My first coffee from North Carolina is from Smelly Cat Coffeehouse - I chose a couple to try.  One of the Ethiopian coffees I love so much and their Central American Blend.  Eventually I'm going back for a mug and another bag of this coffee.  :-)

Shipping was fast and the cat logo makes me laugh.  He looks like I feel after a few cups of coffee.  It was also a pretty god price at $10.50  

I brewed this with my Bee House dripper, the Kalita Wave and one cup with the Aeropress.  My favorite remains the Bee House and it worked well with this blend.   I only drank it black.  I didn't try it as an espresso, but I don't feel like it would be the best choice.  Of the 3 methods I tried the aeropress was my least favorite.

I found it to be a nice balanced cup, bright, but not overly so.  I really enjoyed it.  There was some fruit, light berryish to the taste.  It lingered with a slight sweetness, like having a glass of lightly sweet wine.  It had a light to medium body.  

This was a great breakfast coffee, but it was pretty good to keep on the desk throughout the day.  I enjoyed with fruit and oatmeal for breakfast. It was also great with my lighter lunches, but I did not like it at all with pasta dishes.  It was a good to-go coffee.  Not all coffees work as they get colder in your travel mug - this one held up well while I was running errands.

You can find it on their website www.smellycatcoffee.com  If you're in Charlotte you can go by their coffee house and check them out in person.  Maybe that will be my next goal - to have coffee at all the place I've ordered from.  The Smelly Cat CoffeeHouse looks like  pretty cool place, I would love to visit there sometime.

Went by Kaldi's on the Plaza and decided to get something cold for a change.  I picked out the soda but I know to ask the barista's opinion.  Any good barista will tell you if something s good or not.  If they don't know then find a new coffee joint.  Why go someplace where they don't know coffee?  Anyway, he told me that he added a shot or two to it when he drank it.  I asked him if it was just sugar water without it and he said it kind of was, so I took his recommendation. 

It was foamy and good.  The espresso kind of rose to the top sot he coffee taste was strong at first.  Then when I added the leftover soda it really got foamy.  I like foam.  It's one of the reasons I like root beer more than other sodas.  

The kid tasted the soda without the coffee and she said it was kind of like coke.  I didn't taste coke at all, but then I had espresso in what I was drinking.  It was a great drink for a warm afternoon.  I don't often do the cold coffee - I like my brew hot, but this was soda so it was ok.  :-)  I'm going to have it again.

I have had a Bodum Bistro burr grinder for 5 or 6 years.  It served me well up until last week - then no more grinder.  I do have a couple of hand grinders so all was not lost.  I got quite workout while I decided what to replace my electric grinder with.  Not that I can't appreciate a good handground coffee.  I'm a fan, but it's exhausting. Right now I'm on my 4th cup and that's a lot of grinding every day.  I do have a business to run.  Unless someone out there wants to pay me to drink coffee.  Anyone??  I promise to be good at my job!

A girl can dream.


I thought about getting a new Bodum.  My budget doesn't allow me to spend more than $100 on a grinder.  I would love to spend more, but life is what it is.  My teenager would also like me to keep putting food on the table.  :-)  The Bistro was $99 through Amazon in the same red as my previous one.  One of the "you might also like" links was for the Capresso Infinity, so I decided to compare the two.

Many reviews rated them as about even with several giving an edge to the Bodum.  Their reasons were not selling points for me.  Often the larger hopper and ground coffee holder were listed.  The reason?  Because it allows for storing beans in the grinder.  Who does that???  No no no no no.  

Obviously those concerns were not going to affect my choice.  Another reason the Bodum sometimes had the edge was the glass grounds collection jar.  Static was listed as a problem with the Capresso.  I can see that.  Static can be a big problem with coffee ground in an electric grinder.  Still it was a problem I could deal with.  

Things seemed about even so I went with the Capresso saving $9 over the Bodum.

It arrived last Saturday.   I couldn't wait to give it a try.  I have some awful beans that I ran through it to test the grind.  I'm never turning these things into a drink, so I might as well get some use out of them.

Here are various grind results

I forgot to write down the various settings as I took the pictures.  The first one is medium the last is baby poweder fine (Turkish Coffee)  I'm still playing with which setting to use with which method.  I need to make a chart so once I figure it out I won't have to keep explaining it to the husband.

One thing I did notice is that the grounds don't get as hot as they did on the Bodum.  That was one of my chief complaints about it.  The grounds would get warm. Also it wasn't quite as easy to adjust the ground setting with the hopper.

One thing I don't care for with the Capresso is how the grounds come out.  It's almost 90degrees from the burrs and I feel like I have to give it a tap or a shake to get all of them out. It's not a huge amount left, but not insignificant either.  

I did not have any problems with static.  I've read that they fixed that and I guess they did.  I was almost disappointed.  I had braced myself for dancing coffee grounds and they just lay there waiting for me to put them in the filter.  I wasn't worried about static.  There are lots of ways to work around that.  

I had no problems lifting the top burr out to brush it off after using.  We'll see how it goes if I need to take the bottom one out.  I was able to brush it off pretty easily so I don't know that I will ever have to remove it.

So far a couple of days into my purchase I'm happy with it.  Let's see if my happiness lasts as long as it did with the Bodum.  Which is still a great grinder for anyone looking to buy.  I got years worth of use out of it and I drink a LOT of coffee.  I also grind coffee for family who like good coffee but don't have a grinder of their own, so it really was a sturdy workhorse of a grinder.

I opened the bag and then was immediately hit by the absinthe.  It's strong and interesting.  After the absinthe came the coffee. In this case it's a sweet Rwandan coffee.  

I brewed this three ways

With my trusty BeeHouse Dripper, Bunn drip machine and as espresso.

In a latte was my favorite way.  For the me the absinthe was just too overpowering in a warm cup and not delightful in a cooler one.  As a latte is was AMAZING.  Way over the top desserty delightful.  The coffee is sweet and kind of fruity as a pour over, but as I said the absinthe was too much for me in that method.  The Bunn was ok, but I felt like some depth was lost.  However as an espresso....That one I liked.  Not by itself - kind of cough syrup that way, but add some steamed milk and make a dessert drink and it was wonderful!

The coffee beans were a Rwanda Misozi-Kopaki and it was aged for a year in an old Letherbee Absinthe Barrel.    It was unique and they currently don't have any more, but I'm keeping an eye on the website.  They also have a lot of other interesting choices - several on my ever growing coffee wish list!  

I am a lucky lucky woman.  KC Coffee Geek (www.kccoffeegeek.com) shared some of his stash with me last week.  No sense in it going stale before he can drink it all and there is no shortage of coffee lovers in my life.  I was super happy to see the Onyx, especially since one of them is my favorite coffee from them.  I also got more of the Perc that I loved.  It was a pretty good haul.  Almost too tasty to share, but it's hard to make balloons when you're shaky from drinking 4 pots of coffee - so I'm letting the other coffee people in on it.  :-)

I planned to review this one a week ago, but I've been allergy muddled and I can't review what I can't taste!  I mean I drank it and it was good, but getting hints of this or tastes of that just was not going to happen while the allergens had control of my life.

Much improved thanks to finding the right medication and now I can breathe and taste again.  

While searching for coffees from all over I came across Rosie's Roasting  and that name alone was enough for me to check it out. I didn't see a way to buy it online so I wrote.  Turns out they don't sell online, but focus on local markets and stores. Local is Sioux City, Iowa with a couple of places in Nebraska and South Dakota.  Lucky for me Tracy was happy to send me a bag.  I was very excited and the kid was excited too - she loves iconic image of strong women and the opportunity to take this photo made her happy.  

If you've ever read my blog you know I'm a sucker for good packaging and Rosie's didn't disappoint.  I like the iconic Rosie photo of course, but I also really liked the Sioux City Fire Department photo.  I am saving all my bags and when I have enough I am going to cover an old table in them.  I'll be using both sides of this one.

Ethiopian coffees are my favorite.  Sweet and citrusy with a hint of cocoa in most.  This was a light roast so I didn't really pick up any chocolate flavors, but the fruit came through wonderful and strong.  It was also kind of floral when I opened the bag and that scent carried through to the cup.  I didn't pick up on blueberry or darker fruits like I do with some Ethiopian coffees.  This one was light and bright and happy - think peaches and sunshine.  

The mouth feel was lighter than many with an acidity that lingered.  I would call it a sprite coffee.  It doesn't taste like Sprite, but it's lively and bright like the soda - unlike 7up which just lays there syrupy and heavy in your mouth.  I like Sprite.  :-)   There's a nice acidity to it but unlike some light roasts I didn't find it bitter and bitey.  I guess the word I'm looking for is crisp.  It was crispy and fresh.  

I fixed this one mainly as a pour over - because that's how I drink my coffee.  I found I liked it better with the Beehouse but also used the Kalita Wave several times.  

I liked it with my afternoon salad and also when I was snacking on some blood oranges and a raisin coconut mix.  I didn't care for it at all with my grilled cheese sandwich or breakfast oatmeal.  I also didn't like it with a salad that was heavy on cucumbers.  It was pretty good with my curry and rice dishes though.  

Know what I like as much as coffee?  Law & Order.  I have yet to find a good L&O cup but I did find one with Hudson U on it. (fictional university where a LOT of crime happens)  I liked this coffee enough that I used it to break my new mug in!
If you're traveling through the area (or you live there), swing by one of the retailers who carry Rosie's and pick up a bag or two!

This quote is on a mug that I want.  One of many on my ever growing list.

During a slow moment last weekend some of the baristas at Kaldi's tried a blend of a couple of the beans.  One was Sumtara and the other was something I cant' recall.  I do not like Sumatran coffees as a rule, so this was going to be interesting.

One barista said it smelled swampy, like grass but in a bad way.  One (who likes Sumatra coffees a lot) said it smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle and one said it smelled like puppy breath.  I didn't care for the smell at ALL but the coffee itself was not so bad. I can see it paired with a spinach salad.  I couldn't place the smell until a few days later when faced with a tray of mushrooms.  I like mushrooms about as much as I like Sumatran coffee.  That is to say - not at all.  That's what the the smell was.  It had a mushroom overtone.  Even with my allergy addled sense of smell that's what came through.  Might be interesting to try when I am not so stuffed up, though I might need nose plugs.  I still don't like mushrooms and I still don't like Sumatran coffee.  :-)

I don't think it's hard at all, but my husband is NOT a fan of the match game when it comes to making coffee at our house.  First he has to choose beans and then the grinder setting.  As if that wasn't hard enough he then has to choose the method AND match the filter to that method. LOL