September Product of the Month

Posted on: 2015-09-18 12:00 AM

Straight Razor Roasting Company is an Ontario-based specialty coffee roaster obsessed with quality, small-batches, and doing things the way they should be done. The inventory consists of only the best specialty-grade coffees from around the world, carefully roasted to highlight the best aspects of each bean. The best part? Everything they offer is ethically sourced, so they can not only offer up the best coffee around, but feel great about it too.
 
I recently had the opportunity to meet with their Marketing Director Tristan Sweet in one of the coffee shops that uses their coffee. As you may recall I reviewed the coffee as easy to drink and “Session-able” . Session-able is a made up word that I use to describe something that I could easily consume without becoming tired of the taste. I’ve had some great coffees that have either given me too much of a “buzz” or that had a great strong flavor that was wonderful on the first cup but either as the coffee cooled or I went for a refill I found the flavor over powering. Think Pumpkin Beer or my nemesis Pumpkin spiced lattes (Ick).
 
The folks at SRR were generous enough to send along some fresh samples. A medium roast and a darker roast that was closer to a medium dark than some of the dark roasts that I’ve had the pleasure to try.
 
I made a mistake in the order that I sampled them. I should have done the Darker Coffee first. While it was an even tasting wonderful coffee that I drank as a Sunday afternoon treat along side a couple of digestive cookies I realized that the opportunity that I missed was having it at breakfast with a fresh croissant and some of home made strawberry jam.  The darker flavor would have offset the natural sweetness of the jam.
 
The medium roasted coffee would have been a better afternoon coffee choice. It was light tasting without being weak with no bitterness. I tried it black and with milk and sugar and both were very enjoyable. It was hot that day when we returned from our hike and I made us a fantastic iced coffee drink as a Saturday afternoon pick me up. In general I found the it to be a versatile enough coffee that it could be prepared and enjoyed in any situation.   Kudos.
 
I have the advantage of having so much coffee coming and going as samples that we rarely purchase coffee anymore. I would say that if I were to go back to picking a brand and coffee I’d definitely consider their subscription service. On that note I have to think that a coffee subscription would be a great gift idea.

Read more about gift ideas as we prepare for the 2015 holidays with our Christmas gift catalog.