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Hi all,

In light of some recent comments regarding the continued usefulness of online discussion communities, I wanted to take a second to say thank you.

Thank you, Barista Exchange community, for continuing to make this a place where we can come together to ask questions, discuss (and sometimes argue) with each other, learn from each other, and grow together in our understanding. Together, we've created a great and truly accessible resource for each other - a place where people can come any time, from anywhere, and have a seat at the table.

Yes, we can sometimes be a rowdy mob, but disagreements that are discussed openly often breed deeper mutual understanding.  Yes, members come and go and we often discuss the same things many times but, in the dynamic world of coffee, old questions often yield new answers.  Though these things can sometimes seem to be liabilities, they are all aspects of an active, healthy, and vibrant community.

So thanks.  Thanks Matt and team for making this happen.  Thanks to our "panel" of regulars that come back day after day and post instead of doing the things you were supposed to be doing.  Thanks to our posting members for providing the constant stream of thoughts, questions, answers, and ideas that keeps this community alive.  Thanks to the sponsors for keeping the lights on.

Thank you all for continuing to believe in the value of this online community.

This year I'm combining my passion for coffee with my new hobby, crochet. I will make something each day that is coffee-related.

If you would like to follow along my learning journey you can check it out here.

Besides coffee cozies and bar towels, what else could I make that would be useful for baristas? Any suggestions are appreciated.

New single origin coffee in from Brazil

From Ruvaldo Delarisse's farm Chapadao de Ferro.

Acid: Low plus

Body: Full

Texture: mainly clean, liquid brown sugar...soft and full.

Flavor Profile: rooty and sweet orange when ground, first notice of thebrown sugar that waits to explode when wet.  The acid is lightly present, justenough to add hints of cherry to the deep sweet blood orange flavor.  Loads of brown sugar that feels and tastes like a manhatten made with orange bitters and a hint of real maraschino cherry (not the orgeat stuff).  The familiar sweethazelnut that follows provides the medium-long finish.

Noteworthy: Catuai and mundo nova cultivars.  Small farm of 250 hectares in the Cerrado region.  Ruvaldo Delarisse’s coffees are regularly found competing the Brazilian Cup of Excellence competition.

Check out my new blog, dedicated to Swedish coffeeporn. First and most current posts dedicated to the tasty Mikkeller - Koppi collaboration. Now available in Denmark & Sweden & soon reaching American shores.   http://portafilth.com/

"Most amusingly named new coffee blog I've seen in a while"     James Hoffmann

"The Perez Hilton of Coffee"   Syn City Blog

"Bigger than Google within a Couple of Years"  Stenqvist Coffee

"Sin comentarios, suciedad irrelevante"  Jaime Vandura, Coffea Cultura

Late today in Seattle, Coffee Fest Tradeshow released the 64 Person Latte Art Competition Bracket positions.

You can view it here.

its a saturday, and i'm not running one of the shops!  crazy!  my last 9 years have been totally tied into promoting coffee.  but, it is my slow season, and admittedly i do slow down in a hefty way this time of year, unfortunately.  cold and snowy out...'tis the best time to be slurping down some great mochas and spiced hot chocolates, no?!  instead, i'm rambling thru all the great posts and discussions and blogs here on bx!  really inspiring to read all the intense interests and enthusiam regarding the myriad thoughts and processes surrounding the honored bean!  i really like hearing the personal stories of how a barista may have had a single simple corner of a retail store for some time, and thru perseverence and personal ingenuity they were able to expand and grow into their own full-fledged shop.  wow, that's amazing!  i read that type of story over and over on bx, and never-ever grow tired of it.  all you brave baristas with your espresso bike carts and coffee vans and coffee trucks and rad espresso scooters and pull-alongs and permanent places...congratulations!  i'm expecting someone to pop up with a pic of their single group machine on their back while hiking the appalachian trail, offering a pull here and there along the trail's lookout points!  way to go bx, and way to go bx-ers!!

best of '11 to everyone!,

sage 

the coffee hound

As the social media professional for Coffee Fest Shows, I’ve been fortunate the last 14 months to visit with many, many baristas and coffee professionals. Everytime I pop into a new coffeeshop, I ask the baristas if they will be competing in Coffee Fest’s Latte Art Competitions. Half the time, the baristas know what this competition is and I get an answer along the lines of

Oh I’m not good enough for that

or a reply like this

Yeah, I’m not much into that latte art competing

Here’s the backstory on why Latte Art competitions matter.

David Heilbrunn, others and I sat down with the Blenz Coffee franchisee from Tokyo the Monday after Coffee Fest Seattle in 2010. Near the end of the conversation, David asked the gentleman, who owns about eight Blenz Coffee stores in Tokyo, if he...........

The rest of the story is here at Leaf and Berry Blog. If you are on the fence about competing in Chicago, registrations close on Monday Jan 10th. Let's see you there! 

Coffee Fest Chicago Latte Art Competition Registration Page