Ryan Jacobs

 
 
 
We had a great weekend in Chicago. This picture was taken from the condo we rented on the 49th floor of 175 North Harbor. We had a perfect view of Lakeshore Drive, Millenium Park, Cloud Gate, Grant Park, Shedd’s Aquarium, The Field Museum, The Art Museum much of Michigan Avenue and of course Lake Michigan. 
I [...]

 
 
 
Here is a picture taken of my first batch roasting RIP (Roasted In Parchment) coffee. I won’t know for a bit how the coffee turned out. The biggest difference in roasting this kind of coffee is that the visual and auditory cues are muted and different than when roasting green coffee sans parchment. Notice the [...]

Just when I thought I had coffee on the road figured out, I have been thrown a new twist. My system assumes I will have access to hot water and a mug to brew into in the room. I bring coffee, a small plastic cone filter basket and coffee. Usually my hot water [...]

I decided to splurge and buy a bottle of Hartzler’s skim milk for making latte’s with. Why Hartzler’s? I remember hearing the producer of the Curt Boster radio show, ‘Young Daniel’ rave about it a few years back. That show is now gone, but the thought has lingered in my mind. Since a majority [...]

I saw an odd thing in Starbucks. While waiting in line, I noticed a nice display promoting the Pike Place blend. The little paper bags had seals on them with a hand-written date. I was curious if perhaps they had fixed their freshness problem and were promoting the roast date. No such luck. Closer [...]

I am an enormous fan of Clover brewed coffee. Today, Starbucks announced they will acquire Clover.
What does this mean for the future of this phenomenal brewing machine and what does this mean for Starbucks?
Will the Clover machine mean a renewed focus on bean quality, or will it be used to cover up the existing weaknesses?
Will [...]

I was in Portland last week, but unfortunately there was no time to really explore. I had been advised that Stumptown Coffee was the best to try out, but I did not get the chance. On the flight out of town, I saw a local offering called ‘Coffee People‘. When I discovered that they offered [...]

In all fairness, I haven’t actually tried this, but after hearing an ad that I thought must be a mistake, I did some investigation. Speedway really is selling a coffee called ‘Shockwave Energy Coffee‘. I can’t tell you what it is exactly since they aren’t copping to it on their website, but I can’t figure [...]

I have been enjoying for a few weeks now the Bumper Tamp Stand.
I received it as a Christmas gift and it is better than expected. It used to be the case that I would position my portafilter on the edge of a counter in order to tamp, but this takes that need away. I was [...]

Rebecca and I stopped by Jeni’s Ice Cream for dessert while celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. Since we were in Grandview, we decided to drop in at Stauf’s and get some espresso. While there, I saw an interesting machine that they called the Clover. The idea of the machine was you could buy any single [...]