A Dunkin' Donuts Confession

Last week I had a meeting in Annapolis that went on for a few hours. Of course, I can't go through a meeting that long without a cup-of-joe in my hand. The gracious hosts of this event noted that they had fresh coffee available and that it was very good. Of course, I was delighted. With a hop in my step I jumped up to partake of this liquid energy. That is the moment when she said:

"It's Dunkin' Donuts."

What? Are you kidding me? I have campaigned against this abomination for months on end. I will not be drawn into the Dunkin vortex or fooled by a place that serves donuts and coffee as if they are equal partners. But, what was I too do? I needed coffee and there was nothing else.

I drank it. There I admitted it. Now the hard part. I liked it. That is right, I said it. It was an accident I am sure. They must have added something to it, because this has never happened before.

So here is my theory. I will not bend in my view that Dunkin' is serving subpar beans. However, when properly brewed, almost any coffee can serve as a passable beverage.

So there it is my Dunkin' Donut fanatics. A small, but measured, mea culpa about a single Dunkin experience that was not horrible.

Review: Cafe Pronto

Ok, the break is over and I am back on the blog. Sorry for the delay in posts, but I needed a break. That said -- on to my latest review.

Three weeks ago, I had a chance to experience Cafe Pronto at the Riva Festival in Annapolis.  This store was one of two locations run locally with a significant wholesale operation as well. Pronto's owners supplies beans to several shops in the region and considers the wholesale business to be their primary focus. The care for coffee on the wholesale side is fully evident at their retail store.

There are no drip coffee makers here. In the morning, all  coffee is french press or micro-steamed for cappuccino/latte-type drinks. Throughout the no-rush portion of the day, you can pick up a fresh cup at the over pour-bar (did I mention no drip).  They also had a Flat White on the menu (find out more about this here). I have never seen one of these at any coffee establishment and I have been wanting to try one ever since I read about them on the jimseven blog.

Unfortunately, the poor barista had to put up with me asking questions about coffee, brewing and beans for about 15 minutes, but what can I say, I loved this place.

If you are in the area, drop by, it will be worth your time. 

Brew It Right Or Don't Waste the Beans

This is the last of my rants about the subpar Kona coffee stand offerings on the Big Island. I want to be clear this is not a rant about Kona coffee or the growers on the island. I consider this more of a challenge for would be coffee brewers everywhere.

As I have said before, I was seriously disappointed at the brewing ability of the various coffee stands I visited while in Kona. It reminded me that you can take the finest coffee in the world and brew it up expecting great results, but if your brewing process is flawed, it's just a waste. It's like buying a beautiful house and not putting any furniture inside -- all you have is a hollow shell.

There are lots of people smarter than me who have really studied the art of brewing and I thought I would share some of their sites with you. Check them out below. Also, I am starting a news series this week called, "What makes you better than Starbucks?"  Look for that soon.

Now for the links:

• Sweet Maria's 

• 2B A Snob

• I Need Coffee

• Espresso Planet

• Brew Methods 

• Jim Seven

No Kona Coffee In Kona

I mentioned earlier this week how much I enjoyed touring one of the coffee plantations in Kona during our recent trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. Prior to this trip, I had visions of dropping by local coffee houses around Kailua each morning and slowly sipping rich Kona brew as the waves gently crashed against the rocks. It would be a week of island coffee bliss. Well, FAT CHANCE.

Other than Lava Java (right on the beach with an incredible view), there just wasn't much to crow about in the way of Kona coffee houses. There are very few coffee shops around the town and the ones that are located along the main tourist strip, really don't do the best job brewing the beans that these hardworking farmers spend years trying to perfect. I found it rather odd and a little disappointing.  As a result, we drank Nespresso cappuccinos  most mornings (thank goodness I packed that machine with us. See previous blog post) and only drank Kona coffee in Kona a few occasions.

I guess it's like anything else, you send your good stuff elsewhere.

 Lava Java in Kailua

 View from Lanai at Lava Java

Visiting the Family Farms of Kona

No visit to the Big Island of Hawaii is complete without a stop at one of the family-owned coffee plantations that cover the hills of the Kona district providing some of the most sought after beans in the world. According to the Kona Coffee Council:

The Kona region contains approximately 600 independent coffee farms. Most are small, usually three to seven acres in size. Traditionally, as with most farms, they are a family concern. In 1997 the total Kona coffee acreage was 2290 acres and green coffee production just over two million pounds.

You can't help but enjoy the charm of these small-scale operations. We chose to visit the Kona Lea Plantation, the home of Holualoa Kona Coffee company about 10 minutes up the hill from Kailua Kona. The self-guided tour of this plantation allows you to freely wander their grounds and milling operations while they are creating the final product. At the end of the tour, you are greeted by the friendly staff (thanks Nancy) back at the roasting and packaging house. 

In addition to their own coffee, Holualoa also roasts and bags for 100 other nearby farms. We enjoyed their coffee and purchased a variety of dark-roasted blends to bring back for friends. We even got a pound of the peaberry from Holualoa (pricey at $55 a bag, but well worth it.)

If you are on the island, I would highly suggest taking one of these tours. On a pleasant day, there is little more relaxing than walking through the coffee plantation and enjoying the sun with your family

In my next post, why is it hard to find Kona Coffee in Kona.  

  

Inspecting the roasting process

  

The drying deck

  

In the tasting room

 

Beautiful coffee cherry right off the branch

  

Deep in the coffee forest

 

Beans on the tree

Hey Conference People -- Where's My Coffee?

So, have you ever been at a conference that goes on all day and requires mass amounts of coffee to survive? I am at one of those events right now. And at about 3:00 p.m. yesterday, I left the main room to refill my cup. Low and behold there were a mountain of cups but no more coffee decanters. Please explain to me the reason to ever remove the coffee from the lobby area. Later in the afternoon the coffee decanters magically re-appeared, but the damage was done -- lack of coffee crankiness had set in.

I realize that many people don't drink coffee after a certain time in the morning. However, there are also many of us who need to mainline it throughout the day in order stay upright. All I am saying is... help a brother out and keep the coffee flowing all day long.

Finally, I am back from vacation and over my post-vacation illness, so I hope to begin a series of posts throughout the weekend and into next week about my Kona coffee experiences on the Big Island. Please keep me on your radar until then.

Traveling With My Nespresso Maker

I assume that this post will receive many jeers about my coffee disease, but here goes anyway.  We leave tonight for a week in Hawaii and I am looking forward to many great Kona coffees during our stay. However, I am still going to need a good base coffee maker for each morning and there are few coffees better than my Nespresso makers morning espresso shots. This is the first time I admit this publicly, but I recently purchased Nespresso's travel carrier and will be taking the whole system with me to Hawaii.

Perhaps even more embarrassing is the fact that this will be the second trip my Nespresso pod system has taken with me (I took it to Montana for Christmas as well.) What can I say, it is sometimes nice to have the comforts of home along for the ride and this system is easily packable. I just throw it over my arm and walk through the airport with my pet machine at my side. I get some looks when I go through security but it is all worth it.

I look forward to posting from Hawaii. I plan on doing one of the mom-and-pop coffee plantation tours while there and will report back with pictures and reviews. Until then, Mahalo.