Here is Paul our Roaster (also known as “the face” of the company) showing off his custom cut permanent Aeropress filter.

This method of brewing has quickly become on of the preferred methods of brewing among some Java Blend staff members.  Some still prefer the paper filters but others feel that the paper robs the cup of delicious oils and the wonderful mouth-feel that the perfect amount of sediment can create (just like in a French press).  Anyway, if this brewing method interests you here is a quick pictorial guide on how Paul gets it done!

The permanent filter was cut out of a 8 cup funnel shaped drip filter; some say any old filter is fine others claim that swiss gold is the only way to go.

Since the permanent filter is more porous than a paper filter we recommend using the “inverted aeropress method” of brewing.  The setup for this method looks like this:In the above picture we have all the gear we need: inverted aeropress with some of our delicious Ethiopian Amaro Gayo inside, a preheated cup, the permanent filter and our newest toy a pino digital kettle pro (these are really nice kettles that allow you to preset a specific temperature and it will hold that temperature + or – 3%).

With the temperature of the water stabilized around 205 Fahrenheit Paul begins to brew.

Pouring the water

Stirring

With the filter secured, inverting over preheated cup

plunging

Discarding the beautiful spent puck

And that’s all it takes: simple, clean, portable and it tastes amazing!

I just wanted to give everyone an update of the recent Brazil Cup of Excellence auction. We received a bit of press, just before the auction in the Chronicle Herald, so everyone is curious about how we made out at the auction. Well I am happy to report that we were very fortunate to win not one but two lots of coffee. Lot#: 14 Fazenda Sertãozinho and Lot#: 19 Serra Do Bone.
There were 26 different coffees up for auction and we cupped them all blind. These were two of our favorite lots. We actually scored these slightly higher than some of the top placed coffees. http://www.cupofexcellence.org/NewsandCalendar/PressReleases/tabid/146/ctl/Details/mid/428/ItemID/576/Default.aspx We hope to have these coffees within 4-6 weeks for roasting.

We had a great group to help us cup this years Brazil CoE coffees. Some pretty amazing coffees. The auction takes place on the 19th. Wish us luck.

Our 26 Brazil CoE samples have been roasted with lots of love by Paul
We did an initial cupping and found some very interesting and wonderful samples
We would like to invite all those interested to a public cupping of these coffees Thursday afternoon at 4 pm at our cafe/roastery. We hope to see you there.

As another year is upon us, just wanted to let you know about some exciting things happening here at JBCR. This is the time of year that we new crop samples begin showing up. First to arrive, four samples from Burundi. Burundi coffee bears striking resemblence to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi’s coffee, like Rwanda’s, is primarily Bourbon varietal, grown at high altitudes ranging from 1250 to 2000 MASL. Coffee is planted by smallholder farmers; each farmer is tending abount 50 to 250 trees. The farmers bring coffee to washing stations (wet-mills), where historically the coffees were mixed together and exported the same way. Several years ago, the coffee market was “liberalized” which means that individual washing stations can keep the coffee separate, and it can be marketed to buyers by station. With this comes the possibility to find some interesting coffees that were formerly mixed in with the not-so-good lots. Have we found one of those gems? Stay tuned.

Cup of Excellence

They’re finally here. Our Brazil Cup of Excellence samples.
These samples, 26 in all will, be roasted and cupped this week prior to the Brazil CoE auction on the 19th of this month. Would you like to try the some of the best coffees to come out of Brazil this year? We have decided to have a public cupping of these coffees so if anyone is interested in joining us, give us a shout.

Peter and Parker St. Food Bank Chair, Mel Boutilier

We would like to take this opportunity to wish every one Happy Holidays and the best for the New Year.  Once again this year we were able to make a significant donation to The Parker St. Food Bank. This was made possible due to all those who purchased our Northender Blend. Each year a portion of sales of this coffee are earmarked for a local organization in our community that makes a differences in peoples lives.

Had a great Barista 101 class this evening. A really enthusiastic group of spro students. Everyone pulled some great shots, and even poured some nice latte art. Hopefully everyone that attended picked up some useful tips to help them with their “God Shot”. Demand for the class was higher that we anticipated, so well be scheduling a second class in the next week or two.

A photo from 1945. Thanks Miles for sharing