In House Coffee Shortage

from The Weather Channel

With a heat index near 110 degrees, it is too hot to home roast. Which left me questioning, “Is it too hot for coffee?”

No. Definitely not.

The day I do not have coffee in the house is a sure sign of the apocalypse. When I scraped the bottom of the coffee canister I first checked the counter for a brown lunch bag of coffee that might have gotten pushed behind the speakers. Nothing. I checked the cupboard where we keep the less desirable, but in case of extreme emergency stash. All I found was a chocolate chip and an almond. Finally, I checked the calendar, 2012. Was this the end? 

No. I am always a bit dramatic before I have been properly caffeinated. What to do? Yes, I know roasting in the house is a simple answer, but that last time I tried that was with less than safe results. (A Cautionary Tale) Instead I took a field trip to whole foods; to air conditioning and coffee I hadn’t sampled before.

While the heat persists, I intend to conduct extensive research on how retailers roast their beans. And since it is too hot to go outside, what else is one to do but eat. So I will share recipes or meals that pair well with the roast/blend. 

Mexican Grapos brew notes:

It is advertised by Allegro coffee as being a light roast having flavors of dark chocolate and sweet spices with a hint of orange zest. I was intrigued by this combination. I coarsely ground about 2.5 ounces and brewed them in a French press.

While my husband and I both got a definitive taste of dark chocolate flavors, neither of us detected any orange zest. Either that can only be tasted by a more sophisticated pallet, or it was added by a marketing team to sell the beans. 

The chocolate flavors were accented and enhanced by a spice quality. As my tongue tingled with the spicy after taste (not in the crushed red pepper sense, but more like cinnamon), I was knew I was addicted to this roast. 

Mexican Grapos has made my short list of roasts I need to home roast. This might be my new favorite bean to drink. 

As I said before, no orange zest was detected in the brew. However, this cup was complimented to perfection by an orange chocolate chip cookie. I suggest you whip up a batch, and brew this roast.

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