Winter Retail Coffees

We've got a ton of 12oz. retail bags of coffee on the shelves this month, and we'll be ordering them each week to ensure freshness, so if you've got a coffee lover to shop for, stop by for a bag. We'll even grind it for you (though we may also encourage you to get a home grinder for best flavor). Here's the roster of retail coffees, all of which are USDA certified organic:

Finca Mauritania (El Salvador): An all-Bourbon (heirloom coffee variety, not Kentucky booze) coffee produced by one of the top names in coffee right now, Aida Batlle. This coffee is sweet and full-bodied with enough brightness to make things interesting. I'm drinking a cup of this a day, and it never disappoints.

Decaf Cinco de Junio (Nicaragua): We're just about to finish our run of this excellent decaf coffee in the cafe (look out for Decaf La Frontera from Peru soon!). In a recent blind coffee cupping, none of our employees could pick this out as a decaf. Enough said.

Holiday Blend 2011 (Ethiopia): This is a bit of a misnomer, as Counter Culture's holiday offering is all sourced from the Konga co-op in Ethiopia, making this coffee a single origin, not a blend. While it is customary to roast Ethiopian coffees lightly, this is a medium-dark roast with a rich nutty chocolate flavor.

Espresso Rustico (blend): Our standard cafe espresso when we're not experimenting with one of CC's excellent single origin espressos. This is an all-organic espresso blend (hard to find in the espresso world). In the holiday spirit, I'll say that this one evokes chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I've been drinking this one in Americanos recently.

And, last but not least, we have a few bags left...


Finca Mauritania SOE (El Slavador): This is an espresso from the same farm as the first coffee on this list. While it's not last year's Finca Mauritania Triple Process (the espresso that opened my eyes to truly exceptional coffee), this pulp natural process espresso has an excellent balance of sweet chocolatey "bass notes" and cherry/raspberry "high notes." Only a few bags of this one are left!

Autumn

It's been far too long since we've updated this blog. Apologies.

Autumn is bringing all kinds of excitement to the cafe. We're sampling new stuff in our food case, so if you think we could use anything in particular, let us know.

We've also got maple syrup and pumpkin spice for your coffees. As the cafe's token coffee purist/snob, I feel obliged to be upset about this, but just can't bring myself to it. Maybe it's because they're just so good in steamers.

In coffee news, we're switching, sometime today or tomorrow, to Counter Culture's Espresso Rustico. It's been a great summer for CC in terms of single origin espressos (Valle del Santuario, Cinco de Junio, and Idido Espresso, from March to August!), but it's time now to return to our old favorite. We've still got plenty of the Idido Natural Sundried as our house brew, and if you come by at the right time, we may be pouring-over or French pressing it, to evoke the fruity and chocolately flavors respectively.

Lastly and perhaps most excitingly, Harrisburg's coffee scene is joined by Little Amps, transforming this weekend from a roasting-only operation to a full-scale coffeeshop. They haven't updated their website in a while either (understandably so), but I was in the other day, and both their shop (at the corner of Green and Muench streets) and their Victoria Arduiro Athena Leva are beautiful. Head over there this Saturday for their grand opening.

Fog

We got a few requests last week for London Fogs, and a few more for tea lattes in general, so I thought I'd write a little bit about the drink.


I) Tea Lattes


To use an analogy:  Tea latte : "regular" latte :: tea : espresso.

That is to say, a tea latte is strong tea with steamed milk. We brew our tea in Finum filters, let them steep, then steam the milk and pour it over the tea. You can do this with any kind of tea, though some teas work better than others. Fruity teas, for example, have a tendency to curdle the milk.

Nope, not that one.

II) London Fog

A London Fog is a variety of tea latte that has acquired its own name (Wikipedia has the whole story). It is an Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla syrup. There are other variations, for Atlantic City (rose tea), Dublin (Irish breakfast tea), and Bombay (a redundant name for a chai latte). Inspired, we came up with Harrisburg's signature tea latte.


III) Capital City Fog

After making and sampling London and Atlantic City fogs, we wondered which of our many teas would adequately represent Harrisburg. Of course, we decided, it would have to have some smoky notes, to evoke the failed incinerator, and maybe be a green tea, both to represent Harrisburg's natural beauty, and to symbolically draw "the green" back to this bankrupt town. We settled on Rishi's Green Mint, a savory tea that Rishi's website describes as "mellow and toasty with the distinctive aroma of chocolate mint cookies and buckwheat." It combines nicely with the vanilla and the steamed milk, making a worthy signature beverage for the Capital City.

Espresso Macchiato

A few thoughts on my favorite espresso-based beverage, whose name comes from the Italian word for "marked."

We are not affiliated with, nor do we endorse Starbucks

Though it shares an important part of its name with the macchiato of Starbucks fame, this is a very different drink. The espresso macchiato is espresso marked with a bit of milk. The latte macchiato, what Starbucks has become known for, is milk marked with a bit of espresso (and often, in the Starbucks context, caramel). What I like about the espresso macchiato is the degree to which it allows the flavor notes of the espresso to shine through, while allowing for the milk to mellow out the intensity of a straight shot of espresso.

Since I've started working here and become interested in espresso, the macchiato has become my go-to drink. When I enter a new cafe and want to gauge their espresso, I buy a macchiato. Let me encourage you to do the same when you come in to the cafe here, especially when I'm on shift; in addition to being my favorite drink to drink, the macchiato is my favorite drink to make.

Espresso Knowledge and "Latte" as a Signifier

I have been thinking about lattes recently (caffe latte, not latte macchiato). As Kinsey notes in an earlier post, we sell a lot of lattes here at the cafe, and it got me wondering why that is. 

I) Expansion Of Meaning

My theory is one of cultural linguistics: Lattes are popular not necessarily because of the nature of the lattes themselves, but because "latte" has become a cultural signifier (and perhaps pejorative term) for the ongoing "high-end" or "third-wave" coffee movement; as in, "I just like a cup of regular black coffee, none of those fancy lattes or nothin'."

When someone not entirely familiar with the admittedly arcane jargon of espresso enters the store, they will sometimes cast about at the menu, glance to the tea board, and then say "I'll have a latte." Perhaps some of these customers do actually want lattes (Eric and Cathy, the owners of the store, are avid latte connoisseurs, for example), but I suspect that some who order lattes are ordering them merely because they have heard the word before. Simply because of its cultural cachet, it is a familiar term.

The meaning of "latte" has thus expanded from simply "two shots of espresso with 12-13 ounces of milk poured into them" to "a fancy coffee drink." It is an example of real-life synechdoche, which, sadly, leads to people making uninformed decisions about their coffee.


II) What To Do About It

If this describes you, feel no shame. Cultural linguistic trends are inescapable, and the esoteric knowledge of espresso takes time and energy to learn. We behind the counter don't always expect you to know what the difference between a macchiato and an americano is, and we don't judge you for not knowing. Knowing is our job, and we love to pass on our knowledge.

So next time you come in, if you're not sure what you want, feel free to ask about the strange Italian words on the menu. Let us know what you like and don't like in your coffee, and we'll try to make you something. And if you usually walk in and order a latte, just because you know that that is something that coffee people like, try something -- anything! -- else on the menu. We "coffee people" have liked just about everything up there at one time or another.

Back To The Classic...For Now

From when we opened in 2009 up until about 6-8 months ago we used exclusively Espresso Rustico for our espresso based drinks. It is a smooth, darkly sweet espresso that stands up in milk based drinks (a plus for a cafe that serves its fair share of lattes). Now that our two bags of La Forza are gone we are bridging the gap with Rustico.
***Bonus - If you mention this blog and the Espresso Rustico you can receive a free Americano (then give us your opinion on its flavor!) Offer valid until Thursday, March 17th 2011!

Rustico Specs:

18 grams

200 degrees

25 seconds

roughly 1.5 ounces
bright, darkly sweet, citrus

Use The Force, Luke!

Thankfully, Counter Culture has titled this espresso in Italian, otherwise I would be making Star Wars puns every time I served a drink.

Since I'm new to this (I only really started thinking about espresso once I started working here in August), I don't have much to compare this to; only our previous blends, which leads me to say: This one is DARK.

Our notable past espressos have been the Mauritania Triple Process and the Valle Del Santuario SOE, both lighter and fruitier espressos. La Forza is markedly different, most notably in how it tastes in milk beverages (cappuccino, macchiatto, etc.). Whereas the brighter espressos had their fruit notes muted, with La Forza, the milk draws out the sweeter, "higher" flavors without obscuring the dark, full body of the espresso.

The Force will be with us... but not for much longer; we only have two bags of La Forza on hand, so come on in and try some before it's gone.

new espresso.....la forza!

We just switched over to Espresso La Forza this morning.  It can be described as a smooth, full bodied darker espresso with almost a hint of brown sugar.  Excellent for espresso macchiatos and cappuccinos. 

Counter Culture has this to say about La Forza:  "We’ve christened our Southern-Italian blend La Forza, or The Force, as an indication of the intensity of the blend. Combining the smoky sweetness of beautiful, unique coffees from three continents, this rich, smoky espresso will yield a consistently thick crema along with its bold, memorable flavor."

Our Extraction Specs:

We've been pulling La Forza at 16 grams for 24 seconds with a temperature of 200 F resulting in about a roughly 1.5 ounce shot.

new teas!

Two new teas just arrived from Rishi.  So new in fact, they have yet to be added to the tea menu board! 

First up is a new black tea called Ceylon Single Estate.  This tea is from Sri Lanka and has a really nice and smooth taste.  This tea dried has an earthy smell and when brewed the taste turns to a very nice medium strength with a small hint of cocoa. 

Rishi has this to say about this tea on their website: This classic black tea from the mountainous interior of Sri Lanka has a smooth flavor, medium body and a slightly fruity finish.  Ceylon black tea is a traditional favorite among black tea lovers. 

Next up is a new caffeine free addition, Hibiscus Berry.  This is a blended tea featuring dried currants and schizandra berries. The tea is light and fruity with a hint of citrus.  If you're a fan of the Scarlet tea we currently offer, give Hibiscus Berry a try.  It's not quite as strong and tart, but it definitely is a nice and fruity, strong bodied tea.

From Rishi's website: Luscious currants and delicious forest berries complement this fruity and balanced blend with a wonderful scarlet red infusion that refreshes and rejuvenates. 

Welcome

This is the blog of the baristas at Harrisburg's Midtown Scholar Bookstore and Famous Reading Cafe. While we hope to appeal to coffee afficiandos in any location, our posts will be influenced by the happenings here at the cafe.

We serve Counter Culture coffees and Rishi Teas. More to come...