coffee adventuring amongst the medium roasts

Visited Central Market, as I tend to do to get out my shopping vibes and not break my credit rating. As theoretically, there's really only so much food you can buy. I was okay through most of the fruit (fine, the pluots spoke to me--they had three different types!), and two types of apples since Child is a junkie and who am I to get him clean. So far so good--escaped the figs (I love figs, but not like, love-love), and these huge Washington blackberries (they were shiny and flawless and terrifying; I wasn't certain if I should eat them or use them for some kind of fruit-related performance art project about the fall of western civilization), and made it past the Table of Unrecognizables (I have a weakness for things I can't pronounce with shapes I would swear aren't found in nature).

I got through the bread (just one! I was strong!), the cheese (fell, of course), the delicious horror that is the crackers and olives and various chicken salads (tarragon chicken, apricot chicken, I ran), and managed to only stop in the chocolate of many variations area and bravely got away with two. I was golden. I was a fool.

However, I always (never) forget the coffee section.

Adventures in Coffee Consumption

So I'm weak.

Note for Coffee People: I'm a fan of medium and breakfast roasts and at thirty-two, my stomach no longer wishes to deal with high acidity, so take that as your warning on my taste. I prefer milk (whole or 1%) to any of the creams and I like the final color to be within two shades darker than my skin color (three darker with the lighter blends). I like sweet. I am not a good judge for the general coffee drinking population. I am not a coffee snob. I am a coffee slave. There is a difference.

(I still cannot find any that mix in chicory. This is Not Happiness.)



A.) Organic Galapados - medium roast, chocolate undertones, very slightly spicy, light sweet aftertaste. I bought this specifically because it said Galapados and thought of turtles (all roads lead back to Due South) and was lucky the description was in my coffee range. The price is another story.

I'm thinking I misjudged grind and strength. It's delicious, but slightly too light. The fact that it is still delicious is a huge point in its favor. Slightly sweet aftertaste, not too heavy, no acidity worth speaking of, which means I can have two cups, unlike that last time at work that suffice to say turned me off drinking coffee at work unless I made it myself.

I'm not getting chocolate undertones at all (so I could be wrong about that part from the description) nor particularly spicy, but I am getting a definite complex set of flavors, one of which is very like vanilla. I am not opposed to this for company coffee if I up the strength a bit and find people who want to be company for coffee.

(I think I need a more customized grinder; mine is single speed so it's all guesswork and while I usually get it right, with some coffees its an experimental process that takes time and panic to get right. There's a fairly good chance I could extend to the dark roasts somewhat if I could get the grind right instead of causing unfortunate digestion reactions. The mediums give me a lot of leeway, while the darks are kind of get it right or be very sick.

Recommendations for grinders, anyone?)

It's going to take several exposures to work out if this is in the Kona school of coffee drinking--ie, very nice, but not something I can deal with on a daily basis without burnout. I'm pretty sure it's going into a weekly type, not daily type. Definitely not reliving the horror of Blue Mountain, thank God. This is why I wantto try the Coffee Whose Processing Scares Me but haven't. I don't know if it's that I can't deal with the disappointment if I have the same reaction, or the price if it's *not* a disappointment.

B.) Cup of Excellence, Honduras - medium roast, very classic coffee smell. Specifically chosen because the description sounded good, being very light acid and spicy flavor. Also, the smell didn't scare me.

Not yet rated.

c.) Sumatran Mandheling - medium roast, chocolate and spice undertones, sweet aftertaste.

I am so looking forward to this one, though I think I'll try it in a French press first instead of drip to give me a little more flexibility. It's either a new incarnation or a cousin to an organic Sumatran I burned myself out on last year because I'd liked it so much that I drank it until I couldn't stand the sight of it.

So far, I'm not sure. I need to practice the grinding--it was unpleasant-bitter and not rich-bitter, so I think I overground it.

D.) Costa Rica Tres Volcanos - medium roast, low acid, spicy. One of the employee recommendations. This is not a point in its favor--the Red Sea mix is one of those where my initial reaction I still can't discuss--but I'm feeling very risky and it had a very nice smell.

Not yet rated.

E.) La Vida Dulce - medium roast, light flavor, mix of cinnamon, chocolate, and various other tastiness.

You will not need as much sugar as you usually use. I love sugar and I cut my usual in half with this one. Also less cream or milk. If I remember correctly, I could actually drink this almost black or one shade lighter than black.

I love this one so much but burn out on it so fast because it's almost like candy. Luckily, it's fast to get over that too. Not daily drinkable, but totally weekly drinkable if I can restrain myself.



Question--how long can you keep beans refrigerated before they are useless?

ETA 9/17/2008: Added review of Sumatran coffee under cut