December 9, 2020

Sideyard Coffee: Colombia 🇨🇴 + Favorite Brewing Devices of 2020

Dear Sideyard Friends,

This week's coffee is from the Quindio Palmical Estate in Colombia. It's a high elevation, single estate coffee. You can expect a silky and sweet easy drinking medium roast with notes of bright citrus and toasted almonds coming through as it cools. 

Since the holidays are upon us, my partner thought it might be nice to share some of my favorite brewing devices, with the idea that they might make nice gifts. Over the past few weeks I've been brewing my morning cup of coffee with a Clever Coffee Dripper and it's quickly become a favorite brewing device. In short, it's an aptly named combination of pour over filter cone and full immersion brewer. After a few minutes of full immersion, you place the device on a cup or serving container which opens a valve to let the coffee pour through the bottom. The coffee tastes great, setup/brewing/cleanup is dead simple, and the device itself is relatively inexpensive. Win, win, win. I have the large version, which makes two cups at a time. 

The Clever Dripper replaced my previous favorite device, the Sowden Softbrew, when I dropped the Softbrew into an empty kitchen sink. The Softbrew is a full immersion brewer with a micro-perforated stainless steel strainer. With no paper filter, it's even simpler to use than the Clever Dripper and because it's a beautifully designed ceramic brewer, it feels nicer to use. As for the taste, because the strainer lets some coffee sediment through, you end up with a bigger bodied, less 'clean' tasting cup. If you don't mind a flavor profile approaching that of a French press it's a delightful device. The only issue is that availability can be a little spotty in the US... I picked up a used one on eBay just now. :) 

One last recommendation... I've been using a Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle for the past two years and I can't recommend it more highly. It's a variable temp, gooseneck kettle that is perfect for brewing pour overs and tea. It's not the cheapest electric kettle you can buy, but as someone who, again, delights in great design, I'm happy to spend a bit more on a product that occupies a full time spot on my kitchen counter and is such a joy to use day in and day out.

Cheers,

Ryan

—
Ryan Thompson | Sideyard Coffee 
instagram.com/sideyardcoffee