Th
e dog blog
May 13th 2011
What's new? Well for starters, I've finally managed to get around to updating the dog blog. Let's talk coffee.. specifically El Salvador Molino de Santa Rita. I've heard good things about this season's offerings from the El Molino farm on the grape.. er coffee vine. I was looking for something that would work well both as an espresso, in cappucino and just au lait with a selection of little cakes. I'm quite demanding. And happily Molino is a goody in this regard. It works well with cappuccino froth, cutting through the milkyness with a spicy aftertaste and makes a bombshell of an espresso. Mission accomplished. Well done me.
September 29 2010
Yes the summer's over and the rain is pounding on your window.. But it's not all bad. You see there's a new coffee delivery steaming its way towards us. And as you might expect, it's not just any old bunch of coffee beans. Guatemala huehuetenango finca la maravilla is the cat's pyjamas. Maravilla means the wonder - and for good reason. This has an amazing orange zing in the wet aromatics with a toffee sweetness. When we bought a limited amount in last year, coffeedog fans literally went bananas (well not literally, that would be odd). We've gone for a bit more this time around, but be quick because when it's gone it's gone. Unless we get some more.
Ben
June 3 2010
Fans of Mount Elgon coffees will be relieved that we have now taken delivery of the latest crop. A unique East African coffee, husky yet clean, and makes a captivating espresso. Honey sweetness and a clean lemon scent with a lurking herby undertone, it's just brilliant. The plantations on the slopes of Mount Elgon are steep and difficult terrain to traverse in the rainy seasons; often there are no roads, only dirt tracks that are washed away by the rains. But the Bagisu tribesmen of the Bugisu district have become expert coffee farmers despite their challenging conditions. The proof is in the cup!
Our other new arrival is the rather splendid Ethopia Organic Shakiso Sidamo which has a wonderful gloopy sweetness combined with, at the risk of getting carried away, a heavy plum-like wine character. Complex and brooding, just like me.
Ben
April 16 2010
Well as excuses go, this is a good one. Icelandic volcanic activity has delayed the delivery of my latest offering - but rest assured it is en route... Sumatra Grade 1 Mandheling from the region of Lake Takengon has a heavy body and a complex earthy flavour. This is a deep, brooding, pungent, bass note coffee, with an undertone of mildly earthy dark chocolate... form an orderly queue... no pushing in!
Ben
March 15 2010
Everyone's been going somewhat nuts over the Sumatra Aceh Arinagata and I'm pleased to let you all know our momentary empty sack crisis has been averted. We are now fully restocked with some of the good stuff - come and get it! And that's not all. New in this month is our first Java offering - and what a cracker it is. Java Kajumas Organic; earthy funkyness with a dash of butterscotch sweetness. I've only bought a limited batch, but if you like it, I know where to get it...
Ben
January 22 2010
In keeping with our mission to sniff out new and exciting offerings, we have just taken delivery of a highly praised Ethiopian Moplaco Yirga Cheffe, packed with wonderful sweet aromatics of honeysuckle and apricot. And making a welcome return this month is the Sumatra fairtrade and organic Aceh Arinagata, a dark and earthy cup for those of us who like our coffee with a bit of punch and complexity.
Roll on spring..
Ben.
December 10 2009
Coffeedog salutes you...
To all our customers who have supported us through our exhilarating birth, I would just like to give a big festive hug - think of this, if you will, as one of those tiresome corporate Christmas cards, without the need to clog up the postal system.
Back this month, by popular demand, is the somewhat unpronounceable but entirely addictive Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca La Maravilla. We have also managed to get hold of some tangy bittersweet organic microlot coffee from the Honduras farm of Daniel Ordonez III, a third generation coffee farmer. He obviously knows what he's doing... And as a bit of a shot in the dark, we've taken delivery of a limited quantity of Fairtrade & organic Peruvian coffee produced by a cooperative of smallholders. As it happens, it's the bee's knees. Smooth, with caramel and vanilla aroma, a great find. Ben.