What to Wake Up With: Quetzal Coffee

Memphis and San Francisco seem to have little in common besides Democratic representation in Congress and a lot of drug addicts, but that's not where the similarities stop. Both cities are home to branches of the Quetzal coffee shop. Quetzal used to buy exclusively green (unroasted) organic, fair-trade coffees, roast them on-site, and blend them. They eventually wanted to order coffee from a wider variety of places that didn't have the fair-trade or organic certifications in the interests of producing the best tasting cup. They may have accomplished that. The Quetzal House Blend is probably the best coffee blend I've ever had. It's Guatemalan, Sumatran, Ethiopian, and a fourth that varies according to what's available and interesting. Right now I beleive the fourth is a French Roast of some sort, but it's been Brazilian, Zimbabwean, and innumerable other things. Quetzal's coffees have a balance evocative of French wines. They're pleasantly acidic with a full and complex flavor. At about $10 per pound, these coffees are about the same price as most Starbucks single-origin coffees, and the roast is infinitely better.

Shop at: http://www.quetzal.org