Wow, this site makes the geek in me super stoked...I'm all geek, so thats a lot of good vibes. I'm really excited to meet everyone here, albeit virtually (for now)... So, my name is Theresa, otherwise known as The Rza, a name that makes me sound waaaay more hip than I am in all reality. I work for a local, rock and roll, amazing micro-roastery in Cleveland. There's a lot of steam and brown fluid in this town, but at The Phoenix you know it's not toxic runoff. I'm a barista, assistant manager type, and barista trainer. Because I spend a lot of time at our training station in our roastery alone, unsupervised, and with unlimited beans....I decided to finally invest in my own tamper, just to make my little frothy art that much more mine, I guess. After doing a lot of research, and wishing to get something different than the lovely Reg Barbers we use, I chose a Thor Tamper, mainly for his rugged good looks. The idea that someone lovingly handcrafted him too, tickles my fancy. I'll be using someone else's piece of art to create my own.

I think I may have briefly met a few of you at the SCAA skill building workshops last month (earlier this month? I don't know)...which was pretty sweet, although I pretty much did dishes the whole time. I'm hoping to go to the NERBC as a volunteer or judge, so maybe we shall meet again...

Speaking of baristas and exchanging, we just recently had a girl from Costa Rica come work with us and learn about this end of the specialty coffee gig. She stayed for about 6 months, which was awesome. She owns a farm in....aw crap. Forget it, I don't remember, what a sham. Anyway, one of our baristas is working on her farm for about a month to learn about cultivating coffee plants and the process of picking cherries, cleaning, packaging, processing, etc. I can't wait to hear all about it when she returns. My buzz is dying and I feel a little awkward typing anymore, so you know, I hope to talk to some folks! - rza