Coffee & Treats in Back of the Yards

Eight Local Coffee Gifts to Add Pep to the Holidays

1. Hearth Holiday Blend from Bow Truss Coffee Roasters ($9.50 per 8 oz. bag; larger sizes available) For the friend who buys everything from Urban Outfitters Blending beans from Guatemala, Sumatra, and Ethiopia, this holiday roast chases away midwinter chills with “notes of cherry cordial, cinnamon, molasses, and fudge.” More importantly, though, the label will look great next to all of the other things in your friend’s house that have vaguely screenprinted-looking geometric patterns and line drawings of forest animals on them. Get gift ideas from Bow Truss founder Phil Tadros. 2. Cascara Finca Las Lajas from HalfWit Coffee Roasters ($10 per 6 oz. bag) For the tea drinker who resists conversion I’ve always wondered what happens to the rest of the coffee plant besides the bean. Well, apparently, some of it gets made into cascara, aka coffee cherry tea. Producers dry out the flesh of the fruit after it’s been separated from the bean, then brew it into a tea that “tastes similar to dried black cherries, but with a slightly more savory quality,” according to the blurb here. It can also be tossed in with some herbs to create a drink similar to cider—after which you can maybe start talking to your inveterate tea drinker about trying a roasted brew. Available online or at The Wormhole (1462 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Read Groupon Guide’s profile of HalfWit Coffee Roasters. 3. Celebration Blend from Intelligentsia Coffee ($18 per 12 oz. bag; larger sizes available) For the traditionalist Now that Intelligentsia has shifted its headquarters to Los Angeles, it’s hard to really call it local anymore. Still, its Celebration blend is worth a sip, with spice and honey flavors that evoke a hot toddy. 4. Personalized Holiday Blend from Passion House Coffee Roasters ($180 for minimum order of 12 12-oz. bags) For a large and caffeine-loving extended family Your choice of name and holiday-themed graphic adorns the label on each of 12 or more bags perfect for mass-gifting to relatives. Read Groupon Guide’s profile of Passion House Coffee Roasters. 5. Hullabaloo Holiday Blend from Metropolis Coffee Company ($15 per 1 lb. bag; other sizes available) For the friend who hosts an annual holiday party With its “silky” texture and sweet “fruit notes,” this brew could provide the mid-rager caffeine pick-me-up that any true holiday reveler needs. “Party on,” the label urges—we will indeed. 6. Ten-Dollar Nickel from Gaslight Coffee Roasters ($10 each) For the friend who still sends you handwritten letters You can argue that giving a gift certificate as a holiday gift is a bit impersonal, but the handmade look of these round wooden tokens might change your mind. Each one comes in a packet decorated with a loop of ribbon and a red wax seal, in keeping with Gaslight’s old-timey aesthetics. Best of all, the nickels can be redeemed for anything in the café, so your giftee can nibble on a sandwich during their visit if they’ve already OD’ed on caffeine. 7. Handmade coffee mugs from Bridgeport Coffee Company ($16.99 each) For the recent grad short on dinnerware Handmade by ceramics artist Jay Strommen, these jewel-toned caffeine receptacles will be the crowning glory of any 22-year-old’s otherwise empty kitchen cabinet. Just remember to buy them some ramen to put in it, since they probably haven’t eaten in days. 8. Old Dank Nic from Dark Matter Coffee ($15 per 12 oz. bag) For the friend whose drug of choice isn’t usually caffeine With notes of cinnamon, cocoa, and gingersnap cookie, this brew doesn’t evoke the scent of its titular substance so much as it does the snacks one might crave after indulging in it. Although the label claims that Old Dank Nic was “created to please the whole family,” the smoky cover art and madcap promotional video seem to target a slightly more specific audience. Also check out Purple Snow, a Dark Matter roast that honors record label The Numero Group's fiftieth release, Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound. Photo credit: Timothy Burkhart, Groupon

Twitter Roundup, Pie Edition

It is that time of year when everyone picks the things they’re most thankful for. Most of those things are pies, apparently.

This Small Local Coffee Roaster is Doing Just Fine, Thanks

Why Passion House Coffee Roasters doesn’t need your hype. In 2013, Chicago has seen a rash of new coffee roasters: Gaslight in Logan Square, Bow Truss in Lakeview, and HalfWit in Wicker Park. They were blogged about, buzzed about, and tweeted about by foodies all over the city. If these newborns had any older siblings, they might have been forgiven for feeling a bit jealous of all the attention. (Or maybe even threatened by it, if you believe one former Grub Street editor’s claims about the food world’s cycle of boom-and-bust hype.) But at Passion House Coffee Roasters in the West Loop, one of those older siblings is still sitting pretty. For these lifelong coffee connoisseurs, roasting beans has always been about more than just keeping up with the hype. “If that’s a trend, then I’ve been trendy my whole life,” said founder Joshua Millman, who honed his craft at Caffé Calabria in San Diego. Instead, the roaster’s respite from blogosphere attention has been a chance to build on Passion House’s strengths. Millman recently hired a new sales representative to handle increased demand for beans, and he is also scouting locations for a brick-and-mortar café. As Passion House increases its quantity, the staff makes sure not to sacrifice quality. Green buyer and brew specialist Shannon Steele continues to refine the taste profile of the brews, which she wants to be “clear” like fresh mountain air. Under her supervision, a refurbished UG-15 Probat roaster—amply photographed in the Chicagoist feature about Passion House’s opening in 2012—transforms burlap sacks of green, unroasted beans into fragrant, dark brown coffee. Pacing the roast takes careful attention. Steele often listens to ambient music, such as that of Brian Eno, to help keep up her concentration as she works. According to blogger Kevin Sinnott, who maintains Coffee Companion, this attention to detail pays off in the subtelty of the coffee’s flavor. For instance, many espressos sound only one flavor note—chocolate—but Passion House’s complex Warehouse espresso goes further. “It has sweet notes cradling your tongue as it swirls,” Sinnott said. “It’s also light enough to keep away from the burnt notes of many roasts.” He advocates sipping the beverage sans sweetener to better savor its light notes of cinnamon and almond. But it’s not only in matters of taste that small-batch roasters may have an edge—in some ways, the business climate favors them, too. A growing emphasis on localism means that many cafés, gourmet markets, and restaurants are willing to take a chance on smaller brands. “I didn’t want to use Intelligentsia,” said Scott Weiner of the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, whose West Town Bakery & Diner brews Passion House coffee. “I really enjoy Intelligentsia, but everyone uses it.” Instead, he asked around for a recommendation for a smaller roaster who could give more personalized service. Scott said he liked having a supplier that was “just a phone call away.” As for those other roasters, Passion House sees them more as a community than as competition. When we spoke, Steele was set to participate in a panel at the Chicago Roaster Jam, which Passion House co-organized with HalfWit and New Gotham, a group for Chicago coffee professionals and enthusiasts. Besides a panel discussion, the event included a blind cupping of coffees by 10 different local roasters so that participants could “taste their way through Chicago,” Steele said. She seemed to welcome the prospect of being around other people who loved coffee as much as she did. “There are a lot of charlatans of sorts, who are [roasting coffee] because it’s cool,” she said. “But for some of us, it’s our way of life.”

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Eight Local Coffee Gifts to Add Pep to the Holidays

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This Small Local Coffee Roaster is Doing Just Fine, Thanks

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Eight Local Coffee Gifts to Add Pep to the Holidays

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This Small Local Coffee Roaster is Doing Just Fine, Thanks

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