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Read "'What Is Old Is New Again" for more information on Autumn Roast.
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WildHawkCoffee.com
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The Story of Coffee
This is the first of a series of articles discussing the history of coffee, where it's grown, how it is processed from the grower to the brewer and why we care. We hope you will enjoy the articles as much as I have enjoyed researching them. We have obtained our information through multiple resources and though some were contradictory, we have pieced together what we feel is an accurate picture.
The Origin
Most sources credit Ethiopia with being the earliest site of wild coffee plants although several believe it to be its Northern neighbor Yemen, originally known as Arabia. The story goes that a young goat herder by the name of Kaldi whose goats, while he was asleep, discovered and ate some wild coffee berries. He watched as the goats became quite animated and "danced" about. Kaldi soon discovered what the goats had been nibbling on. After trying the berries himself, he was soon out dancing with his goats. Here the story differs in whether it was a traveling monk who had noticed the commotion or if Kaldi took the berries to his elders. Either way, the attributes of the berries were soon put to use as the monks/elders were able to avoid fatigue and their disciples were able to stay up all night to listen to their sermons. The plant was quickly introduced to the Muslim world which led to experimentation in coffee consumption techniques. The grinding and steeping of the beans was soon discovered and the "wine of Islam" became an important tradition. By 1200 AD, coffee had spread throughout the whole of the Muslim world, and because of the slave trade, was making its way into both Europe and Asia.
Notwithstanding the above tale, an earlier use of coffee has been documented. About 2000 years ago, the first coffee consumers were not coffee drinkers. Rather than brewing the beans, the nomadic Oromos of present day Zaire crushed the "cherries" and mixed them with fat, shaped them into balls and ate them in that fashion. Some believe that the word "coffee" stems from the name of the Oromo kingdom, "Kefa." The Oromos reportedly brought the coffee plants to Harar, a region of Ethiopia now famous for coffee cultivation.
Email us at Derrick@WildHawkCoffee.com or Jennifer@WildHawkCoffee.com with any questions.
Sincerely,
Derrick and Jennifer Mullin
Wild Hawk Coffee Company
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Espresso
 We mostly roast espresso for the specialty coffee shops that we provide, but recently more people have been getting their own espresso machines and making their lattes at home. One such customer, an espresso connoisseur, asked me when I felt the peak age of the beans to be. He has been receiving his espresso beans from us within a day of roasting for some time with the belief that fresher is better. Although that is generally true, coffee beans release gasses for a few days after roasting so it is best to let them "rest" for at least one day before brewing. He generally gets two bags at a time and they last about 2 1/2 weeks. He wanted to show me that the resulting espresso using two week old beans was equal to two day old beans so he sent me a video obtained with his iPhone. Click Pulling An Espresso to view his video.
(If anyone would like us to bring our coffee cart to demonstrate roasting or do a fundraiser please contact us!) |
What Is Old Is New Again
Click on the image to go to our website
We have been very happy with the response to our new blend, Autumn Roast. We meant it to be a seasonal offering but have had such a demand for it that we will be keeping it available. There is a story behind this blend that we want to share with you.
We provide the coffee for an upscale, beautiful coffee shop in Sacramento called Koinonia. It is located in the very modern and grand stucture of the Rock Church on Bradshaw Road. My friend and roasting mentor, Dalen Sargent is a member in that church and counted many church members as customers when he had his own coffee shops. Koinonia has had many requests for a coffee blend Dalen used to offer called Revival. It was the blend that I used to buy for home use, but I could never quite understand the name. Whenever I heard the name I thought of a huge tent with a loud preacher at the pulpit preaching "hellfire and brimstone." What Dalen had meant to portray with the name was getting revived in the morning by a good cup of coffee. When I explained my vision of "Revival" to the managers at Koinonia, they laughed but thought that "Hellfire and Brimstone" would be a great name for the coffee. We hesitantly provided the coffee with that name on the labels for them and it sold like hot cakes. The parishioners loved the name and then loved the coffee.
We will NOT be changing the name of our offering and it will remain Autumn Roast. It will also remain available and be on special this month for $10.00 for a full pound and $6.00 for a half pound.
Please use the Coupon Code Jan11-lge for the full pound and Jan11-sm for the half pound.
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About Wild Hawk Coffee Company
We will be in the Ventura, CA area for a dog show Jan 22 and 23, 2011. One of our favorite handlers, Kim will not be able to show Killian due to her broken leg obtained though a cunning display of aerobatics while skiing.
We will not have a booth at the show but we will be delivering some coffee to some people that will be meeting us there to save them some postage. If you would like us to bring some coffee for you please email us ahead of time if you can.
Please feel free to forward any questions about coffee, roasting or our company to:
Wild Hawk Coffee Company
Derrick @WildHawkCoffee.com
7894 Tigerwoods Drive
Sacramento, California 95829
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