What do you think about decaf? Honestly, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? I asked a few people recently what their thoughts were about decaffeinated coffee. What I heard from several people was some form of “it’s wimpy” to “why would I bother?” This isn’t a very scientific inquiry, but I suspect their responses represent a common disposition to decaf – if I don’t get the jolt, what good is it?

Which brings me to my current existential crisis – am I just a drug peddler operating under the guise of “good coffee?” In an effort to feel better about my chosen profession and redeem the oft-maligned decaf coffee, I’ve set out to better understand the world of wimpy, err decaf, coffee and mount a defense of its suitability among the ranks of its caffeinated counterparts.

Read More

Americans drink a ton of coffee each day, and by a “ton” I mean roughly 400 million cups of coffee in a given day. And while we’re guzzling all that joe and leading busy, highly-caffeinated lives, how often do we stop and think about where our coffee comes from? For our part at Mammoth Espresso, we try to slow things down a bit and highlight the country of origin of each coffee we sell as a way to connect different profiles and flavors with producing regions. But I thought it’d be fun, err interesting, to spend some time exploring where our favorite beverage originates.

Coffee is a hugely traded global commodity, accounting for some $30 billion in exports. And as such, it is incredibly important to the economies of many countries. This includes Arabica coffee, which accounts for 70% of the worlds coffee, and 100% of the top-tier of specialty coffee, as well as Robusta. (Robusta is far cheaper and easier to grow, but results in significantly poorer quality.) Here’s a look at the top five producing countries of Arabica and Robusta coffee.

Read More

I’d like to introduce a special coffee that I’ve enjoyed for the past 8 years, well before Mammoth Espresso was open. Early in my barista career my passion for quality coffee was often greater than the availability of beans on the shelves of local retailers. So like many people at the time, I mail ordered coffee frequently to get a sense of the best specialty coffee in the American market. That led me to Madcap Coffee, our eventual roasting partner at Mammoth, and the coffee of Luis Reinoso in Colombia. Every year I return to this coffee and rekindle the love I first found, and this year’s production once again showcases the craftsmanship of truly special, specialty coffee.

The farm that Luis and his wife, Yenni, operate is called Finca Vista Hermosa, or “farm with a beautiful view,” and sits some 1800 meters above sea level looking out onto a mix of cultivated coffee and natural Colombian forest. It is an ideal environment for growing coffee, with the relatively high elevations resulting in cooler temperatures and lower oxygen. These factors slow the maturation of the coffee, allowing for maximum development of complex sugars and bringing out brightness in the cup.

Read More

Oolong tea is a fascinating tea category because it includes a wide range styles and flavors. Oolong teas that are very lightly oxidized share similarities to many green teas, while heavily oxidized oolongs are more akin to black teas. Let’s take a look back at the history and style of oolong tea, particular the Wuyi teas of Fujian Province, China – the birthplace of oolong.

The Birthplace of Oolong

In the mid-1600s a new style of tea-making originated from the Wuyi Mountains in Northern Fujian Province. The farming community in this area devised processing steps and growing and harvesting methods that were a departure from earlier styles, which focused predominately on green tea. These methods, which carefully oxidized the tea leaves to develop new aromas and flavors, would eventually spread south to Anxi County in Fujian and into Guangdong Province’s Chazhou area in the Phoenix Mountains. Eventually, this new innovation in tea-making made its way into Taiwan, and formed the foundation of the world’s production of oolong tea.

Read More

Larcho Torka is a brilliant coffee from Uraga in Southern Ethiopia. It is the latest addition to the Mammoth Espresso menu and we’re excited to share it with you. This coffee is grown in the Larcho Torka sub-forest within the Uraga area of Guji, Ethiopia. The surrounding forest is dense with plenty of natural shade while the coffee grows at high elevations (2000-2200 meters above sea level). Coffee trees in this area are somewhat younger than other established producing regions, and are comprised of Ethiopian landrace varieties (more on that below) that contribute to the distinct florality and brightness that is the hallmark of Ethiopian coffee.

The prime environment of Larcho Torka combined with the meticulous processing at the local washing station make this a standout coffee in our lineup. Larcho Torka is a vibrant coffee that overflows with syrupy depth and blossoms with bright flowers and citrus.

Read More

Mammoth Espresso is a quality-driven coffee shop in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. We are currently accepting applications from amazing humans interested in shaping the way people experience espresso, coffee and tea. The available front-of-house position is for part time employment of approximately 20-24 hours per week. Responsibilities include baking, customer service and register duties, and essential shop maintenance. The position includes opening and weekend shifts.

Read More

Imagine ordering a cup of tea at a restaurant or cafe, or making one at home. In America, and in the Western world more broadly, we tend to think of tea as a single cup of roughly 8-12 ounces of brewed beverage. But in much of the world tea is infused with water repeatedly and enjoyed in numerous, smaller servings. This style of brewing, known as Gong Fu Cha (literally, “right way tea”), was developed centuries ago by tea drinkers seeking to unlock the full potential of tea.

Gong Fu tea-making may seem daunting or mysterious, but this style of brewing, along with the equipment needed, is relatively simple and requires only an understanding of a few key concepts. In this post we’re going to reveal the history of Gong Fu tea and discuss the tools and methods that unveil the full flavor, aroma and body in your tea.

Read More

You may already be familiar with the term extraction in coffee. Essentially, it’s used to describe the removal of flavoring material from roasted coffee that is dissolved into water. Things that can be dissolved into water are referred to as water soluble, and roasted coffee is about 30% water soluble (the remaining 70% is mostly cellular fiber and other insoluble compounds). Still with me? The hard part is almost out of the way.

Over- vs Under-Extraction

Research into taste preferences over the years suggests that we like to drink coffee that contains 18-22% of the water-soluble flavoring material available in coffee. If we extract less than that, then we have some of what we like, but enough to create a balanced, tasty brew. This is what we can under-extraction. Under-extracted coffees generally taste grassy, sour, lacking in sweetness or even peanut-like. This is because acids in coffee are really easy to extract, so they come out first while other compounds that help sweeten the cup take more energy.

Read More

Some say the word scone comes from the Dutch term “schoonbrot,” which means beautiful bread. Others argue the name comes from the Stone of Destiny where the kings of Scotland were crowned. Regardless, we can all agree that scones are amazing. At Mammoth Espresso we’ve had folks drooling over our blueberry scones . You liked them so much, we’ve decided to share our recipe with you! The following recipe comes from Casey, our head baker, and is identical to what we make at the shop.

Read More

Here’s a question I’m asked quite often by home coffee brewers – how much friggin coffee should I be using? The mystifying coffee-to-water conundrum trips up a lot of people, but there’s a straightforward way to make sure you’re using the correct dose for any size batch and any brewing style, and right now I’m going to reveal a little secret that’s kept professional baristas on point for ages. (As I type this I’m imagining myself as the masked magician from Breaking the Magician’s Code – do you remember that show?)

First, take your coffee scoop and throw it in the trash where it belongs. Do you have a kitchen scale? Great! You can bake our awesome scone recipe! A trusty scale will do wonders around the kitchen, and is an essential tool in your coffee brewing arsenal. Here’s my quick soap box: since coffee brewing is a delicate balance of variables, we need the basic ability to measure those variables so we can modify, and repeat, our results. The coffee-to-water ratio is a fundamental variable in brewing, and repeating, a delicious cup of coffee.

Read More