Tag Archives: Coava Coffee Roasters

Bill’s Beans: Delicious Coffee from Southeast Idaho Microroaster

Bill's Logo

I stumbled onto Bill’s Beans after having a conversation with @ryHanson on Twitter. We communicate about what we’re drinking from time to time, and Ryan has made it clear that he swears by Bill’s Beans, a microroaster founded, owned, and operated by Bill Angle in Pocatello, Idaho. I’m from Idaho originally, and I’ve been to Pocatello a few times. Make no mistake, it’s a great place. But it’s not exactly known as a mecca of coffee.

I was hesitant from the get-go, but Idaho will always have a special place in my heart. BoiseCoffee started in Boise, after all, and I try to get back to my roots as often as I can. This seemed like a great opportunity, so I sent Bill a message about possibly reviewing his coffee. After a brief online exchange, my coffee was in the mail.

The Snapshot

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First, a little about Bill’s Beans. His website says,

All coffee bean orders are roasted within 1-2 days of the date the order is place.
All coffee beans are roasted at an elevation of 6014 ft and are roasted in a Diedrich IR-7, an Idaho made roaster.
All coffee beans are roasted and shipped from Pocatello, Idaho.
All coffee bean orders are a full pound (16oz), and come in a one way valve zip bag.

Bill just recently made the jump to selling his coffee online. His website isn’t perfect, but he does have fairly good descriptions of each coffee that is available to purchase. He sent me “Bill’s Blend” and “Bill’s Espresso Blend.” Let’s get started.

 

The Coffee

Bill’s Blend

Bill’s blend smelled delicious when I opened the bag: like a chocolate cake. The smell filled the room instantly, and I loved it. I brewed Bill’s Blend in my Clever drip brewer and received varying results depending on the coffee-water ratio that I used. The best result I got was when I used 26 grams of coffee with 380 grams of water. This cup was clear and had a solid taste full of deep, low nutty notes. Brief flashes of acidity sparked my palette throughout the cup, creating an interesting combination of low notes and high notes that was more than welcome. I could tell that this was a blend right out, but it was definitely one of the better blends I’ve tried.

The cup kept me coming back for more, and I highly recommend purchasing a bag for yourself.

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Bill’s Espresso Blend

I encountered an immediate problem when I opened Bill’s Espresso Blend: I don’t have an espresso machine. However, I do have an Aeropress, and it can adequately be used to create what I like to call “fakespresso”; a highly concentrated shot of coffee, but not pulled with enough pressure to deem it true espresso. I haven’t indulged in fakespresso in a while, and I was excited to give Bill’s Espresso Blend a try. The results were incredible.

Bill’s Espresso Blend pulled some of the best shots I’ve ever had, and the best I’ve ever had using an Aeropress. Strong chocolate notes rang through with some nutty notes, akin to what I experienced with Bill’s Blend. However, they were intertwined in such a way that the best word I can use to describe the taste is “Almond Hershey’s Bar.” And it really was like a delicious candy bar in a shot. The acidity of the shot was present, but fairly even and played off the tongue nicely. There wasn’t any sour aftertaste, which was great. This would make excellent espresso to go with any desert after dinner.

Final Thoughts

Bill’s Beans was the definition of what I think of when I hear the word “microroaster”: a small, relatively unknown roaster who produces an excellent product. It was evident that Bill’s almost 20 years of roasting experience really make his coffee unique and delicious. His shipping prices vary depending on where you live in the U.S., but I would highly recommend you give him a shot. Pun totally intended.

Bill’s Beans online:
Website
Facebook
Reddit

The Coffee Guy

Spyhouse Coffee Review

The best coffee shops that I have experienced have been focused and unflinching in their drive to make the best cup of coffee possible. They realize that a great cup of Joe is more than simply the sum of its parts: every aspect works together in a creative and powerful way. Making concessions and compromising on one aspect can break the whole process. One barista that isn’t committed to his or her craft can negatively influence the atmosphere of an entire coffee shop, for instance.

Spyhouse Coffee is one coffee shop that knows their trade, and knows it well. On their website they lay out their mission:

Since the inception of The Spyhouse in 2000, our primary goals have been to ensure quality, sustainability, education, and a commitment to producing the finest coffee and espresso drinks while sourcing from the most artisanal micro-roasters, both locally and nationally. Our daily operations consist of working with local distributors and extensive barista training to produce high-quality drinks that are ultimately served with professionalism to you, the customer.

Spyhouse Coffee doesn’t roast their own coffee, but they source from some of the highest quality roasters in the country: Verve Coffee Roasters, Ritual Coffee Roasters, Coava Coffee Roasters, and Tea Source. They’ve done their research, each and every one of these roasters is time-tested and well known throughout the coffee industry.

One of my favorite things about Spyhouse Coffee is that they offer several brewing methods in-house. This is a trend that’s starting to pick up among cafes and coffee shops, and I love it. Not only do they offer staple methods like drip and French Press, but in addition they provide Hario V60 Pour-Over and Cafe Solo methods.

While I haven’t had the chance to visit either of the Spyhouse Coffee shop locations (they’re in downtown Minneapolis), they were gracious enough to send me two coffees to review. They sent me the “Streetlevel Espresso” from Verve and a Light/Medium roast originating from Honduras from Coava. I found both to be delightful coffees, each great in their own rite.

Verve’s Streetlevel Espresso is a blend of three coffees of Guatemalan origins. While I haven’t had the chance to run it through an espresso machine yet, I’ve found that my Aeropress does a fine job of testing out Espresso coffee when I adjust the water to coffee ratio properly. I found this coffee to have a delicious start and finish with earthy notes between each. The coffee was quite sweet actually – making for great espresso to be sure. The taste in between the start and finish is difficult to place, but reminds me of some sort of secret, secluded area in a forest. As if this coffee demands mysteriousness. Bold, yet sweet. Earthy, yet delicious.

The Light/Medium roast from Coava originates from Honduras. As is typical of light coffees, this was packed with a caffeine punch not to be trifled with. With notes of caramel, this coffee was exceedingly bright in every aspect. It was acidic, to be sure, but in the best possible way. Light and fun, this coffee was the perfect start to my day when I enjoyed it in the morning. Unlike the Streetlevel Espresso, this coffee was constant throughout, starting and finishing on the same strong bright note.

Spyhouse Coffee has an amazing website full of information about all things coffee, and more. In their Coffee and Brewing Methods section they discuss their roasters and offer brief descriptions of their various available brewing methods. Their photo gallery has some great images showing shots being pulled, coffee art, and some pictures of their locations. Perhaps most intriguing of all is their Staff Statistics page which has a fascinating infographic about their baristas.

Another aspect of their website is incredibly revealing about Spyhouse Coffee’s values. On their About page they talk about “Our Community.” They discuss what it looks like to help out and give back to their community by doing small things like recycling and riding a bike to work.

Spyhouse Coffee sees the big picture. They realize that to make great coffee you need great people. They see that part of being a part of a community is giving back to that community. And they understand that the ends of a great cup of coffee do not justify the means. Spyhouse Coffee earns high marks in my book, and I strongly recommend hitting up one of their two locations next time you’re in Minneapolis. In addition, their social media links are below.

The Coffee Guy

Spyhouse: Facebook / Twitter / Tumblr