our japanese magnolia had some amazing blooms this spring, although a late freeze shortened their visit.

– ryan & gub

after my recent tour of the batdorf & bronson roastery, i went on a quest to brew a better cup of coffee. i learned on the tour that there are many factors that go into a good cup of joe. these range from the quality and freshness of the coffee, to using the proper ratio of grounds/water, to hitting the ideal brewing temperature of 205°. the problem is most consumer coffeemakers never reach such high temperatures. for that, you need a hand-brewed method where you are in full control and as much as i love my french press, it sounded like a pour over coffeepot was the way to go.

after a little research, i decided on the stylish chemex coffeepot. it’s both a great coffeemaker and a beautiful piece of design, even 70+ years after its creation. plus it only set me back $31.95 at dancing goats in decatur. i did have to buy special chemex filters for it, but they were just $5.95 for a 100 pack, which wasn’t that bad.

for my inaugural pot, i picked up some nice costa rica la minita del sol coffee. the description on the bag was “full bodied & sparkling sweet, maple, almond & orange juice,” which sounded interesting. the beans were 100% sun dried instead of fully washed, like most central american beans, so it’s supposed to be fairly unique.

the brewing process was pretty easy to follow. i put a chemex filter into the top of the coffeepot and added a tbsp of freshly ground coffee for each 5 oz cup, 8 tbsp for a full pot. i boiled 40 oz of water and removed it from heat for roughly 20 seconds until it reached ~205°. i then wet the grounds with 4 oz of water and let “bloom” for 30-40 seconds. from there i added the rest of the water, making sure not to overflow, and composted the spent grounds. voilà, the perfect cup of coffee!

the results were definitely worth the effort! the coffee had that fresh, strong taste you get from a french press, but seemed cleaner and less-bitter since the oils and sediment were filtered out. it was a nice, crisp cup of coffee where I could actually distinguish some of the descriptive characteristics. i wouldn’t say i sensed the orange juice, but i picked up some sweet and nutty elements, especially when sampled next to a cup of french roast. it was some of the better coffee i’ve made at home!

on top of that, the actual coffeepot is gorgeous and looks great on the countertop! it’s on permanent display at moma and was featured in the modern by design exhibit at the high museum of art, further proving its elegance.

for more thorough brewing instructions, or to check out some great mid-century illustrations, head to the chemex website. there are also some slightly different brewing instructions offered from dancing goat, although i tried this method and didn’t care for it. it used almost twice the coffee and was a little strong for my taste.

enjoy!

– ryan

dancing goats coffee bar

419 west ponce de leon ave
decatur, ga 30030
404-687-1100

gub planted some daffodil bulbs right before clementine was born. she acquired a bucket full of them from a pottery student at the art center, so she planted them in our backyard.

this spring they finally bloomed when clementine was 9 months old!

– ryan & gub

our cherry blossom and weeping cherry trees had some beautiful blooms this spring! it’s also finally warm enough for clementine to enjoy more outdoor time.

– ryan & gub

happy st patrick’s day! clementine spent some nice outside time in the grass!

ryan & gub

clementine looked super cute in her high chair after eating, so i snapped a few photos!

– ryan

ps….i saw my first fire fly of the season tonight!

clementine turned nine months old and to celebrate she got her set of first wheels! well, more so she is finally big enough to enjoy her great hand-me-down car. clementine has also officially been out of the womb longer than she was in there!

ryan & gub

as of today, clementine is an official crawler!

ryan & gub

clementine’s new best friend, herself!

– ryan & gub

we’ve had lots of reading time with clementine recently! dr. seuss and home for a bunny, gub’s old favorite, have been in heavy rotation.

do you remember this psa!

– ryan & gub