Holiday Giving

This holiday season, we will be sending 5% of proceeds from December coffee orders to The ApParent Project. AP is a non-profit in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti that creates employment for the impoverished  especially for parents who are trying to provide for their families. The founders are family friends of ours, and we are excited to support this cause!

Introducing Our 2013 Holiday Blend!

We are happy to announce our new 2013 Holiday Blend!

Description: A perfect pairing for your holiday treats, this wintry organic blend is sure to warm you up with flavors of caramel, cinnamon spice, orange peel, and molasses.

Get this exclusive blend while you can! 2013's Holiday Blend is only available now through December 31st. Shop voyagecoffee.com now and don't forget to take advantage of our Black Friday sale this weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Black Friday Sale!

The holidays are upon us, and Voyage has lots in store for you this year! Shop voyagecoffee.com Black Friday-Cyber Monday and get great deals on gift certificates, subscriptions, and coffee. (Including our Limited Edition 2013 Holiday Blend. We'll be releasing details about the blend in the next week so stay tuned!)

Be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and this blog for more holiday news! In the meantime, you can get some great gift ideas from our Coffee Gift Guide.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

Now that fall is here, I've been devouring all things pumpkin! We've been making muffins and crisps like crazy. This week, I finally found the time to try making homemade pumpkin spice lattes. 

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
4 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Directions: 

Heat water in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Once it's warm, dissolve the brown sugar. Whisk in the pumpkin, spices and vanilla. (I made mine really spicy, you could cut back on the spices if you want.)
Pour it the mixture through a fine strainer to get the lumps out.

Now you have a syrup you can add to any kind of coffee!

Sprinkling a little extra pumpkin pie spice hid my lack of latte art skills!

Before stirring in the syrup. 

Fall Cupping Session

Hello internet! It's been awhile since we've blogged. I hope you're all having a great fall and drinking lots of coffee!

We had a cupping this past weekend. We had six varieties to sample this time, including a decaf, and new batch of the same Mexican coffee we already carry. Even coffee from the exact same farm and can taste different crop to crop, so we needed to make sure the taste was roughly the same. 

If you're unfamiliar with cupping and the process, you can read some of our past posts about cupping: 

December Cupping

We Keep On Cupping

One More Cupping

My cupping sheet

Brazil Organic Fancy - Nossa Senhora de Fatima Estate:

The fragrance brings to mind almonds, pretzels and rum with hints of smokiness. Dark chocolate and nut flavors are present, with very low acidity.

Mexico FTO Bird Friendly SHG EP - Swiss Water Decaf:

Muted peppery fragrance, followed by low acidity, classic Mexican chocolate and nut flavors. Very similar to our other Mexico.

Mexico FTO SHG EP - Union Ramal Santa Cruz:

(This is the same Mexico we offer now.) Almond and pepper aroma, nutty cocoa flavors with a slight tanginess and mild sweetness. Very little difference from last year’s batch, also similar to the decaf we cupped above.

Burundi FW AA – Rutana:

Smells like a garden. Very earthy, brings to mind squash, mind flavor, low-medium body.

Brazil Standard FC Peaberry Natural - São Pedro Estate:

Sweet jasmine notes in the fragrance, sourdough bread and chocolate flavors with a hint of spice, and a low-med body. Very mellow. 

Panama SHB EP - La Gloria Estate:

Vanilla, almond and anise aroma. Creamy, low acidity with cocoa butter flavors. Reminiscent of our Kenya Peaberry. 

After tasting all of them, we settled on stocking up on the Mexico, the Decaf, and some of the Panama to work into future blends. 

What coffees sound the best to you? Have you ever done a cupping?

-Jessamyn

at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Summer Coffee Treats

We've been trying and sharing a variety of great summer coffee treats on Pinterest and Facebook. As the summer starts drawing to a close, I thought I would collect the best ones we've tried (and have yet to try) in one place.

• Cold brew your coffee. This is becoming my favorite way to make iced coffee. It's really simple to do and you don't need any brewing equipment. I've been using these instructions. (And did you know it's actually better when the beans have had two weeks to degas? A great way to use up almost-stale beans!) 
• Sweeten while you brew. We just tried out this brown sugar cold brew recipe from The Velvet Bird and it was delish!
• Try freezing your own coffee cubes so your coffee doesn't get diluted as the ice melts. You could make milk or cream cubes too, and even add sweetener if you want!
• Add some spice with cinnamon or nutmeg. 
• Flavor your coffee without all that sugar syrup: add a splash of vanilla or almond extract. 
• Top it off with some whipped cream. (Great on hot coffee too!)
• Mix up the milks: try some dairy alternatives: coconut, almond, soy, or hazelnut. Vietnamese coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk. 
• Blend your iced coffee and end up with a refreshing frappe! (My favorite add-in is Nutella!)
• Mix in some tea. Why not an iced "dirty chai"?
• Freeze some of your leftover coffee as ice pops. 
• Pour your coffee over ice cream to make Affogato. 
• Make coffee ice cream or frozen yogurt.

For even more ideas, see our Iced Coffee Recipe board on Pinterest. (Coffee Ice Creams and Popsicles here.)

Questions? Have any great iced coffee ideas to share? Leave a comment below!

Stay cool!
-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

The Daily Grind

I'm not sure what the Men in Black interns were doing wrong to make the coffee taste like dirt, but grinding it the same morning probably wasn't the mistake!

Some of the most common questions we get are about grind. A lot of people don't realize how much difference it can make. 

No one wants their coffee to taste stale, weak or bitter, so it's important to make sure of three things:

1. Fresh Grind.
2. Correct Grind.
3. Consistent Grind.

Fresh Grind: 
The first step is to make sure to use your coffee within two weeks of its roast date. Once it passes that two week mark, it's going to start tasting stale. If you're buying pre-ground, shelf life is going to be a lot shorter. For ideal results, coffee should be ground immediately before it's brewed. Another tip for freshness is to make sure you're keeping your grinder clean. Old grounds stuck in the machine can make your whole cup taste stale.

Correct Grind:
It's important to make sure that you're using the right grind for your brewing method. Those so called "universal grinds" that some companies offer are not truly going to work for every brewing method. Examples of the right grinds for some popular methods: French press should be coarse, drip should be medium, and espresso should be quite fine. Start by checking the manual for your grinder to see recommended settings, then continue to fine tune if necessary. Most high-quality grinders have precision settings you can adjust. The bottom line is, if you try to make espresso with a coarse grind, you'll get weak espresso, if you make drip with a super-fine grind, it will be bitter, and so on.

I was going to snap some pictures of different grinds to include, but I found this article from ineedcoffee.com that has great photos.

Consistent Grind:
Consistency is especially important for methods that include pushing water through the grounds with pressure, such as espresso. There's no way to get a completely consistent grind if you're using a blade grinder, we always recommend using a burr grinder instead. Using a blade grinder is kind of like a food processor: you have to keep grinding until the beans are as fine as you want. You end up with grinds that aren't uniform. Burr grinders, on the other hand, can be set to the grind you want from the start, and will grind evenly and precisely.

If you're in the market for an excellent conical burr grinder, we love our Baratza grinders and sell their Preciso and Encore models on our online store.

Questions about grinding or grinders? Leave a comment below!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

Happy National Cheesecake Day! 

I made a chocolate espresso cheesecake this weekend, (turns out that was National Coffee Milkshake Day, so I guess my timing's a little off) so I thought I would share the recipe. 

Holiday or not, the important thing (or "the 'portant thing" as my little brother would say) is that I made some really yummy cheesecakes. 

I used this recipe from Epicurious, but with some modifications and a different crust. I find that graham cracker crusts are usually soggy, so I use a fusion of a nut crust that my grandma makes for a frozen fruit dessert, and a regular graham cracker crust. Here is my modified version:

Chocolate Espresso Swirl Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust1/2 cup (1 stick)  butter, melted
1 package graham crackers
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts (or pecans)

Filling
2 double shots of espresso
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar (I cut down on the sugar a little.)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli 60% Cacao chips.)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Crust:

Break up the graham crackers. Put all crust ingredients in food processor. Process until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are well combined. Divide the crust between two 9-inch diameter springform pans. Press the crumbs on the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of each pan. Bake the crusts for 10-15 minutes, until they are light golden brown. (This helps keep the crust from getting soggy.)

Chocolate Ganache:

Heat the cream in a double boiler over low-medium heat. (We don't have a double boiler, so I use a metal or ovensafe glass bowl over a small pot.) Add the chocolate chips, stir occasionally until they are all melted. While the chocolate is melting, you can work on mixing the filling. 

Filling:

Using an electric mixer, (A Kitchenaid is great if you have one.) beat the cream cheese on high until VERY smooth and fluffy. (I beat it for at least five minutes.) Add the sugar and continue beating. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the espresso, vanilla, and the melted butter. (If we have it around, I usually throw in an spoonful of instant espresso powder for extra coffee flavor! Also note that if you add the ground coffee that the original recommends, you end up with a gritty cheescake.)

Split the filling between the two crusts. (The original recipe has you put it all in one, but it always overflows when I do that. Cheesecake burning on the bottom of the oven = not good.)  Drop several spoonfuls of melted chocolate mixture around on top of the filling, spacing it fairly evenly. Use a chopstick (a sharp knife works too) to swirl the chocolate into the filling. (I like to make mine look like latte art.)

I forgot to take any pictures this time, but here's a pre-baking Instagram picture from last time I made these. 

Bake the cheesecakes until edges are puffed and beginning to crack and top is golden brown, around 25-30 minutes (center will not be set). Cool on a rack. Chill for several hours or overnight. (Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of serving.)

Enjoy!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

New Coffee Feature: Organic Ethiopia Sidamo

Hello coffee lovers!

Today's post is the last in a series of four about our newest coffees. Last but not least, this post is about our Organic Ethiopia Sidamo Suko Quto. 

The Beans:

This Organic offering is grown in volcanic soil that's maintained with organic recycling. The farm is above 1600 meters in the Oriomia region of Ethiopia. It's a Grade 2 coffee, and it's processed using the Washed Process. 

The Taste:

From our cupping notes: A muted fragrance followed by lemony, black tea notes, a hint of sweetness, and a light-medium body. 

From Olam's (our green coffee importer) cupping notes: very nice sweet, lemon, floral notes

Featured in:
Safari Blend, Tempest Blend

Buy Organic Ethiopia Sidamo

Questions or comments about this coffee? Leave a comment below!

New Coffee Feature: FTO Mexico Santa Cruz

Hello coffee lovers!

Here is our 3rd post about our new coffees. Today we're talking about the Fair Trade Organic Mexico Union Ramal Santa Cruz. (Quite a mouthful, isn't it?)

The Beans:

This Fair Trade Organic coffee comes from the town Ramal Santa Cruz, in the Chiapas region of Mexico. 

It is Strictly High Grown, meaning it’s cultivated above 1200 meters. High altitude coffee beans are hard and dense, generally producing a better cup of coffee. Like all of our beans, these are Arabica. The coffee "cherries" are processed with the Washed method. They are also hand sorted after their initial grading, a method known as Euro Prep. 

The Taste:

From our cupping notes: features a sweet almond scent, followed by sweet dark chocolate, tart wine-like flavors and a mellow aftertaste. Medium body.  

From Olam's (our green coffee importer) cupping notes: nice body, big dark chocolate, sweet.

Featured in:
Safari Blend, Tempest Blend, Organic Odyssey Espresso Blend

Buy FTO Mexico Santa Cruz

Questions or comments about this coffee? Leave a comment below!

New Coffee Feature: Kenya Peaberry Nyeri Gatina

Hello coffee lovers!

Here is Part 2 in a series of posts about our new coffees. Next up is the Kenya Peaberry Nyeri Gatina.  

The Beans:

Two seeds grow facing each other in most coffee cherries, causing one side of each bean to be flat. Occasionally, only one seed grows. The rounder bean that results is called a peaberry. Read more about Peaberry beans here.These are also Arabica variety beans. 

One of our round peaberry beans, Vienna-roasted. 

The Taste:

From our cupping notes: While sharing some characteristics of our Kenya Karatina, such as orange and caramel flavors, this coffee has a unique buttery-ness. Smooth and sweet, but with a little bit of tanginess. It has a wonderfully full body and excellent mouthfeel.

From Olam's (Our green coffee importer) cupping notes: sweet and sour citric and red fruit notes.

Featured in:
Safari Blend, Tempest Blend

Buy Kenya Peaberry Nyeri Gatina

Questions about this coffee? Leave a comment below!

New Coffee Feature: Organic Indonesia Sumatra

Hi coffee drinkers!

I'm excited to be getting this series of posts introducing our new coffees underway. I've decided to start with the Organic Indonesia Sumatra Grade 1. Honestly, it's my favorite of our new coffees, especially as a single origin. It's so smooth and chocolaty that it tastes like a mocha without adding anything! 

The Beans:

These beans come (obviously) from Sumatra, an island in Indonesia. They are grown organically, and processed using the wet process. Coffee is often graded based on defects, size, taste, etc and this coffee is a Grade 1, the highest grade. As with our other coffees, these are Arabica beans. I've noticed that these beans are longer and darker in color than most of our other varieties.

Olam, the importer we get our green coffee from, has this great graphic showing the processing. 

The Taste:

From our cupping notes: The distinct, sharp fragrance of this organic coffee has notes of fruit, especially blueberry. Spice, dark chocolate, and vanilla flavors give this coffee a very mocha-ish feeling. Complex but still smooth and chocolaty, the low acidity and full body make this a delicious coffee.

From Olam's cupping notes:, dry earth, red berry, sweet, big body

Featured in:
Organic Odyssey Espresso Blend, Tempest Blend

Buy Organic Indonesia Sumatra

Questions about this coffee? Leave a comment below!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Giveaway Winner Annoucement

We have a winner (with help from Random.org.)

Congratulations to Kelly S., winner of our Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who participated. Don't forget to get your order in by tonight if you need coffee before Valentine's Day and check out our Pinterest board for recipe, craft and gift ideas.

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Valentine's Day Giveaway

Announcing our first ever Coffee Giveaway! 

Valentine's Day is right around the corner we want to share the coffee love by giving away some yummy beans.

One lucky winner will receive a 12oz bag of our much-loved Safari Blend. Drink it yourself, share it with someone you love, or use it try out some recipes and crafts like the ideas we've collected on our Valentine's Day Pinterest board. 

Here's how to enter:

1. "Like" our page on Facebook. (If you're already a fan, proceed to step 2.)

2. Leave a comment on this blog post. 
You have two choices: Either tell us why you LOVE coffee, or share your own coffee-related delectable dessert or creative craft idea for Valentine's Day.  Please leave your email address in the comment as well, so we can contact you if you win. 

Open to US residents only. 

One winner will be randomly selected and announced on Feburary 8th. 

Looking for a great Valentine's Day gift? Check out our guide to giving gifts to coffee lovers. 


-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Virtual Gift Cards

Did you know that you can send virtual Voyage Coffee gift cards? Square, which we use for credit card payments, now has a gift card feature. 

Square has easy-to-follow directions on their website. Just search for "Voyage Coffee Roasters" in the app to find us. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, they even explain how to use the gift cards if you don't have a smartphone. 

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

One More Cupping

We had (hopefully) our final cupping before we order more beans. We're excited about some of the coffees we got to try out this time. 

Here are the tasting notes:

Guatemala Huehuetenango Pierda Azul: This coffee has a molasses scent with hints of earthiness. Flavors of buttery caramel and orange come through. Its low acidity and hint of sweetness finish with a pleasant walnut aftertaste.  

Guatemala Finca La Bolsa La Huerta: Less fragrant and more acidic than the similar Guatemala above, it features a spicy aroma. Pecan, lemon, black tea, and earth are the primary flavors.  

Mexico FTO Ramal Santa Cruz: Smells like sweet almonds, followed by some sweetness, chocolate and tart wine-like flavors and a mellow aftertaste. Medium body.  

Indonesia FTO Sumatra Grade 1: The distinct, sharp fragrance of this coffee has notes of fruit, especially blueberry. Spice, dark chocolate, mocha, and vanilla flavors. Complex but still smooth and chocolaty, the low acidity and full body make this a delicious coffee. 

As we look at ordering, we should end up with quite a good selection, including coffee from South America, Africa and the Far East. We've sampled coffees with a lot of different labels and certifications: Peaberry, Strictly Hard Bean, Strictly High Grown, Euro Prep, Fair Trade, Organic, Rain Forest Alliance. For a lot of the coffees, there is even information available about the farms, their owners and processes. When we have our new coffees, we'll be posting about each one! 

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Your Coffee Gift Guide

We get a lot of people who want to buy coffee for gifts. Whether it's for family members, friends, coworkers, teachers, or neighbors, everyone loves great coffee! A lot of people aren't sure what to get when they buy coffee for other people, so we've put together a list of ideas.

We added mini gift bows to some of the bags we gave as Christmas presents. 

We've got gift recommendations for any situation: 

Safari Blend: we’ve never met someone who didn't like Safari, and that’s why it’s our top gift choice!

Organic Peru Swiss Water Decaf: for those that prefer to go without the caffeine, our Swiss Water Process Decaf is perfect. (It’s Organic too!)

Gift Certificate: You really can't go wrong with a gift certificate for great coffee. Available in $10, $25 or $50 increments. Virtual gift cards are also available through the Square Wallet App. 

Subscriptions: give a gift that keeps on giving! Choose from several subscription frequency and length options. We handpick and feature a different delicious coffee variety each month.

Favor Bags: We offer 2oz sample-size bags (the perfect amount for a pot of drip) that are great for party/wedding favors, Valentines, or stocking stuffers. 

Tiny 2oz Bags

Grinders: For the serious coffee lovers in your life. We offer two of Baratza's burr-grinders. 

A few other things to keep in mind when buying gifts:

Freshness: coffee stays fresh for 1-2 weeks. 

Grind: Also for freshness, it’s best to grind coffee right before use, so order whole bean if possible. If you’re not sure the recipient has a grinder, drip grind is usually a safe bet.

Roast: Most people are used to drinking a Vienna (Dark) or French roast.

Questions about gifts? 
We’d love to help you out! Just comment or send an email to info@voyagecoffee.com.

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

We Keep on Cupping

We're continuing our search for delicious organic beans. Because coffee is a constantly changing commodity, our offerings will change every several months. We really love the coffees we have right now, so we're looking hard for coffees with the same flavors. 

Here are notes from our most recent samples:

Costa Rica Organic Lomas Al Rio: A rich coffee with flavors of cocoa, caramel, and nuts, a smooth aftertaste and med-full body. 

Honduras Fair Trade Organic COCAFELOL: This coffee starts with a sharp and spicy aroma. Overall a simple coffee with notes of earth, chocolate, and nutmeg. 

Uganda Natural Bukonzo Organic: Features an exotic, woody and floral aroma. Sweet, syrupy blueberry and strawberry jam flavors. 

Ethiopia Certified Organic Fair Trade Harrar Gr. 4: Similar to other Ethiopian coffees we've tasted. The fragrance is both tangy and sweet. Dark chocolate and dried fruit come to mind, especially blueberry at cooling, light acidity, minimal sweetness and a medium body. 

Ethiopia Organic Sidamo Grade 2 Suke Quto:
A muted fragrance followed by lemony, black tea notes, a hint of sweetness, and a light-medium body. A good flavor match for our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. 

Papua New Guinea Organic A/X Yha Hauka Kopi:
Low complexity, spicy and slightly smoky aroma, earth and wood flavors, nice aftertaste. 

Ethiopia RFO Limmu G2 Kaffa Forest Estate:
Featuring an almond and vanilla fragrance, followed by flavors of caramel, honey, hibiscus and lemon. A bright coffee. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts on coffee flavor: 

What are your favorite flavors in coffee? Do you go for fruity? Floral? Chocolatey? Caramel? Do you tend to stick with coffee from one part of the world? What's the best type of coffee you've ever had? Leave a comment below!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters