Coffee Rides the Rails

November 13, 2011

Back in the days when you could find coffee perfection in any top restaurant, you could also be gentled into caffeine bliss during any of several top notch train runs across America. It was all part of the taming of this land that rail travel be as luxurious as possible, as a way of compensating [...]

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Does the SCAA Brew Chart Need To Be Changed?

November 8, 2011

The Specialty Coffee Association of America endorses an objective measurement based upon an analysis of some brewed coffee. It measures the total number of dissolved solids as an analog of coffee flavor. While no one, including the SCAA, claims this is a perfect measurement of true coffee taste, nor to they claim it’s the taste [...]

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Coffee on the Auction Block

November 4, 2011
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Stella Neapolitan

October 28, 2011

This delightful coffee brewer is commonly called a flip-drip, but actually it is probably mistakenly called a stovetop espresso machine or Moka just as often. It’s a rare animal in American, and, I suspect, most kitchens worldwide. Which is a shame, because it makes a distinctive cup of brew and, to my sensibilities, suits a [...]

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Corey Vacuum Brewer

October 24, 2011

Back before automatic drip dominated the coffee scene, the most common brewer in kitchens, diners and doughnut wagons was the vacuum percolator. While the vacuum seems like a complicated method, it is actually quite simple, although it’s hard for me to imagine how anyone thought it up. How does it work? — The vacuum is [...]

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Starbucks does the Unthinkable: Blonde Roast

October 21, 2011

Starbucks has happily shocked a lot of us by introducing a new light roast. Like anything they do, it is accompanied by media hype. Frankly, I’m happy to see them benefit from doing the right thing. I’m happy that the coffee will taste better, which I think it will because they are capable. I wanted [...]

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Technivorm 741

October 20, 2011

I originally reviewed this brewer’s predecessor in The Coffee Companion many years back. When I received its newest revision of the basic design, I was eager to see if my previous knock against it had been addressed. It has and read on to discover a coffee industry favorite. When traveling to shoot interviews with eight [...]

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Chemex Coffee Brewer

October 14, 2011

The Chemex is both a coffee brewer and an artwork. Few coffee brewers have the ability to show to an audience like this brewer. It’s even earned a place at the Smithsonian. It’s so delightful to look at that it’s easy to overlook that it’s a fine coffee brewer that offers a unique flavor profile. [...]

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Coffee Behind Bars

October 5, 2011

After spending years in search of the perfect cup of coffee, I must admit I’ve had quite a few that have come close enough to deserving to be, as the saying goes, “almost too good to be legal”. And upon that flimsy premise I became curious to try the coffee given society’s true illegals… the [...]

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Coffee In The Movies

October 5, 2011

As someone who misspent some of his early life viewing movies, I can’t help but recall some of coffee’s more exhibitionist moments before the camera. Here are but a few moments memorable to me: The 1952 film noir classic, The Turning Point with Edmond O’Brien as a well-intentioned but naive politician trying to clean the [...]

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