Just got yet another GREAT order from Peregrine – freshly roasted Brazilian Cerrado – and right on time for our Thanksgiving feast. If you have not had your FREE (seriously – they will come right to your home or office) bespoke coffee tasting yet – you need to check this out. right. now.
Kevin & Louise, the owners are so accomodating and they roast up some of the best KenyaAA, Kona, Guatemalan (DH’s fave) and the aforementioned Brazilian.
I LOVE PEREGRINE!!!
Coffee addicts must, absolutely must, know about this coffee roasting facility, owned by Kevin Lawrence, who is as obsessed with flavor and freshness as the most punctilious java snob. Lawrence literally scours the earth for the most aromatic and sometimes obscure single-source beans, which he then roasts and sells whole to customers who receive regular deliveries of personalized orders. He makes himself available for tastings, by appointment, to any coffee aficionado, with particular emphasis on potential buyers of his bespoke service. Said service involves him matching a desired flavor profile to a rare bean, which he then ships fresh to his warehouse and stores exclusively for said customer, who then receives regularly scheduled deliveries of a roasted bag timed to adhere to his or her rate of consumption.
PHILADELPHIA, PA February 2, 2009 – All of a sudden, people are talking coffee. Superb small-batch roasters are spreading out across the country. Coffee “cupping” is the new wine tasting. Food and coffee pairings are the current curiosity on boutique menus. In Philadelphia, Peregrine Coffee (http://www.peregrinecoffee.com) is adding something new to the brew with its full bespoke coffee service.
“Bespoke coffee means coffee sourced, stored, and roasted to order to suit your particular palate,” explains Peregrine Owner/Roaster Kevin Lawrence. “If people care enough to grind and brew their own coffee at home, they should be drinking something they really love, something chosen and roasted just for them and supplied whenever they want it – that’s what we do here at Peregrine. Just think of me as a coffee sommelier.”
Lawrence began roasting coffee six years ago when his coffee maker broke and he started to research what it would take to brew a better cup. He soon discovered that the magic of great coffee lay in the fresh roasted beans, and began to experiment at home, moving to progressively more sophisticated roasters as his skill grew. By June 2008, he was ready to launch Peregrine Coffee.
When Lawrence started roasting his own beans he was amazed by what really fresh coffee tastes like. “There is no bitterness, no sourness, and the range of flavors in beans from different parts of the world is astounding – who knew coffee could taste like blueberries? I wanted to share my discoveries with everyone who loves coffee as much as I do.”
Peregrine Coffee is the way he does that, by showcasing a carefully chosen selection of single-origin and single-estate coffees, roasted to order through the online store, and by providing his unique bespoke service.
This is how the bespoke service works: The first step is a tasting, which can be booked through the free “bespoke coffee for the curious palate” option in Peregrine online store. In the Philadelphia area, customers can come to Lawrence’s roast shop in Northeast Philadelphia, or he will bring coffee samples to homes or workplaces. In addition to tasting coffee, Lawrence discusses other sorts of flavor preferences with prospective clients – when ordering dessert, do you always go for chocolate or lean toward the berry option? Do you prefer white wine or red? Do you drink coffee first thing in the morning, with meals or only after dinner?
The client’s responses help build their personal coffee flavor profile, which Lawrence uses to source the perfect beans for that particular customer’s palate. After the tasting, Lawrence prepares a proposal outlining several different selections he thinks the customer will enjoy. He then purchases the green beans, stores them for the customer’s use alone, and roasts them to their specifications on demand. Bespoke orders are priced according to the individual coffees chosen and the amount desired (once-a-week for six months, a year’s worth, etc.) with minimum purchases beginning at $45.
Customers outside of the Philly area can purchase a Peregrine Pack ($9.25), which provides whole bean samples of three distinct Peregrine coffees. From there Lawrence follows up by phone or email to discuss the flavors sampled and hone in more precisely on the customer’s taste preferences. Peregrine Coffee can be shipped anywhere in the U.S. and abroad. The company also custom-roasts coffee to complement the specific flavors of a wedding cake, or to go with any specialized menu.
“People are staying home more, cooking at home more,” points out Lawrence. “You may not be able to afford the vintage Bordeaux this year, but you can treat yourself and your guests to your own custom coffee for a fraction of that price. It’s an affordable luxury for coffee drinkers who want to explore just how good their own coffee can be.”
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CONTACT: Luise Z. Moskowitz
luise@peregrinecoffee.com
(215) 240-4474
This coffee starts out with sweet and savory smells. Evokes a cold winter’s day late afternoon lunch of beef barley soup and cherry jam on pumpernickel toast. There are waves of flavor, including fruit and dark, bittersweet tones, with a slight black peppery edge. Reads like a Rhône. Very nice mouthfeel, almost velvety, and the finish introduces burnt raisin, with slight nuttiness, and a hint of currants. There is acidity present, but not center stage – quite dry on the finish. A superb coffee.
These are gorgeous beans, so large, even, and smooth, you could make jewelry from them. The coffee smells like dulce de leche, caramel with sweet nuts (marzipan and hazelnuts), mixed with sweet pipe tobacco and a slight saffron dustiness. The cup starts out with a satiny mouthfeel with great body. It is very balanced and elegant with a slight bright-lime acidity. There is a subtle, consistent, fast fading, clean, smooth finish. All the right things one expects from a great cup of coffee with no single dominant note.
