Seattle Coffee Gear: Blog

Introducing Brown Bean

In our tireless efforts to provide balanced and practical information for anyone interested in making delicious espresso at home, we've decided to launch a resource-centered website, Brown Bean.

The first stage in developing this new community website is to transition our blog to blog.brownbean.com. We've been posting over there in tandem with our posts here as we finalized the transition, but we're taking the final step and will be only posting over there from here on out.

Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds to the new blog! We'll be expanding the Brown Bean community to include more articles, forums and reviews in the months to come.

See you there!

Comparing One-Touch Superautomatic Espresso Machines

You can't beat the convenience of a one-touch superautomatic espresso machine -- but how do the different models compare against each other? Watch Gail as she makes a cappuccino on the Jura Z5, DeLonghi Gran Dama and Saeco Primea one touch superautomatics, including her assessment of the pros/cons of each machine.

New! Rancilio Silvia V.3.0

Rancilio has souped up their semi-automatic espresso machine, the Silvia. Improvements are mostly aesthetic -- the portafilter handle is now fashioned similar to their commercial machines and the knob for the steam/hot water has been upgraded -- but the steam wand itself is a marked functional improvement with its increased range of motion and an option three-hole tip upgrade.

Watch Gail as she shows us the features of the Rancilio Silvia, version 3.

Recipe: Rib-Eye Steaks with Espresso-Chile Rub

Following in the tasty footsteps of the flank steak marinade we wrote about a few months ago, this rub recipe is a great inspiration for your summer grilling parties.

Serves: 4 (generously)
Preparation time: 30 minutes (including meat standing time)
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cumin seed, toasted
• 2 tablespoons dark-roast coffee or espresso beans
• 1 tablespoon ground ancho chile pepper
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 rib-eye steaks, each about 8 ounces and 1-inch thick
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
In a spice mill, pulse the cumin seed and coffee beans until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl, add the remaining rub ingredients and stir to combine.

Lightly brush the steaks with oil and season evenly with the rub, pressing the rub into the meat. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling.

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat.

Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the steaks over direct high heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until cooked to your desired doneness, 6 to 8 minutes for medium-rare, turning once. (If flare-ups occur, move the steaks temporarily to indirect high heat.) Remove from the grill and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe: Detroit Free Press

Would You Like Eggs with That?

Years ago, we frequented a small town cafe that would steam up the eggs for their delicious breakfast sandwiches using the steam wand on their espresso machine. They were fluffy and tasty and so we thought that we should try this ourselves -- with arguably great results!

Watch Gail steam up airy n' fluffy scrambled eggs in a frothing pitcher, using the steam wand on a Rocket Cellini semi-automatic espresso machine.

How Green is Your Coffee?

As the national obsession with greening our lives grows, examining how the things we love impact the environment has become a common topic of discussion. Up now: How green are different coffee beans?

The folks over at Greenopia devised a Leaf Awards rating system that is used to evaluate a coffee company's overall greenness by gauging its percentage of organic, ethically sourced, naturally decaffeinated, eco-friendly packaged and efficiently produced and transported  beans. They also looked for sustainability and environmental impact reporting. They then assessed 25 different brands from all over the US to determine how they measure up.

We can't help but feel the findings a bit disheartening: Of the brands they evaluated, nearly half of them didn't rank at all! Coffee that we love by the likes of Illy or Lavazza didn't get a single leaf, while large American brands like Starbucks or Stumptown got just a couple of leaves.

One ranking that shined was Bellevue-based Kalani Organica, coming in at 3 leaves! We have a personal connection to this truly lovely coffee: In the mid-to-late '90's, we cut our barista teeth slinging java at the Speakeasy Cafe in Seattle's Belltown district. The cafe was a devout supporter and server of Kalani Organica until the cafe was closed by a fire in 2002 -- despite the fact that we regularly had small competitive roasters try to convince us to switch. We stuck with Kalani because of the founder Karen's commitment to organic, ethically-sourced coffee -- something that is talked about a lot these days but wasn't seen as particularly important 15 years ago. We're thrilled that her work is getting recognized and hope that a rating like this will help expand Kalani's availability around the country.

Hot Blog on Blog Action: Coffee Nomad

Coffee Nomad records the experiments, excursions and experiences of one coffee-lovin' Phoenician!

Chock full of reviews for coffee shops in the Phoenix area and some thoughts on different caffeine-included products that are on the market (including one hilarious record of using the terrifying substance known as 5-Hour Energy -- a.k.a. Trucker Crack), this blog is fun, casual and worth a regular check in.

Recipe: Chocolate Espresso Cake

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you'll probably sense the theme that we dig the delicious combination of chocolate and coffee. So this latest recipe is another in a long line of cakes that incorporate fresh espresso into the mix. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (180g) fine dark chocolate, chopped
• a small espresso (about 3 tablespoons very strong coffee)
• 10 tablespoons butter, diced
• 5 eggs, separated
• ¾ cup golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

Directions
Line the base of a 8-9 inch shallow springform cake pan with silicone baking parchment paper, buttering the pan lightly to hold it in place.

Melt the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. As soon as it starts to soften, add the coffee and leave it for two or three minutes. Stir very gently, then when the chocolate has melted add the butter. Stir until it has melted.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer till stiff, then fold in the sugar. Mix the baking powder with the cocoa powder and flour. Remove the chocolate from the heat, quickly stir in the egg yolks, then slowly, firmly, and gently fold the melted chocolate into the egg whites. Lastly sift in the flour and cocoa mixture.

Stir the mixture tenderly with a large metal spoon, taking care not to knock out any air. It should feel light and wobbly. do not overmix - just enough to fold in the flour. Scoop into the lined pan and bake in an oven preheated to 350ºF for thirty-five minutes. Leave to cool in its pan, then turn out.

Recipe Source: Almerimarlife

Using the Jura Cool Control

As we wrote about in February, the Jura Cool Control stays on top of your counter and keeps your milk nice and icy for those one-touch cappuccinos. Watch as Gail shows us how the Cool Control works and makes us a cappuccino to test it out.

Velton's Bonsai Blend Gets an A!

We don't know about you, but a 94 means a big ol' A where we come from! The seminal coffee connoisseur and touted founder of the gourmet coffee movement in the US, Kenneth Davids, recently reviewed local roaster Velton's Bonsai Blend and gave it a 94 out of 100!

This is an excellent rating and speaks to the artisan skill with which Velton hand roasts every small batch in his Everett, WA, location. We've been fans for a long time and were thrilled to learn about this excellent rating. The tasters noted the chocolatey and lemony notes in the coffee, and praised its 'suave presence' in milk. If you haven't had a chance to try this delicious, medium-roasted and bodied blend, we definitely recommend you pick up a bag and treat yourself to its handcrafted sweetness.

The Grind - May 2009

The May issue of our monthly newsletter, The Grind, has hit the bricks! Including the Turkish Dee-Lite recipe, our process for making excellent french press coffee, tips on how to brew a strong shot in a superautomatic espresso machine and a directory of all the recent YouTube videos we've done over the last month, May's news is a sweet little compendium of a lot of the content we've shared with you here.

But what you won't find here is The Grind Special -- this month: $10 off the Hourglass Cold Brew Coffee Maker! Get this special and all future specials by signing up.