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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. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Baratza, burr grinder, coffee grinder, Knock, Orphan Espresso

What’s the Best Automatic Drip Coffee Maker?

April 8, 2020 By Michael 1 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….

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: autodrip, Bonavita, home brewing, Technivorm Moccamaster

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.

Filed Under: Stories

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. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Enneagram

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. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Amethyst Coffee, colorado, denver

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….

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Filed Under: Stories

Five Coffee Resolutions For 2020

January 2, 2020 By Michael Leave a Comment

It’s not just a new year but a new decade, and we intend to kick it off drinking fantastic coffee. In 2020 we hope to not just increase the quality of coffee we drink, but our quality of life with these five resolutions.

Waste Zero Coffee 

If you’re anything like us, your pantry has 3-4 different bags of whole bean coffee, each with less than 20 grams left. Rather than tossing the remnants, we were inspired by coffee marketing expert Jenn Chen to make impromptu blends. Not only does this cut down on waste, it often creates fantastic flavor combinations. Not into blends? You can…

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Filed Under: Stories

Nashville’s Crema Opens new Duke Street Location

November 25, 2019 By Kathleen Hartsfield Spicer Leave a Comment

Crema Duke StreetIf you’ve ever been to Nashville and had the inclination to find a good cafe, there’s a good chance you came across Crema in your search for the best coffee in town. Started by Rachel and Ben Lehman 11 years ago, Crema has grown to be one of Nashville’s most beloved coffee shops. In those years, they’ve also gained national notoriety and have become zero waste with the aim of eventually being carbon neutral.  One of the hallmarks of Crema is their careful approach to growth, which is why the opening of their second location–nestled on Duke Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in East Nashville– is so exciting and remarkable. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Crema, Nashville, tennessee

Three Great Places to Get Coffee in Den Haag

October 3, 2019 By Michael Leave a Comment

Amsterdam has been one of our favorite cities for visiting coffee shops– er — cafés since before we even started this website. But there’s a lot more to the Netherlands than just its capital.  Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Den Haag. The coastal city might be best known as the home of the International Court of Justice, but it’s also boasts a growing number of specialty coffee shops, serving up the best roasters from the Netherlands and beyond. Although we weren’t able to visit every café on our list, there were three of our favorites. …

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Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: Bocca, Den Haag, Holland, La Cabra, Square Mile Coffee, the Netherlands

Three Great Cafés in Granada, Spain

September 7, 2019 By Michael 3 Comments

Ernest Hemingway said, “If you were to visit just one city in Spain, it should Granada.” The picturesque Andalusian city is home to more than just the sprawling Alhambra palace or its towering Renaissance cathedral, it also boasts a growing independent coffee scene that demonstrates the depth and diversity of the Spanish specialty coffee scene….

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Filed Under: Stories

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