Coffee Exchange Spring 2019

I’m away on business travel, but my beneficiaries have agreed to be patient and engage in a European Coffee Adventure with me. I was able to walk around a little bit and took note of a few coffee houses after I arrived in Lincoln, England - home of one of the two remaining original copies (written on sheep skin) of the Magna Carta circa 13th century - Tuesday evening. I hope to be able to investigate them a little closer after work and before they close in the next day or so.

In the meantime, here’s a little visual “provenenace” of the heavenly brown nectar to come:

(Very) Steep Hill (actual street name)
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/fGVfLyv.jpg)

Lincoln Cathedral, Home of the Magna Carta
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/4z99k4z.jpg)

Lord Tennyson
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/1jLme40.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/8rVIgLn.jpg)

Platform 33 1/2: Beware Ye Muggles
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/GGYOKpZ.jpg)

Oops!

Coffee acquired and it will be shipping tomorrow morning!

vypre wrote:

Lincoln, England - home of one of the two remaining original copies (written on sheep skin) of the Magna Carta circa 13th century

Neat! Thanks to February's adventure game club pick I learned about the 11th century battle that took place here, and a great deal more about pre-Plantagenet succession that I knew when the month started.

Coffee is away and my coffee is here.

Thanks Kiri

Norfair, I hope you like it. We were on vacation in Hawaii on the big Island. A friend suggested we take a tour of Pele Plantation coffee plantation. It was amazing to walk thru the plantation learning how it is grown. At Pele, they pick each cherry by hand and only pick the very very ripe ones. As a result, their coffee is mello with no bitterenss. If you want a true Kona taste, buy some Fiji water or another water from a volcanic source. I usually have to add milk and a lot of sugar to counter the bitterness in coffee. Not so with Pele Plantations. I got you the peaberry as it is one of the rarer ones and so tasty. Enjoy!

Kiri’s Kona coffee is among the most memorable I’ve ever enjoyed! You are in for a treat.

Spoiler:
Kiri wrote:

I usually have to ass milk and a lot of sugar to counter the bitterness in coffee.

Interesting typo?

Also just reading the description and then checking out their webstore made me pretty jealous. It does sound like its going to be a real treat.

Igneus and Asterith, your coffee is bought and will be on it's way. Bought from:
http://www.fretboardcoffee.com/about-us

Here's what you are getting:
guatemala huehuetenango dto

City roast. This Guatemala cultivated in the Sierra de Los Cuchumatanes mountains of Huehuetenango. This co-op is made up by 46 small producers, of which more than half are women. The Rio Ocho farmers are committed to organic farming practices, but faced with rising costs and expensive certification have been unable to re-certify their coffees. Unique to this area, each producer wet processes their coffee at their parcel and then takes the processed coffee to their home for drying. Producers use the pulp as organic fertilizer. On-site de-pulping significantly reduces the amount of work required to hand-carry their coffee from their plot to market.

Altitude: 5900 - 6500 feet.

Cup Characteristics: Medium body, sweet with a fruitiness that is truly unique.

sounds amazing.

The coffee I sent to Kiri, according to tracking, was delivered today. Hope you and your like it.

Read spoiler for inconsequential story attached to the coffee.

Spoiler:

For six years (04-10) I lived on the tropical Island of Nantucket Massachusetts. Unlike most of their "wash-ashores" I did live there year round. In the summer the daily population can get up to 100,000 people. While in the winter the population is as low as 10,000. It was/is a pretty great community even if its current claim to fame is pretty bad.

During my time there every Saturday morning at 6am I would get up and meet a group of guys at the coffee shop that is owned by the roaster. We would do this rain or shine, in the freezing cold or summer warmth.
Some of my best memories on the island involve a bench, the coffee, and these friends. I am still in touch and get together with most of these guys even though we have all moved to different states. The coffee for me will always taste better because of the memories associated. I am proud to be able to share it.
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/8YkPlKy.jpg)
I am the one in the red hat, not the one with the sweet hair.

Igneus, coffee arrived. Smells amazing and I am looking forward to my first cup As for the typo, it is fixed.

Sydhart's coffee is on its way, direct from the roaster.

The medium roast you're getting is a staple of my family's coffee machine. The can it comes in is awesome, and doubles as a drum for toddlers (and adults, if you're feelin' groovy).

A farm to table restaurant recently opened in our little town, and they serve these beans there. I hope you enjoy, I think you'll find them a diverse bean for all around use.

And hey, I received an intensely dark and robust bag from Spaceppoliceman. These beans are sooooo dark, it's like a Spinal Tap album cover!

I enjoyed my first cup with the Ethiopian beans yesterday. They are, as expected, very intense and deep in flavor, and very smooth in finish - almost buttery in the end.

They were prepared in the pour-over yesterday. I'm looking forward to giving them the french press treatment this afternoon. The beans are pretty oily, and I have found that the press really brings out and enhances a good oily bean.

Enjoy it, the clerk said it was the more robust of the beans I was looking at. They're from Jack Mormon Coffee Co., which I think is our only micro-roaster, roasting a pound at a time, and the only coffee company who named themselves to tweak the dominant culture, which is usually the purview of our beer breweries.

Kiri, have you given the water processed a chance? Have others enjoyed the regular coffee?

We have a little virus running around the house. I plan on grinding some this week when I feel better It smells wonderful! I love the water processed decafs. no caffeine and all the flavor. Pele uses Swiss. I am curious about the Columbian.

Igneus, we made the coffee this morning. I am not versed in coffee terms. I know what I like

I received 2 bags from Nantucket Coffee Roasters. The first is the Colombian Water Processed Decaf and the second is the fully caffeinated Island Blend. As we go thru coffee slowly in this house, only the Decaf has been opened. I would walk thru a snowstorm to the shop for a cup of this coffee. Lovely, mello and very enjoyable.
Thank you !

Kiri wrote:

Igneus, we made the coffee this morning. I am not versed in coffee terms. I know what I like

I received 2 bags from Nantucket Coffee Roasters. The first is the Colombian Water Processed Decaf and the second is the fully caffeinated Island Blend. As we go thru coffee slowly in this house, only the Decaf has been opened. I would walk thru a snowstorm to the shop for a cup of this coffee. Lovely, mello and very enjoyable.
Thank you !

For the fully caffeinated, if you our your familial group can't drink it feel free to give it to someone who would appreciate it.

I got my bag of fretboard coffee last night.
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/1YZkpub.jpg)

Opened up and saw this little guy sticking out of it.
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/vlbCOZC.jpg)

After opening it I was unable to resist having an after dinner cup. Much to the groan of my aging body. It was delicious. Very mellow and tasty.

Sydhart, thank you very much for this . You can tell they put a lot of care into their product. The note was a nice touch. Gives you a way to connect with it. I will see how playing that song will sipping a cup feels this weekend.

Yeah, that place

Igneus wrote:

Sydhart, thank you very much for this . You can tell they put a lot of care into their product. The note was a nice touch. Gives you a way to connect with it. I will see how playing that song will sipping a cup feels this weekend.

Yes, they really do. I usually just go in and grab a quick cup but that day I was purchasing it, I had to wait a bit and the owner was giving a little tour to 3 kids and explaining how coffee is made and what the process is for roasting it and maintaining the roaster. It was enlightening.

Had to go and listen to that song as as I've never heard that artist. What a singer! Beautiful range and with a smoothness that can hit a gritty edge too! I bet it will go perfectly with the coffee.

Glad you enjoyed the coffee.

Just got it Sydhart! Gonna give it a try in the morning. Thank you

Just got back from my European workcation. I selected beans from a couple different roasters and shops that seemed popular around England. So, my giftees will be getting two bags each - hopefully, they will find at least one of the two to their tastes. I will get them out Monday morning.

As for my Coffee Santa’s, I had two lovely looking bags awaiting my return. I look forward to trying them both out. Thank you, Norfair and SpacePPoliceman Spiff!

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their coffees. If there is anyone who has not gotten anything, please let me know.

I hope you enjoyed experiencing new coffee, and sharing an experience with like minded folk from this online place. I will hopefully remember to do another next spring.

Got the coffee right as we were heading out the door for a 2 day tournament in KC. Haven't had time to grind it yet but it smells delicious. Our 3 three old is already thoroughly enjoying the can as well with the beans inside.

Update: Tried the coffee this weekend Sydhart and it was great! Thank you very much:)

SpacePPoliceman: Hopefully yours arrives soon with no issues and you like it!

UPS has it out for delivery today, so I'll be able to report back soon.

EDIT: It arrived just in time for my afternoon coffee. Firstly, I love it. Smells wonderful, tastes elegant, and the careful sourcing feels pretty good, too.

I am super glad you love it! Yeah, that was my first big draw, where they get the coffee from and their mission to help farmers.

For others, I sent SpacePPoliceman coffee from Mayorga Organics, a local place that works directly with the farmers to grow high quality organic coffee, ship it efficiently, and ensure they're getting paid fairly for the excellent product they produce. Also the coffee is amazing.

Asterith wrote:

I am super glad you love it! Yeah, that was my first big draw, where they get the coffee from and their mission to help farmers.

For others, I sent SpacePPoliceman coffee from Mayorga Organics, a local place that works directly with the farmers to grow high quality organic coffee, ship it efficiently, and ensure they're getting paid fairly for the excellent product they produce. Also the coffee is amazing. :)

Looks great. Super reasonable prices and free shipping for what amounts to 2 bags of coffee it looks like? Might just have to pick up a couple.

The daughter decided to share her strep throat and I didn't make it out of the house Monday. I got Sydhart's and Spaceman's coffee sent off this morning - they are supposed to arrive Friday or Saturday. I found the coffee beans to be fairly expensive over in the UK; so, I didn't buy extra's to try them myself, but the latte's from the two shops I purchased from were decent.

I've tried one of the two bags sent to me so far, but the wife unpackaged them before I got home and I have no clue who sent what. The Jack Mormon Coffee Co beans were a lovely, oily black and the flavor produced by my Aeropress was perfect! So, thank you to whoever sent them. I look forward to trying my other bag as well.

Side note: might I propose a quarterly coffee exchange?

vypre wrote:

Side note: might I propose a quarterly coffee exchange?

I would be interested in it. I am a fan of trying the different coffee's. I wouldnt want people to get tired of getting something to send out. Since the expense and inconvenience is more in shipping than anything else, IMHO.