The Reading Room

Coffee Shop Review – Starbucks
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...
7-Eleven Coffee
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...
Dark Roasts Reconsidered
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...
Espresso cups - Bodum
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...
Managing Your Coffee Stocks
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...
Walkure German Coffee Machine
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...
Consistency – a good goal when developing barista skills.
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...
Espresso machine styles - the single boiler
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...
Bossa
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...
Best Manual Coffee Grinders: Choosing the Right One

How to choose the best manual coffee grinder for your brewing method. Covers burr types, grind range, build quality, and what to look for at every price point.

Paper Coffee Filters and the Perfect Pour Over Cup
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...
Why I Seem to be Sticking with Iced Coffee
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...
Product Review - Klean Kanteen
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...
Coffee Shop Review - Café Greco
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...
Coffee Stand Review – Blue Bottle stand at the Ferry Terminal
It’s about time that I review probably the first place where I had really, really good coffee. I don’t want to say that this was my first “serious coffee experience” because there was nothing serious about it. Maybe I had...
Klatch's "World Best Espresso"
This was an interesting morning of coffee consumption.  The main event was Klatch’s World’s best espresso being pulled on my pump machine.  It is just entering its window for peak of flavor and I have more or less held off...
Coffee Trade: Fair vs Direct
Here’s a question for you: Everything I know about Fair Trade I learned from Kindergarten Third world farmer Seattle coffee company that changed coffee culture while burning the beans Fair trade USA website CoffeeKind.com. In case you didn’t select choice...
Cleverly winging it (i.e. don't be afraid to go coarse)
The other day I decided to brew a cup of Counter Culture’s Finca Mauritania using my Clever dripper. I did all of my usual prep., including rinsing the paper filter, but when it came time to grind my beans I...
Why is it hard to build a cheap but great espresso machine?
This is the second in a series of blog posts about heat exchanger machines.  This post, however, is really about why it is hard to build a good but also cheap machine. (And therefore why what at first seems like...
Why Choose a Heat Exchanger Espresso Machine?

A heat exchanger espresso machine uses one boiler to brew and steam simultaneously. Here is how HX machines work, why they appeal to serious home baristas, and how they compare to single and dual boiler alternatives.

Blending Confusion
Today, inspired by Wakeknot’s recent batch of blending posts I made a blend of Paradise Roaster’s Expresso Nuevo and Deep Cello’s Black Tie. The result was...well before we get to that I want to make something clear. It was obviously...