The specialty coffee market seems like it might be on the verge of a massive consolidation period. “Continued independence” is often touted in press releases for these sorts of things, but not always delivered, so we’ll just have to see.
As if I needed another reason and way to enjoy coffee, Sprudge goes out and discovers this incredible sounding iced coffee lemonade. Thankfully, staff writer Anna Brones, did our dirty work for us by working out a recipe for the heir to the iced tea lemonade throne.
Since consuming this drink, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. So I did what any rational person would do: I made my own version. While the original wasn’t fizzy, I do like the extra kick of tonic water, but you can also make it without. And for some extra lemon action, I made the simple syrup infused with lemon zest. You can also get extra fancy and use coffee ice cubes. Because, coffee ice cubes. Enough said.
New summer standard, no question.
Sprudge, as part of their Build-Outs of Summer series, profiles Gray Squirrel Coffee in Carrboro, NC:
At just 250 square feet, this space is small, but like the squirrel species, it contains multitudes. Top-of-the-line gear? This place boasts kit you’d be impressed by in a shop 5 times its size. An interesting hook? This coffee bar exists inside a hip local brewery. The team at Gray Squirrel have created something that punches above its weight class, something capable of showing unexpected grace and dexterity, smaller than the larger mammals surrounding it but wholly its own, a being perfectly adapted to its environs…not unlike the humble squirrel from which it takes its name.
OXO just introduced a new coffee maker called The Barista Brain. Here’s the report from Sprudge:
One innovation we’re kind of geeking out about is the brewer’s hot water chamber. CNET reports the component is removable and can be used as a pourable hot water kettle. IT’S A BREWER KETTLE COMBO, Y’ALL!
Gotta get my hands on one of these. In other news, I’m thinking about renaming the #TIDNTKIL section of this site to something more apt like Coffee Stuff1.
Though it sounds to me like something I would quite enjoy, bubble tea is the fad food item of the last few years that has yet to cross paths with me. Laziness is partially to blame – it hasn’t caught fire in my neck of the woods and I’m certainly not going to go out of my way to give it a try. Pearled coffee, however, is a completely different story:
Head of roastery (Howey) has a molecular biology background and last week he made this video showing the process of making something we like to call “Pearled Coffee”. It’s was an experiment that turned out to work _and_ taste great. Basically it is coffee pearls, made of 4 times concentrated filter coffee. As the pearls can be served with everything from milk to baileys to tequila we find the potential very interesting.
Very interesting indeed. I can’t imagine something like that will be cheap or easy to get, perhaps heartbreakingly so; thus making it this week’s Thing I Don’t Need to Know I Like.
(via Sprudge)
I always get excited in a weird homer sort of way when I come across a not-local profile of a local business. And bonus points to this profile over on Sprudge because the business, Haand Ceramics, is based in a town I’ve never heard of, Ely Whitney, NC. Here’s a quick bit from the profile about the products:
Pence and Warren use recycled rainwater and eco-conscious practices throughout their line of ceramics, which include dramatic “Cloudware” clay cups, “little footed vessels” for plants, and a portfolio of new work that includes ripple plates, coffee mugs, and a ceramic candelabra.
I’d say there’s about a 95% chance I’ll be adding one of the “Cloudware” mugs to our collection in the very near future.