Search for A Perfect Coffee Gift Bag - Part 3 (Sweet Marias Paper Coffee Bag)

So I have been trying out different coffee bags so that I can gift my roasted coffee to my friends and family. This post is about Sweet Maria's - Paper Coffee Bag.

Each bag is $0.35 (As of April 2015) which is pretty economical.  However, Sweet Maria require $15 minimum order (total of goods before shipping) you have to buy at least 43 bags in order to get it shipped to you if you just buy the bag.  That is a lot of bags for me who is just home roasting, so I also ordered there green beans at the same time.

They have two sizes for this paper type, 0.5 lbs bag ($0.35) and 1.0 lbs bag ($0.45).  The picture below is the small one 0.5 lbs bag.  Using Nesco CR-1010-PRR Coffee Bean Roaster, 800-watt, the bag is big enough to contain 2 roasts each bag and a pot for myself to try. 

Sweet Maria's - Paper Coffee Bags

From the look of it, it is pretty standard.

  The material is brown paper like grocery bag kind. 

I like it as it feels durable. 


It is still paper, so it is not that air tight. It smells good though. : )



Overall I am happy with the bag, but I might want some more unique one.  This one looks fine but doesn't look much like "gift" for some reasons for me. I keep looking!

If you have not yet, you might also be interested in:

Ristretto Roasters, Portland, OR - Pleasant Medium Roast

Looking for good aroma of coffee?  I personally guarantee you there will be no regret after a sip of a cup from Ristretto Roasters (RR), Portland OR (3808 N Williams Ave Portland, Oregon 97227 Link

The aroma of Ristretto Roaster coffee is unforgettable
Their coffee is one of my favorite ones around the town as the aroma of the coffee really show up on each cup. As their name suggests, "Ristretto" means short shot of espresso coffee made with the normal amount of ground coffee but extracted with about half the amount of water. The word "Ristretto" means "limited" or "restricted" in Italian. (Source: Wikipedia)   Ristretto coffee usually has more concentration of coffee chemical as the first part of any extraction take out more chemical from coffee. 

Ristretto Roasters opened their door in 2005 and now have three locations in Portland. Their coffee is distributed throughout Portland area through their wholesale operation.  I have visited the location on Williams in North Portland area. They are also featured in my favorite book Left Coast Roast: A Guide to the Best Coffee and Roasters from San Francisco to Seattle

Modern style building with sign
Their Williams location is an up-rising Portland area where you see a lot of new constructions. The neighborhood is very alive with young cloud where you can clearly see the rise of new Portland Generation.  

As you approach the coffee shop, you can smell the good aroma from the corner of the street. Just by walking by, it is hard to resist to try out their coffee as the smell of coffee almost hypnotize you to step into their clouded shop.   

Inside coffee shop has no seat, indication of popular hang-out spots for locals

Once you walk into the shop, you notice the cleanses and openness of the shop. Pleasantly looking new modern style design are very attractive to stand to wait for coffee.  I find no seat to sit down as this shop is clearly a popular hang-out spot for the local folks.

I like the cleanses of the design the shop provides.

 I get their coffee and their roasted coffee bean as well.  Signing credit card on iPad with Square seems to be the trend for many of these coffee shops these days; the "new" style matches their modern design shop.

I take a sip, and I find the paradise in mouth. Their coffee is non-fruity but very pleasant medium roast with very strong aroma of coffee. I would come back anytime for this cup. 

Search for A Perfect Coffee Gift Bag - Part 2 (Using Coffee As Fragrance in Car)

As I search for a perfect coffee gift bag (See my previous post about finding coffee gift bag), here is another option that I tried from Amazon:  Cotton Muslin Bags 3x4 Inch.

I purposely got a small size for a reason this time; I wanted to use it in a car as fragrance. I love coffee smell, and coffee has effect of killing odors.  Here is an article from Reader's Digest about using coffee to kill odor in a car (One of 13 Surprising Uses for Coffee). I have seen people using ground coffee beans as ashtray to remove odor of cigaret.  This works the same way in a car as it eliminates strong odor like smell from fast food.

As I roast, there are times I mess up; I either burned too much or the coffee simply is not tasting well. At that time, I thought of using it for fragrance in a car.  This can also be a nice gift for someone as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A4GRZNK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00A4GRZNK&linkCode=as2&tag=coffeefy0a-20&linkId=ZSSKQD45UOLFKSOW

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A4GRZNK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00A4GRZNK&linkCode=as2&tag=coffeefy0a-20&linkId=ZSSKQD45UOLFKSOW

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A4GRZNK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00A4GRZNK&linkCode=as2&tag=coffeefy0a-20&linkId=ZSSKQD45UOLFKSOW

You can buy Cotton Muslin Bags 3x4 Inch or you can read about my previous post about coffee bean gift bag ideas:

Un-Boxing Epica (Mira) Electric Coffee Grinder

Grinding coffee is surely one of the most important steps for a perfect cup of coffee. My older grinder is starting to make some noise so I decided to see if I can find some good coffee grinder that is reasonable price and has professional grade grinding. Based on Amazon ranking, Epica Electric Coffee Grinder has the best rating based on the price range less than $30 (as of March 2015). So I got it myself, and here is un-boxing of Epica Electric Coffee Grinder and what I think about it.

Epica Electric Coffee Grinder



Standard box.
Opening...


Well packed.

Looks fine. Nothing special but doesn't look cheap either.


The plug is protected by plastic. Good.



Looks pretty good.  I like the modern style.

Here are tips I received from the seller about grinding. I thought it was nice to know so I have listed the key points here.
  • Start with 2 tablespooons of beans for each cup of water and adjust to taste. 
  • Choose the right grind fineness for your coffeemaker.

    • Coarse grind for French presses, cold brew toddy makers, vacuum coffeemakers or percolators
    • Medium grind for drip coffeemakers with a flat bottom filter
    • Medium or fine grind for drip coffeemakers with a cone shaped filter
    • Fine grind for stovetop espresso pots
    • Super fine grind for espresso machines
  • Press the activation button in short pulses (2-4 seconds) rather than holding it down continuously, to prevent the coffee from overheating and losing flavor.
  • Time your grinding according to the desired fineness.
    • Coarse grind: 2-3 seconds
    • Medium grind: 4-6 seconds
    • Fine grind: 6-8 seconds 

 After I use it for a month:

I am pretty happy with the grinder.  One thing I wished it had was "memory" feature which many other grinder has. (See below picture)  Even my old grinder which is not any way high grade grinder has this feature, and I wished they had them.  But the main point I am really happy about is the uniformity of the grinded beans.  After grinding, just by looking at it you can see that all the pieces are pretty much the same size which is not the case for my old grinder.


I am very happy with Epica Electric Coffee Grinder and I recommend this grinder for the budget of $30 or less.


StumpTown Coffee Roasters, Portland OR - Perfect Corner Coffee Shop

In Belmont area of Portland, another roaster that I love to go often is StumpTown Coffee Roaster.

StumpTown Coffee Roasters - Belmont, Portland OR (3356 SE Belmont Street Portland, OR 97214 Link)

StumpTown started out in Portland in 1999, and they now have 5 locations in Portland and expended to locations in Seattle, Los Angles and New York. I like their Belmont one for couple of reasons; the local feel and located in perfect neighborhood to walk around with a cup of coffee.

Outside StumpTown Belmont Location gives a nice local feel
Inside StumpTown - truly a "corner coffee shop"

Their Belmont location of StumpTown is close to Oblique Roasters that I mentioned earlier; StumpTown is located on the corner of the busiest area of Belmont Street.  Across and around the shops have some nicely aged buildings which make you feel like you are back in 80s.

A nice neighborhood to walk around
 Just four blocks North of Stumptown is Laurelhurst Park where many of the locals walk around with dogs; it is surprisingly large park in such a conjested residential area. The park also has a little pond, and it is very nicely maintained.  It is perfect walking distance from StumpTown to enjoy a togo cup of coffee.

Laurelhurst Park is located just 4 blocks North of StumpTown
The location is great, but what about their coffee? Even better.  StumpTown is featured in the book : "Left Coast Roast: A Guide to the Best Coffee and Roasters from San Francisco to Seattle" which I have been using to navigate around Portland to find the best Coffee Roasters.  The book mentions that "they spend nine months each year in twenty different coffee-producing countries visiting some farms as many as three times annually."  In each of the bag of coffee bean they sell, it is marked "Direct Trade" with a nice little card explaining about the coffee grower.  Just a simple card make me feel connected to the grower and made each cup special and the taste and aroma differently support it.

Coffee bean from StumpTown has a pocket

Inside a pocket is a little card explaining about the coffee grower
Feeling like a nice walk with a very nice cup of coffee? I suggest an afternoon at StumpTown and the neighborhood that support them.

Stumptown Coffee can be purchased also at Portland Airport (PDX) right inside the security check-point. It would be a nice Portland gift when visiting other areas.

Search for A Perfect Coffee Gift Bag - Part 1 (4 X 6 Burlap Bags with Drawstring)

After I started roasting coffee, I have been having sleepless night; not because I am roasting at night, just because I have been drinking too much coffee! I want to try different duration and quantity for roasting, and that results in a lot of good coffee but I cannot simply try them all. If you are home roasting, you probably have similar problem.  Well, I have one solution for all of you who are sleepless coffee lovers.

The solution: Gift them.

Yes, how great is that?  You not only get to try roasting more, but others will love you for the coffee too, (that is if the resulting coffee is good).  I have been sharing my coffee with friends, family and coworkers since I started roasting, and that is a great way of sharing the "joy" or in other words, "result of trials and errors."

Surprisingly, I find out that it is extremely difficult to simply find coffee bags. You don't find them at regular grocery stores or even Target. Cash & Carry (They sell items for local restaurants) doesn't even have coffee bags.  (Side note: Cash & Carry is probably the best spot to buy coffee syrup; they are the cheapest and have a whole isle dedicated just for coffee syrup from three to four major brands.)
The local coffee roasting shop Mr. Green Bean (see my earlier blog about Mr. Greenbean) has some coffee bags but they are very "normal" and doesn't look like gift bags.
So my natural next option is online. It is not perfect, and I will keep looking for others but here is what I found out about 4 X 6 Burlap Bags with Drawstring - Lot of 24.




4 X 6 Burlap Bags with Drawstring

 First disclaimer: this product is not originally intended for coffee bag.  But I thought it looks pretty cute that it has the look and feel of the large coffee bean bags that I see in the corner of coffee shops.

Here are some pictures of how it arrives to you from Amazon and un-boxing the item:

Item arrives in a fine large envelope via USPS
   
Inside has a sealed plastic bag
Close up of the bag
The texture feels good
After opening, I notice a problem.  Something I did not notice online, the smell of the bag.  The material used for this bag is burlap which has smell of something like oil which is not somthing I want to mix with coffee that I just roasted.  This was a big disappointment on me.  But here is what I did to cover that up and still give it as gift: Ziploc Bag.

6/1/2" x 3 1/4" ziploc bag is the prefect fit for the size of the bag
One roast using Nesco CR-1010-PRR roasting fits one bag.
I basically packed the roasted bean inside ziploc bag and put it in the gift bag.  Good thing is that when I roast using Nesco CR-1010-PRR Coffee Bean Roaster, size of 6 1/2" x 3 1/4" is just the right size for one batch of coffee roasting after I try one cup of coffee.  And here is how it looks after all the effort:


 As I am not perfectly happy with this bag, I will be keep searching for better option, and I will post more as I try out more in the future.