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The most important factor to a great cup of coffee, is the extraction.  Ideal extraction is achieved by using a proper dose, accurate volume of water, accurate time of extraction, and appropriate grind for the brew method you are using.  Even if you use the proper dose, volume, and time the extraction properly, the coffee can still taste bitter or over/under extracted if you do not have a proper grind.   Consistency is key to a great brew.

Blade grinders will limit your ability to develop a consistent/even grind.  The blade moves in a circular chopping motion, and even though some blade grinders have settings that allow you to choose your preferable grind, they have a tendency to leave an uneven result.  As a result, blade grinders are virtually non-existent in a cafe setting, and are only used for at home, non-commercial use.

Burr grinders are important for great results.  The rotating burrs deliver a grind that is even all the way throughout with no inconsistencies.  This allows you to take the time to dial in the proper grind for ideal extraction.  Burr grinders also give you the capability to make very subtle adjustments to develop the perfect flavor profile for your brew method.

We offer a variety of burr grinders that give you amazing, professional quality coffee, right at home.  These deliver the same great results as commercial grinders, at a fraction of the cost.  These grinders may not be ideal for volumes and volumes of customers, but for you and your family, they deliver perfect results.

Available Burr Grinders

Barazta Maestro, Maestro Plus, and Vario

We have three Baratza Grinders available.  The Baratza Grinders are some of the most eye pleasing grinders on the market.  The beauty isn’t skin deep though, on the inside is the heart of a great grinder.  These grinders include an increased range of adjustment, an innovative calibration system, a powerful DC motor, and other improvements.  Baratza grinders are exceptional at producing consistent grinds.  The grind is adjustable by rotating the hopper between 40 different grind settings on the Maestro and Maestro Plus, allowing you to accurately dial in the grind for your brew method.  The Maestro Plus model has an innovative 60 second timer implemented into the switch, a front mounted pulse button, and a brushed-satin metal base.  The increased weight of the Maestro Plus gives it increased stability.   If you have an espresso machine, you will enjoy the convenience of being able to insert your portafilter directly under the dispensing chute to collect coffee as it is dispensed.

The Baratza Vario offers a sleek contemporary design, small footprint, and adjustablity for any style coffee.  We are incredibly impressed with the versatility of this grinder.  The macro/micro grind adjustment has over 230 different settings and programmable grind time allowing you to grind on demand the amount coffee you require.  The right hand lever lets you choose the type of grind you want, and the left lever lets you fine tune your grind within the range you’ve selected for a perfect grind.

Hario Mini Mill Slim

These small grinders are perfect for people on the go, or anyone who doesn’t want to listen to those noisy motorized grinders in the morning.  The ceramic burrs on the Mini Mill are durable and easy to maintain.  These small grinders are fully adjustable and deliver great results.

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We at PT’s want to offer our hearty congratulations to the new World Barista Champion, Mike Phillips from Intelligentsia in Chicago! Mike is the first American to ever win the event and we are proud of him! The other finalists were Raul Rodas of Guatemala in 2nd place, Scottie Callaghan of Australia in 3rd place, Colin Harmon of Ireland in 4th,  Soren Stiller Markussen in 5th, and Stefanos Domatiotis of Greece in 6th.

2010 World Barista Champion, Mike Phillips

Starting on Monday, June 30th, you may notice a little change in your normal coffee buying experience. We are updating our website to give you a better shopping experience. We are trying to make the transition as seamless as possible, so hopefully you will not have any difficulties. One of the differences that you may notice is that you will not be taken directly to your shopping cart after adding an item to your cart. We hope that this new feature will help improve the flow of the ordering process. If you would like to go to your cart, there is a link in the top right corner that will always take you directly to your cart. There are also a couple of new features that we will highlight in the near future. If you take time to explore, you may find a little reward. If you have any questions about the update, or if you have any problems with you account, please contact us at 888-678-5282.

At the recent El Salvador Cup Of Excellence Auction, we landed our hands on Lot #11 La Pinera Pacamara. We should have this coffee arriving sometime in July or August.

The La Pinera farm is located in the Cacahuatique mountain range in Ciudad Barrios, a department of San Miguel.  Formerly this mountain range was home to tribes like Lenca and Ulúa that were established due to its geographical advantage. The region has abundant water, fertile land, and dense forests in which animals like deer, tepezcuintles, and lion monkeys still live to this day. Furthermore, many archeological artifacts have been found in this land.

This area has been ideal for growing coffee, which was introduced for the first time at Ciudad Barrios by the General, Captain, and President Gerardo Barrios known as “The Father of Coffee” in El Salvador. The first coffee mill in El Salvador was built in Ciudad Barrios, which was a rustic machine used to triturate (rub, crush, grind, or pound into fine particles or a powder) the coffee grain and remove the coffee parchment.  It still exists today in Ciudad Barrios. The Araujo Guerra Family has been producing coffee for more than a century but in the 1980´s due to the war in El Salvador, which started in Ciudad Barrios, the result was many economic problems, unemployment, and human loss that affected this area for the next ten years.

Since the 1990´s, the Araujo Guerra Family started to rebuild their land and decided to grow Pacamara coffee with the help of Angel Cabrera, (one of the innovators of Pacamara) and the supervision of Procafe.  La Pinera is one of the origins of Pacamara coffee.  Its seeds have been spread through different areas of El Salvador and Central America, giving birth to many other Pacamara coffee farms.  Due to this great achievement, Luis Alonso Araujo received a prize for Coffee Innovator and Producer for the Pacamara Variety in 1996.

Lot La Pinera produces a high quality coffee but we should emphasize that Araujo Guerra family is very committed to helping with social labor, the environment, their employees, and assisting people who have high necessities.

Be the first to try the new crop of Esmeralda Special!  We are now offering PRE-ORDERS for the new crop of geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda.  We bought two lots this year from Hacienda La Esmeralda, and we are excited to offer you the two best coffees (in our opinion) from this year’s auction.  For all PRE-ORDERS, we will roast and ship your coffee within a couple days of its arrival at our roasting facility.  We anticipate the coffee to arrive at the end of June or beginning of July, and we will cover the cost of shipping on your Esmeralda.  If you order other coffees with your PRE-ORDER, we will ship them separately from the PRE-ORDER.  Purchase your PRE-ORDER here!  If you cannot wait until the end of June for your dose of Esmeralda, we have a small amount from last year’s crop left.  Purchase the last of it here!

Mario Carnaval (last year our roast received a 96 from Coffee Review) was harvested during the peak of theharvest season: February.  Out of all of the lots, Mario Carnaval stood out as our clear favorite.  In tasting the samples, Mario Carnaval seemed to jump off the table.  Its beautifully bright acidity and mesmerizing floral notes exceeded our expectations: this is what it is all about.  This experience is why people go to so much trouble just to have one cup of Hacienda La Esmeralda Special.  Purchase your PRE-ORDER here!

Mario San Jose was harvested at the end of the harvest season: March.  On the cupping table, Mario San Jose surprised  us.  Its fragrance and aroma made us think that it was Mario Carnaval.  It was big, it was bright and it was incredibly sweet.  When we tasted it, notes of strawberry and grapefruit filled out mouths.  Its sweet and juicy character made us long for more.  Although it was not Mario Carnaval, Mario San Jose stunned us with it unique and gorgeous profile.  Purchase your PRE-ORDER here!

So why does Topeka, Kansas rank as the 10th best city in the country? In part, because of PT’s Coffee of course! In the July issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, they chose Topeka, Kansas as the 10th best city in the United States. In addition to Topeka’s growing economy and low cost of living, being the home of PT’s Coffee is listed as one of the reasons why Topeka is such a great place to live. Can’t really argue with that! You can check out the article here, and taste why PT’s makes the difference here!

We are proud to announce that two of our favorite coffees just received 90+ ratings from Coffee Review!  Our Burundi Mwurire received an outstanding 93 (buy here)and our Colombia Los Naranjos San Agustin received an admirable 91 (buy here).  Here are the review for these two outstanding coffees!

Burundi Mwurire

OVERALL RATING: 93

Notes: Burundi is a small, landlocked country in Central Africa. Most coffee is grown in the mountains of the north, bordering Rwanda. Benefiting from ideal growing conditions and large plantings of the heirloom Bourbon variety of Arabica, Burundi coffee has an excellent reputation, though it is better known in Europe than in the United States. This particular Burundi was produced from trees of the Bourbon variety. Roasted at PT’s Coffee, where the motto is “without the love, it’s just coffee.” Visit www.ptscoffee.com or call 888-678-JAVA for more information.

Blind assessment: Delicate floral and honeyed fruit-like aroma. In the cup, bright-toned acidity and syrupy flavors reminiscent of orange and apricot fruit nectar with continued floral and honeyed complication. Long, almost sugary sweet, flavor-saturated finish.

Who should drink it: Sweet fruit and flowers from a lesser known but distinguished African origin.  Purchase Burundi Mwurire here!

Colombia Los Naranjos San Agustin

Saturday, May 8th, come check out the Gombe Coffee Project Video at the Lawrence Arts Center’s Short Film Festival.  This video was a collaborative effort between PT’s Coffee and Gizmo Pictures.  Gizmo’s David Kitchner traveled with PT’s coffee buyer, Jeff Taylor, on a coffee sourcing trip to Tanzania.  If you cannot make it to the film festival, you can always watch this gripping video here!

Given the announcement yesterday of our change in leadership at PT’s Barrington Village, some of you are probably wondering what’s going on with the previous manager, Robin Seitz. No worries- only good things! Robin has accepted the role of Account Manager for our US accounts west of Kansas City. Starting June 1, 2010, he will be busy getting to know our wholesale clients, answering their questions and helping them find the coffees and products that best fit their tastes and concept.

In the nearly 8 years that he has worked for us Robin has shown a perpetually growing interest in coffee, in all its forms and flavor nuances (prior to his employment with PT’s he had been a daily die-hard regular for another 7 years). His continuous curiosity has led him to pursue a variety of activities and opportunities such as retail management, coffee catering, trade show barista, barista competitor, barista champion, coffee trainer…and the list could go on. Needless to say, he has had a lot of exposure to different perspectives and ideas, and we feel that this experience will translate well to helping our retail partners. Keep on the look out for a Robin sighting near you!