After months of anticipation, 20-50 verbal inquiries per day at their retail outlets, and one tremendously hunty critical essay from Josh Ozersky, today marks the official release of Blue Bottle Coffee’s much-anticipated new book. Titled “The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee“, written by James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman, and Tara Duggan, and published by Ten Speed Press, curious would-be readers can now pick up their copy at any Blue Bottle cafe, or online via a variety of fine book dealers.

Readers can expect all of the following and more!

• Farmer profiles on Lorie Obra (Hawaii) and Aida Battle (El Salvador).
• Coffee growing, cupping, and roasting.
• A whole bunch of brew guides, including ones for Nel Drip, Turkish, and Siphon Pot
• Baked good recipes, including those “perfect for dunking.”
• A classical music dissertation from James Freeman himself.

But it is not enough for one to simply release a book. Good heavens, no – there must be a book tour! Blue Bottle has a pretty neat slate of events coming up, all of which are free, and should be fun, and will likely come with free pastries and stuff, etc. Folks in New York City can join Blue Bottle here:

Monday, October 15: Greenlight Bookstore – 7:30 pm – 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY
Tuesday, October 16: Williams-Sonoma – 6pm – 121 E. 59th Street, New York, NY
Wednesday, October 17th : 92nd Street Y – 7pm – 200 Hudson Street, New York, NY (presented by Edible Selby, with Danny Bowien, Caitlin and James Freeman, Chad Robertson, and Chris Ying).

The post Reading Rainbrew: Blue Bottle’s Book Is Now Available appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Peterman

In 2008, a conversation began on the Coffeed.com message boards about coffee flavor descriptors. It all started with green Jolly Ranchers. One of the most enlightening contributions comes from Jimmy Oneshuk from Saskatoon:

When you think of it, using non-traditional terms can be a great way to make tasting more culturally accessible (and be perceived as less elitist, perhaps?). And certainly this must arouse some curiousity in customers who might not be of your hardcore coffee-taster niche?

On the other side of the coin, I sometimes worry about these descriptions crossing the line into superfluity, and creating a negative reaction in skeptics. I know we can’t please everyone, but especially when you’re in a smallish market, I’d like to limit any negative reactions… oi.

When it comes to descriptive language, there’s a great divide in the industry; some coffee professionals prefer the tried-and-true straight forward “flavor wheel descriptions”, while others have moved more in the direction of color and whimsy. The end result of that latter trend are these completely over-the-top, Carrie Bradshaw/J. Peterman-esque descriptions offered by Blue Bottle Coffee:

Amaro Gayo Natural:

“Like watching at close quarters as your unpredictable grandfather eats profiteroles in his ancient, tobacco-smelling cardigan.”

Amaro Gayo Washed:

Now imagine playing a descending F major arpeggio over several octaves.  Now imagine that, instead of sounds, the piano produces alternating aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, cedar, and maple.

Optional: imagining slippers, the Times’ Style section, grapefruit macaroons, and napping Irish Setters.

Nossa Senhora de Fatima:

Seductive, yet as accommodating of delicate sensibilities as a PG-13 bedroom scene, this may be the only coffee Tipper Gore and Bootsy Collins will ever agree on.

Sidamo SCFCU:

The Sidamo is a punchy, winey, dry-processed, certified organic coffee from Ethiopia which resembles a good non-organic Harrar, if that’s helpful.

These are all examples taken from Blue Bottle’s website. To borrow from Blue Bottle’s style, that 2008 Coffeed discussion has been divorced from Prince Charles, made to do the kangaroo watusi, and turned completely on its dome piece. Your thoughts? Where does the trend go from here?

More Blue Bottle S.O. Descriptions!

The post Blue Bottle: The J. Peterman Of Flavor Descriptors? appeared first on Sprudge.com.