Again it’s been too long since our last blog post. Maybe posting more often will be my new year’s resolution. . .or I could just do it. Either way the point of this post is to inform you of the great gifts we have for the coffee or tea lover that you love. These gifts start at less than $10 and are all less than $100.
For the coffee lovers:
My first pick would be the Frieling stainless steel french presses. I have already talked about these on the facebook page, but in case you missed it. They are completely stainless steel, not a pinch of plastic on them. Why is stainless steel so great? First of all it is non-pouros, so it won’t absorb coffee oils which eventually become rancid and create off flavors in the cup. These presses are also extremely durable. I have had one for almost 3 years and it still looks as good as new.
The presses are also double-walled, so they will retain heat while brewing. I wouldn’t suggest keeping the coffee in there longer than the suggested 3.5-4 minute brew time,but if you choose to keep it in the carafe longer it will stay hotter than if it was in a single walled glass/plastic press.
We have four sizes of the brewers-
7-8 cup, around 40 oz- $67.50
5-6 cup, around 30 oz- $57.50
3-4 cup, around 20 oz- $48.95
They may seem pricey, but they are built to last. We are also selling them for less than on-line retailers.
BeeHouse pour-overs-
Pour over brewers are one of the best ways to produce a single, fresh and filtered cup of coffee. You can control the water temperature and extraction time to fine tune your coffee brewing. BeeHouse pour overs are the best I have seen and used. They are made in Japan of high-fired porcelain, so they are non-porous and very durable.
We would be happy to make you a cup of coffee in one of these if you’d like to see them in action before you jump in. At $18 these are a great deal. In addition to a kettle, filters, and some freshly roasted coffee from Cultiva you can produce a great cup of coffee with very little investment.
Coffee Service ware-
We just got in some really cool espresso, cappuccino and coffee cups from Presenttime. They all come with storage racks. They seem to very durable and they look great.
The tower of six nesting cups (probably about 6-8 oz each) is only $20. The Cappuccino set ( 6ish 0z) is $18 for a set of four with saucers. Last but not least is the espresso demitasse set (3-4 oz) with four cups and saucers for $16. The espresso cups have enough room for a double shot and a dab of steamed milk if you would like to make a traditional styled espresso macchiato .
We also have our regular assortment of Indigo Bridge Books and Cultiva mugs.-
For the tea lover we have a few different options. We are going to be getting in a couple BeeHouse teapots. They brew about 22 oz of tea at a time in a very nice stainless steel brew basket. Just like the pour overs they are made in Japan of high fired porcelain.
I am not nearly as much of a tea drinker as I am a coffee geek, but I have been very impressed with the Finum tea basket brewers. They are made in Germany, of a very fine mesh. The infuser sits on the rim of the cup, submerging the tea leaves in the hot water. The basket is large enough that it allows the tea leaves to expand and brew evenly. A nice bonus is that this tea brewer will fit in many tea pots and works especially well in the BeeHouse tea pots we use. These are only $10, throw in an ounce or two of one of the 15 teas we carry and you have a great gift for under $20.
Of course we also have gift cards that work on both the bookstore and cafe.
Thanks and have a happy holidays
Ross
Tasting 3/16: We decided to experiment with temperature today – thanks to Kyle Glanville’s article in Fresh Cup. Dallas started us off by pulling a couple shots at our control temp of 200.7 degF. This week’s blend of brazil, sulawesi and yirgacheffe has been all over the map. Thursday was the 4th day after roast – it came out tasting like peanut butter and battery acid, or at least this was my perception. Later that day, the shot I had was reminiscent of sulfur and chlorine! As the days went by it mellowed out a bit and the fruit notes were starting to come out this morning. So that brings us back to the tasting. Our control espressos were fruity but with lingering chemical astringency. (if that makes sense?) The next thing we did was pull a double shot into 2 demis, one hot and the other cold. The shot pulled into the cold cup was sweeter but kinda boring. Finally, I adjusted the temp on the GB5 to 200degF and then we waited for about 7 minutes. Perfect! it was sweet and nutty with a touch of spice. yum! what will it taste like tomorrow?
Cuppings!
