New Year, New You! Syncing Up with Cycle Chats

City Girl Empower Hour is back and so excited to kick off Season 3 of City Girl Empower Hour podcast!! Host Alyza James, founder and CEO of City Girl Coffee, chats with Emily Palacios and Stephanie Loverde, the women behind the popular podcast Cycle Chats. They talk coffee and swap stories about performing on stage, mental health, puppies, the power of pivoting and the day-to-day realities of womanhood.

Make sure to follow, like and support Alyza, Emily and Stephanie as they do the work to change the narrative around women’s empowerment. Follow @citygirlcoffee and @citygirlempowerhour on FaceBook and Instagram. Sync up with Cycle Chats on Instagram + Facebook: @CycleChats

Check it out!

NEW YEAR, NEW BEANS, NEW YOU!

A New year means new beginnings. For City Girl Coffee, it also means new crops! Just before the end of 2020, we started in on a new batch of beans for our Blondie Brazil light roast from the Nova Esperança farm. If you, like us, enjoy learning about where your food comes from then we know you’ll love this month’s blog installment!

Arabela Pereira Lima, owner of Nova Esperança Farm

Arabela Pereira Lima, owner of Nova Esperança Farm

Meet The Grower

The current batch of City Girl Blondie Brazil is grown by Arabela Pereira Lima who owns Nova Esperança farm, which translates to “New Hope.” The farm is located in the city Monte Santo de Minas, which is in the Mogiana region of Brazil. 

“It all started during my childhood," says Arabela, "I used to accompany my mother, Leda, to the farm and later she encouraged me to attend the college of agronomy. From then until now the interest has become a passion and I can’t imagine myself working with in any other career. The desire to stay in the profession comes from knowing that I never know everything, there is always a new knowledge to be tested, it is always dynamic. Also, the satisfaction of being able to please several people with my work, that’s something priceless to me.”


Harvest and Production

Nova Esperança harvests coffee between July and August. During this harvest time,  coffee cherries are plucked from the trees and prepared for processing. Different farms use different processing methods, but at Lima’s farm, coffee is processed by laying the beans out onto cemented patios to dry in the sun. Beans are raked regularly to prevent spoilage as they dry. Once void of moisture, the dry cherries are milled to separate the outer cherry from the coffee beans inside. This results in the green coffee bean that travels all the way to Duluth, MN where City Girl roasts. 


Tasting Notes

Roasted lighter to highlight the bean’s character, our Blondie Brazil is the lightest roast available from City Girl Coffee. Sipping this coffee, you’ll pick up on delicate, sweet, floral notes as a result of the coffee cherry drying on the beans. You may notice hints of hibiscus and honeysuckle both in scent and taste, as well as some notes specific to the Nova Esperança batch: chocolate, praline, raisin, caramel, apple.

Want to give it a try? Order our City Girl Blondie Brazil now!


Troubleshooting Common Brewing Problems

Have you ever tasted a cup of coffee that just wasn’t quite right? Perhaps it was too sour, not strong enough, or maybe it had a papery taste that shouldn’t have been there. As easy as it seems to scoop in grounds and push a button, there are a plethora of things that can go wrong while brewing your morning cup. Today, we’ll teach you how to pick out problems and solve them. 

Sour vs. Bitter Coffee

Sour and bitter-tasting coffees can be unpleasant to drink, and it’s not the beans’ fault. Before you troubleshoot this one, you’ll want to identify whether your coffee is sour or bitter, as these two tastes are caused by different problems. If you look at a tongue map, you’ll notice sour tastes are picked up stronger on the right and left sides of your tongue near the front, while bitter flavors are sensed near the back by your throat. 

Sour coffee is the result of underextraction, which means not enough particles were pulled from the beans during your brew. This is a very simple fix. You can either use hotter (and more) water, brew your coffee for a longer time if you’re using a french press, use fewer coffee grounds, or try grinding your coffee a little finer. 

Bitter coffee, on the other hand, is caused by overextraction. This means that the coffee has been in contact with the water for too long a time. To fix this issue, reduce your brew time, use slightly cooler (or less) water, or simply try a coarser grind. 

Burnt coffee 

If your coffee tastes burnt, there are a couple issues that might be at play. If you buy whole bean and grind your coffee at home, the first place to look is your coffee grinder. If your grinder has a single blade that spins around, this is likely the culprit of the burnt taste. The way that the blade quickly chops the coffee into bits is not only inconsistent, but it also heats up the beans and can burn them. While we recommend buying your coffee as whole bean and grinding it yourself at home, it’s better to buy a consistently burr-ground coffee than burn whole beans.

If you use pre-ground coffee and it tastes burnt, the water may be the issue. Too-hot water will scald the beans and can add a burnt flavor as well. Simply try using cooler water in this case. 

Metallic coffee

Metallic coffee is often entirely unrelated to the coffee itself. Instead, this issue arises when tap water containing chlorine, metals, and other contaminants is used. If you’re able to filter your water before brewing, this should solve most of the problem. Otherwise, you may want to brew using spring water purchased from the store. 

Plasticky coffee 

Did you just purchase a new coffeemaker? If so, be sure to run a few cycles with just water and lemon juice – no beans. When new coffeemakers come out of the box, the new plastic may add flavor to anything brewed immediately. This issue can also arise as plastic in older machines begins to break down, or simply when the machine isn’t cleaned. To clean your coffee machine, read its instructions, or just use water and lemon juice for 2-3 cycles. Be sure to run one final cycle with only water to rid the machine of a lemony taste!

Go forth and caffeinate!

Now that you know most the causes of off-tasting coffee, you’ll be able to fix any problem that you, your friends, or your family may notice with that morning cup. First, you’ll need some beans to brew, though! We’ve linked to some of our favorites below. 

Light Roast Blondie Brazil

Medium Roast Organic Guatemala Cafe Femenino

Dark Roast Organic Sumatra

HOW TO MAKE HOT CIDER COFFEE

We’ve shared a few of our favorite fall coffee recipes over the last few weeks, and this week is no exception! Today, we’ll teach you how to make Hot Coffee Cider, an easy and delicious way to spice up your morning cup.

Make Your Own Apple Cider! 

If one-too-many trips to the orchard left you wondering what to use all those apples for, try making your own cider to use in our recipe! It’s as easy as boiling apples, sugar, cinnamon, and allspice in water for 3 hours, then removing the solids. We love this super simple recipe, but store-bought works just fine, too!

How to Make Hot Cider Coffee

For this recipe, we’re using equal amounts coffee and cider. Feel free to try different ratios to find the best flavor for you!

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 oz. Freshly Brewed City Girl Coffee (Use your favorite variety!)

  • 4 oz. Apple Cider 

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Brew some City Girl Coffee! For a standard drip coffeemaker, the ratio we use is 3 oz. drip grind coffee to 60 oz. water. Most 12-cup coffeemakers are 60 oz, so adjust this ratio to suit your brewing needs.

  2. In a small saucepan, heat up 4 oz. of Apple Cider. 

  3. Once your coffee has finished brewing, add 4 oz. of coffee to the heated up cider and stir well. 

  4. Enjoy!

Need coffee? We’ve got you covered!

City Girl Blend

Coffee Beauty Tips

Coffee Beauty Tips

A warm cup of coffee is the best way to wake up, but did you know that you can incorporate your used grounds into other parts of your morning as well? This week, we’ll share some ideas on how to reuse grounds after brewing the perfect cup. These three uses for beans are a simple starting point for anyone looking to get creative with their beauty routine.

How To Make Cold Brew Popsicles

How To Make Cold Brew Popsicles

We already taught you how to turn popsicles into a coffee drink, so in celebration of National Ice Cream Day, why not turn coffee drinks into a popsicle? For this week’s how to, we’re putting a frozen twist on one of our favorite signature cold brew recipes. Topped with chocolate and coconut flakes, we know you’ll love this one!

How To Recycle Used Coffee Grounds In Your Garden

How To Recycle Used Coffee Grounds In Your Garden

We can all agree that coffee is wonderful, but what about all those used grounds that we end up throwing away? It turns out, used coffee grounds can be a wonderful addition to your gardening repertoire. From providing a little extra “oomph” as a fertilizer to keeping the aphids away, coffee has quite a few uses beyond keeping us caffeinated. This article will teach you which plants enjoy the added benefits of coffee, which don’t, how to add coffee to your compost bin, and how to keep the bugs at bay in your garden using your spent grounds.

How To Make Firecracker Cold Brew Coffee

How To Make Firecracker Cold Brew Coffee

Everyone’s favorite summer holiday is quickly approaching, and that calls for a signature drink to feature at your family’s Fourth of July celebration. In this post, we’ll explain how to make Firecracker Cold Brew, a fruity and refreshing drink sure to keep you going until the fireworks end. This caffeinated twist on the red white and blue popsicles we all know and love is sure to be a hit!

Five easy and surprising ways to reuse coffee grounds

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Are you throwing out some of the best reasons to drink coffee?

Coffee has a slew of reported benefits, beyond simply getting us through our day. It’s known to increase energy, improve focus, increase athletic performance, and provide antioxidants and nutrients. Coffee is also associated with potentially lower risks of several diseases, including dementia and type 2 diabetes.

But the benefits don’t have to stop with the last sip. You might be throwing out some of the best reasons to drink coffee: the grounds.

Used coffee grounds can be repurposed in a slew of useful ways for your home, your garden, and even your skin! Read on for a few ideas:

Beauty Scrub

Coffee grounds make a wonderful exfoliant, and the caffeine may help stimulate circulation and could even temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.

How to make it: Combine equal parts coffee grounds, granulated sugar, and the face/body oil of your choice (jojoba or melted coconut oil work great!). If desired, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a couple drops of your favorite essential oil. Your skin will thank us.

  

Natural Deodorizer

Garlic in cooking? Awesome. Garlic smell on your hands for hours afterward? Not so awesome.

Coffee grounds act as a natural deodorizer. Simply scrub your hands with them after cooking to remove any unwanted smells like garlic and onions.

You can also use coffee grounds to absorb odors in your fridge. Allow some used grounds to dry out. Once they’re dry, place them in a container and stick the container in the back of your fridge. They’ll help make sure your leftovers don’t overpower everything else!

Finally, you can make a sachet of dried used grounds (use pantyhose or a thin sock, tied at the top) and use them to deodorize smelly shoes or freshen up a closet.

 

Scrub Grills and Dishes

Coffee grounds can be used to loosen dirt and grime from grills and can get stuck-on gunk off of pots and dishes. For easy access, keep a jar of used grounds right above your sink. Just make sure not to use them on porous materials, since coffee can stain!

 

Garden Fertilizer and Compost

Naturally rich in nitrogen, coffee grounds make an amazing addition to your garden. If you have a compost pile, add your coffee grounds right in. You can also use the grounds as fertilizer by sprinkling them lightly over your soil. Coffee grounds are best used for plants that love acid, including blueberries, carrots, radishes, and flowers like hydrangeas, lilies of the valley, azaleas, and rhododendrons.

 

Coffee Candle

If you love the smell of coffee as much as we do, you’ll love this idea. Did you know you can make your own coffee candle? You’ll need a few supplies, but this DIY project is a jolt of fun.

We think it’s extra fun to make a coffee candle in an old coffee mug. Follow instructions for making a standard DIY candle, but stir some coffee grounds into the wax as it melts. The granules will add a cool look and smell divine when you burn your candle! Give this as a gift, and you’ll be the favorite relative this holiday season.

The best cold brew coffee makers for your home

Cold brew coffee has never been more popular, and with summer on the way, expect demand to reach as high as the temperatures.

The popularity is understandable: Traditional coffee extracts flavor quickly using hot water, while cold brew extracts flavor over a longer period of time using room temperature water. Many people find the resulting taste to be smoother and lower in acidity than traditional coffee.

And while you could pour traditional coffee over ice to keep your cool this summer, cold brew coffee allows you to enjoy ice-cold coffee at the strength level you want.

There’s just one problem: Cold brew coffee requires a more time-intensive process than traditional coffee, and that extra effort shows up on your bill at the coffee shop. If you’re hooked on a daily fix of cold brew, you might be feeling the pain in your wallet.

The solution: Make your own cold brew coffee at home. All it takes is some fantastic ground coffee beans, a bit of patience, and a cold brew coffee maker. The up-front investment of a cold brew coffee maker will pay for itself quickly if you’re switching from coffee shop cold brew to brewing at home. There are a number of options on the market for cold brew coffee makers. Here are a few you might consider:

 

Best Overall: Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker

$49.50 at Alakef

Known for its ease of use and for providing a consistent, dependable product. Find it here.

 

Best Basic: Takeya 10311 2-Quart Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker

$34.99 at Amazon

A no-frills option that gets the job done and gets positive reviews. Find it here.

 

Best for a Caffeine Crisis: Dash Rapid Cold Brew Coffee Maker

$64.99 at Amazon

Makes 1.5L of cold brew coffee in just five minutes. Find it here.

 

Best Multitasker: Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System with Glass Carafe

$249.99 at Kohl’s

It’s a splurge, but this appliance can brew hot, iced, or cold brew coffee, plus loose leaf or bagged tea. Find it here.

 

Best Mason Jar: County Line Cold Brew Mason Jar Coffee Maker

$25.86 at Amazon

This basic option offers country-chic flair, with a large Ball mason jar and stainless steel filter. Find it here.

Best Customizable: Cuisinart Automatic Cold Brew Coffeemaker

$79.95 at Kohl’s

This new addition to the market offers finished cold brew coffee in 25 minutes with three built-in strength options. Find it here.

Prices subject to change.

Whichever option you choose, make sure to pair it with coarse ground coffee from high-quality beans. While City Girl Coffee Co.’s Cold Press Blend is specifically developed to create the perfect cold brew flavor profile, you can cold brew any of your favorite City Girl Coffee Co. coffees using the cold brew method. You’ll have a coffee house experience without having to change out of your pajamas.

How to make cold brew coffee at home

It’s finally spring, and temperatures are warming up.

That means it might be time to turn the temperature down on your coffee. 

Cold brew coffee is the hottest—or should we say coolest—trend in coffee, and you don’t have to fork over a pile of cash at a coffee shop to enjoy it.

It’s simple to make cold brew coffee at home. Intimidated? Don’t sweat it. We’ll show you how to make cold brew without losing your chill.

Step 1: Select your coffee.

Any coffee will work, though coarse-ground coffee works best. For the best flavor, try a coffee that has been roasted especially for cold brewing (including our fan favorite City Girl Coffee Co. Cold Press Blend). And make sure to use filtered water.

Step 2: Fill.

It’s best to use a device designed for cold brewing, though in a pinch you can do this in any carafe. A great ratio of coffee to water is 12 ounces of coffee to 7 cups of room temperature water. Add four cups of water to the bottom of the container, along with all the ground coffee. Wait 5 minutes, then add the final 3 cups of water, making sure all the grounds are wet.

Step 3: Wait.

We know—you want your coffee yesterday. But this is where the magic happens. Steep your coffee grounds at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours for a smooth, rich flavor. 

Step 4: Filter.

Follow your manufacturer’s instructions on how to extract the brewed concentrate into a separate container. If you used a non-specialized carafe, you can filter via coffee filters or a cheesecloth.

Step 5: Serve.

We recommend starting with a ratio of 1 part coffee concentrate to 2 parts water or milk of choice. Mix to taste, making your coffee as strong or weak as you prefer.


Before we go, here are a few common questions about cold brew coffee:

Does cold brew coffee taste better?

Hot water extracts flavor from coffee beans quickly, but it also brings additional acidity along with it. The cold brew extraction process works much more slowly but produces a result that many people find far less acidic and easier to drink.

 

Does cold brew coffee have more caffeine?

Because it’s brewed in a concentrated formula over a long period of time, cold brew coffee is strong. This could be a good thing if you’re looking for a major pick-me-up, but could also be unpleasant or even dangerous if you’re sensitive to caffeine. Cold brew concentrate is meant to be diluted, and you can dilute it to your personal taste.

 

Does cold brew coffee have to be stored in the fridge?

You can brew your coffee at room temperature, but it’s best stored in the fridge after being filtered. It will typically keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.

 

Can I heat up cold brew coffee?

Absolutely! Pop it in the microwave or use whatever method you prefer. Cold brew coffee heats up well and lets you have your favorite steaming hot mug of coffee with less acidity.

 

What’s the difference between cold brew coffee and iced coffee?

Traditional iced coffee has been brewed with hot water and then is quickly cooled down over ice, whereas cold brew is never heated and is typically served over ice with water or milk to dilute the concentrate.