Quick announcement: Coffee cupping at The Hub this Friday @ 10! or 11! Show up around that time and you'll be able to join in the awesomeness that is tasting coffees from some of the best farms in el mundo!
We... they, actually, because I can't make it :( will be cupping three separate coffees. The Ethiopian Sidamo Amaro Gayo that you all know and love will be there for you to wrap your lips around; the El Salvador Finca San Jose will be there as well, a fine representative of superior quality coffee, both in regards to taste and its social impact through Barefoot's "relationship coffee" initiative; and making its debut on the cupping table!!! pure Guatemalan goodness, the El Socorro monster-of-a-tasty-coffee! (Preview descriptions of all of these coffees, along with some more in-depth info, can be found somewhere else in this blog... keep scrolling down)
Hope you can make it!
Showing posts with label coffee cupping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coffee cupping. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Coffee Cupping
We've been working to institute weekly cuppings at The Hub. For those that don't know what a cupping is, you now have a very good reason to show up!
We started out with Sunday morning cuppings, 10 a.m., free and open to anyone interested in tasting some wonderful coffees. It seems though, that everyone prefered to sleep in on their Sunday morning... We're all constantly caffeinated at The Hub, therefore normal sleeping behavior is a mystery to us. Yes, our fault, but it's now quite obvious that sleeping in on a Sunday morning will win every time.
So, we've made some changes. We will now be testing out our little coffee cupping sessions at 10 a.m. on Friday mornings! Yay! If you can't show up for a free boost to get you through the last day of the work week, well...
I do realize that many people haven't heard of a cupping. And since there are already so many wonderful descriptions and opinions on the matter scattered all over the Web, I'm just going to let them fill you in. The following is an excerpt from an article published at CoffeeGeek.com. Geoff Watts is the owner and primary coffee purchaser for Intelligentsia Coffee, a Chicago-based company that is just one of the choice few that are taking coffee to a level unimaginable in the minds of your average coffee drinker. More on the entire cupping process and the reasoning behind it can be found here (please keep in mind, this is a general reference; basic reasoning is more or less the same, but cupping procedures may vary a bit from place to place).
''I’m a firm believer that understanding is developed through the act of comparison. Learning to talk about the character of a coffee from a particular origin requires that one have some frame of reference, and if the goal is to figure out what makes a coffee from Kenya great it is important to know what makes it different than other coffees. In other words, what does it mean to taste like a “Kenya”? What tastes distinguish a Guatemalan coffee from a Nicaraguan?
''By evaluating coffees in a comparative setting and with an inquisitive, reflective approach one can learn to identify the most essential flavor traits of coffees from different origins. The goal should be to build a reference library of flavors and taste sensations that can become a background against which one can examine new coffees. Over time a cupper will begin to associate particular flavors with geographical regions and different botanical varieties of coffee. Eventually, a phrase like “this tastes like a bourbon from the Santa Ana region in El Salvador” can have some real meaning. It is important to remember, though, that dogma has no place in coffee tasting. Every time I think I’ve got a region figured out, a coffee comes along that shatters my expectations. Keeping an open mind and sense of curiosity is absolutely essential to becoming an accomplished taster.''
We started out with Sunday morning cuppings, 10 a.m., free and open to anyone interested in tasting some wonderful coffees. It seems though, that everyone prefered to sleep in on their Sunday morning... We're all constantly caffeinated at The Hub, therefore normal sleeping behavior is a mystery to us. Yes, our fault, but it's now quite obvious that sleeping in on a Sunday morning will win every time.
So, we've made some changes. We will now be testing out our little coffee cupping sessions at 10 a.m. on Friday mornings! Yay! If you can't show up for a free boost to get you through the last day of the work week, well...
I do realize that many people haven't heard of a cupping. And since there are already so many wonderful descriptions and opinions on the matter scattered all over the Web, I'm just going to let them fill you in. The following is an excerpt from an article published at CoffeeGeek.com. Geoff Watts is the owner and primary coffee purchaser for Intelligentsia Coffee, a Chicago-based company that is just one of the choice few that are taking coffee to a level unimaginable in the minds of your average coffee drinker. More on the entire cupping process and the reasoning behind it can be found here (please keep in mind, this is a general reference; basic reasoning is more or less the same, but cupping procedures may vary a bit from place to place).
''I’m a firm believer that understanding is developed through the act of comparison. Learning to talk about the character of a coffee from a particular origin requires that one have some frame of reference, and if the goal is to figure out what makes a coffee from Kenya great it is important to know what makes it different than other coffees. In other words, what does it mean to taste like a “Kenya”? What tastes distinguish a Guatemalan coffee from a Nicaraguan?
''By evaluating coffees in a comparative setting and with an inquisitive, reflective approach one can learn to identify the most essential flavor traits of coffees from different origins. The goal should be to build a reference library of flavors and taste sensations that can become a background against which one can examine new coffees. Over time a cupper will begin to associate particular flavors with geographical regions and different botanical varieties of coffee. Eventually, a phrase like “this tastes like a bourbon from the Santa Ana region in El Salvador” can have some real meaning. It is important to remember, though, that dogma has no place in coffee tasting. Every time I think I’ve got a region figured out, a coffee comes along that shatters my expectations. Keeping an open mind and sense of curiosity is absolutely essential to becoming an accomplished taster.''
Geoff Watts, Intelligentsia Coffee
So hopefully you're as excited as we are to cup some wonderful coffees! And if you've been following the blog, you already know that we'll be phasing in new harvest lots over the next month or so as Barefoot Coffee Roasters recieves their newest shipments from abroad. See you at The Hub!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Already home to many.
Smiles that only a $7 cup of Guatemalan goddess coffee could invoke.
It has been quite some time since our last update. Oops.
We're well into week two in our cozy little coffee garage at 32 Cheney St. And what a week our first one was! Spreadin' that sweet coffee love all over Reno. The Hub's the buzz all over town. Already, The Hub is already home to so many! Local cycling celebrity Bubba Melcher frequents The Hub for coffee and cat naps... And Mallory and her dog hold band practice on the patio daily!
We've had some big plans for the coffee crazies of Reno, Nevada. And already so many have come to find out just what The Hub Coffee Co. is all about. It says it all in the name: coffee. And only the best. Single-origin espressos... what?! Sunday coffee cuppings?... like a wine tasting? Cup of Excellence? Guatemalan coffee royalty! What is this stuff?!?!
We have some new coffees in as well! New Brazilian Daterra Farms Santo Colomba! Always at the top of their game, Daterra has pull all their TLC into these little brown beauties (the coffee beans, of course). And a Kenyan! Nyeri Karindundu... what did he just say?! East African's are alway's a joy. My personal favorites. So this one is definitely a must.
TRY OUR NEWEST COFFEES @ OUR FREE CUPPING! Traditional coffee tasting - this Sunday @ 10am sharp! And it's free! However, depending on how many people show up, I may have to cut the numbers so I make sure everyone that is attending gets the proper experience and education. That just means you have to beat everyone else to the cupping table! See you there.
We've had some more changes to our business hours... what can I say? After week one, we more or less realized when the money could be made... and also when the money would be lost. So here they are!
Summer Hours @ The Hub:
Mon: 6am-3pm
Tue: 6am-3pm
Wed: 6am-3pm
Thur: 6am-3pm
Fri: 6am-3pm
Sat: 7am-3pm
Sun: 7am-Noon!
And yes, those are final. For real this time. Until the Fall....
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