Showing posts with label Klatch Coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Klatch Coffee. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2019

Mea Cuppa Coffeebar




Subject: Mea Cuppa Coffeebar
Location visited: Capitol Market, Charleston, WV
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

Every city needs a good local market. Philly has the Reading Terminal, Seattle has Pike Place and Charleston, West Virginia has the Capitol Market. Located in an old railroad terminal, the Capitol Market has been providing excellent food, produce and general good stuff to West Virginia since the late 1990s.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Mugged: El Salvador Orange Bourbon [Klatch]



Subject: Klatch Coffee
Mugged: El Salvador Orange Bourbon
Rating [see key]: 5+


Continuing from my prior post of Klatch's Kenya Kagumoini are my thoughts on the second coffee sent out, their El Salvador Orange Bourbon. The name constitutes the coffee's original origin off Madagascar (present-day Reunion, onced named Bourbon) and also for this coffee cherry's orange color (you can read more up on Bourbon's here). Designated as a single origin espresso, I was curious to see if the tasting notes on the bag rang true for my infusions that consisted of a pourover, french press and siphon.

The pourover produced a cup with surprisingly little fruit but instead a cup brimming with honey, wheat, granulated sugar, caramel and nougat, all within a smooth and sweet body with practically no bite. Bright but in a surprisingly dessert-ish way.

The french press delivered much more of a complex cup, full of notes of sassafras, wheat, nougat, orange and the tiniest touch of cayenne pepper and sage on the end. A deeper coffee with pleasant range of flavors.

The siphon continued with a complexity and body similar to the french press. The cup sang of Corn Pops, birch beer, raisins, walnuts and caramel, standing as the brightest of the three infusions.

While I was a big fan of the coffee, I really was surprised I didn't uncover nearly as much juice as Klatch and others had spoken of. Nonetheless, if you're looking for a great bourbon coffee, hopefully Klatch will bring back the Orange Bourbon next season.


note: coffee was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Mugged: Kenya Kagumoini [Klatch]



Subject: Klatch Coffee
Mugged: Kenya Kagumoini Mugaga Cooperative
Rating [see key]: 5+


As an ardent fan of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, I found it most excellent (years ago) to find out that San Dimas, CA was home to a highly reputed coffeehouse and roaster named Klatch Coffee. Over the years, while I could never seem to secure an actual visit to the city, I have had interactions with their coffee in other spots (such as Las Vegas, Seattle's 2012 Coffee Fest and at home), all of them quite scrumptious.

Of course, until I can get to the home of the Wyld Stallyns, I shall continue to check out Klatch's coffee from time to time from far away. Most recently, they were generous enough to send out two coffees for review, the first being their Kenya Kagumoini. A coffee coming from the Mugaga Cooperative, grown around 5,249 ft up, I tend to be a lover of East Africa coffees and took this coffee to town via my pourover, french press and siphon.

The pourover produced a cup brimming with rich cocoa, blackberry, wheat, some grapefruit and a little vanilla wafer. A vibrant and bright coffee with a beautiful complexity.

The french press took the brightness up a notch, with heavy smatterings of pineapple balanced with caramel cookie, nutmeg and chocolate milk, overall making it deeper and brighter.

The siphon was more akin to the drip, with notes of cocoa, blackberry, peach, vanilla wafer, Sprite and a little molasses. While the end note was a bit deeper, twas overall a bright and sweet coffee.

Needless to say, this Kenyan coffee was most triumphant in all it touched and would be a great coffee for any breakfast or late night study session at the Circle K. Give Klatch's Kenya Kagumoini a try if you seek a bright, sweet and fruity coffee.

note: coffee was provided free of charge and the above review is objective feedback. note also that I do not apologize for the gratuitous Bill and Ted references, though I am sure such references cause Klatch occasionally to regret their location.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

CC: Sunrise Coffee Co

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What's does "CC" mean?
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Free WiFi ? : yes
Rating:
5+ [
see key]



Las Vegas has a reputation for a lot of things but one of them has not been coffee. As a town that seems to live off of travelers, local places did not seem to take as easily as in other towns. This boded poorly for the prospect of good coffee, as the average coffee drinker is still satisfied with sub-par coffee that the big chains ever so happily pump out.

But in this coffee desert, I managed to find a distant oasis near the airport. I caught wind that Sunrise Coffee happened to serve Klatch Coffee, a superb coffee roaster from San Dimas, and the first chance I found, I made my way over.

I found Sunrise on the corner of a small strip mall in what seemed like a part of town that is just recently developing. Save for a tacky collection of paper back novels, the shop interior held a chic look with a slate wall, lots of interesting art and a overtly pleasing aesthetic.

The coffee was indeed Klatch, with a full rotation of their coffee as well as two espresso blends on hand. I had an espresso of the World's Best Espresso (voted so at the 2007 World Barista Championship) and a drip of their Rainforest Blend. The drip I had a mixed experience with, as my first cup was really stale and thus I asked that when they brewed a fresh pot, if I could have some of that instead, to which they ever so apologetically agreed. Thus my second, much fresher cup of the Rainforest Blend held notes of toffee, pepper, oregano and buttermilk amidst a medium body that didn't win me over yet proved decent (I've never had the blend before but it tasted a bit darker then a medium roast).

The espresso on the other hand was a juggernaut-in-a-cup that garnered my vote to its worldly superiority. The shots were pulled painstakingly well with a marbled crema, all conveying notes of sweet pound cake, white chocolate, a bit of ginger, vanilla and orange; overall, there was a nice bitter/sour balance amidst a staunch sweetness that made the cup shimmer.

The tea was free leaf (they offered bee pollen for your tea too, a sight I have never seen).

Aside from the stale coffee I was first served, I found myself happier then a man winning a hard million off his last quarter. If you make it into Vegas, take a detour from the strip to hit Sunrise Coffee.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Mugged: El Salvador Las Mercedes [Klatch Coffee]

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What does "Mugged" mean?

Subject: Klatch Coffee
Coffees Mugged: El Salvador Las Mercedes
Rating: 5+ [see key]



When I was in LA some months ago, there was a coffee operation in San Dimas called Klatch Coffee (or Coffee Klatch; your call as the website states both) that I had really wanted to stop at but given distance and lack of time, I unfortunately missed out (most heinous).

Yet the opportunity to sample their wares ended up landing on my doorstep with a partially comped order from quality coffee purveyor GoCoffeeGo. To put in my two cents about GoCoffeeGo, they definitely have a great selection, great service and good delivery as the coffee arrived quickly and also directly from the roaster (in this case, Klatch Coffee). Thus, all was swell and the only thing that tore my opinion was that it came straight from the roaster; a great thing for freshness, but a bad thing for shipping/carbon foot print when you order three coffees from different roasters like I ended up doing (usually, the allure of such companies is the one bulk price for all one locale).

Anyway, I ended up picking Klatch's El Salvador Las Mercedes Pepinal 1 Micro Lot, a nice direct trade, lightly roasted coffee that has been Cup of Excellence worthy in past years.

I brewed the coffee in the typical gamut of methods: french press, drip and siphon. The french press produced a sweet coffee with the flavors of
wheat grass, sweet nougat, a little tinge of pomegranate and a bit of lager. The drip provided an also sweet cup with a little more earthiness and more of a wheat taste as well as more of a sweet cherry sauce and a bit more of an oolong-like body. The vacuum press, brewed a little later in the time of my possession (like 4 days out), made a much more of a nougat-ey coffee with only subtle hints of wheat grass and the pomegranate, plus a tinge of sweet wine and noticeable spice cake; a pleasant development.

To encapsulate, the coffee was a grand addition to my daily ingestion and I feel slightly less sad about not getting to visit the cafe of Klatch Coffee when I was in LA (especially since they apparently have the World's Best Espresso Blend).

If you're looking for a grand El Salvador coffee, take the Las Mercedes of Klatch Coffee for a spin.