Mirror of Earth, Window of Heaven–The Soldier and The Christ: True Man and True God

Mirror of Earth, Window of Heaven–The Soldier and The Christ: True Man and True God

A Good Friday reflection on my personal blog.

Kifu’s Ethiopia Sidamo Korate Receives Highest Rating at Pure Coffee Blog!

Check out another coffee review Kifu Coffee at Pure Coffee Blog!

Also, be on the look out for a new Ethiopian coming soon–the most exotic Ethiopian I’ve ever bought (so good that I paid almost double for it from what I normally pay. It will be more expensive, but dang good and worth it for a coffee connoisseur!).

JS

Mexico Altura Tzijib Babi vs. Mexico Altura Chiapas Salitral–UPSET

This morning I sampled multiple coffees for my next order, many of which were from Mexico. Mexico Altura Chiapas coffees have recently become very popular, Chiapas being recognized as the premier growing region in Mexico. But, as it goes with blind sampling, I was giving each coffee a fighting chance against the returning champ in the coffees of Mexico by doing a blind cupping (writing my cupping notes on each coffee before identifying where each is from). I was surprised to discover that in the championship round, two fighters remained in the Mexico category, a Chiapas coffee against a Tzijib coffee. The former [champ] has nice mild/milky chocolate with lemon zest and medium body. The latter, however, is more complex, with a grape juice sweetness, citrus notes, a similar milky chocolate, but better body. So…at the end of many delightful rounds of head-to-head competition, I’m actually going to declare the winner by unanimous (me and three other cuppers) decision: the Mexico Altura Tzibib Babi! Look for it on the site soon!

Congratulations to the underdog!

[No dogs, coffees, or children were harmed in the cupping of these coffees or the writing of this blog post.]

Coffee Cup News Reviews Kifu Coffee–Ethiopia Sidamo Korate

Coffee Cup News Reviews Kifu Coffee–Brazil Bob-O-Link

Morning Cup: Ethiopian Dry Processed Korate SO Espresso Shot

Every Thursday morning at 10:00 am I tutor a friend in Greek, a friend who also happens to roast coffee using the same roaster with which I started–a Poppery Popcorn Popper! So every Thursday I’ll brew us up something exciting and typically experimental. This morning, I had some Ethiopian Sidamo that I had put to the side after I roasted it to let it rest for a full 10 days before using it for an espresso (it needed to calm down a bit before putting it into concentrated form for a straight shot). So I pulled us a shot fromt he PID equipped Gaggia Classic this morning and experienced bliss in a shot glass. “Blueberries!” Brett exclaimed, immediately after his first sip. Indeed, blueberry syrup with milk chocolate sweetness and some unidentifiable pungent/spicy notes. As an SO shot, it is the best one I’ve had all year. If only there were a market for this around here! It’s sad that the Eastern U.S., outside of the major cities, has largely not tapped into the world of espresso shots. Baristas around here have simply not been taught how to pull a shot correctly. Quality espresso is about half product, half prep, so the person behind the bar has to be competent. If you ever want to experience what an espresso can be like, just let me know and I’ll have you over to the roasting room for a treat!

Morning Cup: Better Morning Blend

Me--in the morning before my coffee.

The first thing that popped into my head from the fragrance was a yogurt dipped green apple candy cane. Is there such a thing? It definitely has a sweetish (not Swedish) and soft smell. The cup is bright but has the right sweetness to balance it out. [Confession: I don’t like coffees that can only be described as bright, the ones where the only descriptor that comes to mind is “lemon” or the more generic “citrus.” Brightness is great (and without it, I’m usually bored), but brightness needs balance.] There is a racing stripe of brightness that shoots from the front of my tongue all the way to my hangy-ball in the back, with the sides of my tongue, usually where sourness is detected, picking up on the serious smoothness and opposite-of-bitterness of this coffee. It’s like a razor blade with soft foamy handles—sharp at the top and soft on the sides. I want talk about the flavor as apple pucker, but I’m scared you’ll associate it with cheap, flavored vodka. Nevertheless, it’s got an apple sweetness and a brightness that makes me want to…pucker. BTW, Better Morning Blend is a double entendre