Not even close to comprehensive coffee dictionary

The great caffeine debate

The great caffeine debate

Is coffee fun?

Is coffee fun?

Are you having fun with your coffee?


Have you heard about the three types of fun?  It’s kind of a neat way of thinking about the world and what motivates you; as far as I can tell, it originated from folks out on epic hikes, backpacking, climbing, canoeing the wilds of the world.  Stay with me here; I want to link this idea to your everyday coffee drinking because not all fun is created equal, but if we approach it with some awareness, maybe we can make fun where there wasn't any before.


Type 1 Fun


Type 1 fun is fun that’s fun while it’s happening. It can be a great meal, a nice hike, a fantastic margarita, an excellent cup of coffee, a drink-spitting on the ground laughing conversation with an old friend. It’s fun that reinforces that it’s fun as it’s happening; you don’t need to think if it’s fun -- it simply IS fun.


Type 2 fun


Type two fun is less intuitive, but it’s fun that you realize in the after.  Usually, it happens after you did something that might have been momentary miserable, hard, pointless, or simply NOT fun. These are those moments when you get carried away in something, in a good idea with great intentions that goes south. Type two fun could be a tough run, a long bike ride in the rain, or that morning workout that you nearly didn’t do. 


Type three fun


Type three fun is fun that you think will be type two fun, something that sounds cool but never materializes. Type three fun is not fun.


Is Coffee Fun?


So, here’s my question to you. When you make coffee in the morning, is it fun? Is it type 1 fun, or type 2, or type 3?


If it’s barely registering as fun, what would change it? Do you want it to be fun? 


To be continued...






What are tasting notes? Or can coffee taste like lima beans?

What are tasting notes? Or can coffee taste like lima beans?

If you take a look at our bags, you’ll see tasting notes listed, with a few descriptors, for example, on Sunrise Tiger, you’ll see tasting notes of chocolate, sweet, and cherry, or one of our newest coffees, Garmindo, with grapefruit, sweet and rich.  


Is your coffee flavored?

We get this question a lot, and we never have and never will add any flavoring to our coffee -- it’s packed with so many flavors already.


Where do flavor notes come from?

There are so many flavors that are naturally occurring in coffees. Our job as a specialty coffee roaster is to highlight and show off different flavors found in a bean of green coffee. As coffee is grown, many events can change the flavor:

  • Where coffee is grown
  • What variety of coffee (think of the difference between a Red Delicious versus a Honeycrisp apple)
  • When and how the coffee cherry is harvested 
  • How the coffee cherry is processed and dried
  • How we roast it can highlight or hide some of these flavors
  • How it’s brewed

 All of these steps are factors in the final flavor that comes out of the coffee. Scientists have examined coffee and determined over 2000 flavor compounds (currently less than wine and more than beer). When we taste things like chocolate, we taste very similar or the same things in chocolate that give it its chocolate flavor! Coffee that tastes sweet doesn’t have any sugar in it, just molecules that trick our minds into thinking of sugar -- pretty cool, huh? 


How do we come up with Tasting notes?

Every batch of coffee that we roast is tasted(formal coffee tasting is called a coffee cupping). Each week we are tasting many different coffees, making sure they are consistent batch to batch and true to what we intend them to do be. We think about the big flavors first and then get smaller and more descriptive. If you have done a tasting with us, you might recognize this mini-tasting wheel:


Or this more extensive, more detailed wheel of flavor (courtesy of The Specialty Coffee Association of America). For a better view of the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, learn more here: https://scanews.coffee/2016/02/05/how-to-use-the-coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel-in-8-steps/


On the flavor wheel, you usually start with the inside flavors categories and move outward. And it’s possible for exciting flavor combinations! 


Don’t forget, identifying flavors in coffee takes practice, like most things in life.

 

How to get started on your coffee adventure

Tasting and describing coffee can be a fun, science-led adventure. One great way to get started is to train yourself to recognize some of the core flavors in coffee and then branch out.  

Try these mini flavor experiments:  

  • Bright Acidity: Put a few drops of lemon juice in a glass of water, taste it, then taste the coffee; any similarities? 
  • Savory/Unami: If you feel extra adventurous, put soy sauce or msg in some water, and sip on it, comparing it to coffee. You might be surprised how many coffees are savory. 

P.S. Coffee can taste like Lima Beans. Check out our post on social media and respond with the craziest flavor you have tasted in brewed coffee -- we will respond with a prize and a mention online in the coming weeks :)



Everyone deserves great coffee. We welcome HALO, as our newest partner!

Everyone deserves great coffee. We welcome HALO, as our newest partner!

HALO (Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization) joins East View Coffee Company as a non-profit partner

 

[KENOSHA, WI, September 23, 2021] — Local startup specialty coffee roaster, East View Coffee Company, is excited to announce its newest community partner, Racine-based HALO, as part of the company’s Powering the Good™ program and mission. East View Coffee’s community partnerships involve donating a dollar’s worth of coffee for every bag of coffee sold. 


Welcoming  HALO as the latest community partner is a true commitment and passion for Jenny Ulbricht, founder and head roaster at East View Coffee. It means East View Coffee will be providing all of HALO’s ongoing coffee needs. It means 15 pounds of freshly roasted coffee, creamer, and sugar each week. Critically important is that East View Coffee is not sending old coffee, less popular blends, or cheaper quality beans. Instead, the company sends its best, reinforcing the belief that EVERYONE deserves great coffee. Ulbricht is honored to work with all the people at HALO—from staff and volunteers to the people who are experiencing homelessness—to understand what they enjoy and adjust to suit their needs. The Powering the Good program is all about seeing and hearing the community and then showing up in a way to help make it all work as well as possible. 


Holly Anderle, the Executive Director of community partner HALO, said, “Having a great cup of coffee can mean the difference between having a “blah” start to our day, versus a positive start. But sometimes it’s hard to get a good cup of coffee when you’re living in a homeless shelter and your resources are tight. Thanks to the generosity of East View Coffee, our HALO clients, as well as our staff and volunteers, can all have fresh, tasty coffee to start the day out right.  And everyone here at HALO agrees, East View definitely makes a GREAT cup of coffee for a great cause!”


Local startup specialty coffee roaster, East View Coffee opened in December 2020 with a motto to Drink Coffee, Do Good. It is a woman-owned business, serving the area with wholesale and direct-to-consumer hand-roasted specialty coffee. East View’s Powering the Good program is a vital part of the company’s mission and vision for the local area.


HALO, or Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization, assists all homeless individuals and families in Racine County by providing emergency food, clothing, shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and supportive services through a collaborative structure that effectively coordinates services, shares information, increases funding, and eliminates duplication and gaps in services.


 

Cherry Cold Brew Tonic

Cherry Cold Brew Tonic

Our current go-to for a refreshing, unique crowd pleaser!

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup tonic
3 Tablespoons Cherry Juice
3 Tablespoons simple syrup
6 oz. Cold Brew (we like using a brighter, and fruitier base coffee -- like our Mlama Farm)
Ice
And a cherry or two for garnish

Instructions

1. In a separate cup, mix simple syrup, cherry juice , and tonic together.
2. Add Cherry and Ice to serving glass.
3. Fill with cold brew
4. Stir and Enjoy!

 

What is a pour-over coffee, and is it worth it?

What is a pour-over coffee, and is it worth it?

Spoiler alert -- yes, but not for the reasons you think.

I remember the first time that I saw it. It looked like something people did to proclaim elite coffee status. It looked dramatic. Spiral of water -- then halt and repeat--what was that? It looked unnecessary; I mean, coffee is coffee, right?

BUT, then I tried it. I fell in love with the process and coffee. So much so that that it led me to start a coffee roasting company.

A pour-over is pretty simple. It's just a hands-on manual coffee-making process. Instead of an automatic coffee maker doing the work, you do! While you can get lost in the details of the methods, you are simply applying hot water to coffee beans in a certain way. A pour-over is worth it. It's meditative, and it's hands-on. It lets you create your coffee just the way you like it, and it immerses you in the making.

There's something about directly interacting with the coffee-making process so closely that changed my perspective. I started to think more deeply about the coffee - where it came from, what life is like in that part of the world, the people behind the coffee.

A pour-over is worth it. It's meditative, and it's hands-on. It lets you create your coffee just the way you like it, and it

The flavor of a pour-over is richer, sweeter, fruitier than an auto-drip coffee maker. Making coffee by hand allows the terroir's nuances to shine through in the cup. Once you get into the swing of things, you start making small changes and see how small changes to the coffee to water ratio impacts the body and flavor, or start playing with grind sizes until you settle into this rhythm of getting to know the coffee personally. It's quite a journey, and we hope you take it. I found it life-changing, and I hope you do too.

Please don't take our word for it; try it out and share with us how it went. Check out our guides online at our website.

Can you make Coffee without a coffee maker?

Can you make Coffee without a coffee maker?

How do you make coffee without a coffeemaker?

Totally possible. Warning, you might not go back to your trusty coffeemaker.
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It's a fair question. If you dare Google how to make coffee you might find yourself with an overwhelming number of options  and opinions outside of your trusty ol' coffeemaker. So that's where we want to help.
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Basically, there are two main ways to think about making coffee, immersion, where water and coffee(coffee is immersed in water for a bit) are held together in the same container, and drip, where coffee briefly has water pass through it. 
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On the Immersion side, you have a french press, Aeropress, most cold brew, on the drip side, you have pour-overs with brand names, like Chemex, Kalita, Hario V2, Beehouse.
Both methods produce awesome coffee. But which to choose? If you want to jump into the deep coffee filled waters of options or choose the least expensive option to get started -- pour overs, or a manual form of your automatic coffee maker is a great way to get started. 
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"There are nearly an unlimited number of options for making coffee, none are better, or more correct. Instead it's about finding a method that works for you." Jenny Ulbricht, Owner and Coffee Roaster at East View Coffee.  

Check out the continuation of this article here:  
Please don't take our word for it; try it out and share with us how it went!
How to Brew with a Hario V2

How to Brew with a Hario V2

Hario V60 is a simple but elegant brewer for those who want to perfect and have complete control over the brewing process. Less equipment, more technique. What makes Hario unique is the ribs inside that keep the filter from adhering to the dripper wall. Allowing air to float in between the filter and the dripper enables the hot water to flow through more quickly, allowing the brewer to control the amount of time the water in contact with the coffee grounds.

HARIO V60 Brewing Guide

STEP ONE: This will vary with your personal preferences and the type of coffee, but as a starting point, we recommend 20 grams of coffee to 340 grams of water (this is a 1:17 ratio). Heat 400-grams of water; the extra water is for pre-rinsing the filter in step three.

GRIND: Medium, similar to kosher sea salt, 20-grams of coffee beans. 

STEP TWO: Unfold the Hario V2 filter and place it in the Hario Drip.

STEP THREE: Fully saturate the filter with hot water, discarding the water afterward(your plants will love it!).

STEP FOUR: Pour the grounds into the filter, shaking to flatten the coffee bed, allowing a more even pour-over.

STEP FIVE: Starting at the coffee bed center, add just enough water to cover the grounds. You are working your way outward, avoiding pouring hot water on the filter. WAIT 20-30 seconds while the coffee blooms.


COOL FACT: 
The bloom is the process called "degassing." After roasting coffee, it gives off Carbon dioxide for the two weeks following roasting. After the beans are ground, the surface area increases, and the amount of gas being released increases(that's why we recommend grinding right before using). When you add water to the freshly ground coffee, the gas release increases, seen by all the bubbling. If you don't allow the coffee to bloom fully, it can release a sour flavor, and the gas repels water. Water extracts all the lovely coffee aromatics and oils, which only happens after the gas escapes. The rule of thumb here is to add 1 mL/gram of water for every gram of coffee.

STEP SIX: With the remainder of the water, pour the 205-degree water spiraling out from the center and then working your way back to the center. Wait 10-15 seconds and add more water, repeating until the scale reaches 340grams.

STEP SEVEN: Allow all the water to drip through the coffee grounds. From when you started adding water to this point should be 3 minutes.

COFFEE / WATER CONTACT TIME: If it took longer than 3 minutes, consider using a coarser grind and a faster pour to allow the water to move faster. If your brew time was less than 3 minutes, use a finer grind and a slower pour time.

 

How to brew with a CHEMEX

How to brew with a CHEMEX

This iconic brewer, designed in the 1940's with thicker filter, is known for brewing cleaner, richer body, and more balanced floral notes in your cup. It's a forgiving work horse, that brews multiple servings at one pass.

Designed by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941, his designs were called a "synthesis of logic and madness." The Chemex is a staple in the coffee lover's equipment, producing coffee similar to drip.

The big difference between a Chemex and other pour-over devices is the grind size, medium-coarse (like sea salt), and pour rate is essential.

 

CHEMEX Brewing Guide

STEP ONE: This will vary with your personal preferences and the type of coffee, but as a starting point, we recommend 50 grams of coffee to 750 grams of water (this is a 1:15 ratio). Heat 800-grams of water; the extra water is for pre-rinsing the filter in step three.

GRIND: Medium-coarse, similar to sea salt, 50-grams of coffee beans.

STEP TWO: Unfold the Chemex filter and place it in the Chemex with the triple-layered portion facing the pour spout.

 

STEP THREE: Fully saturate the filter with hot water, discarding the water afterward.

 

STEP FOUR: Pour the grounds into the filter, shaking to flatten the coffee bed, allowing a more even pour-over.

 

STEP FIVE: Starting at the center of the coffee bed, pour twice the water that you have in coffee (the suggested 50 grams of coffee would use 25 grams for this step). You are working your way outward, avoiding pouring hot water on the filter. WAIT 40-55 seconds while the coffee blooms.

 

COOL FACT: The bloom is the process called "degassing." After roasting coffee, it gives off Carbon dioxide for the two weeks following roasting. After the beans are ground, the surface area increases, and the amount of gas being released increases(that's why we recommend grinding right before using). When you add water to the freshly ground coffee, the gas release increases, seen by all the bubbling. If you don't allow the coffee to bloom fully, it can release a sour flavor, and the gas repels water. Water extracts all the lovely coffee aromatics and oils, which only happens after the gas escapes.

STEP SIX: With about 200 grams of water, pour the 205-degree water spiraling out from the center and then working your way back to the center. Wait until the coffee-water slurry drops about an inch before moving on to the next step.

 

STEP SEVEN: Repeat the previous step, waiting until the grounds in the slurry drops. Repeat until the subscribed amount of water is used.

 

STEP EIGHT: Allow all the water to drip through the coffee grounds. From when you started adding water to this point should be 3.5-4 minutes.

 

COFFEE / WATER CONTACT TIME: If it took longer than 3.5 to 4 minutes, consider using a coarser grind and a faster pour to allow the water to move faster. If your brew time was more than 4 minutes, use a finer grind and a slower pour time. 

 

The Easiest Cold Brew EVER!

The Easiest Cold Brew EVER!

Summer is made for cold-brewed coffee. Here's one of the easiest ways to make a cold brew coffee your summer favorite.

 

What follows is not quite a recipe but a starting point for your cold brew adventure; we like to think of it as a guide for your cold-brewed coffee summer fun.

The directions are based on 1 part coffee to 4 parts water ratio, so make it and see if you want it more concentrated (perhaps 1:3 is more your speed), or maybe you prefer it more tea-like (try a 1:8 balance).

Please let us know how it goes for you -- share what works for you, and how you like to drink your cold brew.

1. Start with one cup of coarsely ground coffee.
We like using Big Lake for our cold brew, but this is where it gets fun, flavors that come out of cold brew are different than other forms of coffee extraction, so have fun and experiment!

If you don't have a grinder that can grind this course, we can custom grind it for you.
2. Find a container that can hold 6+ cups, we use a 1/2 gallon jar.    
Add 4 cups of water, and stir.
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3. Allow 6-hours of steeping time.
If you are more comfortable putting your cold brew in a refrigerator, please do so, just add on a few more hours. You can use any filter you'd like. Here we are using a Hario V2 drip filter and a quart jar.
When it's time to filter the coffee, simply pour the mix over a filter to remove the grounds from the cold brew. Depending on the thickness of the filter you are using, you can filter the cold brew an extra time or two.

Cold brew can be safely stored up to two weeks in a refrigerator.

Yours in coffee,
-Jenny and East View Coffee
A New Woman-Led Coffee Roasting Company is Powering the Good in Kenosha

A New Woman-Led Coffee Roasting Company is Powering the Good in Kenosha

"Supporting our local community partners is the heart of East View Coffee Company, it's what motivates me, it’s why we started East View Coffee.” - Jenny Co-Owner of East View Coffee

Kenosha News Article

So often in life, we hurry through celebrations. We work for weeks, months - sometimes years - and celebrate for only a few moments. Today officially marks some big news for East View Coffee, and today we are celebrating, making it “Facebook official,” that our Kenosha community partners are Habitat for Humanity of Kenosha and Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha. And we plan on celebrating for longer than a moment! This is personally important because it represents so many things - we are selling coffee, we are building our business and we can sustainably give back to our community!

Quote from Habitat for Humanity, KenoshaWe officially opened our doors and started selling coffee online and through Rustic Road Brewing Company’s taproom (our first wholesale customer) on the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2020. Since then we have been working to bring coffee to people through online sales and developing relationships with coffee shop customers as well.

 

The Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha serves nearly 10,000 youth each year currently and just added through an amazing donation of Scamps Gymnastics, adding another 3,000 youth to the Boys & Girls Club annually. Habitat for Humanity of Kenosha has completed eight new builds and three rehabs since 2014, helping to create a world where everyone has a decent place to call home. East View coffee is excited to power their efforts by supporting staff and volunteers with freshly roasted coffee.

 

After dreaming and working for so long to create a coffee roasting business, the act of meeting and dropping off the first bags of coffee was incredibly meaningful for me. Angela and Jackie are incredibly invested in their organizations, and this small act, of providing coffee to these organizations and the volunteers was so powerful, a small act of kindness that’s left me feeling really grounded in this great sense of community.

  

 

East View coffee is a local startup specialty coffee roaster, East View Coffee, with a motto to Drink Coffee, Do Good. Their mission is to roast great coffee and be a socially and environmentally conscious business at the same time. It’s a woman-owned business, serving the area with wholesale and direct-to-consumer hand-roasted specialty coffee. East View’s Powering the Good™ program is a key part of its mission and vision for the local area. It involves donating one dollar’s worth of coffee to non-profit community partners whenever a bag of coffee is sold.