Craft Coffee Blog

Founder Finds: Crispy Asparagus

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:56:24 -0400

Before Mike Horn founded Craft Coffee he started What Is Fresh -
the best online guide to farmers markets in New York City!
He clearly has a love for good things (excellent coffee, fresh veggies and local foods) and fell for these crispy asparagus on his stroll through the Union Square Farmers Market.

Tweet at @mikehorn and chat with him about your favorite recipe with asparagus!

Craft Coffee Crushes: Lottie + Doof

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:06:43 -0400

It won Saveurs Best Food Blog Award this year and is quickly stealing our hearts (.. and our bellies).
We’re talking about Lottie + Doof!

Lottie + Doof has been around since 2008 and have been providing the world with amazing recipes and photos that will make you drool.

Go there and find deliciousness like Rhubarb Fool with Cardamom Cream and Brandy Snaps.
(which is blowing our minds..!)

Lots more incredible recipes can be found at Lottie + Doof. Check it out!

What blogs do you love? Tweet at @craftcoffee and tell us!

Pro-Tip Tuesday: Cool it off

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:55:26 -0400

Today’s pro-tip is by our lovely coffee evaluator Alex Bernson.

Taste your coffee at different temperatures

Here’s a real simple way to learn a lot more about a coffee: try drinking it at cooler temperatures than you normally would.

It is easiest for us to taste things when they are near our body temperature, and harder when they are too hot or cold. This is why bad beer is served ice cold, and truck-stop coffee piping hot.

If you let your cup of coffee cool, you’ll notice that the acidity—the lively high notes in the experience—will open up and become more distinct. You may also notice more sweetness as it cools.

In general, the better a coffee is, the wider its range of enjoyable temperatures.

Be sure to tweet your thoughts at Alex @alexbernson!

If You Leave Me Now...

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:47:31 -0400

Today we’re saying goodbye to our good friends Detour, Novo and Panther after many good times enjoying notes of brown sugar and coconut, passionfruit and grapefruit acidity and flavors of pears and barley malt.

But we’re packing lots of great stuff in boxes this weekend, so get excited
- new Craft Coffee is on it’s way!

Founder Finds: People's Pops

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:52:08 -0400

It’s time for Craft Coffee’s founder, Mike Horn, to show some of the things that he loves:

“I am obsessed with People’s Pops. I eat them before my lunch and after. Preferably the blueberry ones. I actually love People’s Pops so much that I will be serving them at my wedding this summer! If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.”

Tweet at Craft Coffee’s founder @mikehorn if you love People’s Pops too!

Craft Coffee Crushes: My Daily Coffee

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:07:48 -0400

How can we not crush on Mike White?

Every day he enjoys an espresso at one of the amazing cafes in NYC. Then he posts a picture of his cup. It’s kind of like a coffee diary…
Besides seeing how the espressos sticks to the cup we love looking at the cups themselves. We love to imagine what the cafe looks like, who’s there, what kind of conversations people are having, the music. We can imagine ourselves being there.
We could be anywhere, really…

Thanks for giving us a peak into your day, Mike!
Be sure to check out his blog My Daily Coffee.

Pro-Tip Tuesday: Quality Assurance

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:54:52 -0400

Some of you may have heard that one of the coffees in the May Box is from Kuma Coffee.

Mark Barany from Kuma just send us this photo from Seattle.
He cupped all the batches of roasted coffee that are going in the Craft Coffee boxes to make sure that the quality of your coffee is top notch.

Mmm… doesn’t that look delicious? It doesn’t get more fresh than this!
Tweet your comments at @northwestmark and @kumacoffee!

Music Monday: May Box Spoiler Alert!

Mon, 14 May 2012 10:57:14 -0400

Warning warning, spoiler alert!
You are about to get a special sneak peak of the coffees you’ll get in the May box.
If you are a subscriber you can look forward to a delicious Indonesian coffee from Seattle based roaster Kuma Coffee.
Head roaster Mark Barany has created this week’s Music Monday playlist!
Enjoy some sweet Kuma Coffee tunes and remember to say hi to Mark @kumacoffee!

1. Beastie Boys – Sabotage
2. Death Cab for Cutie – Bixby Canyon Bridge
3. Fun. – We are young
4. Harvey Danger – Sad sweetheart of the Rodeo
5. Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

Thanks!
Remember you can also find this playlist on Spotify. Just follow this link:
Craft Coffee Soundtrack

Can You Guess?

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:54:41 -0400

Can you guess how many samples there are in this crate?
We are so busy at the moment and need more coffee evaluators to help us find insanely good coffee.
Know someone in NYC? Send them our way!

Win a Last Minute Mother's Day Gift!!

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:01:40 -0400

HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A MOTHER’S DAY GIFT!!

Alexis Ohanian (@kn0thing), founder of Reddit, is our super fan and he’s giving you a chance to make Mom really happy - why not try to win?

“Moms FTW! bit.ly/KFg3yh I’ll buy someone’s Mom 3mo sub for best tweet why she deserves it -cc @craftcoffee who’ll judge next 24hrs”

Tweet at @kn0thing with your best shot!

Craft Coffee Crushes: How Sweet It Is

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:57:03 -0400

Some of us at Craft Coffee have been following Jessica and her blog How Sweet It Is for a long long time.

It’s the perfect blog if you are looking for amazing recipes for any occasion..
Mondays, rainy days, sunny days, good days, sweet days, fatty days.. Sometimes I just go there for the witty writing about husbands and cakes exploding in the oven.

But yesterday, I was there for this:
Photo: How Sweet It Is

Mini Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Pound Cakes - Does it get any better than that??

Pro-Tip Tuesday: Rwandan Roasts

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:18:12 -0400

Today’s Pro-Tip is written by Alex Bernson, one of the Craft Coffee evaluators. Rwandas land on our cupping table from time to time and we’re excited to see more and more good stuff show up. Here’s why:

If you’ve been receiving a Craft Coffee box for the last couple
months, or have the fortunate ability to get coffee from multiple
great coffee roasters where you live, then you may have noticed some
special things coming out of Rwanda. All sorts of different roasters
have recently been offering beautifully clean and complex Rwanda
coffees bursting with flavors of bright citrus, sweet caramel and
savory tea. In our April box we featured Detour Coffee Roasters’
Rwanda Buf Cafe, and in March we featured Augie’s Rwanda Kivu. Both
are lovely coffees, but the Detour Buf Cafe is particularly
interesting because there are a ton of different roasters who have

bought this cooperative’s coffee. Each roaster brings a differentstyle and perspective to making these Rwandan coffees shine. Irecently tried a Rwanda that was roasted a little darkerto emphasize the caramel and tea flavors over the citrus flavors. If youhave the chance, try a Rwandan coffee, especially the Buf Cafe, frommultiple roasters and see what differences you can notice!

Thanks, Alex (@alexbernson)

To all you coffee lovers out there: What’s your experience with Rwandan coffees? Especially the ones from previous Craft Coffee boxes.

Tweet @craftcoffee #craftcoffeetuesdays and let us know!

Music Monday: Craft Coffee Team

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:45:00 -0400

Today’s playlist is put together by Emma who is the marketing intern at Craft Coffee (if you tweet at Craft Coffee you’re probably talking with her). Emma moved from Denmark to New York last summer, but she already has a lot of American favorites.

Enjoy the soundtrack of the week!

Chiddy Bang - Ray Charles (This song can instantly make me smile. So much joy)
Trentemøller - Moan (Trentemøller is a Danish DJ. His songs are perfect for when you walk down the street with a confident stride)
Wiz Khalifa - Black and Yellow (Wiz Khalifa’s album reminds me of when I first moved to New York. Brings back memories)
Medina - For Altid (I’m Danish, so it would be weird if there wasn’t a song in Danish in here right? Medina is actually filming a music video in New York as we speak)
Robyn - Get Myself Together (Wow, I just realized how much scandinavian music I still listen to!)

Thanks, Emma.
Be sure to tweet at her @craftcoffee

Tweets of the Week

Fri, 04 May 2012 09:54:58 -0400

It’s Friday and we want to say thanks for these awesome tweets of the week!

@initiogroup

Just received some love from @craftcoffee. A little sunshine on a grey morning. Thanks (at @growlabs) [pic] — path.com/p/4eMAp

@nleach

@craftcoffee If you send me a branded sock, I’ll blog all about my sock-brewing endeavors!

@deanandbek

Everybody should believe in something. I believe I’ll have another #coffee. @revolver_coffee ‏ @craftcoffee @ZonaRosaCoffee Have a nice day!

@harmonsamantha

@craftcoffee that’s the joy of brewing it can be as simple, as artful or as complicated as you desire. its ur cup. #craftcoffeetuesday

Enjoy your weekend, guys!

Craft Coffee Crushes: Orangette

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:31:31 -0400

Stumbled upon another amazing blog that you’ll all like - Orangette.
Molly, who writes the blog, is pregnant with a little girl and knowing this only makes our hearts pump even harder! Can’t wait to see how fast the little one is going to learn how to take amazing photos and bake delicious cakes.

..like this one:

Mmm… Rye Crumble Bar with Jam

Congrats on everything, Molly. Keep shooting and baking, so we can keep drooling on our keyboards!

Pro-Tip Tuesday: Imbibe Magazine keeps it simple!

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:54:31 -0400

We borrowed today’s Pro-Tip from one of our favorite magazines: “Imbibe”!
In this months issue (May/June 2012), coffee pros are talking about coffee-do’s and we want to share one of the tips with you:

”In all honesty, brewing delicious coffee can be as simple as you want it to be,” says Pete Licata, 2011 U.S. Barista Champion and partner in Hawaii’s Isla Coffee. While going out and finding new, dazzling funky-shaped or vintage styled coffee equipment can be a fun way to drop a few dollars, if you’ve already got the basics, it’s not necessary. “A lot of coffee pros will tell you to go get a special water kettle and some sort of expensive imported dripper that you have to use,”he says. “Instead, I love asking people what they have in their kitchen and suggesting ways they can make coffee with what they’ve got. If all you have is a campfire, a metal post, a sock (preferably clean) and a hammer you can still make tasty coffee as long as you know what to do with those things.” And the most important thing to have on hand? Good beans are the ultimate key to a great cup, says Licata. Focus your energy and bucks on buying great beans and brewing them the best you can on the equipment you have, and that will make your morning as enjoyable as your brew.

Do you agree?
Tweet your thoughts @craftcoffee #craftcoffeetuesdays and start the conversation.

Thanks, Imbibe!

Music Monday: Novo Coffee

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:24:01 -0400

Today’s Music Monday Playlist is put together by Jake Brodsky, the co-founder of the amazing Novo Coffee!

Here goes!

Spearhead - Say Hey

Bad Weather California - I’ll Reach Out My Hand

Manu Chao - Desaparecido

Public Enemy - Bring the Noise

Boogie Down Productions - Criminal Minded

Tell Jake what you think of his playlist: tweet @NovoCoffee and @CraftCoffee!

Thanks, Jake!

You can find these tracks on the Craft Coffee Spotify playlist. Get the playlist here.

Mama, I Love You

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:45:00 -0400

They’re telling us what to do, what we can’t do and what we should do - even as adults.
But when life gets interesting, she is always the first person we want to call.
Mom.

Thinking back, I remember how I would pull my mom into my room at put the Spice Girls cd on full volume as a declaration of my love for her (yes, I’m a 90’s child.. and yes, I had the plateau boots and neon pants).

“Mama, I Love You” played as loud as my speakers would allow and I would hug my mom so tight that she couldn’t breathe.

This year, I can’t give her my Spice Girls hug, so I found the next best thing for Mother’s Day. What is your mom getting?
Check out our special Mother’s Day gifts at craftcoffee.com/mom

Tweet us a picture of you and your mom @craftcoffee or upload it to our facebook page.

Earth Week

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:45:32 -0400

Hey all!
It’s Earth Week and Craft Coffee is celebrating.
Last weekend we went to a showing of Planet Earth right on the East River.
It was a cold Saturday night, but it was all worth it!

Watch these kids narrate Planet Earth! Trust me - it’s hilarious!

What did you do to celebrate Earth Week (or wish you did)?
Tell us @craftcoffee or comment on our facebook page!

Craft Coffee Crushes

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:02:58 -0400

When you’re in the food/drink/life is awesome so enjoy it-business you stumble over amazing photos, articles and blogs constantly. And sometimes, something extraordinary pops up.
This week the Craft Coffee team fell in love with Smitten Kitchen.

We’re already crazy about these delicious cinnamon brown butter breakfast puffs!

Photo: Smitten Kitchen

Just amazing. Check it out!