Sunday, April 18, 2004


a differing view too good to be overlooked in the comments, part ii & beowulf

again, notes and references are in brackets for clarification. the links are provided by me. this comment comes from a prominent greenie (importer/broker) who has asked to remain unnamed:

"just a small comment on tuesday's blog. . .fair trade is indeed small. yet most specialty coffee [what you buy at the mermaid or your local independent roaster/retailer or coffeehouse] trades at better than fair trade levels.

the cost of production for shb [strictly hard bean or "strictlies," the desirable, high-grown dense coffee beans with lots of flavorful oil] and better is indeed around [US$]0.90-0.95 [per pound], yet the commercial coffees [the canned coffees in the supermarket] do not have that cost. brazil, colombia, vietnam, as a matter of fact, the whole world with the exception of parts of central america and parts of east africa, have a lower cost. . .

hence, there is much more to say for promoting the production of top quality to fight the crisis than the selective, unfair approach of fair trade."

i myself will reply to all these comments next week. but right now i have to rush to make pizza and get ready for yoga.

also, i do want very much to comment on the lovely pound of beowulf espresso oren sent me. using the terminology of the scaa flavor wheel (a.k.a. linglese, after ted lingle, chief of the scaa, who invented it) and jean lenoir's nez du café, here i go:

the beowulf blend's dark-roast, not fully oily, but with large patches of oil; what i'd call a real viennese roast. it's a sweet, low-brightness coffee with a heavy, syrupy body, one that coats the back of a spoon like turkey gravy.

the fresh grounds offer an intense fragrance very much like black cardamom pods. cupped, the blend reveals maple-syrup and dark dutch chocolate, which grow into the spicy notes of cedar and pepper.

the dry aftertaste stays with you for a very long time with a hints of smokiness, what lenoir calls "pipe tobacco." drink a glass of water or two: but the beowulf isn't going away! it's there with you for the long haul; in espresso, this is considered a good thing.

and it's perhaps somewhat surprising because oren himself is the most charming, retiring, quiet person. . . yet he makes this big, assertive espresso named after an ancient viking hero!

despite the coffee being more darkly roasted than i would have thought i liked, i drank a doppio ristretto easily without sugar. when i made it as an americano with a touch of turbinado sugar and a tablespoon of light cream, i thought i was drinking a cup of hot chocolate for the first two sips!

that was very yummy. my husband, who really dislikes most coffees roasted beyond the northern italian style, was surprised to find himself really enjoying it in his morning cappucino. . .

i say, forget your fear of the old old english. ignore the thorns: beowulf's a fine espresso even if you think you don't like darker coffees.

posted by fortune | 10:47 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments