{January 7, 2011}

mmmmm...coffee fresh from the roaster. Ever since we went to Italy, Ryan and I have become super passionate about coffee. Okay, that's not entirely true...more like Ryan, my engineer husband, decided to look in to roasting our own coffee and I came along for the ride. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it should be said that pretty much any time there is some sort of gadget involved, Ryan is behind it. So enter coffee roasting and our quest to create the perfect batch of espresso, leading to the perfectly crafted cappuccino--otherwise known as "Laura's Obsession." I have to have my daily cappuccino or I get very grumpy. Also, I get a headache. At first Ryan was the one doing all of the roasting, but I convinced him to let me give it a go seeing as how I work from home and he doesn't. Control freak that he is it took a bit, however he finally agreed and I've been roasting ever since. I've gone through several different formulations of espresso due to 1.) not being able to consistently get the same beans from our supplier, and 2.) the whole searching for the perfect blend thing. I believe this batch is Espresso #13 and I'm very pleased with it. It has a nice balance of chocolate, fruit, and a bit of spice. Of course I'm almost out of one of the coffee beans I use in this blend and if I had to guess our supplier no longer has it either. Coffee is fickle like that.

On to the pic...{click to view full size}