*Thanks Leap Coffee for sponsoring this episode!
The new episode of Coffee Smarter is the longest episode of any podcast I’ve ever done. It clocks in at over an hour, and during the recording I knew I didn’t want to cut it short, but I thought maybe it could become two episodes.
After listening to it, and how coffee expert Siri (Lofty Coffee) and my conversation wound from environmental and economic sustainability to sexism and the hospitality experience to our collective personal reflections on what hospitality and coffee specifically means to us…I knew it should stay together, connected.
Coffee isn’t just coffee. It can be, but can also be so much more—both good and bad. I tend to think mostly good. This coffee I’m drinking right now, at about 4:30 AM on Thursday morning isn’t great, but it isn’t the coffee’s fault. It is a bit too far past the roasted date. It wasn’t brewed correctly. I actually forgot I made it. I left it sit too long. Even though it isn’t the perfect cup, it is still imbuing me with a comforting stillness, and is almost like a friend sharing the morning with me. Even when it’s not great, a cup of coffee is still a pretty nice luxury.
This week I made my first venture out to a physical coffee shop since the pandemic began. All of my coffee adventures since March of 2020 have been online. I went to Steady State Roasting with my wife. We ordered a coffee while standing inside. I kept my mask on. The women behind the counter were incredibly professional and kind despite my rusty social skills. My wife was proud of me. It was a good day.
I don’t honestly remember how I felt about the coffee itself. It was from Steady State so I’m sure it was good. It was coffee, but it was so much more. It was a little piece of joy, and little pieces of joy—if Siri is to be believed—is what coffee is all about.
Here is that paper cup sustainability analysis from James Hoffman that Siri mentions on the show. It’s from 2018. I’d be curious to see if he updates this again accounting for new products, techniques and the impacts of the pandemic.
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COFFEE VOCAB
• Cascara - is an herbal tea made with the dried skins of the coffee cherry, and often with bits and pieces of the cherry itself. The name comes from the Spanish term for husk (cáscara), and the drink is popular in coffee growing regions. It is becoming more common in the U.S. as awareness has grown. While cascara has a lot of caffeine compared to a tea drink, it only has an estimated 25% of the caffeine found in a cup of coffee.
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Want to work in coffee? Lofty Coffee is hiring.
Need some coffee? Check out these great companies for delivery, pick-up and finally, even some on-site coffee enjoyment.
Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Leap Coffee • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Importers • Marea Coffee • Coffee Cycle •
DON’T MISS IT
Don’t forget to listen to the interview with the team at Coatl Coffee. We’ll be back next week with the last interview of the year featuring Mike Arquines of Mostra Coffee talking about coffee, beer and heritage.
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It Brings Me So Much Joy.