Valentine to Espresso

One of the advantages of being in the coffee business is we have an excuse to own a good espresso machine. After all, we need to test our espresso blends as the new crop coffees come in. Drinking great espresso is a perk around here, and that makes it hard on team members who move away. Today's valentine comes from Catie and is in honor of our espressos.

Catie is one of the original members of the Coffee by the Roast family. She's done everything, from heavy work around the warehouse to roasting and cupping the coffees. She even created some of our most popular blends. Catie brought Leo to Coffee by the Roast a few years ago, and together they've been instrumental in creating and maintaining the Coffee by the Roast website.

The couple's married now and live together in Hamburg, Germany. There's no room in their apartment for an espresso machine, so they make their morning cup on the stove in a moka pot. When we sent out the call for coffee valentine ideas, Catie wrote back with not only a valentine, but the story behind it. Here it is:

Morning calls, a slow sunrise

Color streaks the eastern skies

The early bird, I start to grind

Pacifico to spark the mind

The fresh froth of creme comes to bloom

The rich scent of chocolate fills the room

Brewing sounds help wake him up

I set our table, fill his cup.

Coffee: dark, intense and bright

Starts our day with pure delight.

The story behind the poem:

“Leo and I love your espressos, especially Espresso Pacifico (Leo) and Espresso Treiste (me). I make a daily, morning Moka pot of coffee that we share in a tradition/routine that we both cherish. Leo didn't drink coffee regularly before your coffee. He continually misses Espresso Pacifico and Espresso Trieste, and there is nothing quite like your dark beans grinding and brewing and filling the kitchen and then living room with fresh coffee smells. I almost always get up first, and I almost always am the one to get the coffee going. It is often only the sound of the coffee finishing on the stove that rouses Leo out of bed. The smell and promise of the first, enlivening cup are often what spurs him to get up and a shared cup of espresso is what starts our every day.”

Thanks for reading today's Valentine. Join the conversation and send a valentine to your favorite Coffee by the Roast coffee by leaving a response in the Facebook thread or a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to send your valentines to the wider world of coffee lovers, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee and spread the love of coffee this February!

~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast