Thursday, April 14, 2005


skip your blowout

you know a common practice here in nyc is to wash your hair at home once a week, and then go once or twice a week to a salon for quick wash and/or blowout. depending on your budget, you might do this at fekkai, orlo or at supercuts. whatever.

the crucial point is that most women in noo yawk still tend to live by the blow dryer and paddle brush for that straight-n-glossy look. but i'm here to tell ya, fuggedaboudit.

because the stumptown "hairbender" espresso blend is here to stay. got that flavor wheel mousepad yet?

alas, since the job thing keeps interfering with formal morning cuppings -- i gotta work on that -- i just made this coffee up straight away in my trusty silvia. chris did give some parameters for this blend, which i tried to meet as best i could on my unmodified "old" machine thru a trusty temp surf.

let's start with the roast: the hairbender beans do show small spots of oil, so they're into vienna. and the blend ground nicely at the usual setting on the mazzer mini, so i'd say this coffee is fairly easy to work with, not so super-finicky.

this unusual blend -- remember chris noted that it's mostly washed (wet process) coffees, unlike the more common mostly naturals (dry process) with a little washed -- was immediately noteworthy to me for its intense buttery-ness and pungent taste.

i found the fresh dry grounds to offer a green spice aroma. the rest of the bouquet seemed to hold a dark honey and syrupy-vanilla swiss thing, which i think is what chris meant by "butterscotch."

and i'd say the aftertaste, as plain espresso, was maybe that kind of juniper berry flavor called black-currant-like. i found it intriguing, so naturally i had to have it as a cappuccino.

yuppers, 2 triples for breakfast. . .anyway, in milk, i think the black currant retreated a bit, and a little raw sugar highlighted the honey and chocolate-y notes.

yummy. but no more for me today!

also, i do leave tomorrow for seattle! i can hardly wait; i hope i'll be seeing a great many of you, dear readers and coffee friends, there.

g & maoin an amusing note, oren after reading yesterday's post on the stumptown harrar, sent me an awesome pic of long-time bccy pal and chic cupper genevieve felix with mao himself and nephew from their recent trip to ethiopia.

and finally, i took a look at my web stats yesterday only to discover that disney, the parent company of abc news, is all over this website, i suppose interested in reading my very personal and offhand take on last friday's event.

welcome to bccy, gentlemen! where real coffee lovers gather to talk passionately about the taste and flavors readily apparent in high-quality specialty coffees!

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