Coffee Subscriptions and a Dream

I have previously written on my blog that I am incredibly passionate about good coffee. I particularly favor light roast coffee due to its high caffeine content, crisp taste, and acidity. I have gone through many coffee subscriptions and different roasters over the years. I would like to share some of my favorite ones with you.

The most recent roaster that I have been subscribing to is Atomic Coffee Roasters in Massachusetts. I discovered this roaster by chance during a Google search one day. I typed in "coffee," "subscription," and "light roast," and this roaster popped up. Usually, when I search for coffee subscriptions, roasters send me various bags without distinguishing the roasting level. However, I have been extremely pleased with Atomic Coffee Roasters because they offer only light roast selections. Another great thing about this particular subscription is that they rotate the beans every month, so selections are always new. It is always exciting to try different beans from different regions, stimulate my taste buds, and adjust the recipe every day. By the time I find the best brewing recipe and method, I enter the following month's selection, keeping me entertained. This month, I am enjoying the Bali Kintamani.

Another interesting roaster that I have tried is Proud Mary Coffee USA. I chose this roaster because they offer experimental selections. They categorize the beans into four different categories: deluxe, mild, curious, and wild. Deluxe is their premium limited beans, and wild would be something that you wouldn't normally find at your local cafes, such as coffee from obscure regions, unconventional blends, etc. They rotate the selections based on their inventory and the crop quality, so I was able to try many interesting beans that intrigued my curiosity.

A friend of mine recommended Coava Coffee Roasters in Portland. I ordered Las Capucas and Meaza from them. They were solid and produced a great cup of coffee. My friend specifically recommended Coava for their consistency.

One of my lifelong dreams, besides music-related ones, is to roast my own coffee beans to my liking. There are shared roasting plants in the city where I can learn about it, but if I could simply do it at home, wouldn't that be even better? The fulfilling emotion I get when I equip my coffee corner with freshly roasted beans is something that one can't explain unless experienced.

P.S., share good roasters if you have any!

Devoción: Wild Forest

Devoción

1.1:

I bought their whole beans for the first time for a personal use. I have visited their Flatiron location a few times over the course of past few years. The Flatiron location is conveniently located near subway stops and Madison Sq. Park, where you can bring your coffee on a stroll. The 12 oz. bag I purchased is 100% Colombian: Wild Forest ($17 + tax).

1.2:

The major aroma/taste notes I got are: berries, black cherries, hints of butter and chocolate.

• Hario V60: the aroma of wild berries, and the taste of buttery chocolate.

• Espresso: Dark fruits and berries kick off the initial taste; then, chocolaty sweetness smoothly rounds off the tasting journey.

1.3:

The chocolaty flavor increases as the beans reach their prime time. If I could visually depict a cup of Devoción’s Wild Forest, I may say it can transport you to a field of wild berries. On a chilly day like today, I had a glimpse of Spring with a shot of espresso.

1.4:

For this particular bag, I did not brew with Chemex. I don’t know which characteristics will be significantly brought out, but I can say that it will be another delicious cup of coffee.

2.1: tl;dr

If you enjoy fruty and buttery chocolate notes, you will be very satisfied with Wild Forest from Devoción no matter what brewing method you use.

3.1:

You can visit their locations in New York City:

Flatiron District: 25 East 20th street

Downtown Brooklyn: 276 Livingston St.

Williamsburg: 69 Grand St.

Also, you can place an online order of their quality beans HERE

A Simple Skill

It’s been a while since I wrote here.  I have been back in the U.S., and things look a lot better now than when I left New York.  In March, I did not anticipate a global lockdown.  Nobody did.  No one was prepared for it, so everyone panicked.  I keep hearing that there is going to be a second wave late October or sometime in November.  All I can do at the moment is stocking up sanitizers, dry food, wines, and etc. 

But during the initial lockdown in March, I realized that having some kind of skills would enhance my indoor lifestyle.  A commercial-spec espresso machine was a panic buy in late March, but I did not get to play with it since I left for Korea for a few months right after the purchase.  Since I got back, I have been seeing a slight daily progress on making espresso.  It is not a big progress, so from time to time I have been pretty frustrated.  But knowing that I do not need to go to a cafe for espresso shots makes me feel better, and eventually saves me from spending money.

I am not a big fan of espresso based drinks with milk.  So I mainly focus on espresso, especially extracting as much flavor as possible.  At the moment, I have achieved getting the consistency in taste, but still more work is needed for luscious crema on top — given that the beans are at their freshest condition.  I watch videos of baristas and aficionados talking about their experience of mastering the technique. 

There’s a unique espresso drink I have been obsessed with.  It is a perfect summer drink.  Espresso Tonic.  It’s an interesting variation of Americano, but you mix espresso with tonic water instead of still water.  My initial imagination to this drink was not very positive.  But the bubbles of tonic water bring out freshness and crispness, and eventually add an extra kick to the espresso.  A nice way to kickoff my everyday indoor life.  

Tonic water’s bitterness can enhance the sweetness and nuttiness of espresso.  Unfortunately, the commercial tonic available in the market is too sweet because of added sugar.  So I am playing with craft tonic waters with or without flowery, herbal or smokey aromas.  Little extra notes can add another layer of complexity to the espresso.  The fizziness contributes adding refreshing crispness, and that is why I find espresso tonic is a wonderful drink for summer.  

A great and easy variation of espresso tonic is Cold Brew Tonic.  I always love making cold brew at home.  I love the tasty silkiness, and the boldness.  The silkiness definitely carries throughout the tonic water.  If you want to make it much silkier, then consider using sparkling mineral water (with relatively lower fizziness like San Pellegrino.)  I really enjoy the combination of cold brew with San Pellegrino.

I find that a very simple skill to brighten a daily routine would become very useful during a difficult time like this.  The skill will be still handy even after the pandemic.