Minnesota Avenue Dark

Name: Minnesota Avenue Dark
Roaster: Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Co.
Beans: Blend
Roast Level: Dark

【Comment From Web】
A bold, dark, earthy blend with a unique taste and surprising balance and body. (Under Featured Blends)









【Impression】
Heavy, full body to taste roasting technique more than beans uniqueness.  Bitter, earthy, nutty taste with a touch of spice & caramell, similar taste to a hard layer caramell on top of Crème brûlée, hidden in the bottom.
Recommended to serve with milk or very sweet and thick texture, like chocolate pudding.  This Blend can be good to make "Affogato", Coffee base Italian style sweets, without an espresso machie.

Madame Blend

Name: Madame Blend
Roaster: Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company

Roast Level: N/A
Beans: N/A

【Comment from the Web】
Bright and lighter than the blends above, Madame has a unique flavor profile and body. If you like a dark blend with mild acidity, some earthiness, but less weight, this blend will command your attention. (See under Featured Blends)




 




【Impression】
Taste rather soft and mild considering roast level, which is not provided on web but assuming 60 - 70% of Medium and 30 - 40% of Dark roast combination. Tender bitterness with hidden sweetness at the bottom, low tone spice with grounded earthy aftertaste.
As for blending,

Willow Glen Blend

Name: Willow Glen Blend
Roaster: Willow Glen Coffee Roasting Company

Roast Level/Beans: N/A

【Comment from Web】

Local residents rave about the essence of this, our most popular blend. Crafted to be smooth, solid, and well-balanced, with its own unmistakable character. (Under Featured Blend)

【Impression】
Among all of Willow Glen Beans, this blend fits me the best.
Soft texture with well balanced bitterness, sweetness, citrus sourness with refreshing aftertaste.

Updated: May 30,2011
Both "Willow Glen" and   "Madame" are blend of New Guinea, Sumatra, and Costa Rica, medium roast house blends.

PATISSERIE Salon de the m.s.h


                             Henri and I wandered into “the candy cottage” just like Hansel and Gretel.
 

gâteau fraise

Tarte aux. marrons

PATISSERIE Salon de the m.s.h was a cozy Provence style pastry shop with a hidden tea room, located near Kyoto City hall. A hidden and narrow pathway between houses lead visitors to a Cozy patisserie, renovated Machiya, an old Kyoto style house.
It was on New Year’s Day and not much hope for finding a café open n the morning, but here was the one, wonderful one.
Gâteau fraise came with “perfect” Creme Chantily by Danish standard. Tarte aux. marrons was delicious as well, but Gâteau fraise left stronger impression.

Mitsuru Kishioka, an owner pâtissier, opened this salon in 2006, and has been developing French patisserie by using Japan, or Kyoto, unique ingredients such as sweet rice powder and nama-fu, soft and chewy Wheat gluten.

Since it was a day after heavy snow, their terrace was closed. But, it will be wonderful to have their sweets at quiet and cozy terrace seat in fresh spring, maybe early summer, air.

PATISSERIE Salon de the m.s.h
TEL: 075-212-5388

※Walking distance from Karasuma-Oike station.

THE BLUE BIRD CAFE ` Miyajima

 

A Unique micro roaster & Cafe in Hiroshima.  Flavor was usual, Japanese light roast coffee but good enough to sense owner's devotion to coffee. 

Glad to know that coffee geeks are everywhere in the world!  There are always common language and passion, at least something in common, among us to feel intimacy even at the first met.    

Coffee selections @ Bi-Rite Market

   

The best about SF and South Bay is variety of individual coffee roasters and easy access to their selections.   Bi-Rite Market, one of the natural food markets in SF, has coffee shelves filled with beans selection from local independent roasters. I love coffee roaster hopping and enjoy a cap with inspiring aroma at their café, but sometimes it is fun to glace selections and variety of SF coffee world.   

El Optimismo: El Salvador

Roaster: Doi Coffee
Level: full City


El Optimismo is one of El Salvador 2009 Cup of Excellence Winning Farms.