Posts by Amanda

Our own barista Chris Ryan tackles the topic of home grinders in Fresh Cup Magazine, a respected coffee industry publication. Scroll to page 50. From the hand grinders like the Camano to the staff favorite Baratza Vario, Chris talks through the questions to ask when considering a grinder. Got a question? Send him a note: chris@clivecoffee.com.

Our beautiful porcelain cappuccino mugs by Pigeon Toe Ceramics are now available in two new glazes. We kept the classic design: the “C” stamped in the bottom, the pleasant shape, the comfortable handle and updated with a natural glossy glaze and accents of dove grey and spruce green colors on the rims.  They’re perfect for your morning cuppa and coordinate well with contemporary and classic serve ware.

We’re excited to present our new Lovejoy Espresso Blend. We set out to create a blend with complexity, rich crema and sweetness to spare. Lovejoy Espresso has sweet raspberry and dark chocolate flavors, hints of butterscotch and a bit of citrus. With its impressive body and superb balance, the Lovejoy Espresso is delicious as a straight shot and shines powerfully through milk in a latte or cappuccino. Although Lovejoy was designed with espresso in mind, we also love it in a French Press or Technivorm.

Lovejoy is named after one of the founding fathers of our fair city. Asa Lovejoy wanted to name Portland after his beloved hometown of Boston, while his friend, Francis Pettygrove, wanted to name the city after his hometown of Portland, ME. At odds, the two tossed a coin, Lovejoy lost, and the city was christened Portland, Oregon.

Asa Lovejoy may have lost the coin toss, but as far as we know nobody’s named an espresso blend after Pettygrove!

Baratza has once again upgraded its excellent Virtuoso Preciso Grinder. In addition to providing micro-adjustment capability, they’ve added a superior set of conical burrs. These new burrs provide the precision to grind for great espresso, as well as great uniformity for French Presss with minimal fines. These new burrs grind coffee 2.4 times faster than other conical burr grinders.

We still have a few Precisos in stock, with the upgraded burrs. More will arrive in mid November, so if you don’t want to wait, place your order now.

The long-awaited Baratza Virtuoso Preciso has finally arrived! Baratza took the sturdy and elegant design of the Virtuoso and added microadjustment for fine tuning your grind for espresso. The Preciso offers the fine tuning capabilities of a stepless grinder with the easy adjustment of the Virtuoso. It has the same timer switch and on-demand grind button with the addition of a portafilter holder for hands-free dosing.

A small quantity of Precisos will be available for pre-order at the end of September, with more coming in at the end of October. Check out the Preciso and place your pre-order here.

Espresso

Espresso grinds should be fine, but not powdery. When you pinch the grounds between your fingers they should clump together, but disperse when you drop them on the counter.

Paper Cone

For both Technivorm and manual pour over, your coffee grounds should be about the consistency of a fine corn meal.

Gold Filter

Since the Gold Filter will allow more sediment to pass through, you should grind your coffee a little coarser than you would for paper filters.

French Press

When grinding for the French Press, your coffee should be about the consistency of sea salt. If your press is hard to plunge it’s a good indication that your coffee is ground too fine.

We’re happy to announce a new addition to our coffee lineup: Guatemala Quetzaltenango “Loma Linda.”

“Loma Linda” is a well-balanced, thick bodied coffee, with a sparkling acidity complimented by hints of chocolate, dried fruit and delicate spices.

Loma Linda is a cooperative coffee growing operation in the state (Department) of Quetzaltenango in Western Guatemala. It was founded by a group of 120 families who had lived and worked on coffee farms and dreamed of owning and cultivating their own land. The local Catholic Church helped these families find the right piece of land in 1981, nestled in the mountains between two sparkling creeks.

The producers of Loma Linda own their own coffee processing mill and warehouse, and export only a small quantity of coffee, making this coffee a rare treat. “Loma Linda” translates to “Lovely Hill,” an evocative name that suits this lovely coffee well.

Fresh from the roaster, I’m happy to introduce my new favorite coffee, Bolivia Organic Aprocafe. With creamy body, a bit of spice and nuts, and pleasant acidity to round it out, this coffee makes a truly enjoyable cup. We’ve brewed it in both the Technivorm and French Press and this Bolivian coffee is excellent in both methods.

Bolivia Aprocafe is the product of 41 small farmers’ collaboration to grow organic, delicious coffee. The farms that belong to the Aprocafe co-op average 3 to 11 acres in size. The farmers and their employees are fairly compensated for their hard work and dedication to quality. Their efforts to preserve the natural environment have earned Aprocafe Bird Friendly Certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

This is a limited edition coffee, so get it while you can.

We’re getting ready to pick a winner for our FAQ contest, but there’s still time to enter. Just submit a question and you’ll get a chance to win a 33 oz Stainless Steel French Press made by Frieling and a 12 oz bag of our coffee beans. The contest ends on April 30th, so enter now!