R!WC UPDATE:
Podcasters, we’re just like you! We’re navigating the holiday calendar like a race car driver on the streets of Chicago. New episodes of Coffee People and Coffee Smarter will be dropping early next week!
REFLECTIONS FROM A COFFEE TOUR
Follow along on @roastwestcoast on Instagram.
Day 1: Perks! in Washington, UT. Brian and Elise served me a light-roasted Rwanda Sholi Estate. I was thrilled to find a roaster only a few blocks from the hotel. I’ve struggled to find coffee on my stops in the St. George, UT-region in the past. Flavor notes: Orange Blossom, Vanilla, Spice, Berries.
Of note: Fairtrade, Woman produced, Rainforest Alliance, Organically produced.
Day 2: The sky was black, and the rain pelting when our GPS routed us off the mountain highway onto a gravel road and down a sketchy-looking side street. We almost turned around, but then we saw Plume Coffee Bar (Silver Plume, CO).
Plume felt like home. I bet everyone feels that way. New owner Julie (via Seattle) served up a Sound & Vision Blend drip coffee from one of my favorite Colorado roasters, Huckleberry Roasters, and we ordered a dirty chai latte and a seasonal lavender latte for the road. Then we went out and stood by a rushing river. For the moment, life was good.
Sound & Vision Flavor notes: Caramel, chocolate, subtle fruit with a round mouthfeel.Day 3: More rain. More grey. Definitely more heat and humidity. I’ve grown to love the cool, humidity-free mornings on the Pacific Coast. Trying to breathe in Lincoln, Nebraska’s July air is kind of like trying to take a deep breath of pudding.
An iced caramel macchiato from Hollie (or Holly) at Reactor Coffee in a college neighborhood near the U of Nebraska helped cool us down, along with a black drip coffee from the local Canyon Coffee Roasters.
Unique to Reactor is their mug club, reminiscent of the clubs at many Midwestern pubs. For $45/month, you receive all-you-can-drink drip coffee, tea & iced tea, discounts on specialty drinks, and a mug with your name on it that hangs in the shop.Day 4: Smith Coffee in Eden Prairie, MN, is a roaster in a historic brick Victorian home with a big wraparound porch. It looks like a set from a movie on Turner Classics. We stopped for black coffees, which we drank in the gardens behind the building. It is a definite recommendation if you’re in the Minneapolis area.
I followed up the drip with an espresso and a cappuccino out of the JennAir Euro-style built-in coffee brewer at our host's home. It was a curious contraption that I thought was a water dispenser, which I suppose it kind of is. Tap a few buttons, and it grinds the beans before a fresh Americano or espresso drips down into your drinking vessel. What will they think of next?Day 5: I’ve been hauling this packet of Lairds Superfood Instant Latte around and finally decided to give it a shot. It is a combination of dried coconut milk, tapioca, coconut sugar, freeze-dried coffee, and several various mushroom extracts.
It is a pretty simple process. Open packet. Dump packet into mug. Add hot water. Stir. Wait till it cools a smidge. It tasted like a sweetened instant coffee. The mushroom flavors were nearly non-existent, but the sugars were not. It has 150 calories and 9g of fat, I presume coming from the coconut sugars, coconut milk, and tapioca.
It was a bit creamy and latte like as advertised, but unless I were looking for that specific infusion of mushroom extracts, I wouldn’t choose it over a coffee or a latte based on taste.Day 6: French-press at the family homestead with beans from Sgt. Pecker’s Coffee, a roaster in the small community of Patagonia, AZ. Sgt Pecker appears to be a very regal raven or crow.
Day 7: I haven’t been out for a few days. Family, and all that, but this morning I planned on heading to one of my favorite spots near the in-laws on an early morning bike ride. (n+1) cafe in Verona, WI has all my favorite things—coffee, bikes, beer, and outdoor patio space. To my surprise, I found out they have been temporarily closed. But…it seemed like everything was going swell just last year! I thought.
Several years of pandemic challenges and taking on debt have taken a toll on the local coffee shop/bike shop/event space. Owners Peter and Jessica are currently crowdfunding in an effort to get the cafe out of its limbo and asking the community of coffee drinkers for support. If the effort isn’t successful, all the donation monies will be returned and the cafe will officially close this fall.
Check out the details: https://www.gofundme.com/f/calling-on-our-community
Some cool coffee links (not like specifically about cool coffees or cold brew):
Cynthia Hillman and Emma Strong are partners and the owners of the coffee house Cuppa Cuppa in the Mission Gorge neighborhood of San Diego. They are donating $2 per bag of their Love Blend coffee to the San Diego LGBT Community Center. Read the original column on SDnews.com.
On my travels, I found Angels Share Coffee. They are a specialty coffee roaster in the lake city of Fond Du Lac, WI, that only offers barrel-aged coffees. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about BA coffees yet, but I find it pretty interesting that this roaster has decided to specialize. Their current offerings include coffee aged in bourbon, rum, wine, and even honey barrels.
In case you missed it in the last Coffee Smarter newsletter, here is that older 2019 article discussing the third and potentially fourth wave of coffee with Trish Rothgeb. Read the LA Times article.
A huge, on-going thank you to this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters