Beer spotlight: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Dogfish Head Off-Centered Film Festival here in Austin. Got to try some great beers, watched some "off-centered" movies, and got to hear a little from Dogfish Head founder Sam Calgione. Great times--and boy was I glad that we had a DD.

As a result, this week's featured beer is the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. The 60 Minute IPA is continuously hopped--more than 60 hop additions over a 60 minute boil (getting a vibe yet of where the name came from?). 60 Minute is a session India Pale Ale brewed with a slew of great NorthWest hops. It's a powerful but balanced East Coast IPA with a lot of citrusy hop character. The session beer for hardcore beer enthusiasts! A video here tells a more detailed story.

Clifford Allen: This month's $250 Gift Card Winner!

This month's winner of our $250 gift certificate giveaway is Clifford Allen! Clifford is a connoisseur of all things relating to jazz and improvised music. He write for All About Jazz, Signal to Noise, and Paris Transatlantic among other publications. He's originally from Topeka, KS (Wave the Wheat!) but lives here in the T-bird Manor 'hood now. His favorite drink at Tbird is a double short Americano. Clifford is a long-time T-bird fan, and we're all thrilled that he's this month's winner! Sign up today, YOU could be next!

This month's photo was taken by Samantha White! Sam is a freelance photographer here in Austin. She specializes in photos of pretty much everything, and she's a great person to work with. Her website is samanthajanay.blogspot.com.

Chachuda Microlot!

We're very proud to announce the arrival of a new coffee: The Chachuda Microlot from high in the Peruvian Andes. This very special coffee is a true labor of love and available only for a limited time. Starting this weekend we'll be serving 12 OZ press pots for $3.19 from 9 AM to 12 PM on Saturday and Sunday. The Chachuda has a sweet-toned aroma with notes of toast, aromatic wood, nut and mild fruitiness. The fruit becomes more pronounced in the cup, developing into stone fruit, along with continued sweetness and hints of chocolate and aromatic wood.

What else is so special about it? The trading practice with this coffee is especially worth mentioning. It's well-known that T-bird is committed to only buying direct-trade coffee, and we're particularly proud of how Cuvee purchases this coffee.
The money going to the two growers who cultivate the Chachuda recieve 237% more money directly than the fair-trade minimum! It's just one more reason we're so proud to serve the this coffee. Come try some this weekend! (Feel free to ask for more details!)

Welcome, Counter Culture!

We're very proud to announce that we are currently brewing Counter Culture's single-origin Teka from Muramvya, Burundi, at Thunderbird Koenig. What's so special about this? Plenty. Based out of Durham, North Carolina, Counter Culture is one of the pioneers of direct-trade coffee in the United States, and T-bird is the first shop in Austin to deliver their incredible coffees to you. It's DELICIOUS and it's available now in French press and to take home by the bag. There's plenty more information HERE. We're committed to carrying the best coffees from all over the world, traded sustainably and roasted by the only the best. Stay on the lookout for more new coffees!

What does this mean for the fantastic coffees we've been serving from Cuvee? Never fear. We will continue to carry a range of Cuvee's sustainably traded and world-class coffees. However, our search for different coffees, different roasters, and new and amazing flavors never ends. This is only the beginning. Cheers.

Direct Trade Coffee

Picture stolen from Cuvee's Flickr.
Note: This is an introduction to what I hope will be several essays about direct-trade coffee.

Thunderbird is committed to using only direct-trade coffee of the highest quality. Phrases like "fair trade," "direct trade," "farm trade," and "direct relationship coffee" have a lot of power, and they're often thrown around to give the roaster or coffee shop legitimacy. But what do they really mean? How can you tell what's "real" about a coffee shop or roaster's buying methods?

In short, direct relationship coffee ". . . takes a substantial investment of time and money to build a business based on working directly with farmers. It also takes an infrastructure to allow someone to be out of the office a total of several months over the course of the year," according to Mike McKim at Cuvee Coffee Roasters. [Read Mike's discussion of direct-trade coffee here.] It's not just a two-day trip and a snapshot with a farmer. It's about building a legitimate relationship relationship between a roaster and a farm or grower, and it's not something that happens overnight.

Keep checking our blog to learn more about how direct-trade coffee works! For now, a New York Times article from 2007 may stir up some more interest.

SCRBC Winners!

A big congratulations to the 2010 South Central Regional Barista Competition winners!

1st place: Lorenzo Perkins, Caffe Medici
2nd place: Aaron Blanco, Brown Coffee Company
3rd place: Tyler Wells, Frank

Thunderbird is proud to be a sponsor of this great coffee event!

$250 WINNER!

A big merry Christmas to Paul Parnell, who won Thunderbird Manor's $250 gift certificate this month! Paul is a screenwriter and T-bird regular who lives and works here in Austin. He LOVES our $1 Lone Stars and French press coffee. He's made a ton of friends at Thunderbird and sources say that he's a pretty solid basketball player. Congratulations, Paul! Sign up for our e-mail list today, and YOU could be next!

This photograph was taken by Ida Fehrenbach! Ida is part of the Tremendous Family art collective. Ida and the rest of the Tremendous Family are showing their artwork at Thunderbird on Koenig for the entire month of January. Come check out their opening party on January 2 starting at 8 p.m.! See you there! (For more of their work, check out thetremendousfamilyblog.blogspot.com)