<![CDATA[Bogart's Bay Coffee - Blog]]>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 07:21:31 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Coffee Roasts ... Medium? Dark? French? What's the difference?]]>Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:54:39 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/coffee-roasts-medium-dark-french-whats-the-difference
More than anything else, the flavour of your coffee is determined by the type or level of roast.

It's determined by how hot the green coffee beans have been allowed to get as they are tossed about in the drum of our roaster.

Different roasts may go by different names in different places, and vary from roaster to roaster. In our case, there is some variation within each roast because we roast outside, by hand over a charcoal fire.

We offer 4 roast levels each of which offer distinctive tastes or flavours.  

Taste is so hard to describe in words ... and varies so much that the only way to find your favorite roast  is to try them - or do what we do, and blend different roasts for your personal blend.

2 parts medium to 3 parts Dark or French makes a great breakfast blend - zip .... and lot's of flavour!
Medium roast (which many coffee snobs insist is the proper way to enjoy fine coffee beans) have a slight grassy or toasted grain taste, are fairly acidic but highlight the origin characteristics of the bean. The flavours can be quite complex and subtle. The roasted bean is a light brown with a dull finish, and is still quite hard - not nearly as puffed up as the Dark and French roasted beans.

Medium Dark Roast is a little darker, because the sugars in the bean have just begun to caramelize, giving a fuller, familiar  coffee flavour. The beans have begun to puff up more and crack for the first of two cracks. With a little less caffeine than medium, this roast provides a good balance of  zip and full flavour. Much of the generic, industrial coffee sold in North America is Medium Dark.

Dark Roast is our favorite anytime coffee. Oil beads are just forming on the bean surface. The flavour is fuller - mainly because the sugars in the bean have now almost fully caramelized. Caffeine and acidity is fairly low.
The beans crack, for a second time as they reach this stage ... spectacular as we pour them, popping and cracking, into the cooling tray!

French Roast is the end of the roast road. It's as dark as we can roast without actually burning and charring the beans. Not for the timid. Often associated with espresso coffee, the flavour is bittersweet with burnt undertones - intense. Contrary to much public opinion acidity and caffeine is low! A favorite for espresso.


]]><![CDATA[End of a long Journey .... ]]>Sat, 21 Mar 2015 18:20:35 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/end-of-a-long-journey
We've just received three bags of Cooparm SHB MCM Organic/Fair Trade from Peru. We're excited to roast some and try it!

This coffee has had quite the trip!

Cultivated by small owner operated plantations in the hills of North Eastern Peru, this coffee would have been first delivered to a local Co-op where it would be dried, processed (removing the soft cherry exterior) and machine cleaned and sorted, before being sent to the Peruvian producer Cooperativa Agraria de Rodríguez de Mendoza Co-op (COOPARM), for storage and shipping.

It would then be trucked to the Port Calleo, where it would have been loaded into a container for the sea voyage, via the Panama Canal to Montreal. 

After clearing customs in Montreal, the coffee bags would be stored in our brokers warehouse before being picked up by Western Canada Express who would truck it to their warehousing facility in Saskatoon. From there it would be transferred to another truck for the trip to Hometown Grocery in Medstead, who kindly receive our coffee for us.

From Medstead we picked the bags up in our mini-van, and wheeled them on our dolly to our downstairs coffee room .... where they sit, waiting for us to roast them for you!

More about this fine coffee in our next post!
]]><![CDATA[Back to the blog ...]]>Tue, 17 Mar 2015 22:56:55 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/back-to-the-blog
It's been a while since we blogged on our site so we're overdue in updating  you on what's new at Bogart's Bay.

First of all we're happy to tell you that our coffee is now available in Lloydminster - on the Alberta side at Harvest to Home - an amazing store, restaurant and catering business on 70th Ave.  They also offer cooking classes and are a great source of local and organic foods of all descriptions.

The other location is the Root Community Emporium - on the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster, which is a very cool restaurant and performance venue. In addition
to retail bags of our coffee they are serving it in espresso's, cappuccino's etc. Definitely worth checking out their site and seeing the events calendar ... and stopping in for a coffee!

Twig and Squirrel's Wild Goods on 20th St. in Saskatoon is the go to place for our coffee as well as an amazing, eclectic selection of  ... well it's eclectic, what can I say. They also have just become the Saskatoon source for beads, and beading supplies 

Alas, our popular Sol Y Cafe coffee from Peru has sold out, but we are happy that we've been able to get a few bags of another fine Peruvian Coffee, Cooparm SHB MCM - Fair trade and organic ... of course! More about this fine coffee in our next post!

Things are starting to melt around Bogart's Bay and we welcome it .. no more -20 roasts for a while!


Market season is just around the corner, and Wendy and I look forward to seeing more of our customers and friends as we emerge from the winter!


Enjoy the Coffee .... 
]]><![CDATA[Happy New Year from Bogart's Bay!]]>Wed, 31 Dec 2014 22:59:53 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/happy-new-year-from-bogarts-bay
Andrew, Wendy and Bogart wish everyone a Happy New Year and health and happiness in 2015. 2014 has been a good one for Bogart's Bay and we would like to thank our friends, community and customers for all your support. We'll do our best to keep bringing you the freshest, best coffee beans we can in 2015!  Peace!
]]><![CDATA[Solstice Greetings and Happy Sidereal New Year!]]>Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:25:06 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/solstice-greetings-and-happy-sidereal-new-yearThe light returns ... 
Andrew, Wendy and Bogart wish everyone a healthy and happy new year ahead. Here's a few photos of the the home of Bogart's Bay Coffee. The amazing frost this year has made it a truly stunning Solstice. Peace friends!
]]><![CDATA[Roasting Coffee at -20C ]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2014 20:35:06 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/roasting-coffee-at-20c
... is actually easier than we thought. We find that the charcoal burns faster and hotter, but the big difference is in the cooling. 

In summer, the beans keep cooking, and getting darker after we dump them out of the roasting drum. We use a fan to speed the cooling process but always have to take the beans out of the drum well before they have reached the roast level we're wanting. 

In winter, the cooling is much faster and we can keep the beans in the drum almost until they are as we want them - enabling us to be more precise in getting exactly the roast we want. 

Winter roasts are much more dramatic too, with lot's of steam and smoke!

Our newest product, Coffee Lip Balm is now ready. Made by Tammy at Earthwear Face and Body and made with all natural ingredients - and Bogart's Bay Organic Coffee - of course!

We will be at the Battleford Lion's 2000 Christmas Sale in Battleford on Saturday (Dec. 6th) and at the Co-op mall in N. Battleford the Saturday after, for the last Farmer's Market of the season.


In addition to our super fresh coffee - in regular and gift sizes, we will have both the lip balm and our coffee soap for sale as well. Great gifts for the coffee lover!
]]><![CDATA[Remembering Orley Bogart ]]>Mon, 10 Nov 2014 17:52:40 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/remembering-orley-bogart
On this Remembrance Day we'ed like to tell you what we know about our namesake, Orley Bogart. 
He came originally from Van Etten in New York State. We understand he homesteaded here, on what has come to be called Bogart's Bay on Birch Lake. 
In 1916, he volunteered  for the Canadian Expeditionary Force who were recruiting in N. Battleford.
His war records tell us that he died of wounds near Passchendaele in October of 1917, after being wounded by shrapnel. He's buried in a war cemetery in Wimereux, France.
We found the picture of Orley in our local history book, and the war records in the Canadian War Archives. 
It's sad  to think how he left the beauty and peace of Birch Lake to the horror of war in Europe. 
It's a story common to the many victims 
of war, military and civilian, and a reminder to us of the futility of war as a means to solve human problems. 
The flags depicted on our coffee label are Tibetan Peace Flags, which now fly on the shores of Bogart's Bay as a reminder that peace is the only way.

If anyone has any further  information about Orley, we would love to hear from you!
]]><![CDATA[New Bags, New Weight, New Price]]>Thu, 02 Oct 2014 20:21:47 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/new-bags-new-weight-new-price
O.K.     Confession time.
We've had a bit of a problem with our coffee bags.
Because we are buying high grade beans, they tend to be a little larger than run-of-the mill beans, with the result that, especially in the darker roasts, our bags became too full and were splitting their seams on some occasions.
  (If this has happened to you, let us know, and we will replace the coffee)
We now have sourced some stronger bags, and have decided to fill them to 400g as opposed to the 454g (1lb) previously. 
The colour is slightly different (but we like it) and we have reduced the price to $13.50 per 400g. Our 227g (1/2lb) bags are unchanged at $8.00.
In other news, we are now roasting our Sol Y Cafe beans from Peru as our regular coffee - available in all roasts. We just have a few roasts left of  our very popular Kinyaga Kivu Coffee from Rwanda - we are checking to see if we can get more!
The outdoor market in N. Battleford is over, but we are moving indoors to the Co-op Mall starting the 4th Oct - Wendy and I look forward to seeing friends and customers on Saturday. 
We have booked into a number of Craft and Trade Sales the next few months which will prevent us from being at the Co-op every weekend.
The following sales and shows are confirmed:
Oct 17 - 18 Chapel Gallery N. Battleford. 
Oct 25 Edam Fall Fair
Nov 1 Medstead Library Bazaar
Nov 8 Glaslyn Elks Craft and Trade Show
Nov 22 Spiritwood Lioness Craft Sale
Dec 1 Battleford's Lions Craft Show
]]><![CDATA[2nd Annual "From Bean to Cup" on Sunday with Raven She Hollers!]]>Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:00:43 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/2nd-annual-from-bean-to-cup-on-sunday-with-raven-she-hollers
With one eye on the weather we're looking forward to Sunday for our second annual "From Bean to Cup" Open House here at Birch Lake. There will be free, very fresh coffee, cookies and the music (in the morning) of  the three fine women who are Raven She Hollers!  (CD's will be available!)
We invite anyone interested in coffee, conversation and music to join us at this free event which is conducted in conjunction with Culture Days which is happening across Canada over the weekend. 
Please note:
If we cancel due to weather (rain, snow or very high winds) we will post here and on Bogart's Bay Coffee's facebook page.
]]><![CDATA[Sol y Cafe has arrived!]]>Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:37:39 GMThttp://bogartsbay.com/blog/sol-y-cafe-has-arrived
We're delighted that three sacks of Sol y Cafe green coffee has finally arrived. This Peruvian Coffee is produced by a Co-op of over 1000 farmers in the northern Peruvian provinces of San Ignacio and Jaen. About 10% of the members are women. The Co-op was formed in 2008 to promote development with an emphasis on sustainability and preservation of the environment. 
The coffee is grown at altitudes of 3000 to 6000 feet, and is certified as organic by USDA and BioLatina. It has also earned certification from the Rainforest Alliance, as well as Fair Trade (FLO).

As for the coffee - smooth, fruity and well-balanced are some of the words that describe it.
If you would like to know more about this remarkable coffee, we invite you to watch the video (English subtitles) or better still, come visit us next Sunday, September 28th for "From Bean to Cup - the Alchemy of Coffee Roasting". It's being held here at Bogart's Bay in collaboration with Culture Days and is an opportunity to see some being roasted, followed by a free tasting. Click here for details.
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