Tag Archives: coffee

Rosetta Roastery – Diversity in Singularity


Last summer I spent a week at an Aunt & Uncle’s house in Virginia. One night, my cousin and I went out, got some food, saw a movie, and hung out with one of his friends. On the way back to his house, we had an incredibly memorable conversation about life, family, love, and future. As we conversed, music was playing in the background – Mumford & Sons to be specific. It’s interesting because now, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, if I hear a Mumford & Sons song, I think back to that night and the memories that were made. Perhaps you’ve had something similar happen – some association of a taste, smell, or song with imagery, or a memory of some kind.

In the coffee community we use strong words to describe the taste or smell found in a cup of coffee. Words like “nutty,” “fruity,” or sometimes specific phrases like “notes of cherry.” These words aren’t meant to put the coffee in a box, and we’re definitely not saying that those cups of coffee will taste exclusively like cashews or a fruit salad. Instead, they are meant to be guidelines that describe the overall feeling that the coffee produces. That’s why two people who are tasting the same cup of coffee may analyze it slightly differently. Overall, they should be similar, but not necessarily exactly the same. The coffee experience is an artful process – often subjective, but always beautiful.

Rosetta Roastery takes this to the next level, yet does it in a way that is simple and effective.


I first learned about Rosetta Roastery after I completed my review of the Haas Coffee Collective last year. Both companies are located in Cape Town, South Africa, and both are passionate in their love of quality coffee. Rosetta Roastery only roasts select single origin coffees from some of the top coffee farms, estates and co-ops around the globe. Regarding their selection of coffee growers:

They are stand-alone gems… bastions of quality… beacons of hope. The reason we can say this with such confidence is because our sourcing model is so thorough. We painstakingly cup, sample, cup, sample, cup, sample, and finally source single origin coffees precisely for their unique flavour profiles.

Rosetta Roastery’s website

Rosetta provided me with three coffees: Yirgacheffe Ethiopia, Chimbu Png, and Nyeri Peaberry. Each bag came with a description on the back, yet it was a description unlike any I’ve ever come across. Rather than listing what the coffee tasted like (fruity, bright, dark, etc) each had a small story. In an attached letter that Rosetta sent with my coffee they stated:

…each coffee receives a mental snapshot, or written personality with its various flavour and aroma notes woven into the description. We find this helps our customers engage with each coffee in a manner worthy of the unique creation that it is.

Below are the snapshots provided by Rosetta, immediately followed by my review for each 0f the three coffees that I received.

Nyeri Peaberry – Kenya:
The pistol landed with a thud, its walnut grip upsetting a glass of St Julian red. Muzzle smoke curled lazily upward, the air of flint infusing with aromas of black cherries and spices as the spilt wine advanced towards the Captain’s veal. Outside a train rumbled past.

I found the Nyeri Peaberry to be syrupy, with hints of caramel. It was, quite frankly, bursting forth with flavor. Bright accents were present from the first taste, and staid constant the whole way through. My first cup seemed very acidic, but after perfecting my grind and press I found it to only be mildly acidic, yet extremely tasty. The cup got better with time, and each sip was accompanied with a strong aftertaste. Had I not seen any of the beans, the intense flavor was a dead give away that this was a peaberry.

Chimbu – Papua New Guinea
The villagers were overjoyed that Max was abroad for the summer. His niece Virginia had arrived in town, and her mild, sweet demeanour was a welcome change to his lunacy. As she passed by, her floral sundress and strawberry blonde locks certainly did nothing to mar my view of the orchards.

I experienced the Chimbu as being stronger than either of the other two coffees I received. Smelling the whole beans reveals deep, beautifully scented notes of fruits and flowers – like a well tended garden. The brew itself had very warm notes overall, with some floral hints. The taste was constant throughout the cup, and extremely enjoyable.

Washed Yirgacheffe – Ethiopia
While Lake Como is lovely at this time of year, it’s always ruined by those horribly gaudy celevrity galas – red carpets, black ties, orange skin. I prefer more elegant thrills; the subtle hint of honeysuckle on a spring breeze; a fragrant cup of Earl Grey tea, the warm citrus scent of marmalade on toast.

The Washed Yirgacheffe was my favorite of the three coffees tasted. It was incredibly fruity, like a blueberry and peach combination. The coffee had an incredibly rich scent, both as beans and as brew. With a flash of taste at the beginning of each sip, this coffee caught my attention over and over again. Like a musk, it was enticing and kept me coming back for more. Each sip ended with the crazy fruity notes described earlier and an incredibly sweet finish.

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Rosetta Roastery wrote to me saying that they are passionate about exposing people to the diversity of coffee. By focusing on single origins and not blending roasts, they hope to show that every coffee is unique and delicious. Providing one single type of coffee at a time allows Rosetta to advertise the incredibly variance that each individual roast can bring to the table. Diversity in singularity is the mantra I would give them.

Quite simply, Rosetta Roastery is accomplishing two great things at once. First, they are providing a quality product by ensuring they focus on one roast at a time, getting each one perfect. Secondly, they are benefiting the consumer by educating them on what great coffee tastes like. And, as I found out by sipping on their delicious roasts, great coffee doesn’t have to be mixed from places across the globe.

You can buy the coffees reviewed here, and several other roasts as well, by visiting Rosetta Roastery’s website.

If you’re new to the coffee experience, Rosetta Roastery is a great place to try quality single-origin coffee and get started on your new coffee adventure. If you’re a veteran coffee drinker, Rosetta is an excellent place to expand your palette as it provides coffee from all over the world. And, being a single-origin roaster, you know exactly what you’re getting and where it’s from.

The Coffee Guy

Rosetta Roastery social media info:
@RosettaRoastery
http://Facebook.com/RosettaRoastery
Blog updates

Summer Coffee: Tips, Tricks, and Drink Ideas

There are few things I enjoy more than sleeping in on a summer day, brewing a cup of my favorite coffee, and reading a book or the news while the sun warms the air. For me, coffee has always been more than a stimulant: it’s a selah for me, a pause that allows me to appreciate whatever it is I’m doing while sipping.

While there may be a temptation to think of coffee as a “cold weather drink” – something to be enjoyed when the rain is pouring or the snow is falling – I’ve found it can be equally as enjoyable, or sometimes more enjoyable on a hot summer day. Here’s a list of some summer coffee tips, tricks, and drink ideas.

  • Go big or go home. Iced coffee from cafes is usually about half beverage and half ice. Don’t feel bad about getting a bigger size – you’re actually only drinking about half that.
  • Try shots over ice. Two or three espresso shots on ice in a 12 oz cup can give your day a quick jolt without making you sweat on a hot day.
  • Make a milkshake. A twitter follower of mine, Tandy Sinclair, says she loves making a coffee milkshake with her own ice cream on a hot day.
  • Give cold brew a try. The first time I had cold brew I was blown away. It tends to be less acidic and more flavor-intensive when it comes to extracting the hidden notes in coffee. Here’s one method.
  • Keep an eye out. Coffee shops will often release new drinks, have summer specials, and even “happy hour” type discounts. For instance, Caribou Coffee just launched a new selection of teas for the summer.

Have your own summer coffee tips? Leave them in the comments!

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