HB 1,000,000 message views countdown contest - Page 9

[HB]

Congratulations jesawdy, you've won a Summer of Coffee from Counter Culture!

"we're not trying to change the world, just the way it thinks about coffee."

Your winning entry below is quoted from the blog entry entitled Live from Charleston, SC: Jen Fox Reporting. Please contact Mark to claim your prize.

He said that every time he visits one of his customers, he asks someone about the coffee. If they don't know what they serve and how darn good it is, he immediately calls his Customer Relations department.

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[dsottavio]

Well that was fun!

Thanks so much, now I gotta focus on which set up to get. Andreja or Vetrano Mazzer or Macap....

David

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[EGL]

Counter Culture Coffee is fortunate and proud to be the exclusive roaster of coffee from Finca Mauritania, and we are dedicated to supporting Aida's quest for coffee perfection. In this year's crop from Finca Mauritania, the Tangerine notes come to the forefront, with the trademark honey sweetness lending the coffee structure and balance.

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[EGL]

Yea, I know. Too late. I hadn't had my doppio yet!

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[MarkO]

On behalf of everyone here at Counter Culture, CONGRATULATIONS to jesawdy!!!! And to H-B for hitting the milestone!! Looking forward to the next million, which I expect will come much more quickly.

I also look forward to getting in touch with jesawdy and putting the first installment of the SUMMER OF FREE COFFEE in the mail.

All of us here have had so much fun reading the contest thread. Many thanks to H-B for hosting, and to everyone who participated. In appreciation for the enthusiastic membership of H-B, we'd like to offer a coupon for $5 off any online coffee purchase. To use the coupon, simply type 'hbmillion' (without quotation marks) at the coupon prompt.

The offer is valid through Sunday June 4.

And to honor the most dedicated participant, we'd like to offer a consolation prize of a weekend of free coffee to cannonfodder. Seriously, thanks for the passion!

All the best,

Mark

Total views: 1000618

[cannonfodder]

On behalf of everyone here at Counter Culture, CONGRATULATIONS to jesawdy!!!! And to H-B for hitting the milestone!! Looking forward to the next million, which I expect will come much more quickly.

I also look forward to getting in touch with jesawdy and putting the first installment of the SUMMER OF FREE COFFEE in the mail.

All of us here have had so much fun reading the contest thread. Many thanks to H-B for hosting, and to everyone who participated. In appreciation for the enthusiastic membership of H-B, we'd like to offer a coupon for $5 off any online coffee purchase. To use the coupon, simply type 'hbmillion' (without quotation marks) at the coupon prompt.

The offer is valid through Sunday June 4.

And to honor the most dedicated participant, we'd like to offer a consolation prize of a weekend of free coffee to cannonfodder. Seriously, thanks for the passion!

All the best,

Mark

Total views: 1000618

WOHOO!!

My GOD am I tired. Yes, I did stay up all night just incase anyone is wondering. Then missed it by about two seconds. It was fun, and to my surprise, my heart was racing there at the end.

A hearty congratulations to jesawdy, a big thanks to Counter Culture for supporting HB and Dan for doing such a bang up job.

Time for my 4th double.

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[jesawdy]

On behalf of everyone here at Counter Culture, CONGRATULATIONS to jesawdy!!!! And to H-B for hitting the milestone!! Looking forward to the next million, which I expect will come much more quickly.

I also look forward to getting in touch with jesawdy and putting the first installment of the SUMMER OF FREE COFFEE in the mail.

All of us here have had so much fun reading the contest thread. Many thanks to H-B for hosting, and to everyone who participated. In appreciation for the enthusiastic membership of H-B, we'd like to offer a coupon for $5 off any online coffee purchase. To use the coupon, simply type 'hbmillion' (without quotation marks) at the coupon prompt.

The offer is valid through Sunday June 4.

And to honor the most dedicated participant, we'd like to offer a consolation prize of a weekend of free coffee to cannonfodder. Seriously, thanks for the passion!

All the best,

Mark

Total views: 1000618

Wow, was I surprised to see it still going in the AM.... cannonfodder should have gotten some shut-eye too!

It was literally pure dumb luck. When I submitted the last post, the system actually made me wait because it would not allow posts to be too close together in time. Had a little of the pitter-patter at the end there too.

I celebrated by cleaning coffee oils off a used machine I just grabbed for my brother to be delivered to Ohio tomorrow (Columbus). Didn't get my first espresso until I got to work... made it a triple! My local roaster may not be quite as happy though!

Thanks to HB and Counter Culture Coffee I can expect a great summer. Thank you HB for a great site, I hope I can start to contribute to this community as I learn more about it.... I've been laying low and answering all my own questions thus far (for about 2+ months) and home-barista.com has been a big part of my journey so far. cannonfodder, I have read many of your threads and about all of your blog as well, thanks to you for your contributions as well.

MarkO, you should have a PM from this morning, let me know if you do not.

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[HunkaBurninLove]

Neat contest. Congrats to jesawdy (and cannonfodder)!

Very generous of CCC to offer a consolation prize for the most dedicated poster.

I might have to use their coupon this weekend

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[HB]

In appreciation for the enthusiastic membership of H-B, we'd like to offer a coupon for $5 off any online coffee purchase. To use the coupon, simply type 'hbmillion' (without quotation marks) at the coupon prompt. The offer is valid through Sunday June 4.

Thanks Mark, Peter, and the rest at Counter Culture Coffee for sponsoring the HB message views milestone contest!
That was a lot of fun, I really felt for Dave and appreciate Mark offering him a consolation prize for his fortitude. The discount coupon mentioned above means you can try Counter Culture's coffee and the shipping is pretty much covered. I recommend their popular Toscano blend; below I've excerpted comments from the forums.

Toscano by Counter Culture Coffee - one of the official test coffees. Huge chocolates. Best straight up or as a macchiato. Sweet caramel in milk.

In 2004 I had the pleasure of using Counter Culture's Toscano in a home espresso lab; and it pulled good shots for everyone on all equipment. I don't know if they changed the blend since then; if they haven't, it would be my pick.

Counter Culture Toscano -- Another forgiving and flexible blend. To me, this tastes best in short milk drinks where some of the smoke gets toned down a little. It's a "heavy" espresso and seems to be quite easy to work with. It tolerates a range of temps - though it seems a little finicky on dose. For home HX machines, this seems like another really good option, though perhaps not a "newbie" espresso.

On the other hand, the Counterculture Toscano that I had a little while ago liked 201-202.

Here's this morning's ristretto


Counter Culture Coffee Toscano. Sweet, heavy body, chocolate, and very tolerant. Ideal for home usage.

Under the influence of Geoff at Pheasant Creek Coffee, I'm pulling Toscano tighter nowadays. Extreme ristrettos transform this blend into a chocolate bomb factory and edges up the roast flavors. I recommend the shorter volumes for macchiatos, but those desiring a gentler flavor profile may prefer a more traditionally proportioned 1.75 ounce extraction. Technical notes: Experimenting with rebound method, longer flush of about two ounces past end of water dance, 30 second rebound; extraction time with Faema basket 25 seconds; estimated volume 1.25 ounces; estimated weight 18.5 grams.

If you're relatively new with the machine, start with the Toscano; it's a very tasty blend and it changes taste under different drawing conditions, rather than going from drinkable to undrinkable.

Mandy Catron / Murky Coffee

She explained that her blend was Counter Culture Coffee's Toscano, a complex flavored espresso with bitter sweet chocolates (Brazils, Sumatra, Sulawesi). The crema color looked good in the video close-ups. Mandy mentioned the importance of hustling out the second set of espressos since the crema will break up if the drinks sit.

[Psyd]

Toscano by Counter Culture Coffee - one of the official test coffees. Huge chocolates. Best straight up or as a macchiato. Sweet caramel in milk

And all the other quotes that supported it:

I just used the coupon. I did get the Toscano (amazingly, before all the support it got here!) and a few others. I got the Rwandan because my local Black Apron will soon be selling his Rwandan, and I want to show him the difference between a corporate roast and a HB supporting CG roast.
MarkO, I did suggest that it wouldn't be a bad thing if my order didn't go out right away, and maybe took a coupla days. I tried to imply that this should only happen if it didn't make anyone's life any more difficult. Please let the kids in shipping know that it should be ignored if it becomes even the smallest hassle... Oh, and thanks!
Chris

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[mattwells]

Just received the Toscano, it is really good. It took me awhile to get the grind dialed in, but pulling it as a ristretto (as per Dan's instructions) is quite quite nice. I will experiment with temp, etc., but am enjoying it as is right now.

If I could only get the foaming down for my Machiatto, I would be a very happy camper.

Thanks CCC and HB.
Matt

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[cpl593h]

I got the coffees last Tuesday and have been really enjoying them. I've been studying finals and they came at just the right time. I have to say that I love the CCC packaging - it looks great.

I had Mark surprise me with the drip selection and espresso selection. I received the Bolivia Pico del Tucan and Toscano Espresso blend.

I love Bolivian coffee and I'm really glad Mark chose this to send to me. It's a really beautiful City roast. Surprisingly, there's tons of chocolate. The chocolate doesn't come out as a roast flavor but it's a remarkable cocoa along with a wonderful brightness.

The Toscano espresso is great. Classic sweet, chocolate espresso. I couldn't seem to pull a bad shot with it! Nothing over the top, just good all around balanced espresso.

Thanks to Dan and Mark for making this happen.

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