Bad Coffee Gift: The Indispensable Coffee Dispenser

I realize by plugging this gadget, I am adding to the likelihood someone will buy it.  Nevertheless, this product is a "teachable moment."  This contraption doses out one tablespoon of coffee.  Each time you click the button, coffee is dosed out into a brewer below.

What is the problem?  I am sure it is functional and works as directed, but the issue is the fundamental idea.   Anyone following this blog knows, if you want the freshest coffee possible, grinding your coffee right before brewing is best.  Despite what the infomercial below states, this dispenser is not keeping the coffee fresh!  Nor is the vertical nature of the container a benefit!  Grinding a whole bag of coffee and pouring it into the "Indispensable Coffee Dispenser" ruins the coffee by making it go stale more quickly.

The idea of dosing is a good one.  In fact, expensive coffee grinders come with them built in.  This "Coffee Dispenser" is marketed towards people who don't know any better and already buy pre-ground coffee.  Ugh.
For more bad coffee ideas, check out Coffee Nate's post, "5 Bad Coffee Gifts."
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After watching the video one more time, I found another coffee faux pas.  Never store your coffee in the refrigerator.  Either freeze it, if you are not going to be using it for a month in a way that moisture cannot get to it, or put it in an air-tight container in a closet.   

SCAA Flavor Wheel Continued: Guest Coffee Reviewers Wanted

From Metro Espresso: DC's Coffee Blog

From Metro Espresso: DC's Coffee Blog

Citation: Sweetmarias.com Click to expand

In Part Two of the SCAA flavor wheel, the picture is roughly divided into four quadrants: External Changes, Internal Changes, Aroma Taints, and Taste Faults.  I will first state that half of this wheel I do not understand, demonstrating my limits.  Yet, this wheel speaks to the intracy of coffee roasting.  

What is most important to the everyday coffee drinker are the sections, Aroma Taints and Taste Faults.  For example, in "Taste Faults" when one roasts too light not completing the "first crack" the coffee tastes grassy to the tongue.  Unlike rare meat which is yummy, underroasted coffee is not.  In "Aroma Taints," the scorched and baked sections often appear in gas-station coffee or McDonalds.  

I invite Metro Espresso readers to print out the SCAA coffee wheels, and write coffee reviews! (The other is found here)  Send the reviews to duderino102*at*gmail.com and I will post them.  This is your chance to be to featured on Metro Espresso, and demonstrate your coffee love.  You by no means need to be a coffee expert, but one who merely enjoys coffee.  Be sure to include a short little bio that can be included with your review.
    

Coffee House Review: Sip of Seattle

Environment: Small, but tidy.
Coffee: Good, not great.
Price: Cheap to Average
Location: Near Metro Center at 1120 G St NW

Sip of Seattle is located near one of the many entrances at Metro Center.  Placed far enough away from Chinatown Coffee Company (CCC), Sip of Seattle is worthy of a stop-in to get your daily coffee or espresso if the 10 minute walk to CCC is too long.  Initially appearing as a hole-in-the-wall coffee joint, once you open the doors, a pleasant, tidy environment welcomes you in beckoning to try one of their many coffee concoctions.  Additionally, they have a coffee dispensers containing Sumatra Mandheling, Kenya AA, and coffee blends from Seattle for 10.50 lb.  While a small space, they offer 6 chairs with some table space near the walls to work at.   

Everything has a spot!

Coffee:  I ordered a double espresso and a small coffee to go.  The double espresso was ~3-4oz, fairly large.  The barista used a pleasantly warm espresso cup, which many baristas do not do or heat the cup to a scalding temperature.  The espresso had a full body and bold taste.  Some sweet notes washed over my mouth, yet ended with a slight bitterness.  The espresso was better than most I've had in the city, but it did not blow me away.  If you are looking for a full body espresso, I would heartily recommend coming here.  If you desire a lighter body, but lots of flavors I recommend Chinatown Coffee Company, Peregrine in Eastern Market, or Dolcezza Gelato in Dupont Circle.

The drip coffee initially seemed flat, but grew on me as I passed the White House sipping it.  I wondered to myself if the anti-nuclear protester encamped there would like this coffee.  The coffee lacked flavor or complexity, but was not bitter or watery.  Decent is the watchword for Sip of Seattle.

Price:  Sip of Seattle will be generally easy on the wallet.  A small coffee is 1.20 and medium is 1.70.  A small latte is 2.40 and medium is 2.95.  A single espresso is 1.70 with a double being 1.95.  Pictured below is there menu accompanied by the price.

This was the best possible picture I could get

 

Conclusion:  For an innocuous coffee shop, Sip of Seattle surprised me with a relatively good espresso and a non-bitter coffee to satisfy my caffeine addiction.  Speaking to the amount of business they receive, 5-10 people entered into the cafe in a span of 5 minutes buying coffee to go.  I recommend Sip of Seattle for those who need their coffee, but can't make it to the specialty coffee shops in the area.  

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Update: Recently I learned that Sip of Seattle uses different beans for their drip coffee each day, some days its Kenya AA, others Colombian Supremo, for example.  Perhaps, I had a cup that didn't suite my particular taste.  I will have to go back, and try out some new drip coffee.

Coffee Review: Rappahannock's Guatemalan Antigua Panchoy

Welcome to the first Metro Espresso review of local coffee. The first review comes from Rappahannock coffee on Columbia Pike in Arlington. You can check out their website here.

Disclosure: I do not receive free coffee from the roasters, but buy it from them without their knowledge of it being reviewed. In this manner, I hope to recreate what a normal

consumer would buy from each establishment.

The coffee is graded from of 1 to 5 based on the following criteria:

1- Horrible/Bad: Does not deserve to grace any types of brewing methods. Most likely extremely stale, burnt..etc.

2- Meh: Generally displays uneven characteristics or muted flavors. The overall taste does not blend well, and could be improved up. Stale

3- Average: A well crafted coffee with either a one-dimensional flavor or hints of one. Moderately fresh.

4- Good: Demonstrates a good combination of flavors and is freshly roasted.

5- Excellent: Similar to 4, but demonstrates a complex arrangement of flavors and exceeds in quality from similar coffees.

Value is added into the preceding criteria for the final review score.

Brew method: Most reviewers use French Press as their main method of brewing to review coffee, but as I believe any coffee shop should be judged by their double espresso. Espresso acts as a base to many coffee drinks, so reviewing it as mainly an espresso drink is my main concern.

I will refine the criteria in future reviews, but it is a good start to review the local coffee selection.

The barista informed me Rappahannock roasts once a week on Mondays. I recently ran out of the excellent Sumatra Mandheling from Northwest Coffee Company, I needed more coffee. I chose the Guatemalan Antigua Panchoy for a Central American bean.

Aroma: Opening up the bag, I discerned a spicy, floral aroma like a potpourri. After the initial smell, I discerned a hint of chocolate. After grinding, the beans released a potent, syrupy smell.

Taste: Initially, the espresso hits you with a bright, floral taste, followed by a syrupy flavor very similar to Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso. While it may not share BC's complex taste, it is eerily close. Unlike an earthy Sumatra, the Guatemalan had a thin body, emphasizing the vivid flavors.

Visual: The espresso displayed a deep, orangish-red color similar to auburn. The spent grounds were quite red!

Final Thoughts: Rappahannock's Guatemalan Pantigua Panchoy is a tasty espresso with a clear, pronounced taste, but lacks a body to compliment the flavors it has. Similar to Black Cat espresso, this Guatemalan coffee would be better suited as a base to a latte or cappuccino to give added flavor. Also, French Press would lesson the extreme sweetness. To take artistic licence, the flavor is arrogant and loud, yet beyond its flamboyant facade, it lacks a strong foundation. At 13.99 per pound, it is a bit pricey for me lowering the coffee's overall value.

Score: 3/5

Coffee House Review: Chinatown Coffee Co.

Often I find myself in Chinatown for a number of reasons;

bar hopping, visiting friends, the Verizon Center, or the Goethe Institut (to learn German). In the heart of Chinatown, lives a Starbucks bustling with people on laptops staring out on the Friendship Gate. I feel like a traitor to my fellow coffee lovers when I buy something there because of the convenience factor. Today, I demanded of myself to search for a new coffee shop, and found Chinatown Coffee Company located on the outskirts of Chinatown at 475 H St NW. For all the non-metro area readers, DC's Chinatown is approximately 2x2 blocks. Not that big. Before I hopped on the bus into DC, I quickly looked over their website, and was pretty excited. Before my impressions, one can read the history of how Chinatown Coffee Co. came to be. Sorry for all the links, but I want to give everyone an education about Chinatown and their coffee!

Atmosphere: When first walking in, one realizes how long or deep the cafe is. What it lacks in width, there is plenty of room along the walls for seating. I peered in and the comfy industrial feel welcomed me in (Is that possible?) with wooden benches and tables spaced throughout the store. Old-school funk played in the background with noise rarely rising above a loud quiet. I visited off hours so it could differ from the morning and lunch rush. Most people were chatting, and a few laptops were out, but the majority seemed engaged in conversation. Seating was ample for a DC cafe, but during the rush it might be hard to find. The temperature was surprisingly pleasant. It wasn't frigid, but comfortable as to not cool off the warm coffee drinks (or at least I think so). A sweater is not needed to spend an hour or two there.

Service: They take their coffee very seriously! If one wants a humorous story, please go back and read the article I linked to about the dreaded triple espresso over ice. Ordering my coffee drinks, I asked a few questions about what coffee they used in their espresso, (Intelligentsia's Black Cat), and what their favorite drinks were. One barista followed up after I finished my coffee to ask how it was. Overall, the baristas offered quality service and personableness for my first visit.

Coffee: Looking through their menu, they have one for to-go and one for staying. You can get your typical espresso-based drinks, but they offer French press, pour over, and free leaf tea in a tea pot. So if you don't want espresso or drip coffee, there are other coffee and non-coffee-options. I ordered a single espresso and macchiato. In a few minutes, I picked them up on the counter in stylish black and white cups matching the industrial design to the cafe. My macchiato was very good. I could discern the strong espresso through the milk with neither the milk or espresso overpowering each other. The single espresso was a classic 1oz affair, so it may be better to order a double knowing that you wont get a 4oz espresso monstrosity. It tasted quite bright with many flavors coming through, namely a syrupy taste, yet lacked a substantive body to it. That could be due to it being a single rather than a double, but my palette isn't necessarily the sharpest. The Intelligentsia Black Cat has a bold flavor packing a really strong taste. Next time, I drink espresso there, I will get a different blend or bean, if possible.

Price: Here is the link for the menu. 2.00 for a single espresso without tax seems expensive, but Chinatown Coffee's baristas know what they are doing, so one is paying for the the extra experience and knowledge (perhaps). They also sell organic bananas for a dollar. Sorry, I thought that was interesting for some reason.

Free Wifi: Yes!

Conclusions: Talking with a friend who works in the area, he loved Chinatown Coffee Co., especially the tea. Looking over the Yelp reviews and knowing how fickle their reviewers are, I can't help but feel a special cafe lives in Chinatown. With that said, you will have to deal with their coffee policies, and an elevated price. I will certainly be headed back to try out the various coffee blends, beans, and concoctions passing by the Starbucks in the heart of Chinatown. And you should too!

Did I miss any aspect in my coffee house review? Please tweet me at Metroespresso, or leave a comment below. I want to thank all my readers for following and commenting on Metro Espresso making this blog fun and enjoyable. I do this because it gives me something to do, and an excuse to chat about coffee.

Stay Tuned: Upcoming Review

Hi all, later today I will be reviewing a coffee shop in Ballston. For those who do not live in the DC area, Ballston is part of Arlington, VA outside of DC.

Update:
This morning, I re-tried Archer Farms Ethiopian, and unfortunately yielded similar results from last post: lingering bitterness and weak floral, berry flavors. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter at Metroespresso, where I will be updating with content that does not necessarily need a full blog post devoted to it.