Alyssa and I have a love of coffee that borders on an addiction, at least for me. We like good coffee and we drink it by the pot full. My coffee addiction started when I worked at Moose Jackson Cafe in high school. I used to get a good discount so I went there almost every day before school for a drink and a muffin. At first my taste in coffee was for blended drinks, which are almost coffee imposters. Then I switched to cafe mocha; which though technically is an espresso drink, its still tough to find coffee behind the chocolate and milk. From mocha I discovered flavored coffee. French vanilla and caramel turtle again covered most of the coffee itself but I was getting closer. The next stop on my coffee addiction happened when I worked at the paper mill. Working shift work you come to depend on caffeine to keep you awake on the last night shift when six a.m. feels like it will never come. During this time coffee was merely a delivery vehicle for massive amounts of caffeine and the coffee was typical workplace coffee, cheap, burnt, and usually stale. People brought in flavored creamers to make it better but eventually those got boring and I decided to take the plunge and drink it black. After that I never went back. No more lattes, mochas, or even creamers in my coffee. In fact, I don’t even like flavored coffee much anymore. It wasn’t that the coffee was life changing, I just actually liked the taste of coffee for what it was, not hidden with vanilla or caramel. Not long after joining the black coffee drinkers club I moved to Davenport and Alyssa was back in Kenosha so we had access to lots of great coffee close by. Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Biggby, Java City, and best of all Redband Coffee. All of these places offered different varieties and blends of beans which showed us that there are actual differences in coffee. If you were to drink Maxwell House everyday, you probably would never realize that coffee can have flavors of citrus, chocolate, strawberry, or any number of spices solely based on where it was grown. Much like wine, the climate where coffee is grown has a great impact on its flavor. Nowhere brought out these flavors better than Redband. This tiny place, hidden just off the main north bound street in Davenport, has no tables, no muffins or scones, just great coffee. The husband and wife team roast their batches of coffee most weekdays and sell the beans to go or they have a small menu of drinks. If you want a straight up cup of black coffee you get more than a pour from a pot brewed a few hours ago. Each individual cup is drip brewed in front of you. They start by measuring a precise amount of beans, grinding them fresh, measuring water at exactly 200 degrees, then they mix everything into a paper filter cone and let it drip into your empty cup. Some of you might be thinking that is too much work for a cup of coffee, but that involved process makes a world of difference. Between the high quality, perfectly roasted coffee and the brewing method, a cup of Redband Coffee lets you experience all the flavors that get hidden behind burnt beans, flavored syrup, or whipped cream. From Costa Rican Tarrazu with flavors of lemon and gingerbread, Ethiopian Harrar with its cocoa and brown sugar, to Sumatra with deep spice notes there is a bean for every taste. It was here at Redband that I really fell in love with coffee. My love of coffee took another step when we went to Traverse City on our honeymoon. Cuppa Joe where Alyssa and I went to breakfast everyday served fantastic coffee from a local roaster. The barrista talked about how the roaster had started roasting with an air-popped popcorn maker at his house, giving samples to friends and coworkers, and eventually turned it into a successful business. This intrigued me, not for the business idea but because I liked the challenge of making coffee myself. I guess you could say Traverse City is responsible for most of my new hobbies, including coffee roasting, bread baking, and yogurt making. This can be attributed to a culture that prizes high quality, local, and fresh ingredients and products. I’ll go into this influence on me in another post, but back to coffee.
Alyssa thought I was crazy when I suggested roasting our own coffee. Like anything I probably over researched it; so I knew it would save us money while giving us better coffee. I ordered a green coffee bean sampler pack and scavenged a popcorn popper from my parents. We had a bag of our standard World Market coffee left so I had to put off my home roasting for a week. The next week though I was on my way and now 6 batches in I won’t look back. Each batch is unique and we are finding out which types of coffee we like best. So far our top pick is Honduran or Salvadorean. There are many websites with tips on coffee roasting and places to order beans. My choice so far is Sweet Maria’s. They sell beans as well has having videos and forums where you can get tips on roasting at home. They have a great selection and try to help the farmers achieve financial security through their Farm Gate pricing structure. Here are some pictures of the process from Sweet Maria’s green beans to Spring Dog Roasters Coffee.
Gather your green beans.
Round up a popcorn popper and add the beans 2/3 cup at a time.
Let the beans get happy and go through “first crack” and just about to “second crack”.
Finally, take them out and let them cool for a day or two and brew as usual.
Obviously, six batches in I am far from an expert so these are just basics. Check out Sweet Maria’s for better instructions.
Spring Dog This! 