Excerpt from Ari’s Top 5 enews
A fantastically flavorful cup of coffee that does the town proud
Looking for a good coffee to perk up your mornings this month? Something to welcome fall or sip while you watch some football? The Coffee Company crew has created a blend that’s totally caught my attention. The 2023 “vintage” of our annual, only-in-the-autumn Tree Town Blend is particularly terrific.
Tree Town is, as many of you may know, the long-standing nickname for Ann Arbor. Founded in 1824, the town was named for the wives of the village’s founders, both named Ann, and the stands of burr oak trees on the land. The “Tree Town” moniker is derived from the high volume of trees in the city. Until the arrival of Europeans, most of this part of the world—originally home to the Ojibwe people—would have been fully forested. The Tree Town blend is a celebration of that history and that beauty.
Like the town for which it’s named, the Tree Town Blend is wonderfully well-rounded. And, as is true for Ann Arbor, its personality features contributions from diverse and caring sources from around the world—in this case, coffee beans from Brazil, Guatemala, and Uganda. The crew at the Coffee Company describes the flavor as “caramel, stone fruit, and cocoa, complex and juicy.” When it comes to brew methods (remember, each method makes for a different flavor and we have nine different methods to choose from at the Coffee Company), the crew at ZCC are most partial to the Pourover, Chemex, and Press Pot (brighter and juicier!). I’m a tad bit partial to a Pourover—full, smooth, round, really tasty!
The flavor of the Tree Town seems happily congruous with the spirit of the town for which it’s named. The descriptors that come to mind remind me a lot of Ann Arbor itself. Plenty of personality, but not over the top. Mellow, but in the most marvelous and accessible ways. Complex, interesting, a nice autumn-like crispness. It tastes a little nutty too, with a great finish that makes you want to come back for more. Kind of like a visit to Tree Town!