Doing fine here...I'm still looking for a decent roaster in Monterrey Mexico, which is where I am moving soon. NOBODY'S coffee is like Juan's House Blend back in Ensenada!!! I think I am going to have to arrange for him to ship it to me here. At about $7.00 a kilo (2.2 lbs.) the price can't be beat!
Depending on your taste (I prefer a strong medium roast), Ethiopian is better mixed with a different bean. There are few bean varieties in actuality, and the flavor depends on altitude and soil as well as the roast. Any kind of bean can vary in its flavor, depending on the quality of the green beans in the first place, and in the second place, how they are roasted. The other is freshness...whole beans stay fresh-tasting for a couple of weeks where preground's fresheness is only days. If I drink coffee and the beans are rancid, I am sick as a dog!
Well, the Ethiopian has turned out better than I initially thought. I made it a tad stronger, and it is very acceptable.
But, for my taste, it's not a "WOWIE!" It's certainly a good coffee, no weird aftertastes, or back-of-the-tongue tastes. Good solid flavor.
Maybe the Kona spoiled me. ;-D
BHL -- I have questions:
1) Can't you taste rancid beans when you drink the coffee -- or grind them or something? Is there a sign, or do you *have* to get sick?
2) What do they do with the coffee cherry pulp that gets removed & washed away? Can it serve as animal fodder? A fruit on it's own? The history of coffee says it was discovered when a herd of sheep ate the beans from the bushes growing in Africa (Ethiopia I think). That says to me that the pulp is edible, at least by animals.
Marsha
Gosh, I don't know about the pulp...I suppose it would make great compost or something! About the rancid beans, that happens if I go to a restaurant and the coffee is rancid. I've found that Starbucks coffee makes me ill too, go figure! I don't know what the heck they do to those beans, but yechhhhhhhh.
Marsha, there is a place called Sisters in Oregon, I can't remember exactly where it is, but it is searchable on the internet, I think it's called Sisters Coffee. You might want to check them out. I was, a year ago, considering opening a coffee house in Cottage Grove and now I'm glad I didn't!
There definitely are roasts that give you the WOWIE!!! experience and it is such a joy to find them! Thing with me is, when I find it, I stick to it. My favorite coffee before was from Tony's in Bellingham, WA, their Ana's Blend was heavenly. I stuck with that for a very long time, and when I moved to Mexico I eventually found Casita del Café in Ensenada, and my search for the best beans/roast ended there.
It's so fun to talk to another coffee lover!
Sisters is a city in Oregon, just over the Cascade Mountains from Eugene/Springfield. Gotta go thru the Santiam Pass -- which means carry chains until June. Sisters has a great number of shops, including coffee shops. I don't know if they have their own coffee, tho. I'd think they'd sell it here in Eugene if they did tho.
I'm gonna work my way to South & Central American coffees. Tonight I bought Costa Rican -- that's Central America, yes?
And, at work, someone told me the roaster is the entire difference -- he recommends Peets. But, at the store, the only Peets whole bean was a blend (I don't want to try blends just yet), all the rest was already ground. And man! Peets is expensive! $11.49 a pound!
Now, see, you could import your friend's coffee & open a shop in Cottage Grove. Then I could come visit & we could sit & sip & talk .... And learn from each other. And look at the mountains.
Marsha
I have some Sisters Coffee Company Dark Roast Organic Espresso Blend beans in front of me. This is one of my family's favorites. www.sisterscoffee.com
Hi, DebbyA! Welcome to our little coffee klatch! Sisters coffee is wonderful, I tried it when I was visiting Oregon.
Hi DebbyA Welcome!
Where can I buy that here in Eugene?
Marsha
I just went to Sisters Coffee's website -- I've been to their place! With the grandkids, so I had no attention to pay to their coffee. :-(
Still looking around to see if they sell that Black Butte Gold anywhere down here in the Valley. I'm not driving to Sisters -- it's snowing in the passes.
Have to wait until June. ;-)
Marsha
And, I just found their "Where To Buy" section! I can get their coffee at Market of Choice, just around the corner from my son's!
Cool, cool! Thanks DebbyA!
Marsha
Oh that's awesome, Marsha! Be sure to let us know what you think when you try it!
