A Post About Coffee

Our awesome, well-caffeinated partners at Boston Stoker Coffee Co. have done the legwork to sponsor the Ohio premiere of a new movie about specialty coffee. The best news... it's right here in Dayton! Next month Heart to Honduras will join Boston Stoker to present A Film About Coffee in downtown Dayton's favorite independent film venue, the Neon Theater. With portions of this film shot near where we live and work, we are excited to see it on the big screen. See the bottom of this post for the showtime, trailer and information on how to purchase tickets.

In honor of this news, the self-appointed coffee experts here at Heart to Honduras have decided to review the Honduran brews offered by Boston Stoker, our favorite Dayton coffee roaster. Since Gordon was unable to attend the testing, dedicated readers will have to put up with the unrefined palates of the decidedly less-experienced, although only marginally less-passionate testers, Matt and Kaleb.

Single-origin Honduran brews from Western Honduras.

What began as a Dayton cigar shop in 1973 evolved into a coffee busines when their free fresh-roasted coffee began to outpace demand for the tobacco. Roasting their first batch in 1979, Boston Stoker has supplied the Miami Valley with delicious fresh coffee for 35 years. Still run by the same Dean family, the company emphasizes fair business practice with its Direct-Trade coffees and sustainable agriculture practices with Rainforest Alliance certified batches. In 2011 Boston Stoker approached Heart to Honduras about a potential partnership. Now several baristas per year travel with HTH to build homes for Hondurans in need, and Boston Stoker sells a special Honduran coffee from which a portion of the earnings are donated to HTH. Over the years, we have come to deeply appreciate this partnership.

The morning routine here at the HTH office consists of an alarming amount of caffeine with a tendency to drink single-source brews from a certain Central American country of which we are all quite fond. So, when Boston Stoker recently sent us a box with freshly-roasted batches from three newly imported Honduran crops, we wasted little time in self-medicating.

Since we are not very fancy or educated in the field of tasty words, our coffee descriptions are somewhat limited and may be even border on useless. (The word "Wet" was used to describe them occasionally, as was "Hot.") However, we did take great care to prepare the coffee correctly. We ground the fresh beans and used Matt's pour-over equipment. Then we sat down for some very serious work. We both provided a ranking for each coffee with 1 being our favorite and 3 being our least favorite. The results were the following.

Cocatecal
Matt (#1) - Crisp and Nutty
Kaleb (#3)- Citrus and Slightly Sweet

A light-roast coffee, the Cocatecal had a very delicate flavor and was the lightest-colored liquid of the three. A Rainforest-Certified batch, this was Matt's favorite and Kaleb's least favorite. See... I told you our descriptions would be limited.

 

 

Adelso Lopez - Capucas
Matt (#2) - Earthy
Kaleb (#2)- Light spice, earthy.
Boston Stoker - Maple syrup, vanilla bean, mandarin orange.
A medium roast, Matt and I independently chose the word earthy to best describe this particular coffee. Grown in western Honduras in the department of Copan, this crop is a Direct-Trade crop meaning that Boston Stoker purchases this coffee directly from the farmer, guaranteeing its quality and providing more income to the farmer instead of middle men.
Buy Adelso Lopez' coffee HERE.


 

Jose Isidro - Capucas
Matt (#3) - Light and Citrus.
Kaleb (#1) - Citrus and earthy.
Boston Stoker - Nutmeg, vanilla, tangerine.
This coffee was a clear winner for me with a vibrant flavor that kicks your palate. We both thought that a citrus flavor was the defining characteristic with maybe some hints of tobacco. A Direct-Trade crop as well, $1 of every bag of this coffee is donated to Heart to Honduras.

Buy Jose Isidro's coffee HERE.

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These really are great coffees. Having had the pleasure to meet the Boston Stoker folks in Honduras, and even show some of them around the fields in Las Lomitas, I can testify that they really know their stuff and are passionate about quality coffee and fair-business practices. In my limited time with them, I have learned a great deal about the Americas' favorite drink that helps me enjoy cups both with friends in Las Lomitas and here in the States. If you're looking to try a great cup of Honduran coffee, be sure to check out Boston Stoker Coffee. 


Ohio Premiere of A Film About Coffee

Tickets: $10.00/ticket can be purchased at any Boston Stoker location or at the HTH office in Xenia or you can call the HTH office at (937) 372-3503. Ask for Kaleb or Matt.

Location: The NEON Theater in downtown Dayton. See the MAP HERE.

When: 7:30PM on August 14, 2014.

What is it again? (Text taken from the film's website.) A Film About Coffee is a love letter to, and meditation on, specialty coffee. It examines what it takes, and what it means, for coffee to be defined as “specialty.” The film whisks audiences on a trip around the world, from farms in Honduras and Rwanda to coffee shops in Tokyo, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and New York. Through the eyes and experiences of farmers and baristas, the film offers a unique overview of all the elements—the processes, preferences and preparations; traditions old and new—that come together to create the best cups. This is a film that bridges gaps both intellectual and geographical, evoking flavor and pleasure, and providing both as well.