February Update:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S!

In this update:

Coupon- read on to find upcoming special offers!
New Coffees!
Roasting Blog Update
Seasonal Menu Changes- Valentine's day Specials!


New Coffees:

Tanzania Peaberry:
A mild, aromatic cup with a balanced complexity as it cools. Great body and mouthfeel.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Wondo Worka B-
You may notice this coffee shares the same name as a coffee we already offer- delicious clean ferment flavors of berry, citrus, and wine, but Ethiopia B offers something more complex, the very fine black tea notes of an Oolong. Truly a coffee to be savored, perfect for a Valentine's day Gift.

Valentine's Day Specials-

Look for our Valentine's Mocha- served from February 9-16 only!

Single Origin Jamaican Dark Chocolate-
From Rogue Chocolatier- this is an amazing opportunity to try a simply stunning beverage- the complexity and sweetness of true artisan chocolate, paired with a custom espresso blended for this one drink- available only for Valentine's day week!

Stay Tuned for more details, and a photo.
We will also be baking some special Valentine's Desserts, we're working on recipes right now.


Roasting Blog Update:

On samples and sampling.
We've tried a lot of great coffee- and even more bad coffee-
That is to say, lots and lots and lots of very poor coffee.
Why do we do this- you ask?
So that you do not have to.
We can honestly say that our coffee compares to the best coffee available in our region and our nation. You won't find a cup this good at our prices anywhere else. We are one of only two shops in MN serving true specialty coffee-


Each week we sample new coffees, looking for the best flavor, the best aromas, but with an eye towards value. You would pay 20$ for a great bottle of wine, that, when opened will last perhaps only one meal. Coffee should be fresh, served at peak, given the love and respect it needs to brew a beautiful experience for you and your loved ones.

Ask us about brewing great coffee at home.
We sell brewers, grinders, we can even help you with water!


And now- the -COUPON- Print this out, or simply tell us you saw it online, and save the paper. We trust you.


May all your sips be blessed with perfect
crisp
clean
bliss.

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.