The Zen of Jersey Shore

My favorite show is "Jersey Shore." Although you may believe that I should be embarrassed to admit that I watch a show that is complete nonsense, I am not embarrassed at all. It is actually a form of spiritual enrichment. I spend all day long as a business owner (which includes social media guru, sales, roasting, brewing, marketing, visionary, etc.), father, husband, and many other full-time roles. "Jersey Shore" creates a feeling of Zen in my life. Zen means "absorption" or "meditative." The "Jersey Shore" creates a complete meditative state that is similar to a sorbet between meals. This completely stupid show creates peace and allows me to be more mindful because it wipes the intellectual slate clean. Inane shows bring clarity to my life and some of the best ideas came to me while watching "Jersey Shore." In fact, I believe if this show aired throughout the Middle East, North Korea, and many other troubled areas in the world, there would be great peace. If you watch "Jersey Shore" season after season, you realize that whatever is happening in your life, it could be worse. You could be on "Jersey Shore."

For your information, I am always looking for a new show that creates this Zen in my life. The last great show that brought great peace to my life: "Flavor Flav, Flavor of Love..."

New Coffee Offerings!

I am going to start cupping some new Papua New Guinea Purosa (Fair Trade Organic (FTO)), am El Salvador Organic Cuzcachapa Rainforest Alliance as well as a SWP (Swiss Water Process) Decaf Peru (Fair Trade Organic).

Even though I have cupped the PNG Purosa for many years and it remains one of my favorite coffees, with each batch and with each new crop, I need to experiment to find the sweet spot. There is a process by which I investigate the roast profile that will bring out the awesome character of the particular coffee. I roast the coffee at different roast profiles- from a light City Roast to a Full City+. Rarely do I roast a coffee to Vienna- the coffee flavor profile has too much to lose when coffee is roasted too dark. (However, Sumatra Mandheling is superb at Vienna roast- there is a great bittersweet chocolate that survives and thrives at that profile.

I'm interested in how the El Salvador will work as part of a blend. I have not been impressed with coffee from El Salvador- yet. I'll let you know.

I buy only Decaffeinated coffee that became that way through the Swiss Water Process. I have found that the coffee does not lose all of its aromatics and complex flavor profile. Besides, I appreciate the lack of chemicals in my cup of coffee. Several years ago, I forgot that I was drinking my Decaf Extravaganza blend. It was so good, I forgot that it was Decaf. If coffee isn't full of aromatics with a great mouthfeel, it just isn't worth drinking. Besides it won't make you sing- only, Good Coffee Makes You Sing.

Papua New Guinea


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About Chazzano Coffee

About 5 years ago, my mother-in-law asked me what I wanted to for my birthday. I had been searching about coffee on the web and I spotted a Fresh Roast home coffee roaster and a few pounds of beans for $65. I was used to ordering through Starbucks Encore program several pounds of coffee every month. After the first roast using the Fresh Roast roaster, I was hooked. Up to that point, that was the best cup of coffee that I had ever tasted. Throughout the years, I used the Fresh Roast Plus, Fresh Roast Plus 8, Cafe Rosta, Nesco (formerly Zach & Dani's) and then the I-Roast and I-Roast 2 with great success. After several years of roasting for myself, I needed a larger roaster so that I could share my passion for specialty coffee with my friends.

I began to use the AeroRost which roasts about 2 lbs of beans. When I was working in Chicago for two years, about 30 people came over to my house to drink my coffee. It became an incredible time to spend quality time with friends, an easy cupping party and a way to experiment with different blends. During my first year in Chicago, a great friend, Eric Diamond, designed the Chazzano logo for me as a present. The logo and graphics were so clever and connected to my personality. That was when Chazzano Coffee LLC was born. (The "ch" in Chazzano is pronounced like the "ch" in "Bach" or "Loch.") The logo provided the impetus for me to found Chazzano Coffee (tm). I invested in a 4lb roaster from cafecoffees.com called the MicroTosta Cafe and then the 8lb Tosta Caffe. I have over 300 lbs of green coffee from different countries throughout the world. I am enjoying the adventure in the world of coffee roasting and specialty coffee.