And, yes,weeven fellhard forCivet, thesmooth, rich
Indonesiancoffeeproduced from fermentedbeansex-
cretedbya furry, catlike jungleanimal that feeds on
delicious, ripe coffee cherries. Noquest canbe tooex-
treme—certainlynot remodelingourkitchens tocreate
acoffeegarage thatkeepsournewestmachineryandac-
coutrements inacustomspace.
This summer, uponhearing that theJapanese
spent $170perpoundona 400-pound lot of thebeans,
we contemplateda trip toTokyo tobeguaranteeda
tasteof theGeisha, a coffeeproducedbyHacienda la
Esmeraldaof Panama—one called, at thatmoment,
thebest in theworld.
Thatwordcame fromOliverStrand,who, ascurator
for
TheNewYorkTimes
’ coffeepage, pens“Ristretto,”
anonlinecolumn thatdetailsevery trend in the java
world.His takeon theGeisha tolduswe’re instore fora
“delicate, layered”brew thatwouldsummonessences
of “honeysuckle, sugarycitruspeels, andwhitepeach.”
Ah,weknewagoodsummerwas instore, particularly
upon learning that severalfine roasters in theUnited
Stateshadscoreda few lotsof theGeisha.
Alas, theEsmeraldaGeishawouldbegonebySep-
tember.Butasanyextraordinarycoffeesupply issea-
sonal,we’rehabituallycourtinganewcoffeeeveryweek
or two.Our insiders’ instinctshavealready takenuson
anentirelynewmission.Bourne-like,weendeavor.
The Scrupulous Palate’s Guide
Whetheryourpassions run tosuperiorbrewedcoffee
orexquisiteespresso, yourpursuitof specialtycoffee
putsyou invaluablecompany. In the$40billiondomestic-
coffeemarket, thespecialty-coffeebusinessclaims$14
billionof that,with independent coffeestores leading
the recent charge.Most tellingare studies showing
that thespecialty-coffeeconsumernowoutnumbers the
wine-drinkingpopulation,
according toStrand.
“Scarcity isdriving the inter-
est in thesmallcoffeeproducers,”
Strandexplains, discussing the
zealwithwhich java loverssnap
up the latest, greatest small-
batchproductions. “Coffee is
becoming thewaywinewas
beforewinebecamesopopular.”
Toprocure theabsolutefinest,
here’swhatbelongsonyour
must list:
Knowyourbeans.
Sample
enoughsingle-origincoffee
beansand, likewineconnois-
seurs,you’ll come toknowgrow-
ing regionsand terroirsyou
preferasyoudevelopastronger
senseof theflavorprofilesbest
suited toyourpalate.Whereas
yourpenchantmay run toCen-
tral andSouthAmerica, you
mightoccasionallyfind thatAfricanorMiddleEastern
producers feedyourneed fora trulymemorablecup.
Belonging toacoffeeclub thatcurates theplanet’sfinest
beans, followingsustainable, fair-tradepractices, sets
youon the right path. ACitizenBeanmembership
provides youapoundofcoffeeeachmonth. $199per
year, citizenbean.com
And it can’thurt to inquireatplacesspecializing in
posh.ColinWalsh, foodandbeveragedirectorat the
RosewoodMansiononTurtleCreek, trainshisstaff to
© ALECOCHIGOUNIS (4)
FALL 2010
celebratedliving.com
74
BEVERAGES
Coffee Confidential
Behind the
scenes of
Stumptown
Coffee Roasters
