It is with some sadness that we at Matt’s announce the unveiling of our new dark roast. As you know, we do not care for charred coffee. We are aesthetically and philosophically opposed to it. You can find such stuff just about anywhere. Truly excellent coffee that exhibits its origin and cultivar characteristics is much harder to come by. So, we held out. But you persisted. And so we have given in.

Actually, it’s pretty tasty, if we do say so ourselves. We worked with a few different bean blends to give us the attributes we were looking for–namely, good dark chocolate semi-sweetness, and a little bit of spice to liven things up–and found a combo and roast profile that works well. It’s not truly a French roast–we do have a reputation to uphold, after all–but it’s dark. It’s got oil on it. (!) And it has the attributes that dark coffee fans like, without too much of the face-puckering bitterness that accompanies truly bad dark roasts. (Aside: I had what might very well have been the worst cup of coffee in my life at a roastery/cafe in an upscale seaside community north of LA this summer. I knew it was going to be dicey when I watched the roaster dump about 25 lbs of green into the machine, and then abandon it for a good 12 minutes. Two twenty five for sixteen ounces of a blend that, if I recall, made reference to an African and another [I forget] origin. Absolutely disgusting. Burnt, thin, no sweetness anywhere . . . yuck. I had to chuck it after  about an ounce and a half, and take a couple of Exedrin.)

It’s also got a pretty cool label, that comes with what is essentially a disclaimer.

 Finally: the first customer that can tell us who Sock Saunders is wins a free bag of, uh, Sock Saunders.

Cheers,

Matt

Hi folks,

 We’ve got a few new arrivals, and they are super. (They are also expensive.) The first is a new crop estate Costa Rica from Helsar de Zarcero. It has very high acidity and complex flavor. The farm is exemplary, owns its own mill, and has been a Cup of Excellence contender in years past.

The second is a new crop dry process coffee from the Sidamo region of Ethiopia, with the mark “Korate.” It is awesome. For a description, please check out the coffee list. But the short of it is that it is very fruity, sweet, and relatively bright–a bit of a change from the rustic Gololcha, which we are now out of.

The new crop El Salvador Peaberry is on its way, and should be here in a month.

The bad news is that our new Sumatra is almost gone. I goofed on this one, and didn’t purchase enough of it. We have a replacement for it that is interesting in its own respect, but it’s more of a typical Sumatra, with forest floor characteristics. We’ll be roasting this coffee on the darker side.

There are a couple of other surprises in the works for the next month. We’ll let you know.

Please note that we will most likely be following a Tuesday roasting schedule for the remainder of the summer.

Cheers.

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.