The “Feelings” of Shadegrown Coffee · Sunday July 5, 2009 by colin newell
There’s a scientific explanation about the convective clouds rising up from the ocean along the coffee growing slopes of our volcanoes in Kona, Hawaii every day; giving the needed shade and moisture for the quality coffee grown here. And then there are these wonderful sentences written by Jack London of how it actually FEELS like. For us humans and probably to our coffea arabica plants growing here as well. So while you read, imagine yourself being a… Kona coffee bean dangling from a branch.
“You cannot escape liking the climate… I warn you, if you have some spot dear to you on earth, not to linger here too long, else you will find this dearer.”…
“Where each day is like every day, and every day is a paradise of days,” he answered.
“Nothing ever happens. It is not too hot. It is not too cold. It is always just right. Have you noticed how the land and the sea breathe turn and turn about?”
Indeed, I had noticed that delicious rhythmic, breathing. Each morning I had watched the sea-breeze begin at the shore and slowly extend seaward as it blew the mildest, softest whiff of ozone to the land. It played over the sea, just faintly darkening its surface, with here and there and everywhere long lanes of calm, shifting, changing, drifting, according to the capricious kisses of the breeze. And each evening I had watched the sea breath die away to heavenly calm, and heard the land breath softly make its way through the coffee trees and monkey-pods…
Far above towered the huge bulks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, seeming to blot out half the starry sky. Two miles and a half above our heads they reared their own heads, white with snow that the tropic sun had failed to melt….
“Listen! Here comes the land-breath now, the mountain wind.”
I could hear it coming, rustling softly through the coffee trees, stirring the monkey-pods, and sighing through the sugar-cane. On the lanai the hush still reigned. Then it came, the first feel of the mountain wind, faintly balmy, fragrant and spicy, and cool, deliciously cool, a silken coolness, a wine-like coolness—cool as only the mountain wind of Kona can be cool.
“Do you wonder that I lost my heart to Kona eighteen years ago?” he demanded. “I could never leave it now. I think I should die. It would be terrible.”
(Excerpts from ‘The Sheriff of Kona’ by Jack London, 1908)
When working closely with coffee trees farmers tend to talk to them. Which goes waaay beyond simply hugging them, as any woman will verify. At BLUE HORSE KONA COFFEE we’re actually trying not to hurt our trees feelings either and waiting till they are really ready to separate from their beans. Just makes a better cup.
Summer Fun Food and Drink 2009 - Chapter 4 Vancouver coffee report · Tuesday June 30, 2009 by colin newell
One of the advantages of spending 4 or 5 days doing nothing other than visiting coffee shops (away from home town) is:
You get a really good sense of what is going on in other major centers and you get an unconditional view.
Photo at right – drink beer for those times that coffee lets you down… and trust me, it lets you down.
And what I mean by unconditional is…
I can sample the wares of the city and (other than 1, maybe 2 spots) I am an utter unknown – just another middle aged guy sipping coffee.
No one knows or cares that I write about coffee culture – so I am not going to get any special treatment… pretty much guaranteed.
And if I was to boil down the cafe experience (anywhere) and address a roomful of individuals interested in doing the same (citizen journalism on cafe culture), I could come up with 3 of the most common scenarios when anonymously visiting a specialty coffee shop:
Engaged – Visiting AGRO for the first time, I found an interesting, interested and enthusiastic staff – who, even during my first cup of coffee, were asking how I liked it, describing some of its lineage and then following up with some personal stories of staff coffee travels. That is what I would describe as a fully engaged cafe.
Disengaged – Ever get the feeling you are walking into someones private party when you visit some of the more popular destination cafes in North America? Yea, the coffee is great – but there is still a house party going on around you. Staff are talking amongst themselves about one aspect of cafe culture or another… but not really interested in the experience you are having… beyond taking your money and serving you their brew. I call this the Barista Jam Cafe
There are several places in Victoria like this – you know where they are from personal experience – but you do not name names – at least online.
Grab bags – This kind of cafe is hit and miss. It is noted for great coffee, but only when the owner manager is around. No manager or owner (around) and it is anybodies guess what happens here. The clear majority of coffee joints I visit in North America are like this – but that, in part, has a lot to do with the way I travel and review promising coffee places.
Ok. So three groups. I would appreciate feedback. What have you, the readers, noted?
Summer Fun Food and Drink - 2009 - Chapter 3 - Coffee Podcast · Wednesday June 17, 2009 by colin newell
Coffeecrew.Com Podcast for June 2009 – a series we call Conversations
We interviewed Poul Mark of Transcend Coffee, Edmonton, Alberta – while he was visiting family and friends here in Victoria.
We met up with him at Habit Coffee & Culture – one of Victoria B.C.‘s finest coffee bars.
Have a listen!
or click here for the mp3 if you cannot see the above widget.
Summer Fun Food and Drink 2009 - Chapter One - For women only · Sunday June 14, 2009 by colin newell
In over 15 years of serious coffee tasting, I have always followed my own motto: Push the specialty coffee experience to the very edge of the experiential frontier – and then push it a little further.
And in one and a half decades of boutique coffee browsing I have sipped coffee from the most exotic climes; Like beans from far flung places like St. Helena Island – Napoleon Bonaparte, no less, wiled away his final days there. Coffee beans pooped out the tail end of marsupial civets… from three different sources no less! Thai civet coffee, Indonesian Kopi Luwak and Vietnamese farmed civet coffee. I have had Jamaica Blue Mountain coffees from all the major estates on the little Island that gave us some of the most remarkable rums and reggae music. I once held in my hands a 10 pound bag of Panama La Hacienda Esmerelda coffee… worth over $1600. And yea, I got me some!
Some of my favorites java jolts have come from Ethiopia, Yemen, Uganda, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Papua New Guinea and, of all places, Australia and Thailand.
And despite all these varied experiences, nothing could have prepared me recently for my greatest caffeinated challenge to date… Girlie Coffee
Deliciously Girlie comes from Kealakekua on the Big Island of Hawaii – it’s a tranquil little town nestled along a very narrow region of land scarcely a mile wide and 7 to 10 miles long – and 1200 to 1750 feet above Sea level – it shares the strip of weather beaten State highway 11 and a luxurious landscape with town names like Captain Cook.
Deliciously Girlie coffee is 100% Pure Kona coffee that is very lightly roasted – probably as light as you can go – and only produced within the natural environment of the ideal coffee production facility… the farm. And the roaster. That is it. No intermediate steps. No corporate influence. No processing.
What I was fundamentally unprepared for were the consequences of brewing up several pots and presses of coffee actually intended for the exclusive consumption of the fairer sex… that is, the ladies.
In my lab at the University of Victoria, I work with a wide range of folks of both sexes and all ages. And as word went around that there was some newfangled brews to peruse, the buzz for this joe became palpable.
Cups of the Deliciously Girlie coffee were passed around to the crew and much to our surprise, the coffee was… mild and quite Kona like… with light body and very focused lemony notes. Ah. So far so good. Within about 15 minutes however, the guys in our coffee circle became quite blethering… verbose… chatty. Fact was, this lightly roasted coffee packs an immense caffeine wallop – somewhat higher than your typical burnt out Starbucks roast – Deliciously Girlie is at the other end of the roast spectrum and as you might not know: the lighter the roast, the higher the caffeine content.
And one of the reasons why they call this Girlie coffee (and there are lots of reasons on their informative webpage…) is that women are better equipped to deal with the different chemistry of this coffee – like more caffeine, and more complex antioxidants – those delightful little cancer fighters that many natural foods (like coffee) contain.
What of the ladies in the lab and offices around ours that sampled the women only java? They carried on about their day as if this was a normal, but tasty, cup of coffee to enjoy.
The guys? Well, we chatted and chatted and ran over into an elongated coffee break… and chatted some more. Then hugged. And went back to work.
But don’t take my word for it! Deliciously Girlie coffee comes in a remarkable packaging that looks unmistakably Jean Paul Gaultier (the designer!) – and not surprising, the creators of Deliciously Girlie used to work for companies like Prada in New York City.
This blog on Deliciously Girlie Coffee begins yet another season of our beloved series, Summer Fun Food and Drink! I hope you all enjoy reading these stories as much as I enjoy writing them! Can we talk?
What are you thinking about? [1]
As solstice approaches - Two Old Goats Live in the Sun age · Thursday June 4, 2009 by colin newell
Wouldn’t it be cool to be in a folk band – or have a CD under your belt and sit in the audience and enjoy your music?
Ok. Kind of weird.
Anyhow. Tonight Andrea and I had the awesome pleasure of sitting outdoors and listening to 1/2 of the Two Old Goats (my band), Charlie Burton and his lovely and talented daughter Mariah – belt out some of the tunes off of our album and Charlies first album Take my Picks
The Two Old Goats recorded a CD last year – titled Island Standard Time in my 24 track home studio… and, get this, this is the 1st time I have ever heard any of the songs performed live!
The real star of the show, actually, is Mariah, Charlies college age daughter – whose vocal prowess was an utter knock-out – and whose talent was entirely not surprising. She is, after all, the daughter of a dude who has some pretty wicked chops.
Anyway – to our delight, they played at the Cadboro Bay Starbucks – out on the patio – in the brilliant Sun… on a wonderful evening. The weather has been spectacular the last few days, in Victoria, and like any outdoor setting for live acoustic music… well, it cannot be beat! Charlie sang and played his Martin guitar and Banjo – Mariah sang, harmonized, did some originals and played some awesome guitar and banjo as well.
In a stunning moment, Mariah did a version of Summertime that left the audience breathless. And as I said to Charlie after the show: “I have teared up twice in the last month – once during a Tony Bennett performance on Elvis Costello’s show Spectacle and second during Mariah’s perfect and breathtaking rendition of the classic.
For those Victoria area residents that are interested, Charlie will be playing at the Caddy Bay Starbucks every Thursday night for the rest of the month – from 7PM til 9PM. Come on down. I will be there.
Interested in the music of the Two Old Goats – check it out here
