Intro
At our house coffee is a morning ritual not to be messed with. We wake to the shouts of “Mommy, Daddy?!” and “waahhh mehhh mama” – which is baby for “Get me out of this cage, give me a bottle warmed to 99.4 degrees and change this extremely dirty diaper.”
One of us tends to those cries while the other prepares the morning brew.
Prior to crafting our morning cup the assigned brew master asks the other, “What’ll be?” You see in our home a cup of coffee comes in many forms. Espresso, Chemex or French Press. We vary the brew method often – keeps life exciting.
But for the past week it has been the same every morning (and evening) with no desire to change any time soon.
An inquiry came in my inbox a couple of weeks ago introducing me to Storyville. I checked out their site and was immediately drawn to their flawless design and iconic logo of the little boy flying his toy airplane.
What impressed me even more was their mission to “save the world from bad coffee.” A lofty goal that I support wholeheartedly.
I grew up in a family that cared enough about coffee to grind the beans fresh every morning. We would scoff at the instant coffee that sat stale in others’ lazy susans (my snobbery began at an early age). But it wasn’t until fairly recently where I feel as if my husband and I have reached true coffee snobbery – and we still have much to learn. You see although we were grinding our beans daily, the beans were from “Big Coffee” as Storyville refers to it. Burnt, over roasted and old. (Watch “The Truth” to better understand this)
We are very fortunate to be friends with Edwin and Nina Martinez, first of all because they are wonderful people and have enriched our lives greatly. Secondly because they have opened up the world of excellent coffee to us. Edwin’s family owns Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala. Edwin also recently began Onyx Coffee with the goal “to increase appreciation for exceptional coffees and the people who produce them”.
Gabe, my husband (and resident photography expert) had the pleasure of joining Edwin on one of his many trips to Guatemala.
When the kind people from Storyville asked me if I would like to try their coffee as excited as I can sound through email I replied, “YES!”
What I received in the mail shortly after blew me away. Not only did I get incredibly fresh roasted coffee but a beautiful french press and a conical burr grinder to execute the proper grind for french press coffee – which was so perfect because we have yet to uncover the box that houses our grinder and other brewing methods. Two mugs (which have since become my favorite coffee consuming vessel) a timer (for precision brewing) and a recipe were also included in the beautifully arranged package.
Without hesitation I set out to make Storyville’s Perfect cup of coffee. I followed the recipe precisely savoring the smell of the freshly roasted beans the entire time. Four cups of filtered water set to heat, 1/2 cup beans measured and placed in the grinder, four minutes set on the timer. The water came to a slight boil, beans ground, poured, swirl, stir, cover, press timer, wait, beep beep, gently push, pour, sniff, ahh, sip, ahhh, sip again, smile, perfect.
The results were heavenly.
Storyville sings the song of freshness. Contrastly, “Big Coffee” has figured out a way to extend the shelf life of coffee by weeks, months, even years – by over roasting. Over roasted coffee essentially removes all the tasty oils naturally present in the beans, leaving behind a burnt, flavorless brew.
Storyville coffee is meant to be enjoyed within 3-12 days after roasting. They make this easy for you by delivering fresh beans right to your door if you sign up for the Storyville Private Reserve.
Thank you Storyville for giving me the chance to taste “the rich, smooth, nectar of the gods.” I look forward to many more cups.
Oh I’m jealous of your good coffee fortune.
Thank you for this post and for introducing us to a lovely company. My husband and I are coffee snobs too, grinding our locally roasted beans every morning before pouring just boiled water over them in the french press. I am always looking for fun gifts for him, and I think a Storyville package would be much appreciated…
PS: Forgot to add good post!
Don’t mean to be rude, but shouldn’t it be “whole heartedly”? Didn’t think “whole heartily” was an actual expression.
anonymous – I went back and forth on that and I’ve seen it both ways. Looking again I actually see Webster’s dictionary says it’s wholeheartedly. I made the correction.
what a brilliant and generous gift from Storyville! i’ve heard such great things about their roastery and beans. simply delightful.
cheers,
*heather*
I just ordered the coffee. Can never have too much good coffee around..Hopefully there will be some here when you come and visit in April
MG, is that next weekend already!?! As Baron would say, ‘Holy KaMoly!’ Looking forward to seeing you guys! Thanks for supporting Storyville. enjoy!
MG – can’t wait to enjoy a cup with you guys. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
such gorgeous, gorgeous photographs — I’m so glad I found your site. I’ll be back often.
Dorie – Coming from YOU that means the world!! Thanks for visiting.
I’m digging the photography
I’m signing up for the Private Reserve today. Stumptown Coffee continues to have my favorite beans but I’m willing to give Storyville a try.
Brenda – Stumptown is also a favorite of mine. You have good taste in coffee! Let me know how you like Storyville.
What a fabulous post! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 I work for this wonderful company and they are incredibly decent hearted, generous and respectful.
Storyville just opened up a new division called Storyville Live where I work as a Concert Producer. The respect for International Justice Mission is the main drive behind the launching of the new division of Storyville Live in Orlando. As a Concert Producer, I am kick-starting a series of nationwide, at-home concerts that will serve to spread awareness about the 27 million men, women and children who are currently slaves on our planet. The concerts are designed to be as hassle free for a potential host as we can make it; we literally do all of the legwork. Storyville sends out the invitations, handles the ticketing, provides the food and coffee, puts on the show, sets up and cleans up. We even send out thank you notes to your guests after the event. When it’s all said and done, it will look like Storyville wasn’t even there, except you and your guests would have gained an experience, an education and a way to make a difference to the lives of 27 million people. At no point in the evening do we ever ask your guests for money, a donation or even a commitment to IJM. There will be a retail section for guests interested in purchasing coffee and coffee hardware—from which 100% of the profits goes directly to IJM. As for the musicians who have signed with us, they are acoustic singer/songwriters in the same vein as John Mayer. These talented musicians have written songs for the likes of Faith Hill, Garth Brooks and Eric Clapton. Dave Wilcox has joined ranks with our roster of troubadours impassioned for IJM’s mission.
If anyone would like to receive a super cute booklet (designed superbly) that paints a picture of what I’m talking about, please email me at: IIbanez@Storyville.com. I’m looking for wonderful folks who love coffee, music and the mission of IJM (IJM.org).
THANKS 🙂
I am a regular person who just hosted a Storyville Live Concert in Phoenix… I mean tonight! Wonderful evening. Wonderful music (Pierce Pettis-WOW!).Wonderful coffee and cookies. Most Wonderful of all… the purpose! You must check out not only storyville.com but also ijm.org! If the coffee itself is not enough to win you over, the vision for the company itself will. Plan on attending and then hosting a Storyville Live Concert! I guarantee you will not be disappointed! M+C=F!
Beautiful photos. I’ve recently encountered a similar, but updated version of your same coffee fortune. I was just as enamored as you. Great post.