We're off on a short little vacation to Roche Harbor, on San Juan Island. It is a nice little getaway, last time we did it off peak season and the place was deserted. Now we're here during prime time and it is... not.
Since it is only three or four hours of travel we brought a cooler of food and related, and are renting a small condo. We can cook our own food for breakfast and even lunch and not stress about making it to a restaurant in time.
One major advantage for me is bringing my own coffee, so I roasted up some of the Bolivia Organic Peaberry de Montana, the star of my last order from Sweet Maria’s. Peaberry is just a genetic mutation of the seed of the coffee tree's fruit, it doesn't actually in itself make for a better coffee. Growers know they can get a premium for them, however, so they take extra care in the picking and preparation. That extra care makes them better, reinforcing consumer's idea that they're intrinsically better. Sometimes perception creates reality.
This particular coffee is incredible. Karthik, one of the Messenger team devs, has gotten addicted to it and asked me to roast up a batch for him to take home. As I did that I also roasted up a batch for this little vacation.
We brought my burr grinder to make sure it would be as fresh as possible when brewed. We also used bottled water to avoid San Juan's... mineral tasting tap water (that's being kind). All of this preparation and forethought, and then... flat. Blah. Nothing special. What happened?
I blame the brewer, it is a little automatic drip piece of junk and my money is on it not getting the water hot enough. You need a high enough temperature to extract the coffee oils that the roasting has brought from deep within the bean to the surface (that's why dark roasted coffee looks and feels a little oily). If your brewer isn't at the right temperature range when the water hits the grounds, it won't be able to pull out much of the oils and you'll be left with whatever it is able to get. Flat. Blah. Nothing special.
The upshot is that I need to consider bringing my own brewers on these little getaways, and I will need to order another batch of the Bolivian Peaberry soon. Coffee is a crop and there's no reason for me to believe that the next harvest even from the same farm(s) will produce as nice of a result. Enjoy it while you can.
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