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Archives for June 2014

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee with a French Press

June 30, 2014 By Michael 53 Comments

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee with a French Press

Cold brew coffee has never been hotter. Most of the major brands have ready-to-drink cold brew sold by the bottle or carton. Many cafes are now offering cold brew on tap or even on nitro.

As we’ve written before, Japanese iced coffee is our favorite way to drink coffee in the warmer months, but there are many reasons why cold brew is a great summer treat. For one, cold brew tastes a lot better with cream and sugar than other iced coffee methods. Sure, you might be a coffee snob, but you probably have a friend who likes a little dairy in their coffee. Cold brew is also a great way to use older coffee which would taste stale brewed hot. But, most importantly, cold brew is ridiculously easy to make. In fact, it’s quite possibly the the easiest way to make coffee ever. As an added bonus, cold brew is perfect for larger batches of coffee and it keeps for several days (which solves the age old dilemma, “How can you make coffee before you’ve had coffee?”).

Cold brew is quite possibly the the easiest way to make coffee ever.

The most delicious cold brew we’ve ever had was brewed with a Yama Kyoto dripper. But unless you have $250 burning a hole in your pocket and a overabundance of counter space, you’re probably looking for a simpler option. The good news is that you probably already have everything you need to make delicious cold brew. So, without further ado, here is the official Compass guide on How to Make Cold Brew Coffee with a French Press. …

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Filed Under: How to's Tagged With: Acaia Coffee Scale, Baratza, cold brew, French press, Greenway Coffee, home brewing, iced coffee

Cup of Joy in Istanbul Looks Heavenly in this New Video

June 27, 2014 By Michael 3 Comments

Cup of Joy BebekIn the past two years the specialty coffee scene in Istanbul has exploded. We covered one of the first quality focused cafes that opened in Turkey’s largest city, and we’re beyond excited about all of the new cafes we’re going to visit in August when we’re back in the country for two weeks. One of those cafes is Cup of Joy in Istanbul’s posh Bebek neighborhood. I’m not ashamed to admit when I lived in Istanbul, I frequented Bebek’s Starbucks. I may not be a fan of dark, stale espresso, but I’m a big fan of drinking coffee next to the deep blue water of the Bosphorus, and Bebek has some of my favorite Bosphorus views.

CUP OF JOY from Nople Productions on Vimeo.

Cup of Joy may be a new shop, but they’ve already produced a Turkish barista champion. After watching this video from Nople Productions, it’s easy to understand why. Be prepared for some level tamping, pretty latte art, and smooth jazz. And what would a Turkish coffee shop be without some simit?

simit

cup of joy filter

Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: Bebek, Cup of Joy, Istanbul, Nople Productions, Turkey

Camila Ramos of Panther Coffee makes Eater’s Young Guns List

June 24, 2014 By Michael 1 Comment

Camila Ramos Young Guns
When we saw Camila Ramos’s routine at the Big Eastern Barista Competition back in January, we knew it was championship material. After claiming the top spot in the Southeast, Ramos went on to take fifth place at the US Barista Championship. Now the lead barista and trainer at Miami’s Panther Coffee has been selected for Eater’s exclusive Young Guns Class of 2014. Restauranteur Michael Schwartz comments,

If she was a cook, she’d be who I want on my team. She’s a little cocky, very creative. She’s fast, she makes a mean coffee.”

We’ve been following Eater for several years now, and it’s the first time we’ve seen them select a coffee professional for this coveted who’s who of the service industry. We couldn’t be more excited to see the specialty coffee industry receive more attention from the larger culinary arts world, and we can’t think of a better ambassador for specialty coffee than Camila Ramos.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Camila Ramos, Eater, Miami, Panther Coffee

Cafe Review: Sump Coffee in Saint Louis

June 24, 2014 By Michael Leave a Comment

Processed with VSCOcam with m5 preset
As the craft coffee industry has grown, cafe business models have gone high volume in heavily trafficked areas. Although we’re excited to see specialty coffee get larger and larger shares of venture capital, our favorite shops remain the ones that are a step ahead of the urban planners and real estate developers. These cafes pick a location not on retail potential but on community and character. It’s hard to find a better example than Sump Coffee in Saint Louis’s South City. …

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Missouri, Saint Louis, st. louis, Sump Coffee

When it Comes to Travel Mugs, Corking is A-OK

June 19, 2014 By Michael 1 Comment

cork travel mugHere at the Compass we’re fans of well extracted coffee, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurs who are willing to take a risk to follow their dreams. We’re not fans of unnecessary waste, and there’s no denying coffee shops leave a large carbon footprint in the form of disposable cups. Besides, we just can’t get past that paper taste that doesn’t compliment our coffee’s delicate sweetness or acidity.

We’re sure a lot of coffee aficionados share our troubled conscience every time we order to-go, but let’s face it, who has the time to dine-in these days? If only travel mugs were better. Plastic tastes horrible, not to mention the health scares. A stainless steel thermos is great for commuting, but makes a poor drinking vessel. Ceramic is a time-proven classic, but unless you’re Daenerys Targaryen, good luck picking it up without a second degree burn.

Robert Knox of Whitefish, Montana understands your dilemma, and has developed a product with you in mind….

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Filed Under: Coffee Product Reviews Tagged With: Cortiça, Kickstarter, travel mugs

Cafe Review: Crema in Nashville

June 17, 2014 By Kathleen Hartsfield Spicer 4 Comments

Crema in Nashville

A brisk 7-minute walk from the Country Music Hall of Fame, tucked away in a rather unlikely location near a Shell station, is Crema, Nashville’s premier micro-roaster. The dirt parking lot is reminiscent of some Tennessee back road and the building is unassuming. Upon stepping into the café, however, that impression disseminates with the greeting of a friendly barista and the scent of roasting coffee. Crema is both café and roastery, and the space is home to the operation behind their award winning coffee….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Crema, micro-roasters, Nashville, tennessee

You Should Be Following These 5 Baristas on Instagram

June 12, 2014 By Michael 3 Comments

Perhaps the only thing better than sitting down with your first cup of coffee in the morning is living vicariously through a picture of someone else’s. Baristas tend to be creative types, so it’s little wonder many barista Instagram accounts are as carefully curated as an art gallery or lifestyle brand. The following 5 baristas consistently dropped some of the most inspiring photographs on the interwebs. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Cabell Tice, Elyse Bouvier, Instagram, John Letoto, Junichi Yamaguchi, latte art, Nicely, photography, Slayer

The Coffee Compass is in Fresh Cup Magazine

June 10, 2014 By Michael Leave a Comment

Screen Shot 2014-06-10 at 9.58.10 AM copy

We’re beyond chuffed to announce we wrote an article about the Louisville coffee community for Fresh Cup Magazine, which was published in their June issue. The article’s title, “The Kentucky Coffee Scene is Decadent and Delicious”, is an allusion to Louisville native Hunter S. Thompson’s famous essay about the 1970 Kentucky Derby. We shared some of the background behind Louisville’s burgeoning craft coffee culture and the shops that make it what it is today, including Sunergos, Quills, Argos Sons, and Gralehaus. Ben Willis of Firm Anchor Photography supplied the photos, which are gorgeous as always. You can read the story online or most likely in your local coffee shop.

Filed Under: Pop Culture Tagged With: Argo Sons Coffee, Fresh Cup Magazine, Gralehaus, Louisville, Quills Coffee, Sunergos Coffee

Don’t Mess With Catalina Coffee in Houston, TX

June 5, 2014 By Michael Leave a Comment

Catalina Coffee

If there’s one thing we know about Texans, it’s that they’re mighty proud of their state. And with coffee shops like Catalina Coffee in Houston, who wouldn’t be? We’ve been following Houston’s coffee scene for a couple of years now, and in our humble opinion 2014 is the year that Houston blows up.

Catalina Coffee was founded seven years ago by Max Gonzalez, the same entrepreneur behind Amaya Roasting Co., who provides the lion’s share of Catalina’s menu. Catalina is located in Houston’s historic Sixth Ward, which boasts some of the city’s oldest architecture. Craft coffee’s symbiotic relationship with gentrification has deservedly come under the microscope recently, but Catalina is the kind of shop we believe any community would be happy to have. …

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Catalina Coffee, Houston, Texas

Cafe Review: Parisi Artisan Coffee in Kansas City

June 3, 2014 By Michael Leave a Comment

photo (83)

Old World Style

Beaux-Arts architecture, marble floors, people sitting around drinking espresso: all bring to mind the old world coffee houses of Vienna, Prague, or, as it turns out, Kansas City. Although the City of Fountains is best known for barbecue, The Union Station location of Parisi Artisan Coffee features a European style coffee experience with all of the opulence of the gilded age….

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Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Kansas City, Missouri, Parisi Artisan Coffee, Union Station

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