Is this...a relationship
Coffee Smarter with Chris O'Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting
Is this...a relationship
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Topic: Connecting with your local coffee roaster to enable better at-home brewing.
Guest: Chris O’Brien
Title: Founder & Head Roaster at Coffee Cycle Roasting
Connect: www.coffeecycleroasting.com • @coffeecycleroasting
KEY TAKEAWAYS
This is the last episode featuring Chris O’Brien for a brief stint. Stay connected with Coffee Cycle by buying a bag of beans!
- As a roaster/cafe owner, Chris is thrilled when a customer chooses to buy beans for at-home. The cafe acts as a showcase for his roasted coffee and as a community-building space.
- Creating win-win (win) relationships between the producers, roasters, and consumers is the best case scenario (shoutout Jared at Hacea Coffee Source).
- Coffee is complex. Brewing a coffee doesn’t have to be, but it is a science experiment. If you’re like me, science doesn’t come naturally.
- Don’t be afraid to ask your roaster for recommendations or the barista for the methods they recommend. They’ve spent a lot of time working with the coffee and understanding its properties. They can guide you, but…
- It requires a give and take. You’ll have different equipment, different skills, and different subjective taste preferences. The more you learn about brewing coffee and about your own preferences, the more you’ll be able to skip steps when brewing up a new-to-you coffee.
- What you like is what matters the most, and it is okay that your preferences evolve.
R!WC SONG OF THE WEEK
I almost always have headphones on while I’m drinking my morning coffee. This is my coffee drinking song of the week: “Weird Goodbyes” by The National ft. Bon Iver.
Once, a long, long time ago, Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) and I were religious studies majors at a state school in Wisconsin. He and his band DeYarmond Edison used to play a mix of folky blues-rock at a bar I liked called The Stone’s Throw. They were good. A couple of burned CDs from one of their shows still live in a case under the seat of my car.
I have a memory of us not being able to attend a final exam because I had to work and he had a gig. Our professor (already informed he wouldn’t be receiving tenure) suggested we make it up by having an in-depth discussion over a pitcher of cheap beer.
Justin and I were friendly acquaintances, in that we had a lot of overlapping classes and musical tastes, but after graduation, I didn’t think to reach out again, until a few years later when I heard a new song being played at a poster shop I was wandering around in. The voice sounded familiar, albeit, with a bit more falsetto.
“Who is this?”
“Oh, you don’t know? It’s Bon Iver.”
The kid behind the counter was kind of a pretentious dope, but I just smiled and nodded. I remember going home and turning on my desktop to do a search for the band. For our younger audience, a “desktop” was just a slang way to refer to any at-home computer that would likely sit on a desk.
I found an article describing my old college friend’s new album as a masterpiece, and my first thought was, ”I should go tell that kid to shove-it, cuz I know this guy).
But I didn’t. Instead, I downloaded “For Emma, Forever Ago,” and consumed it in its entirety.* It is still one of my favorite coffee-drinking albums. I sent him a congratulations text I doubt was ever seen, and read a story about his upcoming collaboration with the not-yet-polarizing Kanye West.
Fast-forward nearly 20 years (holy hell) since we chatted at the back of the class, and two of my favorite bands dropped Weird Goodbyes. It is a collaboration that leans on the strengths of both. The National’s off-kilter lyrics, Bon Iver’s trademark falsetto, and their combined appreciation for melancholic moments. It is perfect for a morning cup of coffee, so full of potential, but not yet knowing where it is going.
*It is likely I was using a classic downloading software like Limewire, but I’m not officially admitting to anything.
R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS
R!WC podcasts and newsletters continue to be free because we have some amazing industry partners and supporting listeners.
A huge, on-going thank you to this show’s industry partners. Click these links!
Click these links!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Green Coffee • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Sivitz Roasting Machines • Craft 42 Roasters • Me and My Uncle Coffee Roasters
Are you digging our coffee podcasting and newsletter efforts? Show your support by buying us a cup of coffee. Thanks for listing and all your support.
References:
More about Baratza:
- https://www.oncoffeemakers.com/solis-grinder.html
- https://dailycoffeenews.com/2020/10/02/breville-acquires-us-grinder-maker-baratza-for-60-million/
- https://dailycoffeenews.com/2019/08/09/baratza-founders-reflect-on-20-years-of-redefining-the-grind/
- https://solis.com/int_en/history-solis-of-switzerland
