The guests arrived at Zeke’s to join us at the Table for our first BlogLove™ Event! First to show was Mary from Sweet Mary’s!
She had trays of biscotti, crepes and bar cookies! (She even made an espresso, chocolate brownie that added to the evening buzz!)
Then, Elizabeth from Strawberries in Paris and Dara from The Baltimore Examiner, rolled in!
Jennifer made a trip from Fredrick because she’s Hip As I Wanna Be!
Beth from 990 Square and Cara from Land of Bean, came to round out our party!
We spent a few minutes on intros and welcomed everyone. Then Thomas took over!
He lead us through 5 different shots of espresso, pulled by barista, Devon and served in espresso cups brought all the way from India (the day before) from our friend Vivek! We passed out tasting books for all the guests and they made notes about what they tasted.
Espresso 1: Buttery, sour, nutty, bitter but smooth, deep, dark, mellow aroma, caramel, wheat
Espresso 2: dark chocolate, noir, rich, more complex than number 1, spicy, chocolaty, smoky, deep and rich, reminds me of nature, delish! smooth and creamy
Espresso 3: lemony, Italian, clean, strong and hearty, and “eye opener”, reminds me of espresso my Italian grandmother used to make, less acidic, woodsy, good
Espresso 4: earthy, smells amazing, tropical, flowery, bitter, almost burnt
Espresso 5: nutty at the finish, caramel, sweeter, smells chocolaty, ashy
We quickly realized, we should have held a tasting earlier in the day! All of our senses were wide awake!
Thomas told us his story of how he was working at the Daily Grind’s flagship store in Fells Point. (I remember going there in the late 80’s when Nirvana and Pearl Jam and grunge was full swing! It was the artsiest coffee shop in Baltimore with it’s cobblestone floors and back room checkers! I still remember the smell of that shop!) The owner asked if he wanted to learn how to roast coffee beans. Thomas jumped on board and began to learn all that he could about the tiny gem. When Key Roasters sold, Thomas took a leap of faith and started his own roastery. He sold his beans under the 83 at the Baltimore Farmer’s Market. It did not take long for Zeke’s to establish a cult like following! Last year, they opened a store front where groupies could buy beans 7 days a week!
There is a picture of a gentleman in a suit on their menu board. Amy, Thomas’ wife, explained to me that he was Thomas’ father. He passed away right before the store opened. He use to call everyone Zeke. It didn’t matter what your name or background was, you were Zeke. Amy said, “There’s a little Zeke in all of us!”
Thomas explained how some beans were grown on volcanoes, like espresso number 4. And others on high mountain tops like the Jamaican Blue Mountain. He also showed us the Tanzanian Peaberry (one of my personal favorites). Normally there is one coffee bean inside of the fruit, but with the Peaberry, there are two. They are smaller and packed with flavor. He also gave us a quick explanation of the Kopi Luwak bean. On the streets this coffee is known as “cat poop coffee“. The coffee berry eaten and digested by the Asian Palm Civet. Then the animal, poops it out on a log. The farmers collect the sample and then roast the beans. It is said that the enzymes in the civet’s body, change the flavor of the bean. A shot of this retails for $10 at Zeke’s.
Thomas then lead the group down to the roastery where they got a first hand look at how beans go from green to oily and fragrant.
BlogLove was created to be experiential! We wanted our guests to walk away trying or discovering something new!
After the tour, the group came back to the coffee shop to indulge in homemade crepes!
We had an amazing time and can’t wait to do it again! We are hoping to make BlogLove Events a more regular occurrence! Keep an eye out for more information on the next one in Minnesota! We just confirmed our location!
