We're always on the lookout for improved coffee brewing techniques that enhance the coffee experience. We hadn't found anything better than a manual pour-over using a good ol' Melitta #2 plastic cone. Drip coffee machines were a non-starter as they invariably produced a weak and bland coffee. When we found out that the Technivorm Moccamaster is one of the few coffee makers recognized by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and endorsed by such high-falutin' foodies as Cook's Illustrated, we had to try it out. Wow! The Moccamaster makes some serious coffee, and actually makes a better extraction than our usual manual pour-over! We were stunned by the quality of the brew and are fans of the Technivorm. Mind you, it will set you back $300, but the Moccamaster is hand-built in the Netherlands, is rock solid, and will prepare 40 ounces of superb coffee in about 6 minutes. For a machine that will likely last for years, we think it's worth the cost.

The storefront is open!!

...not much else to say, actually.

What a great start! Crazy Goat Coffee Co. had its first sale at the Capital Artisans Guild show at Sir Robert Borden. Lots of coffee flew off the shelf! Most popular were the Costa Rica Tarrazu and the Cuban Crystal Mountain (in the medium roasts) and ALL the dark roasts were popular. Ottawa likes its bold coffee!!
We learned a lot too, so we'll be offering:

• 1/2 pound bags
• 100g sampler bags
• "Sniffer" containers so people can smell the roasts.

Overall, an amazing kick-off!!

The deed is done! The roaster is finally installed, up to code, and without the admission of carbon monoxide gas that would really put a damper on our little enterprise. But we have to wait 48 hours to let the seals cure properly... I'm not sure I can wait that long...
Many thanks to Ménard Heating and to Gaston in particular for the quality work. If you ever need a roaster installed, Gaston's your man!

Wow! A lot of business cards flew off the shelf at the Capital Artisans Guild show at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School. Seems there's a bunch of people in Orleans interested in locally roasted coffee!

Crazy Goat Coffee Co. will still be at the Capital Artisans Guild craft show at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School this weekend. While we won't have any coffee for sale, we'll still be taking pre-orders for the Jamaican Blue Mountain which we'll only roast on demand. See you at the show Saturday and Sunday. Please bring a donation of cash or food for the Orléans-Cumberland Emergency Food Program.

Mixed bag today. First the good news: the Jamaican Blue Mountain has arrived, along with the Cuban Crystal Mountain and the Guatemala Antigua. That's some killer coffees there. Bad news is the installation of the roaster was a failure. The way we tried to set it up actually drew back the exhaust from the roaster into the house... can you spell carbon monoxide? Not a good idea. So the opening of Crazy Goat is delayed until the roaster can be moved to a new location and installed properly. There won't be any coffee at the Sir Wil market this weekend. Oh well, better safe than pushing up daisies!

This puts a "this is for real" spin on everything. We just received delivery of 150 lbs. of green coffee. We have 5 lbs. each of Brazil Cerrado and Grade A Yemen Mokha, 10 lbs of Panama Boquete and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, 20 lb.s of Sulawesi Kalossi Celebes, Bali Grade A1 "Paradise Valley" and high-grown Nicaragua, and 30 lbs. of Costa Rican Tarrazu and Grade 1 Sumatra Mandehling.
And that's not all, we're still awaiting 20lbs. of Ethiopian Harrar (one of my faves) and 30lbs. each of Guatemala Antigua, and (drum roll) Grade A Cuban Crystal Mountain and top-of-the-line Jamaican Blue Mountain. Yeah, baby! Right in time for the Holidays. The Jamaican will be roasted on demand only as it is really expensive.

The perfect Christmas Blend is a tall order. It must be smooth enough for breakfast drinking, but bold enough for after dinner (or vice versa depeding on your taste). I think it should have nuts, chocolate, spices and fruits all in the same cup. And that's the difficulty: it's tough to get chocolate and spices together, or bold and smooth - bold usually means a tart mouthfeel. So I'm blending like a maniac trying to find something. I recently tried some Nicaragua roasted semi-dark, some Panama roasted really dark and Kenya roasted medium, and it was soooo close... but not quite. *sigh* back to the drawing board.
Photo by Julian Colton

After a long search, Ménard Heating and Cooling will be coming through for us, and connect the gas to the new roaster in 10 days. Surprisingly, some companies didn't want to do the installation...
A bucketful of "Goat Points" to Luc Ménard!