Our March Espresso of the Month is a blend that we have christened Flying Monkey Espresso. Flying Monkey was conjured out of experimentation and curiosity. When you have numerous exceptional coffees at your fingertips, you cannot help but play with the possibilities. Harnessing the lush sweetness and inherent richness of our Sumatra Blue Tawar and the fruity sweetness of a naturally processed Ethiopian, Flying Monkey is a striking blend with a lot of versatility. Much like its fictional counterparts, it is incredibly adaptable and can be enjoyed in almost every setting. Whether you are looking for a straight shot or something that will pair well with a milkier beverage, Flying Monkey is sure to please.

This espresso is extremely balanced, but playful, ranging from a deep cocoa and cardamom body to a candied, clementine sweetness. These coffees marry together to create a beautiful harmony of flavors while still having enough depth to play nicely with milk. Purchase Flying Monkey Espresso here!

LONDON (March 1, 2010) – Colombia has been selected to host the 12th annual World Barista Championship, which will be held in combination with the 2011 EXPOESPECIALES conference in Bogota.

Seven countries vied to host the 2011 event. “Choosing a winner from the very competitive site proposals we received was an extremely difficult task for the WBC board,” commented WBC Executive Director Cindy Chang.

The World Barista Championship (WBC) event is the annual destination for barista champions hailing from more than 50 countries. In each national competition and dozens of local and regional preliminary events, baristas prepare espressos, cappuccinos and original signature drinks to exacting standards for a panel of international judges.

“We are delighted to host the 2011 Championship,” said Luis Muñoz, CEO of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC). “It will be an opportunity for baristas and visitors to keep discovering the world of Colombia Coffee, and also to support our domestic coffee consumption program.”

“The barista movement is worldwide,” said Ric Rhinehart, Executive Director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which co-owns the WBC alongside the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe. “We are delighted to see the event take place in a coffee producing country for the first time in its history.”

About World Barista Championship UK Ltd.

The World Barista Championship is the preeminent international coffee competition. Founded by the Specialty Coffee Associations of America and Europe, the event organization promotes excellence in coffee, advancement of the barista profession and engages a worldwide audience with an annual championship that serves as the culmination of regional and national events held in more than 50 countries.

The 2010 World Barista Championship will be held June 23-25, 2010 at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. For more information, visit the WBC website at http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com.

As part of our Direct Trade program at PTs Coffee Roasting Co. we visit the farms we work with on an annual basis to inspect the farms and learn, build relationships and evaluate the coffee prior to harvest, during harvest or after harvest.

This year, I arrived at Finca Cerro Paldo in Costa Rica just as the harvest had concluded. Although I did miss the actual harvest, I was able to spend a quality afternoon with the Monge Family at Finca Cerro Paldo enjoying lunch and a wonderful cup of coffee with Don Juan Rafael and his sons. We toured the farm and looked at areas of the farm they plan to plant with coffee later in the season. The goal is to double production to meet our needs over the next 5 years.

Finca Cerro Paldo won First Place in the 2007 Cup of Excellence and has been one of our prized Direct Trade partners at origin since. This will be our third year to buy the coffee and I can proudly report this is one of their top quality harvests. I’ll post more pictures from the farm soon.

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In a recent survey about the general well-being of states’ residents, Kansas turned up in the top ten!  No doubt that ready access to PT’s outstanding coffees had a lot to do with Kansas residents’ happiness!  Read the article here!

Keurig B60 Brewer

For those who are not already familiar with Keurig, it is the latest in single cup brewing technology for home use.  It delivers a cup of coffee in less than a minute, using pods called “K-cups” that hold a pre-dosed amount of ground coffee. While they have selections from a handful of roasters on their site, they have made an accessory available that allows the user to try any coffee they like in their Keurig. This attachment is called “My K-Cup” and is available at  various online retailers for about $15.00 on average (some higher priced and some lower, some used and some new).  The attachment is user friendly and allows you versatility in your dose, depending on what size brew you are doing. This offers more precision of flavor than using the pre-portioned K-cups from other roasters. I weighed a few different coffees from various K-cups I received with the brewer and the doses ranged from 10-12 grams depending on brand. Since the brew sizes are 6, 8 and 10 ounces the flavor will vary using the prefabricated k-cups from size to size. I played with the My K-Cup doses at all three sizes to find the best flavor balance for each, something an ordinary K-Cup cannot offer. Here’s the run down of how I used the attachment to make a pretty tasty cup of coffee with our Ethiopian Sidama Ardi Natural…

For the best results you will want to weigh out your dose. Scoops can get you in the ballpark, but are not a completely accurate way to measure your coffee, as a darker roast will weigh less per scoop than a lighter roast (due to weight lost during the roasting process). On the B60 model, the sizes and doses came out to the following-

6oz size (”small cup”)- 8 grams coffee

8oz size (”small mug”)- 12 grams coffee

10oz size (”large mug”)- 15 grams coffee

If your coffee is whole bean you will want to grind it a little finer than the automatic drip setting. It will end up being a little finer than sugar in the raw. The setting I used on our grinder was for the Melitta style (conical filter) brewer. I recommend grinding into something pliable so that you can funnel it into the My K-Cup filter basket (I tapped the basket as I filled it to settle all the coffee in). To retrieve the basket take the My K-Cup attachment and unscrew the lid and pull it out. Once you have filled it, place it back in the holder and screw the lid back on.

Now you’ll want to pop out the K-Cup holder, which is very easy. Open the cover and then push up on the K-Cup holder (where you put your normal K-Cups) from underneath.  Now you should be able to place the My K-Cup housing into the same spot that you removed the holder from. Once it’s in you just shut the lid and press the button for the brew size you dosed for. While it’s not as simple as placing a plastic predosed pod in the machine, it’s still very easy and took me no more than 2 minutes to accomplish.

All in all I was impressed with the result. I wasn’t sure what to expect with a shorter extraction time and a little bit lower temperature, but it was pretty tasty. I tasted it against another Ethiopian K-Cup from a name brand company and the difference was astounding. Ours was lush, sweet and juicy while theirs was heavy bodied and lacked the expected sweetness usually associated with Ethiopian coffees.  I will be doing a few other comparative tastings between pre-made K-cups and our comparable alternatives. Keep a look out!

Step By Step Instructions-

Step By Step- Using the "My K-Cup"

1- Remove the K-Cup holder and set aside

2- Retrieve the filter basket from the “My K-Cup” accessory

3- Weigh your dose of PT’s Coffee according to your brew size:

6oz size (”small cup”)- 8 grams coffee

8oz size (”small mug”)- 12 grams coffee

10oz size (”large mug”)- 15 grams coffee

4- Grind your coffee for a conical filter (a little finer than auto drip)

5- Put your grounds into the “My K-Cup” filter basket

6- Reassemble the “My K-Cup” accessory (put filled filter basket back in and screw on lid)

7- Place “My K-Cup” in Keurig brewer

8- Select Brew

9- Wait for coffee…

10- Enjoy!

Everyone here at PT’s Coffee is raving about our new Ethiopian from the Guji region of Sidama. A French press rounds out its sweetness and highlights its fruity characteristics. As a drip, its chocolate orange notes are highlighted, and you taste such purity that you wonder how this can be a naturally processed coffee. Simply beautiful.

Because it was so clean and balanced, we could barely wait to try it out at an espresso roast. This coffee is pure pleasure as an SO espresso. As a straight shot, we taste notes of juicy orange and ruby red grape fruit. Its finish is lush with notes of red fruit such as raspberry and a little cocoa. Purchase Ethiopia Sidama ARDI Espresso Roast here!

These are photos from a recent origin visit to Finca Las Mercedes in El Salvador. I visited producer Lucia Ortiz and her family with staff members Holly Bastin and Morgan Smith. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the visit with our friends.

Jeff

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I love this time of year.  We have cupping tables filled with beautiful coffee potential almost every day, and we are developing roasts on others.  One of the most exciting new developments has been the arrival of our new natural Ethiopian from the Guji region of Sidama.  Natural Ethiopians are famous for their fruit-bomb nature, but Ardi (named after the oldest human skeleton ever found that was recently unearthed in Ethiopia) is so much more.  Its fruitiness is reminiscent of pomegranate, but it has a depth and breadth that lingers on your palate.  The multidimensional character of this coffee has made it one of our favorite coffees from Ethiopia.  Try Ethiopia Sidama ARDI here!

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We are sad to announce the departure of one of our favorite coffees, Hacienda La Esmeralda Special - Mario Carnaval.  This coffee has enjoyed a full life,  receiving a 96 from Coffee Review and giving people awe inspiring coffee moments.  We are sad to see Mario Carnaval leave, but its departure gives us the opportunity to truly appreciate the other coffee from Hacienda La Esmeralda, Mario Pascua.

Mario Pascua was grown in the area that traditionally produces some of the top lots of La Esmeralda Special. As its name suggests, Pascua (Spanish for Easter) was harvested during Eastertide in the month of April. The aroma is pure and clean, with notes of red fruit and flowers. In the cup, it is wonderfully juicy, with notes of sweet cherry and grapefruit. As it cools, notes of sugarcane come to the forefront.  Try Mario Pascua here!

In January, Coffee Review reviewed 37 different varieties of the traditional Moka Java blend, and PT’s rendition scored an admirable 90. This solid coffee will appeal to a wide variety of tastes, having a beautiful combination of high and low tones. You can purchase it here! Here is what Ken Davids from Coffee Review had to say about it,

“Blind Assessment: Cherry-toned chocolate and caramel notes in the aroma. In the cup the cherry sensation deepens to a sustained and rich apricot-like fruit. The sweetness carries into the finish, outlasting a slight touch of astringency.

Who should drink it: Complex fruit character in an all-organically-grown version of the Mocha-Java formula.”