Sadly for Prof. Coffee drinkers but happily for Prof. Coffee, yours truly is taking a break from roasting your faves during May and the first half of June. I’ll be enjoying 1 euro espressos with pasteis de nata in Portugal during the first half of May and then real ramen that doesn’t cost $20 in Japan right after that. So, this means only one more opportunity for you to order any Prof. Coffee until late June. I’ll do a last roast this coming weekend and deliver on May 1. Please get orders in no later than by Friday evening so I can plan my time over the weekend. The April winner of the Residential Fellow (TBA next week) will be able to cash in their coupons any time after I return.
Category: News
April’s Prof. Coffee Residential Fellow: Prof. Rob Campany!
This month’s Residential Fellow competition was tight. Two people—last month’s winner Seok Bae Jang and Rob Campany—were tied in total number of bags ordered. However, on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion tiebreak, Rob edged out Seok Bae by ordering three different roasts: HUG, Bandung Blend, and Base-2. Congratulations to a well-caffeinated Prof. Campany!
Note the because a my travel during May and the first half of June, the winner of April’s Residential Fellowship will have to wait until mid-June to begin their residence. This also mean that all you all better stock up in April!
Variety is Hard Work!
When I first created Prof. Coffee I thought it would be nice to have a wider choice of roasts beyond Bandung Blend and PhD. And it would be interesting to have some new multi-bean blends alongside a couple single-origins. I knew that it would be possible that I could wind up having to be many roasts for a relatively few number of orders, but that hasn’t happened—until this week. Three orders of three bags each spread across all but one offering (surprisingly, CRT, the #1 bestseller) meant that I had ten separate roasts of ten different beans to fulfill the orders. I had to split the roast sessions between two days and carried out a full maintenance on my roaster before the second session. In the end, it was fun. And cheaper than therapy….
New Brew for You: ABD Now on Offer!
After much procrastination reminiscent of those grad school days when instead of actually writing my dissertation I would convince myself that I had to read just one more book before starting to write, ABD blend is finally available to order. I’m still tweaking ratios and playing with roast levels of the three beans I’m using for it—Uganda Bugisu Mt. Elon, Bali Blue Moon, and Dominican Republic Red Honey Ramirez Estate—but today’s sample was good enough for me so it’s good enough for you. Try it out and let me know what you think. I’m sure to continue making slight alterations because I’m OCD, not ABD….
Prof. Coffee’s First Residential Fellow Winner – Dr. Seok Bae Jang!
Dr. Seok Bae Jang, Vanderbilt’s Korean Language Program Coordinator, is the first recipient of a Prof. Coffee “Residential Fellowship” discount coupon. Congratulations! Seok Bae purchased a total of 7 bags of Prof. Coffee roasts (4 Base-2 and 3 Bouquet) during the period from Prof. Coffee’s launch (January 28, 2023) to the end of February. He will be entitled to one free bag of a Prof. Coffee roast of his choice for each week of March. A new competition for the April Residential Fellow starts today. Start submitting your “applications” now!
Fancy Tasting Gear for Fancy Coffee
Some of you may be wondering why I generally don’t do traditional tasting notes for my roasts; some of you may not give a hoot for pretentious and preposterous descriptions of flavors we mere mortal coffee drinkers can’t come close to discerning. Well, the main reason is because I’ve never bothered to train my palette properly and I’m too lazy to use a thesaurus. But, I figure it might be fun to learn how to be able to give pretentious and preposterous tasting notes like the pros. So, I bought a proper cupping bowl and proper (and properly expensive) Hario Tetsu Kasuya Model cupping spoon. Now all I need to do is to practice cupping—basically brewing a sample cup and smelling/tasting it according to SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) guidelines. I think that all the practice and creative use of a thesaurus in the world will not tune my tongue to be able to honestly say that a Blah-Blah Blend tastes like fig, pine, tobacco, blueberry, burnt sage, and mascarpone, but at least I’ll have the credentials to fake it.
Who is Tetsu Kasuya, btw, and why is a cupping spoon named after him? He was the 2016 World Brewers Cup Champion. Upon his victory, he proceeded to monetize his accomplishment (good for him). And, he shared the 4:6 pour-over brewing technique that won him the championship. If you too want to brew like a champ, you can learn his secret here.
Prof. Coffee Now Tweeting
Prof. Figal had actually dumped Twitter after that guy took it over, but Prof. Coffee thought that limited tweeting and following only other coffee-related accounts might be worthwhile. So, if you’re the Twitter-scrolling type, you can follow Prof. Coffee’s occasional tweets at:Follow @ProfCoffeeFigal
Prof. Coffee Coupons for Coffee Profs!
Prof. Coffee is initiating five discount coupons for hard-working coffee profs.
1. Diploma – Once you purchase at least one bag each of M.A., ABD, CRT, Base-2, and PhD you receive a graduation gift of a free Bouquet OR a free HUG.
2. Sabbatical – For every 10 bags of Prof. Coffee purchased, you receive a sabbatical leave from paying for your next bag of coffee.
3. Full Grant – A research grant funding 100% of your next purchase of research materials (aka one bag of coffee). Periodically offered by grant agency.
4. Half Grant – A research grant funding 50% on your next purchase of research materials (aka one bag of coffee). Periodically offered by grant agency.
5. Residential Fellowship – A competitive award of one free bag of coffee of your choice per week for one calendar month given to the person who purchased the most bags during the previous calendar month. The first Fellowship will be based on purchases made from the launch date of Prof. Coffee (01/29/23) until February 28 and will be awarded during March (03/06, 13, 20, 27). In the event of a tie, the person whose purchases display the most Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (by having purchased the most varied selection of roasts) will be deemed the winner. If more than one person has the same DEI score, then the one among them who has purchased the most CRT wins. If there is still a tie, the next tiebreaker is whoever also purchased the most HUGs. If there is still a tie, then Prof. Coffee flips a coin or rolls a die live during a Zoom call with those who are still tied.
The First Delivery
A dozen 250g bags posing in front of my Aillio Bullet roaster before being packed off for delivery.
M.A. Debuts!
M.A. may be a lesser degree than PhD, but Prof. Coffee’s M.A. blend is just as tasty. A mix of different Mexican and African beans according to availability and my whim, the current lot features FTO beans from Chiapas and FTO beans from the Hingakawa Women’s Association in Rwanda, a women’s empowerment organization that is part of the Abakundakawa (“Those who love coffee”) Co-op. I’ve been drinking different formulations of M.A. all week and think I found the sweet spot. I really like it. There’s a nice smooth creaminess to it, with berry and milk chocolate notes.
My supply the Hingakawa beans is low, but I have 15 pounds of FTO Rwanda beans from another co-op waiting in the wings. Ditto with the Chiapas beans. I’ll have to see what my supplier currently has on offer from Mexico.