Welcome to the first post on our new coffee blog, Pour Me Some Coffee!
With so many great things to share, it is difficult to pick the topic for the first post. I thought it would be great to start local (local to me) and share three great coffee roasters (and cafes) all located right here in my hometown of Claremont, California!
2020 – a year to remember or a year to forget?
The year 2020 will be a year to remember, or a year to forget, depending on your point of view. So many big changes happened. An unfortunate result was that many small businesses indefinitely or permanently closed their doors. As I walked the streets of Claremont in the late evenings in December 2020, it was sad to see Claremont a shadow of its former bustling self with so many closed restaurants, small curio shops, etc. One silver lining of 2020 was that three new coffee roasters moved into town and took over spots vacated by affected former businesses. All three roasters are serving up fresh coffee and espresso daily.
How do you celebrate a coffee roaster? By brewing their coffee, of course!
I decided the best way to celebrate the coffee roasters of Claremont would be to buy a bag of freshly roasted whole bean coffee from each of these three roasters and try them out in my current favorite coffee pourover setup. I’m using a Kajava Mama Ceramic Cone-style dripper (same design as the Hario V60), a Yama stainless steel pourover kettle, and beans ground with my Baratza Encore grinder (love this thing!) See my exact recipe I used at the end of this post.
And now on to our roasters and the coffees I chose from each…
Iron and Kin Coffee House and Coffee Roaster
536 W 1st St, Claremont CA 91711
Located inside the Old Packing House shops area in Claremont on 1st Street, West of Indian Hill.
Iron and Kin took over the coffee spot formerly held by Augie’s Coffee. The Packing House has those old town, turn of the century vibes in spades with raised ceilings, industrial features, and rustic wood floors. It’s a fun space to walk through while window gazing at all the shops inside and checking out the architectural features. The Iron & Kin space keeps the retro vibe theme going with more raised ceilings and skylights bringing in ample amounts of sunlight, mid-century table and chairs, white hexagon-tile backsplash, and wood paneling. 70’s style speakers are always delivering some kind of fun music from hip hop to jazz to chill wave techno. Iron and Kin has a small retail area where they sell their own freshly roasted coffee beans, usually 4 to 5 varieties (single-origin varieties from Guatemala, Colombia and Ethiopia are common) but they are always selling out! You can also find Iron and Kin diner mugs, fresh honey from the area, plus a few other “curio” items. The customer service is always friendly with an eye towards quality. The espresso is excellent, but I am very partial to the batch brew coffee sold here. Iron and Kin also almost always has fresh baked goods including really good plain and chocolate croissants that no other roaster in the area sells (the other roasters sell baked goods but I never see croissants for sale – that is my personal favorite go-to and it keeps me going back).
Featured coffee from Iron & Kin: Guatemala San Jose Poaquil, “Honey processed”
Tasting Notes from the bag: Plum, Cherry, Sugar Cane
Breakfast or Dessert pairing suggestion: Apricot Pecan Scones
An outstanding “honey processed” coffee from San Jose Poaquil Guatemala. Honey processed refers to the process of stripping the skin and fruit pulp from the coffee bean but leaving the mucilage layer intact around the bean. The mucilage layer is very sticky and honey-like (hence the name). The beans are then left to dry in the sun or shade with the sticky mucilage layer intact around the bean. The farmers will vary the drying time to achieve different tastes. In the cup, honey-processed coffees tend to have more complexity than coffees that use a more traditional water washed process. Honey processed coffee beans also tend to use less water than beans that are “washed”. This particular coffee has dark plum notes supported by very sweet brown sugar, milk chocolate, with hints of cherry coming through. Well balanced acidity that pops out at the beginning of a taste is rounded out by finishing notes of chocolate. This is definitely a good easy drinking coffee with just the right amount of acidity to keep it interesting.
The Reverse Orangutan Cafe and Coffee Roaster
450 W. 2nd Street, Claremont, CA 91711
Located in the lobby of the currently closed Laemmle Movie Theaters – directly across (West) the cement quad area (“the Claremont Commons”) from the Coffee Bean, West of Indian Hill, just south of Second street.
The Reverse Orangutan struck a deal to open their cafe inside the lobby of the old Laemmle movie theater space. This is another cafe with an eclectically decorated space. The old movie posters are still hanging on the ceilings. When you go to order coffee you definitely feel like you’re ordering at a movie theater though they aren’t serving popcorn. Instead, they are serving up a full coffee and espresso drink menu. They regularly change up their batch brew drip coffee. The Reverse Orangutan is known for having unique coffees from around the world. I recently had a chance to sample two different coffees from Laos and they were both excellent! They usually have 4 or 5 varieties of freshly roasted coffee beans for sale. If you like coffees from unique origins, this is the place to visit. The music tunes are always on point, and the customer service is always friendly and gregarious.
Featured coffee from The Reverse Orangutan: Nala Houaphan Xam Tai, Laos
Tasting Notes from the bag: Strawberry, Lemonade, Offbeat, Creamy
Breakfast or Dessert pairing suggestion: Mardi Gras King Cake
A unique and delicious coffee from Laos that tastes different than the normal roasts most people know from Central and South America. The two Laos coffees I have tried from The Reverse Orangutan have been more tangy and fruit-forward without being overbearing. I managed to create a light full-bodied cup of coffee with the Kajava Mama pourover dripper that was a delight to drink. In fact, the end comes way too quickly with this coffee, and I am always left wanting more. If you are looking for a break from the flavor of the beans you normally try, I highly recommend these coffees from Laos or anything from that part of the world, especially if it is roasted by The Reverse Orangutan.
Lucky’s Coffee Roasters
665 East Foothill Blvd, Claremont, CA 91711
Located in the old Starbucks on the north side of Foothill Blvd, Northwest corner near the Chevron station.
Lucky’s coffee leased out the two spaces left vacant by Starbuck’s and the Yoga Unit Studio. The old Starbucks location is now Lucky’s second retail coffee space (the other is in old town Upland). The Yoga Unit space has been converted into a full-fledged coffee roasting operation due to open sometime in early 2021. The old Starbucks space has been completely opened up – it feels much fresher than the hardcore retail fast food feel Starbucks has been developing into as of late. The serving area has white-tiled backsplashes. The high ceilings have been retained. Tables and chairs lie in wait in the corners for when we get back to normal. There is a small retail area where you can buy freshly roasted beans (about 4 to 5 varieties on average), specialty drippers such as the Aeropress and the Kalita Wave (along with the right coffee filters), Baratza Encore coffee grinders (I highly recommend this unit for coffee pourovers), plus a few other specialty coffee items you can never find in retail establishments. The customer service is straightforward, knowledgeable, and friendly.
Featured coffee from Lucky’s Coffee Roasters: Paubrasil
Tasting Notes from the bag: Dried Cherry, Almond, Dark Chocolate
Dessert pairing suggestion: Almond Puff Pastry
This is another outstanding coffee roast from a Claremont roaster – I have always been a fan of Brazilian coffees. This coffee definitely lives up to the flavor notes mentioned on the bag. It has an Earthy, chocolate-forward stance with nut overtones. It’s a slightly less complex flavor profile than the other two coffees mentioned. This coffee rewards with outstanding flavors if you have a good handle on your pourover process.
The pourover recipe I used for all three coffees
Pourover from Iron and Kin Roasted Coffee 
Pourover from Lucky’s Roasted Coffee 
Pourover from The Reverse Orangutan Roasted Coffee
I did a full write-up on the recipe I am currently using for tastings in [this post], but I want to give the quick details in case someone wants to recreate the same taste profile.
Coffee and water:
- 22 grams of beans (¼ cup)
- 333 grams of mountain spring water (1 ½ cups)
- This ratio of water to coffee will approximately equal a 15 to 1 brew ratio.
Grind:
- Medium Coarse grind (I used my Baratza Encore cone burr grinder set to “25”)
Brew Equipment:
- Kajava Mama “cone dripper” (Hario V60 style) with Kajava Mama white #2 cone filters
Total Brew Time:
- 30 seconds to 1 minute bloom time using 40 to 50 grams of the water
- Approximately 3 minutes more for pouring and drain through time
- 30 seconds more for all water to drain through