a <strong><a href="https://www.tamarindo.net/animals/hummingbird.jpg">hummingbird</a></strong>.
not a standard <a href="https://home.earthlink.net/~frelkins/2004_01_18_archive.html#107488699699647395">linglese</a> term i know. but i want to describe how this smooth-bodied sidamo hovers between piquant when hot and tangy when cooler.
it darts around the edge between blushingly bright and lightly winey. the fragrance of the dry grounds was all about rose, rose, rose. in fact, i rather felt as if i'd been sent a dozen <a href="https://family.swu.ac.kr/~cat/photo_rose_bulgaria/bulgarian_rose_1_razcafnala%20roza_imi.jpg">bulgarian</a> stems, the kind that grow <a href="https://family.swu.ac.kr/~cat/photo_rose_bulgaria/bulgarian_rose_2_overview%20of%20the%20valley_imi.jpg">only in one valley</a> on the whole earth. . .
the sniff-n-slurp registered <a href="https://www.chocolateorchards.com/bulkoraprpic.JPG">unsulphured dry turkish apricot</a>, maple syrup, as well as that subset of the chocolate-y vanilla thing lingle calls "swiss," which reminds me of a delicate <em>créme caramel</em>.
sometimes you'll find a lemon/grapefruit/ mandarin/pineapple feeling in ethiopians; or a berry sensation. i myself found roses, apricots, vanilla. who could complain?
one roaster of my acquaintance says he thinks of sidamo as mostly a blending coffee. but k's sidamo is a fine coffee on its own: no dramatic citrus; rather an enticing little gift.
just as wonderful and romantic as a pair of <a href="https://www.tiffany.com/images/products/product_images/15367237_FL_LRG.jpg">pearl earrings</a> in a <a href="https://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/clips/tiffany/box.jpg">robin's-egg blue box adorned with a wide soft satin white bow</a>. . . <div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/sidamo-original-coffee.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-5615125722530946859 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:29:00 +0000 2009-03-11T06:40:16.106-08:00 the panama finca hartmann the last few days i've been enjoying <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=334">oren's panama finca hartmann</a>, a lovely sweet coffee that's very <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationandScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/default.cfm">bird-friendly</a>. it's a just a nice morning eye-opener with a splash of half-n-half.<br /><br />living here in brooklyn, many of the <a href="https://www.prospectpark.org/calendar/event/55478">songbirds we enjoy in prospect park</a> winter in different parts of central america. so bird-friendliness <em>there</em> actually affects my life <em>here</em> a great deal.<br /><br />highly recommended.<br /><br />and of course thanks to all who have sent <a href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7932090.stm">this news</a> story to me. you might as well insure your coffee palate for a million bucks, sometimes it seems like it's that hard to cultivate, and you have to sacrifice so much. . .i know, you just have to <strong>force me</strong> to <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">cup</a> coffee, right?<br /><br />2,000 internet readers, who've known me for years, have just fallen outta their chairs in hysterics. . .<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2009/03/panama-finca-hartmann.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 1 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-9122974317864493399 Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:12:00 +0000 2009-02-18T20:29:45.445-08:00 cuppin' da mermaid <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1RPOrDtASsOg1r5oy7Y5G7gISG84YBx-UXdP4mRYo98cXTS7aVYIEwM0x8FZ_Y1l-8RRanFUZswmjGhgj_i8Kpra45OaPeF6eHrkE-pJCu-Y-4EJk_uDLRqVczT34wmHDFceNhw/s400/IMG_0072.JPG" alt="reporter, oren bloostein, don schoenholt cupping instant at water club; fortune elkins visible in mirror; buzzy o'keefe not arrived yet" title="reporter, oren bloostein, don schoenholt cupping instant at water club; fortune elkins visible in mirror" align="center" hspace="5" vspace="10" /><br /><br />you know a class act when you see one, and a long time class act's always been buzzy o'keefe of the swanky <a href="https://www.rivercafe.com/">river cafe</a> & the super-swanky <a href="https://www.thewaterclub.com/">water club</a>. this afternoon he hosted a most unusual event in the most elegant surroundings: a <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">cupping</a> of the <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/">mermaid</a>'s new <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/02/18/starbucks-instant.html">instant coffee</a>. (don't worry, it won't be replacing buzzy's unique and extremely fine mocha-java from don schoenholt's <a href="https://www.gilliescoffee.com/">gillies</a> any time soon.)<br /><br />so this cupping's put together by a nice girl reporter from <a href="https://www.smartmoney.com/">smart money</a>. but because buzzy and don are involved, naturally, it's high style all the way — we get ferried around in the green jaguar with the burled maple interior, all that. what depression?<br /><br />what depression, i ask. . .um, we're cupping <em>instant</em>, that's what depression. and the wonderful oren bloostein of <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren's daily roast</a> joined us.<br /><br />now let's step back a moment and wrap our minds around this. why is the mermaid introducing instant? doesn't it totally run afoul of the fancy custom-drink, lite-jazz vibe that he's spent decades successfully cloning across the globe? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Schultz">howard</a>, what <span style="font-style: italic;">the hell</span> are you doing to your brand?<br /><br />your brand is your most precious asset, howard, why are you doing this to yourself? diluting your impressive image for short-term gain doesn't work. (and it's <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/strom-in-a-coffee-cup-who-the-f-is-howard-schultz-1625961.html">probably dumb to tick off the entire u.k. while you're at it, dreamboat</a>.) does anyone remember when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halston">halston</a> made elegant gowns? no: now all we remember are the cheap patent leather belts from the downmarket j.c. penney.<br /><br />now, on balance, i like howard, altho' i have never liked his coffee. he's a coffee evangelist, and he's from brooklyn.<br /><br />but for the past 4 years, he's just been following a bone-headed strategy. over time he's destroyed all the factors that made the mermaid great: the comfy seating, long gone; the gorgeous handmade manual italian <a href="https://www.lamarzocco.com/">la marzocco</a> espresso machines, long gone; the smell of delicious fresh coffee, gone and replaced with the disgusting odor of "breakfast sandwiches."<br /><br />howard, you weren't just selling semi-decent coffee at time when that was hard to get in most places; you were selling a warm, jazz-filled, emotional, custom-drink experience at a time when most retail experiences were minimalist, cookie-cutter, techno-music and cold. that is your brand. it's an upscale brand. <span style="font-weight: bold;">have you lost your mind</span>?<br /><br />even if you intend this coffee for offices and airplanes, it's not who you are, howard. no, no how. and at about a dollar a serving, it's outrageously expensive. obscenely expensive. a real cup of the finest specialty coffee brewed at home will cost you 30 cents!<br /><br />ok, enough rant. how was this instant coffee? understanding that a regular cupping worksheet wouldn't do, don sweetly made up custom worksheets asking questions like "does this stuff even have the color of real coffee?" well, ok, he put it more nicely than that. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtm9vy1OJO4h6GXq0dXt9IeidV_XrSoAIcI48UDzgpHCCwe0zteZKicWMNhC-_chsmIqga7g7jpMvxMvlnxoNF92iLu4Tg3TcZ6zMm1pbJX3Mt-xH-hm0flJpjVwy9kprqbfTfcw/s400/IMG_0069.JPG">see da pic</a>.<br /><br />buzzy, don, oren & myself dutifully treated this as a serious blind cupping. the reporter brought the samples herself, labelled A thru G. 2 were the new mermaid instants, while the rest were standard store brands. she doled out the "coffee" into the cups and poured the hot water.<br /><br />we sniffed the undissolved "coffee." we tested it to see how nicely it dissolved. we judged its color, density, aroma, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">brightness</a>, taste, aftertaste, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#mouth">body</a>. total points possible: 100. i didn't give any of the contender anything higher than a 34.<br /><br />after a fair amount of time, all of us agreed that blind coffee A was the best. in the cup the "coffee" looked vaguely like nice fresh ground as if for moka pot. the color of the dry stuff in the cup looked rather like droste cocoa and smelled a bit like stale coffee.<br /><br />it readily dissolved into a pleasant maroon-black or oxblood color. it almost had some body. low brightness, its aftertaste was a bit burnt. i pegged this as the mermaid immediately due to the aftertaste.<br /><br />after A, buzzy, oren & i agreed B was best, then D. don reversed that order: D, then B. we all agreed that E and F were putrid; G was literally undrinkable swill.<br /><br />oren compared it to the ripe scent emanating from an nyc manhold cover in august, while i called it raw, rotten cabbage, or possibly raw, rotten, brussel sprout (to capture a nasty bitterness). the aftertaste of G was literally hot asphalt - everyone's smelled hot asphalt, right? now imagine that smell as a taste - a clear sign of <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/defects.htm">defective</a> <a href="https://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/robustavsarabica.html">robusta</a>.<br /><br />i must have eaten literally half a box of <a href="https://www.carrscrackers.com/cgi-bin/brandpages/product.pl?product=735&company=140">water crackers</a> in an effort to get that taste outta my mouth. anyway, i won't spoil the results anymore. the article should be out tomorrow.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2009/02/cuppin-da-mermaid.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-1699994931013135613 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:33:00 +0000 2009-01-05T14:42:04.298-08:00 oren's blend no. 44 nope, it's not a perfume — it's <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=455">oren's fascinating new blend</a> in honor of the 44th president. o had the incredibly clever idea to include a coffee from each origin with which the new president is associated: kenya, kona, colombia (for columbia, where he attended school!), etc. <br /><br />i've <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/11/life-with-cafetire.html">pressed</a> this coffee and <a href="https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/">chemexied</a> it. it's a sunny, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">bright</a>, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#smooth">smooth</a>-as-satin brew with a nice floral aroma from the kona and a pleasant complex taste. <br /><br />the blend is really seamless, and of course since o put it together, really <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#clean">clean</a>. i doubt i could identify the blend components separately.<br /><br />that's how well it works. highly recommended morning cup!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2009/01/orens-blend-no-44.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-6099245258909099199 Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:52:00 +0000 2008-12-26T07:15:44.943-08:00 kona, yemen & sidamo and happy holidays to all from bccy. i've spent mine drinking <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren's</a> fantastic kona from <a href="https://www.greenwellfarms.com/">greenwell farms</a>. <br /><br />oren gets a special selection from them that's quite noteworthy. seriously — you would expect fine coffee from a farm that's been winning awards since 1873.<br /><br />many coffee lovers will roll their eyes at the mention of kona, arguing it's overpriced, it's not rare, quality, etc. etc. but a lovely kona is a rare product — nothing fills your house with floral fragrance like a freshly ground high quality kona. <br /><br />and at christmas it's pleasant to be able to feel a connection to the coffee farmer on a traditional american family farm.<br /><br />today i'm spending with oren's <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/yemen-to-die-for.html">yemen</a>, which i've discussed before. o's yemen is a fascinating, complex but clean coffee. <br /><br />it's a great switch from andrew's enchanting and <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/12/andrews-sidamo-arrives.html">oh-so-lightly blue sidamo</a>. but how that blue does <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com">ecco</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/12/kona-yemen-sidamo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-388793362751763789 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:22:00 +0000 2008-12-09T20:34:56.845-08:00 andrew's sidamo arrives and just when had spent what seemed an endless stretch of the dawn staring into andrew's empty <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com">ecco</a> bag, shuddering with sobs that <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/andrews-brazil-as-americano.html">the brazil</a> was no more, i breeze on into work and discover a pound of his ethiopian sidamo, an organic bean from kemal abdellah waiting to rescue me. <br /><br />andrew describes this as a berry basket (yummy - you can just imagine that little straw basket filled with delicious, delicate, perfumed mixed berries. . .) and with a dutch cocoa finish. well, he had me at hello with that one. <br /><br />you can bet this is going to be brewed first thing tomorrow! thank you, andrew!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/12/andrews-sidamo-arrives.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-5523850122633837404 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:59:00 +0000 2008-11-30T14:03:15.376-08:00 andrew's brazil as an americano what a horrible, icky, miserable, drizzly, dreary day today! and i ended up talking to various people about that depressing topic, the financial crisis. <br /><br />yuck. <br /><br />the only thing keeping me happy this afternoon &mdash beyond <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2001/05/since-unseasonable-weather-continues.html">my habitual pizza-making</a> &mdash is <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/googling-andrew-barnetts-fazenda.html">andrew's brazil</a> as an americano. <br /><br />highly recommended.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/andrews-brazil-as-americano.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-5213870397742371782 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:22:00 +0000 2008-11-29T07:44:26.820-08:00 great coffee, fuzzy pic <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMljKpFflsIElhdvzL2qUTmil0gw5OHWd6bfjd26I-iGGAWd2IUX_kkEI7z2LTrKkAa6z6Ei-fOfAaAuJ5nag1CwcQQfKExzH1iY15yrdKp1FKK42x8-S06fvWvrNGYiFb_ncnIQ/s400/IMG_0040.JPG" title="oren's holiday gift" alt="oren's holiday gift" hspace="5" vspace="10" /> <br />ooh ooh ooh — i know the pic's not the greatest, but i was so excited when i received a sample of <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren's</a> awesome holiday gift pack! <br /><br />it features 4 of the fantastic coffees i've written about here: his <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/orens-brazil-as-soe.html">brazil</a> daterra yellow bourbon (i do have a weakness for yellow bourbon!); the amazing amazing <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/yemen-to-die-for.html">yemen mocha haraaz</a>; his very nice guatemalan amatitlan; and many people's snappy fave, the famed la minita. (if only he could get his hands on some <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2006/05/batdorf-sun-dried-la-minita.html">sun dried</a>. . .!)<br /><br />i myself happen to find the antique map box charming. obviously this is highly recommended as <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopproduct.aspx?Product_Id=373">a gift for coffee lovers by coffee lovers</a>! <br /><br />a problem many gift packs have is that they can be a little girly in construction, too cutesy. this a quite handsome in contrast, appropriate for men as well as women.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/great-coffee-fuzzy-pic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-1338125076794998247 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:25:00 +0000 2008-11-27T20:43:46.689-08:00 in response to readers' requests how kind of you to email me asking about my dinner! ok, brace yourselves. . .consider how i started a new tradition here in bklyn.<br /><br />truly long-time readers may recall that i frankly believe no man should be forced to eat turkey. if you sit them down, they will all, once they are fully convinced it's safe to do so, confess that they hate the stuff. <br /><br />this is certainly true in my house, and stick-with-it bccy pals will remember that as a result, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2002/11/what-he-really-wanted-to-eat.html">i now always serve porterhouse for thanksgiving</a>. oh yeah: the perfect no-work holiday. <br /><br />forgive me, i just can't understand people who work all day, sometimes even baking the day before, only then to face more than an hour of clean-up after. and for what? <em>turkey?</em> <br /><br />look, i have total respect for everyone else's holiday traditions. i encourage you to work like a dog to uphold them. . .but really, i think <strong>he'd prefer</strong> you didn't!<br /><br />1-1/2 inch thick porterhouse, a sensibly priced california cabernet sauvignon, a little salad, a little delicata squash, and <a href="https://www.recipesource.com/desserts/mousse/00/rec0043.html">julia childs' chocolate mousse</a>. that's it.<br /><br />the great thing about this menu is that there's almost no cooking. you make the mousse in 20 minutes at noon: putting julia's mousse together basically consists of microwaving the chocolate and whipping some cream. next.<br /><br />the squash you halve, butter, drizzle with maple syrup and bake for an hour in a foil pan. salad gets spun, then dressed with a quick hazelnut oil vinaigrette.<br /><br />the porterhouse you grill for 12 minutes. pop the cork — you're done. later, everything just goes in the dishwasher. no scrubbing. <br /><br />i'll hand-wash the wine glasses tomorrow morning. and the best part? you feel like royalty.<br /><br /><strong>porterhouse</strong>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-response-to-readers-requests.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-8112039172241314227 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:10:00 +0000 2008-11-27T10:03:29.052-08:00 more on oren's jbm, andrew's brazil and a happy holiday to all of you!<br /><br />i began yesterday morning with another cup of <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren's</a> fantastic jamaica blue mountain. i really have to talk about this coffee in some detail because it's really sparked an entire meditation on the <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">coffee cupping</a> concept of ashy/mineral.<br /><br />it's clear, i think, from drinking o's rws jbm that is grown in some powerful volcanic soil — it has the floral fragrance, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">brightness</a>, and a "mineral" taste that comes from being grown in a pumice-type soil. to continue the description, it also has a lovely caramel aroma and a super silky <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#smooth">smoothness</a>.<br /><br />what it doesn't have is a strong cocoa character in the aftertaste — so if that's a prominent sensation you seek in all your jbm's you won't find it here. oren's setting up a different, more elegant experience here.<br /><br />the overall balance of the coffee is remarkable, if you are a careful enough taster to appreciate such structural poise, which i believe is a <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/orens-papua-new-guinea.html">hallmark</a> of oren's general coffee style. the issue here is how to describe that volcanic mineral taste, which we seek in coffees of this type.<br /><br />here's also a moment to consider the difference between us specialty cuppers, who search out positive nuance, as opposed to commercial-grade cuppers, who primarily seek <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2006/04/taint-that-simple.html">defects and taints</a>. i mean, if a commercial cupper finds a nice flavor, you'll see them write "good mild" or something on their cupping sheet. but they just aren't concerned with these aromas the way specialty folks are; they're just not in that business.<br /><br />most specialty cuppers will use the term ashy to mean the sensation a very dark roast can give a coffee's aftertaste. they are trying to use this term in a positive way, to describe a pleasant, soft, dark roast characteristic, as opposed to carbony, which we all agree is all bad. carbony = <a href="https://www.starbucks.com">the mermaid</a>. avoid that.<br /><br />commercial cuppers however use the term ashy to describe this volcanic soil flavor, and this is where the confusion can arise, should a specialty cupper try to discuss a jbm with a commercial cupper. this is why i prefer to use the term "mineral," esp. since i do believe this flavor is due to the pumice in the soil.<br /><br />this is one of those times you just wish <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NQi1LYJxFvUC&pg=PP1&dq=flament#PPP1,M1">flament</a> talked more about soil conditions in the final coffee flavor chemisty, you know? altho' it's been quite chic for the past few years to discuss the terroir of coffee — and as here in oren's jbm, the terroir can show — but in general, processing, roasting, and preparation also have a huge effect on what the coffee lover finds in a cup.<br /><br />the effect of terroir can often be quite muted in coffee by these factors; whether you think this is an issue or not pretty much shows where you stand on the fine coffee idea map.<br /><br />even as i consider this, i must say, i'm enjoying doppio macchiati of andrew's <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com">ecco</a> brazil, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/googling-andrew-barnetts-fazenda.html">the fazenda cachoieta i received this week</a>. just a wonderful single-origin espresso! and it is marked by a strong dutch cocoa aftertaste!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-on-orens-jbm-andrews-brazil.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-8464071600409353462 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:44:00 +0000 2008-11-21T20:21:21.800-08:00 googling andrew barnett's fazenda cachoieta deep joy ensued here when i received a message from long-time bccy pal andrew barnett that a pound of his <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com/">ecco</a> fazenda <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=57">cachoieta brazil yellow bourbon</a> for espresso was on its merry way. i had to find out more about this bean.<br /><br />so i picked up my <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone">iphone</a>, tapped the new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3z7Tw1K17A">google voice-activated search app</a> - oh i was so happy to see google geek mike labeau! finally, a guy who <span style="font-weight: bold;">listens</span> so he can give me exactly what i want - and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvyIvBW3L9k">just started talking at the sound of the tone</a>. now the first time you use the google voice search app, you may not get the best result, because you can't speak too fast or too slow.<br /><br />for example, when i installed it, the first name i tested was <a href="https://www.overcomingbias.com/">robin hanson</a>. but i was too fast, and google app thought i said "robinson." second try, i was too slow, and google app starting search at just the "robin," which gave me a nice wikipedia article on little birds. but i had the hang of it by the third try and got, well, <a href="https://hanson.gmu.edu/">robin hanson</a>.<br /><br />now confident in my ability to talk to that google cutie mike labeau through my beloved iphone in a way that boys could hear, i just said "andrew barnett coffee fazenda" and mike ran out to get me "andrew barnett coffee." which got me to a dining article about ecco, and then a link back here to bccy! poor mike just couldn't catch that "fazenda." work on that, ok, dreamboat?<br /><br />the next search i tried thru mike was "<a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopproduct.aspx?Product_Id=38">oren bloostein coffee jamaican</a>," in honor of oren's awesome jamaican blue mountain, which is what i'm drinking this week. but mike absolutely couldn't handle that, he tried "korean bluestein coffee jamaican." well, mike's young, we'll wait for mike 0.3.2.<br /><br />both of these exquisite coffees, by the way, are highly recommended.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/googling-andrew-barnetts-fazenda.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-6610253480771778149 Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:38:00 +0000 2008-11-12T20:22:05.072-08:00 yemen to die for for the past week i've been living on — let's face it — <a href="ttp://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=40">oren's yemen mocha haraaz</a>. just open the bag and the whole beans smell like blueberry jam.<br /><br />oh, that is <span style="font-style: italic;">all good</span>.<br /><br />the fresh grounds keep that gorgeous blue going. oren loves to <a href="https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/">chemex</a> all his beans, but honestly this is another one i prefer in the <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/11/life-with-cafetire.html">cafetiére</a> (a.k.a. french press to you!), as it benefits the <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#mouth">body</a> so.<br /><br />when i pour the hot water in, the bloom of this ultra-fresh coffee's just intense, like shaking a liter of coca-cola. wowza! is that stout or coffee?<br /><br />at the second pour, after the first bloom subsides, the careful nose can detect many defects or <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2006/04/taint-that-simple.html">taints</a>. but oren's mocha haraaz is <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#clean">clean</a>, almost surgically so.<br /><br />i suppose this might disappoint the true romantic cupper, who thinks all yemen should have a hint of the clay roof on which the coffee dried, and that mysterious historic mixture of straw basket bathed by donkey sweat as the farmer brings it down from the high mountains to sanani. ah donkey sweat!<br /><br />get out your <a href="https://www.sweetmarias.com/tastewheel2.jpg">scaa flavor wheel</a>: oren calls this coffee's taste <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">bright</a>, but unh-unh, i think it's <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#winey">wine-y</a>. and i'm pleased by its strong caramel aroma. the coffee's also impressively <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#smooth">smooth</a>, again, an artifact of the press brewing, i think.<br /><br />of course this coffee's completely organic, doesn't even need to be certified: for the simple reason these tiny yemen farms are just too remote for agribiz trade 'hos to get there and the farmers are frankly too poor to afford any chemicals even if said shysters could arrive.<br /><br />when it comes to that last point, we coffee lovers really shouldn't feel to good about it, so when you see o's charging US$19 a pound, don't be afraid to <em>open your nose and pay through it</em>. the coffee's worth it, and the farmers deserve it.<br /><br />you'll be glad you did. a delicious, delicious coffee.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/yemen-to-die-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-3903746870331972310 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:07:00 +0000 2008-11-03T09:18:11.674-08:00 must have coffees from oren i've been a tad remiss in discussing <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren's</a> latest coffees, so let me get started quickly here by noting the must haves:<ul><li>his <a href="https://www.cupofexcellence.org/">c.o.e.</a>-winning <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=360">nicaragua</a> - this came in second in the competition and is just a wonderful floral, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">bright</a>, citrusy, caramel coffee, coming from just a few trees two sweet little farms. he sent me his yrg with which to compare - honestly, this is better. worth every penny. i mean it.</li><li>his <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#smooth">smooth</a>-as-james-bond <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=42">canterbury blend</a> - charming in the morning</li><li>his <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=387">holiday blend</a> - you have to do this in the <a href="https://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/">chemex</a> for best effect. seriously, otherwise its lemon-candy thing is overwhelming. but in the chemex, it's great. and the aroma's amazing, it will fill your house! well, it does mine.</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/11/must-have-coffees-from-oren.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-69349438725637738 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:36:00 +0000 2008-10-16T13:51:30.368-07:00 oren's brazil as an s.o.e. must. keep. promises. in this case, to you, dear readers! and i promised to discuss <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=1">oren's brazil cerrado</a> as a single origin espresso. <br /><br />i pulled this double shot on my beloved steamy latin lover, carlos expobar. long-time readers will recall that <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/08/cooler-carlos.html">carlos is set for italian espresso temperatures</a>, which are lower than those usually seen in most independent coffee shops.<br /><br />oren's brazil cerrado is a little <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">brighter</a> than you might expect. this is good, because so many brazils are a little dull. but for some this would mean that it's not what they're looking for in a straight espresso, esp. brewed at a lower temperature. <br /><br />however if you're making an americano or a cappuccino, the brightness helps, especially when it comes to helping the coffee cut through the milk. oren's brazil had an acceptably syrupy <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#mouth">body</a> and and an ok amount of crema.<br /><br />i think in the end its woody-<a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#spicy">spicy</a> aromas (i thought nutmeg, myself) made it a nice latte, but i can see how most espresso hounds would prefer it as an americano, 1-1/2 oz. espresso (that's a double in my house) to 4 oz. hot water. <br /><br />i liked it best with a spoonful of raw sugar too.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/orens-brazil-as-soe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-7223273349315293929 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:07:00 +0000 2008-10-11T19:10:16.699-07:00 the nino franco rustico prosecco you know, <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren</a> so sweetly sends me his beautiful coffees - today i was going to write about his interesting brazil. this is noteworthy because his brazil is in fact interesting, whereas most brazils are boring. in this regard, i might think about o's brazil in terms i'd normally use for andrew's <a href="https://www.eccocaffe.com/">ecco</a> brazils. <br /><br />the truly long-time reader may recall i used to love making <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2006/03/so-benedito-as-single-origin-espresso.html">single-origin espressi from andrew's brazils</a>. (and a big shout-out to andrew, who's in noo yawk today!) anyway, i will still write about <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopproduct.aspx?Product_Id=1">o's unboring brazil</a>, which i think also makes great single origin espressi. <br /><br />but i'm afraid it's been hijacked by this prosecco i'm in love with this evening - so will write about o's brazil tomorrow, probably in the form of the americano. <br /><br />ah, to the prosecco: it's really quite the best non-vintage prosecco i've ever had, this <a href="https://www.ninofranco.it/">nino franco</a> "<a href="https://wilderonwine.com/Reviews/review_89.shtml">rustico</a>" from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdobbiadene">valdobbiadene</a> in treviso. robert parker, of whom i'm not always fond, <a href="https://www.ninofranco.it/News/TakeDown.php?fn=240908085342TheWineAdvocate178.PDF">likes it too</a>.<br /><br />i will agree that the rustico smells like peaches & pears, sliced up and tossed in a big majolica bowl. it tastes so "mineral white" and bright, it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulcXYjb4eBU">sambas</a> on the tip of your tongue. oh yeah.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/nino-franco-rustico-prosecco.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-2475718859917172187 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:14:00 +0000 2008-10-07T20:15:33.271-07:00 Not all heroes wear capes <img alt="Genius Bar" title="Genius Bar" src="https://blu-ray.typepad.com/iphonefreak/images/2008/10/05/genius.jpg" border="0" width="450" height="391" align="center" /> <br /><br />Last Friday I awoke to discover a small annoyance -- my beloved <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone/">iPhone</a> popped up its blue error message saying "cannot make or receive calls. Repair needed." <br /><br />As long-time iPhone owners know, this is usually no big deal at all. Usually it just means you need to reseat your SIM card.<br /><br />Thus without thinking twice, I reached for the all-purpose Apple repair tool a.k.a. the paper clip.<br /><br />Apple devotees have been using the paper clip since time immemorial for various small tasks, such as getting your Mac to spit out a stuck floppy disc or CD. The paper clip is a hallowed Mac instrument, and I frankly carry one in my purse at all times for just these kinds of tiny issues.<br /><br />However this time reseating the SIM didn't work. I tried again, and again. Uh-oh. My original 4GB iPhone wasn't co-operating that morning. So I tried hooking it up to iTunes, but iTunes couldn't see it.<br /><br />Ok, there's a workaround for this too -- holding down the Home button and the camera button for 10 seconds while the iPhone's hooked to iTunes. iPhone's screen kept telling me to connect it to iTunes, but iTunes still wasn't seeing it.<br /><br />Sigh. Time to go to work. Only one thing left to do: make an appointment at the <a href="https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/">Genius Bar</a> at the Apple store. <br /><br />This is of course completely simple to do online, but sadly the next appointment was for Sunday! Yesterday! 3 entire days without an iPhone.<br /><br />I won't describe the torture. So that afternoon I rushed to the <a href="https://www.apple.com/retail/west14thstreet/">Apple store on 14th Street</a> here in New York, took the 3 flights of frosted glass stairs up to the Bar in a single bound, and there he was. Edgar. Edgar, my Genius, calm and confident in the zen space of the Bar. <br /><br />Edgar tried all the things I had tried, and even moved on to a few nifty Genius tricks I couldn't quite see. He did finally get iTunes to see my poor iPhone, but it wouldn't boot. He tried to Restore it. Alas, it wouldn't take the software. <br /><br />Oh no. Edgar turned to me with a somber look. I feared this was the end, so I glued my eyes to his "<a href="https://heroworkshop.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/2571100177_87008b0d78.jpg?w=334&h=500">Not all heroes wear capes</a>" T-shirt and braced myself for the worst. <br /><br />"Well Fortune," he said, "I'm just going to have to give you a new phone." <br /><br />"A new iPhone?" I said. "Yes," he said,"I'm replacing your phone." <br /><br />"Um, like for free?," I asked, "because I didn't think my <a href="https://www.apple.com/support/products/">AppleCare</a>..." <br /><br />"Yes," he said with deep seriousness, "I'm going to have to give you a new phone for free." And so he did. I signed the papers in a near daze.<br /><br />Whenever I hear people complain about tech support, I think about the Genius Bar. Because <a href="https://www.iphonefreak.com/2008/03/the-death-life.html">every experience</a> I have ever had with Apple iPhone support at the Bar has always shown Apple staff to exceed expectations. As Edgar did yesterday.<br /><br />AT&T, however, that's a different story. As I sailed home to activate my phone, I had no idea the activation service would be down for most of the day. After waiting about 4 hours, the activation market finally came back up. <br /><br />When my iPhone re-activated, I tried to Restore from backup. However, the new iPhone only had firmware 2.0.1. iTunes sweetly told me it couldn't Restore, that would have to Update and then Restore. Ok? Ok, I clicked. <br /><br />And iTunes did. It Updated to 2.1, Restored all my data from backup, re-synched my tango music, and 10 painless minutes later, I was back in business as if I had never been away. Hooray! I wasn't missing a single email or calendar appointment.<br /><br />Not all heroes may wear capes, but those great Apple employees at the Genius Bar certainly at least deserve propeller beanies. <br /><br />What was I drinking during this non-traumatic experience? <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=334">Oren's Panama Finca Hartmann</a>, that's what. Yum.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/last-friday-i-awoke-to-discover-small.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 4 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-1110320372843575759 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:35:00 +0000 2008-10-03T10:46:02.226-07:00 oren's papua new guinea i've spent the morning drinking <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopproduct.aspx?Product_Id=37">oren's png</a> — it's just a great morning coffee, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">bright</a>, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#smooth">smooth</a>, floral & toasty. <br /><br />i could extol its balance, except to many people balance implies a certain dull symmetry, with no big exciting aroma waving its arms above the rest. but what i mean is more how it's heading towards that <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2006/04/los-lirios-coe.html">nureyev thing</a> — this coffee is just poised in its structure, like a dancer standing on one side of the stage. <br /><br />i recommend it with milk, for breakfast. so pleasant. yeah.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/10/orens-papua-new-guinea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-6570408759220709683 Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:09:00 +0000 2008-09-28T12:38:07.922-07:00 lovely packages and what appeared at my door this weekend? 2 lovely survival packages, one from <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren</a>, and the other from <a href="https://www.gilliescoffee.com/">don</a>! hooray! <br /><br />in a great time of <a href="https://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=chaos&btnG=Search+News">chaos</a> & need, rescue arrives!<br /><br />o sends:<ul><li>beowulf espresso, perfect for cutting thru syrup and milk for those textured morning lattes</li><li>ooh ooh a panama! never had this one!</li><li>and the most exotic <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopProduct.aspx?Product_Id=37">png</a>, a wonderful origin that most people, even coffee lovers, have never heard of, but of which you can say: yes, coffee like this is probably grown by indigenous people. if you want to help the truly poor, who are so impoverished the coffee has to be organic because they can't <em>afford</em> chemicals, stuff like this is probably the way to go</li></ul><br />don offers:<ul><li>the famous sumatra lintong of my dreams</li><li>the even-more famous lemon-candy yrg</li><li>a <a href="https://www.gilliescoffee.com/retail/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&cPath=9&products_id=22">costa rica tarrazu shb ep</a> i've never had before, from <a href="https://www.maplandia.com/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/cariblanco/">cariblanco</a>, very thrilling</li></ul><br />thanks, you two coffee saviors! now to ponder which will make the best americano on this misty day. . .<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/lovely-packages.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-1149742693329673634 Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000 2008-09-21T10:27:36.499-07:00 oooh oooh oooh more oren don't ask me why, it's just like <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren</a> month around here — and that's a good thing.<br /><br />in a year when <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/">the mermaid</a> has been forced to close stores and revamp its format, notice that o, who is the very picture of the independent specialty roaster-retailer, has managed to hold his ground. it's true he is closing 1 store, but that's only because the landlord greedily refused to come to an accommodation on a decent lease. welcome to mall-hattan real estate 101. . .<br /><br />so. i was dancing tango at my fave <a href="https://www.tangonyc.com/milongas.html">triangulo milonga</a> where a nice german journalist was writing something — who knows what? — about the nyc tango scene, which is in fact huge, and she was going on and on and on about <a href="https://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1249817&l=72a2f&id=706064461">my newest pair of velvet tango shoes</a>. to be honest, i do not have the world's most awesome tango shoes.<br /><br />i have the same <a href="https://www.commeilfaut.com.ar/">comme il faut</a>'s everyone else has. i agree, it's <a href="https://tangoinhereyes.blogspot.com/2006/04/cult-of-comme-il-faut-tango-shoes.html">a cult, a very sexy cult</a>. . .i mean who doesn't want to be "firmly nailed, never disappointing, can do it backwards, and always looking fantastic?" and of course they're 4 inches tall. what's the point if they're not 4 inches? but i digress.<br /><br />returning from the milonga after the jounalist's enthusiasm, i was heartened to find a nice box of oren's freshest patiently waiting on the doorstep. it contained not only his ethiopian longberry harrar, the famed beowulf espresso with just a touch of a certain special something to ensure it cuts through even whole milk, but also what seems to me the <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#clean">cleanest</a>, least <a href="https://www.barnonecoffee.com/modules.php?name=Encyclopedia&op=content&tid=378">twisty</a> yemen mocha i've ever had, as well as — that this seems like almost an afterthought shows you how shockingly good o's current coffee line-up really is — the rightfully revered <a href="https://www.laminita.com/">la minita</a>.<br /><br />another thing that's not widely appreciated about the beowulf i think is how it also survives syrup quite well. this is an artifact of o's long retail experience. it can be really be a downer to make a nice espresso for someone from a fantastic, subtle bean, only to have them ask for the vanilla syrup and then solemnly note that they can't "taste the coffee."<br /><br />in fact we coffee lovers tend to want to strangle such people. i confess that even after long experience serving coffee to the-otherwise-well-meaning my fingers still twitch when this happens, and i have to put a lot of effort into carefully smoothing my the skirt of my <a href="https://www.albertaferretti.com/home.htm">alberta ferretti</a> dress instead.<br /><br />but there we go. such are the perils of having friends: as professor dr. robin hanson might say, <a href="https://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/09/politics-isnt-a.html">coffee isn't about the caffeine</a>. thus the <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/shopproduct.aspx?Product_Id=41">beowulf</a>: not only it is fine coffee, but it's kept me on decent social footing with quite a few neighbors. highly recommended.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/oooh-oooh-oooh-more-oren.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-2512975722701860376 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:20:00 +0000 2008-09-17T18:57:28.031-07:00 sam beckett come home, or oren's ethiopia harrar ayinage to follow on from <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-which-oren-i-agree-on-almost.html">yesterday</a>, dear readers, recall that i brought home a fresh-roasted sample of <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com/">oren's</a> ethiopian west <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrar">harrar</a>. i was wrong yesterday, it turns out, when i identified ayinage as the co-op.<br /><br />no way, girlfriend! rather, as with the <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/51035583134@N01/18611065">famous label m.a.o</a>. — which are the initials of the export house's head, mohammed abdullahi ogsadey, from the town of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_Dawa">dire dawa</a> — <a href="https://www.alibaba.com/member/aynagegt/aboutus.html">ayinage is the exporter</a>.<br /><br />that aside, o fortune, you ask me, how the heck <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> this certified organic coffee? i brewed this morning in the <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/11/life-with-cafetire.html">cafetière</a>, known to you all as a french press.<br /><br />and o sweet heaven, the ayinage is like a triple stack of blueberry chocolate-chip pancakes with extra dark chocolate syrup.<br /><br />yeah maybe that's not on the <a href="https://www.sweetmarias.com/tastewheel2.jpg">scaa flavor wheel</a>, but that's what you get in the cup. i wanted to <span style="font-style: italic;">bathe</span> in it. . .all day. it's <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#winey">wine-y</a>, it's got <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#mouth">a sexy body</a>, it's, it's, it's. . .<span style="font-style: italic;">so blue</span>.<br /><br />how blue is the juicy ripeness squishing in every sip of this jewel? it's not often you get to spruce up your coffee talk with some <a href="https://samuel-beckett.net/Waiting_for_Godot_Part1.html">sam beckett</a>:<br /><br /> VLADIMIR - Do you remember the Gospels?<br /> ESTRAGON - I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Colored they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. <span style="font-style: italic;">The very look of it made me thirsty</span>.<br /><br />i don't know when o is going to release this for general sale. but it had better be soon. and i want a pound a week please until every last bean of this has kissed his roaster goodbye.<br /><br />i'm calling this one a must-drink. 2008 has just been a good year for blue coffees from ethiopia, it seems!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/sam-beckett-come-home-or-orens-ethiopia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-7910231647989009492 Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:52:00 +0000 2008-09-16T13:08:24.181-07:00 in which oren & i agree on almost everything so today i ran up to the upper east side to have a little cupping with <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren</a>. i stopped for a moment to gaze at the vintage couture for sale in the shop next door to o's building, and then ran through the strange narrow maze to his office.<br /><br />his building has a super-weird internal layout and you have to twist around, navigating by the art nouveau posters hanging on the walls. anyway, i arrive.<br /><br />o knows what the coffees are, but i'm cupping blind. we have 1 flight of 4. oren has roasted up the samples to <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">cupping</a> level, and then ceremoniously grinds the beans at the last moment just as the water boils and starts to cool.<br /><br />he scoops a level and equal amount of each into a drinking glass in front of the sample tray of green coffee beans. we sniff.<br /><br />"hey o, i say, sample #1 smells coriander-y." "what?" o asks. "i don't know what that means, but i like it." <br /><br />"it means it smells kinda woody-spicy, like you stick your nose in the jar of whole, un-ground coriander seeds that's been sitting in your kitchen spice cabinet." "ummm, well, if you say so," o says mildly, "i think it's a bit nutty." for o, this isn't usually the greatest quality for a coffee at this stage. . .<br /><br />on to sample #2. i liked sample #2, sweetly floral. o agrees. i stick my nose so far into #3 that i get grounds on the end of my nose. what's great is that o doesn't notice, or at least is sweet enough not to say anything if he does. <br /><br />"dry hay," o says of #3. "brown rice bran," i offer, "very health-food store-y smelling." neither of these are good. "no," o says, "it hasn't got to the cereal stage yet. it's still green, it's still growing." it's still bad. <br /><br />#4 is a shock. "i'm thinking, ummm interesting. bad interesting," i just come out with it. "fruity," o says, "too fruity. maybe fermented." ok, so someone let <a href="https://www.freshcoffeeshop.com/Coffee/processing.php">this washed coffee sit around wet</a> too long for sure. . .<br /><br />o elegantly measures and pours in the hot water; we sniff again. i time 3 minutes on my <a href="https://www.apple.com/iphone/">iphone</a>. <br /><br />o still finds #1 nutty, but the nut's a little mixed in. #2, we both love #2, great flowers, no <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/defects.htm">defects</a>. (you can often smell a lot of defects in this stage when cupping.)<br /><br />#3 smells even more like old toast to me. o takes his composition cupping notebook, draws out a little quick grid in pencil, and scribbles "road." uh-oh. road. you don't road in coffee.<br /><br />#4, there's no saving #4. "it smells like stale apricot brandy," i say. o just wrinkles his nose. "it's not the <em>worst</em> coffee," he says with a light in his eyes that suggests <strong>yeah, but this is still just terrible</strong>.<br /><br />since o may actually be buying one of these coffees, he does the break — that is, he drops the browl of his silver cupping spoon through the crust of grounds floating on top and clears them to the bottom. as he breaks each one, his nose goes deep into the glass, just a millimeter from the liquid. <br /><br />when he comes to #4, he offers to let me break. ha ha! i decline, "no thanks o, that's the one i want to smell least!" <br /><br />so we taste each sample, pooling a bit in the bowl of the big cupping spoons and then doing our best thunderous <em>sluuurrrrrppppp</em>! to spray the brew as even across the tongue and palate as we can.<br /><br />the slurp is always the most hilarious part of the cupping, and i never stop cracking up the whole time. o's staff in the other room looks around a little, nervous: why can't this crazy woman stop cackling? (i can't stop cackling because cupping coffee is <em>fun</em>!)<br /><br />#1 is obviously bright, but i don't really detect any other fantastic quality in it that i would name. "sweet," o says. "yeah, ok," i agree.<br /><br />#2. i had the highest hopes for #2. i was thinking, you know, prom corsage already, so i was looking for a hot date here. and it was sweet. <br /><br />i was beginning to be happy here. "this just smells like good coffee," i say. o likewise is a little perky about #2.<br /><br />oren deems #3 nutty suddenly, citrus-y and nutty. uh-oh. i just don't find anything in it. very neutral. i can barely even summon the word "neutral" to my mind.<br /><br />#4 is wine-y, but not good wine-y. it's all bad wine-y. o even goes so far as to scribble "rough" in his notes. . .<br /><br />of course the final stage is when the coffee cools a bit. how does it hold up? this is crucial when it comes to actually drinking and serving it. <br /><br />o thinks #1 gets a little better, a little rounder in the cooling, but still terms it "dry." i understand what he means by that, in so far as after i swallow a bit of cooler #1, i really want a drink of water. not another sip of the coffee, i want some water. not so good!<br /><br />but wait, here's our prom queen, #2! and we eagerly sip a cooling #2, to discover. . .nothing. what a let down. none of the interesting qualities we had hoped for made it into the cup at all. it just flattened out like ribbon and rolled away across the carpet. <br /><br />#3 stayed like itself. no change. because there was nothing there to change, alas. #4, i just couldn't even bring myself to do #4 at first, but o did, so i manfully kept pace. <br /><br />"tinny," o said. "cla-aaarrrck-gh," i said, sticking my tongue way out between my teeth like a tibetan demon. "nasty."<br /><br />"o," i stated with sudden insight, "you're not buying <em>any</em> of these coffees." o looked at the sample trays with a certain sorrow. "no," he said with a slight <a href="https://www.just-pooh.com/eeyore.html">eeyore</a> note, "no, i am not."<br /><br />i didn't know what to do. my heart was still aching from the disappointment of #2. <br /><br />"ok o," i asked, "where does these coffees come from?" o flipped the labels — all were supplied by volcafe specialty — #1 was a kenya aa from the leanna co-op, #2 was a kenya ab from the same leanna co-op, #3 was a tanzania, and #4 was a uganda bugisu from a well-meaning person uptown who wanted to help farmers. <br /><br />not a coffee professional, obviously, because, to be frank, shopping that lower-quality coffee around probably was doing more to hurt the farmers than help them! i would never ever in a million years guessed the origins of any of these coffees, they so lacked any of what i consider the distinguishing hallmarks of their origins. which is another reason they just, in the end, somewhat indifferent beans.<br /><br />but playtime was over, sadly. o tossed some same beans he had, an ethiopia west harrar from a co-op called ayinage into his funny old beige sirocco home coffee roaster. yes, i said a sirocco. i mean no one's seen one of those for like a million years!<br /><br />i hung for the requisite time as the beans went to a nice brewing color, took the small sample, thanked o, and skedaddled. just another day of fine, very fine coffee! <br /><br />on the way home in the subway, i smelled the fresh ethiopia. already the blueberry was coming out. . .oh yes and yes and yes. . .<br /><br />btw, have i mentioned o's new coban yet? word to the wise: if you like guatemalan coffees, you will love o's new coban.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-which-oren-i-agree-on-almost.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-5737356771992780277 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 03:27:00 +0000 2008-09-11T20:42:54.931-07:00 things you sniff: Bond No. 9 & Oren's Coban bccy is sneaking back. it's a stealth mini-post today:<ul><li><a href="https://www.sniffapaloozamagazine.com/Bondno9.html#anchor_39">bond no.9's warhol lexington ave</a> — the nice people from bond no. 9 figured out i was living in their <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/11/coffee-perfume.html">so new york concotion of espresso & chocolate</a>, so shot me this over to augment my habit. i love classic chypres like <a href="https://www.basenotes.net/ID10211614.html">mitsouko</a> – so take a chypre and add a gourmand quality – perfume you wanna lick right off the body! it's me all right, very me. sensuous, hedonistic, epicurean, and the bottle's all about shoes.</li><li><a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren</a>'s new coban — you may recall <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/archives/2004_05_02_archive.html#108406831071329986">his old coban</a>. well, trust me, you'll be hearing more about this after i cup with him next tuesday afternoon. in the meantime, let me proclaim its great body from the housetops. and of course, floral, <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2004/05/useful-coffee-tasting-glossary.html#bright">bright</a>, clean. stay tuned.</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/things-you-sniff-bond-no-9-orens-coban.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-4140896439606837599 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:12:00 +0000 2008-09-04T20:25:42.867-07:00 hello world! after a very long hiatus — let's not get into more than to say, i got promoted and took up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCo0nNM3f1g">sexy tango</a> — the wonderous <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren</a> wrote me today and said, "you know, if you started blogging again, i might send some coffee."<br /><br />and for the first time in a long, long, long time that suddenly sounded lovely. absolutely lovely.<br /><br />coming soon: the return of bccy.<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2008/09/hello-world.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 0 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3021538.post-5342250034450257569 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:00:00 +0000 2007-12-18T19:22:18.856-08:00 in which oren and i have a slight perceptual difference so the awesome <a href="https://www.orensdailyroast.com">oren</a> sent me said <a href="https://bccy.blogspot.com/2007/12/and-beauty-pours-down.html">colombia tolima corazon</a> and i immediately tore up the bag the way greedy children descend on <a href="https://www.fritolay.com/fl/flstore/cgi-bin/products_ruffles.htm">ruffles</a>.<br /><br />and boom! the aroma of super-fresh roasted beans struck me with a near physical blow. i swear.<br /><br />in a daze i rushed to contact o. himself. "o o o," i said, "this tolima certainly is nothing like any ordinary colombian. it smells like roast chicken!"<br /><br />this caused o to hesitate slightly. "well," he replied, "if you think it's chicken, i hope at least it's fresh chicken."<br /><br />his answer had the gentle air of "what kind of lsd have you put your nose on, girl?" but that's the way it goes in coffee sometimes. i happen to love chicken, so i meant it as a compliment. <br /><br />ah the memories of roast chicken in the farmhouse in kansas. . .but while o has an impeccable <a href="https://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm">cupping</a> nose from which we all can learn, i cannot give him my scent memories, so in this case alas we are forever separated by time. <br /><br />this too is part of specialty coffee's loveliness. it is intensely personal in a way that can be hard, so hard, to convey, despite all the training we get on the <a href="https://www.sweetmarias.com/tastewheel2.jpg">scaa flavor wheel</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer">©2000-2007 frelkins. all rights reserved.</div> https://bccy.blogspot.com/2007/12/in-which-oren-and-i-have-slight.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (fortune) 2