Introducing Velton’s Coffee: Guest Post By Starbucks Melody
Some readers of this blog might know me as “Starbucks Melody” – I’m Melody and I’ve got a blog about Starbucks. But the truth is, you can’t learn about the world by staying at home. As dedicated as I am to Starbucks coffee, I still thoroughly enjoy experiencing and drinking coffee from other roasters.
Lucky for me, Mike Crimmins asked me if I would write something for his blog, and I jumped on this opportunity. I contacted Velton Ross, who roasts Velton’s Coffee and we ended up having a great time at his roasting business, and cupping coffee on July 5, 2010.
As I write this, I am drinking a cup of Velton’s Ethiopia Sidamo, a beautiful juicy, fruity coffee with a floral aroma … Delicious!
But let’s start at the beginning of the story, and introduce you to the inside operations of Velton’s Coffee:
Velton buys Arabica beans from all the major growing regions, and primarily roasts single-origin coffee offerings. (A “single origin” coffee is sourced from one single growing region, usually from one small country or region.) Today (July 5, 2010) we “cupped” coffee. Some readers may already know that a “cupping” is not exactly the same thing as a “tasting”. A “cupping” is a method of comparing several different coffees side by side to determine exactly the best roast profile, and to come up with the best descriptive words to describe the coffee. One does not have food or drink with a cupping because the purpose is to experience the coffee unaffected by other things.
Velton even roasted up a small batch of his “Twilight Blend” while we were there! That was fabulous to experience watching coffee being roasted, listening for the ‘popping’ sounds as the water inside expands and causes a popping sound (and oils inside the coffee do this also). The Twilight Blend is roasted for roughly 14 and ½ minutes in the roasting oven, at a about 450 degrees. When you buy coffee from Velton, you know you’re getting something roasted especially for you, by Velton himself.
Today we cupped three coffees:
- Costa Rica Finca Genesis
- Guatemala LiquidAmbar
- Ethiopia Sidamo SCFCU
Those were all single-origin coffees with a light to medium roast profile. I got a ton of cocoa hints from the Costa Rica Finca Genesis. The Guatemala had a very clean finish to it. My favorite of those three was definitely the Ethiopia Sidamo which had a nice juicy flavor – almost a little tang to the coffee. I highly recommend it. It has some of the fruit notes which African coffees are so often known for, but a lot of complexity to it too.
When it was all done, Velton made us a cup of his Twilight Blend. This was such a treat. This was my favorite of the coffees that I tried today! I give this two-thumbs up, and highly recommend that you try it. This blend is one of his darkest blends and is a beautifully balanced coffee, including beans from three growing regions. Our “Twilight Blend” includes beans from Guatemala, Ethiopia Sidamo, and Sumatra Mandheling.
I love the boldness to the Twilight Blend and the heavier and complex flavor profile. This blend has some of the savory qualities that a Sumatra coffee would be known for – The Mandheling flavor was pronounced to me. But then I really did love the Ethiopia Sidamo too. I can’t decide which.
Try them both and tell me what you think! It’s like falling in love with two people. You can never quite pick.
Boring legal information:
The FTC requires that I disclose that I received free product or services in conjunction with this review. I have to thank Velton Ross who generously invited me into his roasting facility and spent a lot of time discussing what he does, and how he takes great care with his coffee. He gave me some free coffee to take home, and so I have to tell you that “Melody received free product or services in conjunction with this blog entry” in order to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission.
Category: Coffee Reviews, Coffee Shop Reviews, Coffee Thoughts
About the Author (Author Profile)
Mike Crimmins is the highly caffeinated blogger behind Daily Shot Of Coffee. Besides drinking way too much coffee, he's obsessed with the Yankees and getting dirty on his mountain bike.Subscribe
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Thank you Melody for sharing your non-Starbucks experience! I had fun venturing into each others worlds. We’ll have to do it again.
have to admire the skills of a roaster and blender who
can pull flavor from a sip from start at the lips to the
after taste. this one sounded complex.
(…@aol.comTwilight Blend and the heavier and complex flavor profile. …)
Nice review. Velton’s coffee is super high quality and taste much better and is much fresher than most commercial roasters (definitely including starbucks). We love how he hand packs the bags, looks at the beans constantly while he’s roasting to check for inconsistencies, and writes the roast dates on the bag himself so we know how fresh it is when brewing. Also, Velton is just a damn nice guy. For all these reasons, isn’t it just right to buy his coffee over some big commercial outlet? I think so.
Hi Eric! I take the approach that there is plenty of room for all the coffee roasters, big or small, and each has something special to offer. I will never stop loving the beautifully caramelized Starbucks beans. But yes, as passionately as I talk about Starbucks, I can easily highly recommend Velton’s Coffee too: I believe this is not a zero sum game. He is a very nice guy, and puts 110% effort into producing great coffee. I give him two thumbs up enthusiasticly.
@Mike – Thank you so much for giving me this chance to write for your blog. I really had so much fun doing this. My friend who I was with fell in love with Velton’s Coffee too!
My apologies for the typos.
Melody
That is a very awesome experience! thanks for sharing