How cool is this? My place of work is now buying Intelligentsia Coffee!!! Previously, The FeedRoom, pioneer in online video communications, had a Flavia machine and guess what was served? That’s right. Flavia coffee in those individual serving sized, foil packets. Flavia is close to the worst coffee on the planet. The packets had a strength indicator to let you know which one was stronger. To me it indicated which one tasted worse. The aroma was lacking. I only drank it on record setting, bone chilling winter days when the walk down Canal St. to La Colombe, the nearest decent coffee house to work – before I found out about City Girl Cafe, was all but impossible.
One day, a Starbucks Interactive brewer machine showed up to replace the Flavia. A vast improvement. The Interactive brewer makes a single cup at a time and does hot chocolate as well. It has a bean hopper (left side for caffeine and right side for decaf beans) and grinds fresh for each cup. You can also tweak the temperature setting to fine tune the brew. The only problem now was that we were using Starbucks beans and the burnt flavor, which has rightly earned them the nickname Charbucks, was dominate in the cup. I couldn’t get past it. I tried to contain my coffee geekdom, but this machine had potential to make a decent brew and I was way to curious to see how some Intelli beans would taste in there. I recommended we try Intelligentsia and after some research, an order was placed.
A huge improvement once again – props to The FeedRoom for being such a cool place to work and to think about the coffee well-being of the employees. Currently I’m still tasting a bit of the charbucks burntness in the cup, but the profile from the Intelli Brazil Agua Preta is in there. The decaf hopper still has Charbucks beans, so the charred residuals are lingering in the machine, invading the freshness of the Intelli beans. Eventually though, it will all flush out and the deliciousness of Intelli will shine through. Things are looking up! Who knows, maybe one day a technivorm will magically show up?
The other day I had a treat. I had the pleasure of taking a food and coffee pairing class at Intelligentsia’s NYC coffee lab in Soho. The goal of the class was to taste the distinct flavors and smell the aromas that food brings out in coffee. This was probably some of the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted in my life.
As we walked in the door for the pairing, we were handed a cup of mystery coffee that had been brewed in the Chemex. It was so delicious that I nearly drank all of mine immediately and forgot to really taste it. I recognized this coffee’s earthiness. It was the Sulawesi Toarco, an interesting coffee with a lot going on.
For the pairing we were served three coffees. The first was the Brazil Cup of Excellence Fazenda Kaquend, brewed via Chemex, which we paired with 85% cocoa and blackberries. We sipped the coffee first and I noticed a slight hint of citrus. Next, we took a bite of the chocolate and raspberries and then took a sip. WOW! The chocolate notes really stood out to me. I did not pick up much blackberry, but the chocolate was quite dominate. As it reached the back of my tongue and I let it sit there a while, the citrus came back to me.
The second coffee, and my favorite, was the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe brewed via Chemex. This was paired with blood orange, mango, and grapefruit which we dipped in honey. There was a lot going on with this coffee, but to my novice palette, the citrus notes are what I picked up. I could have kept drinking this all day – it was refreshing and very easy to drink.
The final coffee was the Bolivian Anjilanaka, which was used as a single origin espresso by Mike Phillips when he won the US Barista Championship – a different roast profile of course than what was used for drip. It was one that I had tried as espresso at home. Delicious as espresso, but I think I was lacking the skills/equipment to really nail this at home – the classic Black Cat is so much more forgiving to the home barista. The Anjilanaka was brewed via French Press and paired with crackers and fig jam. As I took a sip I immediately noticed that it had a drastically different flavor profile from the Yirg and Brazil CoE. It was smoky, a bit earthier and had significantly more body. It was very delicious – just had a drastically different flavor profile. It was then brewed via Chemex and I would have thought it was two different coffees I was drinking if I had not been told. The Chemex had taken away the body and smokiness and really mellowed it out.
Thanks to Daniel Humphries who taught the class and did a great job pairing the coffee. I look forward to doing this again.
Drip coffee. I never used to think much about it really because I have focused my coffee enthusiast pursuits on espresso. Drip was viewed by me as a chaser to be consumed after I had my fill of delicious espresso, but still wanted to sip on a less dense version of coffee. My favorite method of brewing drip was via the French Press. Not being a fan of department store auto drip makers because of their inconsistency with water temp regulation which results in bitter coffee – I was naturally taken to the French Press. I had more control over the brewing process which allowed me to fine tune the brew to my taste. I was a fan of the French Press until I was recently introduced to the Chemex brewer. Now my French Press has been shelved. Drip coffee has become more enjoyable to me, almost as much as I enjoy a good espresso.
I was introduced to the Chemex through cupping and coffee & food pairing classes I have been taking at Intelligentsia’s NYC Training Lab in Soho. I was immediately amazed at how refreshing the coffee tasted. It was sediment free and had a crispness and clarity about the coffee, which I had never really experienced before. For me, it elevated brew coffee into the same stratosphere in which I had placed espresso – well, not quite, but I now hold drip in much higher regard than previously. If you have never had coffee brewed in a Chemex pot, the best way I can describe it is to say it brews a very pure and clean cup bursting with flavors. This brew method removes a lot of the acid that normally creates a sour taste in coffee. The Chemex does more than just brew a delicious pot of coffee – it is also considered a work of art and is part of MoMA’s collection. As I cruise around to various coffee shops, I am starting to see more and more Chemex brewers. People are talking about the Chemex and aware of it’s revival on the coffee scene.
Not everyone likes it or appreciates its revival. Check out this post here on coffeed.com. I can say that my wife doesn’t like it either. She groans when I brew a pot because she’d rather have me pull shots and steam milk for her cappuccino, or brew a French Press if I’m making drip. She likes the body of the Press. It has a heavier and grittier feel on tongue, and brings out some of the deeper notes of the coffee. The Chemex has been growing on her though, and I think it won’t be too long before she takes more of a liking to the Chemex when we brew drip coffee.
If you’ve never tried a Chemex, I highly recommend you do. They are very inexpensive, ~$30. Instructions on using one can be found here. Make sure you use freshly roasted beans, grind right before brewing, and use the specially designed Chemex filters. The end result will be one of the most delicious tasting cups of coffee you’ve ever had in your life AND you will have a new piece of artwork in the home.
I used to think that I was just an avid coffee drinker. Much like a cyclist likes to ride a bicycle or a toddler loves to throw tantrums, I like coffee. My behavior to me seemed normal until my wife lovingly pointed out to me that most people don’t weigh their beans to the nearest gram before grinding, most people aren’t taking the water temp before brewing, most people don’t take their burr grinder apart to further modify the presets to optimize the grind size for espresso, most people don’t take notes about how the variables in their preparation affect the taste, and most people would be bored to death discussing the advantages of a chemex brewer vs. a french press. It’s not so much that I’m suffering from acute obsessive compulsive coffee disorder, it’s just that I happen to have a healthy/passionate interest in coffee. After all, what’s better than waking up to a delicious cup of coffee, espresso, or some espresso based beverage?
This blog is about coffee – it will chronicle my endless pursuit to perfect the preparation of drip coffee and espresso beverages at home. Please check back for more content.
