The Reading Room

What would comprise the ultimate home coffee cart?
What would comprise the ultimate home coffee cart? (or at least a functional one). This is what has been on my mind lately – I want a coffee cart at home.  This is not just because I want a cart,...
A Dog's Life - and Coffee Shops
Should coffee shops go to the dogs? According to several articles online, coffee lovers are divided over whether dogs should be allowed in coffee shops. Or should we say, US coffee lovers are divided, because pets of restaurant patrons in...
What was your first taste of coffee?
All of us have a unique story surrounding that first cup of coffee. Perhaps it was a profound experience that opened our eyes to gourmet beans for the first time. It could simply be a moment of need, when work...
Morning Coffee with a Peruvian Coffee Farmer
This morning, thanks to the magic of Youtube, I shared my coffee with a family that produces coffee on a certified organic farm in Peru. There's not a lot in this video that I didn't already know about coffee production,...
Fine Grind for Auto Drip
How fine do you need to grind for auto drip? Do you need th grind very fine - just coarser than espresso fine? Do you need to grind on the coarse side to keep the water flowing through the filter?...
Why Being a Coffee Snob is More Fun Than Being a Wine Snob
http://foter.com/img/photo/3/coffee-and-wine_l.jpg" width="427" height="298" class="foter-photo" style="display: block" /> Photo Credit: Rob Qld /Foter Sometime last week I read a fun little satirical blog post written by a self-confessed wine snob and addressed to the growing population of self-confessed coffee snobs. The...
I think I just rolled over in my grave...
This is a bit of rant so bear with me... I hate to continue the mermaid bashing, but I was at a Target the other night that had a certain coffee company located inside of it and heard a conversation...
Sometimes being too cheap isn’t so bad?
Sometimes being too cheap isn’t so bad? I have a shameful confession.  There is a product that I have been dying to try ever since it was introduced.  That product is Starbuck’s instant coffee Via.  They claimed when it came...
Coffee Brings Emotional Healing to Washington Town
Two years ago, the Lakewood, Washington community was shaken by the shooting deaths of five of its law enforcement officers. On the anniversary, an espresso counter was opened in the high school where the children of some of the officers...
Cappuccino: What It Is, the Correct Ratio, and How to Make One at Home

A cappuccino is one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third foam , served in a 5 to 6 oz cup. It is smaller, stronger, and foamier than a latte. This guide covers the correct ratio, the difference between dry and wet cappuccino, how it compares to a latte, and how to make one at home.

Espresso Knock Box and Why You Need One

An espresso knock box is an underrated home tool. What it is, why home baristas use one, how to choose it, and how to keep it clean.

Coffee Filter Types: How Each Changes Your Cup

Coffee filter types shape your cup as much as the beans. How paper, metal mesh, and cloth each change body, clarity, and taste, and how to choose.

What makes a blend work better for a specific machine?
What makes a blend work better for a specific machine?  I have often wondered this and I do not have an answer, but there is no question that some blends taste better to me on one machine than another.  I...
Danish Coffee Brewer Sets the Bar Sky-High
Just in time for the gift-giving season, there’s a new coffee brewer that every coffee lover would love to find under his tree. This one does it all while hiding its working parts under a cabinet, making it the most...
Coffee Supply Chain: 6 Stages from Farm to Your Cup

The coffee supply chain has 6 stages between the farm and your cup: farming, processing, milling, exporting, roasting, and delivery. Each stage affects freshness and flavor. Understanding how coffee moves from origin to roaster explains why the time between roast and cup matters as much as where the beans came from.

Depth Charge, not just for you nautical types.
One of the lovely things about coffee is that once you think you have tried most method of preperation or think you have at least made all of the variations with the combination of equipment you have. Anyway as going...
Judy's Spanish Coffee
  http://foter.com/img/photo/3/ground-espresso-with-raw-sugar_l.jpg" style="display: block; width: 100%" class="foter-photo" /> Turbinado Sugar in Cafe Cubano mhaithaca /Foter About 10 years ago, I lived downstairs from Judy, a Puerto Rican woman with 5 kids the same ages as my kids. Since they all...
Alas –as if I needed yet one more reason to order my coffee from Coffee Kind
Alas –as if I needed yet one more reason to order my coffee from Coffee Kind.  If I did I found one.  There are not many good coffee shops within an hour of my house.  There are a few that...
Minimalist Coffee Solutions
http://www.coffeebreak2day.com/images/scanomat-top-coffee.jpg" hspace="5" height="299" border="8" align="right" width="325" vspace="5" title="scanomat top coffee machine" alt="scanomat top coffee machine" />Yesterday morning, gadget and gizmo sites around the net were buzzing about this little machine -- the Top coffee brewer from Scanomat. The machine is...
Panamanian Coffee: What Makes It One of the World's Most Sought-After Origins

Panamanian coffee is among the most expensive and most sought-after specialty coffee in the world. The Gesha variety, grown in Boquete and Volcán at elevations above 1,500 meters, produces floral, tea-like cups that regularly break auction records. This guide covers Panama's regions, the Gesha story, processing methods, flavor profile, and what makes this origin different.

Great coffee quotes
Here are some of my favorite coffee quotes collected from far and wide.  What are yours? A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. ~Paul Erdos All the coffee in Columbia won’t make me a morning person.  ...