Each morning you may wake up to a cup of coffee that you brew at home. When you take the first sip it's always a moment to say ... ahhhh a carefree moment to relax and get ready for the rest of the sometimes hectic day ahead. So, what is behind that moments pause? Rewind ...

Many areas throughout the world are coffee growing regions. Colombia, Brazil, Africa, Guatemala, Jamaica, Indonesia and Costa Rica, are just a few. In each of these areas farmers start with a bean/cherry placed in soil and as it begins to bud it looks like this:



Then these little buds are placed in a nursery:



Next the plants are planted in the fields:



When the time is right, during the season of the harvest, the ripe cherries are picked by hand. The cherries are then sorted, de-pulped, dried and then depending on quality, used for local coffees or shipped around the world. This is just the beginning of the process!

The next phase of the beans life will take place in the roasting plant. Upon arrival of the burlap coffee bags we, as roasters, Cup, to check for imperfections, approve the quality, and create blends or decide which selections stand on their own as single origin. The roaster will use craft and technique to roast or cook the bean to a perfect roast level. Then we pack - ground or whole bean, seal and prepare for shipment to customers.

Now, it is up to you at home to take all the necessary steps to brew a delicious pot. It takes a bit of training and attention to detail to properly store, create an accurate weight to water ratio, clean brewing equipment, and all of the details that can make or break the perfect cup.

When you stop to think about it, the beans have been through so many stages of their life so far. Tender love and care has been taken by the farmers, pickers, roaster and packer. Now, they are in your hands. This is one step in a collective effort. A work of art crafted by many different types of people leading very different lives, each taking their part in the process - the art of coffee. So take care in brewing. You can find our recommended home brew guides at http://www.kobricks.com/coffeebrewing.asp.

Now take the first sip... Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

At our New Years Eve Party we served Tiger Stripe Espresso Brownies with champagne and strawberries on the side - a deliciously sweet way to ring in the New Year! We hope 2012 is a sweet year for you!

Tiger Stripe Espresso Brownies
(About 32 brownies)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of fresh fine grind Tiger Stripe Reserve Espresso
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
5 oz. unsweetened chocolate - coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 and 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375F. Use butter to grease a square baking pan.

Melt remaining butter with chocolate in a large metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water - a double boiler - and stir until smooth. Then, remove the bowl and add eggs, sugar, espresso, vanilla, salt and whisk until smooth. Lastly add the flour and stir until smooth.

Pour batter evenly into baking pan and use a rubber spatula to even the batter in the pan.

Depending on your oven, cook time will vary. Within 25-30 minutes take out of oven and stick a toothpick in the middle to see if it is still gooey on the inside. If so, put it back in the oven for a few minutes- being careful not to over-bake.

Let the brownies cool off for 10 minutes outside of the oven before you cut them.

Note: With each pound of Tiger Stripe Reserve Espresso sold, we donate 15 cents to the International Fund for Animal Welfare to save endangered wild tigers

Thanksgiving is in the air. Holiday songs start to play and lights begin to go up. On Thanksgiving morning as the parade marches down the city streets toward Broadway and your family wakes with dinner on their mind, start the day with a cup of Broadway Blend to kick off the holiday spirit, as you, or the family chef prepares the recipes.

As the chopping, slicing and dicing begins and then the smell of sweet potato pie, stuffing and roasted vegetables begins to fill the air you may begin to get a bit tired in the kitchen so spark up a pot of Ethiopian Sidamo Guji! The dry fruity notes will pair perfectly with that homemade cranberry sauce as you taste to make sure it's sweet enough.

After bellies are full and you take a break to put desert on the table, and brew the final pots of coffee to celebrate the delicious meal you are sharing, we recommend our Limited Edition Holiday Blend and/or our Swiss Water Decaffeinated Fair Trade Certified Organic Peru, both will pair perfectly with apple, pecan, or pumpkin pie!

With each cup on Thanksgiving Day toast to the moment, this Thanksgiving, and the love you are able to share just being together. Toast to the moments past and those to come. Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Kobrick Coffee Co.

A tribute by Niki Kobrick

The day the World Trade Center opened my Dad was 21 and working just around the corner on N. Moore Street at the Kobrick Coffee Co. Roasting plant packing coffee, or on the truck making deliveries. A small operation in downtown New York City flourished roasting and delivering fresh roasted coffee to diners, bodegas and fine restaurants in NYC and its boroughs daily. My Dad worked hard and within 10 years he would take the reigns of the business, have two children with his high school sweetheart, and become Mr. NYC King of Coffee. Lee loved good coffee, working with people, playing music, living on the edge, his kids, and loved NYC. He was made for the coffee business with natural high energy, passion and enthusiasm.

As the World Trade Center prospered and became home to international companies, Kobrick Coffee grew and went international too. Lee and his brother Steve began importing Italian Espresso Machines and were one of the first wholesale coffee companies to roast espresso in NYC. They had moved the business across the river to Hoboken in 1983 (our current location) for more space to roast, package and service the coffee and espresso equipment. It was just a short ride back to the city to deliver and service the customers, and not to mention they now had a beautiful view of the city and the twin towers. One large account was Minters, with many locations throughout the WTC complex serving up fresh roasted Kobrick Coffee for those who worked there.

On September 11, 2001 my Dad was here in the office.

This year, 10 years later, my Dad is no longer with us, having passed away 6 months ago. I was lucky to have worked with him and been able to spend so much time with him. I loved every moment of it. He is part of me and I think of him in everything I do. As we move into another phase, another year ahead, as fall sets in and then winter. I don't want to think about the future so much as the moment, and within each moment I can find something of his to hold on to whether it is the way he sipped a good cup off coffee or the way he danced or the way he put his feet up on his desk, or played guitar. His ways, his styles; I can picture them and bring them into my life every day, and continue to bring the same delicious coffee to this city as he did with excitement, enthusiasm and love. I have learned that it's the love and moments that can never be taken away that we are lucky to have had. It's the connection of energy that lives on through us when we loose our loved ones. It's what we do with the love and the emotion. Take a feeling and turn it into art or really good coffee for that matter. I plan to continue to walk in my Dad's footsteps and love the life he gave me and live the way he lived. I notice myself subconsciously making movements as he used to, or my Uncle Steven, Brother Scott, my Mom, or even my Grandma acting like he did in certain moments. It always makes me feel like he's there.

I hope we don't think of the World Trade Center that is on its way up into the city skyline just as the New World Trade Center. I hope in our minds it is a continuation of the beauty the twin towers added to the New York City skyline and their place on this earth. I hope we can feel the energy from those who worked to build it before it opened in 1973, worked there while it was a bustling business center, those who lost their lives that day, families who lost their loved ones, our hero's who fought to save lives, as well as everyone who volunteered in the days after to give a piece of themselves to help in any way we could. I hope as we walk through the buildings we feel the presence, history, and at any moment find a small reminder of its greatness. A continuation of it all through heart and soul; ours, the city's and the world's.

Greetings to all who have wandered to our exit of the information super highway ...whether you be loyal customers, java junkies, tweethearts, prospective clients, co-workers, thrill seekers, or simply a 'fan', Welcome to my initial 'Roast and Post' entry.

By way of formal introduction, my name is Michael Calabrese, the Roastmaster here at Kobrick's Coffee Company. I am well into my 19th year of firing up each and every roast that passes through these doors. Some of you may have been to our gritty lil' plant for a look see already, and perhaps we had a chance to chat for a bit ... to those I haven't had the opportunity to meet yet, let me take this moment to extend a 'virtual' handshake. Glad to make your acquaintance!

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is keeping you all in touch with the pulse of our diverse coffee product line. In upcoming entries I will be discussing the roasting process, how we source/select our green components, the way we assemble blends from scratch, etc. Essentially trying to give an overview of all that encompasses the creation of the Kobrick brand many of you have come to love so much.

Feel free to give as much feedback as possible, and I welcome any questions you may have regarding my work here. I will be looking to update every Friday, so spread the word. This is gonna get good ..

Ciao, for now ..
Michael C