We take coffee seriously!
Our new yellow La Marzocco Linea Mini was hand built in Florence, Italy.
Have you seen our new, bright yellow La Marzocco Linea Mini espresso machine that arrived last week? We ordered it about four months ago and it was hand built for us in Florence, Italy. We are so excited about this powerful machine and we are still dialing things in before we serve you a cup made from it. It has to be perfect. We’re kinda nerdy about our coffee perfection.
We have always taken coffee seriously at Sunny Side Kitchen. There’s no pot of stale drip coffee sitting on the counter. We make each cup to order.
Our coffee is delivered freshly roasted each week from Carlsbad-based Origen Coffee Roasters. Owner and roaster Ruben Enriquez seeks to highlight the individual profiles of particular coffee-growing areas around the world. He brings to Sunny Side coffees from Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Costa Rica, just to name a few.
All Origen coffees showcase the true taste of a place in its best form. In addition, Origen coffees reflect a commitment to the hardworking producers to earn a premium on a larger percentage of their annual harvest
Origen coffees have been measured and scored against a set of competitive sensory parameters, and we are always delighted by the results. All Origen coffees are organic, specialty coffee grade, with SCAA scores of 87 or higher. Prices for such coffees are often two to three times higher as farmers who show higher standards and higher sustainability practices receive higher premiums.
Once the freshly roasted coffee arrives at Sunny Side Kitchen, our baristas are trained to maintain the integrity of the bean as much as possible.
We use the Hario V-60 pour over system to obtain the perfect cup of brewed coffee. Our cold brew is made in-house from beans specially roasted and ground for Sunny Side Kitchen by Origen Coffee Roasters. Even our espresso beans are roasted specifically for our La Marzocco espresso machine. And yes, we have an amazing decaf option from Origen as well.
We recently read an article about the importance of shade trees in coffee production as a method of providing migratory birds a sanctuary and we asked Ruben to clarify and let us know if our coffee producers were using this method. Ruben said, “Coffee trees, mainly arabica species, prefer sunlight in moderation, which is why shade trees are so important. Shade threes are a key piece of the puzzle for the environment, as they provide rest stops and homes for migratory birds. But they are also crucial to limiting the amount of sunlight that the coffee tree receives. Too much sunlight will dry out the root system of the coffee tree, leading to an unhealthy crop. Specialty Coffee consists of higher grade, quality arabica species, grown mostly under shade or, in some cases, in microclimates where cloud cover is predictable (see FRINJ coffee). Not all arabica coffee meets specialty coffee standards.”
Ruben continued, “I would like to elaborate a little bit more about our social responsibility in coffee:
There are several ways for a roaster to approach sourcing their green coffee, according to their needs: Certified Organic, Fair Trade, Bird Friendly, Rain Forest, 4C Association, Utz Certified, Women Care Certifications, etc. Our approach in Social Responsibility in coffee sourcing takes different routes, typically we source coffees from producers and importers who demonstrate social responsibility in one way or another (hopefully in many ways) however our sourcing efforts start with Specialty Coffee in mind.
Sourcing Specialty Coffee (think 10% of the coffees in the world) not just ensures a better crop and a better cup but it is better for the environment and for farmers in general since they typically earn a higher premium than the Fair Trade since quality premiums stabilize prices and help isolate producers from the low prices of the commodity market. Organic Specialty Coffee (Our Coffees) accounts for 1% to 2% coffee production in the world. In addition, it meets most of the standards or certifications mentioned above. In our opinion sourcing specialty coffee is the best way to demonstrate social responsibility and not the other way around. For example a roaster may only buy organic crops but that doesn't necessarily mean the coffee is of the highest grade (specialty) or that the coffee was shade-grown or fair trade certified, or bird friendly certified.
Our job at Origen is to ensure every coffee in season is responsibly-sourced, of the highest grade and organic.
Coffees are seasonal. Our current blends are composed from crops from one or more of our suppliers below, which are registered under the Bird friendly scheme.
GRAPOS, Chiapas Mexico
Asikana, Ethiopia
FECCEG, Guatemala
Thank you for letting me elaborate on our coffee roasting process!”
So, yes, we take coffee seriously and hope that you appreciate that with every sip!
A handy description of different types of coffees
Pour Over-
We use Hario V-60s to make our “regular” coffee. Each cup is ground to order. Origen roasts the beans to a medium roast, each batch is carefully roasted to get the most out of the beans.
Espresso-
Whole bean coffee finely ground to order and expressed into two ounces of concentrated beverage.
Macchiato-
A straight double shot of espresso “stained” with a spoon of milk foam.
Caffe Americano-
A double shot of espresso with hot or cold water.
Cappuccino-
A double shot of espresso combined with a small amount of steamed milk and velvety milk foam
Latte-
A double shot of espresso combined with milk. Small amount of foam.
Breve-
A latte using ½ and ½.
Cafe Mocha-
Latte with chocolate syrup added, whip cream and chocolate drizzle.
Caramel Latte-
Latte with caramel syrup added, whip cream and caramel drizzle.
Cafe au lait
Pour over coffee with steamed milk and a small amount of foam.