March 4th, 2010 Oh! Sozo! That’s a good cup of coffee!
I’ve been drinking an absolutely wonderful cup of coffee. Monsooned Malabar, to be exact.
I finally ordered some coffee beans from my cousin’s coffee roasting and espresso bar in Ionia, Michigan. My mom spoke of it often, but I just figured it was one of those family things.
I’m a bit of a coffee afficionado (see my earlier blog on making coffee in my French press coffee maker) but not a fanatic. I buy whole coffee beans and grind a few days of coffee at a time. I’m selective about the coffee I buy, but also price conscious.
So when I finally clicked onto my cousin’s site, I was delighted and a little surprised. Sozo, their coffee shop, was winning local awards. (Cool!) Judging from the Sozo Facebook posts, the shop has a faithful and enthusiastic following of customers. For me, though, I was drawn to the good online selection of coffee. I was fascinated by the descriptions and the localities that the coffee came from. I could get Costa Rican coffee, or Mexican, Ethopian …. up to then, I had just associated coffee with Columbia, as in Juan and his donkey.
Sozo also offered a new concept for me: fresh roasted coffee beans. They roast their own beans every day. Now this was something I hadn’t thought of: that the fresher the roast of the beans, the better the taste of the coffee. What started as a sort of hobby for the Sozo owners – roasting coffee beans at home – had magnetically attracted other coffee afficionados and thus they eventually opened Sozo. Fresh roasted coffee beans do make a difference and yes, you can taste the freshness in the cup.
Back to my favorite cup of coffee. Monsooned Malabar comes from India. According to Sozo, “This is a very unique coffee hailing from India. After harvest, the beans are exposed to the yearly Monsoon weather of India. As the beans absorb the moisture, they expand in size and take on a unique flavor. We light roast this bean, which retains the very special taste characteristics. Monsooned Malabar has an earthy flavor and a lot of body that is surprisingly smooth.”
Mmmm … just reading that description enhances the flavor.
You can read about Sozo’s coffee at www.sozocoffee.com .
How about you? Do you have a favorite coffee? I would love to hear about it.
Wishing you joy, peace, and abundance.
Patti
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