The Drink: Marley Coffee One Love
Type: Ground Medium Roast, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Single Origin
Overall Rating: 3.25 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

My first review of Marley Coffee was their Get Up, Stand Up, one of several we received here at Daily Shot of Coffee. However my introduction to the company came well before that – back in February I received a sample of their One Love coffee through a promotional give-away. As I have learned more about Marley Coffee over the past few months, I have been impressed by the company’s spirit and energy. Some of it might just be good marketing, but from what I have tasted so far there are a lot of good flavors to get excited over.

The promotional coffee was an Ethiopia Yirgacheffe – ground, which made sense in the case of a giveaway: When I started reviewing coffee, I did an informal poll inquiring about acquaintances’ home coffee habits, and was surprised how few people owned a coffee grinder.

In a sealed foil bag, the many smells within a coffee dissipate quickly, but when I poured boiling water over the grounds, many of the original aromas came out. There was a fruity smell with hints of chocolate. After brewing the coffee in a Melita pour-over I sat down and relaxed with the pleasant smells wafting up from my cup. Along with the hint of fruit there was a smooth and mellow brightness. At the end I detected a subtle smoky aftertaste and was left with a faint tingle on my tongue.

This sample– my first taste of Marley Coffee — definitely did its job to peak my interest in the company’s offerings. Packaged ground coffee is always a little flat, but from the flavors I experienced I would expect the whole bean coffee to really pop.

Marley’s One Love, despite being ground, earned a respectable 3.25 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee scale.

You can order online from Marley Coffee’s website One Love Ground for $9.95 for an 8 oz. bag and One Love Whole Bean for $15.95 for a 12 oz. bag.

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Fine Print

Marley Coffee One Love: Helping your morning go right is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

So to celebrate the launch of the site and raise awareness of it, I thought we should do a coffee giveaway. I mean who doesn’t love coffee giveaways? Well, I suppose the people who don’t drink coffee, but they’re kind of weird you have to admit.

The Prize

The prize is your choice of coffee featured on Coffee Responsibly shipped directly to your door for free. You can choose from coffees from roasters like Barista On Duty, Kuma Coffee, Marley Coffee and more.

Your Chance To Win

Visit Coffee Responsibly. Choose your favorite coffee there.

[Required] Come back to this post and leave me a comment telling me which coffee you want and why.

[Bonus Entries] After you leave a comment, share this post with your friends on Twitter and like this post on Facebook. Each will get you an extra entry.

Pretty easy right? Just make sure you tally all of your entries via the Rafflecopter widget. All entries have to be received by May 17 at 12:01 am EST ! So hurry, this contest only lasts a day and a half.

The Fine Print

Winner will be chosen at random.

Value of prize is $20 or less, plus shipping.

Shipping only available to residents of the United States. If you live outside of the U.S. you can still enter, but will have to arrange for shipping. Sorry, but it gets pretty expensive to ship coffee out of the country, beyond the budget for this content.

Any questions? Good luck!!!

Win Coffee From Coffee Responsibly is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink:

I’ve been really fortunate to try a lot of rare and expensive coffees from around the world. However, I don’t think any is more unique than Kopi Luwak.

Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee is one of the most expensive and rarest coffees in the world. It also has a very unique production process. Did I mention unique.

Kopi Luwak is made from the beans of coffee cherries that have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet, a relative of the mongoose that’s about the size of a cat. The civets eat the cherries for their fleshly pulp, leaving the beans relatively untouched. The beans pass through the civet’s intestines, then are defected and picked by farmers.

Yes, it is what you think it is. After the beans are gathered, they are washed, dried in the sun and roasted. I’ve seen prices for a pound of Kopi Luwak reaching upwards of $600. The unique digestive processing in the animal’s stomach is supposed to reduce the bitterness of the beans and result in a more flavorful cup of coffee.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Kopi Luwak. It was featured in The Bucket List, a 2007 movie featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and every couple of week’s there’s a “news” story about the rare beans.

This isn’t my first time trying Kopi Luwak. I first tried it back in 2009 and I liked it. However, looking back now as a slightly more experienced coffee blogger I wonder if I was just caught up in the hype surrounding the expensive and rare beans.

Plus, the more I learned about how the beans were produced, the less I wanted to support them. The beans are completely washed and roasted at high temperatures so it isn’t a cleanliness issue. The issue is that the civets are kept locked away in tiny cages and force fed coffee cherries. Traditionally the civets are wild, but as Kopi Luwak great in popularity the civets were captured, locked away and treated inhumanely. I would’ve passed on Sea Island Coffee‘s Kopi Luwak until I read that the beans were collected in the forest and not on a factory farm.

Background

Extremely rare and coveted, Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak coffee is produced by civets, a relative of the mongoose, who have a taste for the sweet, red coffee cherries that contain the beans. The beans pass through the civet after fermenting in the stomach and that’s what gives the coffee its unique taste and aroma. Collected from the jungle floor, then thoroughly washed and dried – this is the coffee that everyone’s been talking about.

With earthy Sumatra-like tones, the Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak has a heavy, caramel body and low acidity, but also a nuance in the taste that is hard to put the finger on. Perhaps that is unsurprising given the unorthodox method of processing.

Origins: Philippines

Review

This Kopi Luwak greeted me with a thick aroma, that would describe as heavy if scents could have have a weight. The aroma was filled with milk chocolate and hints of caramel.

It had a very smooth sip, that reminded me of a thin syrup with a bit of dustiness as it faded away.

As for as taste, it was mix of earthiness and dark chocolate. There was a hint of spices right before it faded away.

Fifty grams or about 1/10th of a pound is £15.49 (they do ship anywhere in the world). Roughly translated that’s about $25 for a small bag or $250 per pound. It’s not an every day kind of coffee that’s for sure.

Final Score

Overall, I liked Sea Island Coffee’s Philippine Alamid – Kopi Luwak and can say for certain that I wasn’t caught up in the hype this time. It was good, had a unique taste and a very smooth body. I don’t know if it’s better than some of the other expensive and rare coffees that I’ve tried, but I would have it again.

Should you try this coffee? It’s probably not for everyone, but if you like a little bit of adventure mixed in with your coffee, it’s not going to kill you. Give it a shot.

Have you tried Kopi Luwak? What did you think?

Stay tuned later this week, I’m reviewing two other rare coffees from Sea Island Coffee including Jamaica Blue Mountain.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print.

Rare, Expensive And Very Unique: Kopi Luwak From Sea Island Coffee Review is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Friday Feature: Taking Note of Tasting Notes
Ever wonder how I taste those hints of caramel and spices. I don’t have super taste buds or anything special like that, just a lot of practice. Over at A Table In The Corner Of The Cafe, Drew wrote about how you can improve your tasting abilities.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Want to know how they drink coffee in other parts of the world? Here you can learn about the 2-3 hour ceremony surrounding coffee in Ethiopia. Now that’s my kind of ceremony!

The Cupping Room – with Jim Breuer & Kobayashi [video]
You may recognize Kobayashi from competitive eating contests, but this time he takes on coffee. Somehow, he manages to down 42 cups of coffee in one sitting. Imagine those caffeine jitters! Don’t try this one at home.

Hawaii lawmakers approve coffee labeling changes
Bad news for fans of Kona coffee. It’s about to get a lot harder to find Kona coffee that’s actually Kona.

20 Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves
If you’re still throwing your used coffee grounds into the garbage can, here’s some alternatives. Also, if you’re into that thing called tea, they have a few ideas for you too.

Four Signs You’re in a Real Espresso Bar
Great article on how to tell if you’re about to get a great shot of espresso or if you should run out the door and find another coffee shop.

How To Brew Coffee Like A Professional Barista
This article is for everyone that wants to be a coffee expert at home. In this guest post that I wrote for a blog called Expert Enough, I cover the basics on how to make a great tasting cup of coffee so that you can skip the daily trips to the coffee shop.

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Stay up with all of the wild and wacky coffees via our Facebook page and Twitter account, where these stories and others are shared.

Photo by ~MVI~ (bonn-ed).

Fresh Brews: The Happy Mother’s Day Edition is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink:

I first heard about Carolina Coffee Co from Damon, the son of the owners. He told me that his mom and dad ran a small coffee company and wanted to know if I would be interested in trying some of their coffee.

I’ll pretty much accept any offer to try a coffee, unless it’s healthy coffee but I wasn’t super excited about this one. It was a small coffee company that I had never heard of before, not a lot of background information about the beans and it was kind of like when some random guy on the street that has a car that he wants to sell you for cheap.

I was expecting a car something generic, and while it wasn’t a Ferrari, it ended up being a really solid coffee.

Background

The darker roast reveals a big smooth body with hints of sweet grapefruit and notes of moist earth. Deep but refined!

Origin: Sumatra, Indonesia

Review

My test drive started with an aroma filled with chocolate and a candy sweetness. There were hints a melon and tangerine flavored candies that mixed in. There was light aroma of a smoky dark roast, but I knew quickly that this wasn’t just a generic Sumatra.

Based on past Sumatras, I was expecting something super dark and super heavy, but based on the aromas I wasn’t sure what I was going to taste.

There was a darkness that hit me first. It was a thick, heavy coffee with a smoky taste. It was the kind of coffee that my dad who survived Army coffee could appreciate. But underneath that was a smoothness filled with sweet flavors. There were hints of melons, hints of rock candy flavors that gave me (someone who usually enjoys lighter coffees) something to enjoy. The after taste had hints of an ashy flavor and left a dusty feeling on my tongue, but this wasn’t what I was expecting from a small coffee company that I had never heard of before. It wasn’t over roasted and it had lots of flavors that weren’t hidden underneath flavors of ashes and burnt bark.

A one pound bag of Indonesia-Sumatra (Blue Batak) from Carolina Coffee Co is $16.95.

Overall Carolina Coffee Co’s Indonesia-Sumatra earned an above average 3.5 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. I wouldn’t mind trying some more from this company in the future and whether you’re a light roast fan or a dark roast drinker, if you get a chance, you should check them out too.

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Fine Print

Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

A Dark Roast To Enjoy: Indonesia-Sumatra (Blue Batak) by Carolina Coffee Co is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

I recently started getting my coffee from the Go Coffee Go website, and my first order for the month of May was DOMA’s Colombia Organic, which is a medium light roast. I tend to think that the lighter roasts bring out the true flavor in coffee, but that is just my opinion. This is the second coffee I have tried from DOMA, and I was excited to try this one. Before I get too far into the review, I want to give you a little history and information on DOMA as a company. DOMA is a roaster is Post Falls Idaho, founded by a husband and wife team in 2000. DOMA is part of Cooperative Coffees, which means that they buy all of their coffee directly from the farmer. DOMA has coffee available from all over the world, some single origin, some blends, and even some Decaf. Needless to say, DOMA is an ethically sound business, focusing on good coffee, fair trade, and sustainability.

My coffee arrived on May 4^th and I was greeted with an aroma that was asking me to brew a cup in the press! I put some in the grinder and the aroma was floral, mixed with earthiness; I was really looking forward to tasting it. Once I got it in the French Press, the aroma moved to a strong cocoa, with floral and maple syrup coming up as well. I let it cool down just a little bit before I tasted it and once I did, it had a full body, like syrup, with flavors of fruit followed by that strong cocoa, which was initially in the aroma, and a very smooth aftertaste. It was a fantastic cup of coffee, one that I did not want to end! I would give it a 4 on the Daily Shot of Coffee meter, and I would strongly recommend this coffee to anyone who is interested in good coffee. I will be purchasing some of their other coffee in the future, and from my experience with them as a company, I think I will be impressed.

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Mike Brown is a US Army Veteran, currently working with veterans entangled in the criminal justice system and link them to services in hopes of diverting them from jail. He lives in the “burbs” of Philadelphia and works in the city. He is happily and recently (4/16/11) married. He is very passionate about coffee, especially good coffee!

Fine Print.

DOMA Colombia Organic is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

The Drink: Marley Coffee Get Up, Stand Up
Type: Whole Bean Light Roast, Central and South American Coffees (Blend)
Overall Rating: 4 Out 5 Coffee Mugs

Bob Marley’s son Rohan remembers hearing his father say he was going to stop playing music one day and just farm. Though the elder Marley never fulfilled that wish, Rohan Marley did so for him when he bought a 52 acre farm in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains in 1999. In 2007, he used the land to launch Marley Coffee.

According to the Marley Coffee website, Marley Coffees are USDA Organic and/or Fair Trade Certified, but what guides the company is a commitment to uplift people in rural areas. In One Cup of Coffee, a 20 minute film on Marley Coffee, Rohan Marley says sustainable farming and not using pesticides are good for the farms and their families, today and in the future. Marley Coffee also works with farms throughout the world in order to offer a variety of coffees.

My opening the bag of Get Up, Stand Up let out a range of pleasant aromas and contained beautifully shaped, even-toned brown beans. I first noticed a very sweet smell, like chocolate covered cherries. After emptying the bag into a storage container I smelled a strong nuttiness with molasses in the background. The nutty aroma came out stronger in the ground coffee. When the water hit the coffee in my french press, roasted hazelnuts came to mind — sweet, even and mellow.

There was a rich range of flavors present and a nice even brightness that contributed a lemony zing. I tasted sweetness like dried fruit. I also experienced the taste of red wine.

Overall I really enjoyed this coffee and was impressed by the interestingly complex array of aromas and tastes I experienced.

A representative from Marley Coffee I spoke with told me Rohan Marley didn’t want to do it if he couldn’t do it right. From what I tasted there is a lot being done right in this coffee.

Get Up, Stand Up earned an above average 4 out of 5 on the Daily Shot of Coffee scale.

You can order Get Up, Stand Up online from Marley Coffee’s website for $9.95 for a 12 oz. bag.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print

Marley Coffee Get Up, Stand Up: A little heaven on earth is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

It’s an ongoing battle: do the world’s people prefer coffee or tea? China and India, countries whose billions of citizens comprise a hefty percentage of the global population, lead the way in tea consumption. Now, however, that tradition might be changing. Coffee is not only the second most traded commodity globally (oil is the number one), it’s being brought into many Third World countries under famous American labels, such as Starbuck’s and Seattle’s Best as a ready-to-drink product.

Coffee, Tea or Both?

Tea takes the prize when it comes to the oldest beverage. Many of the world’s peoples have been drinking tea daily for more than 5,000 years. Depending on where they are located, drinkers can make a brewed beverage from just about any type of vegetation, including the most familiarCamellia sinensis plant, mint, chamomile, spices and many other herbs and roots. Flavor varies according to the type of leaves used and is often enhanced by fruit or floral extracts. Tea can be quite beneficial for a number of different ailments, with properties that purportedly cure everything from a bad cough to infection.

Coffee, although it’s younger than tea, has a flavor and aroma that are more appetizing to many people. Depending on the type of bean, coffee, too, can vary widely in its flavor, acidity and color. Much like fine wines, true coffee aficionados can instantly determine the type of bean used after just one taste.

Beverages By the Numbers

While everyone has to drink water to live, making water the true number one choice for beverages across the globe, there is definitely a preference for coffee or tea as the second most consumed drink, depending on location.

In the United States, for instance, each citizen drinks about 400 cups, or just under 27 gallons, every year (that’s 400 million cups per day or 146 billion annually). When the rest of the world is taken into consideration, it’s estimated that 400 billion cups of coffee slake thirsts on a yearly basis. In regards to caffeinated beverages as a whole, coffee comprises 75 percent of those consumed in America.

But elsewhere across the globe, tea is still the most popular beverage with an estimated 18 – 20 billion cups of it served all over the planet each and every day.

While coffee as the preferred beverage is making strong inroads in countries across the world, it seems that tea isn’t going down without a fight. It will take more than a few coffeehouses placed next to fast food franchises to topple the king of all beverages, tea.

Whichever your preference, there are health benefits to coffee and tea. Start with fresh water and a clean receptacle, then doctor it up to your liking. Chances are no matter where you are or where you travel, you can find both tea and coffee readily available for your drinking pleasure.

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Damien Higgins writes for Eden Springs, who supply office coffee machines.

Is Coffee Becoming More Popular Than Tea Worldwide? is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

One love, One heart
Let’s get together and feel all right

Coffee and music flow together. Walk into a coffee shop and listen to the music playing in the background. Stop by later and the coffee shop is transformed into mini-performance halls for up and coming musicians. Caffeine flows though the body, perking up the emotions as it vibrates with your soul.

Marley Coffee is of course heavily influenced by music. The founder of the company is Rohan Marley, the son of the late reggae singer Bob Marley. Their bags of coffee are decorated with words and images inherited from singer’s music. It’s hard not to break into a song when brewing a cup of One Love.

Background Info:

One Love, one heart, 100% Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. From the birthplace of coffee, exotic floral and berry notes tantalize your palate. Brew an extra cup, and “Let’s get together and feel all right.”

Origin: Africa

One Love Review:

One Love hit me with a smooth, light blueberry aroma with hints of lemon, a perfect example of a coffee from the Yirgacheffe region. There were light hints of chocolate and a sweet lemon aroma that took over as the cup cooled.

Some Yirgacheffe’s overwhelm with loads of blueberry or wine flavors. One Love was more mature and balanced than that. It had a touch of blueberry flavor that mixed with a smooth nuttiness. As it cools, the song becomes sweeter and the fruity flavors turn darker. There was a milk chocolate taste that mixed with hints of lemon. Before the music stopped, there was an earthiness that mixed in with tart and spicy hints as the sip faded away.

Eight ounces of of One Love is $9.95, about the average price of an album on iTunes.

Final Score:

Did the music hit me? I think it’s safe to say that it did. One Love earned an excellent rating, 4 on the Daily Shot Of Coffee scale. It’s loaded with flavors, but they don’t overwhelm. I think it’s the kind of coffee that a variety of music lovers could enjoy.

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Coffee roasters and companies, if you’re interested in having your coffee reviewed, message us via the contact form and we’ll work together to do a fair and honest review some of your whole bean coffee.

Fine Print.

Music Meets Coffee: One Love From Marley Coffee is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee

Roasting beans inside the Four Barrel 1957 Probat.

Welcome to Fresh Brews. I scour the internet, stumbling through dozens of blogs and across hundreds of newspapers to find stories for our weekly round up of all that is informative, entertaining and random in the coffee world. Enjoy!

Four Barrel Coffee – American Hipster [Video]
Turns out the men and women behind some of the best coffee roasters in the world are human too. Go behind the scenes at Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco with American Hipster as they profile the company’s founder Jeremy Tooker.

Fair Trade USA’s Coffee Policy Comes Under Fire
Whether you’re a huge fan of Fair Trade or a critic, this article is worth reading. It goes in-depth looking at the changes in Fair Trade and who they may really benefit.

Salvadoran Coffee Farmers Welcome Tourists
Corn mazes and pick your own pumpkins are so last year. Now you can visit coffee farms in El Salvador and check out their outdoor restaurants, hotels, plant nurseries, tours and even small zoos. In all seriousness, that sounds pretty cool.

Hawaii: Wake up and smell — and see — the Kona coffee
Some people go to Hawaii for the beaches. Me, I want to go there for the coffee. Check out this brief look at a tour of Kona coffee farm.

The Nation’s Champion Barista Makes it Look Easy
Did you catch the World Barista Championship a couple of weekend’s ago? It’s no world series with the Yankees playing, but I think any coffee lover could appreciate the event. The New York Times talked to the winner of the championship after the event.

Soda may up stroke risk, coffee may slash it
I think I’ve said this before. Research and scientific surveys come a dime a dozen, often contradicting each other so it’s impossible to take most of them too seriously. However, I’ll never complain about another reason that coffee is healthy.

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Stay up with all of the wild and wacky coffees via our Facebook page and Twitter account, where these stories and others are shared.

Photo by niallkennedy.

Fresh Brews: American Hipster, Fair Trade Under Fire And More is a post from: Daily Shot Of Coffee