In April we introduced a new blend, the Love Your Library Blend (very delicious!) so it seems like a great time to highlight our other blends.

Our Single Origin coffees each have a set of flavor characteristics unique to their own country or regions. Creating blends brings those individual flavors together to make a new, and sometimes unexpected, flavor profiles. Some of our blends are more traditional and some we’ve created with certain people,places, or brewing methods in mind.

With more traditional types of blends, you’ll see many roasters and coffee brands with a Breakfast Blend or House Blend but that doesn’t mean you’ll find the same flavors from them. For our Breakfast Blend we mix medium and dark roasted coffees for a rich yet smooth, full bodied brew, whereas others Breakfast Blends may be created to be more soft and easy drinking. House blends vary greatly as most are created to give a shining example of the specific roaster or brand. Our Kaffeeklatsch House Blend was created long ago to be a crowd-pleasing introduction to specialty coffees, back when The Kaffeeklatsch was just about the only “coffee scene” in Huntsville. A blend of 4 different Central and South American coffees, our blend offers an easy drinking cup with interesting flavors, good body and balance.

Likely the first coffee blend ever created was Mocha Java. Don’t confuse this traditional blend with a mocha drink or chocolate flavoring. This blend goes back to the very first coffee growing regions, Yemen and Java, when they were about the only places coffee was grown. Yemen’s port city Mokha (Mocha) was a busy spot, with lots of travelers coming through from Java Island in the Indonesian Archipelago. It just made sense to someone to blend the exquisite coffees from the two areas. For our Mocha Java Blend, we use Yemen and Sumatra Mandheling, another Indonesian coffee, for this distinct blend with striking flavors. Very unique and complex!

Some of our most popular blends came to being through customer needs (and sometimes our own personal wants). The Brazil & French Roast Blend started as a suggestion for customers looking for a bold, yet sweet espresso blend with a nice crema. We found it was just as tasty using other brewing styles as well so we kept suggesting it, patrons kept asking for more, so on the menu it went!

The Cacao Blend was created by a former employee (thanks Aidan!). He wanted a super chocolately nuanced blend to use for making cold brew (fantastic hot brewed too). The crew all enjoyed the blend, and suggested it occasionally to customers. Everyone who tried it wanted more, so Aidan’s chocolate blend became Cacao Blend.

We put equal care in to creating blends as we do roasting our beans. So if you’ve never tried any of our blends, explore all of them under ‘Special Blends‘ on the ‘Coffee’ drop-down menu. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite. Also look out for some additional blends, created for our friends at WLRH (Huntsville Public Radio 89.3 FM), that will be added soon!

We have created a new Special Blend, the Love Your Library Blend, that is now available for purchase. April is Love Your Library Month for our local Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System so we made this blend to help celebrate the month and show our love for HMCPL. Besides giving our love, we are also using this as an opportunity to raise a donation. For the whole month, part of the proceeds of every pound sold will go directly to HMCPL for use in our local community. On top of helping the community, the blend itself is delicious too! A nice mix of coffees from Ethiopia Harrar, and Peru with a little bit of French Roast. So whether you’re local or not, this is a great new offering to try (and it will be staying after April!)

April’s coffee of the month is our New Guinea Siane Chimbu, available for $17.95 per pound. This coffee is rich and heavy bodied with prominent dark chocolate notes, very tasty! It’s also Certified Organic.

We received a truckload of coffee last week with some old favorites you might have been missing. For our decaf drinkers, the Decaffeinated Ethiopian is back in stock also bringing back our Decaffeinated German Blend as well as the Decaffeinated Mocha Java.

For the caffeinated drinkers, we have the Timor-Leste Ermera Eratoi back in stock and also a new crop from Peru Cajamarca Santa Maria, and Ethiopia Guji.

We are very pleased to have both Celebes Kalossi-Sulawesi* and Jamaica Blue Mountain back in stock at the store!

We had a bit of a wait on the Sulawesi but it was well worth it. This Sulawesi is a little different than the coffees we generally carry from that area as it is a naturally processed crop. So expect a touch of brightness in the cup along with the expected boldness, but don’t worry, it’s delicious! We’ll feature this Sulawesi as Coffee of the Month in March.

Jamaica Blue Mountain is back again from the Clydesdale Estate. As pleasing as ever, smooth, soft, sweet, and just so easy to drink! If you’ve been pining for Hawaii Kona give this Jamaica a try as it has a similar flavor profile.

Having this coffees back in stock also brings back our Coffee Lover’s Blend and Deluxe Coffee Sampler.

∗The name Celebes was originally given to the country by Portuguese explorers. Sulawesi came in to common use following Indonesian Independence from the Dutch/Netherlands in 1945 and is now the proper country name. Kalossi is a specific village in the main growing region of Sulawesi.

We had a bit of a rough start to 2022 but it’s finally settled down. We always appreciate how understanding our patrons are when we have to close unexpectedly!

We have several new coffee crops in stock:

• Brazil Mantiqueira de Minas
• Guatemala La Flor del Cafe Peaberry
• Ethiopia Harrar 4 Kubsitu Cooperative
• Mexico FTO Chiapas GRAPOS
• Peru Grade 1 FTO
• Sumatra Takegon IKA Mandheling

Both the Mexican and Peruvian coffees are Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade. The new Guatemalan is a Peaberry type of bean (Peaberries occur inside the coffee cherry from a natural mutation that causes only one of the seeds to be pollinated. This leaves extra space for the single seed to grow larger and rounder creating a peaberry coffee bean). The Ethiopia Harrar and Sumatra Mandheling both offer different and interesting taste profiles. There’s something to please most any coffee drinker!

News on Accessories:

Our Kaffeeklatsch Logo Mugs were so popular we sold completely out before the end of 2021. Good news is we have more in stock now, so make sure to get one and show your Kaffeeklatsch love while you sip! Choose from a 15 oz. white mug with our logo in black or a 10 oz. speckled black mug with our logo in white, both $14.95. We also have enamel pins, stickers and magnets too!

We are introducing more coffee and tea making accessories from Fellow. We have more of their Atmos Storage Jars in stock. We’ve also got some of their great travel mugs and kettles in store, available soon through our website.

Time has really seemed to fly by this year and the winter holidays are already upon us! Whether you are buying a gift for family or friends, or trying to find a ‘thank you’ gift for your host, we have something for almost everyone.

Coffee Ideas

Despite all the troubles faced in coffee shipping this year, we are happy to still have a large selection of beans available. All of our coffee varieties are available in 1 pound or 1/2 pound size bags and ground to order. There are several new and interesting coffees in store:

• Bali Kintamani Organic Natural
• Costa Rica Santa Maria De Dota AA Peaberry
• Guatemala Atitlan San Pedro Honey *Special Offering-only here for a limited time*
• Kenya Nyeri Othaya Gichichi *Special Offering-only here for a limited time*
• New Guinea Siane Chimbu
• Peru APROCASSI
• Sumatra Aceh Gayo Honey *Special Offering-just in*
• Yemen Mocca Hajjah

In addition to our regular sized bags we have a few curated coffee sampler options. These offer multiple varieties, depending on the sampler chosen, packaged in 1/4 pound bags.

Tea Ideas

As always, we have a large selection of teas to please any type of tea drinker! Our Tea of the Month, Ceylon Lumbini, is a Special Offering black tea with complex flavors and full body. Our Masala Chai is also an excellent full bodied, full flavored tea for the winter. Another Special Offering in tea is the Holiday Tisane, an herbal and caffeine free option with fruits, flowers and spices.

Some of our employee favorites; Himalayan Honey Green, with a pleasant natural sweetness and clean finish. Golden Buds Milk Oolong, natural “peaches and cream” flavor and aroma, delicious hot or cold. Honeydew Strawberry Green, a green tea blended with strawberries and honeydew melon, beautiful aroma, sweet, mild and fruity in the cup.

Accessories

Don’t forget the “Accessories” tab! Brewing equipment, candies and other items to make your coffee at home better can all be found here. We have some great new storage jars from Fellow, as well as new “Kaffeeklatsch” branded goods!

You’re sure to find all you need for great coffee and tea gifts. We’re more than happy to help with selections, feel free to send us a message or call for assistance. Remember, it’s okay to gift yourself as well!

We wish you a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year! – The Kaffeeklatsch Crew

• The store interior is open!
• All of the crew is vaccinated
• Masks are not required but highly recommended
• Coffee cup service is back on – $3 for 12 oz. cup to go
• There is still a lot of construction going on around us so be aware!

• We miss talking to you at the counter but the store interior will remain closed for the foreseeable future
• We know you’re missing our to-go cups of coffee but we just can’t fit that service into our precautions at this time
• Our website has been updated to include merchandise so even though you can’t come in you can still see and order coffee & tea accessories. We’re also happy to show you anything at the door!
• About ordering; We are open our regular business hours and orders can usually be ready same day. We can take your order through the website, over the phone or at the shop door. You can have your order shipped, you can pick up at the door or you can order through Grub South for delivery
• We are unable to provide curbside service
• We greatly appreciate and highly recommend wearing a mask while you interact with us at the door

It’s hard to believe this year is almost over but here we are with Christmas just a couple weeks away! This has certainly been an interesting year for everyone. The crew here is so appreciative of all the customer support we have received and so happy we were able to keep the shop open most of the year.

There are some new crops in the store to highlight:

• Bali Kintamani Natural – A wonderfully wild coffee with high complexity, available for $16.95 per pound
• Jamaica Blue Mountain Clydesdale Estate – A well known name, an exceptionally sweet and smooth, available for $49.95 per pound
• Tanzania CPU Peaberry – A bit more mild than most African coffees, pleasant balance of citrus notes as well as sweetness, available for $15.95 per pound

For December we are featuring our Brazil Mogiana (you guys drank it all!) Honduras Honey as Coffee of the Month. Available for $15.95 per pound it’s soft and sweet and easy to drink. The Tea of the Month is Christmas Mint (known as Moroccan Mint usually). This proprietary blend we make in store is delicious hot or iced, certified organic and available for $6.50 per quarter pound.

Don’t forget we also have coffee and tea accessories for gift giving! Check the ‘Merchandise‘ tab to see coffee makers, grinders, mugs, tea accessories, shirts and candies. We know it can be hard to decide when you can’t come in to the store to look around, so please feel free to ask us any questions or have us bring something to the door for you to see.

Another new gifting option or perhaps gift to yourself, Coffee and Tea Samplers! The ‘Sample Options‘ tab shows these new creations, click the links below for more information. There are two choices for both coffee and tea:

• Deluxe Curated Sampler – features 3 coffees for $32.95
• World Tour Curated Sampler – features 4 coffees for $22.95
• Basic Curated Sampler – features 4 teas for $15.95
• Premium Curated Sampler – features 5 teas for $25.95

*Please note there is a limit on how many you can order, if you are interested in purchasing a larger amount please call the store*

Just to remind, as per usual we will close the store for a winter break. Our last day of the year will be Christmas Eve, Thursday 12/24 from 9am to 1pm (note that availability may be limited that day). The store will be closed Friday 12/25/2020 until Thursday 01/07/2021.

Again we are so thankful for all of you! We hope you have a Happy Holiday season, stay safe and well – The Kaffeeklatsch Crew

Service Reminders:

We miss talking to you at the counter but the store interior will remain closed for the foreseeable future — We know you’re missing our to-go cups of coffee but we just can’t fit that service into our precautions at this time — Our website has been updated to include merchandise so even though you can’t come in you can still see and order coffee & tea accessories. We’re also happy to show you anything at the door — About ordering; We are open our regular business hours and orders can usually be ready same day. We can take your order through the website, over the phone or at the shop door. You can have your order shipped, you can pick up at the door or you can order through Grub South for delivery. We are unable to provide curbside service — We greatly appreciate you wearing a mask while you interact with us at the door

In the previous news post I mentioned that one of our business constants is sampling green coffee beans before purchase so I wanted to give you a small glimpse at our sampling process.

We taste and choose all of our samples as a group. Having multiple palates and voices helps ensure we’re picking the highest quality coffees to fit our flavor profiles (of course multiple voices can sometime make the decisions harder!). You may have heard us say it before; we don’t want to sell you something we wouldn’t drink ourselves!

We receive small samples of coffees from our broker to roast and taste. Sometimes it’s a group of samples from one country of origin so that we may compare and choose which one to buy. Other times we’ll get samples for coffees we have already booked and the sample is for our approval before final purchase decision. The size of the samples (around 250 grams max) generally only gives one or two roasts so we have to be meticulous. Samples are roasted on our sample roaster, a Quest M3, the day before we are going to taste.

While we don’t sample using the exact Specialty Coffee Association process, we follow our own protocol. The samples are prepared identically; same water, same weight, same brew process. Samples are tasted blind, usually only the roaster knows what/which, and served in identical wide mouth ceramic cups. We taste together but instead of talking as we go we write our notes/thoughts and discuss after everyone is finished. Each person gives their notes on aroma,taste and body for all the samples. Then we consider which sample fits our profiles, our customers tastes, our blends and our personal tastes. Once we’ve decided what to buy or approve then we consider how much to purchase for the season (just like food crops coffee crops are seasonal). So there you have the basics of how we pick the coffees we carry.

Our newest coffees are listed below, click on any of the links to read more:

• Guatemala Huehuetenango Rio Azul The Huehuetenango region always seems to bring great coffees to the table
• Ethiopia Guji 1 Natural Uraga This Guji from Uraga is a good one to try if you are usually a Harrar drinker, Coffee of the Month for October!
• Ethiopia Hambela 1 Natural Yirgacheffe is gone for now but this lovely Hambela is just delicious. Also Certified Organic
• Mexico Finca La Laja Honey A great limited offer with the expected chocolate notes and creamy body but also some fine brightness from the “Honey” processing
• Mexico Oaxaca Pluma San Agustin Loxicha Another great Mexican from Oaxaca
• Kenya Nyeri Rugi Mihuti An excellent representation of the Kenyan profile with good focus
• Yemen Mocca Hawari As unique as ever and sourced from a female owned & operated business which is very seldom seen in Yemen

Some reminders about our continued new operations;

We miss talking to you at the counter but the store interior will remain closed for the foreseeable future — We know you’re missing our to-go cups of coffee but we just can’t fit that service into our precautions at this time — Our website has been updated to include merchandise so even though you can’t come in you can still see and order coffee & tea accessories. We’re also happy to show you anything at the door — About ordering; We are open our regular business hours and orders can almost always be ready same day. We can take your order through the website, over the phone or at the shop door. You can have your order shipped, you can pick up at the door or you can order through Grub South for delivery. We are unable to provide curbside service — We greatly appreciate you wearing a mask while you interact with us at the door

As always, we are so grateful for your continued support and we hope you all continue to stay well!

Well by this point it’s just hard to believe it’s September already. Saying this year has been odd and trying is quite an understatement for all of us. Here at the store, we had to rethink a lot of what we do and how we do it, affecting not only us but our customers as well.

Through all of this there were a couple of things that didn’t change; Our customers continued support and the need to taste and buy green coffee. Since those are two of the most important keys to making our business run, we felt quite fortunate to continue to have both!

We’ve tasted several samples throughout the last few months. Below is a list of the newest arrivals. Click on any of the links to read more:

• Guatemala Huehuetenango Rio Azul The Huehuetenango region always seems to bring great coffees to the table
• Ethiopia Guji 1 Natural Uraga This Guji from Uraga is a good one to try if you are usually a Harrar drinker
• Ethiopia Hambela 1 Natural Yirgacheffe is gone for now but this lovely Hambela is just delicious. Also Certified Organic
• Mexico Oaxaca Pluma San Agustin Loxicha Another great Mexican from Oaxaca
• Kenya Nyeri Rugi Mihuti An excellent representation of the Kenyan profile with good focus
• Yemen Mocca Hawari As unique as ever and sourced from a female owned & operated business which is very seldom seen in Yemen

In addition to some wonderful new coffees, we also have a couple of new teas. These are limited offerings:

• Purple Bamboo Black A newer tea created from an existing cultivar in Yunnan Province, delightful body and balance of flavors
• Fragrant Fruit Mountain Oolong Lovely and delicate oolong with low tannins, also from a fairly new cultivar

Some reminders about our continued new operations;

We miss talking to you at the counter but the store interior will remain closed for the foreseeable future — We know you’re missing our to-go cups of coffee but we just can’t fit that service into our precautions at this time — Our website has been updated to include merchandise so even though you can’t come in you can still see and order coffee & tea accessories. We’re also happy to show you anything at the door — About ordering; We are open our regular business hours and orders can almost always be ready same day. We can take your order through the website, over the phone or at the shop door. You can have your order shipped, you can pick up at the door or you can order through Grub South for delivery. We are unable to provide curbside service.

As always, we are so grateful for your continued support and we hope you all continue to stay well!