The Reading Room

Orphan Espresso is a husband-and-wife team located in Troy, Idaho. They're well-known for their espresso-machine restorations, and their specialization in hand grinders--Zassenhaus, PeDe, Peugeot and the like. Over the past year or so, they've taken what they've learned from hand-grinder...

Now we move north. More or less in the mid-western part of the country, smack in the Central Cordillera (the central range that splits the country South to North), with the Cauca river between the Western and the Central ranges,...

Hello folks!I just wanted to point people's attention to this great ROASTe review of Deep Cello Nostromo by Barking Burrito! We really appreciate it when someone understands exactly what Deep Cello is about and is doing. We spent six months convincing...

I’m back! I was away for a few days, but here I am again telling you more about the persons who strive to supply good coffee to the world.FINCA LOMA SECA (Dry Hill), Chilcal Bajo township in the La Unión...

This one's been long overdue.I've had the good fortune to have tried three excellent coffees, both at home and at work--with my wife, with my coworkers, on my CafeSolo, my Softbrew, and on my Trifecta.  As I sampled and shared...

I don't have a specific link/quote in mind, but I've noticed here and there that people often differ with respect to what methods they consider easier, or (alternatively) more hassle-free.Take the Aeropress, which I’ve been using quite a bit of...

I love using my slow cooker. Over the weekend my dad had a craving for pulled pork. So early Sunday morning I put a five pound piece of pork loin into the slow cooker. To that I added two cups...

Following up on the coffee industry's big annual event--and the associated barista and brewing competitions--I thought it would be appropriate if I wrote a bit about brewing. I, along with many others, sometimes fetishize brewing technique. I'll sometimes think to...

A home barista is anyone who brews coffee with attention to craft rather than convenience. These 5 skills , dialing in grind size, mastering ratio, controlling temperature, reading extraction, and tasting deliberately , improve every cup regardless of brewing method.

I read a ROASTe blog post on "Desserts and  Coffee" earlier today and, duly inspired by that, I made the appropriately journalistic move of exploring further. There's a great pie shop near my house--Petsi's Pies, if you're ever in Cambridge...

Well, its official, I am addicted to all things coffee. Not so much of the drinks with milk and flavor syrups, they are good, but I am talking about straight coffee. Black. Single origins, blends, natural processed, chemical processed. I...

Coffee is one of the most versatile baking ingredients available. Used in desserts, it deepens chocolate flavor, adds bitter contrast to sweet caramel, and creates a signature flavor of its own. Here are 5 ways to use coffee in desserts and how each one works.

Well, look what we have here!Yes, I went a little crazy ordering blends. I blame PT’s B-Ville House Drip, which despite appearances is almost gone. When I pulled the trigger on it originally, I’d needed a break from light-and-bright single-origins,...

When it comes to drinking, I have two vices. One is coffee. The other is Pepsi. A new study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" strongly suggests that I should quit drinking one and continue enjoying the other....

My steamed milk has always lacked the fine texture of my local coffee shop's.  For ages, I've wondered why this has been the case.  Using a two hole tip on my espresso machine's steam wand (which reduces steam pressure and exposure to heat), I had achieved...

I recently modded my Mazzer Major with a funnel.  Along with all of the convenience of no longer having to deal with a doser, I am also experiencing the torment of a new sort of problem- static.  To sum up...

There are a lot of roasters here on Roaste, and it can be hard to pick out a coffee sometimes just due to the wide selection. I tend to be a lot like other people you find a roaster or...

Coffee roast levels , light, medium, and dark , are defined by temperature, time, and the chemical reactions that happen inside the bean. Each level produces a distinct flavor profile, acidity, and body. Here is what actually happens at each stage and how it affects the cup.Coffee Roast Levels: What Happens at Light, Medium, Dark

I was stoked by the results from my heat gun and metal bowl roasting experiment with some Kenyan beans. So stoked that I went to my stash and found another favorite for some more fun. I scooped out 228g (1/2...

I just realized that this is the first week of 2012 during which I didn’t receive any new coffees! Well, unless you count single-serve. A shipment of Fratello coffee pods from the Coffee Artisan did arrive Monday, and a box...

About a month ago a online blogger Daelyn Fortney, from This Dish is Veg, received a reported from a reader that Starbucks had begun using red dye from crushing beetles to create a natural product. The dye was ending up...