Author: Ashe

Business writer, marketing strategist, and designer in the coffee, tea and alcohol niches.
wine

An Up-Close Look At Californian Vineyards Saving Their Crops

Ashe

It’s more important than ever to keep an ear to the ground. Becoming emotionally detached in this stressful snowball of a year is a helpful short-term reaction, but a devastating long-term one.

This behind-the-scenes peek from Insider News shows the hard — and often desperate — work being put in to protect Californian vineyards from wildfires. Many of these yields aren’t even fully ripe, but it’s either that or risk the entire crop being tainted by smoke and ash. They don’t even need to be on fire to have their flavor changed entirely from all the changes in the air. According to multiple historians, these wildfires could very well be California’s worst in history.

Wine farmers and businessowners are given a rock and a hard place: let the grapes rot and file an insurance claim or try to sell what little they can.

When I visited one of Townshend’s local winetasting events early this year (right before COVID-19 started making waves), I tried some wildfire-tainted wine myself. It’s no minor side-effect: at best it has a smoky tang that drowns out the bottle’s subtle flavor notes. At worst it’s like trying to drink a cigarette. Just one sip and I was coughing. While this was from one experimental barrel surrounded by successful harvests, this video shows just how heartbreaking it is to see months (even years) of love and toil whisked away.

History in the making sounds grand on paper, but it’s usually an exhausting, demoralizing affair. If you’re thinking of buying wine soon, go for the smaller, local businesses. There are some truly stellar brands out there that don’t have grocery wholesale or household names on their side that could use your support.

coffee

Americans Still Love Their Coffee…Just Not In The Same Way

Ashe

America is still a nation that runs on coffee. It’s just mostly at home.

This report from Daily Coffee News pretty much confirms what I’ve been seeing left and right these past several months. Homebrewing has become the cream of the crop, deemed both safer and cheaper in the long run. While cafes aren’t completely out of the picture, they estimated as much as 20% fewer Americans are visiting in-person. Larger roasters with e-commerce or wholesale grocery delivery on their side are also doing much better compared to their smaller peers.

There’s another important detail here, too, that anticipates how things may still change this year. Many Americans still crave sitting at a cafe, which could be good news…and bad news. This pandemic is still in full swing, with some states reporting record highs of hospitalized patients and schools still struggling to stay open for any period of time. How can coffee remain a source of comfort without being a hazard?

I miss cafes, too, but my homebrewing station has filled the gap quite nicely. In some ways? I like it even better. I can craft my drink to personal perfection, save money and enjoy the process at my own pace.

How about you? Have your coffee drinking habits changed in 2020?

alcohol, wine

Upcoming Budget Wine Review Series

Ashe

I’ve been reviewing a lot of decaf coffee lately, but I definitely haven’t forgotten about wine. It’s kind of impossible in these pandemic times.

Just in the past week I’ve been gifted some bottles, supplemented with a few grocery store purchases, and I’m eager to share. That Ava Grace Vineyards rosé was perfect with a bowl of pot roast and I’m already a longtime fan of Dreaming Tree. There is a ton of goodness out there that doesn’t require you break the bank. As such, I’ll be starting a budget wine review series to supplement my decaf coffee review series. Red wine, white wine, blushing wine: all of them at $30 or less.

It’s all about spreading the good word and saving money these days. These reviews will explore flavor notes, aroma, mouthfeel, packaging design, and food pairings. The rare time I step out of my $30 threshold and purchase a more expensive wine I’ll still review the bottle, but separately. If you like wine, or want to get into it, stay tuned. If not, I’ve still got plenty of coffee-related pieces on the way.

olympia coffee header
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Olympia Coffee’s Decaf Asterisk

Ashe

A big reason I write these reviews is because I want to get the good word out. According to HubSpot, a solid 60% of customers find reviews to be either trustworthy or very trustworthy.

What better way to show a business your appreciation aside from your dollar?

You can’t love what you don’t know about, but today’s overwhelming competition can make even that common sense a little tricky. There are so many roasters in this country that, even years working in and around coffee, I’ve only just scratched the surface of American roasters. That includes ones in my own state! This wonderful decaf coffee list on Sprudge clued me into a few local roasteries that haven’t blipped on my radar, including Olympia Coffee. The flavor notes, as well as the packaging design, captured my interest instantly.

What makes Olympia Coffee’s Decaf Asterisk special? We’ll take a look up close at the power word-of-mouth brings. If you haven’t read other entries in my Decaf, Decaf Everywhere series, you can get your start here.

Let’s take a look:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Olympia Coffee’s Decaf Asterisk” →
coffee

Can Freshly Roasted Coffee Be…Too Fresh?

Ashe

Perish the thought! That was my immediate reaction at seeing the title of Sprudge‘s new article, but upon reading it, I’m having…more perishable thoughts.

Freshly roasted coffee is the de facto marketing tactic of today’s Western roasteries. It’s one of the first details mentioned before a plethora of attention grabbers, well before you learn about the unique soil climate of their origin or how the roastery is donating some of their proceeds to a local charity. Freshly roasted coffee tastes better, smells better, and that’s the end of it! …Or is it? This piece has a few thoughts on the matter and they’re all very compelling.

Several roasters have gathered around to discuss the literally delicious elements that build in coffee when it’s allowed to sit for a few days. This is a science, after all, and all that savory, tart, sweet goodness is a result of chemicals that are affected by the complex coffee process. Allowing coffee to ruminate in the bag (craftily designed to let CO2 escape, no less) gives the roasting process time to settle, grow, and change the bean. The roast profile also has a say in this, as dark roasts tend to deteriorate faster. That’s not to say you should let your bag sit in your shelf for months, though.

I usually receive my specialty coffee bags a few days after the printed date, so it’s funny reading this and seeing there might just be a benefit to not having a same-day purchase.

coffee, industry news

Now Roasting, Sip & Sonder Builds Community Through Coffee in Inglewood — Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

Ashe

A two-woman team of attorneys is now arguing on behalf of community, Black culture and fresh, high-quality coffee in Inglewood, California, through their coffee business, Sip & Sonder. After COVID-19…

Now Roasting, Sip & Sonder Builds Community Through Coffee in Inglewood — Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

It’s inspiring reading about small businesses still chugging forward in this economic climate. Sometimes you forget the world doesn’t actually stop turning, you know?

This is a great review from Roast Magazine on a new black woman-owned coffee shop and roastery, one I hope to buy from if they release a decaf bag in the future. They come from a legal background and have a very zesty website filled to the brim with all their goals and inspirations. Check this piece out if you want a little dash of hope to go with your daily doomscrolling. …Seriously. Take a break from social media and get some fresh air.

coffee, signal boosting

Five Fundraisers And New Businesses To Support On National Coffee Day

Ashe

Coffee tastes even better when it’s paired with a good cause. In fact, it’s pretty rare I see a bag, can, or bottle without a supplementary positive.

Eco-friendly initiatives. Paper recycling. Supporting women-owned farms. It’s so common it can be a little overwhelming at times (and according to the commonly cited USDA, these promises can even be unreliable). It helps to go straight to the source by supporting a smaller business with less middleman and smokescreens. People who live close by. People you can see.

We have newly founded black-owned businesses, we have charities, we have fundraisers. Take a look at the list below and put your money toward a good cause:

Continue reading “Five Fundraisers And New Businesses To Support On National Coffee Day” →
wine

Ever Tried Making Wine In An Instant Pot?

Ashe

I recently heard about the Instant Pot coming out with the Instant Pod, meant to compete with Nespresso and Keurig for the instant coffee crowd. Imagine my mingled fascination and disgust at the idea of making wine in one.

Now, I’m not against the idea of quick-and-easy wine inherently. I just won’t get my hopes up for the end result! This was a fun little video to watch: the creator decides to combine the iconic Welch’s grape juice and a little yeast into a (hopefully) wine-like creation, using the instant pot’s varied settings to properly ferment the brew. The results are about what you’d expect, but as far as I’m concerned, this is a great reminder about how much work goes into a wine bottle.

Give this a watch if you’re feeling experimental and want to play around while sheltering in place. Perhaps this could be the next dalgona coffee.

coffee

Need Quick Coffee? The Creators Of The Instant Pot Have A New Product

Ashe

I haven’t used the Keurig since I got my French Press. …Then my pourover. Then my Moka pot.

It was originally a holdover from my roommate, who wasn’t particularly attached to it in the first place (she’s not a huge coffee fan). The instant brewer was useful for a time and gave me some quick coffee in the morning. Just a pour, click, snap: you’re ready to go. Now that I’m neck-deep in homebrewing specialty beans, though, my remaining interest in instant is a jar of coffee crystals on my kitchen counter. Thanks, dalgona!

The instant pot, however, is a much-beloved staple. It can be used for soup, sauces, the works. That’s what caught my eye with the very similarly named Instant Pod, created by the same people and designed to accept both Keurig and Nespresso coffee pods. It also goes for a lower price at $119, which isn’t bad for the time-strapped, budget-conscious coffee drinker. This review dives deep into the ups and downs, with the positives being its flexibility and the downside being an apparently common manufacturing issue.

For me, the meditative nature of making coffee is part of its appeal. Then again, I also work from home and don’t have a strict schedule or commute. What do you look for when choosing a coffee brewer?

galaxy
alcohol, coffee, video

Caffeine And Alcohol Are Wrecking Your Sleep Patterns

Ashe

Caffeine is a drug (yes, a drug) that I’ve dispensed with years ago.

Back in the day I used to drink a triple-shot latte during or after work…and that was before I worked as a barista. I would still be able to sleep just fine afterwards, all hail community college exhaustion, but it was a gamble. Nowadays? Just two cups of decaf coffee without a span of time in-between will be enough to have me jittery. It’s incredible how much has changed. I think my former usual would give me a heart attack now.

Alcohol isn’t all that different. While I love a cold beer or a glass of wine at night, I have to have it early enough for it to leave my system. If I drink it too close prior to laying down my body goes into ‘nap mode’, with no more than three hours in before I’m waking up again. This short TED Talk dives into the science behind why our bodies react the way they do to caffeine and alcohol, from how our REM is affected to just how long caffeine actually stays in your system.

Caffeine and alcohol are great in moderation, but can easily wreak havoc on your health unchecked. I think I’ll skip a day or two this week.