We teamed up with High Lawn Farm to create a line of premium Tunnel City ice cream flavors.
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Which one is right for you?
There are so many coffee brewing options today, which can make it difficult to choose one for your daily routine. The best way to decide is to think about what you enjoy in a cup of coffee. Is it a full bodied and heavy mouthfeel or a crisp, clean taste? Time is another important factor to consider. Do you have several minutes to devote to coffee brewing or would you rather pull a quick couple shots of espresso?
We’ve laid out a few popular brew methods below to help you choose.
French Press
The metal mesh filter in a French press makes for a full bodied flavor because the coffee oils remain in the cup. It takes several minutes to brew coffee with a French press, but it requires steeping instead of active pouring (as with a manual drip method). French press is perfect for someone who enjoys a full flavored cup of coffee and a relatively easy brewing process.
We recommend:
Thunderbolt Blend–darker roast blend with notes of toffee, maple and caramel
Guatemala–Darker roast single origin coffee with notes of chocolate, citrus and dark fruit
Pour over
The pour over method uses a paper filter to keep the coffee oils out of the final product, which creates a clean flavor in which the coffee’s distinct flavors shine through. This method also calls for actively pouring just-boiled water over the full surface area of the grounds to achieve a well rounded flavor. The pour over method works for someone who has more than a couple minutes to spend preparing their coffee and prefers clear, crisp flavors.
We recommend:
Red Line Blend–lighter roast blend with notes of cinnamon, hazelnut and apple
Ethiopia–lighter roast single origin coffee with notes of mango, sugar cane and lime
Espresso
Brewing or “pulling” shots of espresso is an efficient way to prepare bold and flavorful coffee. Highly pressurized water passes through tightly packed coffee grounds to produce a small amount of coffee with a lot of flavor and a rich layer of crema on top. Espresso is consumed on its own or in a drink such as a latte or cappuccino to cuts the bold flavor with milk. Brewing espresso requires a more significant equipment setup than other methods, but it is a quick and delicious way to brew once the initial setup is complete.
We recommend:
Number 50–darker roast blend with chocolate, hazelnut and blackberry notes
Chemex
Coffee brewed with a Chemex is very clean and consistent with little room for impurities. It is a manual drip method that uses a folded paper filter to allow for full contact of water and coffee. This method ensures a pure and bright cup with no muddy flavor notes.
We recommend:
West End Blend–Complex and sweet with notes of blackberry and brown sugar
Costa Rica–Sweet and mellow with toffee and cashew flavors
Art by Tracy Baker-White is on display at Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown through September 2019.
Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown, MA hosts local artist Tracy Baker-White for a summer show of landscape paintings through September 2019. For the last several years, Baker-White has focused on landscapes from New England and Ireland.
She writes: “It is humbling, really, to stand in a landscape and listen to the quiet… to understand the land, and its interaction with the human hands that have shaped it. My work explores the importance of landscapes in human consciousness.”
Baker-White paints with oil on linen or gessoed wood panels with an orange ground. She relishes the visual effect of complementary orange peeking through the green, blue and gray. She often works in a series, starting with small studies, then developing large scale pieces.
“I am always attracted to the tension between real and abstract shapes. Mark making has always been important to me, and my goal is to develop a rich surface that allows for depth, perspective, and fullness of form while retaining the character of marks.”
Baker-White’s summer landscape show runs through September 2019 and all work is available for purchase.
Words courtesy of Tracy Baker-White and Tunnel City Coffee/photo courtesy of Tracy Baker-White
Tunnel City Coffee at Mass MoCA displays a summer show with art by Viola Moriarty and her daughters Anna Moriarty Lev and Phoebe Moriarty Lev through September 2019. The show features a collection of still lifes and portraits–a variety of bold and colorful pieces by a family connected through art.
Viola Moriarty’s work includes portrait pieces and still lifes that capture simple and beautiful everyday moments, painted both inside her studio and outside. She started painting in oils in 2002 and it changed the way she saw the world. Viola’s art lives on through her daughters and her collection of personal, compelling work.
Phoebe Moriarty Lev lives and works in southern Chile, painting on canvas and anything she can find, including blank walls for her mural work.
Art by Viola Moriarty, Anna Moriarty Lev and Phoebe Moriarty Lev is on display at Tunnel City Coffee at Mass MoCA through September 2019.
Anna Moriarty Lev is a cartoonist and figurative painter, focusing on people and daily rituals. One of these rituals, coffee, is a recurring theme in both her art and family life. After her first child was born, she found some peace in walking to and visiting Tunnel City Coffee. Anna sends bags of Tunnel City Coffee’s dark roast Sumatra coffee beans to her sister in Chile, where instant coffee is the more popular choice.
“That cup of coffee in the morning is one little connection between faraway siblings,” says Anna.
Their artist statement reads: “This exhibit is about more than just women and coffee. It is about bold and intense women and what fuels us, about the art that connects us to the mother we so deeply miss, and about the little inspirations that come from living a full creative life, which can be anything from an intense sense of loss to a beautiful mug filled with cafe con leche.”
Viola, Phoebe and Anna’s summer art show at Tunnel City Coffee at Mass MoCA runs through the end of September 2019 and many pieces are available for purchase.
Photo courtesy of Anna Moriarty Lev
Learning coffee origins through farmer-roaster relationships
This is an exciting time for specialty coffee roasters because of our deepening relationships with the farmers who produce our coffee. Our connection with farmers is a crucial partnership built on trust and trying new things to achieve great results, and what we do would not be possible if not for the growers.
The Triunfo Verde Co-op in Jaltenango, Mexico grows coffee that thrives in the lush climate of the Triunfo Biosphere Reserve.
With these stronger relationships come transparency and traceability, which allow us to to learn the story behind each coffee before we roast it. Our Mexico Jaltenango Chiapas is a microlot coffee produced by the Triunfo Verde Coop, whose farmland is situated near the largest cloud forest in mesoamerica, an ideal growing climate for coffee. In Chalatenango, El Salvador, farmer Jose Armando Portillo grows coffee that we love for its balance of bright citrus and sweet, creamy flavors. We know that he comes from a long line of coffee farmers with traditions so powerful that they have “coffee in their blood.” These are the farmers we want to support, who take care of their natural environments and fold coffee farming deep into their family histories.
This knowledge informs the decisions we make while roasting, from differences in farming and processing techniques to climate and experiences with roasting past lots from farmers. Though roasting is an incredibly important part of the process, appropriate brewing techniques ensure that we realize the true potential of every coffee. Baristas at our newest coffee bar, Uptown Tunnel Coffee, prepare all drip coffee as individually brewed pour overs to bring out the best possible flavors in each cup. With this slower, manual brew, we can more easily pick out the flavors that make each coffee special, and start dialogues with customers about the stories behind our coffee.
With coffee consumers increasingly interested in where their coffee comes from, attention shifts to coffee farmers and their individual stories, as well as the growing techniques that make their crops unique. Specialty coffee today feels like a celebration of coffee and its providers, connecting us all in a way not previously possible. We are proud of its evolution so far and excited to be part of where it is headed.