Coffee in Mentor!

Something wonderful has happened, and yes, it involves coffee.

Up until this past weekend, it has been very hard to find good coffee within 20 miles of where I live. When I say good coffee, I don't include Starbucks. Yes I still have to tolerate Starbucks when there are absolutely no other options and my caffeine headache is kicking in, but I still have criteria that must be met. 

Number one, I will only get the blonde roast. This is mainly because I drink my coffee black and can't stand the burnt taste of any other blend that they offer. That being said, don't get your hopes up about the flavors this blend offers. If you have ever had a good pour over, it will be about 1/10 the flavor. But I will take that over burnt and undrinkable any day. 

Number two, my blonde roast must be brewed in the Clover. The Clover is a machine that combines a vacuum pot and a french press. Basically, it offers a set temperature for the water, a better chance of consistency when the barista stirs the beans, and overall a better extraction of flavor. 

My favorite, as you know by now, is Rising Star Coffee. Other great options that I have tried (but not since I fell in love with Rising Star) are Troubadour Coffee and Erie Island Coffee. All local to Cleveland, but again, the main problem with these are that they are all located about at least 40 miles from me. Until now.

Mike and I have been going to The Brew Mentor together for some time. He buys things to brew beers while I walk around looking lost and smelling the hops and exclaiming over the deliciousness. Recently I got to talking with one of the guys that works there and that's when I found out he was interested in coffee.

Immediately I knew we were going to be best friends and I would most likely be working there within 5 years, so I started talking to him about my favorite coffee in Cleveland - Rising Star Coffee. I told him about how helpful the owner, Kim Jenkins, was when I was first learning my pour over technique. He wrote it down and I was off on my merry way.

A few weeks ago we went back in and what do you know, Rising Star Coffee was coming to the Brew Mentor!! Best. Day. Ever. Not saying that I did that, but I may or may not have done that. You're welcome people of the Eastside :).

On that note, I have to introduce you to the new members of my family. I recently bought the book, The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee, and I couldn't be happier. It's a great read and it's full of details surrounding every part of a cup of coffee - whether it be how the farmers treat their beans to how to execute the perfect pour over, french press, or espresso.



And it has plenty of pictures! As my 27 year old brother always says, "it's not worth reading if it's not full of pictures". They are good ones too. The kind that make you want to get up and take some of your own, or sigh loudly and wish you could pull a Mary Poppins and jump right in. I think that would be my second super power if I could have two. Number one is definitely the ability to morph into any animal. I could breathe underwater as a dolphin, run super fast like a cheetah, AND fly like and eagle. Why choose one when you can have it all? I know, best idea ever.

Anyways, if you are looking to seriously buff up your knowledge levels on coffee, I definitely recommend this book. Plus it has a bunch of fancy recipes at the end, all that either include coffee or would taste good with coffee (although what doesn't?)

Macaroons! The man who wrote this book has a wife that is the head pastry chef of his coffee shop. What a dreamy pair. I'm not sure if Mike and I's potential titles will be as whimsical...I would be the coffee shop owner and the resident baker, and Mike would be the head computer engineer? It will have to do.

And THIS is another new member of my family, my American Weigh Scale. It goes to a tenth of a gram, and up to 2000 grams - perfect for my pour overs...and my baking addiction.

Oh, and those are the coffees I got from The Brew Mentor. They had 4 roasts available, so I tried 2 new ones that I hadn't before. Panama and Nicaragua, delicious and yet still not beating my normal favorite - Eithiopian Yirgacheffe.

The scale makes my pour over SO much easier. Instead of having to weigh out each thing separately like I used to with my old non-digital scale, now I can simply tare it. Kinda like in chemistry lab when I was in college - you place something on the scale, pour something in to get the correct weight, and then press the tare button and it goes to 0. It's the little things :).

Need some really great cold brew? Head to Rising Star. They had this 32 fl oz glass bottle available for $25. And if you bring the bottle back to get refilled, it will be only $20 for the cold brew. I couldn't pass up a deal on cold brew :).

That's all for now! Happy brewing :).