Featured Espresso: 1 UP

Spotted: Manic Coffee
Roasters: Wrecking Ball
Located: Palo Alto, CA

THANKS Matt for having this in the hopper

Featured Espresso: Burundi

Spotted: Mercury Espresso
Address: 915 Queen Street East
Neighbourhood: Leslieville
@mercuryespresso

Espresso: Sogestal Mumira
Origin: Burundi
Roaster: George Howell Coffee / Terroir
Located: Acton, MA

My Thoughts: Thank you! I really enjoyed the mouthfeel and the juicy - mouth watering action, and LARGE body.

From the notebook of GH:

Creamy Orange | Caramelized Peaches | Cinnamon

Suggested extraction instructions:
Group head temperature: 197 F (91.7 C)
Espresso dose: 20 grams (We suggest a VST 20 gram basket.)
Pulling time: 25 - 28 seconds
Finished espresso: 28 liquid grams

Featured Espresso: Gacokwe Burundi

Spotted: Mercury Espresso

Verdict: Orange zest explosion. Really juicy enough to punch your tongue awake.

From MADCAP
Tasting Notes: Big flavor, orange and juicy 
Produced by Gacokwe Washing Station/Cooperative
Region: Kayanza
Varietals: Bourbon, Jackson, Mibirzi
Altitude: 1,650 masl
Processing: Washed and sun dried in raised beds
Harvested: May-August 2011

2012 marks our 3rd straight year buying from the Kayanza Region of Burundi.  Burundi is a small country located in the heart of Africa just south of Rwanda.  Coffee is the main export out of Burundi and sales of specialty grade coffee have skyrocketed over the past 5 years as a lot of efforts to produce better coffee have been put into the country and have helped change the face of the country.  

The Gacokwe Cooperative works with 1700 small farmers offering incentives paid to the farmer for producing higher quality coffee.  The fermentation of this coffee combines elements of wet and dry fermentation with the use of clean mountain water.  The total fermentation can last up to 2 ½ days before being dried on raised patios.  We have fallen in love with the cup profile that we find in coffees from this area boasting a big flavor, full of aromatics, juicy, yet with spicy complexity.

(from MadCap Coffee website_)


SEASONAL!!! GET IT NOW.




(ppssssttt.... don't forget my other fav in the neighbourhood is having an event Mar 31st)

Featured Espresso; Konga

Coffice Time!

Decided that with December rolling in, I should get back into the Featured Espresso Posts. You'll be seeing more frequent posts...let's keep my accountable.


Spotted: Mercury Espresso
Farm: Konga Co-op
Origin: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Roaster: Terrior Coffee/ George Howell
Located: Mass (close enough to BOS)
Verdict: blast of bright berry, with pleasant tartness of raspberry, hints of tea/floral sense
Will I be back: definitely mate!


Breaking: Will we see the end to co-op coffee in Ethiopia?? (sprudge)

*Contributed by: K. Zyganiuk*

Features Bean: Kenyan Kangunu

LIMITED... might even be GONE, but get there QUICK

Spotted: Mercury Espresso Bar
Roasters: George Howell/ Terrior

Details for Terrior: (here)

Country: Kenya

Farm: Kangunu Mill

Altitude: 5600 ft

Varietals: Bourbon SL 28 and SL 34

Harvest: 2009

Rainfall: Low to moderate

Production Method: WashedBittersweet Chocolate | Raisins | Blackberry | Black Currant | Plums

Featured Espresso: El Roble Espresso (Terrior)

Spotted: Mercury Espresso Bar
Address: 943 Queen Street East
Neighbourhood: Leslieville

Featured: Addis Ketema

Mixed bag of weather (snow, slush, freezin rain, hail, flash cold, rain) these last couple of days has pushed me to get out earlier, and why not visit some local stomping grounds.

Spotted at Mercury Espresso Bar
Espresso: Addis Ketema
Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Roasters: George Howell

Verdict: Smooth brightness and a clean distinction of root/ginger spice pronounced on my tongue shining through the mellow pre-ripe peach (think texture as mouth feel)
Very different from when Mercury first received this roast.
Pleasantly, and unexpectedly had Matt pull the shots this AM.

Featured Bean: Addis Ketema

Spotted @ Mercury Espresso
Beans: Addis Ketema (North Italian Roast)
Region: Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia
Roasters: Terroir Coffee
Located: Mass.
@ghowellcoffee

Verdict: Sweetness hits the tip of the tongue, and explodes with more smooth tones as it reaches the back. Huge permisson with subtle lemon-cherry-ade (sweeten drink) accents

After consuming the double espresso, there was a smooth "campy" finish with a lingering campfire smoke caramelized toffee. Now that's how to do a pleasurable after-taste.

Price: $2.50
Disloyalty Card: Supported/Stamped!

From Mercury:
Lemon citrus, Sweet strawberry

From Terroir:
Certified Organic ~ North Italian Espresso Roast!
The Addis Ketema Cooperative has over 2000 farms averaging 3.4 acres each. This fine lot produces a very smooth espresso. It is infused with whispers of candy lemon, ripe apricot and mellow traces of ginger. Mellow acidity with medium body.

Get this fresh new seasonal blend before Mercury runs out.

Featured Espresso: Mecca Espresso (AUS)

Want a piece of AUS, you might be too late...

Featured Espresso Mecca Blend (Seasonal)
Spotted @ Te Aro Roasted
Roasters: Mecca Espresso
Located: Sydney, AUS
@Mecca_Espresso; URL

Mecca blend is an Ethiopian boldgrain, Ethiopian Sidama, and Costa Rica Sin Limites.  

Te Aro was the host for "Down Under Event" showcasing many roasters from NZ and AUS. The event was quite the success, consisting mainly of local baristas, roasters and coffee enthusiasts,, it was great to see the scene saturated in one place. Sadly I was unable to attend... but leave it to Te Aro to be blessed with the bags upon bags of espresso. Might as well offer it to the public and run it on their espresso menu.
High Five goes to Coffeestork; and proceeds from the event went to Coffeekids.

Mecca might be gone, but if you were lucky enough to taste some of these beans, you were in for a treat.

Machine: La Marzocco GB/5
Grinder: Mahlkoenig K30 Twin Espresso Grinder
Temp: 197 / Pulled for 25s

Verdict: Crisp woody, smooth nut feel. Highlighting the sweet tip of the tongue. Predominately cocoa/choco base with apricot-berry undertone. Reminiscent of the Dark chocolate with apricot and blackberry found at speciality stores.
Simply delicious.

Thanks Tyler for pulling the amazing shot!

Don't forget about Te Aro's Public Coffee Cupping on Fridays @ 12:30pm.
Around Leslieville? Join them. I wish I could!
Why not? Learn About coffee, sample new crops, enjoy life.
Make time for the pleasures.
Simplicity.

Promise I'll get those NYC posts up real soon.

Bean Talk: Te Aro Roasted's Elevens

ELEVENS
Straight from Te Aro

"The idea behind Elevens was to create a new espresso blend, that will change seasonally Elevens is brighter, and has fruity tones, the aroma is orange and floral.
The current Elevens is a post roast blend of a very sweet Panama Rio Serreno bean, and a bright orange taste from the Ethiopian Sidama.  The washed Sidama has a lot of apricot which was so unique.
We describe it as orange cream soda, with a refined acidity and white chocolate."

Saturday Rituals

Run ala Boardwalk.
Winter friends, or arctic bliss?
Scenic Views
Pumping Jams from Robyn, DeadMau5, and Avicii.
Finished off with some post-run eats and essential post-run hydration!

Afternoon spro w/ amazing friend.
Great Convos at the communal table.
Browsing through "Walls and Pieces" by Banksy


Rooster Coffee House 
Taking in the fun times of citizens going down Riverdale Park's enormous hills.
Loved discovering that they had the new espro blend

Machine: Elektra K-2S
Grinder: Mazzer Robur
Turnover: Medium (with Peak hours)

Featured Espro: "Elevens" by Te Aro Roasted 

Verdict: Sweetness the whole way through.but not in the overly sweet way that you get from those Valentine Candy hearts that contain messages. Just enough sweet to satisfy that sugar craving.
Described as "Orange cream soda", I think it's more fizzy goodness with orange essence. 
Thumbs Up!

Love the weekend.

Q: How do you celebrate the weekend?

Featured Espresso: Cerrado

Spotted at Mercury Espresso Bar
Beans: Single-Origin from Brazil
Farm/Coop: Daterra, Cerrado
Roasters: Terroir
Located: Mass. USA

Tasting Notes: Smooth enjoyable profile for all palettes. Minor citrus qualities at the end of your sips, but memorable. Clean medium body, with tastes that remind you of aromatic fudge being made on the spot! Best of both worlds: chocolate but with the surprise of sweetness that lingers in rich fudge. Not the fudge that kills your teeth. Yummy for the soul

Special Feature: One of my favourite baristas - Josh - was on bar today and pulled the shots on Synesco on this lazy Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy this while you can! A couple of bags left- but limited! Afterwards they're going back to the much loved Mamuto.

In addition: goes really well in the Cortado!

From the mouth of GHH:

This is a wonderfully mellow coffee but with delicate clean fruit sweetness, giving a refined Beaujolais-like character to this coffee. Elusive hints of roses in the aroma. Very soft creamy notes of pecan. Medium body without any tang.

It was harvested from deep-rooted, low yield, very carefully hand-harvested Yellow Bourbon variety of Arabica. The owner of Daterra, Luis Pascoal, is a key coffee visionary in the quality coffee movement who never tires of tweaking everything he does one notch up every year for the quality of the coffee and for his social and environmental policies.

Ezra's Pound

Ezra's Pound
Address: 913 Dundas Street West  ‎
Neighbourhood: Trinity-Bellwoods, Little Portugal
(website) @ezraspound

The second location of Annex darlings Ezra's Pound has flourished on Dundas West (3 blocks west of Bathurst) in Little Portugal. Creating a great ambiance for the community with large glass windows, small wooden tables, and a warm environment to learn more about coffee, he's created a buzz of activity. This location doubles as a showcase for what Ezra is trying to accomplish: Educating the masses. Opened T-Sun 8-5pm (10am start on Sunday. What happens on Monday?

Featured Espresso: Intelligentsia Honey Badger

Alert, Alert!!!! Calling all Toronto Intelligentsia fans:

Spotted: Manic Coffee (427 College Street)
Hours: Mon Jan 3rd: 8am - 6pm
            Normal hours: M-F [ 7-7pm];
           Weekends Sat/Sun [ 8-8pm]

Featured:Intelligentsia Honey Badger (Blend -Brazil and Kenya)
Roaster: Intelligentsia
Located: Chicago,IL



Limited Seasonal Espresso -- from Quality Roasters Intelligenstia spotted at Manic Coffee in Toronto, a special blend of three really sweet coffees from Brazil and Kenya.

Featured Espresso: Alchemy

New Espresso Blend?
Beans: Alchemy Espresso Blend
Regions: El Salvador, Brazil, Costa Rica

Roasters: Geogre Howell's Terrior Coffee
Where to find: Mercury Espresso Bar
                        (915 Queen Street East)
(DEC 10, 2010 - hopefully still there)

Technical: Pulled for 27 seconds at 197F

New Blend that GH/Terrior has come up with. The greatest piece of information they provide are the specifications that will optimize the shot. Geogre has a plethora of knowledge and is constantly improving the craft.!

Verdict: Smooth Chocolate Body! with hints of fresh Cirtus once it hits your tongue. Sweet aftertaste.

Look who else I spotted: Josh, (New member of Mercury team, ex-Crema)

Featured Espresso: Mamuto North Italian Roast

Spotted: Mercury Espresso Bar (915 Queen Street East)
Hours: M-F 6:30 am - 8pm
           Sat 7:30am - 8pm
           Sun 8am - 8pm
Featured: Mamuto North Italian Style Espresso Roast
                (Single Origin -Mamuto, Kirinyaga, Kenya)
Roaster: George Howell's Terroir Coffee
Located: Acton, Mass.

Pulling until they run out, than they'll showcase the Matalapa

Verdict: Rich brightness, with delicious fruitiness that coats your entire tongue. Sweet citrus notes (juicy) to round out the acidity. Flavours develop as you continue with your double espresso.

STRAIGHT from TERROIR COFFEE
We've opted to offer the new crop of Mamuto as an espresso roast!

Tasting Notes:
Bright blackberry and sweet citrus notes embedded in caramel.

Long a favorite of our customers and staff, Mamuto has held a heralded place in our hearts here at GHCC. When we first cupped this farm, in 2005, we were simply blown away by the sumptuous body, blackberry and black currant aromatics, with a hint of sweet tomato.

Taking inspiration from their family, Walter Paul Mathagu, the farm's owner, explained to me, he and his wife named the farm by combining the first two letters from three words: his name, Mathagu, as the father; Muthoni, his wife's maiden name, as mother; and toto, meaning child or children in Swahili: thus Mamuto. Mr. and Mrs. Mathagu have six children - three boys, three girls
Farmer: Walter Paul and Muthoni Mathagu
Region: Kirinyaga
Altitude: 5,000 ft.
Rainfall: Low to moderate+
Soil: Volcanic loam
Arabica variety: Bourbon Sl 28 and SL 34
Size of Farm: 21 acres total; 13 acres of coffee
Roast: Full Flavor

Featured Espresso: Matalapa

Spotted at: Crema Coffee Co. (53 Bloor St. E)

Mon-Fri: 7am-8pm

Sat: 8am-8pm

Sun: 9am-6pm

Featured: Matalapa North Italian Style Espresso Roast 
                (Single Origin - El Salvador)
Roaster: George Howell's Terroir Coffee
Located: Acton, Mass.

Verdict:  Initial tastes had a smooth buttery orange swirl, with light toasted/burnt marshmallow flavour similar to Greg's Ice Cream. As you take more sips, there is a delightful acidity that tastes cocoa to round out the flavours.

 
This will be in the hopper until they run out of beans, so come in now for a limited run.

Straight from Terroir Coffee's website:
Layered orange-blossom honey, hint of jasmine and a creamy dark caramel finish. Matalpa’s soft acidity is ideal for a light espresso, providing great sweetness with buttery body.

Matalapa is a fourth generation 190 acre farm at 4,100 feet above sea level. It was founded in the late 1800's by Fidelia Lima, great grandmother of the current owner, Vickie Ann Dalton de Diaz. She maintains 14 acres of virgin tropical forest and keeps her coffee plants shaded with over 40 varieties of shades trees. Terroir has been following this farm for several years now and have been very impressed with each year's improvements since winning in the 2003 El Salvador Cup of Excellence. The crop is very impressive for its sweetness and buttery body.

If you've tried this roast - let me know your thoughts.

Gingerbeard Espresso

 Featured Espressos are popping up in Toronto. Shoppes are not only carrying their regular espresso beans but something more exotic, flavourful or single-origin in presence. The name of the game is experimenting. Those that want to try new flavours will enjoy the concept as it opens up the possiblity of trying different origins or blends while still attending their home coffee stand.

Case in point is Crema Coffee Co. (photo insert: Bloor Street East Location), had some Gingerbread Espresso from Geogre Howell Terroir Coffee on Monday, as they posted on their FB site that they were doing Sunday at the Junction location and Monday Downtown! I made a special trip to get a taste of this bean

This was taken from their website:

Gingerbread Espresso - Geogre Howell Coffee

Gingerbread Espresso

Blind Assessment: Simple, sweet and rich in the aroma; caramel with a hint of flowers. In the small cup deep, balanced, complex: peach-toned fruit, dark chocolate, orangy citrus, continued floral top notes. The flowers and chocolate in particular persist into a long finish. Dense mouthfeel.

My Verdict: Spicy hints of chili, deep cinnamon taste and dark chocolate screaming in my mouth. I did feel a "dense" taste.

SIDENOTE:

Everyone has their own signature bean such as Intelligenstia Black Cat Espresso, 49th Parallel Epic Espresso, Te Aro Big Bro, Detour Punch Buggy and the list goes on and on. On the flip side,  some like to vary from time to time as is the case at places such as Green Beanry or Merchants of Green Bean. Both location promote own roasting or have an on-site micro batch roaster to roast the green beans on the spot. 

My only problem with this constant rotation is there is no "Normal" espresso shot. This bothers me , as you never know what the product will be.... and you are always hoping it turns out great. IF it doesn't... then it's the bean - and do you really want to gamble on that?

Most of the beans are usually great with milk, but I am one of those that goes into a shop and just gets the double espresso, so if it's sometihng that sounds great -- awesome! but usually at Green Beanry I'm left underwhelmed by what they roasted for the day...

Question: Do you like to see your favourite shoes everyday, or do you mix and match and hope it works with your outfit? At the end of the day, it's person preference where you get your daily brew.

    Downtown Cafe with a bustling presence of traffic along Bloor. 

What better way to spend a Monday Afternoon