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My last blog was all about the reasoning behind the price of a specialty coffee drink. This new blog is about the backside of the behind. One more layer deep into the belly of the beast and how it affects the price and quality of the coffee in your cup. First off, let's talk about Brazil. Brazil is the largest coffee producer on the planet and therefore acts as the "canary in the coal mine" for coffee pricing. If Brazil is having a bumper crop then the rest of the coffee producing countries have to deal with an abundance of...

You can't just wake up, crazy hair, bad breath, pillow wrinkles on your face..... you need to face the world alert, ready and able to speak with other humans. So, you hop in your car and head to the nearest Timmies for a drive thru double-double. Great.... you get a cup of joe for two bucks and continue on with your day.    Fast forward to your afternoon coffee break at the local coffee shop down the street. You order your coffee and BAM!! ..... $7.00 for your 2pm re-fuel. What happened?! Did the coffee commodities market spike in a...

Ok, so you've purchased your bran-spanky new espresso machine. You've sourced your artisan, small-batch coffee. You splurged for the ceramic cafe-style cups, steam pitcher, and tamper. Now what? Your favourite barista doesn't live in your house so how are you gonna get the same cappuccino you get at Bean Scene?! You read this blog, of course. To get yourself started on a path to deep and rich espresso, you will need to know a couple of things about tamping and grind distribution, and some of the problems that may arise if you do these two thing incorrectly. It will be...

You get up, you stretch, you scratch, you stumble into the kitchen. You forgot to put on pants. You turn around, put on your pants, then come back to the kitchen. Well, that wasn't your best moment but the excuse is that you haven't had your morning cup yet. With your one fully functioning eye you grab your coffee, your filter, and brew a fresh cup 'o joe. Your first sip is supposed to be luxurious, rich and comforting, but instead you're greeted with the sour, watery, dishwater you've always made. You drink it anyway and fall to the same...

I've been roasting coffee for a while now and if there's one thing that experience has taught me, it's that rules are made, then they're bent, then they're broken. If you were to search online in various barista and coffee forums, you will see endless discussions (fights) about whether or not you should use an Ethiopian washed Guji for espresso, or pour-over. Whether dark roast coffee has more or less caffeine than a lighter roast. Whether you stir clockwise or counter-clockwise when using a V-60 pour-over (for you non coffee nerds, this is actually a real debate). When I was...