September 2006 Archives

Coffee is the greatest beverage ever created. Although beer and whisky come very close, no beverage other than water is more essential to human productivity. Thankfully, the spread of the latte and espresso machine have ended the tyranny of Folgers and weak and crappy coffee in America. Living in Portland, OR, we are especially blessed with an abundance of the best coffee. Even so, we have not met many people who really know (in the biblical sense) the coffee they drink. While many people have their preferred method of preparation, coffee still comes in only two styles for most of us: regular or decaf. Again, Portland has blessed us with amazingly great coffee, so here we tend to think of coffee as either Stumptown or Other, but there are so many varieties that we think it is time to move beyond simply saying "Nice coffee" or "I like this" and dig into the wonderfully wide world of coffee.

The we in this case is Jona Bectolt, Josh Berezin and Jike Berrill (he just wants to fit in). We met at 8:00 am to prepare and discuss coffee before work. Josh went to Stumptown and chose three different kinds.

Holler Mountain Blend: Blend of Indonesian and Latin American coffees.
What we call "The Standard." We could drink this coffee every day. It's not a wild ride; it's more like a train that runs precisely on schedule. A blend is interesting because by being made of several bean types and carefully crafted for flavor it is designed to taste great and balanced. Thankfully for us, we are not attempting to rate these coffees, but rather to sample and explore the differences. The Holler Mountain Blend, being the precisely blended flavor designed to be had day after day and each time give you that satisfying warm rush of soupy coffee sharpness that melts into a caffeine glow over your whole body, works as the perfect base from which we can compare and contrast other unique and special coffees.

Mexico Udepam: With the taste of the Holler Mountain Blend still fading, we sipped the Mexico Udepam. Right away we all agreed this was a much weaker coffee, and it's didn't follow the Holler Mountain well. After a few more sips, erasing the taste of the previous cup, the flavor was better appreciated on its own merits. While we still felt like there was an earthy or dirt-like aspect to the flavor, the overall taste is very mild; it has a sort of diner-coffee like thinness to it. Those of us who are able to sleep at any moment thought this might be a good evening cup of coffee. Like when you have only three more episodes of LOST to watch and it's already 2:21 am.

Ethiopia Harar: The Ethiopia Harar was recommended to us by Stewart Stone, who said "it tastes exactly like crunchberries". The initial aroma from this cup is very unlike any other coffee in that there is a distinct sweetness. It's almost-off putting because it is so unexpected, but after a few tentative sips we all agreed it wanted to try it again. The flavor is like tea and coffee combined and we definitely tasted Stewart's crunchberries in the aftertaste. By far the most distinct of the coffee's we tried, and probably the most fun to share with new people.

After tasting all three coffee's and jotting down a few notes we discussed the various coffee types and also where they were from and how much we collectively love Stumptown Coffee. We mixed the mugs up (they all looked the same) and tried a blind taste test and it was quite easy to distinguish the three. Sure, these are three very different coffees, but in the past it's always been "Oh, is this Stumptown?" but never, "Oh, is this Ethiopian Harar?" It felt like a coffee milestone was crossed.

Everyone has at least one friend that can cook, I mean, really cook: you know, the kind of person who has decoded the mystery of fried tofu, who can slice vegetables with speed and exactitude, and who casually throws around terms like "demi-glaze" and "balsamic reduction." But what good is your good-cook friend if your good-cook can't chuck wood -- err, teach you a little something? For those of you whose culinary colleagues can't explain their methods worth a damn, meet Evan George and Alex Brown, two high-living ex-line cooks who are hellbent on bringing their own blend of beer connoisseurship, luxurious vegetarianism, and jalapeno empowerment to the masses.

They call themselves "Hot Knives," they just happen to be my friends, and they have come to grace Digest with a three-punch of a brunch recipe -- an insane Whiskey-pan jam, BLT breakfast salad, and "inverted" forest mushroom hash.

DIGEST: Hot Knives, If you had a modus operandi, what would it be?

HOT KNIVES: Sharp knives save lives. The more honed your blades are the less likely they are to slip when you’re slicing garlic and end up minus one digit. So the more you cook, the more you need your knives sharp-and the safer you tend to be both on and off the cutting board.