The Coffee Detective Newsletter

Issue #36 June 2015

Greetings,

I have a few things to share with you in this issue.

First, if you are interested in learning more about what it takes to get coffee from the tree to the cup, I have put together a page all about that, complete with 10 photos.

In fact, the journey I describe begins when the coffee tree is just a seedling. I follow the process from there, to picking the ripe coffee cherries from the tree, processing the beans, and right through to brewing a cup of coffee at home, in 10 steps.

You’ll find my 10-step photo essay here.

The second thing I wanted to mention is that last week I published a video demo of the Hamilton Beach “The Scoop” single serve brewer.

I’m late to the party on this one, I must admit. This brewer has been around for a few years now. But I only came across it recently, and then quickly ordered one online.

The thing about this “scoop” single serve brewer is that it addresses the key concerns many of us have about the mainstream one-cup machines from Keurig, Tassimo, Nespresso and others.

First, the Hamilton Beach brewer is a whole lot cheaper. I got mine for about $40.

Second, it doesn’t use plastic, throwaway K-Cups, discs or capsules. You simply add ground coffee to the “scoop” and you’re ready to brew.

This cuts the cost of single serve brewing dramatically. And, of course, there is no plastic to throw into the garbage.

Is it as simple and convenient as using a Keurig brewer? Pretty close. You get 90% of the convenience, and a dramatic drop is costs and waste.

This is now the machine I have on the counter for when I want a single cup of coffee.

Here is our full review, including a video demonstration.

One more thing. I am in the process of reviewing some excellent coffees from King’s Row Coffee. I have a few of their coffees still to try, but have published our review of their Shelton Signature Blend here.

Coming soon... reviews of a really good conical burr grinder we are trying out, a cold brew coffee maker, and an interesting new home-delivery coffee club.

I’ll let you know when those reviews are done and on the site.

Best wishes,

Nick

Nick Usborne

CoffeeDetective.com

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