Camp Coffee

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!

Blanchard's Coffee Co. is Hiring!

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!

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

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

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.

Coffee Oddities from Abroad

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.

Road Trip

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

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!

Blanchard's Coffee Co. is Hiring!

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

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

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!

Of Garages and Crossroads

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

Daily Coffee Tip::Filters

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?

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

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