PTs Coffee Roasting Co is now offering green beans! No, this does not mean that we are starting some kind of farmer’s market; we are now selling green coffee beans to those of you who enjoy roasting your own coffee. We hope that this offering will give you all the opportunity to roast and enjoy many of the coffees to which only a commercial roaster has access. We have an extraordinary amount of high quality coffee right now. Just imagine having a couple pounds of Panama Esmeralda Especial or the Ethiopian Biloya on hand to be able to roast any time you feel like a cup. As a homeroaster myself, this excites me to no end. Right now is a great time to stock up on many of these great coffees before they are gone.

In addition to our award-winning, specially processed and small lot Passport coffees, we have some great new El Salvadors that are truly exceptional. Try roasting up the El Salvador Los Planes Pacamara to a nice light roast and you will get a wonderfully bold and sweet cup. A light roast of the El Salvador Orange Bourbon delivers an incredibly sweet and citrusy cup. Take a look through our coffee offerings and I am sure you will be as excited as I am about this opportunity to roast some of the best coffees the world has to offer. The green coffee is listed in the regular drop down menu for the specific coffee. Let me know if you have any questions or special requests. I am more than happy to talk about homeroasting or just coffee in general.

Bryan - bryan@ptscoffee.com

Complete Green Coffee Offering

Central America

Mexico

• Chiapas, Fair Trade and Organic

• San Jose Ocana, Cup of Excellence #2
• Maya Ixil, Fair Trade and Organic

• Finca El Molino Orange Bourbon
• Finca Los Planes, Pacamara Variety
• Aida’s Grand Reserve, Peaberry
• La Montana, Cup of Excellence #1

• San Gabriel, Fair Trade and Organic

• La Minita Estate
• Tarazzu, El Conquistador

• Carmen Estate, 1750 Reserve
• La Esmeralda Especial

South America

Colombia

• Reserva Del Patron
• El Palacio (Currently Out of Stock)

• Fazenda Ipanema Dulce

• La Florida, Fair Trade and Organic

Africa and Arabia

Kenya

• Mwiria, Top Auction Lot

• Yergacheffe, Biloya Selection 1

• Bufcafe (Currently Out of Stock)

• Mocha Sanani

Indonesia And Pacific Rim

Sumatra

• Gayo Mountain, Fair Trade and Organic
• Blue Batak (Currently Out of Stock)
• Sumatra Lingtong Triple Pack

• Madan AA

• Monsooned Mailibar AA

You know how you’ve always wanted to drive across the U.S.A. hitting all the really cool coffee shops and seeing America at the same time? Maybe taking the side roads and checking out all the great radio stations. How about planting a tree in every state you visit? Wouldn’t that be cool? You would crash on friends couches and sharing stories along the way. Talk about adventure…the kind of adventure only true coffee nerds could appreciate.

Okay, maybe you haven’t wanted to do that, but I have. And well, so have others. In fact we had some really cool cats in from New York last week. They are driving from New York through Kansas, on to California then north to Seattle. So they stopped by PTs to share a little Clover action, Esmeralda specifically. Read what they Anne says about Kansas!

Anne and Neil are about half way through the trip and they’ve posted a great blog along the way with lots of great pics. You should check it out. Live vicariously through them if you will!

Check out their blog - Read about them first

    One of our customers this last week wanted to know a little more about our Rwandan Bufcafe, and I thought I would pass on the information for anyone who would like to know a little bit more about this intriguing coffee. Although Rwanda is in no way new to the coffee world, it is just now starting to recover from the sectarian violence and political instability that ravaged this country in the last decade. Coffee farming is becoming a stabilizing factor in this unstable region. This year’s offering is from the Gikongoro region of southwest Rwanda. The Bufcafe coffee mill is owned by a woman named Epiphanie who is getting back on her feet after suffering great losses during the genocide. She and her workers take great care to make sure that only the highest quality coffee is included in your morning cup. In order to help her in this effort, we agreed to pay her an extra 4% per pound of coffee so that she can have an ensured supply of water for her mill and the local farming community. We hope that you enjoy this coffee as much as we do and that you will know that each cup of coffee that you drink is helping to provide this community with a viable and sustainable way of life. If you would like any information about our other coffees, just send me an e-mail at bryan@ptscoffee.com.

 

Photos provided by Tim Chapdelaine of Volcafe

Bryan Miller

How about that! Fred and I made the cover of Topeka Magazine Fall issue. If you haven’t seen a copy yet, be sure to pick one up and read the whole story behind our 15 years of searching the world for the best coffee.

Jeff Taylor recently answered some questions put up by Conde Nast’s Portfolio about single origin coffees in general, and one “juggernaut” in specific - La Esmeralda.

Besides borrowing one of Jeff’s photos - see the article here - Jeff loans them an explanation on why microlot coffee beans are becoming so sought after and valuable. An interesting article for sure, and we’re certainly glad to talk about coffee anytime!

So as I am sitting here, working on our website, it dawn’s on me that many of you may not know exactly how the 90-point scoring system from coffeereview.com works. So I thought I’d take a minute and try to explain.

The way I see it is, our coffee is the best, we should get all 97+ scores. Now wouldn’t that be nice! That would be really simple, but there is a little more to it than that and we aren’t awarded those points quite so easily! Trust me on that one!

The system used is the same system I use, effectively, every day when evaluating coffees for purchase. So I understand and trust the system as the best and most accurate way of evaluating coffee. Here is how Ken Davids explains what he does when ranking the coffees.

The following exerpts are from Coffeereview website and explain how the system works.

Aroma, acidity, body, flavor and aftertaste are the standard descriptive categories used by the Coffee Review and coffee professionals worldwide when evaluating coffee. We use a rating system of 1 (low) to 10 (high) for each of these five categories, reflecting both quantity (how much) and quality (how good.) Overall ratings provide a summary assessment of reviewed coffees and are based on a scale of 50 to 100. Degree or darkness of roast dramatically affects a coffee’s flavor profile. For each roasted coffee, we report its roast level in quantitative descriptive terms based on readings from a specially modified spectrophotometer popularly called an Agtron. Click here to learn about Coffee Rating Caveats.

Aroma

How intense and pleasurable is the aroma when the nose first descends over the cup and is enveloped by fragrance? Aroma also provides a subtle introduction to various nuances of acidity and taste: bitter and sweet tones, fruit, flower or herbal notes, and the like.

Acidity

Acidity is the bright, dry sensation that enlivens the taste of coffee. Without acidity coffee is dull and lifeless. Acidity is not a sour sensation, which is a defect, nor should it be astringent, though it sometimes is. At best it is a tart, often rich vibrancy that lifts the coffee and pleasurably stretches its range and dimension. Acidity can be overpoweringly clear and wine-like, as in most Kenyas, sweet and delicate as in many Perus, low-toned and vibrant as in many Sumatras. The darker a coffee is roasted, the less overt acidity it will display.

Body

Body is the sensation of weight that gives power and persistence to taste. Body can be light and delicate, heavy and resonant, thin and disappointing. Body tends to increase with darkness of roast until it peaks at about a medium-dark roast, then begins to thin again in even darker styles.

Flavor and Aftertaste

Flavor and aftertaste include everything not suitably described under the categories aroma, acidity and body. An assessment of flavor may invoke general terms like balanced, complex, deep, clean, rough or flat; it may identify specific defects like grassy or fermented; or it may praise positive nuances like winey, fruity or herbal. Aftertaste reflects sensations that linger after the coffee has been swallowed (or spit out) and incorporates finish (how taste characteristics grow, diminish or change as the coffee remains in contact with the palate.)

Overall Rating

The scale for the overall ratings runs from 50 to 100, and reflects the reviewers’ overall subjective assessment of a coffee’s aroma, acidity, body and flavor and aftertaste. Overall ratings are interpreted as follows:

95-100
Exceptional
90-94 Outstanding
85-89 Very Good
80-84 Good
75-79 Fair
70-74 Poor
<70 Not Recommended
Roast

Degree or darkness of roast dramatically affects a coffee's flavor profile, as does how the coffee has been brought to a given roast: quickly with high temperatures, slowly with low, and so on. Overly light roasts may taste bready, baked or grain like; overly dark roasts charred and thin. But aside from these extremes, no single degree of roast is necessarily better than another. Preferences in roast vary widely, influenced by tradition (New Englanders often prefer lighter roasts, West-Coasters darker), brewing style (coffee intended for drip brewing is usually best roasted lighter than coffee intended for espresso or French-press brewing) and drinking style (people who take their coffee with milk often prefer darker roasts to lighter.)

Degree of roast can be measured with some precision through the use of a specially modified spectrophotometer popularly called an Agtron. Agtron readings range from #95 (lightest roast) through #10 (darkest common roast) in intervals of ten. At the Coffee Review, we also use the descriptive terms such as light, medium, medium-dark, and dark (based on terminology developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America) to indicate various degrees of roast. These deliberately simple terms avoid the glamour of more popular roast terms like French, Viennese, Espresso, Italian and the like, which can be confusing because their use varies so widely. A Starbucks regular roast may be considerably darker than many espresso roasts, for example, while a Viennese roast can mean almost anything depending on who's doing the roasting and labeling.

The following chart can be used as a general guide to describe different roast levels:

Roast Agtron Characteristics
Light > 70 Light brown to cinnamon color
Light body, minimal aroma, tea-like flavor
No oil on surface of bean
Medium - Light 61 - 69 Moderately light brown color
Bright acidity, green coffee distinctions clear
Surface of bean remains dry
Medium 50 - 60 Medium brown color
Balanced acidity, fuller body
Generally dry bean surface
Medium - Dark 45 - 49 Rich brown color
Droplets of oil appear on bean surface
Hints of bittersweetness emerge
Muted acidity, heavier body
Dark 35 - 44 Deep brownish/black color
Spots of oil to shiny surface
Bittersweet roast notes dominate
Acidity and muted
Very Dark 25 - 34 Black surface covered brightly with oil
Bitter/bittersweet tones dominate
Body thins, green coffee distinctions are fully muted
Extreme - Dark < 25 Black, shiny surface
Burned bitter tones dominate

All good things must come to an end, or so they say. Friday marked the end of an era for us here at PT’s as two of our staff embarked on their next journeys in life. Marty Gish, roaster extraordinaire, and Victoria Kattenberg, marketing coordinator, have officially flown the coop. They are sad to go, but are each moving towards career paths that a noble and philanthropic in their own ways. Victoria has been working over the last few weeks to meet the requirements to become a substitute teacher in the Topeka school district and will go back to school to pursue a degree in elementary education. Marty, on the other hand, will be transplanting himself from Topeka to Paola, KS for a bit to work for a disaster relief organization based in Kansas. While he loves roasting, he also has a huge heart for people and this is a great opportunity for him to fulfill that yen.

While it is sad for us to lose some amazing people, the show must go on and we must add more to the cast of characters here at PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. Over the last couple weeks we took to hiring a few new faces. We thought you should have an introduction to each of them and have a chance to further know who’s handling the ins and outs of your coffee needs.

First, in the front office helping handle the day to day customer service is Bryan. He’s a coffee enthusiast that dabbles in home roasting and leaped at the opportunity to work for a local roaster in whatever capacity that he could . He currently resides in Lawrence, KS, but grew up in Branson, MO, although he spent a small stint in London, UK. He has a wife named Christy and a cat named Titus. Currently his favorite coffee is the Ethiopia Biloya Selection 1. Next time you call he may be the one answering the phone so make sure to give him a warm welcome.

Next on the docket is Bret out in the warehouse, our new production staff member. He has been working in coffee for 2&1/2 years and most of his experience is as a barista out here in Topeka. He has a helpful spirit and a quick wit, listing as his pets- his girlfriend, Katie, and a stray cat he gives milk every morning (Katie Jr.). Ever the analytical mind, he said that his favorite color depends on whether you are speaking in terms of light or pigment. His favorite coffee at the moment is also the Ethiopia Biloya Selection 1, as it is so rich with warm citrus notes. He’s excited to be here and is a pleasure to get to know!

Last, but not least, is Alisa (A-lee-sa) our new accountant and controller. Initially she was a bit shy and reserved (most likely because of all the larger than life personalities surrounding her) but she’s come out of her shell a bit since then. She has a son who is 6 months old and spends as much time as possible with him and her fiance, Aaron. This is her first coffee job and she decided to try her hand in the industry (while still being a numbers person) because it seemed to be an interesting culture to become a part of. Of all the coffees that she has had the opportunity to try, she has been most taken with the Panama Esmeralda Special. If you have any questions on your billing, let Alisa know and she will get you straightened out quick as can be!

All in all, we are quite pleased with the new enthusiasm and passion that our new staff members bring to the team. At the same time it is bittersweet as the others depart from us, but we all know it’s not the end. They’re just taking a different path that will hopefully cross ours again soon…