Destination: Charleston
I promised to blog about Charleston’s Coffee Culture and the beauty of the City, so here I go. I will be in Charleston, South Carolina for the next three weeks, and sometimes you don’t realize a good thing until it’s gone (I currently live in Tampa, FL). If you’re looking for a city in the south with a definite cultural flair, incredible food, cute little knick-knacks, and a booming social life, you’ve found it. Destination: Charleston will be an open-ended blog, and as I get reaquainted with the city in which I grew up, I will let you know where the best places are:
#3 - California Dreaming: Downtown Charleston, on the Bay. One of the most exquisite restaurants in Charleston rests on the bay and features elegant views of the City of Charleston. Inside the restaurant, the floors are reminiscent of the paved Charleston streets, and the lighting is a replica of the traditional Charleston street lamp. The ambiance is perfect for a night out with that special someone or perhaps just a night on the town with friends. The most incredible dishes are served out of their glass-front kitchen. I started off with a sparkling wine from Kenwood: Yulupa, Cuvée Brut, a dryer wine with a light sweetness to it. This was the perfect pairing for the Classic California Dreaming House Salad which was doused with boiled eggs, tomatoes, and bacon (classic Charleston Culture!) accentuated by their honeyed croissant (get a basket for only $4.99). My entree selection: Shrimp San Francisco, which is a medley of sauteed shrimp, garlic, white wine, butter, and more garlic served over angel hair pasta and romano cheese. I altered my selection a bit, and opted to have mine served over garlic mashed potatoes lightly dusted with romano cheese. Let’s just say I am still salivating at just the thought of it. One of my other favorites on their menu is the Marinated Sirloin, which is marinated for 48 hours in fruit juices, garlic, soy sauce, and spices. California Dreaming’s Prices are moderate to expensive (my whole meal with wine and tip was just under $30). If your style is a combination of ecclectic and traditional, California Dreaming is your spot!
Overall Rating: 5 of 5 Coffee Beans
#2 – Muddy Waters Coffee Bar: James Island. The coziest coffee shop can be found just across the bridge that links West Ashley to James Island. Seldom do you find a coffee shop that doesn’t over-roast their beans or over-extract their brew. Muddy Waters features coffee exclusively from Counter Culture, a quaint social sitting area, eye-catching artwork, and handmade coffee mugs (my favorite!). I had some of their Holiday Blend, a traditional Vienna Mélange with honey-like characteristics and a cinnamon aroma. What I tasted was peach, fruit, bittersweet chocolate, and toasted notes. I was thrilled with Muddy Waters’ atmosphere and the lively, informative Barista, Amanda. With two locations, one on James Island and the other located West of the Ashley River, accessing this neat place is exceptionally easy. Oh – and the West Ashley location serves Paninis!
Overall Rating: 5 of 5 Coffee Beans
#1 – Wholly Cow: Ice Cream and Coffee, Citadel Mall. I have seen this little coffee shop emerge over the last few years from a small-town favorite to a local shop with true coffee style. They now provide fresh roasted c
offee via Island Coffee, owned by the same people (Rob and Laurie Kramer), which roasts exclusively for Wholly Cow. Using a select group of farmers who are passionate about coffee, practice sustainability, and who only pick fully ripened coffee cherries, they launched the Cielo Rojo Project. Although this Wholly Cow is located in a busy mall, they have managed to keep a little history and flair by featuring photos of coffee shops from all over the world. My personal preference is to always taste my coffee black, so I ordered a small coffee of the day, which turned out to be Cielo Rojo, which means “Red Heaven.” Cielo Rojo, cupped at a score of 93.5 has an amazingly floral taste. Sweet scents of jasmine tickled my nose as I tasted it. I definitely recommend this shop – stop by and have a little “Heaven In Your Cup.”
Overall Rating: 3.5 of 5 Coffee Beans
My Nephew's Chocolate, Green-Sprinkled Latte (he made it up)
I’m on my way to downtown Charleston – who knows what I’ll find next!
What Constitutes Good Coffee??
I recently attended a local art gallery opening. They had the usual hodge podge of food: a few dips here and there, some healthy stuff to quiet the health freaks, and of course, coffee. I watched as everyone hovered around the coffee bar, one guy nervously spilling it all over the counter top. I approached the bar, poured a little coffee for myself, and waited for it to cool down. When I finally got the chance to drink some, the only thought in my mind was that it tasted like brewed cardboard water. Everyone else was seemingly enjoying it, constantly revisiting the coffee bar for a warm up. I pretended to sip on so as not to “be rude,” and as my eyes wandered the room, I caught a glimpse of a woman in a gold party dress that was over-adorned with sequins and glitter – way too much for her petite frame. At that moment, I thought to myself: “Is this what coffee has become? Over-adorned with a mess of ‘stuff’ we think looks good, but actually tarnishes the beauty of what’s underneath?”
This brought me to a question, which has been toiled over for years: What constitutes good coffee? Is it good for only satisfying our morning jolt? Or is it only good for awakening us to break us from the afternoon’s robotic work patterns?
We yearn for good food, to be cultured, artistic, entertained, and to be “in the know…” But has our taste for good coffee fallen by the wayside? Why do we even drink it? To socialize with friends? To talk about how many espresso shots we had stuffed into one drink (that ended up giving us the jitters for the next two days straight)?
Or is it only good by a coffee connoisseur’s suggestive dialogue? Terminology and recommendations forced upon us, and like human nature we rebel and do exactly what we want anyway, too afraid to try something new.
Coffee doesn’t have to be crammed with unnatural flavor for it to be enjoyed; and it doesn’t have to be sans milk and sugar or “under-brewed” either. But shouldn’t it have its own character and elegant flavor, not something we’ve forced it to be? Example – Ethiopia: Naturally sweet coffee, it can have honeyed tastes, chocolate undertones, and may even be loaded with berries. Sometimes I take it black, sometimes with a little sugar. Example – Café au lait: historically prepared with steamed milk, mostly tastes like toasted nuts, the coffee most likely from Brazil or Nicaragua, somewhere conducive of a great espresso blend. Genuinely good stuff.
We are feel good people and some brands of coffee know how to tap into that human element. SBUX… As people, we have always demanded better coffee, but without knowing the true element of “better coffee,” it was defined for us and excited us enough to buy fancy machines and syrups, host parties, collect art, all in good efforts to make it good just like SBUX taught us. Coffee can still induce good friendships, family, conversations, fun… The cup itself can truly be a lively experience that compliments our relationships, conversations and friends, but it doesn’t have to be completely empty or over-adorned with postiche beauty.
And while Starbucks isn’t exactly the devil, we as consumers have managed to demand a beautifully wrapped package. Starbucks has answered the call and has assessed our aesthetic needs by dazzling us with tasty syrups and whipped cream. We’ve allowed ourselves to become drawn to the package without appreciating the beauty of the cup underneath all the wrapping…
Black Is Beautiful…
Ethiopia’s Dictator Revokes Coffee Licenses of Major Exporters
Ethiopia’s dictator revokes coffee licenses of major exporters
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (APA) – Ethiopia’s dictatorial regime led by accused war criminal Meles Zenawi on Wednesday revoked the coffee export licenses for six major export companies and shut down another 88 coffee supplier unions with warehouses stocked with coffee.
The decision was made after the government accused a number of exporters and coffee suppliers of hoarding.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also revoked the international coffee standard certification for the six companies.
“These companies cause big economic damage to the country which has resulted in the decline of the country’s coffee earnings this year,” said the ministry.
The major exporters of Ethiopian coffee affected by the decision are Mulege, S. Sara, Legesse Sherefa and Kemal Abdela.
The dispute between the government and the coffee exporters started when Ethiopia introduced last year a new electronic commodity exchange.
The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange was set up to replace a murky auction system that was often abused by market players.
Some exporters have been reluctant to sell their beans through the country\’s new electronic commodity exchange which began trading in December, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament last week where he urged the exporters to immediately start selling their stocks. The ministry accused the exporters and coffee suppliers union of creating the coffee shortage in the local market, resulting in price increase in the country in the past few weeks.
Coffee accounted for about 60 percent of Ethiopia’s foreign exchange revenue in the 2007/2008 season when Ethiopia earned more than $525 million from exporting 170,888 tones of Arabica coffee.
Ethiopia, the birth place of coffee, is Africa\’s biggest coffee producer.
Some 15 million smallholder farmers grow coffee in Ethiopia, mostly in the misty forested highlands of its western and southwestern regions.
COFFEE-TRADE SWITCH IN ETHIOPIA DISAPPOINTS IMPORTERS
U.S. coffee importers and roasters are worried that a new auction system in Ethiopia makes it almost impossible for them to buy coffee from the particular farmers whose beans they want.
Seattle Times business reporter
U.S. coffee importers and roasters are worried that a new auction system in Ethiopia makes it almost impossible for them to buy coffee from the particular farmers whose beans they want.
The system, overseen by the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, mixes coffee beans from different growers before selling them for export.
That’s a big deal to specialty roasters who prefer beans from certain growers and processors, and sometimes have worked with them to improve quality.
During a visit to the Ethiopian exchange in February, one Seattle coffee importer became concerned about how the new system would work.
“We spent a whole day going through the phases of grief — anger, denial and acceptance — just trying to get our arms around what’s going on,” said Craig Holt, owner of Atlas Coffee Importers.
The new auction system and its implications are poorly understood, Holt and others said.
What they know for sure is that they’re unable to order many of the coffees they want.
Some have had trouble getting any coffee from Ethiopia, although it is not clear whether the new auction system is to blame.
Royal Coffee, an importer based in Oakland, Calif., has not received shipments from Ethiopia that ordinarily would have arrived by now.
“There seems to be a wrench in the gears,” president Robert Fulmer wrote on the company’s blog. “To say there is confusion and chaos in Ethiopia is an understatement.”
Last week, Ethiopia closed the warehouses of six of its largest exporters, accusing them of hoarding coffee and contributing to a shortage of foreign currency.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the government plans to start exporting beans itself.
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The changes haven’t affected Starbucks, a spokeswoman said. The company buys coffee through the exchange and from cooperative unions and estates, which are allowed to sell directly.
The U.S. imports 12 to 15 million pounds of Ethiopian coffee annually, less than 5 percent of that nation’s total coffee exports. Japan is the largest importer of Ethiopian coffee, taking about 66 million pounds a year, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
Ethiopia’s new exchange estimates that specialty coffee, which is high-end coffee for which consumers pay a premium, represents about 3.7 percent of its coffee exports. Specialty coffee includes coffee bought by importers and roasters who have relationships with certain coffee growers.
The exchange said in a December paper on specialty coffee that it can hone its contract specifications to reflect geographic criteria and other refinements. For further traceability, “the direct channel by which growers can directly export coffee can be used,” the paper said.
Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle is among those counting on it.
Coffee buyer and head roaster Perry Hook is excited about a shipment of 2008 Ethiopia Natural Yirgacheffe Beloya beans that he just bought from the importer Ninety Plus Coffee.
He doesn’t have much hope of getting anything so specialized from this year’s crop.
“We’ll still buy Ethiopian coffee, because they have some of the best coffee in the world,” Hook said. “It’s the specialty ones that can be tied back to specific producing areas and handled in specific ways that we’re not going to get [this year]. We’re just going to hope something happens down the road and that in 2010 we can get these kinds of coffee again.”
Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com
Reload…
I apologize to all of my readers…I know some of you are checking back in. My new blogs weren’t posting…Looks like I had too many tags…This is a test… By the way, I roasted some more El Salvador yesterday and was having problems hearing the “cracks.” Needless to say, I roasted it what I thought was a slight step beyond C+, but once I saw it I knew it was closer to FC+/Vienna. THEN this morning I performed a taste test b/c I was so disappointed last night, but to my surprise it DID explode with cinnamon. BUT…it was a little over 12 hours later, and this particular coffee needs a little rest to taste its best at each roast. I gave that batch to a friend, so I am tasting the remaining at about 17 hours. Sip, Sip. Still immense cinnamon with underlying chocolate notes…YUMMY!
Am I Addicted?
Just Eat The Beans
Am I addicted to coffee? I like to call it passionate. Here I am, no coffee, constantly thinking of it…My body already going through sleepy spells and body aches – Am I REALLY addicted to caffeine, NOT coffee?? Constantly fiddling and knocking things over like a helpless drunk, going cold turkey is NOT how to pull yourself off of the coffee habit. Actually, I don’t intend to stop at all, I JUST ACCIDENTALLY LEFT MY COFFEE HOME, and I REFUSE to drink “office coffee.” So for the next hour and a half I will just keep up with the random arm scratches, neck twitches, back spasms, and completely crazy daydreams that remind me I’ve slipped into a work coma until I make it to my front door, and the hero’s theme music begins to play. Yes I will sprint to my kitchen cupboards (read below), rip the package of coffee open, and relentlessly chew those coffee beans! Yes I said chew, no time for brewing.
I am not addicted…I am passionately crazy about coffee.
Afternoon Devoid of Coffee…Window of Opportunity!!
So it’s mid-afternoon and I’ve only had about a cup and a half of coffee (people have this misconception that since I eat, sleep, and breathe coffee that I must consume like 12 cups a day…). HOWEVER, all I can seem to think about is drinking more! And not only because I’m hella sleepy, but because I’ve got like 6 bags of freshly roasted coffee that I am supposed to ship out today, and they are sitting right behind me in my office, and all I can smell is creamy chocolately coffee! MMMM!!! You walk in and it smells like a small coffee shop – LOL. See you soon, I am going to go fix myself another cup of that Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley (in my french press of course) – YUM!
