Unabashed

My highly-anticipated Coffee Fool delivery arrived Friday, and three days later than it was expected to arrive, but I suppose I can credit the busy holiday week for the sluggish mail system. By the time I got into my kitchen I was very eager to have at it.

It ships in a plastic, air-tight baggy, zip-lockable to keep the fresh in. Once I had it out of its shipping box, I read the packaging through and through. There weren’t many surprises, although one thing did jump out at me: Coffee Fool recommends freezing your coffee to help keep it fresh. I’ve heard it told both ways, and it seems that’s always been a big question, to freeze or not to freeze? But this is the first time I’ve heard a creditable source give any advisement. Once I had the bag open I have to say I was surprised by the aroma. It filled the whole house almost, and was wonderfully fragrant. I’ve always loved the smell of coffee, maybe even more than the taste, but opening this bag of coffee unleashed a lot more aroma than what you usually get with coffee, gourmet or otherwise, and if anything it was even more pleasingly aromatic.

The instructions were simple: One tablespoon of ground coffee for every six ounces of water. So I whipped out the ol’ burr mill and ground enough for six tablespoons, added 36 oz of water to the old Sunbeam coffee maker and switched it on.

Normally I like my coffee strong and black, with just a bit of sugar to soften the blow. I’ve gotten into the habit of purchasing dark-roast coffee, which, according to Coffee Fool, means burnt coffee. Coffee Fool proclaims they only roast their beans to medium or “American” roast, so I was surprised, when the coffee was ready, at how dark it was. And when I poured my first cup I was equally surprised at how rich it was.

Is this coffee superior to all others? I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say it’s much better than what you can get at Starbucks or at a local coffee shop (which is where I usually get mine). I would say it’s superior to anything you can get at a grocery store, vastly superior to anything pre-ground. Don’t ask me about instant. I don’t even qualify instant as coffee. Instant coffee is to coffee what “orange-flavored drink” is to orange juice.

Now, one very important thing to keep in mind is this: I purchased the lowest-end brand of coffee available on Coffee Fool, their Columbian Supremo. Coffee Fool has a lot of coffee, and if this is their most ordinary, I am very intrigued and willing to sample some of their more premium brands. So: I’m moving up the coffee ladder at Coffee Fool, I’ll let you know how it goes.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Coffee, Columbian, fool

As if in reply to my post a while back (the Miraculous Coffee Entry), in which I stated that the greatest coffee I ever had was in Columbia and that I’ve never been able to duplicate that experience no matter what coffee I buy. Even the gourmet stuff doesn’t compare, and even with the gourmet stuff I have to hop it up with sugar, trying to get it right, but it never works. Anyway: today I found this on the Coffee Fool (disclaimer: they are sellers of coffee, but maybe, just maybe, they might be able to answer my plea):

Nearly all of the coffee out there is stale. The good news is that stale coffee is drinkable if you’ve never had truly fresh coffee. The bad news is that once you’ve tasted truly fresh coffee, you’ll be forever hooked. It will make you giddy every time you go to make a pot. Tingle right down to your toes. Reverberate around your head like a funky aura. That’s because coffee, just a few days out of the roaster, is nature’s most flavorful drink - more complex than even wine - containing well over 900 flavor compounds to dance on your taste buds. But after a few weeks, you’d be lucky to see half that number.

How do you know if coffee is stale? Simple test: If it’s bitter or flat, it’s too late. Coffee is actually known by connoisseurs as a ’sweet’ beverage. But shush… you’re not supposed to know that. And who doesn’t want you to know? Coffee companies who make their living on convenience. And yes, believing that freshness is as simple as ‘burping’ air out of a coffee container, is convenient.

Yes: they are describing exactly my situation. I feel like I have tasted good coffee (in Columbia) but the coffee in the US does not compare in any way. No matter how gourmet it is. You might buy gourmet yourself, or you may just buy Folgers or Maxwell House, but until you’ve had genuinely great coffee you’ll never know what you’re missing. Coffee, even the slush we slurp in the States, is a great experience, but great coffee is… sublime. It’s transcendent. A joy. I want it.

So, Coffee Fool, if indeed that is your name: I shall make a purchase of your coffees and make comparisons to coffee experiences past. If this is what you say it is, you’ll have a faithful, regular customer forevermore. If not, my rage will envelope you and destroy your…er, what I mean to say is I’ll dump on your product with my blog :-) Now, what to buy… of course, the Columbian Supremo. And if that works out alright I’ll move straight to the Arabica of Arabia.

Report forthcoming.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: , Coffee, Columbian, fool

I’m feeling very coffee today. The press of fall is coming nearer and nearer (even though it’s still 85 degrees and humid). I never was a coffee drinker, and I’m still not very religious about it, until I did my stint in the Navy, where coffee was almost regulatory, no matter how foul it might taste. But then, you can get used to almost anything when your wakeup call is 4am. The song went: “The coffee in the Navy / they say is mighty fine / it looks like muddy water / and it tastes like turpentine.”

I drank my share of it for a couple of years, bleary eyed and struggling to hold on to consciousness just long enough to make sure I didn’t fall overboard. But then I was sent to Cartagena, Columbia for a six-week duty assignment, and coffee was officially discovered. They served it at the hotel we were staying in every morning whether you asked for it or not in pretty China cups with saucers. It was the first time I ever had really good coffee, and before I left I bought about ten pounds of it to bring home. My family promptly devoured it, although I did get to keep one pound for myself. My uncle began mixing his pound with his regular coffee to make the Columbian last longer.

After that, the coffee situation went back to normal, but from then on I was bitter about the swill they pumped into us once we were back aboard ship. My future travels didn’t do much to help: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Italy… such magnificent coffee! I still can’t wrap my head around it, and I shop for coffee here and there in the States but nothing ever seems to compare. Maybe through The Tao of Coffee I can rekindle some of those great coffee moments, when coffee seems as integral to the day as opening your eyes, and the flavor seems to cause every cell in your body to energize and sparkle.

Some beautiful coffee images from Jamaica.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Coffee