When the going gets tough, the tough get coffee!

Greetings from Opulence, USA~!
That's right. South Saint Paul is booming- confidence is high...


Okay who are we kidding? Times are tough!

Tougher than most of us have ever seen! Our costs have increased in the last year by almost 50%

OUCH.



Rather than raise prices every time our costs go up, we have chosen to absorb as much of this economic difficulty as possible- to make available to you the same great food at the same low prices, in the hope that you, our customers, neighbors, and friends, will continue to support us and benefit from our very reasonably priced high quality food! You can't even get great deli salad at the Grocery store for $6.50 a pound!

I want to take this week's update and use it to bring your attention back to an
-OUTSTANDING DEAL.-
I am speaking of course about our
+Coffee of the Week Club.+



You can sign up now and receive coffee for less than ten dollars for 14 oz. More than 25% off!
Let me say that again-


For LESS THAN THE COST OF FOLGERS-->

you can receive award winning coffees
Cup of Excellence Coffees
90+ point scoring coffees ( which regularly cost $20 a pound or more)
Locally roasted artisan batch coffees- roasted by hand, by me, cupped daily, constantly improved.
Delivered or available for in-store pickup.
Fresh.

Amazing.
Cost-savings!
If you brew coffee twice a week or more- this deal will save you big time!
Stop grabbing terrible impulse coffee from S*buckS or the grocery store! Yuck. That coffee was roasted who knows how long ago, and it was defective to begin with!
Drink coffee from a local cafe with integrity- drink the good stuff- and smile knowing that you are enjoying that coffee at a better price than just about everyone else!




Unless you're growing the coffee yourself, this is about the best deal anywhere!

Sign up at our ONLINE STORE-
or
Sign up in at our Brick and Mortar retail store-
705 Southview Boulevard
South Saint Paul, MN
55075



* on a side note- thanks to Aaron- who has booked a surprising and impressive array or musicians and performances for December! Check out our events page for more info!

Hawaii's are here!

Ah, Hawaii!

The name alone conjures up such majestic imagery-


ANNOUNCING:

Our coffee is here!

We have two lots:

HAWAII NATURAL:

peaches, orchid, pineapple.

This coffee is unlike anything else you have tasted. Delicate, sweet, floral. The perfume of tropical paradise wrapped up in a bean.

By the cup- We sell this coffee by the Cup, clover brew only.
By the pound- we sell this lovely coffee by the pound. Haven't worked out the final cost yet. It's less than Esmerelda, but not by much.


HAWAII DRY FERMENT-

Same farm, different processing method. The results are startling, citrus, chocolate, vanilla, sugar cane, sweet toasted Macadamia nuts.

Also available by the pound and by the cup.

You've heard about Terroir- how the coffee should reflect the land, you've heard about pristine processing and quality in the cup.

Now- for a limited time only, you can taste it. Come and enjoy a round trip ticket to Hawaii for about six bucks. Can't be beat.



Also available- our subscription service is up and running. We are delivering on Thursdays.
Check out the WEBSITE- and ONLINE STORE

Coffee of the Month Club!

My friends, neighbors, and customers.

We are proud to announce we are now offering specialty coffee packages delivered TO YOUR DOOR-
either

once a week for 6 months

or

once a month for a year.

Both of these packages offer exceptional savings off of any of our competitors- even though we are one of only two roasters in the state offering true specialty coffee!

Now you can get coffee delivered to you for a fraction of the cost- and never worry about mystery blends on supermarket shelves, roasted who knows when?

Our coffee is test roasted, developed, cupped daily, roasted fresh, delivered fresh. Totally transparent and accountable. You will be guaranteed fresh, flavorful, delicious coffee- artfully roasted.

check out our Online Shopping Cart for details-

secure online shopping!

I wanted to post a link to local election results.

Black Sheep was proud to host campaign events for both parties, and to host lively debate watching parties!

Follow this link for national results: NATIONAL

This one for local results: LOCAL

Cupping Thurs 10/23 and CHOCOLATE!

ANNOUNCING: We will now be carrying Rogue Chocolatier- Single Origin Chocolate Bars for sale as well as offering signature espresso beverages paired with Colin's amazing Chocolate.
Arriving: Thursday October 23rd.
Read more about Rogue Chocolatier HERE

Ok,

Well it's been a very exciting couple of weeks, but very hard and daunting as well.

The problem we were having:

Some of the roasts- were coming out dry, that is to say flavorless and a bit dull, and we were having to throw away otherwise perfect coffee- I say otherwise in the sense that the profile was true, the roast was 'correct' in that sense, and yet the result was flat, dull.

Eric ran into Marty Curtis in Atlanta and suggested that the only way to truly season a roaster is to set fire to coffee.

We thought hard about this for quite a while.

Then decided to go for it.

here's why:

Think about a good cast iron pan, a good wok. The metal is coated with oil- at very high temperature, so that the 'pores' of the metal expand in the presence of that oil, taking it in, and then protecting its surface with a layer of ash. Not soot, mind you, but very hard very fine ash, which, to a very small extent, also insulates, buffers against scorching, and most importantly, oil loss.

So here's what we did.


1. Call the fire department. :) let them know what is happening.
2. Call the alarm company.
3. Run through the fire safety procedures and project outcomes.
4. go.

The 'fire' went exactly as we had hoped. What we did not expect was exactly how long it took us (that is to say, ME) to clean out every part of the roaster and accompanying air system.

It took about 40 hours over three days. That's right. 40 hours of scrubbing with scour pads and towels and etc. You want that ultra fine coating on the drum, but not anywhere else. So I completely dismantled and reassembled all serviceable parts of the roaster- and the insulated fire venting to inspect the damage, if there was any.

The system held up perfectly, no damage of any kind! The pipes completely contained all smoke, heat, and gases involved and the alarm didn't even go off!


the problem I was having after the fire was that all of a sudden the airflow was TOO good!

Here's why.

I cleaned out and realigned the airflow system, as a result- the impeller was just too powerful for our very straightforward duct work. Our system just goes straight up about 10 feet. No bends. The impeller is powerful enough to pull air through a much larger system, half as efficient. We found that to preheat the drum was taking more energy- because that heat was being pulled away faster.

So I had to repeat the original seasoning process- which involves roasting coffee past second crack, something we almost never do except to season a roaster.

Once this was complete- VOILA! The Roaster is back to its original heat absorption and preheat settings!

I believe that the coffee is coming out cleaner, more true. We are tasting the oils in the coffee even more now because less of it is being absorbed in the drum and carried away by the airflow!

Upcoming Events:

This Thursday, October 23rd at 10:00 A.M. a public cupping will be held.
Including:

New Chocolates from:

Rogue Chocolatier!

Online Store

Today is Sunday, October 5th.

Yesterday was one of the busiest days ever. On the Road Again went beautifully, Booya and Pickle contest, families out for Corn Dogs and coffee-

We'll be adding another Decaf next week, Brazil Mountain Water Process- a beautiful true Brazil with good sweetness and body. It's going to make a lovely blend with our Sumatra MWP, which is surprisingly bold for a Decaf, and a bit too bold for smooth brewing on the Clover, truth be told. We'll be blending those two excellent coffees to make an amazing House Blend Decaf and house Decaf Espresso.

Our Current Espresso is Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira and Guatemala Maya Ixil FTO blended post roast. I think the shots are really coming along, beautiful and sweet- fresh and alive tasting with great body. It's not the most bold -through milk drink for a 16 oz Latte you could find, but that's not necessarily what we're looking for right now. We're starting from the basics, classic, sweet, great body and character, no flaws. Balance is the name of the game at the moment. We've got a great profile ready for a Bold Dark Espresso as soon as our M3 Grinder arrives. At that point we'll launch a Single Origin Espresso Menu much like our Clover Menu- that grinder will have no waste- weigh and grind one shot at a time- no waste, will allow us to serve single shots of Fabulous (and more difficult to find) coffees as espresso.

On to the website news: Our online Store is up and running- just select the coffee/package/equipment you would like from our store, pay with a credit card, and we will ship to your door. If you are local, we'll deliver! Grinders take 2-3 days to ship, Coffee ordered Thursday, Friday, or Saturday will ship Monday, as it would not arrive until Tuesday anyhow and would spend a day staling in a warehouse. Ugh.
The La Montana continues to sell, as does any outstanding coffee of-the-moment. It's fresh, lively, and sweet/berry/crisp.

Speaking of Crisp, I made Apple Crisp this weekend with Orange, Lemon, and lime Juice and zest, brown sugar, oatmeal, etc. We used Honeycrisp apples we got from the St. Paul farmer's market, and the result is amazing. $2.50 for a shareable portion!

Here are a couple pics from some catering we did this weekend.




Next week: Hosted cuppings with food pairings- we're going to offer a two flight coffee cupping with a mini-class and some food pairings, to make it more of an event.

Photos and Events:

We will be hosting a public viewing of the First Presidential Debate next weekend at Black Sheep-

7:00 P.M. Fireside Lounge- big screen T.V. We will be serving appetizers as provided by Volunteers for Obama, and serving our full coffee, tea, and dessert menu as well as our extended lunch menu throughout the event.


And now on the the blog:

As promised, here are some great photos from our last roasting session.

The profiles are really starting to produce consistently delicious results- and we continue to tweak the slope and length of the plane through first crack on the Kenya, Guatemala, and Brazil.
Here are some macro photos of Bean color transformation throughout the Roast. Times and further profile data to follow.
Just through the warming stage- bean temperature- 300



+ 1 minute, 320 degrees

342 degrees

364 degrees, starting to ramp down to first crack. (back off on heat to slow rate of change from +20 per minute to +4-8 per minute depending on bean elevation and density.)
408 degrees, 1st crack +4 minutes +8 minutes in the cooling tray. Beans are deeply mottled and smell clean and vaguely sweet. No baked aroma or discernible roast taste at all.


And here are macro photographs of our Teas- to be used to make our Tea Menu pages.

Ornamental green tea. Three Flower Burst Tea
Lapsang Souchong- a China Black Smoked tea.

Gunung Dempo

100 Monkeys White Tea
Ti Kwan Yin Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong Tea. Odd name but excellent tea.
Orange Sencha- Green Japanese Sencha flavored with Oranges.
Provence Roobios Blend- delicious with blueberries, etc.



Here is a couple of photos of the Obama volunteers meeting last night, as well as Rosie playing Guitar!
And a couple of Javier's artwork- On Display at the Sheep until October!

New Tea Menu:

We have updated and changed our tea service.
We now offer several five star- higher end fresh crop teas from Teasource-

For the last two years we have been buying our teas loose from Metropolitan Tea of Canada, one of the world's largest tea suppliers- with access to thousands of great teas and very fresh harvest and high quality tea. Our tea-catalog got to be too large- 45 teas! and so a few days ago we removed everything that has started to stale, and invested in new storage tins for our tea and coffee- more precise water temperature control for the bar, and several new crop teas.

Including:

Milk Oolong, a secret recipe delicious cup, smooth beyond smooth.
This extraordinarily unique and rare tea from China has a deliciously sweet aroma. The cup brews up very silky with a lot of texture and a pronounced creamy-buttery-sweet character to the flavor. These leaves will yield many wonderful infusions. Milk is actually used during the processing of this tea. (FROM TEASOURCE)

Okayti 1st Flush Darjeeling FTGFOP1
The leaf is very green, as is typical with 1st flushes, with an execeptionally fresh aroma. The tea steeps up fuller bodied that many 1st flush teas, with just a bit of astringency to balance the fruity muscatel notes that come through the flavor.. This is an exceptional introductory 1st flush Darjeeling.

Kenya Pekoe
This is a lovely high-grown tea with a fantastic spicy, wheaty aroma that brews up a full-bodied, smooth cup with just a hint of juniper berries in the flavor.

Jade Spring Green Tea
A beautiful, handmade, slightly twisted tea leaf from Jiangsu province with a very fresh aroma that steeps up with excellent body and a wonderful layering of flavors: tart, grassy, silky, delicious.

China Black Special
A beautiful, golden-tipped slightly curled black tea. It brews up very hearty, rich, and smooth with a pronounced sweet note, almost caramel like.

And now- back to the Coffee Roasting.

We had a wonderful accident occur yesterday during a couple batches of the Sumatra Lake Tawar.
On the second, the coffee roast spent nearly thirty seconds at the same temperature.
I mean, it hovered within 0.1 degrees for thirty seconds, just at the end of first crack.
Normally this is cause for great panic. Stalling the roast, even for a few seconds, can render it undrinkable, but in this case, compared to our production roast- which finishes at 2.5-3 degree change per 30 seconds at that same point in the roast, it was sweeter, more developed, with greater body and clarity. Strange and wonderful. I went back and roasted a few more batches trying to acheive this same result, and found that there is a delicate balance point just at the end of the roast that can be spun - with very very low heat, only enough to allow the roast to finish out with the heat of its internal reactions-

I'm not explaining this very well, because it involves some complicated math. You have the change of the bean temperature over time, yes. This is the level most roasters are concerned with and no more.
THEN- you have the change of the ambient temperature over time, yes?
THEN- you have the change in the burner output, and the RATE of change of the burner output over time.
THEN- you have the rate of change in the bean temperature over time, which is a function of Burner output AND change in the ambient temperature over time.

It works a little like this-
You add heat to the drum- which heats the coffee somewhat and heats up the space around the coffee somewhat.
How much is the coffee absorbing over time? How much is translated to the drum and surrounding air-space?
We know that quick changes over short periods of time- (40% burner jump in 10 seconds for example) will burn the coffee- called "tipping " or "scorching" or indeed, too much heat- not even over a short time interval, will burn the coffee.

We know that for each coffee there are best- target warmup times and rates that match well with the elevation at which the coffee was grown, and the processing method of the coffee. Elevation, bean type, bean density, time since harvest, these all play important factors in roasting.
Beyond that, there are many, many ways to roast.

Traditional method-
Add heat. See what happens. Start slow end slow.

Traditional Method #2-
Roast everything dark. The darker you roast, the less you taste. Dark roasts are 'safer' that is to say, you aren't going to taste the defects in low-quality coffee as much as you are going to taste the 'roasty' flavor and 'body' of the coffee. I know several roasters who use this as their main roasting method. Yuck. If you drink a cup of coffee and feel like you just smoked three cigarettes, it's time to try a lighter roast.

New method-
Buy better green coffee- buy the most flavorful, delicious coffee available. Charge what it costs. Who wants to drink bad dark roast? Delicious coffee is still very affordable. Invest in a modest brewing setup for at-home for best cost-efficiency. I am happy to provide this and will be selling basic setups within a week or two on our website.
Roasting:
Get out of the way of the coffee-
The coffee is delicious- and should taste that way. Roasts should be tailored to the coffee, not the other way around. We use a gentle warmup- ramping quickly towards first crack, and then taper off before first depending on each coffee- bean size and shape, elevation, etc. A Kenya, or Guatemala, perhaps, will require more finish heat- ramp down later, finish through first crack somewhat aggressively because it takes more heat-surplus to penetrate that particular bean-shape.

Here's a little more on how we approach roasting.
You add a certain amount of heat to a certain batch, already in progress. Does this change ambient temperature? Does this modify/change the RATE of change of the bean temperature? If it does, you have heat surplus or heat defiency. You are changing the curve, yes, but also the area under the curve, the rate of change. Integral calculus is fun, isn't it?

Depending on the size of the surplus, and the change in the surplus over time, the coffee can be pushed or pulled to absorb heat-over time. The only way we really have to measure this is the bean probe- a thermoprobe within the falling bean mass. At best this is a combination of surface temperatures and thermal mass. You have to listen to the cracks and watch color to get a better sense of what is happening internally.

So we keep track of these changes, our fuel additions, we take tiny little very close-up pictures of each roast to notice color and texture. We get Agtron numbers. We measure our Greens for density in a little acrylic box. We cup every day. We sample, and cup, and test, and cup, and test, and cup. We try every coffee on the cupping table, as espresso, and extracted on the Clover.

It is a dense process, and you build on your knowledge of each coffee over time.

Let's see one particularly successful profile from the last week-

That magical Tawar Batch

Drop 395' Batch Size 5# Diedrich Ir-7
Time Burner Bean Ambient Notes
.5
1 45% 175.7
1.15 55 172
1.30 60 172.8
1.45 65 177
2
2.15 75 191 560 Target for warmup was ambient 550-585 and 14deg/30secd rise.
2.30 75 198.2 568
2.45
3 75 214 580
3.5 74 231 590
4 246.6 595
4.5 72 260 600 We have acheived our max slope and are tapering off to the plane.
5 71 275.5 607
5.5
6 78 298.6 Extra heat is added to compensate for jump in heat absorption at 300-
6.5 80 and airflow change.
7 322 602
7.5 84% 333 609 Heat surplus is restored, and coffee has hit target rise of 10-12 deg/30 sec
8 89% 344 616
8.5 353 621 very beginning of plane out.
9 91% 363.4 624 hot burner, hot drum, hot air, and coffee is still slwing(absorption increases dramatically before the explosive first crack.)
9.5 18% (tapered) 382.7 594
10 15% 389 557
10.5 393
11 18% 395.1 531 holy slowdown batman!
11.5 22% 395.4 514 Whoa! Looking like mulch, but Wait!
12 28% 395.5 529 Ambient is climbing, so we wait.
12.5 35% 396.7 538
13 33% 399.1 544 --Could be interesting...
13.5 36% 402.5 545
14 32% 405.8 545 Drop

1st Crack 10:15
Rolling 11:00 (wow)
Done 13:30
Drop 14:05
DROP 14:05 405.8 degrees F.


Okay, today was pretty dense. Next time will be lots of photos again. ha.

Photos from Weekend Cleaning/Practice

Some photos from Latte art practice and roaster disassembly/cleaning yesterday.


Roasting El Salvador, Mexico, Espresso, and Guatemala tonight.

New Staff Update and updated roasting profile!

I have to say,
We have been exceptionally fortunate in our applicants.

We have hired several new staff, all of whom are just solid baristas and solid people.

As promised, here is an updated profile, from yesterday's sessions with Eric.

Mexico Nayarita 3.5# batch, drop temperature (thermoprobe 1.5 inches off a non-perforated drum.) was 309 (450 ambient temperature.)
First number is batch (bean temperature) second is [ambient temp] in degrees F.

.5
1 198 [470]
1.5 165 [504]
2 166 [530]
2.5 179 [541]
3 212 [557]
3.5 226 [566]
4 242 [575]
4.5 256 [584]
5 271 [588]
6 298 [594]
6.5 310 [601]
7 321 [594]
7.5 338 [596]
8 344 [600]
8.5 352 [605]
9 362 [607]
9.5 372 [603]
10 381 [590]
10.5 389 [570]
11 396 [558]
11.5 400 [505]
12 404 [566]

This one was a bit uneven, so we saved it for cupping/mulch, and tried again.

Mexico 2 9.4.08
.25 249 [418]
.5 198 [446]
.75 175 [488]
1.0 160 [501]
1.5 162 [525]
2 174 [537]
2.5 190 [548]
3 207 [555]
3.5 224 [572]
4 240 [572]
4.5 254 [580]
5 268 [588]
5.5 282 [593]
6 296 [600]
6.5 309 [606]
7 320 [597]
7.5 332 [599]
8 344 [605]
8.5 356 [606]
9 367 [569]
9.5 373 [576]
10 380 [570]
10.5 387 [566]
11 394 [572]
11.5 397 [572]
12 401 [.]
12.5 404 [569]
13 407 [566]
13.5 410 [566]
14 drop 410' 13:30

Much, much better. Also, we've noticed that certain roasts seem to be more aromatic han others. We've taken this as a sign of good things- and are keeping track. This was a particularly good roast, with milk chocolate, and some of the florals and cilantro present at cupping roast. Cupped 9.5.08

Project for later today: revamping our loose leaf Tea Menu.
Here is a picture of Roasted Vegetables

Sunday, August 31, 2008.

Roasted more Guatemala, Mexico, and Espresso today, as well as samples of gerbicho leila and Danau Toba.

We are attracting more and more exceptional staff, so that is an incredible bonus to using good equipment and taking coffee seriously.

I'll introduce staff as we go here, but I want to get their permission before putting photos along with personal info up on a blog, as it were.

Results from Espresso Blend Numero Uno-

Our first attempt at a house espresso blend involved Brazil Yellow Bourbon Natural Process from Fazenda Cachoeira, Guatemala FTO from Maya Ixil, and El Salvador Jocotillo.
Surprise, surprise, the El Salvador, although only 15-20% of the blend, was the star, lending a buttery body and caramel aftertaste that defines this particular experiment. I also am going to roast vertical batches of our next experimental blend, with no pre-roast resting to equalize moistures (roasted today) one tomorrow- 24 hours pre-roast blend time- and another on Tuesday- 48 hours.

The idea:
Is there an obvious taste in performance between blends which are allowed to rest before roasting?
The common knowledge says:
DON'T roast blends at all.
IF you have to:
LET THEM SIT-
for at least 24 hours.
Since we are the kind of shop that likes to throw conventional wisdom on its head, all in the name of personal growth and the ultimate experience in coffee, we started from scratch.
We had a relationship with one of the best roasters in the country.
We kept that.
We're moving forward.

The New Blend- which I am tentatively calling

Espresso in the fields of the Lord.

Brazil Yellow Bourbon,
Mexico Nayarita
Guatemala Maya Ixil
and-
Sumatra Danau Toba.

This one is a real kick in the pants. Our last batch of Toba was really lovely. Grind a cup and you could smell it across the street. Killer sweetness, with roasted vegetables aftertaste and flirts of citrus.

Flirts of citrus? I must be tired.
Sounds like a great band name though.
LIVE!
at the hot box- Saturday night- all ages!

fLiRTs of CiTRUs!
and following-
Mason Jennings.
..
So...

I am also wrapping up a set of instructional videos tonight for Terra Keramik. You should be able to view them on terrakeramik.com sometime next week.

Basic video on Espresso and tamping.
Basic Latte Art.

I really like the format of these, and will continue to make them for staff.


so.

Here is a close-up of some pasta I took for Al from Gindmaster. He's participating in an online forum for pasta lovers. :)

Friday Morning

Busy busy.

Things are picking up.

We've updated our website with a new online shopping cart. You can order our coffees- with detailed roasting information, across the world wide interweb.
Fancy schmancy.

Also, I'm editing a video today of basic tamping, and basic latte art, comissioned by Terrakeramik.com

Makers of the fabulous, wonderul, amazing, platinum rimmed espresso demitasse we sell here in the shop. Also, these are the cups top baristas are using for competition. When you need a cup that is fit for the presidential espresso bar, this is it.

Also - TOMORROW- we will be hosting a campaign event for John McCain. Called "Coffee with Coffee" a veteran who was in the P.O.W. camp with the senator will be discussing politics and things Republican. We urge you to come and participate, whatever your particular point of view.

As for me- I am supporting:

I believe Synesso would make a great candidate. Synesso is consistent, time and time again. Synesso stands for dramatic, consistent, intelligent performance.

Clover would do an excellent job running Congress. And with its political connections in the corporate world, Clover would be well positioned to brew up change.

Some new things:

The website ordering section has more distinct information about roast details- for specific coffees. That profile I posted above tasted good but was flat. I have since modified that coffee to be far less linear- and am paying much more attention to ambient drop temperatures as relating to batch size. I like to think things through in terms of the clothes dryer analogy. Imagine a dryer pre-heated so hot that all your towels burn. This is essentially what can happen when small batches enter a hot drum-

But, if you aim too low, you end up sample roasting a coffee for 17 minutes- ending up with a dryed out boringness that tastes vaguely of yogurt.

In any case, we cup every batch before we put them on bar- so you can be sure nothing that is sub-par will leave the facility.

On a related note- I have PLENTY of sub-par coffee available for compost!
You'll find it near our herb-planters out back...