The Holiday rush is in full swing, and last minute shopping for the perfect gift is starting to become even more frantic. If that perfect gift happens to be coffee from PTs Coffee Roasting Co, make sure that you choose UPS 2-Day shipping for orders placed after December 19th. As much as possible, we will try to process orders the day we receive them so that you will receive them before Christmas. For UPS 2-Day shipping, the last day you can order and receive your coffee before Christmas is Thursday, December 20th. If you would like to use UPS Overnight shipping, just give us a call, 1-888-678-5282, and we will do what we can to make sure your order arrives by Christmas.Bryan

The ice is thawing in Topeka finally. And with each drop of water that melts making the roads safer to drive on, our moods in the PTs Coffee Roasting Co. offices improve just a little bit.  Well, thats the way I was going to start this blog, until late last night when I got an email review from Ken Davids of Coffee Review. Just in time for the holidays, Ken Davids, renowned author, coffee cupper and owner of  the worlds best coffee reviewing website, has reviewed four more of PTs Coffee Roasting Co. coffees. Three of them scored above 90 points and the fourth got an 89. Just in case you are counting, thats the 12th time we’ve rated above 90 this year. That doesn’t include the other two reviews in which we got 89.Thats consistency!  Below are a couple of the most recent reviews! Order now while there is still time for Holiday delivery!

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Orange Bourbon El Salvador

Reviewed:  December 2007

Aroma                        9

Acidity                        8

Body                        7

Flavor                        8

Aftertaste            8

Origin: El Salvador.

Roast (Agtron): (53/67)

OVERALL RATING: 93

Blind assessment: Pure, finely articulated coffee with notes of coffee fruit (tart cherry), orange and a crisp, minty, distinct but uncandylike chocolate. The chocolate note carries into a finish that remains on the delicately rich side of astringent.

Who should drink it: Lovers of delicately tart, refined and barely sweet desserts 

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Rwanda Bufcafé

Reviewed:  December 2007

Aroma                        8

Acidity                        8

Body                        8

Flavor                        8

Aftertaste            7

Origin: Rwanda.

Roast (Agtron): (50/65)

OVERALL RATING: 92

 Blind assessment: A deep, roundly low-toned coffee with pleasingly Deep, round, low-toned aroma with distinct lemony (perhaps orangy) chocolate notes. In the cup smooth, balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel, and tart cherry and continued lemon-toned chocolate notes. A note that could be called banana appears toward the long, flavor-saturated, very slightly astringent finish.  

Who should drink it: A balanced, versatile cup, quietly acidy but sweetly smooth, and an excellent candidate for those interested in sampling an origin that is emerging as a distinctive addition to the great East African coffee repertoire.

  See all of PTs Coffee Roasting Co.’s reviews!  More about KEN DAVIDS:Kenneth DavidsKenneth Davids, coffee expert, author, and co-founder of The Coffee Review, oversees all of our cuppings. He regularly contributes a feature called Cupping with Ken Davids, which reviews roasters’ coffees and rates them using the Coffee Review proprietary 100-point rating system. Ken’s formal involvement with coffee began in the early 1970s, when he opened a coffee business in Berkeley, California. Since then he has published three books on coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing and Enjoying, which helped shape the specialty coffee movement in the United States, Home Coffee Roasting: Romance and Revival, and Espresso: Ultimate Coffee, which was nominated for a James Beard award. In 2000 he co-produced, hosted, and wrote the script for “The Passionate Harvest”, an hour-long documentary film on coffee production that has won numerous awards, including a prestigious Platinum Award at the Houston Film Festival.He has assisted growers in finding wholesale markets for their coffees, trained cuppers, and designed blends for a variety of clients. His workshops and seminars on coffee sourcing and evaluation have been featured at professional coffee meetings in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Japan. In 1996, he was awarded a “Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to Coffee Literature” by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). 

Take a look at this post on Home-Barista.com….  Home BaristaExcellent Post Kathleen! Thank You!!!!!!A Visit From HB and the Site Sponsors ’Twas a month before the Holidays, when all across the land, Home Baristas all gathered, with their open hands; Their cups were placed by their machines with care, In hopes that HB and the SPONSORS soon would be there; The baristas were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of grinders danced in their heads; And I at my desk, watching my husband nap, had just settled down for a nice cuppa cap. When out on the Web there arose such a clatter I sprang to the HB website to see what was the matter. Away to the HB window I flew like a flash, Tore open the thread, I could reply in a dash. The moon on my screen set the Wish List aglow, Like the luster of crema, generosity was bestowed, When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But Surprises, Delights, and Gifts! Oh my dear! With HB’s trusty leader, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be Dan, AKA St. Nick, More rapid than eagles the Sponsors they came, And he laid out the rules, and wrote them by name: ”Now, 1st-Line! now, Chris’s! now, Counter Culture, join in the mission! On, Ecco Caffe! on Espresso Parts! on, Great Infusions, what a vision, From Intelligentsia, Klatch Roasting, and Olympia Coffee, windfalls! Now Paradise, PT’s Coffee, and Vaneli’s, giving away all! And then in a twinkling, the games did begin! The baristas were eager, all hoping to win! As I drew in my hand, and put the final click on my mouse, PT’s Coffee came through with a Gift for my house! The Maestro — how it twinkled! The coffee how merry! My cheeks were like roses, my full heart like a cherry! To the team at PT’s Coffee, It was great to meet ya! Thank You! Thank You! For a year of the luscious Bella Vita! When the coffee arrived, I went straight to my work, Pulled down on the lever with nary a jerk; The crema it poured the thickness of honey, I will still savor this coffee, when I have to pay money! Upon the first sip, I tasted chocolates and fruit, A very nice texture and Crema to boot! Baristas enjoy a coffee of this ilk; It is definitely a classic, and pairs nicely with milk. The baristas are all cheering and giving a whistle, Replies are still flying like virtual missiles, But I heard them exclaim, as the end is in sight, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS HB AND SITE SPONSORS, THANKS FOR THE SURPRISES, GIFTS, AND DELIGHTS!” Notes on Bella Vita: http://www.ptscoffee.com/store/product_detail.php?c=52&s=52220 http://www.home-barista.com/forums/pts-coffee-roasters-bella-vita-2-t4356.html

To those who are not already aware, the March of Dimes is a non-for-profit organization whose programs fund several different types of research, all aimed at preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The organization was created by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 in an effort to prevent and reduce the effects of polio. They achieved their first goal in 1955 and then broadened their scope to include any condition that threatens the lives of babies. Every year, the Topeka chapter holds a benefit called the Celebrity Chef’s Gala. Chefs from Topeka and the surrounding cities come out with some of their best dishes to serve as dinner to the guests, which if followed by a live auction.

Four years ago PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. was invited to have a ‘chef’ or two of their own at the gala, and we have been a part of it ever since. In previous years we have brewed up a few gallons of our best coffees and served them but this year we decided to step it up. We brought a little one group Astoria and a Mazzer grinder so that we could offer a more well rounded offering of coffee beverages. I made all of the shots, while Robin steamed milk and finished off the drinks. We were wildly popular with this generous crowd and spent the last half of the evening with a non-stop line. We are very pleased to know that extending our offerings was such a success so that we can better serve this event in future years. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to next year!

Holly

Congratulations winners of the Home-Barista Wish List contest! Over the course of the last month, there have been nearly 1,000 awarded prizes in a holiday contest being held by the website www.home-barista.com. This has been a great opportunity for us to get to know some of their members, as well as giving them incentive to try out our coffees, some of them for the first time. For more information on this contest go to their website and check out the many great prizes being offered by coffee purveyors all over the country. As for our winners, we hope that you have all enjoyed the contest so far, as we have definitely enjoyed getting to know many of you. It’s great to get to know people who share our love and enthusiasm for coffee. The Home-Barista crowd has been exceptional on this level. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

We know that holiday shopping can be hectic, so in an effort to minimize the stress a little bit, we did some research on different shipping policies during the busy holiday season. Here are some simple guidelines to make sure that you receive your order before December 25th. If you are shipping with USPS Priority Mail, you will need to place your orders on or before December 19^th. If you are planning on using UPS, you will need to place your orders on or before December 17^th, unless you would like to pay for UPS guaranteed shipping. Hopefully this information will help make sure that your coffees arrive in time for the holiday festivities! And as always, if you have any questions or special requests, either e-mail me, bryan@ptscoffee.com, or give us a call, 1-888-678-JAVA, and we will be more than happy to help find the shipping method that will best fit your needs.

Bryan

As fall sets in there are numerous things to think about if you work in the coffee industry. It’s time to get the retail merchandise out, to staff up behind the bar and brace ourselves for the busiest time of the year. In addition to the normal hubbub, we are only about 9 weeks away from the SCAA Midwest Regional Barista Championship. In lieu of that, we are just entering our fifth week of practice. Over the last weekend we had a great turnout and worked on refining our palates by doing an apple tasting. We tried 10 different apples overall and it honed our taste buds for the following espresso tasting. A common challenge when you are still developing your palate for coffee is tasting beyond just the coffee flavor. We’ve fallen back on the apple excercise a few times, and the rules are simple: Describe each apples’ flavor without using the word apple. It often yields interesting results. Most people come to find out that they don’t really like their alleged favorite apple when tasted in a line up. There are also some that you don’t normally notice that stand out tremendously from the crowd. Surprisingly, the constant favorite after each time is generally the relatively unknown Cameo apple. It’s sweet with hints of caramel with a nice texture and a little tartness. It’s the best of all worlds without being overwhelming.

As for practice in general, things are coming along quite nicely. We are already beyond where we were last year at this time, but we recognize that that is probably true for a lot of people, so we remain focused and unrelenting. We are continuing to press in….to get to know coffee better and better, as there is always something intriguing to explore. We’ll keep you up to date as we continue through this competition season and, as always, if you have questions over what competition entails, or how to put together your own tasting please email me for more information.

Holly

holly@ptscoffee.com

THANK YOU, GREATCOFFEE.COM!  We are honored to be included in your list of the top 50 roasters in the USA, but we are just getting started! It was just the other day I got a package in the mail from GreatCoffee.com. They are an online site selling coffee from the top roasters in the industry. As I looked through the magazine I found an entire page devoted to PTs Coffee Roasting Co.  and some of  the outstanding coffees we’ve sourced and roasted this year.  It’s an honor to be included in a list of the Top 50 Roasters in the US.  But we are just getting started. Yes, 2008 is just around the corner, and I’m already planning my travel agenda to include places like El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Tanazania,  Nicaragua and more. There are outstanding coffees out there just waiting to be discovered and prepared at the hand of our skillful roaster. PTs is still one of the leaders in great specialty coffees from around the world. Thanks again Greatcoffee.com. Jeff Taylor,  PTs Coffee Roasting Co.,Co-Founder, Coffee Buyer