I made the “tamarind-glazed pork burger with red cabbage saw and grilled pineapple” from The Good Stuff cookbook last weekend and it blew my taste buds away. Without hesitation, I can say it was the best burger I ever tasted. The complexity of flavors and textures practically danced together in my mouth in perfect harmony. What I especially liked about this burger was how many parts of it were made from scratch. For example, when making the red-cabbage cole-slaw, not only do you pickle your own carrots and daikons, but you make your own mayonnaise for it as well. Although producing everything from scratch made the burger that much more special, it took a good three hours from start to finish. In order to cut down on the prep time, I’d simply prepare the slaw and glaze the day before, which would also allow the flavors to really meld together nicely. I recommend this burger to anyone but just a fair warning: after eating this, you may never be satisfied by another burger again.

When you think of a crock-pot, you might picture soccer moms, old couples, or big families, but consider this:

1. Savory, homemade meals
   
2. You can leave it cooking all day and have dinner ready for you when you get home
   
3. Easy to prepare
   
4. Usually big enough to make food for a whole house full of people
   
5. Stew, meatloaf, chili, soup, chicken wings, pasta, desserts and much more
   

As a college student, this sounds pretty awesome. I hate having to pick up a muffin and a coffee at the library to hold me over until I get home to make something quick or buy something. Imagine: Before you go to bed, prepare your ingredients (cut your veggies, defrost your meat, etc.) and before you leave for class just throw your ingredients in the crock-pot and turn it on. By the time you get done with all your classes, clubs, activities, and have sufficiently worked up an appetite, you’ll have a hot homemade dinner waiting for you. You really can make a lot of great recipes (including awesome desserts!) in a slow cooker, and, usually, they are super easy.

This also works well if you have roommates because most slow cookers are made to serve big families. Split the cost of groceries so that the price of ingredients is not too bad for everyone, switch turns being the one to prepare, and all of you can have great meals all the time.

Just the other day, I was able to tackle what could normally be a difficult feat with my slow cooker: I made a perfect roast for two in 2 ½ hours while studying. Just so you can see how easy it is, here’s the recipe:

1 ½ lbs beef chuck roast
1 small onion cubed
2 potatoes cubed
2 carrots cut in 2 in. sections
1 clove garlic minced
¼ cup water
¼ cup red wine (optional)

1. Salt and pepper to taste (you salt and pepper the roast very well and then salt the veggies before you put in the meat).
   
2. Put the vegetables in the crock-pot and lay the meat on top. Then add the liquid. Set to about 2 ½ hours (or see the manual of your particular model for suggestions).
   

While living in Germany this summer, I had the chance to experience a lot of different foods…and my favorite was, very stereotypically, the German pretzel.  The Germans are known for being pretty serious people, and they’re definitely serious about their pretzels.  

Now as Americans, we might associate the word “pretzel” with being a snack or something you get in one of those rotating cases at the movie theatre, but not in Germany. Pretzels there are huge, fresh, and made from scratch in almost any bakery you run across.  

According to Germans, pretzels are rarely eaten plain.  They’re actually treated more like bread; many people will slice open the thick bottom part of the pretzel, layer on slices of cheese and salami, and take it to work for lunch.  Or, my personal favorite, slather it with Nutella and call it breakfast.  

So if you’re ever in Deutschland, be sure to stop by a bakery and snag a fresh “Brezel.”  Oh, and the best part: they only cost about ninety cents! 

This article is part of our New Cooks page, a safe and inviting place where no one will mock you for burning that ****ing quiche.

We are fortunate in this day and age to have quality ingredients for affordable prices.  Many dishes today were considered delicacies a century (if not a few decades) ago because of how hard it was to get the ingredients.  But today they’re readily available.  We also have large, powerful organizations dedicated to ensuring the quality of almost every ingredient—meat and produce especially.  So, the next time you go to the supermarket, consider whether someone a hundred years ago could have found those ingredients. 

Here’s a list of ingredients you should keep stocked in your pantry. These can be used in a lot of recipes and they keep nearly indefinitely (if they are stored correctly).  A lot of these come from Mark Bittman, author of Food Matters, The Food Matters Cook Book, and How to Cook Everything.  The latter two are cookbooks, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.  Trust me:  He knows what he’s talking about.

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. A good value brand that’s a little higher quality is DaVinci Olive Oil.  But if you want to spend less, the quality will probably suffer.
   
2. Vegetable Oil or Corn Oil. Useful for oiling pots and pans in baking and sautéing.
   
3. Rice (both long grain and short grain).  Arborio is great short grain rice, and you can find it at most supermarkets.  The most well-known long grain rice is Basmati, but it’s also more expensive.  The taste is nuttier and the texture is fluffier.
   
4. Pasta.  There are so many brands that choosing pasta can be confusing. I usually buy De Cecco or Barilla, but that’s just me.
   
5. Beans (dried and canned).  My big two are cannelini and kidney beans (for risotto and chili, respectively).  There are so many it’s hard to keep track of, but the most popular ones are cannelini, black, red, and pinto beans.  But really, buy these on an as needed basis, get a feel for what recipes you like to make and then buy them in advance.
   
6. Spices and Dried Herbs. Vital for an aspiring gastronome, so remember the big three: oregano, basil, and thyme.  Again, your taste will really determine what you stock.  If you don’t know what you like, try buying a small spice wheel and experimenting.
   
7. Flours and Cornmeal.  Depending on what you’re making, you’ll buy either cake, all-purpose, or bread flour.  Pay attention to which one you buy!  You could end up with nice dough or a liquid mess depending on which one you use.
   
8. Canned Tomatoes.  Fresh is better, but these work for sauces and other dishes.
   
9. Canned or Packaged Stock. Chicken and beef stock are used in many recipes, sauces for instance.  Vegetable stock is also available for those of you going vegetarian.
   
10. Aromatic Vegetables.  Onions, garlic, carrots, and celery.  These are absolute musts if you want to try Italian, French, Spanish, or even Creole cooking.  They are also the bases of Soffritto, the foundation of countless Italian recipes.  There is a French equivalent on Wikipedia called Mirepoix that is very similar to the Italian Soffritto.
    
11. Baking soda, Baking powder, and Cornstarch.
    
12. Eggs.  Eggs are used in making pasta, cakes, breads, desserts, and many more.  Plus, they’re great sources of protein, vitamins and minerals.  Be careful with eggs.  Keep them cold and don’t keep them longer than two weeks.  Old eggs can be really nasty.
    
13. Parmesan Cheese.  This stuff is amazing. It’s like the Swiss army knife of the kitchen.  It’s salty and savory, and, when it melts, it makes a great binder in sauces.  Buy some!  If you want to buy something special, look for Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s the real version of parmesan cheese from Italy.  It will be a block, almost always a wedge, and it will be very hard.  You will need a cheese grater.
    
14. Nuts and Seeds. A very efficient source of protein and fats.  Your cookies and salads will thank you.
    
15. Lemons and Limes.  Useful for making vinaigrettes, sauces, marinades, and some beverages, if that’s your thing. Also, there are bottles of lemon and lime juice for sale.  Be careful with these: some may be more concentrated than others. Check the label for recipe equivalents.
    
16. Vinegar. Used in many marinades, every pickling solution, and loads of salad dressings.  It is versatile and comes in about a bazillion varieties. Take your pick. 
    
17. Butter.  Margarine is also a cost effective alternative, but you will need one of them in the kitchen.  
    
18. Sugar and Honey.  If you’re big on baking, get granular and confectioners’ sugar.  Honey comes in a few varieties, but the ones suggested by Cooks Illustrated are orange blossom or clover honeys.  Both of these are lighter in flavor, it doesn’t overpower other flavors.
    
19. Long-lasting Fruits and Vegetables.  Apples, oranges, potatoes, etc.  These are great for snacking, and they’re healthy and surprisingly rejuvenating—except for the potatoes.  Don’t snack on those raw. Bad idea. 
    
20. Condiments.  Ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.  Your choice really depends on what you like to make and eat.
    

Other ingredients should be bought on an as-needed basis.  I mentioned in the beginning of the article that produce and meat are inspected and approved for us, but they don’t keep as long.  So buying those ingredients once a week is probably your best bet.  Stocking milk, frozen vegetables, fresh herbs, bread crumbs, and other desirables would be a good idea as well.

Now, there has been a lot of talk about organic, free trade and numerous other more “noble” and “healthy” types of ingredients.  Harold McGee, one of the foremost authorities on the science of cooking, clears this up pretty well in Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes.  It has no recipes, but it goes over the specifics of preparing ingredients in anything from appetizers to desserts.  I recommend it for anyone who wants to explore techniques and cooking further.  Here’s a list of food labels if you want to eat more conscientiously:

Organic refers to production without use of industrial fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified crops, or most additives.  Many antibiotics are kept out as well.

Sustainable products are those produced with minimal damage to local and global environments as well as wild populations.

Humane products take quality of life into account.  Companies labeling their products as humane try to reduce suffering of animals as much as possible throughout production.  Free range chicken is an example of one such product.

Selective products do not use genetically modified crops, certain hormones or antibiotics, feeds, preservatives, or other additives.  Breeding high quality strains of produce is a selective process.

Fair Trade products ensure farmers in third world countries receive fair prices.

Local is self explanatory:  the products don’t travel far.  Farmers markets are great sources of local food.  In fact, Ann Arbor has a great Farmer’s Market at 315 Detroit Street in Kerrytown on Saturdays from 8am to 3pm.  Yes, even in winter.

So, now you should have an idea of how to begin stocking your pantry.  If I missed anything you think someone should have, go ahead and leave a comment.

Winter is here, and that means biting cold, bitter north winds, and enough snow to choke a Yeti. But it also means that one has the perfect excuse to consume inordinate amounts of hot chocolate without feeling too much guilt. So the winter weather may not be so bad after all, especially for daring chocolate tasters. 

Now, when it comes to hot chocolate, there is a plethora of choices that are available to the discerning chocolateer, and one of the most interesting and daring choices is Xocolatl (pronounced chuck-o-LAH-tay) Chocolate, by Dagoba Chocolate. 

Xocolatl Chocolate deserves special mention because it is so unlike most chocolate mixes, and it is most definitely not for the faint of heart. Containing cacao powder, bits of pure, dark chocolate, cane sugar, chili, and cinnamon, it is a concoction that definitely “kicks it up a notch,” as Emeril would say. It is more like drinking a cup of fire than a cup of hot chocolate, and one should take that warning quite seriously.   

Such hyperbole aside, Xocolatl Chocolate is seriously quite spicy, and it makes for one memorable chocolate experience. Based on the uber-traditional chocolate recipes out of Aztec Mexico, Xocolatl Chocolate stays true to chocolate’s roots. The ancient Aztecs had no access to sugar in their land, and so they used what was available to them—vanilla, chilies, and cornmeal—to flavor their drink, which gave it its distinct, bitter flavor, and Xocolatl Chocolate reflects this tradition. True, Dagoba does include cane sugar in their mix, but this is hardly noticeable, and it does nothing to make the drink anything like the European version of it. The Nahuatl (Aztec) word “xocolatl,” roughly translates as “bitter drink,” and that is a very apt description of Dagoba’s drink, for it is bitter, spicy, and definitely not what the average chocolate consumer is accustomed to drinking. 

The Spanish Missionary Jose de Costa once described Aztec chocolate as being “loathsome to such as are not acquainted with it, having a scum and froth that is [a] very unpleasant taste,” and although I would not go so far as to say that this drink is loathsome, I would say that it is most definitely an acquired taste. Xocolatl Chocolate is in an entirely different league from European chocolates, both in taste and conception, and one should bear that in mind before trying this drink. To put it quite simply, Xocolatl Chocolate runs altogether counter to what the popular idea of chocolate is in our culture, but I do think that it is worth a try. If one is especially daring, or if one wants to try to melt their face off after an especially cold winter’s day, Xocolatl Chocolate, by Dagoba Chocolate, is worth a shot.  

You might say that my taste in food has borders. I like hamburgers, pizza, chicken noodle soup, and while I am normally willing to try exotic foods, I rarely venture beyond my comfort zone. However, I was intrigued last week when I got a look at a very non-traditional type of food: dim sum. This week on Top Chef, debatably the most entertaining program on television, the “cheftestants” were tasked with preparing dim sum dishes and running a popular Chinatown restaurant during the lunch rush. The variety of food was staggering. There were tradition Asian dishes, such as pork buns and spring rolls filled with shrimp, as well as some surprises, namely short ribs—a food I normally associate with high-end steakhouses—and chicken feet. Interesting fact: chicken feet are sold in bulk with toenails still attached. Now maybe I’m naïve, but chicken feet sound a bit too interesting to begin with, but the fact that they are sold with toenails makes me shudder. The diversity of the menu presented by the chefs made me wonder what dim sum actually is. Dim sum, or “small heart”, is a form of Chinese food served in small portions, so one can think of it as a sort of Asian tapas. Often, dishes include steamed or fried dumplings, rolls such as egg rolls, spring rolls, and summer rolls, and wontons. There aren’t too many dim sum restaurants in the Ann Arbor area, but for those who are willing to make the trek, there is Lai Lai in Ypsilanti and Great Lakes Restaurant on Carpenter Road. 

Here, at last, is the long-overdue finale to my short series of articles about summer in Costa Rica.
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In San Rafael, Costa Rica, a man named Ken Lander is handing out free shots of espresso and rethinking the way that we purchase coffee beans. I stumbled into his coffee shop unexpectedly, and, within moments, I was elbow-deep in freshly roasted coffee beans. As we roasted a batch of coffee, Ken explained how he has been using social marketing and word-of-mouth to generate buzz about a new type of direct sale in which coffee drinkers purchase their beans from the guy that grew them.

Before I finish that story, let me give you a brief glimpse into the life of a coffee bean. Coffea arabica is the species of plant that produces gourmet coffee beans. Arabica grows in tropical climates and at high altitudes, typically between 3,000 and 5,000 feet above sea level. The beans are encased in a cherry. When ripe, the cherry is picked and processed. Processing involves a series of steps that remove the cherry and dry the bean: the result is known as a green bean. Green coffee beans can be stored for 6 months to a year in a dry place, and coffee is transported around the world in this commoditized form.

Beans are often processed by the coffee farmer, be that an independent farmer or a large corporation. Most green beans pass to a middleman exporter, an importer, a roaster and a distributor before reaching a consumer, and each buyer and seller takes a cut. 

The story of coffee is a story of economies, and the recent history of this tiny bean has affected the lives of millions of workers. Coffee prices plummeted in the late 1990s when Vietnam re-entered the coffee market. Farmers around the world struggled, but many were powerless in a market driven by global economics. Small farmers could not cut down production to bring up prices because they could not count on neighboring countries, or even neighboring farms, to uphold the higher prices. [1] This crisis highlighted the inequality of power in the primary coffee economy, and it helped bring an alternative system into the spotlight.

Fair Trade is that alternative system. It was developed to address the difficulties that individual farmers face when prices fluctuate and farmers do not have the resources to decrease their risk. The Fair Trade model creates co-ops that lend farmers money to sustain them when prices are low, provide resources and capital for improving farmland, and, above all, guarantee a minimum price for a commodity. The co-ops also have a greater presence on a world market and can make deals directly with importers or roasters, thus shortening the supply chain.

Fair Trade products have been quite successful, especially in Europe where one can purchase everything from flowers to biscuits from Fair-Trade-certified co-ops. However, Fair Trade has its detractors as well. Some argue that a free market price would be more successful as an impetus for economical farming and marketing, and others argue that the minimum prices are still too low to provide farmers with a sustainable business. (Fair Trade coffee is currently staked at $1.21/pound [2]. For comparison, Ken Landon works with farmers who have been receiving, on the traditional market, as little as $0.39/pound).

I spent a week in Seattle, WA before my Costa Rica trip. In Seattle, I tasted coffee purchased by the roaster, directly from a small farm in Guatemala. This “direct trade” coffee is the latest craze in the world of premium coffee roasters. And, indeed, those premium, direct-trade coffees were spectacular. But this model will never break into the mainstream. Specialty roasters like Seattle Coffee Works and Victrola Coffee will only purchase the very best beans they can find. No coffee roaster would go to the effort of traveling to Costa Rica to pick out a crop of decent coffee beans—only the best are worth that effort.

Now I will return to my story. I was walking through the streets of Monteverde, Costa Rica, a town known for its high altitude cloud forest, when I saw a sign advertising free coffee. Never one to turn down free coffee, I walked into The Common Cup Community Coffee House and Roastery and met Ken Lander. The shop was nicely appointed, but I was shocked to see a bright-blue Diedrich coffee roaster in the corner of the room. Diedrich supplies roasters to many of the small-batch roasters around the U.S. (that includes Roos Roast).

Ken was quick to tell me that, twelve days earlier, he had founded the San Rafael Sustainable Coffee Initiative. He offered me a free Americano—brewed with beans grown on his very own coffee farm—as he described the Initiative. The San Rafael Initiative is asking for micro-loans:  $110 this year buys you 5 pounds of coffee now and 5 pounds from next year’s crop, shipped straight Ken in Costa Rica to your door in the States. MORE about his marketing Capital from the micro-loans will help bring more local farmers into the Initiative. In return, the Initiative will give those farmers access to a growing Internet marketing system. Farmers in the Initiative will receive one half of the profit from a pound of coffee, or $4/pound, and a net profit of $1.81/pound.

After our coffee, and the surprise arrival of another U of M alumna (!), Ken offered to show us how his roaster worked. “We roast,” he said, “That’s what we do in the afternoons.” We pulled levers and pressed buttons, and, soon, we were watching green beans transform, minute by minute, into an oily dark roast. I took home a bag of that very batch.

Ken was a jubilant, energetic guy who seemed completely unfazed by any mention of traditional economic models. When I asked him how he planned to sell the beans that did not meet his quality standards, he told me that by carefully monitoring the crops and using sustainable farming practices he could produce a far greater percentage of high quality beans than most farms. And that made sense; a greater cash investment by the farmer could mean more high quality beans, fit for a higher-priced pound of coffee.

I left the Common Cup in Monteverde with a bag of coffee in my hand. I cannot be sure if Ken’s model will work. He is investing this project into an economic model that is based on the whims of social marketing. If Ken’s customers stop visiting his website or stop following him on Facebook, can he sustain this business model? And if the Initiative expands, won’t Ken need exporters and importers, distributors and marketers (i.e. middlemen) to match the demand for his coffee?
On the other hand, the San Rafael Coffee Initiative offers the shortest coffee-supply chain available. Only Ken Landon and the Postal System separate customer from farmer. More importantly, farmers in Ken’s initiative have more power than ever over their economic fate. And, on those grounds, I am exceptionally hopeful for the success of his coffee.

[1] Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival. Daniel Jaffee. U of California Press. 2007. Berkeley, CA
[2] Fair Trade USA http://www.transfairusa.org/content/certification/coffee_program.php


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Or course, this being Costa Rica, the power died as we left the Common Cup. Here you can see the kind Tico who came to Ken's rescue...

...on a dirtbike.

For my 20th birthday, I figured what better way to spend the day than doing a (free) food tour of my city. Ann Arbor is prime for birthday deals and as a bonafide hoarder, my goal was to reap the rewards of all possible opportunities for good free food. 

Prior to my actual birthday, I took advantage of e-mailed coupons for birthday meals at Noodles and Company and Mongolian Barbeque. Both chains allow you to use the coupon for the two weeks surrounding your birthday and don’t require that you go with other people to dine.

The morning of my actual birthday began with a trip to Zingerman's for half a dozen free bagels. Since I went at 8 a.m. the selection was plentiful; raisin, parmesan pepper, and a special bagel that was Indian-inspired with curry and golden raisins. This part of my free day was be put in the freezer to be thawed out periodically. Frozen bagels that you can toast are the gift that keeps on giving. Make sure you get them sliced before you freeze them though (which Zingerman's will gladly do). However, I couldn't fill up on bagels because the birthday morning had just begun-Angelo's was my next stop.

Angelo's is one of my favorite places for a great cup of coffee and a delicious (and bone-sticking) breakfast. Today it was a breakfast combo with a short stack of blueberry pancakes and a two-egg scramble with broccoli, onion, tomato, green pepper and mushroom. Though the eggs were a little cold, the ten-dollar discount off of the bill made up for it and then some.

Though I took a brief break from my food tour for class and work, I continued my journey in Kerrytown. I headed to Cake Nouveau for my complimentary cupcake.  I was given the choice between the special English toffee or mandarin orange poppyseed cupcake, but as a chocolate-toffee enthusiast, there was no choice. The Bossa Nova loose tea I got from Tea Haus (which is right next door) was the perfect pairing for the toffee cupcake. I was even given the tea in a bag to go so I could enjoy it later. On a whim, I walked into Schakolad-where I was allowed to pick four truffles; champagne, raspberry, Irish Crème and cappuccino.

Lunch took me to Real Seafood Co. where I was given half off of the food portion of my bill and a free dessert to boot. I got the fire roasted block island swordfish that was served over sautéed vegetables, topped with fennel and mandarin orange slaw and drizzled with a lobster crème sauce. Given the choice of their six desserts, the New York Cheesecake garnished with berries won me over.

On the way home I stopped in for a mini-cupcake from the Cupcake Station-honey cake with lavender frosting. One of my favorite places for frozen yogurt-Afternoon Delight-gave me a monstrous sample of their White Chocolate Macadamia Nut yogurt and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory gave me a coffee truffle. I got a complimentary double chocolate chip cookie from Bruegger’s because of a coupon I got for signing up for their newsletter. 

For dinner, I went to Seva where my free entrée was Asparagus and Mascarpone ravioli with a lemon pistachio sage chutney, grilled asparagus, garlic ciabatta bread and grapes. While the other restaurants determined discounts based on the overall bill, at Seva my entire entrée was free.
 
My final birthday endeavor was a free scoop of Ben and Jerry’s; a half-baked frozen yogurt cone. It was the perfect ending to a day of food sampling. 

After noshing all day, I indulged in a homemade birthday cake with friends while reflecting on my massive savings for the day. The grand total? A respectable 68 dollars (93 dollars if you include Noodles and Co. and Mongolian). Make sure you have your ID with you for your day of feasting, and I wish you a happy (and hearty) birthday!

Having recently lived in New York for a few months last summer I was thrilled when I heard that Sarabeth’s Bakery, a mouthwatering bakery I’d come to love in Chelsea Market, was releasing a cookbook. The cookbook itself is beautiful. 305 pages, 296 of which are full of recipes for cookies, cakes, breads Ice creams and jams. The other nine pages? Conversion charts and a full index to make your life easier. The photos are simplistic and beautiful with funny bakery staff poses popping in from time to time. The pages have a beautiful over arching design and look more like poetic prose than a recipe. 

The pages, full of promise, I had a hard time choosing my test recipes. Croissants or English Muffins? Chocolate chubbies or a pumpkin pie? I finally settled on Chocolate Clouds and Rosemary Focaccia bread. The Chocolate Clouds had a promising photo of golden brown chocolate chip cookies with a cracked top leaning against an old fashioned glass of milk. Always a cookie lover I dove into this recipe head on. The results were sadly less than extraordinary. The first batch started off promising but sank in the oven and became chewy and granular. I attributed it to an error in my cook time (I knew I was a bit late in getting them out of the oven) and two days later, gave it another try. The results were more or less the same, less chewy but the cookies still sank in the oven. 

I’m not ready to condemn this recipe, I believe that there is most certainly a chance that I over beat the dough or perhaps botched something else small. Still it was disappointing and I cannot figure where exactly things went wrong.

My next recipe trial was a stunning success. The Rosemary Focaccia was fairly easy to fix and turned out a a huge, beautiful loaf of focaccia. The recipe contained only 6 ingredients, all fairly easy to get, and was surprisingly simple. Though heavy on the olive (which would be a plus in my book) the rosemary balances out and enriches the flavor beautifully. 7 steps and a comparatively short amount of dough rest and proof time later the dough was in a half-sheet pan and ready to go in the oven. The cook time was only twenty minutes and I nearly burnt myself trying to eat it before it cooled! The smell was wonderful. The loaf came out perfectly browned and dimpled. The texture was wonderful the olive oil having prevented the bread from becoming too dry. I ate a third of the huge loaf that night. It’s certainly a great recipe to make and share with friends! 

My final opinion was that this cookbook contains a great deal of promise. The breads are well thought out and described. The cookies I trust will improve (I’m particularly hoping the chocolate chubbies are worthwhile!).  I look forward to tasting each of these scrumptious recipes and hopefully Sharing them with my friends and family!

We recently completed our annual Roos Roast coffee class. Read on for three takes on the morning’s caffeination.

“I used to say that if you cut me open, I’d bleed brown” —fellow coffee classmate 

Sunday mornings often call for a cup of coffee and a lazy reading of the newspaper, yet, this Sunday I found myself indulging in six different cups, each steaming with freshly brewed coffee from around the world.  Walking into John Roo’s coffee roasting shop aroused all senses, especially after waking only moments before other Cuiziners had just picked me up.

We stepped into the shop, accompanied by a few other coffee enthusiasts, who simultaneously happen to grow their own cacao and brew their own beer.  We all gathered around John in his lab coat and a small table boasting beans from Mexico to Ethiopia, each roasted by John himself, as he began divulging to us the urban legends of coffee’s origins.  Midst the history lesson, a continuous flow of coffee began our way, from French Press to a strong cold brew he had made just yesterday.  My taste buds were dancing, while my head began floating beyond the hazy clouds of a caffeinated haven.  Luckily John greeted us with an array of foods from homemade muffins showcasing the flavors of Hawaii (macadamia nuts, coconut, pineapple, and of course chocolate) to a quiche and scrambled eggs made by none other than the wand of the espresso machine.

—Kay

It's 10:30 on a frigid Sunday morning, and, while most of campus is nursing a hangover and scrambling for excuses to put off that paper for another couple of hours, the staff of Wolverine Cuizine is busy getting a case of the shakes and bouncing off walls.  Next to True Tech auto repair, down the street from Kroger on South Industrial resides a small coffee joint with a 4 foot "COFFEE" sign struggling to stay standing in the wind.  I can't even begin to count how many times I've taken my car to True Tech and driven by this location without ever having noticed the Ann Arbor wonder that is Roos Roast.

John Roos is the Willy Wonka of coffee. From his long blue lab coat, "Mr. Roos" nametag with a backwards "S," knowledge about coffee and eagerness to share it with the world, to his generosity, and quirky enthusiasm, I'm not sure if he's more a Gene Wilder, Johnny Depp, or simply the Willy Wonka of my dreams.  We must have had at least ten cups of coffee, in addition to a bagel brunch complete with shmear and pineapple, coconut, chocolate and macadamia-nut muffins.  The coffees ranged from Mexican to Papau New Guinea and were all brewed using different techniques such as french press and cold brew, each having a different and distinct flavor.  We learned all about coffee beans, where they come from, and even got to roast beans right in front of the shop and then grind and drink them merely five minutes later.  I am now even more inspired than ever to go to the Farmer's Market to get my Roos Roast coffee and will  be returning frequently to the shop to say hello to John and his passionate employees and continue to learn about coffee and it's surrounding culture.

—Anna

Ok, when it comes to coffee, I’m a rookie, with a capital R.  I used to think that coffee was this nasty brown liquid everyone was addicted to and couldn’t do without.  I could not have been more wrong.  Roos Roast showed me a different side to everything related to coffee.  How it is harvested, cracked, roasted and brewed are all established procedures with a lifetime’s worth of knowledge involved.  From coarse and fine grinding to French Press and espresso techniques, Mr. Roos, and his assistants, knew it all.

When I first saw Mr. Roos, it looked like he needed some coffee, badly.  The thought popped into my head that maybe he didn’t get enough sleep because of all the caffeine he had absorbed through his skin over the years.  But I quickly dismissed this as he shook our hands and started joking around with us.  After greeting he had us try a few different kinds of coffee.  Wait, did I say a few?  I mean six, and they were all brewed differently.  He had everything from shade grown (that means the coffee is grown with other plants in a natural environment) Guatemalan Robusta to Ethiopian coffee.  They were all completely different!  This was a bit of a shock to a coffee newbie like me. 

Mr. Roos talked about where coffee came from, how it was processed, how you should brew it, and how you should roast it.  Oh, and he had some interesting myths about coffee too, how it spread around the world from Ethiopia and how the French Press was invented.  I never knew there was so much about coffee.  So, if you’re looking for a great cup of coffee (that’s coming from a rookie), try out Roos Roast.  It has a great atmosphere and you just might learn something while you’re there.

—Charlie