We're on CNN!

CNN came in to interview Dan and I - not about coffee - but about the rumored Apple tablet. It was pretty exciting to be honest. Special thanks go out to JJB for keeping the shop running throughout the shenanigans.

Stumptown!

Oh yes darlings - you can now find select coffees from the Stumptown at Third Rail Coffee!

We had the immense pleasure of visiting them at their roasterie in Red Hook last week and cupped through pretty much the entire Stumptown lineup. They were ALL phenomenal so it was hard to whittle it down but a quick poll showed a few that consistently stood out to us, so we’re kicking it off with two single origin coffees that will surely impress. First up will be the Kenya Githima and El Jordon from Colombia, and later this week – HAIRBENDER espresso!

Having Stumptown at the shop is really exciting for us not just because the coffee is so great but because it’s being roasted locally and better yet by people we know and love.

Roots

From the birthplace of coffee itself we got a stunner in right now from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia. My good friend Kyle was marveling over it the other day and it made me think of how Geoff Watts, Intelligentsia’s coffee buyer talks about how Ethiopia is the one place on earth where native coffees grow wild and that Ethiopia is home to more genetic varieties of coffee than anywhere else. He poetically describes the region this way; “The coffee here is a perpetually regenerating masterpiece and the land a tireless artist.”

I am no poet but will say, if you’ve never had a coffee from Yirgacheffe before you just might be taken aback by it at first. They’re usually very floral in nature, think of jasmine, orange blossoms and honeysuckle - with lots of honey and lemongrass in the flavor profiles. Acidity is usually pretty high and citrusy as well which leads to the perception of a “lighter” body. It all adds up to a very tea-like experience which is what I think challenges one’s perception of what coffee is, or can be.

The Yirgacheffe we have in now has got really great sweetness, lots of clover honey here, while still maintaining a very clean mouthfeel from the lime-like acidity. Super jasmine and gardenia blossom aromatics fill your nose while you taste notes of dark berries and lemongrass in the cup. It all finishes on a pretty well defined note of sweet herbiness and most importantly, will leave you smiling.

We kept Christmas...

...we kept it well.

Christmasy...GB/5

Originally uploaded by Third Rail Coffee

Holiday Hours

Third Rail Coffee will be open on Christmas Day!

This is especially good news for those of you who:

• Want to reward yourself for all those thoughtful presents you bought your loved ones.
  
• Need to sneak away from those pesky relatives who've assembled in your living room.
• Need something to bring to that holiday dinner party you were invited to.
  
• Need to fuel up for a super-late shopping spree. PS: A bag of freshly roasted artisanal coffee makes a really great gift. So does a Gift Certificate.
• Can't go ONE day without your Third Rail COFFEE!!!

...and so our Hours for the holiday season are:

• 12/24 - Normal hours (7am - 8pm)
• 12/25 - 10am - 2pm
• 12/31 - Normal Hours (7am - 8pm)
• 01/01 - 9am - 8pm

Holiday Gift Box!

Stumped for a great Christmas or Chanukah present? Get your favorite coffee lover this sweet little duo packed with goodness and FRILLY RED SQUIGGLY THINGS!

Inside our gift box they’ll find a bag of Intelligentsia’s stellar ‘Celebration’ blend. Folks are going wild over this blend of Kenyan and Ethiopian coffee. With every sip, Kool and the Gang will start playing in their head and they may start to dance a little. This may or may not be a good thing for others but they’ll be happy.

Even BETTER (because it’ll last much longer) than the coffee, they’ll get a sweet, limited-edition Third Rail Coffee inaugural mug! (only available in this gift box). It’s got the most amazing photograph of two of our baristas that’s reminiscent of Grant Wood’s famous painting, American Gothic.

An even $29 makes you a super gift-giver this year and the holidays are here already so don’t delay as quantities are extremely limited!

Our 1st Cup of Excellence® coffee now available at Third Rail!

In what will be the first of many we’re sure, we’re pleased to say we’ve got our hands on a Cup of Excellence® coffee from 2009’s El Salvador competition.

From the farm of Jose Guillermo Alvarez on the slopes of the Santa Ana Volcano, Finca Malacara’s COE lot is full of stone fruits and molasses with a distinctly chewy mouthfeel, a nice citrus/apricot acidity and a dark chocolate finish. This one’s a real killer and will only be available for a short while as quantities are extremely limited. Come in for a hand poured Chemex or take home some whole beans as a special Holiday treat or gift!

If you’ve never heard of the Cup of Excellence (COE) program it’s a great idea that began in Columbia about 10 years ago. In a nutshell, the COE is a competition of sorts in producing countries. Individual farmers submit lots of their most special coffees to their country’s COE committee. These coffees, several hundred lots typically, then enter a rigorous 5 stage selection process that culminates with an international jury of the finest cuppers (i.e. tasters) on the planet assigning the ultimate list of “winners”. It varies from country to country and year to year but usually there are about 2 dozen coffees in any given competition that are awarded the Cup of Excellence designation. At this point, roasters and importers from around the world vie for these special coffees via an online auction.

We could go on and on about the virtues of the system and the benefits that everyone involved, from the farmer to the you, the coffee drinker get out of this. Instead, we’d just love to have you over for a cup and we can talk about it some more down at the Rail.

For further information check out CupofExcellence.org