Coffee Break

We recently started a new series  - which we're calling "World of Coffee" - where we  explore countries across continents to discuss their coffee traditions, unique coffee drinks, and coffee industry. 

In this episode, we cover South America as a continuation of the Latin America segment which we kicked off in Episode 41. Stay tuned for more information and discussion regarding coffee in other parts of the world!

 Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com 

We start a new series: "World of Coffee". In this series, we  explore countries across continents to discuss their coffee traditions, unique coffee drinks, and coffee industry. 

In this episode, we cover Mexico and Central America which is part 1 of Latin America. Stay tuned for the remainder of Latin America and other continents!

 Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com 

In this episode, we visit a local coffee shop with a great mission (A 2nd Cup in Houston) , we introduce you to our new co-host, and he tells us about himself as well as his coffee journey.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we visit four popular chains that have a focus on coffee and also offer drive-thru options. We try a couple of their offerings to see which ones we like best!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we interview an independent coffee consultant and Instagram personality, Lily Quiros (@lilcoffeegeek), to discuss her perspective of specialty coffee and learn from her experience in the industry.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we interview a fellow home barista and Instagram personality, Richard Luciano (@nerd_meets_coffee), to discuss his journey in specialty coffee and social media.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we discuss various quick topics around specialty coffee like: 1) why we might pay more, 2) how to learn to brew different methods, 3) the impact of water for your coffee. and 4) how to taste more consciously.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
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In this episode, we discuss some of the details to look for when buying specialty coffee such as: origin, altitude, varietal, process, etc. We also share a few tips on how to find great specialty coffee!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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In this episode, we discuss some of the gear you may need - if you don't already have it - to elevate your coffee game as you start brewing better coffee!

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In this episode, we start a new series that we're calling "Diving Into Specialty"! We'll learn what defines specialty coffee along with some examples, and we also touch on some terms that might soundlike specialty coffee but don't quite cut it. 

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In this episode, we discuss what are some of the new things or milestones that we would like to reach this year in terms of coffee. Christian shares his interest in starting coffee roasting while Jose shares about his interest in upgrading his espresso set-up; plus, a lot of other things that we'd like to accomplish this year.

Give it a listen and let us know what YOUR coffee resolutions are!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
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In this episode, we share the coffee gadgets we have on our Christmas lists at three different price levels: affordable (roughly less than $50), mid-range (about $100 to $500), and then expensive (>$1000). We cover some of the pros and cons as well as potential uses. Give it a listen and let us know if you add any of these items to your own coffee Christmas list!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we try out a few coffee options offered at Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, Whataburger, McDonald's, and Dutch Bros. Coffee. We compare the flavors of their black coffee offerings and also give a few sweeter options a try!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
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In this episode, we share a couple of modified affogato recipes for all of you to try during the upcoming holiday season. Christian made a low-fuss-yet-still-tasty version with Vietnamese coffee plus Cookies and Cream ice cream that doesn't require an espresso machine, and Jose made a festive and delicious version with homemade pecan sauce and baked pie crust garnish. Give these a try at home and let us know what you think!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, Jose goes over how he was able to get better coffee while traveling and he shares his tips to help the rest of us. We also cover some other apps/websites/resources for getting or finding better coffee while you're on the go!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we chat with Dave, co-founder of Better Grounds. We discuss Better Grounds' mission, how Dave eventually got into founding the company, Jose's interest in roasting coffee, and a few other topics. Thanks so much to Dave for taking time out of his schedule to chat with us, and we hope you all enjoy the episode!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we celebrate one year of sharing our coffee experiences, interviewing coffee experts, and presenting a variety of coffee-related information. We also cover our own personal learnings within the subject of podcasting and share our plans for future episodes/seasons. If you have ideas for topics you would like to hear in the future, now is a good time to share them in the comments or on our Instagram!

Visit our website: http://coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we answer a question from a friend and regular listener of the show regarding decaf coffee. We cover some of the processes for making decaf coffee beans, share our own experiences with drinking decaf coffee, and also share some tasting notes from a couple of decaf coffee options from local roasters in Houston.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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In this episode, Jose sits down with Juan Welchez; a Honduran coffee producer and the face behind the account @thecuppingfarmer in Instagram. In this second part of the interview, Juan and Jose discuss:

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, Jose sits down with Juan Welchez; a Honduran coffee producer and the face behind the account @thecuppingfarmer in Instagram. In this first part of the interview, Juan and Jose discuss:

In the next episode, Juan will start us off by telling us a story of how he started experimenting with anaerobic fermentation.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we make the Iced Cane Sugar Latte and Caffè Shakerato that we covered in the previous episode - and Jose also makes one additional drink: an Espresso Martini! We cover the recipes and also provide our comments on the drinks as we make them. You'll get to hear some ASMR elements too!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

In this episode, we cover four coffee drinks that we consider delicious options for beating the summer heat. From an Italian Caffè Shakerato to Vietnamese Iced Coffee to Iced Cane Sugar Latte, we cover several options that almost everyone can enjoy this summer. They're all simple to prepare too! Check it out and let us know if these sound like tasty options for your own summer endeavors. 

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

This is the eighth and final episode of our Espresso for Beginners series, and it is one of our favorites because we get to hear from one of our friends in Italy, Carlo, who covers espresso as well as the local coffee culture. One striking element that we covered is the difference between American coffee culture today (strongly influenced by Starbucks) vs coffee culture in Italy (which was an early muse for Starbucks) - it's a bit different from what Starbucks envisioned early on. Tune in and let us know if you have any thoughts on it as well!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
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A Brief History of Espresso: This is the seventh episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. In this episode, we share a little bit of the history of espresso - based on our own research as well as research by others before us. We touch on the very early history of coffee in general, and then dive deeper into the latest "waves" around coffee/espresso. As part of that research, we cover the strong ties between Italy and espresso so we also share part of an interview with one of Christian's friends, Carlo, who is an Italian citizen. Our next episode will be the full interview with Carlo plus the reactions that we have to Italian coffee culture.

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
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Gadgets and Accessories: This is the sixth episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We share with you our favorite gadgets that we've acquired (or hoarded?) over the years that help the process of making espresso a bit easier. We also share what we have and why we have it or not have it. The purpose of the gadgets in this episode is to help make your workflow easier. Since this is Espresso for Beginners, we want to keep it simple and just focus on the ease of making espresso. The gadgets we cover don't delve into the details of improving your actual shot. We'll save that for another episode (or series?). Our next episode will cover the history of espresso and how we got to today's espresso!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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Milk for Your Espresso: This is the fifth episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We dig into the basics of steaming milk so that you can recreate your favorite espresso drinks at home. We cover the process for steaming milk and some pointers we've learned along the way. We don't delve into latte art because we feel that is a more advanced topic. We also discuss alternative milks and the challenges behind steaming them. Our next episode will cover some nice to have but non-essential gadgets to make your espresso-making journey a more pleasant one!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
Links from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-links
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The Process (Part 2): This is the fourth episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We (after much discussion) finally get to pulling an espresso shot and some of the steps that would happen after you do that. We review shot timing, weighing, tasting, etc. Our next episode will cover the aspect of steaming milk so that you can begin creating your favorite espresso based drinks at home too!

Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.com
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The Process (Part 1): This is the third episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We review the first few aspects of pulling your first shot. We discuss selecting beans, grind sizes, water, distribution, tamping, etc.  All those steps leading you to actually pulling a shot  But, as always, we got lost in conversation and we weren't able to get to the point of actually pulling your shot. So... for the sake of brevity, our next episode (Part 2) will cover the remainder of the process including actually pulling that shot (we promise!).

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Gearing Up for Espresso: This is the second episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We discuss (and somewhat disagree) on some suggestions for getting your espresso game started. We cover some machine and grinder suggestions and considerations that you should think of before spending your hard-earned money.

Our next episode in this series will cover getting started with pulling your first shot once you've purchassed your espresso gear!

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To Espresso or Not To Espresso? This is the first episode of our Espresso for Beginners series. We intend to get you started in your espresso game so that you can start making great espresso at home. In this episode, we discuss whether you want to get into making espresso at home, the financial challenges/benefits of it, and the time/effort commitment it will take. We break down the cost of buying your espresso drinks versus making them at home (while improving your coffee game!).

Our next episode in this series will cover our recommendations for getting your home espresso bar up and running!

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Decoding Espresso Drinks: In this episode, we discuss and explain the common and not-so-common espresso drinks you will find at coffee shops and we help you try to make sense of them so you can hopefully find another favorite drink. We also discuss some of the variations you may encounter from coffee shop to coffee shop and the challenges that you may run into when trying to make these at home and how to avoid frustrations when this happens.

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Cold Brew Chronicles: In this episode, we discuss everything about cold brew: what it is and it's benefits, why restaurants charge you more for it (and no bottomless refills!?), how to make it with gadgets or on a budget, what we recomment for starters, the nitro cold brew craze, and whether we love it or not.

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Slowpokes Interview (Part 2): In this episode we continue our conversation with Victor and Ethen from Slowpokes. In this second half of the interview we got to discuss many things such as:

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Slowpokes is an awesome small coffee chain in Houston, TX. They are doing some amazing things and as you'll hear in future episodes they (and us) are excited about all the great stuff they're working on. We encourage you to give them a try at one of their three locations:

Slowpokes Interview (Part 1): In this episode we got to sit down with Victor and Ethen from Slowpokes. In this first half of the interview we got to discuss many things such as:

The second part of this interview will be released in two weeks for Episode 10.

Visit our website: coffeebreakpod.com
Follow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcast
E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

Slowpokes is an awesome small coffee chain in Houston, TX. They are doing some amazing things and as you'll hear in future episodes they (and us) are excited about all the great stuff they're working on. We encourage you to give them a try at one of their three locations:

We had a chance to sit down with Victor and Ethen from Slowpokes and have a long discussion about coffee. We will break this up into multiple episodes that will be released starting on 1/16; however, we wanted to get you a small teaser of what's to come. We hope you enjoy this short snippet of our conversation.

Slowpokes is an awesome small coffee chain in Houston, TX. They are doing some amazing things and as you'll hear in future episodes they (and us) are excited about all the great stuff they're working on. We encourage you to give them a try at one of their three locations:

Holiday Drinks: In this episode, we get festive and we discuss our favorite holiday drinks... purchased and homemade, coffee based and not, unalcoholic and alcoholic. A simple lighthearted episode to get us into the holiday mood.

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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com

Dialing Our Espresso In: In this episode, we discuss our espresso journeys over the last 1+ year and how upgrading our set-up has had a major impact in our coffee journey. We cover the previous machines we used, the challenges we faced with them, our new machines, how are those helping us, our favorite gadgets, and more!

We apologize for the lengthier episode, we got carried away with our discussion!

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We were able to get our hands on some Gesha coffee from Finca el Injerto in Guatemala thanks to Jose's cousin. In this episode, we share our experience and some of the raw audio of the tasting we did. We hope you enjoy something a little bit different from us this Thanksgiving!

Fun fact: Gesha (or Geisha) coffee does not have Japanese ties. The name refers to the Gesha region in Ethiopia from which this varietal comes from.

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Wrap-Up and Stragglers: In this episode, we wrap up our "Beans for Beginners" series. We cover some of the aspects of improving your coffee game that we haven't yet covered. We cover: water quality, grind sizes, better coffee without a grinder, other methods we haven't covered, and how else you can branch out and learn more about coffee.

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The Confusing Coffee Label: In this episode, we cover all the information that you may find in a coffee label that is not immediately descriptive of the quality and flavor of the coffee. We cover things like Fair Trade, Organic, varietal types (i.e. Arabica, Bourbon, Gesha, etc.), origins, and processing methods. All in hopes to make your coffee buying experience and easier one.

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A Tale of Three Methods: In this episode, we deviate a bit from our scheduled episodes based on your feedback. We used this episode to spend a bit more time discussing the 3 methods (aside from coffee machine) that we mentioned two episodes ago (Coffee on a Budget). So, we delve into the Aeropress, French Press, and Moka Pot to discuss what are the differences in brewing and results when you use these methods.

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Jose made a little mistake and uploaded the wrong episode audio file. This week's episode was supposed to be "A Tale of Three Methods" in which we delve deeper into the three methods we've mentioned in our previous episode. But, since a few folks have already listened to the audio, well just keep this audio and release "A Tale of Three Methods" in two weeks.  We apologize for the confusion!

So, on to this episode...

Roasts Explained: We go into the different coffee roasts available, what do they mean, why they exist, and what to expect from them. We also discuss other less known roasts. At the end, we provide you with some ideas on how to try new roasts and hopefully find something you love.

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This is our first episode in a multi-part series we're calling "Beans for Beginners".

Coffee on a Budget: In this episode we cover tips and tricks for getting good coffee while not breaking the bank. We cover the methods that we've used starting up that have yielded good results and that you can hopefully try out too without making a big investment.

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We  introduce you to our new podcast and what it's all about. Then, we each go over our coffee journeys and how we got to loving coffee so much today. We discuss the cultural aspects of our upbringing that introduced us to coffee and how that exposure evolved as we grew up in the United States.

NOTE: This episode is a bit longer than our intended regular episode length. We just felt we needed to share more with y'all.

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E-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com