Another Mission Moment

I got another mission moment – you know, when some self-reflection and self-realization come. The last time I had one of these was back in December 2008. So here is is:

I’m just an average coffee drinking guy traveling the specialty coffee world. But I’m not just sight-seeing. I’m expecting to make part of the landscape my home. In this blog, I’m letting you watch how things play out.

You don’t think you have a gourmet palette to appreciate what the coffee aficionados rave about? Well I didn’t think so when I began this blog. I’m not there yet either. But let’s just see where I end up. If you want to ride my coattails, ride along! Let me know what you see on the way.

Here is my past itinerary:

October 2008 – used the French press for the first time – so much better than drip!

November 2008 – discovered the vacuum pot – mad scientist way to make coffee

December 2008 – January 2009 – failures home roasting in an oven, twice, with a cheap popcorn popper

End of January 2009 – now – Finally getting home roasting to work.

The Interested but Uninitiated Coffee Drinkers

I have decided that the blog audience I am trying to connect with are the interested but uninitiated.

I went deer hunting yesterday. I knew most of the time would be spent sitting in my tree stand, so I decided to download a number of podcasts from coffeegeek.com. Mark Prince does a really good job educating the general public about the specialty coffee industry and the grand world that exists out there beyond Starbucks. I really appreciate what he is doing for the industry. In his podcast 64, he breaks down what he sees as the coffee drinking population: 80% consisting of Folgers/Maxwell House/etc. drinkers; 3% coffee aficionados who strive for only the best; 7% those who have tasted good coffee but feel its not worth the effort; 10% who have heard of good specialty coffee, are interested, but have never tasted it – the interested but uninitiated.

I won’t address the 80%. But first, the 3% who are aficionados are real coffee perfectionists. These are the purists of coffee. They have the educated, delicate palates that are able to distinguish all the subtleties of coffee, that culinary coffee has to offer. I hope one day my palate will be that fine.

I am in the 10% of the interested but uninitiated who have heard of the “heavenly cups of black gold” but can’t say that we’ve actually had a face to face with God yet. My interest was peaked by reading God in a Cup. But to be real honest, my palate is not yet fine nor educated. I’m more like a two-year-old who is able to experience and enjoy life, but is too limited in experience and in vocabulary to explain what is so great about life. My two-year-old can say, “Mmm,” when she has a piece of candy in her mouth. But have her explain anything more than that, I’ll only get a cute grin or a response like, “Barney?”

So I am going on this coffee journey to let my palate experience what coffee has to offer. Along the way I hope to pick up the vocabulary that will let me help others be educated as well. For the near future, I’m not aiming for the stars. If I can just get to one or two steps beyond Starbucks at half the price, I’ll be happy.

If any of you out there would like to experience the same or have suggestions let me know.

Best Cheap Cup of Coffe

So I’m starting a new blog about making the best cheap cup of coffee ever.

I just read God in a Cup. Great book! For those of you out there that like to read books (I know we are a minority) and like coffee, this is a great book to read. It has challenged my coffee taste buds.

This book appeals to the elitist in me. It begins by talking about a coffee (La Esmeralda from Panama) that sells wholesale for $130 per pound! This book speaks of a world that is trying to push coffee into the status of vintage wine. For the socially conscious, the coffee dealers in the book also intend to have people buy coffee at premium prices then share those profits with the poor indigenous farmers in Central and South America and in Africa.

So in this blog I am going to carry out an experiment. I don’t know if I have the palate to appreciate fine, vintage coffee. But I would like to see if I can upgrade my coffee standards without getting too outrageous with the price — since we are now in the 21st century’s Great Depression, it would be a little irresponsible to drink coffee at $150 per pound — only a modern-day Marie Antoinette would say, “Let them drink Starbucks!”