The Reading Room

A couple of days ago my dad remembered easy doughnuts my mom used to make. She would fry store bought biscuit dough (the kind in the cylinder) and coat in sugar. I did not have biscuit dough or flour. The...

It seems that actor Ashton Kutcher and I have something in common – we love our coffee. At least one of us can sing about it – well, technically he plays the guitar to step-daughter Scout Willis’ singing. The video...

The idea of being able to freeze coffee is attractive. Maybe you don't even come close to using up a bag before the beans start to go stale. If you could freeze coffee, however, then you could enjoy beans at...

A couple of months ago, Time dedicated some lines to what the article writer thinks is a younger generation trend: preference of energy drinks over coffee.She even mentions a research that seems to point to the fact (?) that under-25ers...

Vac pots are special in their combination of (1) total-immersion brewing (2) stable hot-but-not-too-hot temperature (3) cloth filtration. (2) and (3) are especially important I think. Cloth isn't necessary but in my opinion it's the best way to go. The...

I read on the Roaste Facebook page about adding salt to make coffee less bitter. I told that to my dad who was intrigued. He "found" his cup of coffee from this morning in the microwave (he forgot it was...

Douby partial, in the same way that history is: necessarily incomplete and subjective.This post does double work too as both confession and (tentative) guide.I'm a mostly recovered coffee upgrader/obsessive/pocket-protected-dork. That is, whenever I saw a cool new brewing gizmo at...

In the cafes of Naples Italy, it's an old tradition for a customer who has just benefitted from fortune or luck (getting a new job, getting engaged, having a baby, etc.) to order a "Caffe Sospeso" -- literally a suspended...

It might come as a surprise, but contrary to what many think, the coffee break - the two daily15-minute breaks that have become accepted in the US work world - are not mandated by law. Most unions include a clause...

Have you heard WINE enthusiasts describe wines with bewildering language like "Up front, with green apple, melon and butter hints. Just tangy enough on the finish to keep it all honest?" Sometimes wine reviews don't make a lot of sense,...

If you haven’t finished your New Year’s toasting, you may consider making a toast in honor of the animals that have changed history. After all, it was a group of bears who discovered aspirin - and that is bear, not...

My Solofill adapter for Keurig brewers arrived today  - It is the eight hole "Octaflo System" model (missing the middle hole - a common manufacturing problem with these adapters). I will try it before deciding whether to convert to the "Octaflo-Plus...

Dried strawberries, notes of crushed rosemary, 61.5% cacao in the finish.I'm ambivalent about tasting notes. They're helpful for obvious commercial reasons. Whereas certain large-scale roasters may not be able to get away with anything more specific than "bold," a quality...

/files/u3017/87_kenya.jpg" align="left" height="180" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="279" />Kenya has plenty to offer the traveler investigating historical colonial cities, discovering the beauty of Masai Mara, or trekking the winding paths of Mount Kenya. For the coffee enthusiast, the highlands and farmland surrounding...

There are quite a few ways that I make iced coffee, which I happen to think is delicious even in the middle of winter. The following is not my favorite method--might do a post on that later--but it can be...

Martha Stewart coffee is now available on ROASTe.com!  We’ve just added Antica Tostatura Triestina  - normally called Antica Espresso – a very special coffee because it’s wood roasted with beechwood. Today, Tuesday, December 21, Martha will be featuring Antica’s new...

Purchasing your coffee whole bean and fresh produces a superior cup of coffee, regardless of your favorite brewing method. The aromas and tastes will strike your senses and awaken you to a truly better world. However, when the last drop...

You know, for local consumption in Guatemala City, this may sound like a good strategy.  More places where coffee is served, more possibilities for people to choose the profile they like the most.Guatemala is well known for producing some of...

George Howell's Terroir Coffee hosted a cupping this past weekend at Boston University. Here are some insights.By background, George is a legend in the specialty coffee business and one of the pioneers of gourmet coffee in the US. He was...

A couple of small American companies have been very progressive in bringing out high-quality metal filters for pourover. Coava in Portland has received a lot of love for their K-one, and they just unrolled a metal filter for Aeropress as...

In 1844 blight spread across Ireland’s white potato crop and destroyed it entirely, within a 1-2 year period. This catastrophe resulted in the death of over a million people due to famine. In the hundred years prior to the Great...