The Coffee Compass

A Basic Guide to Coffee Varieties

May 19, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

Coffee drinkers have long selected their beans of choice based on roast degree or country of origin. Increasingly, some specialty coffee consumers are searching for certain processing methods. But the subject of coffee varieties, or cultivars, has yet to trickle down to a consumer level– which is a shame. Different coffee varieties have different cup characteristics, and identifying a coffee’s varietal characteristics can add to your appreciation of that morning cup.

What is a Cultivar?

You likely already know something about grape varieties, or in the very least apples. Even if you can’t tell the difference between Pinot noir or Syrah, you probably know Granny smith apples are tart and Red Delicious apples are anything but delicious. (I, for one, usually go for Fuji apples at the supermarket.) But what is a variety anyway?…

How to Make Cold Brew With a Chemex

April 27, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

how to make cold brew with a Chemex

One of the summer’s most popular coffee beverages is also the easiest to make, provided you have some time on your hands. Cafe-quality cold brew requires very little technique and can be made with just about anything, like a Mason jar or French press. In fact, you probably already own one of our favorite devices to make cold brew with: the Chemex.

Peter Schlumbohm’s iconic brewing device has been the go-to brewing device of aesthetically-minded coffee enthusiasts since the 1930s. It’s even featured in the MoMA’s permanent collection.

Although the device is designed for brewing hot filter coffee, the hourglass shape of the Chemex makes it a perfect vessel for steeping and decanting cold brew….

You Probably Need to Buy A Coffee Grinder

April 22, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

hand grinder

Coffee luminary Peter Giuliano dropped a bombshell on #coffeetwitter last week. According to Giuliano, of the staggering 14 billion dollars worth of coffee Americans brew at home each year, more than 90% is pre-ground.

This, of course, probably comes as no surprise to you, random reader of this coffee website. Why buy a coffee grinder when pre-ground coffee is the same price? If there’s a coffee grinder in your house, statistically it’s a blade grinder, which is perhaps slightly more consistent than repeatedly jumping up and down on your bag of whole bean coffee while wearing combat boots. …

What’s the Best Automatic Drip Coffee Maker?

April 8, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

If you don’t have a good coffee maker, now is probably a good time to get one. As much as we love making a meticulously handcrafted pour-over, sometime we just want to press a button, hop in the shower, and come back to a perfect cup of coffee. Unfortunately, the large majority of consumer coffee makers out there are pretty terrible at making coffee….

Fundraiser: Travel Mug Proceeds to go to Laid-off Baristas

March 25, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

It’s hard to speak too hyperbolically about the cataclysmic effect Corona Virus is having on the specialty coffee community. Around the world, ten of thousands of coffee shops have been indefinitely shuttered; even more baristas have been laid off. To make matters worse, there’s no end in sight.

It’s been a while since any of us here at the Coffee Compass worked a bar shift, but we remember what it’s like, and we want to do what we can. Until the end of April, 100% of sales of our travel mugs will be donated to relief funds, especially those helping laid-off baristas.

While we certainly don’t recommend taking that travel mug out anytime soon, it will keep your coffee hot (or cold) for hours. And, of course, we recommend filling it with specialty coffee, bought directly from your favorite local roaster’s web store.

A Coffee Maker for Each Enneagram Type

March 16, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

At some point in the last year someone has asked your Enneagram number. In the very least, you have seen a social media bio with a strange set of numbers and letters (3w2, ENTP, Ravenclaw). The ninefold personality test has reached popular culture tipping point territory, and while I’m not sure if the Enneagram can be used to predict taste preferences, I think there is undoubtedly an ideal coffee maker for each of the nine Enneagram types. Not sure what number you are? Take the test, and see if our assessment is right. …

Amethyst Coffee Shines in Denver

February 25, 2020 By Kathleen Hartsfield Spicer Leave a Comment

Amethyst Coffee

At five years old, Amethyst Coffee is making its mark on Denver’s thriving coffee scene and the industry as a whole. On a recent trip to Denver, I discovered this first hand when I visited the first of their four locations — a retail space in a strip mall on Broadway. The space is warm and the staff exudes a certain hospitality that leaves you feeling happier than when you walked in. That is on purpose, explains co-owner Breezy Sanchez.

“Really good hospitality are things that people would never notice,” she says. For Sanchez, that happens behind the scenes– the goal is to read what each guest needs and to meet them where they are. …

Three Great Cafés in Zurich

February 19, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

Few cities have made an impression on me like Zurich. Sure, the labels “sleepy” and “conservative” are sometimes hurled at it. But Zurich is the understated sort of city that doesn’t need to impress you. It’s confident, self-assured, and surprisingly thoughtful. It’s also a city with a number of great places to get a cup of coffee….

One Easy Way to Brew Better Coffee

February 7, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

The SCA identifies seven essential elements of coffee extraction, and in my experience, one of the most fundamental elements is the most ignored. In fact, it’s actually the first decision people typically make when they brew coffee, whether or not they realize it. That variable, of course, is coffee-to-water ratio. …

Dalston Coffee Brings A Bit of London to Barcelona

January 22, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

Dalston Coffee

Perhaps no city has been affected by overtourism more than Barcelona. Between the tour groups of clueless Americans, gap year backpackers, and poorly-chaperoned packs of students, it’s impossible to escape the hoards of tourists in Barcelona. I, of course, am part of the problem. When I visited Barcelona, I was one more foreigner with a camera gawking at the Gaudi architecture. That is, until I stepped inside of Dalston Coffee….