Blanchard's Coffee Blog

2012-01-19T15:13:00.000-05:00

Do you read our blog? Well, duh...

Do you drink our coffee? I should hope so if you're reading our blog.

Do you order coffee from our web store? We don't really know, so lets find out!

Just because you're kind enough read our blog and follow what we're doing from time to time (and because we want to see how many folks actually engage with our ramblings), we're going to offer you, our readers, a discount on coffee at our web store.

Order any coffee, at any quantity and any shipping/pick-up option and use the coupon code BLOGZ to get 10% off your order.

We'll keep this promotion running for 1 week, starting today.
Feel free to use it as much as you like and, by all means, share it with your friends, post it to Twitter, Facebook--whatever you like!

Happy shopping, and thanks for reading!

2012-01-16T15:32:00.002-05:00

Raise your hand if you follow Blanchard's Coffee Co. on Twitter and Facebook.

If you didn't raise your hand you should get on the bandwagon. As much as we try to blog about every cool thing that comes down the pipes, some stuff slips through the cracks--but we rarely miss a beat on social media.

Perfect example: If you were following our Twitter and Facebook feeds Friday evening you probably saw something about a Saturday morning espresso tasting idea. That idea, by the time it was confirmed around 10:00pm Friday night, became known as PopUpEspresso, and if you didn't come out, you missed something pretty special.

For those of you that missed it--here's the story:
I put out a question on Facebook and Twitter around 8:30pm Friday night asking if there was any interest in an espresso tasting Saturday morning--I didn't have anything to do and I needed to be out of my house for a few hours, so I was looking for something interesting to get into.

Enough people expressed interest so I decided to run with it, and at 10:00pm, I announced on Twitter and Facebook that I would hold a PopUpEspresso. What is that you ask? Think of it like a surprise espresso bar. There is no set schedule, no set format--I announced the times and the rules Friday night for the next morning.

This time around, the rules were simple: Come, taste espresso and/or macchiatto, rate it, comment on it, stick around, socialize, ask questions and learn about coffee--if you want to purchase coffee beans, fine, otherwise, leave your money at home. The rules may be completely different next time (and there will be a next time) but they will always be posted ahead of time so you'll know.

This Saturday's event was a great success. We had a bunch of visitors, lots of new faces, and some great feedback on the several espressos we were testing out. Old friends and new friends stuck around, socialized, got highly caffeinated and learned tons of new stuff about coffee and what goes on at Blanchard's on a daily basis.

It is pretty exciting to see how energized an idea can become, even after only a short period of time, so we're already planning the next one! If you want to participate then keep your eyes open for our posts on Facebook and Twitter--it'll be here before you know it!

Camp Coffee

2011-12-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

In partnership with Need Supply Co.--a Richmond, Virginia based specialty clothing company that is world renowned for its selection of vintage and rare denim and its consistent ability to be at the forefront of new urban trends--we have created a very unique coffee to offer to offer to customers at their Carytown location and in their webstore.

As you can see by the custom label to the left, Camp Coffee is Dark Roast blend of Indian Monsoon Malabar and Ethiopian Harrar--two very unique coffees that are full of character and flavor.

Often coffee blends are kept a secret as proprietary information but we felt like these two beans had such a fascinating story that it would be a shame not to highlight them in the description.

Together, these beans create a rich, hearty and balanced cup that almost begs for a seat by the fire on a chilly winter evening.

Camp coffee is only available through Need Supply Co. so visit them on Cary Street or pick up a bag from the webstore--you'll be glad you did!

Coffee of the Month News

2011-12-23T13:07:00.001-05:00

Dear Coffee of the Month Customers

We hope you are having a lovely holiday season! This isalways an exciting time at Blanchard’s Coffee Co. because we’re always extrabusy filling orders for gifts, stocking the shelves at all of our retaillocations, keeping our restaurants and coffee houses stocked with beans and, ofcourse, staying wired on this year’s Holiday Blend!

This year, in addition to the seasonal sprint to the New Year,we’ve been putting a lot of thought into the Coffee of the Month program. Asyou may know, Coffee of the Month has been around since the very beginning ofBlanchard’s Coffee Co. and many customers have been receiving their monthlyspecial coffee since day one. From a logistical perspective, however, it hasbecome difficult to give the program all it needs to be successful. In short,our wholesale business is growing rapidly and the pressure from that growth hasled to COM getting short shrift—some of you have experienced this first hand inthe form of order and billing problems and for that, we are terribly sorry.

We decided that we wanted to keep the BCC Coffee of theMonth program around but it needed a new, more manageable format to ensure youget your coffee the way you want it, billed correctly and we don’t annoy ourloyal customers with clumsy mistakes.

As of the end of 2011, Coffee of the Month customers will nolonger be automatically billed and shipped coffee. We will, however, continueto feature a special coffee each month—January’s Coffee of the Month will be aSouthern Coast Indian Estate coffee, which is a very interesting cup! We willfeature the coffee of the month on our website, our blog and in an emailnewsletter. Existing COM customers will receive a 10% discount on purchases ofthe coffee and can order as much or as little as they like. This keeps ouroffering list fresh and interesting, rewards our loyal customers and takes awaya lot of room for error on our part.

I understand this may be sad, annoying or even angering newsfor some of you and, if that is the case, I encourage you to please call medirectly to discuss. Obviously, our number one goal is to make our customershappy and get them great coffee, so we will do everything in our power to makethat happen. Please direct all questions, comments or hate-mail (I hope not…)to me at the following contact information:

Stephen T Robertson
Sales & Marketing, Blanchard’s Coffee Co.
804-516-5213
Stephen@blanchardscoffee.com

Thank you again for your continued patronage and support ofBlanchard’s Coffee Co.—we truly couldn’t have gotten to where we are withoutit.

We wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year—and stay incontact with us at all of these places:

www.blanchardscoffee.com
www.blanchardscoffee.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/blanchardscoffee
www.twitter.com/drinkblanchards

Best wishes

Blanchard's Coffee Co.

Holidays, Camp Fire, Beer and Boxing Day!

2011-12-20T11:01:00.000-05:00

If you guys hadn't noticed, the Holiday Season is fully upon us!
It is hard to believe the year is almost over--especially since we're looking at yet another week of California-esque weather--but according to my calendar, it is definitely December 20th.

First things first--Blanchard's Coffee Co. will be CLOSED on Monday December 26th 2011 in celebration of Boxing Day! Oh wait--we're not British...must've gotten caught up in all the hype about the Margaret Thatcher movie... Nonetheless, we will be closed on Monday the 26th of December to take a little breather (we've roasted a LOT of coffee in the past few weeks), but we will be back in action, albeit gorged on starch and gluten, on Tuesday to fill all of your coffee needs!

Speaking of coffee needs, here's an exciting piece of news: Need Supply Co. and Blanchard's Coffee Co. have partnered to create Camp Coffee--a truly unique coffee blend created to bring the essence of campfire or fireplace to your cup. If you're not familiar with Need Supply Co., it is a Richmond, Virginia based clothing company that is one of the top rated sources of designer and vintage denim (among many other things) in the world. We are extremely honored to be able to work with them to produce Camp Coffee. It is available exclusively at Need Supply Co. in Carytown or on their website.

In other exciting news, we'll be working with Hardywood Park Brewery today to brew a Coffee Stout using Blanchard's Cold Brew Coffee--this Coffee Stout will go up against similar stouts made with coffee from other local roasters and the winner will be the roaster used for a full run of the ale!
So... this is a call to all BCC fans who are also beer drinkers--head down to the downtown Capital Ale House on Wednesday at 5:30 and vote for Blanchard's! For more information, check out the Hardywood Facebook post.

It might seem hard to believe, but there is even more big BCC news on the horizon so stay tuned for that--in the meantime, have a lovely holiday and safe travels!

Holiday Hullabaloo!

2011-11-29T16:08:00.001-05:00

Hello Coffee Lovers!

A few pounds heavier and still confused about what day we're actually on and what in tarnation is going on with the weather, we have survived Thanksgiving, only to be thrust head first into the always startling waters of the pre-holiday season.

Whether we're talking about coffee, shopping, decorating or frantically trying to wind down the year at work, this is a time of year when most of us are charging at full tilt towards the finish line--we at Blanchard's are no exception.

There is SO MUCH happening at Blanchard's Coffee Co.--most of it really awesome. Here is a little update on everything we can tell you so far, and I promise there is even bigger news in the works so keep checking in on us for updates.

Holiday Blend
It is here and it is delicious! A blend of African and Latin American Beans that fits the bill for a great coffee to enjoy leading up to your celebrations. This year, it happens to benefit a great organization here in Richmond called the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence--be sure to click on their link and read about all they do here in town. We'll be donating a portion of proceeds from Holiday Blend to their organization which will hopefully continue in a lasting relationship after the holidays.

You can buy Holiday Blend at Ellwood Thompson Market, Taza Coffee & Creames, several area Martin's Food Stores, Crossroads Coffee (both locations), Libbie Market, The Blanchard's Coffee Co. website and hopefully more to come! Also, if you find yourself down in the Outer Banks for the holidays, you can pick up Holiday Blend at Waverider's Coffee in Nags Head.

Microlot
We were sad to see the Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry go so hopefully we'll be able to buy that entire crop again next year. We are, however, excited to announce we have bought the entire crop of another small farm in Nicaragua. The Las Nubes Cooperative is owned and operated solely by women of the community and they produced a crop of a little over 300 pounds of a special Caturra varietal. The coffee is a delicious full bodied, light roasted single origin with notes of butter and ripe cherry. This coffee will be available on our website, at Ellwood Thompson Market and several coffee shops including Taza Coffee & Creames, Crossroads Coffee (both locations) and Para Coffee.

Gift Boxes
Every year we offer holiday gift boxes for your gift giving pleasure--a nice, clean cut, black Blanchard's gift box snugly stuffed with three signature BCC coffees--this year we're featuring Dark as Dark, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and of course, Holiday Blend. You can order on our website or we are always willing to take your orders over the phone, in person, via email or even smoke signals, but be warned, sometimes its hard to read smoke signals because of all the smoke we make when roasting Dark as Dark!

We're already getting a ton of requests for custom gift box orders and this is Totally welcomed--if you have special requests, needs or large quantity orders please contact Stephen directly (804-516-5213 or stephen@blanchardscoffee.com) and he'll help you get exactly what you need for your holiday gift giving needs.

We hope to post again soon with even bigger, more exciting news (if you can believe thats possible!) but until then, enjoy the holiday season, stay warm, or cool, whatever we're on today, and don't drink too much egg nog!

2011-09-21T15:54:00.001-04:00

Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry: Pre-Roast

Nicaraguan

Maragogype

Peaberry

(mara-go-hee-pay)

A Blanchard's Coffee Co. Exclusive Limited Offering

Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry: Post Roast

At Blanchard's Coffee Co. we are proud of every single coffee we offer, but sometimes we are fortunate enough to come across a coffee that is extra special and exciting. Our latest microlot offering is a perfect example of this. We caught wind of the Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry from our primary broker when we were snooping around for a new bean to feature.

As coffee geeks, we immediately got excited because we're already fond of Nicaraguan beans, but a Maragogype? Rare, delicious, unique--of course that made our ears perk up. And a Peaberry to boot? Hand picked, making up less than 3% of the overall crop--this is awesome! And could it be true? There are only 300 pounds of this coffee in the world? Surely we won't be able to get our hands on this prize, right? Wrong. We got our hands on it; all of it in fact, and we're roasting it for you until its gone.

So, what is so special about Nicaraguan Maragogype Peaberry you ask? Wait, back up, you're probably just wondering how to pronounce Maragogype. Well, the Maragogype coffee is a mutation of the Typica variety of Arabica coffee. The mutation was first discovered in Bahia, Brazil, so when you think pronunciation, think Portuguese. It goes something like this: mara-go-hee-pay and, if you can, you sort of roll the "R" in the first syllable.

Now that you can pronounce it, lets dig further into what this coffee is. So we know the Maragogype is a mutation of the common Typica bean--a mutation that creates a soft, more palatable, delicate coffee. The Maragogype trees are considerably more fickle and produce a much lower yield, thus making the coffee harder to farm and more rare. The Maragogype bean is often also called "Elephant Bean" because it is commonly much larger than its Typica relative.

Peaberries are another type of mutation that occur in many coffee varietals. The Peaberry occurs when a coffee cherry only produces one seed instead of two. This seed is rounded and takes up the entire seed chamber. They are most often found on the farthest reaching branches of the coffee tree and, as previously mentioned, make up less than 3% of the tree's yield. Add that to the fact that farmers must hand separate them from the rest of the crop and you get an incredibly rare and prized bean.

So, we've got a rare mutation of a rare mutation of an already lovely coffee; what does that mean in your cup?

Well, for this particular coffee it means you get a highly complex, delicate coffee that balances crisp lemony acidity with soft buttery texture. Your cup of coffee takes on characteristics of lemon preserves spread over brioche... wow, that makes me hungry!

This is a truly special coffee and I hope you get a chance to try it out. You can always find our coffees on our website but if you're out and about town, you can buy this coffee in bags or in bulk form at Ellwood Thompson Market. A few choice locations will be brewing the coffee as well--right now you might find a cup at Crossroads Coffee VCU and The Empress.

If you'd like to learn more about this or any coffee please feel free to come chat with us or send a quick email--we'd love to hear from you!

Blanchard's Coffee Co. is Hiring!

2011-08-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

Guess what folks, its that time again!
In the past few months we've been growing fast and seeing lots of changes in the BCC team, beginning with Tom Thorogood moving on to bigger things and leaving us with his delicious Swan Song. Next we said bon voyage to Jonathan Lesko as he sailed off to an island off of West Africa with the Peace Corps. We were joined during the summer by Seth Bauserman whose steady pace, good tunes and expertise on the roaster gave us the time we needed to get our new Roast Master, Josh Taylor, fully acclimated to the complex art/science of coffee roasting.
Now that Josh has his sea-legs, so to speak, its time to get the Blanchard's ship running at full steam. We are producing a LOT of coffee so we need some more hands. We're posting the job description for a Production Assistant below, so if you're interested, give us a shout.

A few notes to preface: Working in the Roasting Lab is often dirty, hard work. There is a lot of lifting overhead and in awkward spaces. There is a good amount of smoke, a lot of heat and you will, more often than not, be covered in coffee. This is not to scare you away because the job is a heck of a lot of fun and you get to drink coffee all day, we just want everyone to understand that if you're not into getting some dirt under your nails, this probably isn't your ideal gig.

Blanchard’s Coffee Co. is seeking applicants for the position of Production Assistant.

The Production Assistant position carries a 25-35 hour per week schedule, depending on production volume.

The Production Assistant’s schedule is Monday-Friday beginning at 9:00am and ending when daily production is completed.

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

--Able to lift 60lbs over their head
--Reliable transportation to and from work
--Efficient and hard-working
--Clean driving record
--Punctual
--Coffee Lover
--Respectful of coworkers, superiors and company property
--Respectful of clients and other members of the community

Preferred qualifications:

--Coffee experience (coffee shop, restaurant, retailer etc)
--Interest in coffee education (roasting, brewing, cupping, barista training etc)
--Customer service experience
--Basic computer skills

The Production Assistant works directly with the Roast Master on a daily basis assisting with all tasks involved in producing and packaging coffee for wholesale accounts. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to inventory, labeling bags, batching and blending both green and roasted coffee, operating a weigh-and-fill machine, operating a belt and manual heat sealing machine, grinding coffee, packaging whole bean and ground coffee, answering the phone, delivering coffee, brewing coffee, Roast Lab cleanliness, equipment cleanliness, complying with USDA, VA Department of Agriculture, CCOF and Transfair guidelines for organic certification and quality control.

Blanchard’s Coffee Co. is growing and always hopes to give employees opportunities to grow as well. The Production Assistant will have the opportunity to learn coffee roasting techniques to support the Roast Master as well as overall coffee knowledge.

To apply, please email a resume and cover letter to Stephen@blanchardscoffee.com.

News!

2011-08-17T11:12:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it is hard to keep this blog new and interesting because, quite frankly, we've got so much new and exciting stuff going on it usually gets swept by the wayside.
So what is keeping us so busy you ask? Well, here's a little update on what we're up to and some exciting news from the Blanchard's Coffee camp.

We've been growing as fast as we can, getting great new clients and helping some others grow.
Locally, we're providing coffee for the new localvore restaurant Selba which opened recently. It is absolutely gorgeous in there and Chef Abe has created an excellent menu.
We're excited that UofR is getting fired up again soon where we provide coffee for the Passport Cafe and Lou's. UofR is also launching a retail coffee program soon that will be roasted by Blanchards and sold on campus and in the up and coming downtown location.
Speaking of retail coffee, both Mamma Zu and Acacia offer their signature BCC blends in private-labeled retail bags so you can take some home after dinner!

Outside of Richmond we're really excited to be working with Para Coffee in Charlottesville and Java Shack in Arlington. Para Coffee is one of the most charming coffee shops we've seen in a while and it is chock full of talented baristas. Java Shack is an awesome location right in the thick of Clarendon that has been in business for over 15 years!

On a larger scale, we're very happy to be working with the nation's largest foodservice provider, Sysco Foods, to offer our coffees to high end restaurants and cafes outside of the Richmond area that might otherwise not have access to Fair Trade and Organically roasted, fresh, small-batch coffees. Despite the stigma of large, corporate goliath food companies, Sysco is a great, quality and service oriented company and we've been impressed by their excitement about our coffee, our brand, and getting us to more outlying areas.

Finally, we are very pleased to announce that our trial period at Kroger Willow Lawn in the Natural Foods section has come to an end and the corporate folks were impressed that our sales met and exceeded expectations, even while the store was under renovation. Because our 8 Fair Trade Organic coffees were so popular, they have decided to place us in 6 additional Richmond area Kroger locations! As soon as we have confirmation of the exact stores we'll announce them officially.

Obviously, we owe all of you a big Thank You because our growth and popularity is a direct result of you all drinking our coffee, talking us up to your friends and family and visiting all of the awesome restaurants, cafes, coffee houses, grocery stores, markets, convenience stores, churches, salons and schools that proudly brew Blanchard's Coffee--we raise our mugs to you!

Testamonial

2011-08-04T15:44:00.000-04:00

Mocha Java is the classic coffee blend--one of the first known. Every roaster should have a Mocha Java out of respect to the craft. We're super proud of ours and even more proud that it is a featured coffee at the VMFA Best Cafe every single day.

Just like everyone, we always like to hear compliments. Here's one from Brenda who worked at VMFA and has this to say about the Blanchard's Coffee Co. Mocha Java:

I was so glad that you still have Mocha Java and as soon as I am out of what I have, I shall order two bags. Best coffee ever and when I worked in the cafe at the Museum as a barista, I became a great fan as did many others. We could not keep the carafe filled.
Be ordering soon.

Brenda

Thanks Brenda!

Beans, Beans, Good for Your Heart

2011-08-02T12:59:00.000-04:00

The title might imply that this post has something to do with coffee being heart-healthy and there might be some factual substantive data proving as much; I can assure you it doesn't.
Coffee is good for you, thats proven, for now--it helps with blood flow, digestion, mental function, its full of antioxidents and all kinds of other great things but I didn't feel like researching all that stuff right now because I'm writing about something completely different.

We take for granted, I think, the fact that we're roasting coffee every day. The process of roasting coffee is a pretty awesome thing but when you're cranking out hundreds of pounds a day, sometimes you forget how fascinating it can be to folks who've never seen it happen.

My favorite part about roasting coffee is the reason for the "heart" part of the title; I love the smell of roasting coffee. I remember the very first batch of coffee I ever roasted years ago; I was floored when the beans came out of the roaster because the smell took me instantly back to my childhood. Nostalgia attached to smell is a very powerful thing. Coffee right out of the roaster smells just like the old time dark tobacco curing barns my father still used back then. The barns were wooden structures with dirt floors and open rafters all the way to the roof. The tobacco was hung from the rafters several stories up and then hickory fires were set below the tobacco to smoke cure it over the course of several weeks.

Still, after six years of roasting coffee, every time I swing the drum hatch open and drop the beans into the cooling tray I am reminded of how much I loved the smell of the dark tobacco barns, the crisp autumn nights tending the fires, the first year I was tall enough to climb the rafters, the community coming together to fill barns, the feel of worn tobacco sticks in your hand, the distinct sound of a stalk splitting over the spear, the soft and cool texture of the tying leaf... These are memories of a tradition exists only in museums; a set of agriculture practices that will never be used again. There are fewer and fewer people left on this earth who share these memories and understand these old-time practices. I feel fortunate to be one of those people and it makes my heart happy that every time I drop a batch of beans I get to re-live it as it all flashes through my mind's eye.

What the Heck is Chicory?

2011-07-20T16:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday someone asked me if Blanchard's Coffee Co. offered chicory coffee.
The answer is no, we do not offer chicory coffee.
The reason is that chicory is an additive and one of our philosophies at Blanchard's is to do our best to honor the natural, inherent characteristics of each coffee we roast. This is why we shy away from any flavor additives in general--if you like hazelnut flavors with your coffee that is perfectly fine, just add it in your cup!

That is my personal form answer to the additive and flavor question that inevitably pops up at least once or twice a day. I've been saying it for the past ten years that I've called coffee my career so I hardly even think about it anymore. That is, until yesterday when this person followed the chicory question with another: "what, exactly, is chicory anyway?"
I noted again that it was an additive, blah blah blah, but this obviously didn't answer the question with any substance so I admitted I had no earthly clue what chicory really was and I promised I would do some research and find out.

I was surprised by what my research turned up and I think many of you will be too.

Chicory is a root--I knew this much--and that root is baked slowly until it is completely dry, then it is ground and added to coffee. Originally this practice was to basically dilute the amount of coffee used because chicory root was cheaper than coffee at the time so, without drastically altering the flavor of the coffee, a good deal of money was saved. Over time, as with chicken feet and chitterlings, the folks brewing chicory coffee became attached to the flavor and thus a tradition is born.

So if chicory is a root, what is the plant that grows from it? I was pleasantly surprised to learn that two of my favorite vegetables are actually products of the chicory root: Radicchio and Endive, as well as another leafy plant called Sugarloaf are all sprouts of the chicory root. Admittedly, I don't particularly care for chicory coffee but I now have a much greater appreciation for it just knowing the plant's whole story.

Coffee Oddities from Abroad

2011-07-13T12:07:00.000-04:00

As you know, we're purists when it comes to coffee; at Blanchard's we want our coffee fresh and delicious, and that pretty much sums it up.

With that said, its always fun to stumble across oddities of the vast and diverse coffee world--even if they don't meet our simple criteria for good coffee.

Our good friends Carly and Melissa, owners of The Empress on Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia recently closed down their restaurant for a much deserved summer vacation to Italy.

We were flattered when we heard they had gotten us a tiny gift--a fascinating coffee oddity from the espresso capital of the world--Pocket Espresso!

Thats right, this is a plastic cup with a foil lid similar to what holds your chicken nugget dipping sauce. Yes, that is a target dot that says "pierce here" as in with a straw--a very tiny straw that is included with the cup!

Carly and Melissa told us these little guys were everywhere and though the urge was strong to hold on to such a strange product, curiosity won us over.

Last night while out with several friends (some coffee lovers some not) we decided to taste test the Pocket Espresso.

The espresso juice-box was assembled and we were ready to taste--some one called it a ketchup tub.

First sip? Lets go with intense...

Whatever concoction is held in that little cup tastes like sucking Hersey's Syrup with the faintest hint of coffee through a straw.

Everyone had the same reaction, that of wide eyed startle!

I'm not sure I'd call Pocket Espresso "coffee" per se, but it certainly was a great conversation starter, an interesting product and a thoughtful gift from great friends; so if you look at it that way, its just as good as any coffee.

A Loss to Our Community

2011-07-12T14:23:00.000-04:00

We were very sad to hear of the loss of one of the brightest and most talented members of the Richmond coffee community today.

As reported by Progress-Index.com, Robert Fisher, 26, was killed in a car crash early Saturday morning.

Robert was one the most talented baristas this city has ever produced. He had a passion for coffee that was evident in every drink he created.

Most recently, he exhibited his skill and creativity at Demolition Coffee in Petersburg, Virginia.

Our thoughts go out to Robert's family and friends during this time of certain shock and sadness.

--Blanchard's Coffee Co.

Road Trip

2011-07-08T00:01:00.000-04:00

We're taking Blanchard's on the road!
Step one has been finding some out-of-towners who were willing to give Blanchard's Coffee a shot. We've found some great folks like Para Coffee in Charlottesville, VA, The Java Shack in Arlington, VA, and Waveriders in Nags Head, NC to start representing our brand and now, we're heading to the Shenandoah Valley for a huge presentation in front of hundreds of folks eager to learn about Blanchard's.

We put together this little video to go along with part of our talk and thought it'd be nice to share it with al of you. Enjoy!

Espresso Works at Para Coffee in Charlottesville, Virginia

2011-06-29T09:03:00.000-04:00

We're really happy to be able to roast some coffees for Para Coffee in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Para is a beautiful, successful shop on The Corner near UVA and they've made a name for themselves as a proper espresso bar serving up real, professional drinks in a great environment.

We try to spend a day or so each week at the shop working on coffee offerings, giving tastings and working with the custom espresso Para and Blanchard's designed together.

Here is a little footage from our Tuesday session; enjoy!

The Swan Song

2011-05-26T12:07:00.001-04:00

When I first met David Blanchard back in 2007, we were introduced by Chris Barras, current leader of the A10 faith community and the man behind Cartwheels & Coffee in Carytown. Chris was a regular of mine at Can Can, and thought that, given my enthusiasm for coffee, I would benefit from seeing the actual roasting process. Chris picked me up in a parking lot on a Sunday evening and drove me to the Other Land known as the South Side, where we had to call David to unlock the door to let us in.

I thought, "What the Hell is going on here?" David didn't seem nearly as eccentric as the man I had pictured when I pictured someone who had a hole-in-the-wall roastery-slash-coffee-shop-that-wasn't-really-a-coffee-shop. Nor did the shop seem nearly as hole-in-the-wall once you actually got all the passwords right to get in and traverse the dark and narrow staircase leading up to it.

I guess my point is that my first Blanchard's experience was pretty mythic. So much so that I even wrote a short story about a man and his relationship with his bright red Ambex (though thankfully the real David has more integrity than that guy). I hung out in that retail space on my days off and learned to roast out of pure interest. When David & Kelly went on their annual trip to Daufuskie, he asked me to step in and roast in his absence.

Six more months passed and I ended my relationship with Can Can, seeking something not front-of-the-house oriented. David came to me and asked me to sign on with him in preparation for Ukrop's distributing our coffee to all of their stores.

Ukrop's. Remember when?

Over the past three years, my time with Blanchard's has afforded me opportunities not only to learn about the coffee world (at one point landing me at the top of a cliff in Puerto Rico plucking my first wild coffee cherry and ripping it apart while my best friend hungrily wished I would just find our destination so she could use the bathroom and get out of the car, and another time sneaking into the Altria offices at 9pm to make sure someone got their coffee order in time), but the professional world in general. Because of these opportunities and the freedom provided by David and our many associates, I learned about all the things I really want to be doing, and most of them involve creating if-then statements encased in curly brackets.

Sadly, you can't program coffee beans. My focus on the roasting process has waned while my interests in organizing workable systems (whatever that means outside of my head) has grown. But Blanchard's Coffee Company is still a coffee company, and still churns out some of the finest coffee you've ever tasted. It's still growing and going strong, and needs strong dedication behind it to continue in that fashion.

So in June, Coffee-of-the-Monthers, you'll be drinking my Swan Song. My two favorite coffees combined. The first blend I ever designed was the FTO Voilà, and this, for a time anyway, is the last. It has taken three years to find these beans and recognize them as everything I want in a cup of coffee, and I hope that somehow my warm fuzzies regarding the past three years are passed on in the cup.

Next week, Jonathan's heading out to Cape Verde for two years with the Peace Corps. Our new roastmaster will start training, and I'll be slowly exiting stage left (though I still have some tricks up my sleeve which will keep me buzzing about for awhile).

Change is good, and keeps things fresh. The Swan Song is really just the start of the next chapter in the story of Blanchard's Coffee Company.

So drink up and keep brewing. It's on sale starting Monday.

-Tom

Blanchard's Coffee Co. is Hiring!

2011-05-18T14:08:00.000-04:00

Blanchard's Coffee Co. is hiring!
Take a look at the job description and if you're interested please submit a resume and cover letter to Stephen Robertson at stephen@blanchardscoffee.com.

Big News

2011-05-18T13:51:00.000-04:00

If you are kind enough to check our blog often, you've probably noticed that we've slacked when it comes to posting with any frequency. There are a million excuses but it all boils down to the fact that we've been very, very busy at the often awkward and always challenging art of growth.

A lot has happened in the past few months. We've worked very hard to expand our influence in the Richmond coffee world with prominent new clients like Kroger, Mamma Zu, Edo's Squid, The Empress, Crossroad's Coffee & Ice Cream and many more. We've also been working very hard on our sustainability practices, not to mention finding interesting new ways to grow with our faithful existing clients.

This has certainly been a journey and, though it has been tough at times, I think we can all agree it has been a positive experience overall. Change, somehow, always begets more change, and the Blanchard's Coffee Co. world is no exception.

Blanchard's is both saddened and elated to share the news that two gentlemen at the core of everything we do and stand for will be leaving us shortly.
Tom Thorogood, Blanchard's Roastmaster, is moving on to bigger and better things in the non-profit world. Tom was integral to Blanchard's moving from a cool, quirky small business to a highly organized, well-oiled machine. If you drink a cup of Blanchard's coffee, chances are, Tom was responsible for it; but a career is a funny thing. Gone are the days of a life-long job. Tom helped Blanchard's grow, and at the same time he grew his own ability and potential and now it is time for him to break out and do bigger, better things with the skills and experience he has developed.

Bon chance Tom!

Assistant Roastmaster, Jonathan Lesko is also parting ways with the Blanchard's Coffee Co. operations team as he just received his assignment for the Peace Corps. If Tom didn't get your coffee into your cup, it was certainly Jonathan or some combination of the two of them. Heavy on philosophy and light on stress, Jonathan has been a rock of thoughtful and focused coffee production and while we are sad to see him go, we are proud of what he's about to do (and a little jealous). For the next two years you can find him on a tiny island off the coast of West Africa earning his keep with the Peace Corps. I'm sure some day he'll be running the Fed or something, so we intend to keep him in good graces!

Change is often tough, and change is often good--for everyone. We are going to make the best of the changes we're having and turn it into something great for our company and all of our loyal customers. Get ready for great things folks, we're only getting started!

Pairing Up

2011-04-18T11:12:00.000-04:00

So often I find myself equating coffee tasting to wine tasting. This often earns me a funny look at first but after some quick explanation, most folks come to see the similarities.
Both coffee and wine engage the palate with mouth-feel, acidity, sweetness, saltiness, bouquet and aroma. The key to a great cup of coffee comes down to the same basic element as a great glass of wine: structure.

With so many similarities, it stands to reason that just like wine, coffee is at its best when paired with food.
Everyone knows that coffee and donuts (or pastry in general) is a natural pairing--this is the same principal behind adding cream and sugar to your brew. The natural fats and sugars of cream or pastry blend well with the natural oils and sugars in the coffee. There is certainly nothing wrong with the classic coffee pairings but allow me to challenge you to be more adventurous.

Here are some slightly off the cuff coffee and food pairings to try the next time you're feeling a bit daring!

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Nectarines
Ethiopian coffees, in general, are full of bright acidity that lends to flavors and aromas of citrus. The Yirgacheffe, especially, had lots of tangerine and floral notes. The next time you're enjoying a cup of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, peel yourself a sweet nectarine, take a bite and then wash it down with a sip of your coffee. In this case, the acidity and natural citrus notes of the coffee are enhanced by the sweet citrus of the nectarine creating a flavor burst that almost transcends the coffee flavor completely.

Brazilian Cerrado and Strawberry Ice Cream
Ok, admittedly, it is nearly impossible for coffee and ice cream to pair poorly, but usually you find coffee paired with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. Brazillian coffees, though, have a distinct natural berry characteristic. The Cerrado has hints of sweet cherry on its own, but if you pair it with sweet, creamy strawberry ice cream it becomes a decadent strawberry coffee cake sensation and the flavors just fly!

Indian Monsoon Malabar and Mushrooms
For the truly adventurous coffee drinker, break out the fungus. The Indian Monsoon Malabar is an earthy, low acidity coffee that would likely be overpowered by an acidic pairing. Indian coffees and Indonesian coffees are notably earthy so it makes sense to pair them with other earthy flavors. Though mushrooms don't naturally come to mind when thinking of your coffee break, a plain, uncooked button mushroom is the perfect pairing for the Malabar. The slightly musky and earthy flavors of the mushroom capture and enhance the natural earthiness of the coffee and they work together to create a soft, palate washing effect that will have you coming back for another try.

The world of coffee and food pairings is limited only to your imagination and willingness to try something off the wall. Take a look in your pantry or your refrigerator and pick a few uncommon items to try. Brew up a pot of your favorite coffee and let us know what hidden tasting gems you find!

Impending Web Site Outage

2011-04-11T10:20:00.000-04:00

Hello, Blanchophiles!

In order to start developing a more dynamic web site, we're going to have to switch a couple things around. We'll be transferring our domain and setting up new hosting this weekend, so you may find that our site is down for a few hours late Friday night/early Saturday morning.

Please don't worry. Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined.

-Tom

Coffee Quote of the Day

2011-03-25T12:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I spent the entire day writing a piece for another venue that focused on the importance of freshness when it comes to coffee.

Today a friend sent me a message that summed up my entire days work in one short sentence; I'll share it with you now.

Think of coffee like tuna, would you like it fresh or out of a can?

Thanks @RVAFoodie

Of Garages and Crossroads

2011-03-08T17:27:00.001-05:00

Our first batch of coffee was roasted in January 2005. I often joke that a child never fully moves out of their parents’ house. This fact will forever be written in stone for me. One week before our first coffee roaster was delivered, our lease fell apart. In true form, I now had a new business without a home. So, I did what I always did…I called my Dad! One week later, an eighteen wheeler stopped in front of my childhood home where my brother-in-law and I lifted a 1,000 lb crate with a pallet jack and wheeled it down the driveway to the garage. Two hours and 10 propane fittings later, we had fire!

The last six years have been incredible. What was started as a passion and hobby has become an actual business! Blanchard’s Coffee Co. did end up moving from my father’s garage, but we are still a family business. I am grateful to have employees who are friends, believe in Blanchard’s and love coffee as much as I do. You really can’t teach passion; you either have it or you don’t.

Today marks a big day for the Richmond coffee world. Six years ago when I was roasting in the garage, I decided to go on my first sales call and I picked Crossroads Coffee and Ice Cream. I would like to say that my relentless pursuit sealed the deal, but it didn’t. Today is not about pursuit, it is about coffee and passion. Today is about two Richmond coffee companies realizing that the sum of their two businesses creates something greater than what they are apart. Passion is an interesting energy, isn’t it? Passion needs fuel and unfortunately doesn't generate its own inertia. It needs ideas, creatively, affirmation, and support. Passion needs continual reinvention. Blanchard’s and Crossroads: coffee passion.

Contributed by David Blanchard

Warm Weather Coffee

2011-02-28T09:13:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, the weather drastically affects your eating and drinking habits; once the mercury tops the 80 degree mark I find myself living on fresh vegetables, the occasional piece of grilled meat, chilled white wine and, of course, cold-brew iced coffee.
Today, in Richmond, we're not going to top 80 degrees (thank goodness, because it is still February) but we'll get pretty darn close. The unseasonably warm forecast has gotten me thinking about interim climate coffee; those days in the early spring and autumn when a cool damp morning lends to a hot cup of coffee but warm afternoons might discourage that three o'clock booster.
During these climate-confused months I generally tend to lean towards sticking with hot coffee; though I'm not sure exactly why, I think it comes down to the more ritualistic nature of preparing hot coffee, not to mention the steam and aroma factor. Still, I find my deep-winter obsession with full bodied brews and dark roasts ends up leaving me wishing I had gone the way of the Oscars and opted for afternoon tea instead of weighing down with heavy coffee.

The answer? I certainly have no desire to give up on coffee while waiting for South of the James Farmer's Market iced coffee season to begin, so I turn to my roster of light-bodied, brightly acidic coffees to keep the hot, but not heavy java flowing. I am an unabashed lover of all coffees African but though most African beans share a floral, fruity character, they don't all fit the mold of "light". For this, I turn to a perennial Blanchard's favorite, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. The Blanchard's Yirgacheffe is the perfect spring-time coffee with a bright, almost sparkling acidity and notes of sweet flowers and tangerine. The Yirg is one of the most aromatic coffees readily available and simply begs you to have another cup--something you probably won't regret! I also fall back on another, sometimes less touted, Blanchard's favorite, the Fair-trade Organic Peruvian. The FTO Peru is, as Blanchard's own Joe O'Hallaron says, "just a great cup of coffee". I agree with Joe, this is the kind of coffee anyone can love just about any time of day. Why is it so enjoyable? Peruvian coffee is extremely balanced in acidity, sweetness and the nutty character so many South American coffees exhibit. The effervescent acidity sparkles off the tongue and I always end up not only satisfied, but refreshed.

So when you're nodding off at your desk this afternoon wishing you were outside enjoying the warm pre-spring day (considering we're not amidst forecasted tornados and deluge), don't let overbearing palate busting coffees discourage you from your afternoon cup; branch out and discover the world of light bodied, brightly acidic coffees--you'll be glad you've discovered these gems once we're in the throes of Richmond heat.

Coffee & Technology

2011-02-21T13:27:00.000-05:00

We don't use a ton of cutting edge technology when producing fresh Blanchard's coffee for you; it really comes down to fire and air. We are, however, very eager to find cool new ways to do what we love to do the most: talk to anyone and everyone about our great, fresh roasted coffee.

We really like the idea of using tons of different types of media to reach folks who might want to learn more about our coffees or follow what we're doing in the social media worlds of Facebook, Twitter & more. With that in mind, we're starting to play with QR Codes.
Here is an example of the first one we created:

Here's how it works: If you have a smartphone you can download a free app that will read bar codes and QR codes; I personally like ShopSavvy because it is also an interactive shopping tool that helps me find the lowest prices on items I scan. Once you have the app you simply scan this code and it redirects you to a page we associate with the code. This one, as you'll see when you scan it, takes you to a generic page we created that allows you to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, view a short video of our roaster in action and visit our website.

Eventually you'll start to see these on coffee bags and signage in all the places you find our coffee. Each type of coffee will have its own code that will tell you about the coffee you've chosen, give you ways to interact with us and that product like tasting notes or brewing tips, and perhaps offer special deals with the product and the location you've scanned it. It is sort of like a coffee education adventure!

Keep you eye out for codes popping up anywhere you find Blanchard's coffee, and happy scanning!

Blanchard's Coffee Co. News!

2011-02-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

We've been very busy at Blanchard's Coffee Co. for the past few weeks and lots of exciting things are on the horizon. We really appreciate all of our loyal fans and followers and we want to keep you informed about all the neat stuff we're getting into... well maybe not all of it, just the PG-13 stuff!

First up, we're super excited to roll out this year's first RVA Barista Jam this Wednesday, February 23rd from 6-8:00pm at Ellwood's Cafe in Carytown. If you've never been to an RVA Barista Jam event you should definitely check it out. Baristas compete in the skills of their trade while we watch, drink good coffee and wine, and hob-nob with other coffee loving folks. Get all the details at the RVA Barista Jam website or email rvabaristajam@gmail.com with specific questions.

Blanchard's is showing up in some new spots, places we're VERY excited to partner with on various coffee projects. Some of the new places to enjoy a cup of fresh roasted Blanchard's coffee are still top secret but we'll tell you what we can for now. Mamma Zu's and Edo's Squid are now proudly brewing their own Mamma Zu's blend roasted here at Blanchard's; amazing food and awesome coffee, what a pair! You can buy our retail coffee beans at Tom Leonard's Market in the West End now, go check out our brand new coffee display front and center as you walk through the door; we're beside the beautiful pineapples! We are also providing retail coffee for Longhorn and Lager in Midlothian and Farm to Family wherever the bus goes! We're also happy to be brewing coffee at The Lounge Bar & Grill and Addis Ethiopian Restaurant in the Bottom. There are a lot more exciting places to have a cup of Blanchard's Coffee coming soon; we'll keep you posted.

Finally, we're hosting a silent auction benefitting the River City Cycling Collective that features wares of local artisans the evening of March 4th. We're also having a gathering with live music, coffee and good friends of coffee, get all the details at the Blanchard's Coffee Community Site.

We're looking forward to seeing you at all of these neat places and events. Come out, say hi and find out why we're the coolest coffee company in Richmond!

Coffee Tip::Getting Green

2011-02-07T12:07:00.001-05:00

At Blanchard's Coffee Co. we pride ourselves in being fairly kind to the environment even though our daily roasting does crank out some smoke on to Forest Hill Avenue. Is that causing harm? Likely a little bit but we work hard to make up for that in other ways. People say the movement towards greening businesses is a toothless fad that doesn't hold a lot of true meaning or value; this may be true for oil giants and manufacturing companies but in small business a little bit of effort can go a long way. We're already doing a lot but we can do a lot more.

Current Efforts
We recycle everything we can. As much as we'd love to be a paperless business, we end up having to print out orders to keep everything straight, so we make sure those print-outs get to a recycling facility.

We are huge proponents of the re-use strategy; here are some things we currently re-use until they're completely destroyed: boxes, coffee bags, cups, java jackets and containers of all sorts.

We also love to repurpose a lot of our waste. Burlap bags that are used to ship green coffee, make excellent display material for many of our clients who creatively merchandise our products. We also end up with a lot of bio-mass from roasting and brewing coffee which we offer for free to home gardeners and farmers.

Plans to do Better
Our first order of business is to switch all of our disposable paper products to Green Duck Compostables so our paper footprint isn't as extensive.
One of our biggest initiatives this year is the idea of bringing together local businesses, crafts-people and community members to promote and support local happenings and causes. This is sort of a far reaching project that includes a ton of different avenues. For example, we will be sponsoring and hosting events such as our upcoming Community Night in the Roastery that brings folks into the Blanchard's roastery for a fun evening with coffee, other beverages, food and a silent auction featuring local crafts-people benefiting a local organization. We are also ramping up for a great 2011 RVA Barista Jam season beginning with our first event on 23 February 2011 at Ellwood's Cafe from 6:00-8:00pm. This year we're kicking up the event with raffle prizes and a slightly different format but it still promises to be great coffee-social fun!
We're also working on creative ways to bring the coffee community of Richmond together to support more sustainable business practices. Collectively, all of the coffee businesses in town put a lot of coffee related bio-mass in the garbage. At the same time, many local farmers are paying for similar bio-mass to aerate their soil or feed their composts. We aim to organize as many coffee houses and roasters in town as possible to set their bio-waste aside to be picked up and donated to local farmers. Heck, if we're lucky we might even get a few vegetables out of the deal!

We're probably just at the tip of the iceberg of what we could do to make our operation more sustainable and green, so our ears and eyes are always open to ideas and suggestions to make our community and our world a little better.

Sneak Peak

2011-02-02T15:16:00.000-05:00

What do coffee people do while riding shotgun from Richmond to Rockville, MD? Make coffee videos of course! Here's a little look at what we do at Blanchard's every day. That happy looking guy dropping the beans is Jonathan; say hi to him sometime soon.

Music & Coffee, a Perfect Pair

2011-01-31T21:25:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are not twitter active, much of this post will seem strange to you.

A few weeks ago I was panning through my personal twitter feed and I noticed a tweet from @rvafoodie mentioning that a well known indie band, The Mates of State ( @thematesofstate ) were lovers of great coffee and they had thrown out a twitter all-points-bulletin for fresh roasted coffee.
To be honest, I could never be considered a "super-fan" of the band; not because they don't deserve it, I just feel that after a certain number of years, it is hard to get obsessed over new bands because there are so many great acts out there. All of this, of course, is beside the point; I do love interacting with musicians because they take me back to my college days on stage--so on a whim, I shot @thematesofstate a message telling them that @drinkblanchards fresh roasts coffee daily, we love music, and... well, lets talk.

I spent the next few minutes brushing up on my The Mates of State knowledge and catalog. It seems they're a talented duo from San Francisco currently living in the north east making records and, seemingly, drinking coffee. On their website they have a few songs available for free download. My favorite is a cover from an album of covers called "True Love Will Find You in the End" by Daniel Johnston. Their website was nice and led to Youtube videos to find that this duo is absolutely beautiful and charming; just the kind of folks you want drinking your awesome coffee and writing catchy tunes right? I think so. I went ahead and downloaded their album of covers, called "Crushes" from iTunes because I'm obsessive like that, and then I started contacting other twitter friends to find out if they'd ever heard of @thematesofstate so I could brag that I was going to send them coffee.

Many of my friends knew and loved the band so my ego was thoroughly satisfied until, to my surprise, @thematesofstate contacted me on twitter! Wow! A real band member from a real famous band talking to a coffee nerd from Richmond, Virginia! I felt cooler than cool, minus the fact that I couldn't claim this good fortune as a singular act on my part... I owed the idea and the contact information to @rvafoodie (he gets all the great press, that guy). Still, I was pretty smug because @thematesofstate were TOTALLY in to the idea of getting some fresh roasted coffee from a craft-roastery in Richmond, Virginia.

The Deal: The Mates of State and I struck up a little deal; we decided that the members of Blanchard's Coffee Co. needed a care package just like the Mates needed one too, so we orchestrated a trade. I would send them some fresh roasted coffee, they would send us some swag; they would talk us up to their fans, I would talk them up to our fans--brilliant!

The trade was made and we received some great, colorful tee shirts, and a gaggle of CDs while they got a lovely gift box of assorted fresh roasted Blanchard's Coffee. I listened to @thematesofstate all the way to Delaware not long ago and the "Crushes" CD is still in my car's CD player. I was delighted to see that @thematesofstate had posted on their twitter feed that they were enjoying some @drinkblanchards Dark as Dark, one of our most popular coffees. What a great trade!

Some might ask, what was actually gained here? Will @thematesofstate or @drinkblanchards get any new loyal followers because of this short partnership? Maybe, maybe not; but one thing is certain, we've all made a long distance connection over two of my favorite things--music and coffee. Music and coffee are both social ignitors, sparking the flame of conversation, dialog and interaction. This is part of the reason I left music to live in the world of coffee; it is a natural progression (to chance a pun). I'm so very happy that painfully attractive duo up north enjoyed a few cups of our @drinkblanchards coffee because it was roasted, bagged and delivered with love; and I know they feel the same about their music.

The moral of the story? Thats simple, if you haven't listened to @thematesofstate or had a cup of @drinkblanchards coffee, get on the ball; we're all cool, passionate, interesting people and you'll be glad you gave us a shot.

Daily Coffee Tip::Filters

2011-01-27T11:18:00.000-05:00

Coffee filters are one of those ubiquitous kitchen items that every single person in the world (who has a kitchen) can most likely identify. Cone shaped, traditional flat bottom, it doesn't matter; close your eye and I bet you'll picture one right away.

I was talking coffee with some folks recently and an old-timer said "I hate drinking drip coffee because I always taste the paper first." I thought this was a funny thing to say but it got me thinking... and then it got me experimenting, and now its gotten me writing.

Maybe this is a bit picky, but when you spend as much time drinking coffee as I do, picky is a necessity; that old-timer was right--I could taste the filter. I brewed the same coffee with several different methods, some with a standard white filter and some with no filter. White paper filters definitely have a flavor; its not necessarily a bad or offensive flavor, but its there. I realized that once I could pick out the flavor of the filter, it began to annoy the heck out of me.

What to do? It isn't always practical to use filterless brewing methods and my home coffee maker doesn't have one of those nifty metal filters; I'm sure some of you are in the same boat? This led to further experimentation and I found that that paper flavor wasn't as much paper as it was white paper. I find that the bleached white paper has a much more noticeable flavor that isn't nearly as prevalent with unbleached, natural fiber filters. So that is the coffee tip today, try your own experiment--use a filterless system as the control and then brew with bleached versus unbleached filters; taste the difference and let me know what you find!

Daily Coffee Tip::If not Mr. Coffee, then what?

2011-01-24T09:49:00.001-05:00

After posting about how to make the best of your glass-pot, Mr. Coffee style coffee brewer without burning your brew I received a lot of questions about what brewer you should buy if you're planning to upgrade. Personally, I always lean towards manual brewing methods such as the Chemex, a Bodum Press or a siphon pot, but admittedly, I don't brew coffee at home every morning because we always have coffee at the roastery. Manual brew methods tend to present the very best flavors in the cup but they tend to be messy and time consuming--two factors most folks don't want to have to navigate before work while getting the kids ready for school and ensuring the recycling gets to the curb. For those of you living that section of the American dream, it makes sense to have an automatic coffee brewer so I've put together a few options to give you the best cup of coffee at home with the least amount of cost.

My favorite home coffee maker is the Cuisinart 12 Cup Digital Brewer sold at most retail establishments with kitchen products. This brewer is at the top of my list because is simple and highly functional. The water temperature gets up to around 195F (most home brewers don't), it uses a thermal carafe instead of glass+burner, the digital timer functions are easy to use and the design is unobtrusive and compact. At an average price of $100-120, it is on the more expensive side for a home brewer but my personal experience is that this machine lasts for many years and brews consistently as long as you keep it clean and use filtered water for each brew.

Of course, no one likes to purchase a product without having options so here are a couple more home brewers that get the job done consistently and embody most of the same features and benefits as the Cuisinart. The Melitta 10 cup thermal brewer is a good option at a slightly lower price. Melitta is a well respected company in the coffee world but at this point, the Melitta coffee equipment company that garnered such respect is not actually making these machines; the company has expanded so rapidly over the past several years that they outsource all of these small machines to some large manufacturer. The machine works well but I find it doesn't have the long-term life span of the Cuisinart.
I happen to love the BUNN BTX-B thermal coffee maker because it is the closest you can get to a commercial pour-over brewer without actually buying one. This brewer is about the same price as the Cuisinart but boasts a notable advantage; a standing water reservoir which provides much more stable and consistent brew temperatures. Unfortunately, it is ugly as sin and most folks wouldn't want it in their garage, much less on their granite counter tops!

The most important thing to consider when choosing a home coffee maker is to treat the purchase as an investment; not only in the equipment that you hope will last several years, but in the quality of the coffee you brew. Sub-par equipment is ok if you're brewing Folgers out of the can, but when you're investing your hard earned money in high quality coffee it only makes sense to ensure it is being brewed correctly so every cup is as good as it can be.

Another Great Use for Coffee Bags

2011-01-23T09:05:00.000-05:00

Coffee sacks are great things. We've used them for everything from wrapping paper to floor mats in our car. Sometimes people send us other uses they've crafted for them. This one just came our way:

This blog entry tells you how to make your own!

I was also going to impress you all with my knowledge to let you know that the bag in the photo is in fact one that contained coffee from Brasil, but they show you that later in their blog entry.

If you're interested in making this or other things from coffee sacks, you can grab them from us M-F between 8am and 1:30pm. (HINT: They're free)

-tom

Daily Coffee Tip::Mr. Coffee

2011-01-20T06:50:00.000-05:00

I could write an entire series of coffee tips on the best coffee brewing method to give you a great, flavorful cup, but the truth is, most of us already have a coffee brewer of some type. More than likely the coffee brewer that is at your house cost you at least $30-40, some of you a whole lot more. Unless you're totally obsessed with coffee extraction and the gadgetry that produces it, you're probably not eager to upgrade (or downgrade) your equipment until there is a true need, i.e. breakage. With that in mind, I think it is more relevant to help you get the best cup of coffee out of the equipment you already have.

Today, lets talk about the Mr. Coffee. Now Mr. Coffee is obviously a brand of coffee maker but it is an easy way to describe the style; you've all seen it--plastic body, flip top lid, basket in the front, water hole in the back, glass pot and burner. Most folks either own one of these brewers or they did at one time whether made by Mr. Coffee or one of the other myriad coffee maker brands. This brewer does a fine job of brewing coffee--sure there are better methods out there but for a $30 piece of equipment that will last for years under steady use, it really can't be beat.

The problem with this brewer arises after the coffee is brewed; the burner. Just say the name: burner; that is exactly what it does--it burns coffee. I hate the idea of coffee sitting in a glass pot on a burner. Coffee is delicate, even after it is brewed, and it needs to be babied a bit to keep it fresh and delicious. When I brew coffee in the glass pot brewer I try to brew in small batches. First of all, those little brewers perform better at about a half a pot or less; they don't really have the capacity to consistently brew twelve cups of coffee as the manual would have you believe. I would much rather brew a second small pot of coffee than have half a pot sit on the eye, burning and getting stale waiting to ruin my cup. If brewing several smaller batches doesn't suit your routine, however, another great solution for keeping your coffee fresh, hot and delicious is probably sitting in your ice-cold car right now. Just about every coffee drinker in the country has at least one or two thermal travel mugs these days; I have a whole cabinet devoted to them. If you have the double-walled stainless steel type you're in great shape because this type of thermal container is designed to keep coffee hot for hours without subjecting it to any heat source. Pour your cup of coffee and then transfer the rest of the pot to your travel mug and close the lid; when you're ready to refill your cup your coffee will taste fresh and delicious, not burnt and stale.

Daily Coffee Tip::Dark or Light?

2011-01-19T08:19:00.000-05:00

It seems there is a fair amount of misconception out there in the coffee drinking world about the differences between dark and light roasted coffees so lets explore the myths and the facts.
First of all, what is the difference between light and dark roast? Of course, a lot depends on the type of bean but in general, a dark roast is roasted longer than a light roast.
Now, what does that mean for our cup of coffee?

Most people associate a dark roasted coffee to a strong cup of coffee and it is assumed that the strong cup of coffee will wake you up and get you going because it is obviously chock full of caffeine. This is myth number one. The longer a coffee bean spends in the roaster, the more natural caffeine burns off and the less is left in your cup. I like to compare dark coffee to dark beer like Guinness; it has a huge flavor and a relatively weak punch. On the other side of that coin, however, is the notion that mentally, a big, dark and flavorful cup of coffee is such a burst that it still tends to wake you up by shear force.

Another misconception is that dark roasted coffee is higher in acid. Though this is a sweeping generalization and depends heavily on the natural acid content of each coffee bean, it is most often the case that darker roasted coffee has less acidity than lighter roasted coffee for the same reason as above; a longer roast burns away more acid. Still, people often notice that dark roasted coffee is hard on their stomach; this is likely due the type of bean or higher levels of carbon, not acidity due to roasting process.

Lighter roasted coffee often highlights more of the natural flavor nuances of the specific coffee bean which come from the oils, acids and fibers inside. Each variety of coffee bean can be best highlighted with different roast levels but in general, the darker the roast-the less nuance and the more "smokiness". Choosing coffee strictly by dark or light roast leaves out a lot of important characteristics that might lead to a more enjoyable cup. Ask your barista or your roaster to help guide you to a coffee that fits all of your coffee needs--for my cup, I like a medium roast, full bodied, medium acidity coffee with fruit forward flavors and a cocoa mouth-feel; this usually ends up being a central or eastern African bean such as the Blanchard's Ethiopian Harrar.

Daily Coffee Tip::Travel

2011-01-18T07:53:00.000-05:00

There was no Daily Coffee Tip yesterday because I was traveling; driving, in fact, for the larger part of the day. With a total of around ten hours of highway time logged this weekend, I had plenty of time to think about coffee on the road; a subject fresh in my mind as I threw loathing glances at the 32oz Diet Coke that sat in place of a delicious cup of fresh roasted coffee. Though my companion and I certainly tried, we couldn't find a decent cup that met our needs (close to the travel route and easily accessible), despite the fact that we traversed three states and several major metropolitan areas. My contemplation led me to this conclusion: If you insist on drinking great, fresh roasted coffee even when you're traveling, you will have to plan ahead and take matters into your own hands.

The first order of business is packing enough ground coffee to last your trip. If you follow my advice you're going to be doing a lot of press pot coffee so if you're used to brewing in a home coffee brewer you'll find you use a bit more ground coffee in the press.
I like to hit the road with a full cup of coffee in my travel mug; in this case use whatever is most convenient at home to fill up before you leave. If your trip is like mine and you'll be on the highway for five hours, you're probably going to want a refresher a few hours into the trip. Without a long, out of the way sojourn to find quality local coffee houses, your choices are basically Starbucks or convenience store--not good. This is where I advocate this little gem, the Bodum travel press. This press acts like your travel mug except it has a press pot stem built in. I preload mine with ground coffee before I leave the house so when I'm ready for a new cup of coffee I can pull over to a gas station and fill my press with hot water (for free) and in four minutes, I've got hot, fresh, french press coffee. I do recommend pouring your coffee into your other travel mug when you're done brewing, otherwise the coffee can over extract. If you need another cup you can repeat the process though this leads to some awkward public restroom press pot cleaning, but then, no price is too high for good coffee right?

Hopefully your ending destination has normal coffee brewing capabilities so you can mirror your pre-trip routine. If not I recommend another neat Bodum product, the Young Press. This press pot still uses the standard Bodum glass beaker but it has a durable protective shell unlike all the other models. This shell is perfect for traveling because it drastically reduces the risk of breakage. If you're stuck at a hotel with bad coffee and in-room brewers designed to only brew paper pods of sad stale coffee, just throw some fresh roasted coffee you brought from home into your Young Press, scurry downstairs to the "continental breakfast" and ask nicely to fill your pot with hot water. You might get a funny look or two but what you won't get is a let-down in your cup.

Daily Coffee Tip::Grind

2011-01-14T08:01:00.000-05:00

A coffee-crazed Blanchard's fan just asked, "what grind setting do I need and why?"

Good question, lots of answers.

Grinding is very important and often gets overlooked; this begins with the fact that many of us end up buying pre-ground coffee. How do we know if that coffee was ground specifically for our brewing method? We don't. Most of the time, a coffee producer will grind the pre-packaged stuff at a medium, middle of the road setting, likely giving you a medium, middle of the road result--bor-ring!

The best case scenario is to buy your coffee in whole bean form at your favorite coffee house and ask them to grind at your preferred setting. If you buy your coffee at a place that doesn't offer that service you can always take it to a coffee shop and if you buy a cup of coffee and ask nicely, they'll probably grind your beans for you. Notice I didn't say grind at home; I know, I know, grinding at home makes you a coffee-pro and generally amazing--but for my unorthodox opinion on this subject, read this.

So how does grind matter and what grind should you get?

Simply, grind controls the speed at which water passes over coffee pieces; thus, grind controls extraction. The smaller the pieces, the slower water can pass through it--more water spends more time in contact with more coffee surface. Too high of a surface to water to time ratio gives you over extracted coffee (astringent, acidic, bitter, unpalatable); too low of the same ratio gives you under extracted coffee (weak, sharp, under-flavored, lacking in complexity and structure).

Here are some basic settings:

If you have a plain old flat bottomed filter brewer you need the generic "drip coffee" setting. Most American made grinders put this around a number 7 and generally label it "drip coffee". The grind should look like the consistency of coarse sand or grits (if you know what that looks like).

Cone shaped filters are more efficient at letting water pass over and through coffee grinds and the process must be slowed in this situation--I will note that cone filters tend to make a better extraction than flat filters because more water touches all of the coffee and the ratio mentioned above is closer to ideal. To slow down the cone extraction process you need a slightly finer grind; once again it will be labeled "cone filter" or around number 5.

French press and other manual, filterless brewing systems need a coarser grind, mainly because you want to reduce sludge in the brew pot but also because the coffee stays in contact with the water and you quickly run the risk of over extraction--coarser grind slows this process. This grind should look the consistency of rock salt that you would throw on your walk way.

Espresso machines and Bialetti pots require a fine grind because you are drawing an extraction from a very small amount of coffee in a short period of time, therefore you need to maximize the surface to water to time ratio. There is a difference between Turkish grind and fine espresso grind. Turkish grind is pure powder--about the consistency of cornstarch--and it will basically liquify giving you Turkish coffee (or what I call sludge). This is does NOT espresso make says I. Espresso grind has the consistency of fine corn meal and is still allowing a pass-through extraction. Ideally, if you dropped the cash to buy a real espresso machine, you sprung for a grinder as well and in that case, you just need to find a coffee pro to teach you how to adjust it. If you have a "toy" espresso machine, good luck and best wishes to you.

This may all seem a bit ridiculous, I know, its just ground coffee right? Wrong; but as the venerable Lavar Burton would say, "you don't have to take my word for it!" Get enough coffee to brew a batch in whatever you use and have it ground on the other end of the spectrum from what you need. Brew the coffee and then compare to the correct method. I guarantee you'll see a pretty drastic difference--from there it is, as always, all up to your tastes.

Daily Coffee Tip::Honey

2011-01-13T07:41:00.000-05:00

I am a coffee purest--some have even said I'm a fundamentalist (but that just gives me the willies). It is all true though; you'll find that most seasoned coffee industry folks prefer to keep the milk and sugar out of their coffee unless they're working on latte craft, inventing some complicated elixir with an arduous ingredient list that still, somehow, evokes the nature of the foundational coffee. Yes, outside of those circumstances, I like a nice ristretto espresso or a well-extracted cup of drip coffee with no frills or additions. I do not, however, criticize those of you who do like to add cream and sugar (because I'm a purest, not a snob). You're drinking coffee, however you like to do it, and when someone loves coffee they're on my team, no matter what they do with it.

I will admit, every once in a while, I get a craving for some sweetness in my coffee; I think it goes back to my college days when I became obsessed with Thai coffee. I was finding that when I got these cravings and started dosing my brew with regular sugar or raw sugar it never got to the sweetness or flavor I was looking for. I would then end up disappointed and annoyed, wondering why I gave in to a craving I knew would end badly. Because of this, I figured out a different way to sweeten my coffee that met my craving and turns out to be much more healthy, in many ways, than plain old sugar; honey.

People always associate honey with tea, like when you have a sore throat, but not as often with coffee. Well, I'm here to tell you honey and coffee go together swimmingly. Honey has the ability to be very sweet without being cloyingly sweet. Honey has lots of vitamins, enzymes, antioxidents and the like that help with allergies, hangovers, digestion and all sorts of other things; plus, honey is natural and sustainable and especially good if you get some that is locally produced. So if you're a sweetened coffee addict or just an occasional dabbler like me, try it with honey in your next cup and let me know what you think!

Daily Coffee Tip::How to Store Coffee

2011-01-12T06:59:00.000-05:00

Even in this era of rise of coffee culture I constantly run across folks who are ruining their coffee by how and where they store it. There are a lot of myths out there about what is best to keep coffee beans fresh so lets get it straight right here, right now.

Do NOT store coffee in the refrigerator.

Do NOT store coffee in the freezer.

I know you've been taught the opposite but think about this critically for a moment. Coffee flavor comes from delicate oils and other bio-matter. Oil has one definite enemy--water--and your cold storage boxes are FULL of moisture. Every time you open the door, you ruin your coffee. Coffee is also super absorbent and it likes to replace the delicate oils you're drawing out with fun air-born molecules like the vapor we know as onion smell. Thats right, keep your coffee in the fridge, toss in a funky onion and BAM, you have onion flavored coffee--gross.

Store your coffee much like you might store a potato--in a cool, dark, dry place; I prefer to use the cabinet where I keep weird orphan dishes. I do NOT recommend the spice cabinet which makes organization sense, but remember that whole absorbent thing? It works the same way with Old Bay seasoning. As far as containers go, you can usually just the bag the coffee comes in but an air-tight Tupperware is always good, especially if you will have the beans for more than a week.

Now go to the kitchen and take your onion coffee out of the box and keep it out! You can take the batteries out as well, the cold air is drastically shortening their lifespan.

Why Do You Love coffee?

2011-01-11T17:17:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed that almost everyone has a story about how they came to love coffee? Like wine, fois gras and lox with capers; coffee is one of those flavors most folks dislike at first blush. It usually takes some sort of odd childhood moment of happenstance to set the hook of obsession and, oddly enough, it is almost always a social catalyst and has nothing to do with caffeine.

Here is my story.
As is often the case, my parents worked when I was a little kid. My grandmother lived next door to our house so my parents had a free babysitter and I got to hang out with Gwaw (a family "grandma" name). Like any little kid I played outside a lot and played with my toys a lot too; but my favorite part of the days with Gwaw started around 10:00am when she sat down for her mid-morning snack and the beginning of the day's soap opera. The snack was usually buttered toast, percolated coffee and fruit. I was in love with this snack. The smell of coffee and toast as the narrator, under dramatic strings, said "...and like sands through the hour glass...", was intoxicating. Every single day I was as excited as any kid would be over gobstoppers and matchbox cars, but my obsession was the way Gwaw taught me to eat my buttered toast--dipped in coffee. There was, and still is something indescribable about that mixture of coffee, butter, toasted Wonder Bread and the textures of crispy and soft. From time to time I still sneak a dip of toast in my coffee when no one is looking. I know I have my grandmother to thank for many things, but my favorite legacy of hers is the passion for coffee she inadvertently instilled in me.

When we're working with new coffee houses or teaching community coffee classes we often start the session with a little ice-breaker, asking everyone to introduce themselves and tell everyone about their first coffee experience. Lets do that in the internet world--tell us about your first cup of coffee!

Daily Coffee Tip::Re-Use

2011-01-11T07:43:00.000-05:00

There can potentially be a lot of waste surrounding coffee. There are coffee bags, cups, lids, creamer packaging filters and even used coffee itself. Its sort of staggering to think how much trash we create just to brew our morning coffee. Luckily, with a very little bit of effort, we can drastically reduce the amount of coffee waste that goes in the garbage can--it can even save us some cash!

The coffee bag is one of the worst culprits of the waste problem. Think about it, you're probably trashing upwards of 50 or more bags per year, that is a lot! Usually there is nothing wrong with the bag when you throw it away so why not keep it and re-use? Most stores sell bulk coffee now so you can take your old bag and refill. Some shops like TaZa Coffee and Creams even offer you a discount on your purchase when you bring your own bag!
When the earth dies, it will probably have choked on Starbucks cups; just take a look at how many paper cups they contribute to landfills every day! Go out to Target and pick up a few fun thermal mugs and refuse to use paper cups. You will often get a discount at your favorite cafe and you will have the comfort of knowing there is one less cup in the dump.
Gardens love coffee! Never throw your spent coffee grounds in the trash--you don't even need a compost heap to reap the benefits of spent coffee--just sprinkle it in the flower bed with your acid loving plants. If you don't have plants then start a little container full of grinds on your porch and offer it to that crazy neighbor with the jungle on the patio; you might make a new friend!
Getting spent coffee out of that wet paper filter is a messy hassle right? make sure to buy compostable filters such as hemp filters. There isn't a drastic price increase and you'll have better tasting coffee (most white paper filters are bleached and bleach is not very tasty).
Condiments are tricky, they always come in some sort of plastic container so the best thing to do is buy bulk containers when possible. Stay away from individual serving sugars or creamers to reduce the number of things you toss in the trash.

We could keep coffee to almost a zero-waste product but for the most part, we're lazy. The best way to fight laziness is to offer financial incentive. If you follow all the steps above you will save $50 to $60 per year on your coffee expenditures. Sure, that isn't a staggering amount of cash, but I guarantee if someone gave you a $50 bill you wouldn't turn it down; so go out there, save the environment and dream of what you'll do with all those extra dollars!

Daily Coffee Tip::Don't Stock Up

2011-01-10T07:26:00.000-05:00

As you probably know, at Blanchard's Coffee Co. we believe that fresh coffee is the best coffee. We use all the resources at our disposal to ensure you get the freshest coffee possible when you buy a bag of Blanchard's and then it is in your hands. One of the ways you can be sure you're drinking fresh, delicious coffee is to buy your beans in small quantities.
Unless you live in some remote wilderness cabin only accessible by snowmobile or pack dogs, there is no real reason to bulk-buy your coffee--sure, I know you don't want to run out and be left coffee-less on a Wednesday morning so a little simple planning is in order. Lets be honest, chances are you're visiting your coffee shop or grocery store at least twice a week so it isn't out of your way to pick up a small amount of coffee at least twice a week.
Buying small quantities of your favorite beans means you will likely use them before air, moisture and light begin to destroy the oils that give your coffee flavor. The longer your coffee sits waiting to be brewed the less it will taste like the fresh roasted bean you purchased, and no one wants flat, boring coffee right?
So the next time you find yourself holding five pounds of Dark as Dark in the line at Ellwood Thompson Market, take pause; try going with one pound, or maybe even a half pound. When you're back in a couple days to pick up some kombucha or Legend Barleywine, pick up another bag; I think you'll see an improvement in the flavor of each cup. Besides, we really like seeing you around more often!

Daily Coffee Tip::Try It Naked

2011-01-07T11:26:00.000-05:00

Wait!
Stop right there!
Go ahead and pull your mind out of the gutter and button that shirt-button back up; I am in no way advocating the production or consumption of your morning coffee in the nude (unless you are a seasoned nudist that is, then you're on your own). More appropriately, I am challenging everyone who doctors up their coffee to taste their brew "naked" before adding the Splenda and hazelnut-fat-free-cream-substitute-product. I know you like your coffee that way and I'm not really suggesting you make any major changes, yet. On the contrary, I'd like you to alter the way you think about tasting coffee, just for a moment.

Lets go crazy and pretend that instead of a hot cup of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, you're face to face with a couple ounces of nice Bordeaux. Now, even if you weren't a wine drinker and you were just tasting it to find out what its all about you certainly wouldn't pour Sprite in the glass to make it taste closer to the Boone's Farm you're used to (ok, maybe that was harsh, I apologize). You would give this classy glass of fine wine a good sniff, swish and swallow and at least humor the idea that you might find interesting fruit flavors, acidic undertones and fascinating palate textures. You still might not care for the wine enough to drudge through a whole glass without the Sprite, but you'd give it the fair shake it is due.

Coffee deserves the exact same tasting love as a fine wine. Many of the characteristics that can be pulled by an expertly roasted quality coffee bean are identical to those of a fine wine. Coffee and wine both share acids, sugars, oils, tannins and other dissolved solids; the only true differences are coffee is hot and wine is alcohol. Even the method of tasting is the same (sniff, swirl, sip, slurp, swish, swallow & savor). So I encourage you to take a chance tasting your coffee "naked" before you spruce it up. You may be surprised to find that different coffees have totally different characteristics without cream and sugar. You'll also find that some coffees blend with the cream and sugar in totally different ways. Who knows, you may discover that there are a few coffees out there that you like better without all the fixin's!

A Perfect Match

2011-01-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

As you probably know, Blanchard's Coffee Co. is a certified organic coffee roaster. This means that not only are many of our coffees certified as organic at the farm level, but we, as a roaster, have a certified organic production. We feel this is important in demonstrating our commitment to natural and sustainable production of great, fresh coffee.

We pride ourselves in partnering with companies and organizations that share this commitment and vision as often as possible. With that in mind we are extremely excited to announce the beginning of what we hope will be a long and successful partnership with Farm to Family, an organization for which we've always had the utmost respect. If you are not familiar with what Farm to Family does I suggest you visit their website, though the scope of their work and influence might make for a long read so it is best to go out to their retail space in Mechanicsville or find them on one of their Farm to Family busses and strike up a conversation with owners Mark and Suzi Lilly.

The Farm to Family folks will be offering Blanchard's fresh roasted coffee for sale on the busses and at the retail location. Coffee will also soon be available as a part of the CSA program. We are also proud to share the coffee space with another local coffee roaster, Lamplighter Roasting Company, who are great friends and talented roasters.

Moving forward, we plan to work together on some fun cool projects like "Coffee Pop-Ups" where we will piggy-back on the Farm to Family bus and offer coffee tastings and short classes on tasting coffee and the agriculture behind the brew we love so much.
If you haven't had the pleasure to see what Farm to Family has to offer, consider this your invitation. Don't forget to let Mark and Suzi know we sent you!

Daily Coffee Tip::Love Your Mug

2011-01-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

You have a favorite coffee mug right? Mine is a little worse for wear but it has the perfect handle with a thin lip and I swear the coffee tastes better in my mug than any other. What a lot of people don't realize is that your favorite mug might just be hurting your coffee without you even realizing it. To avoid this you have to understand how to love your mug so it returns the favor to you and your precious brew.

Here are a few tips for getting the best out of your favorite coffee mug:

Shock Your Mug: Most mugs are made from porcelain (at least they should be) which is an insulator. What people don't always remember is that insulators work the same way for cold as they do for heat so if your mug is sitting in the cool dark cabinet it is going to be a much lower temperature than your fresh hot coffee. When you pour the coffee in the porcelain will draw that heat away and your coffee will instantly drop in temperature--yuck! To avoid this catastrophe, simply turn on the hot water faucet and run piping hot water in the mug for a few seconds (enough time to fill it two or three times). Now your mug is shocked and ready to insulate your hot coffee and preserve its temperature longer.
Smaller is Better: A lot of people have giant mugs--I blame that coffee shop on Friends for this mess. Mammoth mugs are neat I guess but they certainly don't do anything for your coffee. First of all you can't really drink a huge mug of coffee before it cools down. In addition, the coffee cools down quicker because there is a larger surface to air ratio allowing more heat to escape. That same surface to air ratio also allows something far more sinister to happen: oxidation. Oxidation is the enemy to most things (coffee, wine, iron etc) so we try to avoid it at all costs. Cut down on the size of your mug and just refill more often giving you fresh, hot coffee to the bottom of every cup.
No Dishwashers: This one is going to seem crazy, but keep your mug out of the dishwasher. In fact, keep it out of the dish sink in general. Most dish soaps contain fairly harsh chemicals and fragrances. Even all natural dish soaps use citric acid which, like the chemical versions, get soaked into the porous surface of the mug. It is a subtle effect but these residues affect the taste of your coffee and I don't know about you, but I like my coffee to taste like, well, coffee. The best way to wash your coffee mug is with a simple hot water rinse right after you're done drinking. Every week or so you'll start to see some staining and at that point you might use some mild soap to scrub it out.

Follow these simple suggestions and you'll be drinking hot, delicious coffee like the pros, or at least like the eccentric coffee nuts here at Blanchard's Coffee Co. Feel free to share your coffee mug tips and we'll add them to the list!

Ride In Style with Blanchard's Cycling Kits!

2010-12-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

Are you fueled by Blanchard's? Tell the world!

Three Sports is now carrying Blanchard's Coffee Co. cycling kits!

Stop by Three Sports to get a sweet looking kit along with a bag of coffee to keep you going (the bags support the SproFit program and its athletes!). Need more incentive? You don't have to just bike in your kit. You can even roast coffee in it.

(No, okay, that was a lie. Tom didn't really roast in his kit.)

The bibs set you back $80 and the jerseys $65, right in range with the rest of them out there. Send us a photo of you in your kit and we'll send you a coupon for a bag of coffee from our online store! Just so long as you don't mind that you might wind up on our blog.

Three Sports is located at 6241 River Rd. RVA 23226 and is open from 10am-5pm on Saturdays, and 10am-7pm Monday-Friday.

If you're interested in a kit, but don't live in the area, let Tom know, and he'll either try to get one from Three Sports for you, or add you to a list for the next time we order!

Keep brewing, and ride safe!

The 2010 Holiday Season

2010-11-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, Blanchophiles!

Truly, every year we can't believe it's Holiday season again. Sure enough, though, that time has come again!

Firstly, Page Hayes has done us a great new label this year, which we're proud to reveal:

But that's not all! Tom's also got the SproFit version (Silver & Gold Blend) ready to go:

Both of these are now available in our online store, as well as the Blanchard's Gift Box for $25, (which includes the Holiday Blend, Dark as Dark, and Decaf) and the SproFit Box, for $30 (which includes Silver & Gold, Iron, and Aluminum Blends, and benefits the SproFit program and its sponsored athletes)!

We can even ship this out in time for Christmas, so you can start checking off names as early as...well, now!

In addition to these four options, we're also giving you the opportunity to add gift cards to our online store.

If that weren't enough, we're giving away Twelve bags of Silver & Gold Blend during the holiday season for the 12 best stories of how fitness inspires you (or how you have used your own fitness to inspire others). These stories will be published on both this and the SproFit blog. Click here for more info. on that.

So that's the long and short of it. Five ways for you to give coffee, and 12 folks with a good story to tell can receive some as well.

Happy Holidays, and keep brewing!

November Coffee of the Month: Celebes Mamasa

2010-10-26T15:33:00.000-04:00

[sell'-uh-bees muh-mAh'-suh]

Oh, great, Blanchard's is throwing another Indonesian coffee your way.

You've had the Bali, the Sulawesi, and the Mandheling. What more could another Indonesian possibly offer?

Try rhubarb. Try sweet tobacco. Try fresh cherry and water chestnut with the texture of marshmallow fluff.

The Celebes Mamasa just beat out the Sulawesi (and runs a close second to the Bali). It's got a creamy, buttery texture you'll want to roll around in your mouth, trying to grab every note before it disappears.

Truly a French pastry masking as coffee, this one's the perfect complement to your Thanksgiving dessert.

If you're a Coffee of the Month subscriber, know that we'll be shipping this out on Thursday. Dena will be doing her deliveries on Monday for you special folk still on The List. If you're not one, you really ought to sign up.

We'll also have this one available in our online retail store starting Monday, November 1, where you can have it shipped or biked out to you, or you can pick it up from us at no charge in our Roastery Mon.-Fri., or at the South of the James Farmer's Market on Saturdays.

Plenty of options here, and all of them worth a try in order to get your hands on this spectacular coffee.

Holiday Blend may not roll out until next month, but this is a great primer.

-tom

sic luceat lux

Close match, but...Coffee>Wi-fi.

2010-10-26T01:25:00.004-04:00

The New York Times has reported here on a survey seeking to determine the most cherished indulgence of American "millennials." When asked whether Coffee, TV or Wi-Fi would be the most difficult to forgo for a week, 75% of Americans (aged 17-29, mind you) chose Wi-Fi.

For me, TV was rendered inessential with the coming of Hulu. Furthermore, since forgoing Wi-Fi doesn't seem to mean forgoing The Internet altogether, I could make due without the 24/7 search for wireless connectivity in my car, at work or on a plane, etc.

Coffee, on the other hand, is simply irreplaceable. I am the kind of coffee-drinker that cannot replace coffee with other caffeinated beverages, and will suffer unrelenting headaches no matter the interventions of tea, soda or No-Doz. I'm convinced of coffee's unique psycho-activity above and beyond caffeine, for one, and its incomparable taste, for two.

Then again, I haven't had Mountain Dew for breakfast since my Sega Genesis days. Shout out: Kid Chameleon, Shinobi 3 &, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Caramelized OpiNIONS Checks Out RVA Coffee Scene

2010-10-21T10:17:00.002-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA with some travel and other items on my plate but that doesn't mean stuff isn't going on. Check out this great post from Carmelized Opinion that ran last week on the local coffee scene. I'm going to quote the part about us but you need to go over and read the article and the comments.

Of course, this whole personal coffee epiphany has occurred before a backdrop of a larger scene. In the past couple years, Blanchards has risen to prevalence and become Richmond’s home team brew, rivaling if not surpassing Rostov’s. Whatever restaurant your in, if you see a sign that they brew with Blanchard’s, you can bet a cup will be worthwhile. No wonder their name seems to go hand in hand with enthusiasm and local pride. And, no wonder I was so easily swayed to drink high-test coffee again with all that Blanchards around town.

Remodeled TaZa Formerly Blanchard's Coffee Shop Open for Biz

2010-10-04T20:45:00.003-04:00

TaZa has pretty much wrapped up the remodel and is now open for business from 6 to 6. Check it out.

Best Coffee in DC

2010-10-03T10:09:00.002-04:00

The Washington City Paper discusses the best spots to get your coffee on in the District. Unfortunately Blanchard's hasn't made it that far north yet.

Besides, if I want a good cup of coffee, I know where to go. I head straight to Qualia Coffee in Petworth. Listen, I know the District’s coffee culture has made tremendous strides in the past few years. You can find really good hand-pours at Peregrine Espresso on Capitol Hill, at Chinatown Coffee Co. on H Street NW, at Filter Coffeehouse on 20th Street NW near Dupont Circle, and at Mid City Caffe on 14th Street NW. But if you truly love roasted beans and the sweet liquid stimulant extracted from them, Qualia’s Joel Finkelstein is your guy. Finkelstein believes in serving only the freshest beans, which are all roasted in the back room of his small shop on Georgia Avenue NW.

Make a Coffee Bag Rug

2010-10-01T08:46:00.003-04:00

This tutorial was found at i.craft@beewise and sent to me by Leigh. Thanks to both.

October Coffee of the Month: Yirg Two Ways

2010-09-29T09:52:00.000-04:00

They say you can't reinvent the wheel. You can, however, try out new treads to see what works best according to the weather.

The way we roast the Yirgacheffe is, quite plainly, a warm weather coffee. It's light-bodied, floral, and full of fruit. This month we wanted to try something a little different, however, and decided to have some fun with our tried and true favorite.

We've done a darker roasted Yirgacheffe and blended it with our light-roasted classic, and the result is pleasing.

It's got all the fruit and flowers you know and love, but with the addition of some toasted coconut and toffee. It's a nice transition coffee, so far as the weather is concerned. As the tail end of summer lingers on into...well, probably January, so do the lighter notes of the Yirg Two Ways, but with a touch of winter warmth that brings you back to your flannel pajamas.

Drink up, and keep brewing!

-tom

sic luceat lux

SproFit: Our Answer to "What Did You Do This Weekend?"

2010-09-25T07:31:00.000-04:00

Hey folks, Tom here.

When David proposed back in July that I should train for a Half Ironman triathlon, pledging Blanchard's as a sponsor if I were to do so, I wasn't really sure what to do with that information except...well, start training.

I worked with David to develop the Iron Blend and the Aluminum Blend as a way to fund-raise for (and this is the part that has always bothered me) myself. I wondered what kind of spoiled brat says "Buy this coffee so I can go destroy my body in Puerto Rico," and why anyone would be motivated to do that. Except, of course, for the great coffee.

David reassured me that working to promote the coffee, and having a great product, was all anyone would really expect. I suppose he was right in that regard.

That didn't stave off the feeling that I should be doing something more however. So, once our quaint little coffee shop upstairs went into its cocoon to become a butterfly, and our life down in the roastery got a little more stable, I took on a project.

Its name is SproFit.

And it's a much bigger project than I realized when I started.

I have been really impressed with VCU's fitness incentive programs, and thought that we at Blanchard's could sponsor similar activities. Things that are free to sign up for, don't require meetings, and have prizes at the end. What the what? Yeah, for serious.

There is no membership fee to take part. The incentive programs don't have any fees, either. We encourage you to help support the program by drinking Aluminum and Iron Blends (which can be found online, at Ellwood Thompson's, and at 3 Sports). A portion of the sales of those two blends goes into my sponsorship fund, but because I want SproFit to thrive, I'm using some of that to give back to others who also think fitness is pretty neat.

So, despite the fact that SproFit has the word "profit" in it, know that this isn't about getting you to dole out more dollars to Blanchard's. It's about doing our part to keep our community living healthy.

Some fun single-day events on the calendar:

* 50 Mile Group Ride (Sunday, 10/3)
* October Run & Bunn (Sunday 10/17) [3 mile fun run with coffee social hour afterward]
* Half Marathon Time Trial (Sunday, 11/7) [Bring your own stop watch; we'll provide the coffee and water after]

We also have two ongoing incentive programs starting October 1.

*Autumn Mileage Rack-Up - Sign up and ride your bike. Whoever bikes the most gets 2 bags of coffee.

*Halloween Half Ironman Challenge - Complete the cumulative total of a Half Ironman between October 1 and October 31. If you rack up more miles in all three events than anyone else, you get $25 to 3Sports (I'll be competing in this too...I won't take the gift certificate, but I will try and stop you from getting it.)

We've had one sign-up for Half Ironman challenge already. So you're already not alone!

We're also taking pre-orders for Blanchard's Coffee Company cycling kits! One short sleeve jersey and one pair of bib shorts. We'll be ordering on October 3 and will receive them at the beginning of December (Just in time for the holidays! You can check someone off your list already!)

blanchardscoffee.com/sprofit is all you need to remember. Feel free to use all the links above also. Get out your running shoes, lube up your chain, and hit the road!

-tom

sic luceat lux

Think Healthy Live Better

2010-09-23T10:52:00.004-04:00

Check out SproFit a new project that Tom is heading up. SproFit is an incentive program to help anyone interested in thinking healthy and living better. Check out the link to learn more including how to get this awesome bicycling jersey. As you might have guessed by the jersey Blanchard's is happy to be helping out in this effort to get more people off the couch.

Chasing the Perfect Cup

2010-09-21T08:31:00.006-04:00

I'll be honest with you, most of this post went straight over my head but I thought some of you geek types might like it, so here it is. Gizmodo has an article on ExtractMojo and MoJoToGo, gadgets that quantify a cup of coffee's flavor.

The perfect cup of coffee has a brew strength (or TDS) of 1.15-1.50 percent and an extraction rate of 18-22 percent. It's a remarkably tiny spot to hit. But uh, how do you get there? If the brewing control chart is a map, ExtractMoJo and MoJoToGo are the GPS.

ExtractMoJo is, very simply, a refractometer paired with the universal brewing control chart, an updated version of the original chart from the 1960s. MoJoToGo repackages the ExtractMojo software into a superhandy iPhone app. The VST coffee refractometer is designed to measure coffee's concentration by measuring its refractive index. (It reads the speed of light through a liquid medium to around 5 decimal places). Not so long ago, a refractometer of the caliber would've cost around $10,000, says Vince, but thanks to the increasing power of digital camera resolutions, he was able to create a handheld model that's just a couple hundreds bucks.

Blanchard's Retail Space to Be Reborn

2010-09-12T15:15:00.002-04:00

We at Blanchard's were recently approached by a long-time supporter of our company with some fresh ideas for our retail space. Those of you who frequent this space know that our company's focus has always been on our wholesale business, but we've enjoyed our limited hours as a way to connect to the people who make what we do everyday possible.

As our wholesale business has grown over the years, we've been able to focus less and less on our retail space, and as I'm sure you remember, resorted to limiting the hours even further at the beginning of this year in order to cope with the increased demands of our wholesale clients.

When Ben Spencer came to us with an interest in revitalizing the coffee shop and turning it into something greater, along with a stronger partnership with Chocolates by Kelly, we were pleased to see that an outsider's perspective is often exactly what is necessary to get the ball rolling.

After our normal hours this Saturday, September 11th, the shop will only offer drip coffee and bulk beans for a short period of time before a grand re-opening in October.

TaZa Coffee & Crème will be proudly operating the shop under the Blanchard's umbrella, and we'll still be roasting just downstairs. In addition, TaZa will have a selection of chocolates from Chocolates by Kelly, locally-made pastries, and ice cream.

Starting October 4th, the new hours will be Monday-Saturday, 6:30am-6:00pm. Along with a new set of comfy furniture and an expanded selection of food, TaZa will also offer curbside service if you're in a rush.

We talk often at Blanchard's about how there's never a dull moment, and we're excited for this new chapter in our company history. The folks of TaZa are also excited to make Blanchard's Coffee more readily available, and we're thrilled to continue moving forward. Blanchard's Coffee Company will still offer online ordering and our Coffee of the Month program, along with the same quality product you're used to in Martin's, Ellwood's and all our other retail outlets. TaZa will also continue to offer your favorites in bulk in the redone retail space as well.

We're forever grateful for the support we've received in our neighborhood, and can't wait to work with TaZa to offer more to the folks who've given us so much over the years.

(Questions? Feel free to contact someone below!)

Blanchard's Coffee Co.
Tom Thorogood
804.687.9443

Chocolates by Kelly
Kelly Walker
804.814.5496

TaZa Coffee & Crème
Ben Spencer
804.920.2887

Thanks all!
- The Blanchard's Crew

Blanchard's and the VMFA

2010-09-08T14:02:00.003-04:00

Did you know that soon Blanchard's coffee will be available at all of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts locations? Well Gay RVA does and Stephen Robertson wrote up a great post a part of which is below.

Blanchard’s coffee maintains a constant commitment to local businesses and organizations making the VMFA a natural fit. “We are very excited to be providing coffee to the VMFA. Clearly they are committed to excellence and creating a ‘third space’ for Richmond to enjoy not only art, but community to its fullest” commented Blanchard after our walk through the museum grounds. He went on to cite Danny Ayers’ obvious passion for both the culinary and visual arts as proof that great coffee and great art share the simple trait of fostering conversation which, in turn, builds community.

Check out the full post at the link above or more of Stephen's words of wisdom at his coffee blog, RVA Coffee.

Awesome Cup Sleeves on Etsy

2010-09-02T09:53:00.005-04:00

Blooms on Cocoa by NewYorganize

Nerd Emoticon by MouthyMitts

Caffeinating by Sewtara

A Different Type of Coffee Shop

2010-09-01T11:11:00.003-04:00

I don't know about you but when I head to a coffee shop I am usually in one of two modes. Mode one grab and run. This is when I have a place to be and need some fuel to get there. Mode two drink and chill. This mode is drink a brew and hang with friends, even been known to break out the chess board. There is however a trend in NY that is only giving you one option and that is Mode One.

Hers is one of a growing number of coffee bars that have opened recently around the country, particularly in New York. Instead of idling at a chair, customers at these establishments stand or perch on a stool to down a cappuccino or an iced coffee at the counter. By doing away with the comfy seats, roomy tables and working outlets that many customers now seem to believe are included in the price of a macchiato, the new coffee bars challenge the archetypal American cafe.

Coffee-bar owners say that while space and rent can be considerations, they’re installing counters because they create a lively environment where it’s easy to have a quick, convivial exchange. “There’s clearly a philosophy behind the coffee bar,” said Christian Geckeler, who describes his ongoing odyssey to taste the country’s best coffee on Manseekingcoffee.com. “It puts the emphasis on the coffee and the barista.”

[via NY Times]
I'm not a fan. Coffee should be an experience not just pitstop. I'm not convinced that a counter will lead to more conversation. It might increase the interaction between barista and customer but won't increase the interaction between customers.

September Coffee of the Month: The Aluminum Blend

2010-08-26T11:37:00.000-04:00

We've experimented with some pretty fantastic single origin coffees this summer, and we hope you've enjoyed them as much as we have.

Fall is here, however. The kids are off to school (or back for school), the weather has already started to get a bit crisper (but this is Richmond, so who knows what the coming weeks will hold?), and this yanks away from our Summer Fun mentality and into a more personal space.

So it's time to get a bit personal:

A year ago I gave myself a minor, but really annoying stress fracture from a hungover run after weeks of remaining sedentary aside from work. I promised myself that when it healed, I'd not let myself ever get so out of shape again that a four mile run would incur such wrath from my own bones. So I bought a new pair of running shoes and started going at it, tracking every run and posting it publicly in order to keep myself with it.

November came around and I bought a bike and an alumni membership to the VCU gyms so I could swim as well. Someone told me they smelled a triathlon, and...well, the rest is history. I've since become a huge advocate for fitness and healthy living, and believe, after this year-long journey that aside from my life with coffee, this was a secondary niche in which I was meant to partake.

If you're a regular in the coffee shop, you've probably seen the Iron Blend up there, the proceeds of which help sponsor my training and fees for the Half Ironman in San Juan I'm currently training for, but it's a dark roast, and not everyone loves dark roasts.

We're now proud to present the Aluminum Blend, a lighter counterpart to the Iron Blend's metal slug of a cup. The Aluminum Blend is full of lemony pop and orangey pizazz, with a smooth, malty finish. Like a chocolate malt after a creamsicle, which is exactly what I'm craving right now.

The Aluminum Blend will be available for sale in the shop and online starting on Wednesday, September 1, and those of you who are coffee of the month subscribers can expect it on your doorstep that day, either via post or via Dena.

If you live in Richmond and order either the Aluminum or Iron blends online, you can also opt for a bike delivery (look for a link to the map of my radius on the online storefront), which will be delivered by yours truly on my next mid-week bike ride (of which there are two per week), which helps me rack up the miles - something I can't really get enough of right now.

So thanks to all those who've doled out the advice over the past year. I hope you enjoy the coffee.

Truly.

-tom

Udderly Cool Creamer

2010-08-25T09:02:00.002-04:00

This creamer is awesome. It mooooooves me. Buy it here.

Inside the Mind of One of Richmond's Best

2010-08-19T11:50:00.004-04:00

Heather Johnson is a barista at Ellwood's Cafe and was selected as a Staff Pick in this month’s Best & Worst Issue of Richmond Magazine. The Ellwood's blog has a great interview with pictures (including the one above) that lets you learn a little more about Heather. My favorite question and answer is below but check out the previous link for much more.

What’s the secret behind latte art? How many years in the Columbian jungle and the Italian Alps did you have to train?

It’s all about the way you steam the milk so that it’s perfectly creamy. We call it “sexy milk” thanks to Michael King, and it took about year of training for me to perfect it.

I'm also a little partial to this;

Any last words?

I want to thank Counter Culture for the training, as well as Blanchard’s local coffee for the great beans, Michael King and… Hi mom!

Congrats on the recognition, Heather and thanks to Ellwood's for the blog post.

Blanchard's RideForJim Morning Ride Roast

2010-08-17T11:21:00.004-04:00

A great thing about having our roasting operation located in the Westover Hills neighborhood is that we get to know and help our neighbors. Every year, there is the RideForJim fundraiser. A couple events are practically in our backyard and this year we produced a special blend, RideForJim Morning Ride Roast. Details on how to get some great coffee and help a great cause below.

Richmond Rider Rally Block Party - Richmond.Rider.RallyBlockParty Flyer.pdf
Saturday, August 21, 2010, 5PM to 10PM
5000 Block Caledonia Road

This party is great with bagpipes, bands, barbeque, and beer! Live music by Kevin Davis & Ban Caribe with emcee Bill Bevins from Lite 98. Crowd favorites Q Barbeque and Legend Brewing Company will once again be serving up the food and beverages for the evening. The highlight of the party is the “Welcome Back Parade” featuring the Greater Richmond Pipes and Drums, Central Virginia ’s largest bagpipe band. The party includes urban tree climbing by Riverside Outfitters, a spin bike competition with prizes by Endorphin Fitness, a wine and beer tasting by Once Upon a Vine South, and an awesome silent auction including a Cannondale road bike. They will also be selling a special RideForJim Morning Ride Roast at the event for $10 per bag with all proceeds going to the VCU Massey Cancer Center.

Tickets are $30.00 purchased on-line through August 20th, $35.00 at the gate. Children ages 7-12 are $10.00 at the gate only. Buy your tickets now at www.rideforjim.org

Yorktown Finale Ride
Sunday, August 22, 2010, 8AM Departure

This is the final leg of the ride and at last count they had over 70 participants. Rider registration also includes a ticket to the Richmond Rider Rally block party on Saturday, where individuals and teams can compete for prizes and bragging rights in the Endorphin Fitness Spin Competition. Top fund-raisers get special recognition for their efforts in supporting cancer research at the VCU Massey Cancer Center. Register now at www.RideForJim.org.

All proceeds benefit the James D. Popp Student Research Fund at VCU Massey Cancer Center.
More details at local blog Hills and Heights including a great slideshow.

Coffee Bag Chair

2010-08-16T09:44:00.004-04:00

In my continuing effort to find new and exciting uses for coffee bags, I give you the director's style, rocking chair with coffee bag accent.

This was posted on Design*Sponge and I would like to know where she found such a cool chair and such a cool coffee bag. I might have to go searching through our bags to see if we have anything that compares. Previous coffee bag projects; mirrors, computer sleeve.

Who Needs Garden Gnomes?

2010-08-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

My good friend Diane, over at the Blue Lollipop Road, has been traveling with the Iron Blend, and others of our coffees.

She may not be French, but she's just as bubbly as Amelie, and we think coffee makes a better companion than a garden gnome any day.

Here they are, fresh into Alaska!

Glad you made it safe, Diane!

-tom

sic luceat lux

Elvis Coffee

2010-08-12T12:38:00.003-04:00

It is amazing what products the Presley estate is willing to slap his image on. It is not amazing that the coffee below was found at Big Lots. Although I am curious about how bad this coffee would actually taste, I think I'll stick with the fresh roasted beans we have at the shop.

Channel 8 Goes to Ellwood's Cafe

2010-08-10T08:07:00.003-04:00

Nice piece on Ellwood's Cafe which as you all know serves Blanchard's. Yeah Ellwood's.

Relay Foods Gets Some Press!

2010-08-05T08:57:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie:

We're pleased to see that Relay Foods is starting to get noticed!

Check out the articles about them on RVA News and RichmondBizSense!

-tom

sic luceat lux

RVAnews Looks at Relay Foods

2010-08-04T09:56:00.002-04:00

Readers will already know about our partnership with Relay Foods and now the company is getting some coverage from RVAnews.

One local participant, Blanchard’s Coffee, sells fresh-roasted coffee beans through the site. Their beans can be found in all MARTIN’S locations, as well as many local restaurants and coffee shops. Says Blanchard’s roaster, Tom Thorogood, “Since the switch to MARTIN’S, we’ve lost some of our customer base who used to shop at Ukrop’s. We have limited retail hours at our shop, so this is another way to get our product to customers.” Thorogood is a big fan of the company. “I use it personally to buy groceries.”

We aren't the only local company to be taking advantage of this new way to get top notch products.

Other local participating companies include Montana Gold, Carytown Cupcakes, Twin Oaks, J Emerson Wines, and Agriberry. Currently, each company has an average of only four items listed, so with any luck, as more companies join and more consumers participate, the selection will increase.

Congrats to Ellwood's Cafe

2010-08-03T11:21:00.005-04:00

Every year Richmond Magazine does a Best/Worst of Richmond. Ellwood's Cafe won for best Best Coffee. Check out what they had to say about the honor.

Best Local Coffee: Ellwood’s Cafe

“Miles Quillen of Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market is quick to credit Blanchard’s Coffee Co., the source of Ellwood’s Cafe’s locally roasted Joe, and it’s owner, David Blanchard. “He’s in the cafe, if not everyday, every other day…making things go so smoothly,” Quillen says. Ellwoods baristas all go through training and know how to do latte art designs, he adds. “We used to have a girl who could do skulls.”

As if that wasn't enough Ellwood's Cafe was also selected for "Richmond Magazine Staff Picks: Ellwood’s Cafe’s Heather Johnson (barista)". So basically, Ellwood's Cafe kicked some serious butt. We are very proud to be a part of Ellwood's Cafe success and would love to talk to you about developing a special blend for your shop or restaurant.

In Honor of Shark Week

2010-08-03T09:50:00.004-04:00

As anyone with cable, and most without cable know, this week is Shark Week on Discovery Channel. Although coffee is our love we do have some fine teas by Chad's Chai & Tea Company. Imagine how much cooler our tea would be if we used the Sharky Tea Infuser.

August Coffee of the Month: Panamanian Boquette

2010-07-29T16:14:00.000-04:00

Coffee from Panama isn't quite as overhyped as Jamaican Blue Mountain. However, there is a cult following behind the coffee that has always landed me in a tough position. Do I really shell out the extra dough for a coffee that I'm sure isn't worth the price?

My dad once asked me if any coffee could worth $50 per pound (roasted). A few years ago, I answered him, "Absolutely!". Now, on the producing side of things, I think not.

However, much like in wine, we try to get people to focus on the region, not the bean or the estate itself. A sommelier once told me, "There is no such thing as a good vintner. There is no such thing as a good vintage. There is only a good bottle of wine."

I started working full-time for Blanchard's in November of 2008, and tried to get some Panamanian Boquette as my first order of business. I'd heard so many podcasts and read so many articles about this coffee, and it was really the only coffee that, had you asked me, I would have said I wanted to try. (That was before I met Bali and Dominican, of course).

Our broker was out of it, at the time though. The following year, we got so bogged down in our seasonal blends for Ukrop's that we didn'ttry too many new and exciting coffees (except for beloved Bali).

This year, finally. Finally. Finally. I was able to score some of the Boquette.

I took my first sip of it on Wednesday, after we roasted our tasting batch. It was a strange moment that I don't think I'm likely to forget anytime soon. It was as if the world around me paused and muted for just a second, because the full, round richness of this coffee was the most important thing in the universe.

Once I regained footing in this dimension, I just said, "Wow."

---

It took me awhile before I was able to start pulling out strands of flavors from this coffee. It's got so many layers and textures it was a little overwhelming a task to take. Jonathan assisted me in blurting things out, and David added a few words later on. This is the list of stuff we said:

Honeysuckle
Textured
Orange Zest
Almond Butter
Buttery
Teleport
Lush
Raspberry Tart
Clean
Doesn't Linger
Indulgent
Lemon

This is a sit-and-talk coffee. An afternoon conversation coffee. A tell-me-about-your-trip coffee.

A real treat. Now, we love you guys, but we didn't get the crazy expensive stuff. And I'm glad we didn't. Because this tells me everything I need to know, and I can't imagine anything more expensive being a whole lot better. This stuff is phenom.

---

If you have it delivered to your house via Dena, it'll be there tomorrow. Jonathan took the post office orders this afternoon, so we're hoping you have it Monday or Tuesday.

Shop-goers and online-orderers: It will be available in both of these places starting on Tuesday, and we'll be brewing at it at the South of the James Market on Saturday, 8/7.

Keep brewing!

-tom

sic luceat lux

Concrete Espresso

2010-07-29T13:52:00.003-04:00

This awesome espresso machine was made by Shumuel Linski a student of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. There are more pictures and some details on how it was made at Dezeen.

Bike Delivery Radius for Iron Blend

2010-07-28T09:26:00.004-04:00

One of the many unique/great things about our new Iron Blend is that you can have the coffee delivered by Tom on his bicycle. Check out the map below to see how far he is willing to pedal to get you fresh roasted coffee. We are only delivering the Iron Blend by bike at this time.

Monday Coffee Art

2010-07-26T11:15:00.002-04:00

Blanchard's Joins Relay Foods - Now It's EVEN EASIER to get our coffee!

2010-07-23T08:55:00.003-04:00

Along with offering shipping cost-free pickup at our shop or the South of the James Farmer's Market for online orders, we now have an even easier way to get our coffee out to wherever it is you are.

Relay Foods, a company that started and made a huge splash in Charlottesville, has branched out to Richmond. Their creed and concept are both laudable: Sell local products at grocery store prices, and bring them to you.

You can now grocery shop from the comfort of your own home, and then head to one of their pickup locations (whichever is most convenient for you) to grab fresh, locally produced goods (and tons of other stuff too!). You don't even have to get out of your car to get your order!

Relay Foods currently stocks the following coffees from us: Breakfast Blend (both Ground and Whole Bean), Dark as Dark (both Ground and Whole Bean), FTO Peruvian (Whole Bean only), FTO Bolivian (Whole Bean only), Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (Whole Bean only), and Swiss Water Decaf (Ground only). All of it is selling for $7.99/bag.

Head over to http://www.relayfoods.com to get started!

Not sure if there's a pickup location convenient to you? I copied the locations and schedule from their web site.

Day	Time	Location - Click for Map
Monday	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Innsbrook, Markel Lot
	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Leigh and 4th, Downtown
Tuesday	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	SPI Inc., Parham
	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Ashley Furniture, Midlothian
	4:00 PM - 7:00 PM	William Fox Elementary, The Fan
Wednesday	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Grove Street Parking
	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Churchill- 24th & Broad
Thursday	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Innsbrook, Snag-a-Job
	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	8th and Cary, Downtown
Friday	3:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Ashley Furniture, Broad St.

So get out there...or don't! You can have our coffee no matter what.

-tom

sic luceat lux

Support Tom's Ironman Effort & Drink Good Coffee

2010-07-22T09:00:00.006-04:00

You know Tom, that kinda surly guy who roasts coffee downstairs in his beloved cave? Well, he recently completed his first triathlon and David has challenged him to a Half Ironman, pledging the comany's sponsorship if he took the bait. So Tom has taken the bait and in order to help the company sponsor him, a new blend was born. Click on the image below to buy some of this great new blend.

If you're not sure why you should support Tom he's put together a website so that others can follow his training progress and sure he's not slacking.

www.tomthorogood.com will get you where you need to go. Conveniently, that is also on the bags.

Coffee Bag Mirrors

2010-07-21T10:54:00.009-04:00

I was inspired by Mary at Contrary Garden's awesome computer sleeve. So I took some bags home and with a little spray mount and only a medium amount of cursing made some mirrors.Notice the artsy angled photo.No artsy angle this time. The one on the top is at the coffee shop. If you would like either one let me know, either one could be yours for the low, low price of $15.

Get Your Blanchard's On at the Library

2010-07-17T09:15:00.002-04:00

Positive Vibe Cafe has opened a new location. The good folks of PV are adding the Positive Vibe Cafe Express to the Library of Virginia at 800 E. Broad St. You can check out the new menu here. What that menu doesn't show and why we are excited about this bit of news is that the Express will be carrying Blanchard's coffee. Positive Vibe has a wonderful mission and we are proud to be part of their new effort. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

Positive Vibe Foundation (formerly Get Lost MD Foundation) prepares people with cognitive or physical disabilities for paid employment in the food service industry. We accomplish our mission by training and employing people with disabilities at Max’s Positive Vibe Café.

Traveling Down the Blue Lollipop Road

2010-07-14T10:23:00.003-04:00

A Blanchophile and friend left this week for a trek to Alaska, a promise which she made to herself and some friends sixteen years ago. Sadly, her friends were all unable to make the journey with her.

Diane was the opening manager for LIFT Coffee Shop down on Broad Street so long ago, and helped usher me (and my best friend) into the coffee business. When I heard she was making this trip, I promised her that she wouldn't be drinking bad coffee on the road. She helped give me coffee as a career and passion; we're returning the favor.

While I encourage her to try every coffee she can, she'll always have some Blanchard's as a backup.

See what she has to say about us here, and follow her blog; she tells great stories, and rest assured she'll have plenty of them!

Godspeed, Diane! We're happy to make the journey with you...in the form of beans, anyway!

-tom

sic luceat lux

New Online Storefront!

2010-07-13T09:30:00.002-04:00

Hoooooooo Nelly.

If you've ever tired of the same standbys for sale on our web site, we have a treat in store for you. Or lots of them. In fact, we have 26 of them.

Twenty-six coffees and blends for you to choose from are now all available to order through our web site.

Even Better (Part I): We are now offering them in 12 oz. packages instead of full pounds. How is this better, you ask? Shipping's cheaper, which means you get our Blanchard's on for less.

Even Better (Part II): We're now using Google Checkout instead of PayPal, which lets you manage your cart right on the screen, as well as calculate more exact shipping costs

Even Better (Part III): You can order online and pick up at the shop or the Farmer's Market and pay no shipping costs whatsoever! Please pay attention to the information on the right regarding pick-up times, however!

Even Better (Part IV): Remember that old "Buy 5 lbs, get free shipping" gig? Well, that's now changed to "buy Six bags" - It sounds like you have to order more, but really it adds up to only four and a half pounds. So you get free shipping with 1/2 lb. less!

We understand that many of you may not have Google accounts with which to check out, and we hope that you'll agree to sign up for one to take advantage of these new online ordering options. If you still prefer to pay through PayPal, you can always email us to place orders and we can arrange that.

So go check it out and try something you've never tried before!

-tom

sic luceat lux

Dena Says Hi

2010-07-12T20:05:00.001-04:00

Mod Your Espresso Machine

2010-07-08T14:32:00.002-04:00

I don't know what is up with Gizmodo but they have been focused on the coffee lately. This time they modify an espresso machine to give a better cup of espresso. Go the previous link to check out the full details.

The experimenters on alt.coffee who took temperature measurements of the Silvia discovered that when the heating-element light is off (which means it's ready to pull a shot of espresso), the temperature can vary by as much as 40 degrees. This amount of variation makes consistently good espresso a nearly impossible dream. But because the Silvia had so many other good qualities (including ease of tinkering), the alt.coffee gang decided not to abandon the machine. Instead, they compensated for the shortcoming by developing the temperature surfing technique Glanville had taught me.

Yougest Blanchard's Customer

2010-07-07T10:11:00.000-04:00

Youngest Blanchard's Customer from David Blanchard on Vimeo.

MacGuvyer Coffee Roaster Cooler System

2010-07-06T09:10:00.002-04:00

Hot desperate times call for desperate measures.

Cold Air from David Blanchard on Vimeo.

Starbucks Doing Something Right?

2010-07-01T19:47:00.005-04:00

I'll never be a fan of the giant corporate entity that is Starbucks but an article on Gizmodo hints to something they might be doing right. Clover arguably one of the best espresso machines out there with the ability to tweak nearly every parameter in the process. Starbucks bought Clover and only rolled the machines out to 50 locations which is approximately 0.000000001% of their total locations. (Percentage is completely made up but I don't think by much.) Well, times maybe are a changing and there are reports of Clover popping up.

Starbucks' first Clover showed up in New York around two months ago, in a nearly 20-year-old location that's been converted into a concept store. The thaw is beginning. Starbucks plans to finally expand the Clover's footprint gradually over the next 6-8 months, as they figure out how to integrate the machine into the natural rhythm of stores—which is basically dominated by Frappuccinos these days, not coffee.

In a way, it's a hard sell. The kind of people who would be most interested in coffee made via Clover, designed to pull the most out of a coffee—so shitty coffee would taste shittier—don't go to Starbucks. Starbucks is so reviled by people who actually like coffee that they've experimented with burying the Starbucks name at two pilot stores in Seattle which are designed to look more like the kind of place that serves Intelligentsia or Stumptown coffee. So it's heartening to see them try to live up a bit more to the ideals of caring about coffee and how it's served.

Special thanks to commenter FritzLaurel for giving us a shout out.

Why We Love Coffee of the Month

2010-06-30T05:51:00.004-04:00

July's Coffee of the Month carries some personal weight with it. I have never been more excited about one of our coffees, and it's hard to fit that excitement onto a 3" x 3.75" label on the bag.

I'll admit that I'm totally spoiled when it comes to coffee. Sometimes I take it for granted that every day when I go down to the Lab I can have any of our 21 different origins for my morning cup. It's become hard to impress me.

In May, while talking to one of our brokers who knows I'm always on the lookout for "whatever's new and exciting," for coffee of the month, she told me that I might be interested in some of their Fair-Trade Organic Dominican Republic coffee.

I don't know that my eyes had glowed so much since that Christmas morning when I unwrapped my first NES (or that surprise party my friends threw a few years ago, buying me a new PS2 after mine was stolen).

"What size bag is it? How much does it cost? Can I buy one bag now and more later if we like it, or do you not have very much so I should buy it all right now?" All of this kinda fell out of my mouth, because I wanted this coffee. Having always wanted to visit Hispañola, and never had anything to do with it (except for extensive reserach on Hatian voudon practices), this was my first real-world, physical connection to it.

I called David who had about the same reaction I had, disbelief and stirring excitement. You see, neither of us ever even realized we could get coffee from the Dominican Republic. I had certainly never seen or heard about it. It's like all of a sudden there was a treasure map that fell from the sky.

And having been sipping this coffee once a week for the past month, I have to impart how much of a treasure it really is.

As with most of our coffees, we're roasting this one to right at the start of the second crack. We call this "medium," you may have some other name for it. Although it's a medium roast, you'd never guess it after sipping.

The FTO Dominican Republic packs a punch. It's big and it's full, but also incredibly smooth, like it's already got some Half n' Half in. Personally, I pulled dried plum, cracked pepper, and semi-sweet chocolate. Like a rich dessert you'd probably pay too much for in a nice restaurant.

It's a well-balanced coffee, although the acid content may spike a bit above the other characteristics as far as balance is concerned. While pleasing on the palate, weaker-stomached individuals should probably not drink more than a liter or so. I say this as someone who would happily drink an entire pot of this had I steel-lined stomach myself. As it is, I have a hard time handling mere pepperocinis.

Now the sales pitch: This coffee will be available in our shop through all of July (shop hours: T-F 8.00-10.30, Sat 7.30-Noon) and we will also have it available for brewing and for retail at the South of the James Market this coming Saturday (7/3). Ellwood Thompson's Coffee Shop also has some, and if you catch them on the right day, they'll even have it available on the Clover (which I haven't even had yet, so tell us how it is!).

Also feel free to email me and order some. We ship anywhere in the U.S., and shipping's free if you get 5 lbs. or more.

Over and out,

Tom

sic luceat lux

Customer Profile Dairy Bar

2010-06-29T08:59:00.002-04:00

The spring we were very proud to start serving our coffee at the Dairy Bar. If you haven't been to this Richmond institution you need to head over and check it out. It was written up in Southern Living Magazine as one of the 5 best breakfast spots in Virginia. Also San Francisco food blogger Urban Stomach was in town and had this to say.

I was here for a traditional country breakfast of ham, eggs, grits and a biscuit and I wasn’t disappointed. The standout was the ham, fattier and saltier than I’m used to. If this ham was served in a San Francisco brunch spot, there’d be a health police rally going on outside. In Richmond, I enjoyed every bite in peace and quiet. Calories don’t count when away from home. The bonus surprise at The Dairy Bar was the peanut butter and chocolate milkshake. Made of Garber’s ice cream from Winchester, VA, this shake blew my mind. Maybe the best thing that I ate in Richmond.

The Dairy Bar opened in 1946 as a cafeteria for the Curles Neck Dairy plant workers. It continued to operate this way until the plant closed down in the mid 1980’s. After the plant closed the cafe expanded to become a full service restaurant. It has only changed hands once and continues to be a Richmond landmark for over 60 years.[via]

Coffee Tattoos

2010-06-24T11:43:00.004-04:00

I have a few tattoos but no coffee tattoos yet. The tat above is my favorite from this Barista Exachage.com thread. There are some great tattoos to check out.

Free Coffee with the Secret Twitter Word

2010-06-22T12:25:00.003-04:00

Hey you with the sweat mustache. Do you want a free iced coffee? or are you not hot enough and want some fresh hot coffee? You tired of having to pay? Well, you have come to the right blog. If you follow us on twitter @drinkblanchards we will announce the top secret SOTJFM Super Secret Twitter Word. I promise to come up with a better name soon. As a special bonus for faithful blog readers I am going to give you this week's Secret Twitter Word: solstice. Next week though you will have to get the word off Twitter.

If you are one of the first ten (10) people to say "solstice" to the folks working at the Farmers Market you get either an iced coffee or a hot coffee for free.

Avoid Magic Power Coffee

2010-06-21T10:26:00.002-04:00

Chance are if you are reading this blog you don't buy instant coffee off the internet. Apparently there are people that do and hope that this coffee helps them in other ways. Check out this warning from the FDA via the Associated Press;

The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday urged consumers to stop using an instant coffee product that is being marketed as a sexual aphrodisiac, saying it could dangerously lower blood pressure.

In a statement, the FDA said Magic Power Coffee contains a chemical that could interact with some prescription drugs to significantly lower blood pressure. When blood pressure drops suddenly, the brain is deprived of an adequate blood supply, which can lead to dizziness or lightheadedness.

"Because this product is an instant coffee labeled as an 'all natural dietary supplement,' consumers may assume it is harmless and poses no health risk," said Deborah M. Autor, director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Compliance. "In fact, Magic Power Coffee can cause serious harm."

Tasting Notes

2010-06-20T10:59:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I went to a wine tasting with my family at Naked Mountain Vineyard in Markham, Virginia (Visit them at: http://www.nakedmtnwinery.com). A disclosure, though: I have no developed palate for wine. I rarely drink it and know nothing about it, save it’s alcoholic and may have come in contact with some viticulturist’s feet.

Nevertheless, I was engrossed in the descriptions on the wine menu at Naked Mountain, noting the flavors within different wines, be it a Chardonnay with pineapple and lemon or a Merlot with leather and tobacco. In this way, being a dedicated coffee drinker and coffee roaster in training made me feel like I could get a grip on wine tasting. Simply, coffee and wine sales both rely heavily on marketing the differences in flavor between their respective varieties.

My impression, however, is that most people are the opposite of me, that is, the average wine drinker is more comfortable describing the taste of a glass of wine than the average coffee drinker would a cup of coffee. Bearing this in mind, I wanted to put together some thoughts about tasting notes for coffee that, while far from being universal, could help stimulate your coffee-splashed taste buds.

Here are, strangely enough, descriptions of common descriptors in coffee tasting:

“citrusy” – Tangerine, lemon and other citrus fruit flavors are easily detectable in high-acid, medium roast coffees, such as Tanzanian Peaberry or Kenyan AA
“floral” – Also common among high-acid, East African coffees, these lighter roasts flaunt their fragrance and may even have a chopped-up, flower-like residual resembling tea leaves when ground
“earthy” – Customary in describing Indonesian coffees, these low-acid, medium roasts can taste and smell like a day in the sun spent gardening amid damp soil and friendly fungus
“smoky” – Dark-roast coffees and their added carbon content should cleanse the palate with a bold, almost burnt finishing taste that defines traditional European tastes
“grassy” – Latin American coffees often carry this tasting note, evocative of something fibrous that a grazing animal would eat, like hay or roots
“nutty” – Like trail nuts, an oily or viscous feel can pervade the finishing tastes of many Asian or Latin American coffees
“spicy” – Reminiscent of baked goods or incense rather than Mexican food, medium roasts can tingle the tongue with cinnamon, clove or pepper
“sweet” – Coffees that fall between dark and medium roasts often carry a mellow, sweet taste without tartness, like chocolate or caramel

So next time you visit Blanchard’s and pick up a pound, make sure to give us some feedback on your own opinions, likes, and dislikes of the coffees you’ve tried…because no matter what the baristas say, at the end of the day, everyone gets something a little different out of their cup.

Post jotted by Java Junkie Jonathan

So You Think You Drink a Lot of Coffee?

2010-06-17T13:03:00.004-04:00

Spending money everyday in a shop to get your fix can add up. Check out this chart published in the WSJ (put together by Mint.com) to see which city racks up the biggest bills. Look how much more Seattle spends. As a transplant from the Pacific NW I can tell the two biggest factors in those numbers are the weather (miserable) and number of places to get coffee. You can't go more than a mile without hitting a coffee shop or drive-thru coffee stand.

The article is about saving money and one way would be to buy your beans from a local roaster and make that latte at home.

Coffee Bag Computer Sleeve

2010-06-16T09:27:00.005-04:00

This is so freaky deaky cool I can't control myself. Mary at Contrary Garden made this awesome computer sleeve out of one of our old coffee bags. Check out the link for details on how she made it complete with pictures. Also check out her jewelry since it is equally awesome. Now if I can only get a tuxedo jacket made out of coffee bags.

P.S. - That is not a picture of Mary holding the computer sleeve.

Market View 6/12

2010-06-15T11:25:00.002-04:00

While some us were sitting in a dark pub waiting for the US take on England in the World Cup others like Dena were working at the South of the James Farmers Market making sure that some of you could get a cup of the best coffee in the city. Below is Dena's latest Market update.

The South of the James Farmer's Market season is off to a booming start! Thanks to all of you, the Blanchard's booth is selling our fresh roasted coffee almost faster than we can brew it! It is wonderful to see your familiar faces each Saturday.

We have some new faces helping at the booth this summer, in fact we have been so busy I've gotten a little friend to help us keep up with the cream and sugar station. Her name is Emma and those of you that saw her last week know what a great helper she is!

Our cold brewed ice coffee is a favorite! Tom has doubled the amount he prepares to match the market demand for this refreshingly delicious drink.

Look forward to seeing you!

Dena

Stumptown & Duane Sorenson

2010-06-14T07:47:00.003-04:00

The NY Magazine has a very interesting article on Stumptown’s Duane Sorenson and how he is bringing a level of coffee worship/respect to New York. Sorenson is from Seattle where he operates five cafés, two café-roasteries, and one stand-alone roastery. To say he is a bit obsessive is an understand but the results of his passion or incredible. Be warned while there is no swearing in the bit I am posting Duane does favor some adult language.

Coffee quality can be objectively measured, to a point. There are professionals who evaluate a coffee just as one would a wine. They study the flavor profile; the cleaner and sweeter it is, the higher it will rank on a 100-point scale. Top specialty roasters buy coffees rated 85 or above, but once you’re that high in the rankings, how much of what you’re tasting is real and how much perception? Sarah Allen, the editor of Barista magazine, says that a top roaster like Stumptown goes to such extraordinary lengths to find the perfect coffee that it becomes personal. “It’s like when you think to yourself that your child is special in a way no other child is,” she says. “That’s how people like Duane feel about their coffee.”

Which means, of course, that he won’t let just anybody buy his beans. Sorenson approaches potential clients like he’s on a blind date, and he’s not afraid to say “sorry.” “I don’t want to sell my coffee to everyone,” he says. “It’s not for everyone.

A Shot of Coffee Macroeconomics

2010-06-09T09:16:00.003-04:00

A large part of the coffee industry is marketing coffee on the basis of its national origin. In the Blanchard’s coffee roasting room, for example, there is coffee from Ethiopia, Perú, Mexico, Tanzania, Indonesia, India, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras – just to name a handful. Whatever the reasons may be for such geographic diversity, a coffee’s origin has tremendous weight in determining the value of a bag of beans and how many are sold worldwide.

So in the spirit of investigation, I have selected data on coffee exports from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), an London-based organization that compiles an array of impressive statistics related to global coffee trading. Visit their website (and/or do some fact checking) at: http://www.ico.org/index.asp.

Before you scroll down, however, take a guess as to the largest exporter of coffee from the list of countries I provided above. When you’re ready, take a look at the information below. The data was compiled for exports from October 2009-March 2010 and the quantities refer to 60-kilo (approx. 132 lbs.) bags of coffee.

Drum roll…

Some stats from the countries in our roasting room.
Indonesia – 2,205,000 bags
India – 1,990,000
Honduras – 1,719,000
Perú – 1,343,000
Mexico – 1,302,000
Nicaragua – 720,000
Ethiopia – 706,000
Tanzania – 458,000
Kenya – 282,000
Dominican Republic – 18,000

A friendly reminder: If you want freshly roasted coffee from one or more of these featured countries, you can come by the shop during regular hours, order online (blanchardscoffee.com), call in (804.687.9443) or e-mail (tom@blanchardscoffee.com). Whether it’s widely traded like Indonesian coffees or comparatively rare like Dominican coffee, we’ll be roasting it fresh for you.

Written by the Czar of Coffee - Jonathan Lesko

Coffe House Ban

2010-06-07T22:42:00.003-04:00

The bit above was from a bigger graphic by TheOatmeal.com. Check out the whole graphic.

Top This

2010-06-05T18:22:00.003-04:00

There is little in life cooler than a fez. Yes I said that with a straight face. I own three but might have to make it four after seeing this beaut.

Made by the folks of Fez-O-Rama and even their description is awesome.

Avast ye lubber! Get me a cup o' the steaming black before I see you to Davy Jones!

This week we bring you the coffee and crossbones, the timeless symbol of the early morning pirate. Give your co-workers ample warning not to look you in the eyes until they've placed a cup of joe in your hand. Remember, it's not an addiction, it's a career choice!

For $45 this fine fez can be yours.