Coffee Review Posts 📝

The Acaia Pearl scale has been on my mind for a while, more so than any other piece of coffee equipment. I have been having an issue with my regular scales—which were a cheap purchase on Amazon—where the weight of the contents on the scale sometimes changes by 0.1 or 0.2 grams. This behaviour has affected the scales since the start, but I did not mind because the changes did not have a big impact on my coffee brewing.

While Ecuador is not traditionally known for its speciality coffee, I am building more conviction in the potential of this region. Altos De Saragullas, roasted by Redemption Roasters, is the second Ecuadoran coffee I have tasted lately, providing a delicious cup that kept me going this Sunday morning.

I have been tasting a lot of fruity coffees lately, including San Jose de Lourdes, a coffee roasted by Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters. As I was drinking this coffee, I was again reminded of blackcurrant juice, like the kind you would get from a diluted juice bottle mixed with water here in the UK.

I have been curious about coffee subscription boxes for a while. My point of hesitation for buying a subscription box has been that I like to pick beans myself, usually ones that stand out to me in some way. For instance, I recently bought a coffee from Full Court Press that went through extended fermentation.

On a cold Sunday morning, Finca La Esperanza, a coffee sourced from Guatemala and sold by Steampunk Coffee, kept me warm. While it may be too icy to go out for a walk, I was more than happy to relax and ponder a new Guatemalan coffee I've been trying recently.

When I read "chocolate" on a flavour note, I expect the flavour to be prominent, perhaps due to my experience with a few coffees where coffee is front and centre. Finca Bonanza, an El Salvadoran coffee sold by Steampunk Coffee, changed my perspective. This coffee features prominent apple and tablet notes, with chocolate sitting in the background to delight you throughout the cup.

To accompany my new Kalita Wave, I purchased a gooseneck kettle. Gooseneck kettles have a pouring neck similar to that of a goose, or a swan, and they give you greater control over pouring. For pour-over brewing, having a gooseneck kettle is almost essential. I knew that I needed one because my home kettle does not give me very much control over the direction of water pouring. It has a wide spout at the top of the kettle, which means it is difficult to get close to the cup in which I am brewing without tilting at a large angle. I need to get close to the cup so I can maintain a gentle pour.

Manually grinding coffee at home is a lot of work, both in terms of time and energy. I can grind 14g of beans—the amount I use to brew an Aeropress—in less time than it takes to boil the requisite water, but there are other things I could do with that time, such as prepare my equipment (which I used to do before grinding).

As I sat to enjoy my coffee this morning, I looked out the window and saw snowy rooftops and a clearing sky. It has been snowing on and off all morning. While this moment was wonderful in itself, the coffee did add to the experience. I was drinking Jamila Abakeno, an Ethiopian coffee purchased from The Good Coffee Cartel.

For over the holiday season, I purchased two bags of coffee from The Good Coffee Cartel. Well, I should say canisters rather than bags. Their coffee comes in reusable canisters and you can request a refill if you live near their store. One of the canisters I purchased was their Ethopia Adado coffee, the first coffee they have ordered for a second time.