Alistair sent us his latest fresh sheet for the Elysian Room, which includes the Novo coffee I was raving about.

Ethiopian Hache from Novo (roasted Oct 9) - "fruity, wild and elegant. cherries and chocolate" - $3.25 per cup

We’ll be heading by later this morning to check it out :)

Tags: novo, elysian room, sidamo, hache, ethiopia, coffee

Ianiv just celebrated his 27th birthday. Recently, Ianiv started a new job, and for a birthday gift, my mom gave him a Bodum Chambord 3-Cup Coffee Press

Ianiv has been making coffee before leaving for work, around 8 am, for the both of us in our 8-Cup Bodum and taking it in his Thermos Nissan Travel Mug (we both have them now, because they are the best mugs ever).

However, as the afternoon goes on… such early coffee means it runs out earlier. We are both used to our coffee around 11am when I finally pry Ianiv from his email and beg for him to make it. Now, he does it regularly. So, to give him a little jolt at work, he can now brew a second cup all to himself.

Only problem, Ianiv will have to grind and measure his coffee before going to work every day. Oh well ;)

Tags: coffee, bodum, french press, travel mug, mugs

USA Today had an article out yesterday about the caffeine content in decaffeinated coffees. The facts are quite interesting. We all kind of know that decaffeinated coffee does have some caffeine in it - just how much?

The University of Florida published an article in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology about decaffeinated coffee. The researches bought 10 cups of 16oz drip decaf coffee from 9 chain and local coffee houses and tested them on caffeine content.

Research found that Folgers Coffee Crystals was the only decaf with 0 caffeine. Others ranged from 8.6 milligrams to 13.9 milligrams (regular coffee has approx 170 milligrams).

Starbucks in particular was tested. Espresso decaf had 3-15.8 milligrams, while brewed had 12-13.4 milligrams. Interesting variance. Perhaps based on the cleanliness of the machines?

This research was conducted for health reasons, as many people cannot have caffeine due to some medical conditions. Caffeine as low as 10 milligrams can cause effects in sensitive people.

Tags: coffee, decaf, decaffeinated, caffeine, health, science

Last week we were at the Elysian Room and got to taste a new coffee they were sampling, NOVO coffee. Both coffees were made on the Clover.

I tried the Ethiopian (Sidamo, HACHE).

From high in Sidamo where people live longer than in all of Ethiopia, locals wrap themselves in beautiful woven blankets for comfort in the cool mountains. Hache is hours deep on the rough road into Sidamo. Nearby giant waterfalls and cool running rivers enhance the peacefulness of Hache Coop, run by the keenest deep-country accountant we’ve ever met.

It was like a breath of fresh air. We have been drinking the same coffee from Intelligentsia, the Honduras, and I’ve been keen on something new. Ethiopian coffees have always been in my top favorites, and this was no exception. It had such a beautiful soft taste in the mouth and a great finish. I would love more of this one.

Ianiv tried the Sumatra Tawar

From the Lintong and Aceh regions surrounding Lake Tawar, the gigantic and beautiful beans of the Novo Tawar display intense, syrupy, spicy earth flavor and a lengthy, sweet finish.

Flavor Profile: sweet, spicy, fragrant earth

His had a more tart taste, but not really tart. It was just more of a sharp taste than a full bodied one. Had lots of flavor profile to it. Very good as well.

NOVO Coffee is in Denver, and the Brodsky family has been roasting there since 2002. For more, read here.

Tags: novo coffee, coffee, ethiopian coffee, sumatra, tawar, sidamo hache

Vince and Sam Piccolo have sold their Caffe Artigiano chain, for an undisclosed price, to former Earl’s exec Willie Mounzer.

Vince has grown his chain of coffee stores from one in 2000 to 5 in 2006. He is well known for his dedication to the craft of coffee and his brother, Sammy, is the 3 time Canadian Barista Champion.

Vince and Sam still own their new roasting facility, 49th Parallel, and it remains to be seen what next they have planned for the coffee community. It will also be interesting to see what happens to the Artigiano chain and its ability to keep such high coffee standards.

Via Vancouver Sun ; Tags: caffe artigiano, vince piccolo, sam piccolo, vancouver, coffee

Vancouver-based Blenz Coffee has taken over four Vancouver Seattle’s Best Coffee locations - the stores have officially reopened as Blenz locations.

These 4 locations were operated by Whitefish Group, the franchisee of SBC in Canada.

This is an aggressive growth opportunity for Blenz, who competes with SBC in the local retail environment with similar product offerings. These are prime locations and help grow Blenz, which is now introducing more non-coffee beverages as it’s “thing.”

Blenz is less known for it’s drip coffee (probably a good thing), and more known for it’s blended drinks, iced beverages and other alternatives.

Via newswire ; Tags: blenz, seattles best coffee, sbc, vancouver, coffee