I was wandering around one of our many local farmer's markets when I happened upon a new booth stacked with fanciful cans of coffee. It may have been the baby strapped to Esther Cowing who really made me stop. I couldn't resist the baby or the sales pitch and finally selected a can of Kenya Peaberry Rukira. Every drop was delicious and the descriptions fascinated me; my Kenyan blend had a nose of "dark chocolate, toast, coriander seed, vanilla, lemon, tea rose, smoke,
honey, pipe tobacco, rice, garden pea, roasted peanut, roasted
hazelnut, roasted almond." Phew.
Even better than the wine-like descriptions is the care with which Esther and her husband, Todd, take in selecting and roasting their beans. Since Storyhouse is such a small roaster, the two of them can buy very small amounts of very perfect coffee beans, and mix and taste test to their hearts' delight. You've never seen such moony love of a craft as when Todd is describing how delicious one of his coffees is. And then, there are the stories on each can (the Cowings originally had their hearts set on throwing storytelling events in the big house on Hawthorne Blvd where they roast and sell their coffee). Yep, there really is a story, and the second time I visited the coffee booth at the farmer's market Todd said with come-hither eyes, "it's free if you have a story." Did I have a story, but I kept it to myself and handed over cash for a can of Uganda Bugisu Specialty. Next time, I'm bringing a story.
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