Zaid from Pirate's Bone Coffee mentioned Heirloom Bakery to me.  It's a place that just opened on 63rd.  As the name implies they are a bakery.  They also serve coffee and other treats.  Right up front is a list of the local providers.  That's really cool.  I had just eaten so I didn't get a treat (and I'm not supposed to have wheat, so there is that.)  I did get a cold brew coffee.  They serve Thou Mayest Coffee.  

The place is just as cute as can be.  As the photos show, I really loved their flowers on the tables. I will be back for more coffee and then a treat on days I think I can get away with cheating on my diet.

Scrolling through Instagram the other day and I see that  KC Coffee Geek has a new coffee.  Not an unusual occurrence at all.  He gets some good coffees to try.  (I benefit from that)  What was different was that this coffee was LOCAL.  A local roaster I hadn't tried yet?  Could it be?? Turns out there is a new guy adding to the wonderful coffee scene that is Kansas City.  His name is Zach and the coffee is Meta Coffee Roasters.  You can find him at the Brookside farmer's market and you can also order online.  Not a lot of selections right now.  Just one to be exact, but the focus is on quality and not quantity  

On my way to work Saturday I stopped and picked up a bag.  I didn't get a chance to talk to Zach for long but he was a friendly guy - despite the heat that day.  It was roughly a million degrees with a humidity of 9000%  I didn't try any of his cold brew, just grabbed a bag and left.  It smelled wonderful.  I mean really really wonderful.  Warm and inviting and kept whispering "drink me"  But I had to put drinking on hold until after work.  So I tucked it in my bag and went off to my day.

While Dan was at the Market doing the balloon thing I was in Operahouse doing the "stuff that keeps the business running" thing.  I could smell the coffee in my bag.  Took a break from paperwork to check it out more closely.

The beans were very evenly roasted and pretty tasty plain.  I am going to take a half of a cup and make chocolate covered coffee beans with this this week.  With a hint of cinnamon I think.  Or I might use some in an ice cream treat I have been thinking of.

Eventually I had to go to work and put thoughts of coffee aside.  As I have said it was HOT.  My gig was outside.  I was HOT.  Then it rained so I was also wet, but at least it wasn't hot anymore.  

A very exhausted me after work.  I love my job - I really do, but on days like that it's hard to remember exactly why.  

Got home, drank a lot of water -took a nap, but I was still worn out from the heat.  About 8pm some part of my brain said "Let's have coffee! Don't you have a new coffee to try?  Why yes, yes I do!" A smaller, more rational part of my brain reminded me of the time.  That part was easily squashed.

So I made coffee.  I love the bloom and the creama that forms with fresh coffee.  That part always makes me happy.  

I put some on for cold brew the next day.  That was Sunday, this is Monday, so it's just about read, but I've not tried it yet.  I did try it hot this morning.

The aroma was nice.  Not as strong as in the bag, but still pretty warm and inviting.  It smelled kind of nutty, but mostly like coffee.  I didn't pick up any florals or what have you.  Not that they aren't there - but for me, first thing in the morning I didn't notice them.  Still it smelled like GOOD coffee.  Not a bitter, ready to slap you in the face brew - just happy coffee.  The kind you want to be best friends with.

It had a medium body and a friendly bright acidity that was on the milder side.  Clean and fresh.  It was refreshing, not harsh. 

The taste was sweet like a good sugar.  I guess that would be cane sugar.  (if you don't think sugars taste different, try them side by side - cane is better)  The taste was not overpowering, but smooth and friendly.  I know I've used that word a couple of times so far, but friendly is a good word for my experience with this coffee.  I picked up more of the nuttiness some milk chocolate,  some caramel tastes and maybe some citrus.  I will update this after a few more cups if my impressions change, but that's what I have this morning. 

If you're in Kansas City, swing by the Brookside Farmer's Market and pick some up.  It's good stuff.  If you're not local - go to the website http://www.metacoffeekc.com/  Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/metacoffeekc or Twitters for more information  on how you can get your very own bag!

This is actually the first cold brew blend that I've ever purchased.  Normally I just use whatever I like at the moment over ice and occasionally as an actual cold brew.  I wanted to try a blend created specifically for brewing and drinking cold.

Just because it wasn't crafted for flash brew doesn't' mean I didn't try.  250gr ice, 30gr coffee, 250gr water.  Was ok.  A little more acid that I would prefer.

Then I tried an actual cold brew. You know - where you let it sit in the water for a long time and heat does not disturb its zen?  It was like night and day.  Even though I had to wait, and I hate waiting - the result was worth it.

It was sweet, maybe a little nutty, definitely a little cocoa.   I don't normally add sugar or milk to my coffee and this was a pleasure on it's own without those.  I did try it with milk and I liked that too.  

The next time I made it I did two mason jars worth because my husband discovered he liked it and drank it all.  I'm now on my second batch of two mason jars and I suspect he will guzzle that down too.

My only complaint was that the beans came ground.  Not sure if that was an accident in my ordering or if that's just how they ship that blend.  It's been a long time since I had coffee come to me preground, but no big deal.  Just means I'll have to use it fast.  Given how fast my husband is going through it - that won't be a problem.  

Find it at http://www.prosumroasters.com/

My first New Mexico Coffee is Prosum Roasters from Albuquerque.  When I was asking the Benevolent Google Overlords for roasters in New Mexico, Prosum jumped out and grabbed my attention.   Albuquerque is on my list of places to visit.  I've driven through there several times and the art everywhere makes me happy. I had also very recently noticed a fellow IG coffee person who shared a blog post about them.  All of this meant that clicking that link was what the Universe wanted me to do! 

Once on the site I knew this was the one I was going to try.  To start with they explain the meaning behind their name.  Prosum is a Latin word that means to be useful, do good, benefit.  One of the ways I geek out is with languages.  Latin is my language of the moment.  :-)

And of course the intent behind naming a company something that means to be useful and do good.  Prosum Roasters works to make sure the farmers benefit from the coffee they grow.  It's not about getting as many beans at the lowest cost.  Granted most of the roasters I buy from do this but that doesn't make it any less important.  It's always important.  Yes, the coffee I drink costs more than something I might buy at a grocery store - but it tastes better and comes without the bitter flavor of exploitation.

And they have a flickr with lots of pictures.  I love Flickr, I have been a member since BEFORE Yahoo owned them.  I joined back in year one and it remains one of my favorite ways to explore images.  Imgr is cool, but I get tired of the memes.  Instagram is fun too, but Flickr is a different kind of fun.  I enjoyed looking though the photos Prosum has posted.  

So I ordered

Ethiopian Skukery Kellensoo
& Stellar Cold Brew Blend

The ordering process was smooth and I enjoyed the touch of including a representation of the beans with the photo of the bag.

Shipping was fast and I had a tracking number.  I do like tracking numbers.

When the box arrived I was surprised to see such a large box for two bags of coffee.  Turns out it was so large because they sent me a surprise gift - MORE coffee!!   I also got some of their Rockin' Espresso and Nicaraguan Finca Santa Teresa de Logos  Yay!!  Christmas in July!!  Without the never ending repeat of Christmas carols.  (there are roughly a ZILLION Christmas Carols - why do radio stations only play about 15 and why do they start playing them in October?)


Their website is http://www.prosumroasters.com

Reviews will be posted soon.  I'm getting closer to catching up on everything.  :-)

I chose Rook Coffee for my New Jersey roaster.  Went with the Costa Rica because I don't have that often and it seemed like the thing to do.

Turns out it was a good thing to do.

I'm a sucker for good packaging and while that is not the most important part, it just makes me happy.  Rook didn't disappoint.  The bags are simple but nice with their logo - I'm going to get one of those t-shirts.  The box they shipped in had the custom packing tape with the logo and inside was lots of black shred which was fun.  Saved it for future craft projects.

Then there was this

Talk about bringing the happy!  It was a pretty awesome day brightener.  I still have it tucked inside my coffee portfolio (the thing with all the stickers).

The coffee is a "mild" roast.  Not 100% sure what that means.  It wasn't dark, but it wasn't blond either. I would say maybe a cinnamon color.

I brewed it in the beehouse, kalita wave and V60.  Didn't get around to an aeropress with this one.  My most common method was the beehouse usually using a 15:1 ratio.

The beans were tasty on their own and I think would make a good chocolate covered coffee bean.  I know many people use espresso beans for those but I will use whatever beans I happen to like.  I didn't make any with these beans, but I just thought they would be good for it.

The aroma was sweet and maybe a bit nutty.  

The coffee had a medium/heavy body with a clean acidity.  As always think Sprite with it's bright freshness, not Mountain Dew with the heavy taste that coats your mouth. It was a smooth coffee, not harsh and bitey.  I got citrus tastes with a taste that reminds me of bright cherries.  Not the heavy dark ones, but the lighter red ones.  There was a note of spiciness, and a lot of sweetness.  The sweetness was honeyish with a fruity sweet flavor too mixed with some chocolate notes.  Like sprinkled cocoa on fruit that has been drizzled with honey.  

I really enjoyed this coffee with breakfast.  It went well with my typical breakfasts of fruit and nuts or eggs.  I didn't care for it much with meat.  Tried it at dinner and it just didn't work for me.  Stuck to breakfast and lunch with it.  I also tried it iced with a flash brew.  Didn't care for it.  I meant to try it in a cold brew, but just didn't get around to it.

It was a nice bag of coffee.  The problem with trying coffee from all 50 states is that it takes awhile when I keep revisiting roasters.  That's going to happen on payday when I order another bag from Rook.  I want to try their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe,.  I don't have a time limit to finishing my map and some roasters just need to be visited more than once.  Rook is one of them.  

Did I mention that they have organize a run?  .  The Rook Run
https://www.rookcoffee.com/rook-run/

Running saved my life, so I extra heart anyone who promotes running.  :-)  The next Rook Run is coming up in October - so check it out and register if you're going to be (or can be) in the area.  Don't think you can run a 5k?  yes you can. Even if you walk most of it, you can do it.  I weighed well over 300lbs when I did my first one. I lived and it was FUN.  And this run raises money for fighting childhood cancers and blood disorders.  Get healthier, have fun and help a good cause.


I also got a diner mug for my collection.  I do love the diner mugs.  

Last night I had a thought.  What happens when you make cold brew coffee with milk instead of water.  So I googled it.  Not a lot of results.  After a lot of searching I found a thread on reddit that was about 8 months old.  A couple of people had tried it, but it didn't appear to be common.

I decided to give it a whirl.  I used the same ratio I would for cold brew coffee.  About 1/4 of a cup.  Sometimes more, usually a bit more because I'm not that precise and I don't bother to smooth off the top.  I added raw milk because that's what we drink.  I had read that milk can bring out the bitterness faster than water for all sorts of science reasons which I am not going to look up again.  The posters on Reddit left it for 10 - 12 hours like regular cold brew.  One tried different times and said an hour was too little, 12 was too much, but for him 10 was perfect.  I didn't know if the milk being raw would affect it or not so I decided to try after 5.  For me 5 was perfect.  10 would have made a bitter mess.

Then I used a metal filter to drain it into another mason jar.  That was a bit of a pain.  The grind was not as course as I would have liked, because I forgot to check the settings first.  I didn't want to grind more, so I went with it.  Because the grinds were a bit too fine the filtering was time consuming.  I had to keep stirring it to keep it moving.

The result?  Something really good.  It looks like chocolate milk but tastes like coffee, some bitterness, but not overly so.  I don't use sugar in my coffee and it was fine the way it was.  Add sugar and I think anyone would love it.  Even people who don't normally like coffee.  It would make a great ice cream or milkshake and I think adding it to iced coffee would be fantastic.  Going to try that tomorrow.  Adding milk without diluting the coffee flavor.  I'm going to make this again.  It's really good.


My friend Sarah saw my photo and made some herself.  She used traditional milk and 5 hours was just right for her.  Luckily she had fewer problems filtering it.  She was happy with her results.  And she had a nice bottle from IKEA to put it in.

In short - try it.  I think you'll enjoy it.

Georgia was already filled in on the map, but Jittery Joe's is in Athen's GA - and we lived there fora  couple of years.  Had one of our kids there.  This one.  He might not look it, but he's 24 - it's been awhile since we lived in Athens.  Jittery Joe's opened a couple of years after we left.   

Buying coffee from places we've lived is always kind of fun - brings up old memories.  Buying coffee in a can is RARE and also brings up old memories.  Standing in the kitchen while an adult opened the can with a can opener and some years later - a pull tab.  I remember the whoosh of air as the vacuum was broken and the smell of coffee. It always smelled better than it tasted.  Later the cans would be put to all sorts of uses.  I still see old coffee cans at flea markets and antique stores.

I chose Whoop Ass blend because it's a phrase my dad used all the time.  The theme behind the can was nice too.  

The beans are a medium/dark roast trending closer to dark.  Not enough to get the oils coming out though.  Just a darker brown.  They smelled fresh and very chocolatey.  This blend is made from Central and South American coffees which are roasted separately and then blended.  

I tried this in the aeropress, the beehouse and the kalita wave.  The wave is what worked best for me, but I had to play around with it a bit.  I normally use a 15 or 16 to 1 ratio, sometimes 14 - depending on the coffee and the method.  I started this one at 16 but it was kind of harsh, so I took it down to 17 and went for a less strong cup.  It was heavy on the chocolate tones, some nuttiness and a bright, if somewhat harsh acidity.  Though it's supposed to have some bite.  They blended it for that. The body was heavy and there was a sweetness to it.

Once I played around with it I found it to be a fine morning drink.  It worked without creamer, but also paired with cream very well..  I don't add sugars as a rule, so I didn't try it that way. 

It made a great syrup and while it might not be my favorite drinking coffee - it is an excellent one to cook with.  I wish I had tried it iced.  That could have been interesting.

I also got another mug for my collection. It's a larger diner mug and very heavy.  I love heavy diner mugs.  They keep my drink warm for  long time. 

I gathered the cups all together for another "class picture"  Soon I'll have to find a bigger place for them!

I'm going to take a break from catching up on old reviews to talk about something current.  Angel's Cup Coffee Tasting subscription.  I had looked into getting a subscription, but sometimes it takes me forever to do things.  Lucky for me Sharon from Magic Coffee Truck stepped in. 

Last Tuesday Dan checked the mail and told me I had something from Angela's cup.  I had no clue what he was talking about until he handed me the envelope.  It was from Angel's Cup.  I was still confused because I didn't remember signing up for it.  Not that I have not gotten things in the mail that I had forgotten about signing up for.  It happens sometimes because I will follow a whim.

Then I opened it and the questions were answered.  Enclosed was a card from Sharon and 4 coffee samples.  I was very excited.  There was a "cheat sheet" too, but I've held off on looking at that.  I want to try it on my own without hints first.  

My first tasting flight was a Konga natural from Goshen Coffee.  The Konga natural from PT's Coffee is one of my favorites - though at the time I opened the sample and did the grind I didn't know  I would be trying another Konga Natural.  

The coffee comes in 30gram samples and I brewed mine with the Kalita Wave.  I used a cup also given to me by Sharon because it seemed to make sense.  

There is an app you use for the tasting.  I did it twice.  Once with the beginning tasting and then with the advanced to see which one I liked.  I like the advanced one a bit more.

After rating the coffee on different aspects and adding notes about flavor you get to compare the results to what the roastmaster said.  A radar is generated and you also can see how everything like flavor and color compare between what you see/taste and what the roastmaster sees/tastes.

People are different and what I taste is not going to be what you taste.  Heck what I taste might not be what I taste later in the day.  So many little variables.

These are my flavor notes compared to the roastmaster's.  I got darker tastes than he did and it wasn't quite as sweet for me.  It was still an excellent cup of coffee. I have it an 8/10 for enjoyment.  My notes were just different.  

Today I tried a second sample.  I did know from the facebook group what this one was going in, but I resisted looking things up.  That part was hard.  I'm a sucker for spoilers.  This time it was a Panama Gesha from Square One Coffee.  I really liked this one. It was super sweet and bright.  My radar graph was closer to the roasters even though I still picked up different tastes.  They got mango I didn't. That sort of thing.

Square One Coffee is located in Lancaster Pennsylvania.  That makes 25 states for my map!  

I'm looking forward to trying the next two samples.  This is all sorts of fun.  It's a fantastic way to learn the nuances of coffee.  If you've only had the grocery store stuff - you're missing out.  There are so many flavors in coffee a wine snob would be totally overwhelmed.  And it's incredibly sweet.  Put down that fake creamer and try some good coffee instead.  Confused about what to buy?  I get that - good coffee is EXPENSIVE!  That's where Angel's Cup saves the day.  You get to try lots of different kinds and find out what you like before you buy a bag of it.  When you're ready to order they can help you with that too.  

And check out Magic Coffee Truck too.  Sharon is a gem AND she is the creator of Awesome Sauce  Oh and for those of you who geek out on science things (like I do) her logo has bubbles that are actually laid out like the caffeine molecule.   How cool is that?  

I have been bad about posting the past couple of months - so I missed a couple of important photos.

The KC Coffee Geek has been good to me.  VERY good.  I have in turn shared the bounty with  coffee snobs and people new to good coffee who are fast becoming addicted.  

I will have comments on the ones I tried.  Some I gave away, so I can't comment on those. I might drink a lot of coffee, but even I have my limits.  Luckily I have a LOT of coffee drinkers in my life, so I have no problem giving away coffee.

I don't do reviews on what he gives me because some of it is "out of date".  I *know* coffee is best within a certain time and I understand that it changes from day to day as the beans age.  I enjoy super fresh coffee, but I also know that many of them are enjoyable way past the two week time.  We're not talking day old bread here.  Sometimes I can taste the difference, sometimes I can't.  Most coffees hold up better than you might have been led to believe.  

Not that they last forever.  My daughter has little appreciation for fresh coffee.  She does however notice when it gets VERY old.  As she said "even I could tell that one had to be thrown out.  I need more coffee, drop some off."

Anyway, this is my bounty.  It's a beautiful sight, isn't it.  Check out KC CoffeeGeek and if you are looking to sample good coffees, try his subscription service.  He has excellent taste and you will NOT be disappointed by the beans you get.