Top Brew: Recent Episodes
Joseph Darnell and Eric Rauch
In their weekly coffee discussion, Eric Rauch and Joe Darnell plunge into the depths of the world’s favorite bevereage. It’s all about recipes and brewing techniques, roasting beans to perfection, counter culture, and the fun we have together over a hot cup of joe.
Gobble gobble! The guys discuss coffee traditions, seasonal roasts, Starbucks’ Thanksgiving and Fall blends, how commercialism in America ignores a perfectly good holiday, and offer first impressions of the — get this — a car espresso maker. Happy Turkey Day everyone!
Joe and Eric are back in action to talk about LEGO coffeemakers, R2-D2 coffeemakers, Houndstooth coffee house in Austin, Texas, and more. Ask yourself the question: How often should everyone clean your coffee mug? The guys answer this and more on today’s episode.
Joe and Eric find the time to sit down over not one but two cups of coffee and a bottle of Soylent. Joe experimented on himself when Soylent was on sale. Thrasher coffee supplied several roasts for the guys to taste test, so they analyze two Ethiopians. Then, Joe and Eric highlight some of Alec Baldwin’s interview with Howard Schults, the CEO of Starbucks.
Eric and Joe discuss three things: Left Hand Brewing Company craft beer (our first “craft brew” tate test on the show), how genetics and caffeine influence our caffeine intake, and whether a taste test can prove that people prefer cheap coffee over gourmet coffee, like — ahem — Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Listen, drink and enjoy!
Eric and Joe discuss some naming conventions: why are we calling cold brew and iced coffee the same things? Speaking of which, iced coffee has taken a back seat to cold brew over 2016. And in other news, the world’s first cup of joe that’s 80 times stronger than the rest of them is available in Australia, and Coca Cola is getting into the bottled coffee business. Listen, drink and enjoy!
Eric and Joe are back at their desks and this time sipping something from fresh coffee cups. They discuss Tim Hawkins’ complicated mug and the plain-jane white mug from Publix and why it’s special to Joe. Topics of the week: a green tea alternative to coffee that won’t leave you feeling the jitters, Soylent’s new Coffiest (?!) and a worthy mention of the book ‘The Supper of the Lamb’. Listen, drink and enjoy! Van Halen.
Eric and Joe answer a listener’s feedback about Stevia and artificial sweeteners, take apart new research that suggests used coffee grounds repel mosquitos, and discuss how much coffee they’re kids are allowed to drink.
Joe realised that while he was warming up to cold brew that the rest of the world was as well. The guys discuss their growing appreciation for this beverage and how it’s popping up in grocery stores and coffee shops. There’s some unexpected benefits that cold brew has to offer, so you might want to make it at home.
Cold brew is in season, and there’s a good chance that your local grocere is selling the products we discuss. Joe brewed his own with a French press. Together, the guys taste test Joe’s along with Stōk and Rebbl branded brews. Are you better off making your own? How hard is it to craft cold brew? Is it easier and affordable to buy it at the store? Answers to thease questions in today’s show.
Joe and Eric explain why they missed an episode two weeks ago. On vacation at Saint Simons Island, Joe picked up some not-so good craft coffee. How do you know the good from the bad? Also, the guys chat about the Porlex JP-30 hand grinder, and the pros and cons of using this manual approach to your daily grind.
Joe and Eric discuss Joe’s visit at Counter Culture Coffee of Atlanta, and what a coffee tasting is like. Afterwards, they talk about the influence their coffee tastes have made on their peers; how friends and coworkers responded to craft coffee.
Eric and Joe discuss JAB Holding Company taking ownership of Krispy Kreme, what a ‘balanced breakfast’ consists of, and review Joe’s new Baratza Encore conical burr grinder. How does it compare to the popular Bodum Bistro he used for the last two years? What does Eric think of the Baratza Virtuoso? Listen and find out.
Steve Agocs turned coffee into a delicious hobby. At KCCoffeeGeek.com, he reviews many of the latest specialty coffees. Steve shares his brewing ritual, describes his tools, and sheds light on his approach to the world’s favorite beverage.
This week on the show, Eric and I discuss ‘The South - Home of Many a Great Soft Drink Company’. We also talked about white vs. green tea and taste test Counter Culture Coffee’s specialty grade Justina Ramos Bolivian coffee. Also, we want to give a huge shout out to Condesa Coffee. Thanks for the great coffeehouse experience!
In this episode, we discuss why coffee sometimes upsets your stomach and what you can do to prevent it. Afterward, we review all-American gas station coffee from the local RaceTrac (which might upset your stomach for altogether different reasons.
Joe is joined by our special guest, Aaron Dowd, known as ‘The Podcast Dude’ of the Seanwes Network. Aaron recently adopted the AeroPress, but it’s probably not what you're thinking. He uses a blender for mixing in butter and milk, 8 O'Clock coffee beans, and drinks 5+ cups a day. We debate low-cost beans, French press versus AeroPress, additives that can make you crash, the dangers of cold brew and much more.
What's lost on a generation that grows up with Keurig coffee? How do Starbucks professionals perform cupping at headquarters? What's in a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee?
The guys go back to first things: their very own brewing rituals. Joe likes AeroPress, Eric likes Hario V60. And between the two, there’s a dozen other tools they use to perfect their handmade beverages each day. Learn all about their fussy — and sometimes not-so fussy — coffee setups.
Eric and Joe discuss Eric’s huge career change, discovering your coffee passion later in life, Eric’s new 1,000 lb. coffee roaster, and where to setup a roasting facility.
Joe welcomes our special guest, JT Manning from Moscow, Idaho, a former Starbucks’ barista. JT shares details about work life behind the counter, learning about craft coffee, the makeup of his home brewing ritual, and his general opinion of the Starbucks’ barista work experience.
Eric and Joe give themselves an NPR coffee quiz to test their coffee culture knowledge base. Adn in review, the guys taste test Madcap’s Galeras coffee, freshly roasted for the show.
Eric and Joe discuss the 1,000 plus chemicals that make up a coffee beverage, and review McDonald’s McCafé regular coffee.
Eric and Joe tackle three important topics: the secret origins of Mama Darnell’s banana pudding, balancing Joe’s caffeine headaches with sleep deprivation, and review of Chick-fil-A’s regular cup of joe.
Eric and Joe answer a listener message for how to roast coffee beans at home on the cheap with a popcorn popper, Joe describes the coffee situation at the county courthouse, and they share their general impressions of the reknown moka pot coffee maker (which is often mistakenly called an espresso maker).
Eric and Joe answer listeners messages, involving burr grinders, the Chemex coffee maker, and banana pudding. Then, in discussion, the guys share their first impressions of Starbucks’ all-new piping-hot Latte Macchiato. “It’s a latte made using ‘the inverted method’.”
For episode #50, Joe is joined by special guest Myke Hurley of the Relay.FM podcast network. They discuss how Myke, a British chap that prefers craft coffee over hot tea, enjoys his fussy coffee brew ritual. They also talk about how they started drinking coffee thanks to sweet beverages at Starbucks, how caffeine affects them, and where they get their fresh coffee beans in the United States and back home in England.
Joe and Eric discuss the worldwide coffee shortage, coffeeshop productivity, Bodum’s awesome commercial, and the first complete year of Top Brew.
Eric and Joe discuss French presses, what makes them special, why we use them, and why you may want to up your coffee brewing game with one. We consider the coarseness of the grind, water temperature and more in our subjective examination.
Is there a tangible difference in craft coffee and what people typically call commodity coffee? Joe and Eric cypher the what’s noticeably different from the roaster’s and enthusiast’s perspectives, because you shouldn’t believe everything written on a bag of GlaDOS’ coffee. Commodity and craft coffee look the same in your cup, but came about completely differently. At the end of the show, the guys recommend some craft roasters that you should check out.
Hand grinders are often preferred over powerful electric countertop grinders, but why? Joe and Eric uncover the usefulness of their portability, durability, and other reasons you might want to add a manual grinder to your kitchen. And Joe makes shopping recommendations for those in the market for such a coffee accessory.
Eric and Joe introduce the new coffee beverage, Cascara, which is brewed with the coffee fruit’s pulpy cherry, and they help perfectionistic coffee enthusiasts take control of their angsty coffee brewing ritual. Whether you’re making tea-like coffee, or seeking nirvana in every cup, the guys have thoughts for you.
Fancy Gesha coffee beans sell for more than $70 a 12 oz. bag. Eric and Joe discuss how they feel about high-end coffees and what place they deserve on your shopping list. Also, Eric discusses the process he used to create Thrasher’s Christmas Blend, and Joe shares his first impressions of his new Kalita Wave dripper.
Eric and Joe enjoy an Irish coffee together and discuss its origins, how to perfect the recipe, find the right ingredients, use traditional Irish coffee mugs, and give some other tips for adventurous coffee enthusiasts to try at home.
Joe Darnell interviews returning guest, John Guiliano. Writer, photographer and coffee enthusiast, John is a year into his coffee journey at BrewingCoffeeManually.com. We discuss his writing practices, routine for content creation, his new “Choose Your Weapon” t-shirts, and excellent reasons to write a coffee journal.
Joe has bad news about his Chemex, Eric is weirded out by Joe’s observational skills, and together they discuss ways a listener of the show could upgrade his coffee at home.
For the big Four Zero, Joe and Eric discuss changes in Joe’s household that led him to switch from an AeroPress to a Chemex. In review, the guys debate the merits of a coffee-to-water ratio chart, and Joe names the factors of ‘Eleven Things Only a Coffee Snob Would Understand’, so you can grade yourself on your true level of eccentric coffee snobbery.
Eric and Joe wish you a happy ‘Back to the Future’ day, and introduce a segment of follow-up. They talk about human genes and how caffiene is metabolized, the plunging price of commodity coffee around the globe, the science behind flavoring a pumpkin spice latte, and how some coffee drinkers use salt to mask bitterness in their brew.
There are twelve Keurig coffee makers for sale at Joe’s local Target. People love these devices, so what do we make of them? Eight years ago, Joe’s java journey started with two of these machines. How did Keurigs lead him to artisinal coffee? Eric and Joe debate the pros and cons of K-cups and evaluate what coffee drinkers they serve best.
Believe it or not, Eric has never had a Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. So we sat down to have one of this year’s pumpkin-puree-infused recipe and give it our review while we cringe at the number of toxic artificial and “natural” ingredients Starbucks uses for their fancy beverages.
Joe returns from vacation in Panama City thirsty for craft coffee in Atlanta, so he gives a report of his first visit to Octane Coffee in Midtown. Also, Eric and Joe review Stumptown Coffee Roaster’s ‘brew kits’ intended for beginning to enthusiast levels of coffee prep at home and travel.
Craft coffee is unique to different parts of the world, even on the East and West coasts of the United States. Our guest, Nick Jesch from outside Portland, Oregon, discusses with Joe his expertise in all aspects of the coffee process: from dirt to the cup. As a dealer, Nick is experienced with a wide range of equipment, roasting and brewing methods, and so much more. Nick has stories to share about coffee farmers and successfully transforming mediocre beans into exceptional roasts.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe talk about Thrasher Coffee’s new decaf and espresso roasts, coffee bag packaging, and debate how much coffee drinkers are willing to pay for their coffee. There are two kinds of coffee customers. Which one are you?
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe talk about one of the most perplexing issues of coffee: the ever complex number of flavors we taste from any variety of coffee bean. From floral notes to delicate spices, coffee can somehow taste like… almost anything edible and sometimes unedible! We explores the top nine categories of flavor and pick our favorites and shed light on personal experience with their taste testing specialty coffees.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe reveal a little known scientific fact: Coffee does not dehydrate you! And another myth to bust: “Coffee is bitter”. The guys look at the differences that acidity and bitterness make to coffee flavor profiles, and weigh how much the bitterness comes from roasting coffees.
Eric and Joe confront awkward social pressure at the coffeehouse counter. Do you have the guts to order what you want? Or are you afraid of what people will think of your fussy coffee beverage? Reuters report shows that most of us are so concerned that others are judging us that we order something we don’t actually want!
Joe Darnell and Reed Hash, a senior at University of Southern California in L.A., discuss craft coffee on the West Coast and in international travel. As a student new to and in love with handcrafted coffee, and with some experience with all things counter culture in college, Reed has field tested espressos, Americanos, coffee roasters, coffee brewers and more.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe discuss the difference between waiting on a good cup of coffee, and grabbing the easiest-most-readily-available coffee for the masses. What’s in your cup? We don’t always have the best and most convenient hot beverages imaginable readily available. So, what do you do if you have to pick between the two?
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe discuss aging coffee beans, follow-up on Celestial Seasonings’ herbal infusions, and their loves/hate relationship with decaffeinated coffees. What do we like about decaf? Where the industry is heading? The guys talk about the four types of decaf processing and their tastes.
John Giuliano of Brewing Coffee Manually joins Joe to discuss his brewing ritual: how he stumbled upon craft coffee, roasts his own and enjoys online coffee subscriptions, collects brewing tools, and more.
This week on the show, Eric and Joe discuss Starbuck’s latest offering: cold brew coffee, and what people are saying about it. And for the main topic, the guys talk about the health risks and benefits of coffee, and what it means for your wellness, exercise, cognitive function, and more.
This week on the show, Eric and Joe introduce “follow-up,” discuss coffee percolators, explain how they would approach brewing large amounts of coffee for special gatherings at home, and more.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe talk about one of the more popular—yet lesser known—coffee makers that craft brewers love: the Hario V60. It’s the best ‘utilitarian’ coffee dripper, and has come to be Eric’s favorite brewing device.
Eric and Joe discuss Colorado craft coffee roasters, units of ounce and gram measurements, American coffee history, hot tea, Celestial Seasonings, and more.
Eric and Joe discuss Italian, Spanish, and French roasts, pairing coffee with breakfast foods, roasting your own beans at home, saddening Starbucks’ gift cards, and much more!
Joe and our guest Justin Archer discuss caffeine addiction, abstaining from caffeine, and Justin’s brewing ritual. As the “optimized self” life coach of OptimizedSelf.ninja, Justin uses a variety of nutrients and suppliments — including coffee — to give himself a special edge.
Crafting roast or industrial roasting: what’s the difference? Why can’t we produce 100 of pounds of roasted coffee in a single batch and get it to taste as well as a small batch? Do the big players like Starbucks hate us? Eric and Joe discuss this and more in this episode of Top Brew!
Fussy coffee doesn’t have to be hipster coffee. Truth is, you’re making coffee whatever way you like it — for you — when it’s done right, and that coffee doesn’t come with a label. Our guest, Tim Smith, discusses his brew ritual, how his coffee has changed with his wife around, and the large collection of coffee gear he uses along with his AeroPress.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe experimented on themselves with caffeine and lived to tell you about it. They discuss how caffeine works on your brain and blood flow. For one day, Joe drank more coffee than he had a legal right to.
Eric and Joe discuss some fussy coffee details that make for superb home brewed coffee.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe discuss their life of drip coffeemakers and why they stay away from them now. Electric drip machines have fueled civilization for more than 50 years, but no matter how you innovate on these devices, they will not deliver great coffee.
Eric and Joe discuss differing opinions of Bulletproof® Coffee, a hyped-up beverage that gets far more press than it deserves. But there’s still a place for Bullet-y coffee…
Craft roaster, Mike Davis of Railway Coffee, discusses his specialty coffee business with Joe Darnell. From humble beginnings, Mike has created a fine establishment seeking new ways to offer freshly roasted coffees to his town.
Eric and Joe discuss the richness of the French press coffee maker. This classic instrument pleases many a coffee drinker, like the Rauch family.
Eric and Joe discuss people’s ability to taste the difference between good and mediocre coffee, and review the state of Keurig coffee makers.
Joe Darnell interviews Alex Carpenter of the I Brew My Own Coffee podcast to discuss his brew ritual. Alex, the experienced coffee enthusiast, has surrounded himself with some of the most interesting people and tools of coffee “counter culture” in 2015.
Eric and Joe discuss the difference that a good coffee mug can make, what they prefer about their own, and why it matters in the first place.
At long last, we are discussing our favorite coffeemaker. Eric and Joe endorse the AeroPress and offer their inverted brewing recipe. If you’re new to the show, this is an excellent episode to start with.
This week on the podcast, Eric and Joe discuss how to DIY coffee blends at home and taste test 4 new roasts that Eric prepared specially for the show.
This week, Eric and Joe discuss the Chemex coffeemaker. The device has been with us since 1941, yet there’s still much to experience and enjoy about this artisinal coffee tool.
Joe Caiati is an audio and video technician in Queens. As a long-time coffee drinker that’s late to the coffee enthusiast game, he relishes craft roast experiences from his local roasters. But he’s coffee curious — looking for new ways to doctor the flavors and caffeine jolts.
Eric Rauch went to Coffee Fest Atlanta and lived to tell the tale. Joe and Eric discuss ‘Keurig snobbery,’ the future of coffee roasting, and Eric’s experience with coffee over the years.
This week Joe is joined by Ben Kayser. They talk about life with coffee growing up, espresso machines at home, adulthood at the local coffeeshops, and pairing coffee with food.
Is it true that the coffee beans are reminiscent of wheatgrass and tofu, or honeysuckle and Hershey bar? Joe and Eric discuss cupping vocabulary, and the differences between light, medium, and dark roasts.
Hand-crafted goods are growing in popularity in all of the food groups. Eric and Joe discuss the influence of artisanal foods on "home brewed" coffee, and introduce their personal brew rituals.
Eric Rauch and Joe Darnell asked friends what the first thing is that comes to mind about coffee, which lead to the great discussion we have in this first episode about the world’s love affair with this tasty drink.