The Reading Room

http://images.dailyexpress.co.uk/img/dynamic/35/285x214/157779_1.jpg" style="padding-top: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px" id="il_fi" height="214" width="285" /> In the full riot of summer I've been cranking out at least one fruit pie a week. I beg you, please try a pinch of cardamon in your Peach...

/files/imagecache/image_230/files/Iron-Brew-Cerrado-Gold-Coffee.jpg" width="177" height="230" align="right" /> I am holding a bag of very special coffee in my hands thanks to the efforts of the good folks at Iron Brew Coffee Company.  This roaster makes their coffee available to all of us...

I was thinking the other day, if I was an alien, what would be the one thing I'd come to earth for? Well, for me (and this is totally subjective…) the answer is clear - coffee!  Now I am not...

Some people read a Dr. Seuss book like "Green Eggs and Ham" and think well, isn't that cute and then forget about it.  Apparently others take this childhood story and make it their inner guide.  We all know about the...

After reading the exploits of another blog in which the owner celebrates the brazen brass and chrom nakedness of his portafilter (the bottom is chopped off so the filter basket is exposed) I decided to take a closer look at...

Before I got my current Gaggia Classic, for a brief time I was messing around with a used Gaggia Carezza that I bought for a song on craigslist. It came with a homemade naked portafilter, which of course I still...

/files/u2500/blog_coffee_picker.jpg" title="coffee field workers get no Labor Day" alt="coffee field workers get no Labor Day" height="100" width="75" /> In the US we take our one day per year holiday dedicated to the worker for granted. Coffee growing countries have no...

I thought prices of coffee were rising because of a shortage of beans due to increased demand in new markets but that might not be the case. The real reason seems to be speculator greed - the same kind of...

Thanks to ROASTe's facebook page contest I took some time to think about my espresso and coffee consumption.  More to the point, the most I have consumed in one sitting that I can recall.  I did have a day in...

/files/u33/Planking_for_Roaste2.jpg" height="299" width="448" /> Iron Brew Coffee's- Pumpkin Pie spiced up this weekend by discovering "planking!" This new internet game has players (all shapes, sizes, and now gourmet tastes!) engaging in an activity consisting of lying face down in unusual...

Bonkers for Boneco you ask? Nope, more than likely you are asking yourself what is a Boneco that I should go bonkers for.  The Boneco is a unique compact self contained pout over coffee system. All you need is hot...

We've been deluged by new merchants in Indonesia trying to sell Kopi Luwak through ROASTe. So far we haven't taken one of them. And we've heard the scoop on the exposition in availability of Kopi Luwak. It isn't pretty. It...

Every day millions of Americans pull into 7-Eleven, Mobil Stations,  Wawa, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's etc. and buy lousy coffee. Or at the supermaket they throw another can of Folger's, Maxwell House, Cafe Bustelo or other canned swill into their...

The mill I am posting about today shares similarities with mills already discussed before but it has been a while. This is the first time I pulled it off the shelf to clean and grease the inner workings so some...

I am not sure what this French sounding word translates into, but a recent visit to the espresso machine graveyard also known as my local Goodwill Outlet (where stuff that regular Goodwill stores can sell ends up) turned up this...

It goes to spraying water when I turn it on and hit the pump.  Let me back up for a moment.  This blog is a continuation of my experience with a second hand Nuova Simonelli Oscar espresso machine. The machine...

I have found coffee to be a demanding mistress. She does not arrive prepared; you have to prepare *her" with fastidious attention, lest she present you with off-putting astringency or straight-up blandness. And when she's gone, she's not--you still feel...

 Conventional wisdom is to brew coffee hot and drink it hot like a cowboy.  Fresh off the campfire. Have you experimented with temperature? We have at ROASTe and here's what we've found: /wp/wp-content/uploads/files/uploads/best-electric-kettle-capresso-h20-plus.jpg" alt="That's Too Hot" title="That's Too Hot" align="left"...

Last year I experimented using coffee as hair coloring (it was subtle but my hair was soft and smelled nice) and as a body scrub. It made my skin very soft and made my bathroom smell really nice. I have read...

With the recent re-discovery of pour over coffee that has happened over the last couple years in the coffee culture a substantial bit of thought and discussion goes on with regard to filters. Paper filters tend to get the least amount...

With all the talk lately about iced coffee here on ROASTe, I thought it would be appropriate to focus attention for a moment on the often overlooked but equally important component – the ice cube. Ice Cube FAQ: QUESTION: I...