Dan Markham

Is Four Barrel going to begin roasting soon?

I was in Four Barrel Coffee today and witnessed what, I believe, may be the last piece of the roasting operation puzzle for them. There was a monolithic oriented strand board box sitting smack dab in the middle of the front of the house as I walked in. Not long after, a fork-lift (yes, a fork-lift) came rumbling through the (already open, of course) front doors. The owner of the joint was climbing on and around both the forklift and mystery box like Spider Man making sure nothing mussed up his new café’s decor as the box was pulled out the front door. It was the tightest of fits.

When asked about the contents of the, now absent mystery monolith, I was told it was the “after burner” for the roaster. The after burner incinerates all the fine particulate matter thrown off during the roasting process so that it doesn’t make a surprise, sudden toasty mess of one’s roasting operation at a later date.

The missing piece? I’m not sure but, the practice of repackaging all of those (admittedly tasty) Stumptown beans I witnessed a couple employees partaking in today? I’ll bet you it’s days are numbered. Here’s hoping 4B adds another tasty coffee roaster choice to the mix.

Niyarita (on flickr)

Honestly. Before I picked up this bag, I truly meant to go somewhere else. After all, it seems all anyone ever reads here - at least where it concerns coffee - is “Blue Bottle, Blue Bottle, Blue Bottle“. Broken record. So Sorry.

Actually, I intended to make my way over to the new kid in town The Mission - Four Barrel, just recently out of their alley spot - if, for no other reason, than to take advantage of the opportunity to pick up a bag of beans selected and roasted by those native sons of the Northwest - Stumptown - without having to pay shipping costs (cheap bastard, I know and, yeah, for the moment, Four Barrel is, indeed, using Stumptown beans).

But, here we are again, looking at a picture of a bag from Blue Bottle and, as is usual, they are unique and incredibly tasty. Nayarita is from Mexico is a dry processed bean (unusual for a South/Central American) and so keeps a wonderful berry flavor and aroma that is usually only found in African beans. At the same time there is the same earthiness that I have found in the only other Mexican I’ve tasted - Taylor Made’s Zaragoza - as well as the same mellow acidity. So, a smooth, subtly earthy cup accented by the delicate berry flavor brought on by the dry processing.

This is, after all, one of the things I love about Blue Bottle: you are not likely to find this on their site. You have to go into the store where — ta-da! — you are presented with a wonderful surprise. Something you have never had before and might not ever have again. Another stellar cup of coffee from BB.

But, I promise, I will pick another roaster next time … really.

Wallenford Estate JBM (on flickr)

What I’m Drinking Now: Blue Bottle’s Wallenford Estate, Jamaica Blue Mountain.

How can a coffee be so carmelly sweet and rich, so smooth, so mellow with one of the most pleasurably lingering finishes I have yet experienced? Could it be because it cost me $21 for a half pound?

Not that price correlates with flavor as a rule. Sometimes things are expensive simply as a reult of limited supply. Both Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kona are excellent examples of this. Both can only be authentically procured from extremely limited geographical confines so supplies are low and prices are high.

This does not mean that everything with the name Kona or Jamaica Blue Mountain should be considered exemplary in terms of quality. As price and flavor lack correlation so does location and quality. Coffee is an agricultural product and one should not make the mistake of failing to factor in the skill of the farmer and/or the quality of the land on which an agricultural product is grown in considering it’s quality.

Blue Bottle coffee in San Francisco offered up a batch of Jamaica Blue Mountain. It’s the largest single amount of money I have ever spent on a bag of coffee beans and I felt, ever so slightly, like an elitist chump throwing down that kind of money for a half pound. But I put my faith in the talents and skills of whomever it is that is in charge of bean selection at Blue Bottle and I was not let down. The rumpled, rapidly emptying bag tells the story. This is good coffee.

Panama Boquete, Finca Berlina from Ritual

What I’m drinking now: What I was drinking then (yes, this baby is long gone now, french pressed into oblivion): Panama Boquete, Finca Berlina

I have a friend who nailed it: “savory”. That’s opposed to sweet. I say “brothy”. Does this sound like the description of a coffee you might want to drink? Well, If it doesn’t, it should. This was a fascinating coffee. Lively, spicy, rich plus all of the above. I really have never tasted anything like it.

Bella Donovan

What I’m drinking now: Bella Donovan.

From Blue Bottle, natch. “A classic moka-java blend”, indeed: smooth like one, floral/earthy like one. A classic.

Blue Bottle’s Purosa PNG

What I’m drinking now. This is one of my favorite coffees. Ever.

Of all the elegant, intensly flavorful beans Blue Bottle offers, I find the Purosa PNG to be the most elegant, most flavorful of them all. Sweet, earthy, full bodied, so well balanced it could pass as a master blender’s crowning achievement. But this is no blend; just single origin perfection.