Journal

Featured Coffee: Costa Rica (Hacienda Rio Negro)

2010-06-12T15:43:09Z

This is the coffee that I am most excited about for tonnes of reasons. Most of all, it's because I have visited this farm and mill in Costa Rica with three of my staff just over a year ago. The farmers, pickers and staff there were so hospitable and it was just a beautiful area keeping in line with the ethos of the Rainforest Alliance Certification (oodles of natural rainforest, reclaimed water, good housing, community activities, a parchment powered furnace, and generally just a lot of life). I am also excited because a coffee like Rio Negro is not found too often anymore. Many featured coffees and the general direction of coffees that score high are high acidity, clean cups with complicated profiles featuring tropical fruit, butterscotch and the like. Sometimes an earthy cup with these features can pop on to the scene (like our Sumatran Aceh Gold) and get great reviews.

The Hacienda Rio Negro is a Hard Bean coffee (so a lower density than the SHB) and is fully washed following La Minita Prep procedures in the milling process. It has bean roasted between a light and medium roast. On the surface, Rio Negro may appear to be inferior to some of our other coffees but it is truly a guilty pleasure. It's simplicity is it's strength. It has a strong body but remains balanced with a very strong chocolate flavour. While a sin to many coffee connoisseurs, the Rio Negro does great with a splash of cream.

Strong body and solid mouthfeel combined with the La Minita Prep induced cleanliness of cup make for a surprisingly balanced cup. Throw in a shwack of chocolate flavour and you have a great cup for the appreciate connoisseur and caffeine junkie alike. Because of that, The Black Stilt is hoping to move towards making the Rio Negro our house coffee in the future. Unfortunately, we only have enough right now to last us another two weeks. So come get yours!

SUMMER HOURS AT HILLSIDE

2010-05-22T15:18:09Z

Summer hours start after the May long weekend. As of Tuesday May 25 our hours at the Hillside Stilt will be:

M-F: 7am - 8pm

Sa: 8am - 10pm

Su: 8am - 4pm

Also, get out and support our live music as we are pulling it at the end of July so catch a show while you can. It's been a fun ride.

Featured Coffee: El Salvador Pacamara (Santa Teresa)

2010-04-21T21:45:35Z

We just brought this in last week and while I was initially not as excited about it as our previous two features (Colombian Narino and Costa Rica La Magnolia), it had more to do with the brewing method than the coffee itself. The Pacamara is light in body and strong in fruit with a delicate mouth feel and high acidity. It washes over the palette very easily and leaves hardly a trace after you've finished your cup. What I found strange about the Pacamara is that it does not brew well in the french press, which is my favourite way to enjoy single source coffees in most instances. Strangely, the body of the Pacamara disappears completely in the press and with it go the tropical fruity notes. Instead you get a clean cup with almost waxy chocolate notes. Not something I crave. While a clean cup is nice, I prefer big bodied coffees. Anyhow, I tried brewing the Pacamara in one of our traditional brewers and it really excelled. The tropical fruit notes are very clear, the body is stronger and I have actually been finding myself drinking it regularly. Because of this we put it on as our regular light roast in both shops while we feature it, so pop in and give it a shot. One tip: enjoy it without cream or sugar; we have it set to enjoy black and as a lighter roast, much of what makes this coffee great could get completely lost in cream and sweetness. Enjoy.

Featured Coffee: Costa Rican La Magnolia

2010-03-17T14:52:07Z

Roasted East Coast Light, La Magnolia is a well-balanced cup with good body and acidity. There are clear flavours of chocolate and toasted nut with a hints of caramel and fruit. If cupping notes aren't your thing, La Magnolia is simply a great cup of coffee with lots of flavour and minimal after-taste. Given it's roast and temperment, I recommend having it home how we serve at the Jubilee Stilt: French Press. If you enjoy bright coffees, simply brew it in a "cleaner" brewing system like a Hario (cone) and I'm sure the La Magnolia will suit your fancy.

$12 for 340g.

We can grind it for you, but we only sell beans that are within 10 days of roasting, so try and only grind coffee within 10 minutes of brewing. Much better results!

GREEN INITIATIVES

2010-02-25T15:36:48Z

The Black Stilt is the leader in green practices and transparent business in Victoria coffee. But occassionally we get stumped at what else we could do. We have done innumerable process-based changes to how we go about our day at both Stilts to minimize our footprint whether that be through waste sorting, purchasing, or inventory management. It would seem as though there are only capital intensive projects left to do such as installing solar panels to heat our water, installing hand dryers in the bathrooms as opposed to paper towel or buying a hybrid or electric vehicle as the Stilt's car. We want to know if you have any ideas for further greening the Stilts. We're all ears and always trying...

New Teapots and French Presses In...

2010-02-08T15:56:40Z

Just in as of Friday, both stores are stocked up in 38oz teapots with infusers, 16oz teapots with infusers, 34oz french presses and even a single cup french press with a stackable mug. This dishware has been bought from US-based ForLife and we consider it to be very high quality (we use it in the shop and have no issues). Please note that not all colours and styles shown on the website (via the hyperlink) are available at the Stilt, so either check first when you pop in for your daily dose of Stilt goodness or call either store (Fort - 250.590.8230 | Hillside - 250.370.2077).

The Stilt Diaries - We Want to Hear from You!

2010-01-31T15:42:17Z

Over the years, the Black Stilt has been home to countless stories in the form of fantastic shows, wild poets, awkward blind dates, ridiculous group projects or just a memorable coffee date. And now you can share those stories with the world wide web.

Just send us your story to info@theblackstilt.com and if your story gets posted, you win a $25 gift certificate to the Stilt! We will post one a month at the end of each month starting in February 2010. Please limit your story to 300 words and minimize that nasty cussing (e.g. s-bomb and f-bomb are the real culprits along with derogatory terms and slurs). Your story can be anonymous or you can sign it off as your true blue self. Just know that I need to know who you are so I can get you your gift card.

Anyhow, let 'er rip!

Customer Appreciation at the Fort Street Black Stilt

2010-01-15T05:50:08Z

Until February 15th, the Fort Street Black Stilt is having a customer appreciation month where almost everything is 10% off. AND if you are so lucky to get one, Dave will be going about the Jubilee neighbourhood with cards that you can use to get one of our rock-awesome compostable travel mugs and any drink you want in it for only $12.

On top of that, the Fort Street store just got way more rad anyways because we just finished installing our community bulletin board, a new fancy pants mantle, new fancy pants shelves and new fancy pants bookshelf. AND, if you get lucky, they might be handing out some free coffee brewed on a Hario V-60, which is a pretty sweet and easy to use one cup brewing system. Check it out.

Planet Earth Poetry

2010-01-15T05:45:06Z

Planet Earth Poetry is back for the Winter/Spring term starting tomorrow (January 15th). Check out their website for the deets.

New Black Stilt Website!

2010-01-15T04:25:03Z

Although it doesn't look much different, theblackstilt.com is new and super improved. With links to our facebook and twitter pages you can keep super up-to-date on shows, events, promotions, and general goings-on at The Black Stilt. On top of that, we have all of our environmental and ethical initiatives posted right on our site for everyone to peruse at any time.

Check back often as myself and few fellow Stilters will be posting random musings and updates. As always, we love to hear feedback and thoughts.