Hey all. Happy Holidays. R!WC is on a quasi-holiday until Season 4 drops in February 2022, but I didn’t feel right leaving you completely coffee content free. Until then, I'll be checking in once a week with some coffee news, show updates, mini-interviews at coffee shops, and Coffee Smarter throwbacks.
This week, we (my better half partner, Trina, and I) are hitting the road. I can’t say I thought we’d be dealing with so much coronavirus this Christmas holiday, but here we are. We’ve decided to take our planned trip to the mountains to socially distance which will consist mostly of drinking coffee and whiskey by a fireplace.
We’re grateful for the opportunity and ability to travel and will be limiting our human interactions primarily to coffee shops along the way. We took a mini-overnight to Joshua Tree earlier this week, and stopped into Cartel Coffee in Palm Springs. It was only a quick visit for a drip coffee, latte, and pastry, but it was still memorable. Shout out to the team that was working on Friday the 17th for a great hospitality experience.
Wherever you are, I hope you’re able to find some respite from the overwhelmingness of the news headlines. Maybe it is in the bottom of a cup of coffee.
Here in California mask mandates are back but even if your are somewhere else in the world that is mask mandate-free and you decide to go out to visit a new coffee shop or your favorite local roaster, please be cool to your baristas, bartenders, servers, shopkeepers, etc. They don’t get paid enough to be the mask police, but they are there serving the community. Help keep them safe from Omicron and Delta and the O.G. Covid-19 by wearing a mask for a few minutes. It will be appreciated.
Besides masks not only help keep yourself and others safe, they keep your face warm...and it has been a cold as all heck December.
COFFEE NEWS
This is pretty interesting and will likely lead to some sort of Coffee Smarter episode in S4. A study shared on Nature.com indicates that a preference for black coffee or bitter tasting flavors like those found in dark chocolate may be a genetic predisposition. In particular, individuals who have genes that process caffeine quickly may have created associations or perceptions between bitter flavors and caffeine content.
It is a unique confluence of genetics in one area–caffeine processing–influencing perception in another–taste representing caffeine content. Erin Blakemore breaks down the study a little further in a column on the Washington Post online.
FROM THE SHOW
To see all the coffee cupping steps laid out check out this step-by-step guide from Fellow brand coffee gear.
A coffee cupping spoon looks a lot like a soup spoon. This one is from Brewista.
ROAST! INDUSTRY PARTNERS
NEW PARTNER ALERT! Welcome to the R!WC family Ignite Coffee Company. Founder Tyler Whitehead will be appearing on the pod in S4 to share his coffee journey.
Steady State Roasting is hosting some Holiday Hangs next week just in case you needed a reason to get an afternoon coffee.
Camp Coffee Co. is selling gift cards online if you need a last minute stocking stuffer.
Coffee Cycle Roasting and Coffee Smarter expert, Chris O’Brien (Santa hat) hosted Hippy Holiday (see the route on Strava), a smaller version of the popular Hippy Crit bicycle ride which goes up and down the nearby Mount Soledad...and then up and down again…and again…
They crazy, but the riders also love coffee and bicycles. Coffee Cycle will be hosting—coronavirus mutations permitting—a full Hippy Crit event in the spring. Follow @coffeecycleroasting on Instagram to make sure you see the ticket announcement.
Thanks to the the Roast! Industry Legacy Partners. Click these links. Drink their coffees (and whiskey).
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company
Listen to the show on these platforms!
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC • THE COAST NEWS • TUNEIN RADIO • I HEART RADIO • POCKETCASTS • BREAKER • RADIO PUBLIC • OVERCAST • YOUTUBE • STITCHER
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Roast! West Coast Classics Volume 2