Update: Congratulations to Debbie H. who has been named the winner of this contest! She likes her coffee “strong, with a hint of sweet.”
In the past few months Kirsty Hughan has become a great friend and colleague to Three Many Cooks. As we relaunch you’ll be seeing more of her work. Coming soon you can also visit her at her very own website/blog, The Good Taste Guide. Since Kirsty knows so much about coffee, we immediately turned to her when our nephew/cousin, Andrew Grassmick, sent us some of his Mad Cap Coffee. Here’s what she says…
This past weekend I woke up early to shoot USA Weekend videos with Pam and her daughters, Maggy and Sharon. Pulling into the driveway at eight o’clock, without yet having my daily coffee, I was glad to walk through the door to the smell of a freshly brewed pot. When I heard that the coffee was sent fresh from Maggy and Sharon’s cousin who works for a coffee roaster, I had to get my hands on it!
You see, I spent the year after college working on and off for a high-end coffee shop. The first thing you learn is how to make a perfect extraction from a bean. For us this meant brewing each cup to order in a wonderful little contraption called a Clever. On slow days, we did cuppings, essentially a wine tasting for coffee. This is where I picked up tasting terminology. Is the coffee floral? Or more citrus? Or is it chocolatey?
Mad Cap Coffee is refreshing, light, medium-roasted coffee. Its roast brings out the natural flavors in the bean very nicely. I love that when you pour yourself a cup, the coffee comes out a wonderful bright caramel color, something you like to see in a medium roast. When you take a sip, the coffee is light and complex, a difficult partnership. The taste is nuanced, able to balance chocolate and berry, or floral and citrus. If you don’t yet consider yourself a “drink my coffee black” kind of person, these coffees are a good way to give it a try. With a little simple syrup and a piece of a toast with almond butter, you have a wonderful afternoon pick me up.
The trend in the coffee community is to know your coffee farmers well. A good roaster will know how a farmer works the land, how he relates to light, and what the fruit he picks looks like. Mad Cap coffee is one of these good roasters. As they proclaim on their website, “We develop relationships with farmers. We purchase as much of our coffee directly from the farmer as possible.” Plus, Mad Cap has super baristas. Three have placed in various regional and national competitions, including one who snagged third place and another who grabbed fourth at the United States Barista Competition.
Looking to snag yourself a bag of Mad Cap Coffee? I’d recommend popping over to the Mad Cap Store and peeking at the tasting notes. If you know you prefer a deep, chocolatey coffee to a floral, fruity one, this is your chance to make sure you get the perfect bag for you. While you’re there, check out their blog, it’s a wonderful place to catch up on their exciting start.
For a chance to win two bags of their award-winning roasts, tell us how you take your coffee. Giveaway ends at 6 PM Eastern time on Sunday. We’ll announce the winner first thing on Monday morning on the newly designed Three Many Cooks. So head back to see who won… and check out our new look.
BTW, I like medium-strong coffee with a big splash of whole milk!
Strong and freshly ground before being French pressed. A small spoonful of whole cane sugar and a dash of half & half.
Light roast and plenty of cream (or whole milk), no sugar! More cream for a darker roast. I take after my great-grandmother who has more dairy than coffee in her cup 🙂
I like my coffee medium-strong. black. most days i have a pour over from madcap!
I take my coffee black. From a v60 or a chemex preferably, but I like a good french press too.
I make a small cup of hot cocoa, and then pour an equal amount of coffee into it. Everything a Mocha should be! I call it a Hot Coffelate.
mmmm. A rich Ethiopian, locally-roasted, BLACK. In the French press if I’m awake enough to do the 2-step process.
I microwave half a mug of soy milk and then add strong coffee with a teaspoon of coffee – this was to save money and kick the Starbucks Soy Misto habit.
Ummm… that would be a teaspoon of sugar I add! Maybe it’s a Soy Misto kind of day after all…
Black… like my little dresses!
Strong coffee with just milk!
I love my coffee med-dark roast with steamed milk. Thanks for the interesting post!
Strong coffee with whole milk.
I love a very dark roast, low acidity, very smooth. Great company! Thanks for the chance.
Sometimes black, sometimes with a bit of milk/cream, but medium-strong.
Fresh ground and black…Please!
Love the smell of freshly brewed coffee but when it comes to the taste I would add lots of sugar and cream to smooth it out.
Medium roast with small amount of skim milk – YUM
Freshly ground and black. Although sometimes in the winter I’ll add a little hazelnut syrup and half & half. We call it foo-foo coffee and it equates to comfort food.
fresh ground.. medium roast.. out of my chemex.. a splash of half & half.. very little sugar… yum !
Medium strong with a splash of 2% and a little sweetener. I trade off between raw sugar and splenda.
Good coffee doesn’t need a thang. But that’s the tricky part. Finding that good coffee.
strong with almond milk and a drop of agave nectar. mmmm
strong with a little half and half – yum!
I like a double shot of espresso with a little cream and half a packet of sugar.
I like mine freshly ground, and strong and black.
I love flavored coffee, black and scalding hot. Yum!
I like my coffee very strong with LOTS of cream, no sugar thanks.
Milk/Cream and sugar, medium roast.
I love a dark roast, French pressed with a dose of heavy cream for sweetness and creaminess. Excuse me while I retire to my press for an afternoon pick-up.
I love dark roast that I grind because during the hot summer here in Arizona, I like my coffee iced with a splash of cream.
With half and half and homemade vanilla coffee syrup (basically vanilla simple syrup). And the coffee needs to be strong to still taste through all of that!
Black!
I like my coffee with a splash of milk. Or latte form. 🙂
French press, dark roast, black, lil bit a sugar. With cream during Christmas season. A special treat – it’s like the coffee is the dessert.
Black… just plain black.
medium roast with a splash of milk.
I like strong coffee but I like it sweet and light (splenda and half/half or milk).
Splash of flavored creamer!
Extremely strong, black, and scalding hot!
I like it freshly brewed, HOT with FF half and half and a little sweetener..yum!
I like it with lots of milk, and preferably with a beautiful fragrance!
I love dark roasted coffee with just a splash of liquid vanilla creamer. Morning, noon and night.
Iced with almond milk and sugar!
I love my coffee freshly ground and brewed with half and half.
Good strong coffee with milk & sweet & low, must have in the AM to wake up.
Freshly brewed from my Technivorm Moccamaster (the best!) either black–if it’s accompanied by something sweet–or with cream and a pinch of sugar. Yum.
I like it to taste like Hagen Daz Coffee Ice Cream! half french roast coffee, half steamed skim milk and super sweet (but I use artificial sweetener). Cannot start my day with out it!
I’m a black coffee drinker lately. When I’m consuming dairy I sometimes use half-and-half. Never sugar!
I love it with sugar free french vanilla creamer, it’s the best!
Of all those favourite coffees above, I’m with TrishInFL. No sugar, and with french vanilla creamer.