That's right. A whole year of spectacular, savory, sweet-smelling, soul-warming Zoka coffee delivered to your door. Why? Because you love your coffee. And you love your public radio.

Fresh Air alongside a fresh refill of Costa Rica Calle De Copey Cup of Excellence.

This American Life and a percolating pot of Espresso Paladino.

Midday Jazz mixed with a mug of Organic Ethiopia Sidamo.

A brewed combination too sweet to be true? Face it - you've always wished you could muse over All Things Considered while you sip on your favorite Zoka brew, but just never got around to stocking up on those perfectly-roasted beans.

The good news

Zoka is donating a year long, three-bags-per-month supply of coffee to the Western Sates Public Radio Online Auction (WSPROA), to be awarded to the highest bidder. The coffee is "roaster's choice," so bidders know they are going to receive the best, most delectable, Zoka-roastmaster-approved blends with each delivery. Are your taste buds doing the tango yet?

How you can get your hands on such awesomeness

The WSPROA opens bidding on Thursday, February 18 and runs through Saturday, February 27. All proceeds will benefit partner public radio stations.

Register to enter bidding and, starting February 15, be sure to check out all the fantastic donations given by local and regional business that are almost as cool as Zoka.

Here is the Zoka bid page - check it out and place your own bid! You won't be able to resist...

Until next time, coffee lovers. Stay tuned!

by: Prestin Yoder

I love espresso. I should rephrase that; I love good espresso. For you espresso-lovers out there, Zoka has started a new thing for your endearment of good coffee. Our Kirkland store has a full bar dedicated to single-origin espresso drinks. It has been getting a lot of local espresso drinkers stoked, and is truly espresso to fall in love with. As you may know, most espresso that you get either in your latte, doppio, macchiato, or cappuccino, is a blend of different beans. You will find this at any shop you go to. Our Paladino, for example,  has beans from regions around the world.  If you get a straight shot of this espresso, you can pick up on the nuances of each bean. Conventional espresso machines work well with this type of espresso.

by: Prestin Yoder

The Zoka roasters hosted a cupping of the new Kenya Kirimara this week for our baristas and the consensus was clear: the Kirimara is a beautiful coffee. With tasting spoons in hand, we blindcupped this coffee, not knowing what to expect. As we started to slurp up the Kenya Kirimara, you could see our eyes light up. People tried not to comment on the coffee until everyone had a chance to sample it. After the tasting and note taking, our staff had nothing but good things to say for the complex profile and great acidity of this coffee.

by: Erik Evenson

There's a great scene in a Simpsons episode where a teenaged Homer and Barney are listening to loud music when Abe, Homer's dad, walks in.  "What's that racket?" Abe asks.

"It's called rockin' out," Barney says.

"You wouldn't know, dad," Homer says.  "You're not with it."

Abe declares, "I used to be with it, but then they changed what 'it' was.  Now what I'm with isn't it and what is it seems weird and scary to me."

Zoka and nine other coffee joints that really know their coffee, were featured in November's GQ issue.  I also forgot to report back in August that we were also in Details magazine with four other caffeine slingers.  We sure are hitting the publications lately.  Is it a trend or are they just now starting to realize there's more to coffee than Starbucks--there's also premium  coffee.

by: Erik Evenson

Well, it's official. The twenty-somethings of today are now known as "The Lost Generation" according to the magazines. Don't believe me? Read about it here. The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds is 18%, and only 82% of college graduates ages 22-27 are finding jobs. We've got many reasons to feel down, and it's not just the numbers that are grim. How many of us know someone who has been laid off in the last year? How many of us are trying to find jobs? My fiancee has been trying to find a job for months now--it's not the rejections that bother her so much as the no-replies at all.

by: Prestin Yoder

Sometimes people seem skeptical that great coffee will ever be anything other than a micro-niche, especially people outside the industry. It's not surprising that super-specialty coffee got its start in uber-hip places like the corner of Denny and Broadway on Capitol Hill, or downtown Portland. And the urban hipster vibe is still crushingly strong in the overall industry. But Zoka Kirkland is proof that great coffee is about quality of ingredients, professionalism, care, execution, and love. Not your zip code. I'd put their quality up against just about any other shop in the country.

Enjoy.

by: Prestin Yoder

As many of you may know, Coffee Fest Seattle 2009 was this last weekend. Baristas, coffee roasters, and coffee snobs were mingling all over Seattle, there was a lot of excitement for the sake of coffee in our city. Zoka of course was a part of this big event. One of the ways we joined in was in the latte art competitions.