Go Nuts for Donuts

Go Nuts for Donuts

Design Details: Brewing Reinvented at ULA Café in Melbourne

Welcome to Design Details, an ongoing editorial feature in Daily Coffee News focused on individual examples of coffee shop architecture, interior design, packaging design or branding. If you are a coffee…


In Tbilisi, Parsek1 Merges Comic Books with Specialty Coffee

We take a look at how this innovative café has changed the face of comics and coffee in the capital of Georgia. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Parsek1 When it comes to coffee and comic books, Japan is a longtime leader in the field. Manga cafés have been around for decades, combining […]


Test Drive: Update Your Grinding With More Comandante Grinder Accessories

The popular hand grinder has more to offer with a new line of tools and accessories now available. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo by Tanya Nanetti To brew the perfect cup of coffee, it’s important to choose the right coffee equipment. One essential is a reliable coffee grinder. Most coffee lovers start with a […]


3 Elements Coffee: Supporting Veterans, One Cup at a Time  

The Australian roasting company helps to create opportunities for veteran communities.  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of 3 Elements Coffee  Brisbane, Australia-based 3 Elements Coffee, founded by Navy veteran Terry McNally in 2016, has a mission to support the transition of ex-military personnel into the commercial workspace. To help achieve their goal and raise […]

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Get Ready for The Barista League’s 2024 Season

The Barista League has announced 12 competitions across four continents. BY J. MARIE CARLANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of The Barista League When The Barista League announces new events, it’s worth paying attention! This year, the schedule will be organized by geographic location, bringing together coffee people in various communities. At The Barista League in […]


Serving Coffee in the Epicenter

The Turkish specialty-coffee community is coming together to support earthquake relief. BY MICHAEL BUTTERWORTHSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE When Niji Coffee went live on Instagram,…


The Barista League Releases New Competition Calendar

Presenter of sustainable, accessible events, The Barista League plans to hold 12 competitions in 10 countries in the months ahead. BY J. MARIE CARLANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of The Barista League The Barista League has officially announced its event roster for the next year. Last year saw 10 Barista League events worldwide, and the […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

We continue our deep dive into honey, bringing to light environmental and animal rights concerns related to the product, and how the industry is addressing them. BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Feature photo via Unsplash This week we started our discussion of honey, uncovering how it’s produced, the differences between varieties of honey, and […]

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Book Review: From Nerd to Pro, by Patrik Rolf

From Nerd to Pro: A Coffee Journey is an autobiography by roaster, café operator, and coffee competitor Patrik Rolf sharing his coffee journey. BY TANYA NANETTI SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Tanya Nanetti I’ve read plenty of books on coffee over the years: manuals on how to brew great coffee at home, books on […]


U.S. Coffee Championships 2023 Baltimore Qualifiers Results

More than 100 competitors brought their talent to Baltimore to take part in six competitions, and 63 will progress to nationals in April. BY NATE KLOCKBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos by Matthew Temple courtesy of the U.S. Coffee Championships Last weekend, my hometown welcomed the U.S. Coffee Championships (USCC) qualifiers with the charm only Baltimore could […]


The Caripe Variety: A Groundbreaking Milestone in Venezuelan Coffee Farming

Today, we unveil the story behind the Caripe variety and its significance for the Venezuelan coffee industry. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa via Unsplash In the heart of Venezuela, nestled among the picturesque states of Monagas, Anzoátegui, and Sucre, lies a legacy deeply rooted in coffee cultivation. This […]


5 Amazing Coffee Drinks in Reno, Nev.

Here are some standout specialty drinks you can try in the Biggest Little City in the World. BY EDDIE P. GOMEZSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE Photos by Eddie P. Gomez Reno, Nev., has more cafés per capita than just about any other place in North America. And because it is a snowier-than-usual winter in northwestern Nevada […]

Go Nuts for Donuts

Go Nuts for Donuts

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

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The History of the Donut

The first Friday of June is a pastry-lover’s dream holiday: National Donut Day. One of the greatest pairings of food and drink might just be coffee and donuts, and that got us wondering about who created these savory and dunkable treats? Well, what we found is a mystery with the true answer lost to time—one that involves ship captains, world wars, multiple states, countries, and even Hollywood. 

First of all—the elephant in the room. Is it “doughnut” or “donut”? The dictionary-approved spelling for the result of frying dough in fat is “doughnut.” (Thank you, Grammarist.) The shortened version has actually been around since the late 1800s but wasn’t popularized until the late 20th century by—you guessed it—Dunkin’ Donuts.  

An image of 3 frosted donuts on a table.

With possible ties as far back as biblical and prehistoric Native American times, the exact origin of the delicious treat is vague at best. Some researchers simply state that early “dough knots” are the origin of the rounded cake, and the name followed from there. Yet many others stick to the claim that original donuts came to New England by way of settlers from the English county of Hertfordshire, bringing recipes for yeast-raised “Hertfordshire Nuts,” which were also called “dow nuts,” as early as 1750. 

The most widely accepted origin is from the Dutch, coming to New Amsterdam (now Manhattan) and bringing olykoeks—or “oily cakes.” These fried dough recipes were handed down until the mid-19th century, thanks to the contributions of a mother-son combo.  

As the legend goes, Elizabeth Gregory, the mother of a ship’s captain, used her son’s spice cargo of nutmeg and cinnamon to enhance her already delectable deep-fried dough. Since the dough would never cook all the way through in the center, she put walnuts in the center, and in a literal stroke of genius, named them “doughnuts.” Then later, her son, Captain Gregory, was navigating a storm at sea while also enjoying one of his mother’s doughnuts. Needing the use of both hands to steady the ship, he skewered the doughnut on the spoke of a wheel. In the same dramatic instance, both the hole in a doughnut and the doughnut hole were created.  

Donuts and coffee have been an inseparable pair in the United States and Canada, and it has a lot to do with National Donut Day. The holiday started in 1938 as a fundraiser for Chicago’s Salvation Army. The goal was to help those in need during the Great Depression and also honor the “Doughnut Dollies” of World War I. Women volunteering for the Red Cross were sent to France to set up canteens and social centers, offering up a taste of home to the troops by making donuts. This practice was repeated in World War II, and these women are still remembered every year on National Donut Day. 

Coffee was also paired with the fried dough treats on front lines and almost everywhere donuts were made. The “coffee break” of the workforce adopted this match made in heaven in the 1930s as well, with most coffee ‘breaks” being accompanied by consuming donuts or pastries. 

Donuts themselves have become a staple of both everyday and popular culture, thanks to music and film. In the 1934 movie It Happened One Night, Clarke Gable taught his costar Claudette Colbert (and the rest of the world) the proper way to dunk a donut. Famous musicians, including Burl Ives, have penned songs about the donut, and culture icons like Homer Simpson and Detective Dale Cooper are synonymous with their love of donuts.  

There might not be anything better than sipping a hot cup of coffee in between gooey bites of your favorite donut. The greatest thing of all though is—when you enjoy coffee and donuts, you never have to share. 

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Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Go Nuts for Donuts

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