Hi folks,

We’re roasting a day early this week so that coffee shipments arrive before the holiday weekend.

We’ve also recently purchased a fantastic dry pocessed Ethiopia that will arrive in our roasting facility soon. It’s got a lot going on. Sampling proved it to be especially complex when roasted lightly–all sorts of fruit flavors and aromatics, a soft, puffy acidity, and a clean finish that lasted forever. Stay tuned . . .

Hi folks,

 The new crop Sumatra is in. We like it quite a bit. For a description, check out the website.

Also, our segment on 207 was repeated this past Saturday. You can check it out by going to 207’s show site at wcsh6.com.

Hi folks,

Please accept our apologies for not roasting coffee this week. Vacation? Nope. Unless you call a wedding in Los Angeles in May a vacation. I don’t. But before I get into too much trouble, allow me to congratulate my sister-in-law on her big day. I’m sure it will be fun. Especially the driving. And the smog. I’m especially looking forward to that.

 We’ll be back at it next week, and will ship an extra bag of coffee with each order of over thirty bucks (not including shipping) placed while we’re gone as a way of saying “sorry, but thanks for waiting.”

 Roasting Wed, May 7 this week. 

It is with some sadness that we bid farewell to our last few pounds of the Costa Rica honey coffee. It is possible that we will once again carry this coffee in a few months when the new crop is available, as it proved to be the favorite of more than a few customers, but we do have a different, multi-award winning (and, of course, pricey) Costa Rica on the way. We’re not sure when this one will arrive–maybe another month or two?

 What is certain is that our new Brazil is in the house. It’s from the same farm as last year’s coffee–tastes just like it, only more so. As a new crop, it’s got more fruit, but still has that nice leather-chocolate thing going on. Where is it on the menu? Ah! You can’t purchase it straight up. But you’ll find it in our Bird Dog blend. It’s the secret ingredient.

 We also have a new Sumatra arriving this week. It’s not a triple pick, but it has a similar profile and prep–on the cleaner side, with some earth and a bigger body, I think. And the purchase samples had some subtle, husky raspberry aromatics . We’re really looking forward to putting it through the paces in the big roaster. Should be good.

Hi folks,

 This past Saturday there was a segment on Matt’s on the weekend edition of 207, a news magazine put together by WCSH Channel 6.  I’ve attached (or tried to attach) a link to the 207 website, where you can view the piece itself. You can see what the roaster looks like, get a sense of the process, and listen to me drone. I actually haven’t seen the whole thing yet–alas, life with dial-up–but those who have seen it tell me it came out pretty well. I had a microphone on me for about an hour and a half, and Dennis Doyle, the photojournalist who put the piece together, asked me questions as I worked. It was awkward, but kind of fun.

http://www.wcsh6.com/life/lifestyle/207/video/article.aspx?

Cheers,

Matt

Hi Folks,

 Roasting this week tomorrow (Wednesday, March 19.)

Thanks to all who stopped by to booth #732 at the New England Products Trade Show. It was nice to see and speak with you, and to check out all of the neat specialty foods and goods being produced by NE companies. I wish had been able to walk around a little more than I did, but I did manage to come home with some good stuff. I won’t list all of it, but I will mention a few wood/coffee related items:

 –aside from some maple syrup and maple sugar, I left with a really delicious spicy maple mustard from Kinney’s Sugarhouse in Knox, ME

–some apple jellies from McIntosh Farm in Madison, ME: apple ginger and apple cranberry among them

–a tasty balsamic espresso drizzle from Vervacious, a new outfit out of Biddeford

–a big, beautiful sugar maple leaf from Stillwood Pottery in Bangor. It’s terra cotta, and has a beautiful red and brown glaze.

–some delicious breads from Abigail’s Bakery in Weare, NH. (I know–this is not a tree/wood/coffee related product. Nevertheless, I am halfway through a loaf of seven grain, and it’s been really, really good. I’ve just been eating it plain.)

Hi folks,

Roasting on Wednesday this week. Please plan your orders accordingly.

 It’s been an interesting month. New crop Indonesias are starting to arrive, as are Brazils and other South American offerings. But the big news has been in commodities: the “C” (coffee) market has also been going haywire. The housing and mortgage crisis has resulted in fund overseers dumping their money in stuff like coffee, and prices are higher than they’ve been in many years. Ordinarily, specialty coffee doesn’t have all that much to do with the “C,” as the value of good coffee has always been well above that of the, uh, junk that gets roasted in two thousand pound batches for six minutes, ground up and put in cans, but really high prices do wierd things across the board. Of course, it’s a good thing for farmers to get more money for their produce, but this isn’t necessarily how it plays out when investors speculate in this fashion. The money ends up being gained (and sometimes lost) somewhere between tree and roaster. Honestly, we’re not sure how this is going to affect our own operation. Prices for stuff like shipping, packaging materials, and green beans themselves have been going up, and will probably continue to do so, but you already know this, because you’ve been dealing with similar increases yourselves. Have you filled your oil tank lately? Yikes. What we can say is that we’ll keep working to ethically source and enthusiastically roast really great tasting coffee that, while not cheap, represents good value in the world of liquid culture. We respect your paycheck, and really appreciate your business.

We’ll be firing up the beast this coming Wednesday. Please place your orders accordingly.

We have run out of the Ethiopia Amaro. It was a good run, and I’m kicking myself for not having purchased more of it, but that’s how it goes. The good news is that the dry-processed Gololcha is an admirable replacement, and the first few roasts have turned out very nice indeed–even better than pre-purchase samples suggested. And again, I’m kicking myself for not having purchased more of it. New crop Ethiopias will not start trickling in for another two or three months, and all signs point to prices on Ethiopia offerings going way, way up, for a number of reasons. The good news is that at least one importer with whom I’ve spoken has been pleased with what he’s seen and tasted in the new crops. How this will translate once the bean has run the gauntlet from a coffee mill in the Ethiopian countryside to an old mill in Waterville, Maine is somewhat of a crapshoot, but we’re hopeful.

I’ve also been very pleased with the El Salvador Peaberry. An Aeropressed cup the other day was simply delicious. (I shoot for consistency in what I roast and brew, but sometimes everything lines up perfectly, and the result is extra nice.) There is no fruit or flowers in this cup–just sweet, toasty, “brown-toned” coffee flavor. Give it a try.

Hi folks,

 Roasting on Wed this week, and will probably be following a Wednesday schedule for a little while.

Also–we’re just about out of the Ethiopia Amaro. I guesstimate that we’ll have it for two more weeks. The Gololche will be making an appearance on the coffee list soon.

 Cheers,

Matt

Roasting on Wednesday, January 16 this week. 

 We will be sampling our goods at the Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough, MA this coming weekend, Jan 18-20. Kind of an odd place to appear, I know, but I’m hoping it will be a nice change-of-pace for those anglers strolling the aisles. I mean, how many five weights can you shake in an eight-hour day? We’ll also be unveiling our new organic T-shirts and baseball caps, complete with Early Riser and Bird Dog images–printed and embroidered, respectively. They’re still in process at the shop, but I think they’re going to look sharp.

 I am sad to report that we are nearing the end of our supply of Ethiopia Amaro Gayo. We didn’t have much to begin with, and I’m guessing we’ve got about three weeks of it left. I hope to source more coffee from this producer in the future–offerings from Ethiopia should begin rolling in this spring, and I’ll have my eyes and nose peeled.

 The good news is that its replacement, a dry-processed coffee from Gololche, is a nice cup in its own right. It is not as wildly fruity/fermenty (which might be a good thing for some folks) as the Amaro, but it’s got nice rustic character, with flavors and aroma that tend toward red berries and darkly floral notes. Give it a try.

 Cheers,

Matt