Stale coffee is serious business!
November 28, 2007
Check out this Chase & Sanborn ad from 1952.
Friday Funny — From the New Yorker
November 2, 2007
The New, Improved Perk-O-Late!
October 18, 2007
As you can see, Perk-O-Late has undergone a bit of a face lift. We are growing quickly and have a variety of things we plan on incorporating, including videos and product reviews. This new site design should accommodate those additions nicely.Here’s a quick run-down of how the new Perk-O-Late is organized: the latest and featured posts will always appear in the main section on the left, and our sections on Brewing, Roasting and Reviews will always be available in the center column. As you can see, the featured video will be viewable in the upper right of the page.
We have been experimenting with a variety of roasting techniques that we are excited to share, and we’re getting some amazing results! We plan to post videos of our roasting experiments in the coming days and weeks.
As always, thanks for reading (if you’re reading via our feed, come check out the new site!). We welcome your comments and questions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line!
Upcoming Reviews
October 16, 2007
Our first set of reviews are in the works and include the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder, the iRoast 2 and the Aerobie Aeropress!
The Quest for The Perfect Cappuccino
September 19, 2007
Amy Ferraris asks…
Have you ever had a perfect cappuccino? Not a latte. Or a frappuccino. But a perfect blend of espresso and milk in that unique, unforgettable texture that can only be described as velvety? If you’re like most Americans, you probably haven’t.
I have a problem. I am obsessed with the cappuccino. I mean, obsessed. I will go miles and miles out of my way just to try a new one. I lie awake at night thinking about them. I even suspect that the cappuccino is the main reason that I keep finding excuses to go live in Italy.
But I’m an American. And every time I go into a new coffee shop here in America, I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. All previous experience indicates that what I’m about to do will be a disaster, but I let myself get suckered into it anyway. American cappuccinos are typically way too large, far too hot, and served in paper cups whose steep sides make it impossible to fully experience the cappuccino in a single sip. They’re also topped with stiff peaks that would be more at home on a key lime pie than a cup of coffee. Occasionally, they have been befouled with cinnamon.
Her new documentary looks pretty promising. We’ll keep an eye open for screening announcements. Be sure to check out the trailer.
[via]
The NY Times on ‘Direct Trade’
September 12, 2007
The New York Times has a fascinating piece today on Direct Trade coffee companies.
In the past few years, big coffee companies (e.g., Starbucks, who buys roughly 300 million pounds per year) have started marketing “Fair Trade” and “organic” coffees. Many customers have no problem shelling out a bit more for beans that were more thoughtfully and carefully grown. Yet, these labels - or even the methods - offer no guarantees for the actual flavor or quality of the beans. Even more recently this has given rise to Direct-trade coffee companies such as Stumptown and Intelligentsia and others, who buy their beans directly from the farms and cooperatives that grow them (i.e., not from brokers).
This gives the relatively small roasting companies an unprecedented relationship with coffee farmers, and thus unusually direct control over the quality of their coffee offering.
“It’s an exploration of coffee’s flavor, really” is how George Howell explains his mission. Mr. Howell, who runs George Howell Coffee Company, a roaster based in Acton, Mass., has had a hand in practically every lurch forward in the quality coffee scene since he started out in the business in 1974. “We’re finding flavors we’ve never ever tasted before, different fruit and floral flavors from really pristine, clean coffees. These are flavors that have been lost or diluted in the old methods of blending coffee down to an average product.”
In many ways, the direct-trade roasters are building on the foundation laid by companies like Peet’s and, later, Starbucks, which went outside the commodity system to find superior coffee. But, Ms. Blumhardt said, those companies are too big to comb over every bean in every sack the way some direct-trade companies do. Starbucks bought more than 300 million pounds of coffee last year; Intelligentsia, the biggest of this group, bought 2 million pounds.
Direct Trade companies develop a unique relationship which goes beyond the basic buyer/seller. Duane Sorenson (owner of Stumptown) recently travelled to Rwanda, and after discussing the needs of the local coffee growers, started a nonprofit group called Bikes to Rwanda. This April, 400 bikes specially engineered for carrying heavy loads of coffee over hilly Rwandan terrain were delivered to the cooperative just in time for the harvest.
“It’s not charity,” he said. “Our producers invest back into their workers, coffee shrubs, equipment and land. We know this is happening because of all the time we spend with them throughout the year, on their farms and in their homes.”
The entire article is a great read. Go check it out and while you’re there, view the From Cherry to Cup slideshow.
(via Grendel)
Coffee: An International Community
September 11, 2007
When we first launched Perk-O-Late, we mentioned that the coffee community was a fantastic group of people. After being up and running for a couple weeks, that fact continues to ring true. We have received great feedback, encouragement and tips from fellow coffee fans around the world and it is really exciting. There is a lot to be said about the social aspects of coffee, but I’ll save that for another post.
We’re thankful for everyone that has visited and has been in touch so far. In the 2 weeks since launch, we’ve had visitors from 19 countries: US, Australia, Canada, UK, China, Germany, Russia, Greece, The Philippines, New Zealand, Ireland, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Portugal, Austria, Denmark and Sweden. Whew!
We hope that list continues to grow.
There are many reasons we love coffee, but one of them is certainly its universality. No matter where you are in the world there is a coffee culture, and you’re likely never more than a walk from the nearest cup.
On that note, be sure to check out some of the folks in our blogroll, such as Cafe Grendel (Perth, Australia) and JimSeven (World Barista Champion from the UK).
Brewing Essentials I: Water & Proportions
September 8, 2007
Now that we’ve posted some of the basics of storing, grinding and brewing your coffee, we’d like to begin Brewing Essentials 101. These are the essentials of brewing (usually minor changes) that will vastly improve your coffee experience. Read more
The beans have arrived.
September 6, 2007
Good news! Our first batch of raw (green) beans has arrived and we’re excited to try roasting for the first time. We’d like to thank Coffee Storehouse for providing the beans.
We’ll be attempting our first few roasts tomorrow using a couple of methods: pan roasting on a grill (as recommended by the folks at Coffee Storehouse) and a hot-air popcorn popper. I also have a bread machine, which I have heard works well (with a heat gun), so we may try that also. You can expect photos and videos of the whole experience, for sure.
If you have experience with any of these methods, we solicit your advice. If not, we hope you can learn along with us! Check out Mark’s photos after the break (be sure to click on each for the full size).
Read more
Perk-O-Late: Week 1 Round-Up
September 5, 2007
It’s been one week since Perk-O-Late launched, and we’re quite excited about the response we’ve received. We have a lot in store and we thank everyone who has stopped by, subscribed to our feed or left a comment so far. Below is a round-up of Perk-O-Late’s first week on the innernetz:
The Coffee Co. that shall not be named got more billing than we intended to give them by announcing their first foray into Russia as well as a new partnership with Tassimo for single-serving pod coffee. Speaking of partnerships, Steve Jobs announced today that the new iPod Touch will have wireless access to the iTunes music store and will interface with the music playing in Starbucks.
We wasted no time in revealing our nerdy underbellies by pointing to a study linking caffeine and the prevention of dementia. We also recommend you read Jakob Norburg’s paper on Coffee and the Bourgeoisie. Interesting stuff, indeed.
Perhaps the biggest news for Perk-O-Late is that our first order of raw Brazil Moreninha Formosa should be here tomorrow from Coffee Storehouse. Buying green coffee is a first for us and we are excited to try our hand at roasting and share the experience with all of you. Those of you that have experience roasting at home, don’t hesitate to share your words of wisdom!
This week I also had the pleasure of corresponding with Alex Tennant of Aerobie® (the makers of the Aeropress™). My very first Aeropress™ should arrive tomorrow and I am quite excited to give that a try. I’ll be sure to post a video of it in action and let you know what I think!
And so it goes, our first week of many to come. Thanks to all of you that have written, commented and subscribed. Speaking of which, if you haven’t yet done so, go grab our feed! Thanks for reading. There’s more to come!
UPDATE: I forgot to point out that we have added a few features to the site. Now under “Sections” you’ll notice that there is a Coffee Basics page. This covers some of the basics of storage, grinding and brewing and will continue develop over time. We also started a Perk-O-Late Discussion Group and hope you’ll come check that out and participate.
