Author: lpaulriddle

  • Kross Costa Rica Finca Las Lajas

    Kross Costa Rica Finca Las Lajas

    • Beans: Costa Rica (Finca Las Lajas)
      • Roaster: Kross Coffee Roasters (Chania [Crete], Greece)
      • Origin: Costa Rica (Alajuela – West Valley)
      • Roast level: Light
      • Roast date: TBD (early April 2025)
      • Purchase date: 4/15/2025 at Kross Coffee Roasters in Chania
        First cup: 4/28/2025
        Last cup: 5/8/2025
      • Process: Honey; Varietal: Caturra; Elevation: 1750 MASL
      • Tasting notes: Raisins, hazelnuts, citrus (moderate acidity)
    • V60:
      • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
      • Ode: 2
      • Water at 99°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 36-40g bloom water – finishes 02:40-2:45 with size 2 V60, 2:30 with size 1 V60

    This was the only local coffee roaster I ran across during our 2-week Mediterranean cruise. There may have been others, but after buying this, I didn’t look any further, as I had limited suitcase space. Coffee beans are more expensive in Greece than the USA for sure, as I paid €18 (around $20-21), and the bag is only 250g, or roughly 9 ounces. That works out to about $26-27 for 12 ounces, which is around 30-40% more than I’d expect to pay for this grade of coffee in the US. I can’t complain, though, as everything is more expensive in our current geopolitical climate. The coffee itself is exactly as described on the box. Roast level isn’t mentioned, but the beans are obviously light roasted based on their color. Taste is nutty and fruity with an acidic finish. Quite nice overall.

    5/9: I finished these up yesterday. This was a little bit more on the fruity/acidic side than I tend to prefer, but I still enjoyed it. Next up is another pair of light roasts that I picked up in Salt Lake City.

  • Early April Run Notes

    Early April Run Notes

    The weather early this spring has been like a roller coaster: warm and humid one day, cold and windy the next, rinse, repeat. We’ve had 3 days where it has gotten up into the 80s, followed by a couple of days in the 50s and 60s, and today we were back up near 80. Next Tuesday night, there’s a chance we might have a freeze. Welcome to April in Maryland!

    Today was the first run I’ve taken in high humidity this year. Something has been dogging my runs over the past couple of weeks. While I haven’t really had a sensation that I was struggling or “hitting the wall”, my average pace has been off by 45-60 seconds/mile, and my energy has been lower (including with other activities like biking and walking). By all accounts, today figured to continue that trend: I’m stressed out and anxious about several things (long story); I slept poorly last night; and weather and schedule conspired to prevent me from running until 1:00pm. Morning is my preferred time of day to run, and for some reason, I always feel a little bit “off” when I run later in the day. Surprisingly, though, today’s run felt great: my energy and form were good, and I finished at a respectable 10:45/mile, which is a good 15 seconds/mile faster than any of my more recent runs, and in line with what I would call my “baseline” speed for this kind of weather. Running is a great way to beat stress: when I get anxious, I develop a “fight or flight” response, which really gets my adrenaline going. Running burns off all of that nervous energy and releases endorphins, which calm me down and improve my mood — a win-win all around.

  • Zeke’s Black & Orange Blend

    Zeke’s Black & Orange Blend

    • Beans: Black & Orange Blend
      • Roaster: Zeke’s Coffee (Baltimore, MD)
      • Roast level: Dark (7/8)
      • Origin: Brazil, Colombia
      • Roast date: 03/24/2025
      • Purchase date: 03/29/2025 at Green Valley Marketplace (Elkridge, MD)
      • First cup brewed: 03/30/2025
      • Tasting notes: “Nutty notes of liquor and baker’s chocolate / medium acidity”
    • V60:
      • 21g coffee / 300g water (1:14.3)
      • Ode: 4
      • Water at 90°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 60g pulses- finishes 02:40-02:45

    I’m finally all caught up with coffee notes. I’m actually still near the beginning of this bag. As I remember, I’m going to try to start noting the date I brewed my first and last cup of each bag along with roast and purchase dates. That will give me a better sense of freshness to correlate with my notes, and also an idea of how long it takes me to go through bags in general.

    It had been a couple of months since I last had a dark roast. I used to just assume that immersion (e.g. French/AeroPress) was always going to be better with dark roasts, but my usual V60 method has worked out fairly well for the last couple of bags I’ve brewed. This one is no exception. As I typically do, I went with cooler water and a slightly stronger ratio than I typically use for medium/light roasts. The first few cups have been smooth, roasty, and not overly bitter — pretty much how I like dark roasts to taste. I may end up having to freeze some of this if I can’t finish the (1lb) bag by middle of next week, so it will be interesting to see how that works out.

  • Gracefully Colombian Decaf

    Gracefully Colombian Decaf

    • Beans: Colombian Mountain Water Process Decaf
      • Roaster: Gracefully Coffee Roasters (Baltimore, MD)
      • Roast level: Medium
      • Origin: Colombia
      • Roast date: 02/12/2025
      • Purchase date: 02/21/2025 at Gracefully Curbside Cafe (2601 N Rolling Rd Ste 104, Windsor Mill, MD)
      • Tasting notes: milk chocolate, caramel, citrus
    • V60:
      • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
      • Ode: 4 to 4+1
      • Water at 92-95°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover (60g pulses) – finishes around 03:30

    This is another pretty good decaf. It’s definitely on par with the offerings from Brewing Good and Rise Up, and I’ll likely cycle through these (depending on availability/freshness; Rise Up can be hit-or-miss around here) until another local competitor comes along. The grounds draw down fairly slowly, though not as slowly as the Brewing Good decaf. I brewed most of the single cups in a size 1 V60, and double cups in the size 2. We’ve taken a long time to go through this bag, and as of this writing, it’s over 6 weeks past roast date and starting to degrade a little bit. I brewed most of the early cups at grind 4 and water at 95°C, but more recently, I noticed some slight bitterness, so I backed off to 4+1/92.

  • Black Acres Seya Blend

    Black Acres Seya Blend

    • Beans: Seya Blend
      • Roaster: Black Acres Roastery (Baltimore, MD)
      • Roast level: Medium
      • Origin: Pau Brasil + Organic Ethiopia Limu Grade 2
      • Roast date: around 3/10/2025
      • Purchase date: 03/13/2025 or 03/14/2025 at Lexington Market, Baltimore, MD
      • Process: variety
      • Tasting notes: Chocolate bar, sweet berries
    • V60:
      • 19g-20g coffee / 300g water (1:16-1:15)
      • Ode: 2+1
      • Water at 95°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover (60g pulses) – finishes around 03:00

    I’m a little behind with writing this up, as I finished the bag last week. I kept the bag around so that I could record the roast date, but can’t find it at the moment. When it turns up, I’ll update the post.

    These beans have a relatively slow draw-down time. I brewed almost all of the cups with a size 1 V60. A 300g cup is about the limit with this size. I mostly agree with the stated tasting notes- the cups had kind of a rich, milk chocolaty mouthfeel with a little bit of fruitiness to go with it. I thought it was pretty good. There was a bit of a drop-off in extraction towards the end of the (12oz) bag, with my last 2 or 3 cups tasting a little bit weak. I could probably compensate by grinding a little finer.

  • Gracefully Papua New Guinea

    Gracefully Papua New Guinea

    • Beans: Papua New Guinea Nebilyer Valley A
      • Roaster: Gracefully Coffee Roasters (Baltimore, MD)
      • Roast level: Medium
      • Origin: Papua New Guinea
      • Roast date: 02/20/2025
      • Purchase date: 02/21/2025 at Gracefully Curbside Cafe (2601 N Rolling Rd Ste 104, Windsor Mill, MD)
      • Elevation: 1350; Varietals: Bourbon, Typica; Process: Washed; Drying Process: patio drying
      • Tasting notes: extra dark chocolate, toffee, red apple
    • V60:

    I first brewed these with pretty typical settings: grind 3, 95C water, 60g pulses. The first couple of cups were good, but then I started getting sour/under-extracted cups. The beans draw down pretty quickly, finishing up at 2:30-2:35, which I’ve often found isn’t enough time to get everything fully extracted. In the past, when I’ve had beans like this, I’ve ended up going to an immersion brew with the AeroPress. However, at the moment, my AeroPress is at my office at UMBC. Rather than breaking out the French press, I decided to try modifying my V60 technique. Usually, I pour 5 “pulses” of 60g water, and finish pouring at 02:00. For this experiment, I tried pouring 6 “pulses” of 50g, finishing at 02:20. This kept water in the cone until around 03:00, theoretically allowing for more extraction.

    Did this make a difference? The jury is still out — this morning’s cup, brewed using the 50g pulse technique and 95C water, was still a little weak/sour. This afternoon, I bumped the water temperature to 98C, and also brushed out the grinder chute (there were a bunch of old grounds in there), and the cup turned out really good. Maybe I just need to get better with brushing the chute out more regularly? Who knows. As long as I’m getting good cups, I’m happy. Whatever the case, it seems like I have a technique I can use to vary the draw-down time with the V60. If I end up using it more often, I’ll update the recipe page.

  • New Tires

    New Tires

    My trusty Surly Disc Trucker had been out of commission for about a month due to a flat rear tire. Normally, a flat wouldn’t result in that much downtime, but I was out of patches, and didn’t have any spare tubes to fit. The two tubes I had that were the correct size had Schrader valves, and I’m thinking I must have bought them by mistake, since I don’t have any bikes with 700C wheels that use Schrader valves. (I forgot that those tubes fit Cathy’s bike!) On top of that, I needed new tires, as my trusty Continental Ride Tours were worn down and starting to dry rot. After initially ordering the wrong size tires by mistake, I finally got the bike road-worthy again for this morning’s commute. The new tires are Schwalbe Marathons. I’ve been really happy with the now 14-year-old Marathon Winter studded tires on my 26″ winter bike, so I have high hopes that these will be just as good. They’re a tiny bit beefier than the Contis, and I had to slightly adjust my front fender to keep it from rubbing (the issue was the studs that attach the fender to the strut). The tires seem to ride pretty well, and it’s possible they’ll be a little smoother on gravel than the Contis, due to the extra width. I’ll be mainly riding them on pavement, though. Now, I need to go online somewhere and order a whole bunch of patches, as I have a huge pile of leaky tubes waiting to be patched.

  • Gracefully Clumsy Girl

    Gracefully Clumsy Girl

    • Beans: Clumsy Girl
      • Roaster: Gracefully Coffee Roasters (Baltimore, MD)
      • Roast level: Medium
      • Origin: Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Costa RIca
      • Roast date: 02/06/2025
      • Purchase date: 02/21/2025 at Gracefully Curbside Cafe (2601 N Rolling Rd Ste 104, Windsor Mill, MD)
    • V60:

    This was my first time visiting this small local roaster. I first had their coffee at Evergrain Bread Co. in Chestertown, and enjoyed it. I think it was this one, but there’s a small chance it was Jamberry, one of their other popular roasts. They don’t classify this in terms of “light, medium, or dark roast”, but visually, the beans look like what I would call a medium roast. This is a really good everyday kind of coffee- not overly complex, but with a lot of interesting character. There is a noticeable fruity twang to go along with a decent amount of body. Grind setting 4 worked well, for the most part. Finer than that brought out a touch of bitterness. My cups were pretty consistent up until the end of the bag, for some reason. My third-to-last cup was a little bit subpar, with a little less body to balance out the acidity. I brewed the penultimate cup with more water (about 425g), still at 1:15, and it was really excellent- maybe the best of all of them, actually. The final cup, though (back to 300g/1:15), really fell flat. It had a weak, dishwatery kind of taste. I suspect that I messed something up. It had been about 48 hours since I last used the grinder, so maybe there were enough stale grounds in there to foul things up? I’m not sure, but it’s not going to stop me from buying this again at some point. I’ll probably alternate between Gracefully and Brewing Good in Savage for a while, at least until I’ve tried several roasts from each.

  • HV6395 ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACAD CHAPEL

    HV6395 ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACAD CHAPEL

    PROGRAM = datasheet95, VERSION = 8.12.5.19
    Starting Datasheet Retrieval...
    1 National Geodetic Survey, Retrieval Date = MAY 10, 2025 16:55:49 EDT
    HV6395 ***********************************************************************
    HV6395 DESIGNATION - ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACAD CHAPEL
    HV6395 PID - HV6395
    HV6395 STATE/COUNTY- MD/ANNE ARUNDEL
    HV6395 COUNTRY - US
    HV6395 USGS QUAD - ANNAPOLIS (2016)
    HV6395
    HV6395 *CURRENT SURVEY CONTROL
    HV6395 ______________________________________________________________________
    HV6395* NAD 83(1991) POSITION- 38 58 53.61912(N) 076 29 10.98204(W) ADJUSTED
    HV6395 ______________________________________________________________________
    HV6395 GEOID HEIGHT - -33.347 (meters) GEOID18
    HV6395 LAPLACE CORR - -3.79 (seconds) DEFLEC18
    HV6395 HORZ ORDER - THIRD
    HV6395
    HV6395.The horizontal coordinates were established by classical geodetic methods
    HV6395.and adjusted by the National Geodetic Survey in January 1992.
    HV6395
    HV6395.Significant digits in the geoid height do not necessarily reflect accuracy.
    HV6395.GEOID18 height accuracy estimate available here.
    HV6395
    HV6395.Click photographs - Photos may exist for this station.
    HV6395
    HV6395.The Laplace correction was computed from DEFLEC18 derived deflections.
    HV6395
    HV6395. The following values were computed from the NAD 83(1991) position.
    HV6395
    HV6395; North East Units Scale Factor Converg.
    HV6395;SPC MD - 146,084.471 444,501.870 MT 0.99995155 +0 19 20.5
    HV6395;SPC MD - 479,278.80 1,458,336.55 sFT 0.99995155 +0 19 20.5
    HV6395;UTM 18 - 4,315,781.036 371,254.966 MT 0.99980410 -0 56 06.6
    HV6395
    HV6395_U.S. NATIONAL GRID SPATIAL ADDRESS: 18SUJ7125415781(NAD 83)
    HV6395
    HV6395 SUPERSEDED SURVEY CONTROL
    HV6395
    HV6395 NAD 83(1986)- 38 58 53.61531(N) 076 29 10.99339(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6395 NAD 27 - 38 58 53.21168(N) 076 29 12.13255(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6395 USSD - 38 58 53.57800(N) 076 29 11.96500(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6395
    HV6395.Superseded values are not recommended for survey control.
    HV6395
    HV6395.NGS no longer adjusts projects to the NAD 27 or NGVD 29 datums.
    HV6395.See file dsdata.pdf to determine how the superseded data were derived.
    HV6395
    HV6395_MARKER: 87 = DOME
    HV6395_MAGNETIC: N = NO MAGNETIC MATERIAL
    HV6395_SATELLITE: THE SITE LOCATION WAS REPORTED AS SUITABLE FOR
    HV6395+SATELLITE: SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS - March 14, 2010
    HV6395
    HV6395 HISTORY - Date Condition Report By
    HV6395 HISTORY - 1933 FIRST OBSERVED CGS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 1956 GOOD CGS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 1960 GOOD CGS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 1965 GOOD CGS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 1981 GOOD NOS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 20010331 GOOD NGS
    HV6395 HISTORY - 20050720 GOOD USPSQD
    HV6395 HISTORY - 20100314 GOOD GEOCAC
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION DESCRIPTION
    HV6395
    HV6395'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1956 (ELJ)
    HV6395'THE POINT RECOVERED WAS THE CENTER OF THE TOP OF THE NAVAL
    HV6395'ACADEMY CHAPEL DOME. THIS DOME IS THE LARGEST AND MOST PROMINENT
    HV6395'ONE IN THE VICINITY.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (1960)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1960 (GFW)
    HV6395'THE STATION WAS RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION. THE PREVIOUS
    HV6395'DESCRIPTION BY E.L.J. IN 1956 IS COMPLETE AND ADEQUATE WITH THE
    HV6395'FOLLOWING EXCEPTION. THE SPINDLE ON TOP OF THE DOME IS NOW
    HV6395'PAINTED GOLD.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (1965)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1965 (JKW)
    HV6395'STATION RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION. THE RECOVERY BY E.L.J. IN
    HV6395'1956 AND BY G.F.W. IN 1960 ARE ADEQUATE FOR RECOVERY.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (1981)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE 1981 (RHH)
    HV6395'THE STATION WAS RECOVERED AS DESCRIBED.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (2001)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 2001 (DB)
    HV6395'THIS REPORT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE US POWER SQUADRONS.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (2005)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 2005 (FM)
    HV6395'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
    HV6395
    HV6395 STATION RECOVERY (2010)
    HV6395
    HV6395'RECOVERY NOTE BY GEOCACHING 2010 (LPC)
    HV6395'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.

    Log: Recovered in good condition while walking around the Naval Academy grounds, before heading home after a short getaway in Annapolis. I don’t think I’ve visited the USNA grounds since I was a teen, when I vaguely remember taking a couple of extracurricular G/T classes here. Today, we took a leisurely stroll through the visitor center before exploring the grounds around the chapel and the officers’ residences. People were arriving for a wedding while we were here.

  • HV6394 ANNAPOLIS ST MARYS RC CH SPIRE

    HV6394 ANNAPOLIS ST MARYS RC CH SPIRE

    PROGRAM = datasheet95, VERSION = 8.12.5.19
    Starting Datasheet Retrieval...
    1 National Geodetic Survey, Retrieval Date = MAY 10, 2025 16:11:13 EDT
    HV6394 ***********************************************************************
    HV6394 DESIGNATION - ANNAPOLIS ST MARYS RC CH SPIRE
    HV6394 PID - HV6394
    HV6394 STATE/COUNTY- MD/ANNE ARUNDEL
    HV6394 COUNTRY - US
    HV6394 USGS QUAD - ANNAPOLIS (2016)
    HV6394
    HV6394 *CURRENT SURVEY CONTROL
    HV6394 ______________________________________________________________________
    HV6394* NAD 83(1991) POSITION- 38 58 30.39813(N) 076 29 16.11324(W) ADJUSTED
    HV6394 ______________________________________________________________________
    HV6394 GEOID HEIGHT - -33.353 (meters) GEOID18
    HV6394 LAPLACE CORR - -3.84 (seconds) DEFLEC18
    HV6394 HORZ ORDER - THIRD
    HV6394
    HV6394.The horizontal coordinates were established by classical geodetic methods
    HV6394.and adjusted by the National Geodetic Survey in January 1992.
    HV6394
    HV6394.Significant digits in the geoid height do not necessarily reflect accuracy.
    HV6394.GEOID18 height accuracy estimate available here.
    HV6394
    HV6394.Click photographs - Photos may exist for this station.
    HV6394
    HV6394.The Laplace correction was computed from DEFLEC18 derived deflections.
    HV6394
    HV6394. The following values were computed from the NAD 83(1991) position.
    HV6394
    HV6394; North East Units Scale Factor Converg.
    HV6394;SPC MD - 145,367.746 444,382.392 MT 0.99995134 +0 19 17.3
    HV6394;SPC MD - 476,927.35 1,457,944.56 sFT 0.99995134 +0 19 17.3
    HV6394;UTM 18 - 4,315,067.210 371,119.808 MT 0.99980453 -0 56 09.4
    HV6394
    HV6394_U.S. NATIONAL GRID SPATIAL ADDRESS: 18SUJ7111915067(NAD 83)
    HV6394
    HV6394 SUPERSEDED SURVEY CONTROL
    HV6394
    HV6394 NAD 83(1986)- 38 58 30.39439(N) 076 29 16.12455(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6394 NAD 27 - 38 58 29.99486(N) 076 29 17.26570(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6394 USSD - 38 58 30.35300(N) 076 29 17.07800(W) AD( ) 3
    HV6394
    HV6394.Superseded values are not recommended for survey control.
    HV6394
    HV6394.NGS no longer adjusts projects to the NAD 27 or NGVD 29 datums.
    HV6394.See file dsdata.pdf to determine how the superseded data were derived.
    HV6394
    HV6394_MARKER: 90 = CHURCH SPIRE
    HV6394_SATELLITE: THE SITE LOCATION WAS REPORTED AS SUITABLE FOR
    HV6394+SATELLITE: SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS - March 14, 2010
    HV6394
    HV6394 HISTORY - Date Condition Report By
    HV6394 HISTORY - 1933 FIRST OBSERVED CGS
    HV6394 HISTORY - 1956 GOOD CGS
    HV6394 HISTORY - 1960 GOOD CGS
    HV6394 HISTORY - 20010331 GOOD NGS
    HV6394 HISTORY - 20031230 GOOD GEOCAC
    HV6394 HISTORY - 20050718 GOOD USPSQD
    HV6394 HISTORY - 20100314 GOOD GEOCAC
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION DESCRIPTION
    HV6394
    HV6394'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1956 (ELJ)
    HV6394'THE POINT RECOVERED WAS A TALL, PROMINENT, CHURCH SPIRE, ABOUT
    HV6394'0.3 MILE SOUTHEAST OF THE STATE CAPITOL DOME AT ANNAPOLIS,
    HV6394'MARYLAND. THIS IS THE MOST PROMINENT SPIRE IN THE VICINITY AND
    HV6394'IS CHARTED AS A LANDMARK.
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION RECOVERY (1960)
    HV6394
    HV6394'RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1960 (GFW)
    HV6394'STATION RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
    HV6394'
    HV6394'THE RECOVERY NOTE BY E.L.J. IN 1956 IS COMPLETE AND ADEQUATE.
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION RECOVERY (2001)
    HV6394
    HV6394'RECOVERY NOTE BY NATIONAL GEODETIC SURVEY 2001 (DB)
    HV6394'THIS REPORT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE US POWER SQUADRONS.
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION RECOVERY (2003)
    HV6394
    HV6394'RECOVERY NOTE BY GEOCACHING 2003 (APC)
    HV6394'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION RECOVERY (2005)
    HV6394
    HV6394'RECOVERY NOTE BY US POWER SQUADRON 2005 (FM)
    HV6394'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
    HV6394
    HV6394 STATION RECOVERY (2010)
    HV6394
    HV6394'RECOVERY NOTE BY GEOCACHING 2010 (LPC)
    HV6394'RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.

    Log: Recovered in good condition during a quick 2-night getaway to Annapolis. I’ve walked by St. Mary’s a couple of times during our stay, and I decided to snap a photo, as I’ve been trying to get back into benchmarking after geocaching.com dropped support for it, and I’ve finally settled on a way to log my benchmark recoveries going forward. I had logged a couple of other prominent benchmarks in town (the capitol dome and the St Ann’s spire) back in 2018. Great to be back.