The Reading Room

I covered heating the water in  my previous entry, now I'll go over what I do with the hot water. Espresso is my favorite coffee preparation method, but pour over is a close second, so that is what I go...

My ode to consistency.  I posted earlier about how ideally a barista and even those of us who do this as a hobby and not professionally should be able to be fairly consistent in our espresso pulls.  We should know...

Serious eats recently posted a guide to the Hario Woodneck, an item sold here on ROASTe: http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/10/how-to-brew-coffee-in-a-woodneck-dripper-nel-pot.html#.TqoJYy1GPKA.twitter It's a great guide but leaves out a lot of information. The first is that the cloth, when brand-new, has a clothy taste. It...

I thought that I'd put together a little summary of the coffee making equipment that I take camping and backpacking. I'll start with the stove and the kettle. In the next post I'll cover the coffee specific equipment and describe...

I have been grinding my coffee pretty extensively with the Hario Mini Mill. Currently I'm using a pretty fine grind for the aeropress, that is used for very fast brewing time, total brew time is about one minute including pressing...

Among the many fantastic coffee shops in San Francisco’s North Beach one that I think often goes overlooked is Café Roma. Café Roma was pretty much across the street from where I used to live, so it was definitely a...

The single best shot of espresso I’ve had in my life is at Café Vittoria in Boston’s North End. Bold statement, I know. Yes, Café Fixe in Boston is terrific, they have a spectacular espresso machine and grinder and their...

Irony: just a day or two ago I was saying “oh, I miss the fall in Boston, it’s so warm and sunny here in Oklahoma City…” Like hell! I’m freezing here! I miss the warmth! Since its cold and rainy...

I admit it: once upon a time I worked at 7-Eleven. This was back in college and I’m not ashamed to say that I needed the money. In fact, at one point I was going to graduate school and still...

Deep Cello's founders engaged in a lot of debate about whether to offer a dark roast. To modern coffee lovers, it seems that dark roasts are seen in a negative light.  In a dark roast - in our definition a...

One critical element that I think is often overlooked when making espresso at home is the cup and I am not immune from this slight either. When drinking espresso or any other coffee beverage it is in my opinion that...

If you’re like me you tend to order your coffee almost exclusively online at this point which, while far superior based on where I live, also gives you a whole new set of complications.  One of the biggest issues for...

Seattle Coffee Gear posted a review some time ago about this little-known coffee-maker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLLCgSc1Tgo I only know of a couple of companies that import this: SCG and Heart Roasters of Portland. I've had coffee from the machine and have used it...

One of the keys to being able to pull great shots of espresso is consistency on the part of the barista.  The idea is that if you want to pull great shots, you need to control the environment.  You need...

I am continuing my series on why I think Heat Exchangers are such a great deal in spite of being absurdly expensive, but we have had enough talk about heat exchangers without talking about what the various types of machines...

I am a little sad that I am getting towards the end of my time with the pair of Deep Cello coffees that I ordered, Black Tie and Bossa espresso. I like them both very much and have already talked...

I have received my Hario Mini Mill Slim model from UPS almost a week ago and have been using it almost daily to make coffee with my aeropress. I will share my usage experience latter, but now I just want...

Most of us don’t think much about that paper filter we pop into our coffee makers every day. Coffee pros suggest that the paper filter and how it is employed are critical to cup quality. We decided to dig in...

As the weather gets colder and colder, I notice that I’m not transitioning from iced coffee as quick as I would think. I hadn’t really drank iced coffee too much before this summer and I developed a taste for it...

So it looks like my blog posts generally fall into three categories: nostalgic coffee shop reviews, reviews of my equipment for grinding/brewing coffee, and reviews of all kinds of instant single-serving coffee drinks. What I haven’t addressed yet is what...

Café Greco is a very Old School kind of coffee shop right on Columbus Ave in San Francisco’s North Beach. North Beach is the Italian neighborhood in San Francisco, and there are a number of great cafes, bakeries, restaurants and...