The Reading Room

I love this little stand; it’s in Seattle and it is pretty close to the hotel where my girlfriend and I were staying when we went out to Seattle and Portland last summer. During the trip I got to go...

Well, since I have been on a roll with these reviews of super-automatic machines I think I might as well do a review of the six hundred pound gorilla in the marketplace: Keurig.  This company, with its ubiquitous K-Cups, seems...

So my office recently decided to add another capsule brewing system to the mix: a Tassimo T65 Cul brewer. It’s plumbed in (just like our Keurig) but it’s a little smaller. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now...

I was reading Barista Magazine today and they had a feature on MadCap Coffee barista/owner Trevor Corlett. One of the interesting items in the article is where he discusses what they call "Sunday Service" as his cafe. Basically what it entailed...

The Krups Gusto – a non review – just questions about evolving tastes, skills, and equipment. My first espresso machine ever was truly a humble one.  It cost $90 because I got it on sale and it was a “Krups...

Justin has been in Chicago consulting with a coffee shop there.  Now that he's back, he's been experimenting with a killer good El Salvadoran Blend that he's just been raving about.  Like a winemaker, Justin tastes all the component coffees...

While experimenting with fertilizers, students at a UK boy’s business school found that sprouting pumpkin seeds in coffee grounds instead of their usual manure yielded great results. Besides the pumpkin, a crop of grapes sprouted in the coffee is also...

A coffee subscription delivers freshly roasted beans on a schedule you choose, at a price below retail, with the convenience of never running out. Here is how they work, what separates a good subscription from a bad one, and what to look for before signing up.

/files/u2252/front_mil2_0.jpg" width="198" height="250" align="right" />One of my favorite ways to enjoy coffee is brewing with a French press.  Who better than the French then to make the perfect French press hand grinder? I found a good deal on this press...

AeroPress coffee combines immersion and pressure brewing in under 2 minutes. It is the most forgiving brewer for home use , almost any grind size, water temperature, and steep time produces a drinkable cup. This guide covers how the AeroPress works, the standard vs inverted method, the concentrate recipe for milk drinks, and 3 starter recipes for different strength preferences.

/files/u2252/maestro.jpg" align="right" height="329" width="178" /> The Baratza Maestro was my first real grinder. Before the enlightening about what coffee could be I used ground coffee or stale beams ground up in my Krups blade grinder.  Once I understood some coffee...

Diesel Café is a fun and funky coffee shop in Davis Square in Somerville. Like a lot of Boston area coffee shops there is some expectation  that a café will be “trendy” and “unique” because Bostonians just don’t have any...

So I’ve seen a number of reviews by coffee snobs for this little machine. As it so happens, I have one! This morning, after failing to get a drinkable cup of coffee with my stovetop espresso machine I was rescued...

I’m starting to think that I need a more precise grinder. I love the Hario when it comes to French press but its absolutely killing me with the stovetop espresso maker. I have an off brand stovetop espresso maker (I...

Climate change and coffee is in the news again. Still a controversy between groups of scientists as to what is actually happening with our weather, any warming affects coffee crops. Few would argue that there is a warming currently affecting...

/files/u5804/Batlle-SOE-PN-2011.jpg" height="175" width="250" /> This past Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a cupping of coffee producer extraordinaire Aida Battle’s 2011 Finca Mauritania processed three ways. As a coffee enthusiast without any formal training or access to firsthand info....

If you have been looking at the Baratza line of grinders for your next upgrade you probably have noticed the Preciso and the regular Virtuoso. You also may have notice that the two look almost identicle except that the Preciso...

Home roast envy I met a fellow coffee enthusiast today and I am bitter.  Why am I bitter?  It is because he was kind enough to bring me some of his home roast. Now you might think that means he...

I just got done reading the most recent news article here at ROASTe about the sustainabilty of coffee. It's really hard to be green and enjoy a few cups of coffee every morning as it took a very long trip...

Starbuck’s sustainability guru, Jim Hanna, is talking these days about the future of coffee, which he fears has no future. He’s afraid that in a few decades, the earth will be too warm to grow coffee. Proof is offered by...

When I was looking for an apartment in Pittsburgh I focused in on an area near campus called Shadyside. I decided to stop by this café on a whim; it was grey and raining and cold and I was just...