Posted by Andy Newbom on September 19, 2008 at 5:11am
I actually had to wear a sweater today. Course I'll have to take it off in an hour as it is supposed to be 76 today. But I can feel the nip in the air coming. Soon the layers will come out and we can finally wear jackets again. No more 100 degree weeks. Lusting for hot coffee rather than sipping it. Oh my I love winter and Fall.
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Posted by Andy Newbom on September 18, 2008 at 1:46pm
Slow Food Nation. How can something called Slow go by so fast? It was a whirlwind of frenetic activity and coffee magic. I keep realizing how historic the event was in every way. It was a monumental undertaking and was amazingly well executed. A huge bow down with high fives to the curators Andrew Barnett, Eileen Hassi and Tonx.It was truly historic and groundbreaking. But it was also exactly the way all of us have been doing great coffee for years. The Coffee pavillion was not so much of a unique event as a typical gathering of the coffee lovers that habitually make up the artisan end of things. It was not just that everyone knew each other, even the new Baristas were welcomed in with smiles and high fives, It was how comfortable everyone was with the very idea of what we were trying to do. For most of the team coffee is treated as a culinary art every day and the coffee farmer has been front and center for years.There was so many amazing coffees as filter coffee and espressos that it was hard not to get completely wasted on coffee. I failed utterly. I drank so much coffee and espresso that I got the dreaded coffee hangover. It is seriously horrible. And seriously wonderful.A few coffee highlights. Probably the three standouts were the conciousness altering coffee from Abdellah Bergersh from Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. Roasted by the cool cat Andrew Barnett at Ecco Caffe. I have never had so many people startlingly actually taste strawberry preserves in a coffee. I am not able to speak about the coffee without tearing up. I managed to grab a whole bag. I actually had to wrestle it from the grasping hands of a rather concerned young woman who did not realize the treasure she was holding and the depth of my desire for this coffee.The other mouth ringer was the Don Pachi Panama from Francisco Serrasin Jr. The boys at Stumptown did an amazing job of finding and roasting a huge bunch of orchids and orange blossoms hiding inside a coffee bean. It was truly remarkable.And finally Edwin Martinez’s namesake micro-lot Edlyna from Finca Vista Hermosa pulled as espresso by Billy Wilson. Even though it was a year old and a 2007 harvest it was so lemony sweet and cacao powder chocolatey and amazingly balanced for an unbalanced lemon and chocolate drop. And best of all Edwin himself got to taste it several times as espresso and was blown away by how great his coffee tasted as espresso. We talked abotu it the whole way home that night.So overall it was a historic and inspiring event that did a good job of highlighting the farmers hard work and the glory of truly wonderful coffee done well. It was extremely difficult to be a taste captain for literally thousands of coffee fans in a non stop marathon of 2.5 days. But damn it was worth it.
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The last thing i did in Southern California was beat Heather Perry in the Ultimate Barista Challenge in Los Angeles. I feel pretty good about doing that. Somebody had to..so, i made it up to the NW for good (for now, at least). After spending nearly a month on the road, i'm still adjusting to not living out of a bag, a Eurovan, etc. My friend Kris, along with several other characters, had a great time traveling from Orange County to Seattle and back-- including lava tubes, Oregon coast sand dunes, redwoods, feral humans, British backpackers, awesome hitch hikers, San Juan Islands, and a grand-scale volkswagon meltdown in the mountains (red coolant... really?). And many other adventures... although i would have liked it, this wasn't a coffee-oriented trip, just an adventurous one, with its own agenda. I only got to visit Albina Press on the epic road trip. I later stopped by Verve in Santa Cruz and had the best macchiato since... the last time i was there. I want to pour drinks like Jared when i grow up.(My 23 yr old spider plant got let out of the car in Portland)
(Above is me playing vehicular tetris with all my stuff before the move)The following trip i made alone was far less thrilling, but it got me to Seattle in time for Coffee Fest, where i was able to collect a bunch of cash for making drinks at the torani booth (yeah, i did. But they were very generous and i got to hide behind a simonelli, rather than stand around and look stupid. I just made flavored lattes and looked stupid)... Still, it was nice to be here. After all, i came back home to spend some time with my family up here for a while before going back to work.So now i get to explore the city. On Tuesday, i went to see Herkimer and had a very sweet, fluffy capp there. I gotta get back and cup with those guys some afternoon. I'm also going back to Portland to check out Cherry, Jana's place. My to-do list is getting longer every day- typical. I'm doing some catering work on the side to help cover my bar tab :) So, regardless of how weird it feels, i'm here now. With a lot to think about. I miss my cafe, but i know i'm heading where i'm supposed to-- i just don't know where.
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Posted by Benza Lance on September 17, 2008 at 1:15pm
long story short:My laptop was stolen out of my bag, courtesy of US Airways.You motherfuckers. Last person to fuck with Benza isn't back on solid food yet.You've been warned.
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Posted by Mike Spence on September 17, 2008 at 5:42am
Just want to say thanks to everyone that stopped by at Coffee Fest this weekend. It was great to see some new people and put faces to names with some existing ones!Our online ordering seemed to go over well and we got a lot of feedback from attendees! I wound up running the Ipod battery down each day of the show by doing online ordering through it!
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Posted by BeanMeUp on September 16, 2008 at 9:30am
Pizza & CoffeeJust came from work, unexpected early but a pleasant surprise.Knowing that my meal is half ready and looking forward to a nice full creamy and smooth espresso....a must after heavily abusing my body poring black acid through my organs from one commercial coffee brand which I do not wish to mention.Opened up the front door, lights on and strait to my kitchen. My kitchen is base, the place I wish to be after a hard day work. It calms me down. My machines in hand reach, switching on my VBM and my high tech oven.Yesterday I made 8 pizza's (Napoli style) at the birthday of my lovely wife and I have still have some home made dough, buffalo mozzarella and some other stuff left. So I made myself a real nice pizza while watching the K-1 finals in Hawai on Eurosport.While my pizza is warming up I turned my attention to my set of green beans from Panama. Took 500 gram of beans together with my Frankensteiner coffee roaster outside. Its heavy duty and damn ugly but that's the beauty of it. After a while you stopped noticing its horrific looks and starting to appreciate its industrial side. More important, it does what it supposed to do...roasting..without any fuzz on temperature control or a high tech cooling system. I switched it on and the drum started spinning, kicked in the beans. Slowly its warming up and I hear the beans rolling...I suppose the neighbors hear it aswell cause its making a lot, I mean A LOT of noise.The big difference with my last roasting session I used the 500gr instead of the 100gr which caused an unequal roast due to it centrifugal effect. Also it gives you the option to stick a spoon in and check how far the beans are in the roasting process.Slowly its heating up and I try to memorize the smell of different stages. The first stage you smell the moist coming out of the beans, a pleasent grassy odor. This smell turned into a more intense odor and after a while you hear the cracking of beans. Its hard to hear cause the noise the machine makes so I have to follow my visual expertise on when they are ready.After roughly 16 minutes the coffee beans were roasted, full city roast I guess. For your understanding...I am an amateur picking up knowledge by reading and experimenting.I cooled down the beans by having them outside for a while and put them into my grinder...grinded my first 8gr espresso and tasted...I tasted chocolate...full strong..lovely!If you ever have the chance..roast yourself, it probably isn't better than an experienced roaster would do but it sure gives that extra dimension to your espresso.Everything was perfect...for except my pizza...my PIZZA!! I forgot my PIZZA!!!!
Lately it seems that I am enjoying being at the shop more, and it's possible that this is because I am not there as much lately. (friends, school, church, etc.)And it looks like that might be the trend next semester as well seeing as how I finally got a grant to help with school. I'm looking forward to not taking 8-10 years to finish a 2 year degree...now it should only take around 6.I still haven't figured how this will affect getting ready to compete. Either it will help because of not being burned out like a 50 sec dbl shot of spro, or it will result in a underdone performance compareable to a 10 sec dbl. We shall see.Other then that not much is going on right now. Learning to do video editing and all things related as I am helping out at my very media driven church. It's really cool to finish a project and then see it up on the screen where it helps with a message or impacts a crowd.Oh! And speaking of impacting a crowd, I think I am going to take a theater class this year. I can't wait, it's something I've always wanted to do. And who knows, as far as polishing my performing skills it may help me in the barista competitions.Hmm...I just remembered I left a half cup of coffee on top of the espresso mechine this morning. That may have not been a good thing for the barista who took over for me... oppss.Guess today will be an absent minded day.Now what was I going to say?All well.
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We've been hearing the rumors for a few weeks. The shipping container was dropped in the parking lot 2 weeks ago. We knew the day was coming, and now its here - soon we go to war against the clown with the big red shoes! That's right, I have a newly renovated McCafe' 50 yards from our front door. I saw the shiny new super-auto this afternoon when I picked up my QP w/Cheese. Hoppers still empty, not a smudge or a loose ground anywhere on it. Strategically located far enough from the fry-o-lator to avoid splatter. Everyone in the store casting a wary eye at it, and keeping a safe distance. I can almost see the beast from my perch atop the anti-fatigue mat behind our trusty Astoria... but not quite.I know we shouldn't worry. We knew this was coming. We've spent our time since open building a reputation as the place to get a good cup of coffee and relax among friends. We're part of the neighborhood, and have friends here now. We've kept our focus on great ingredients and great preparation. We make good coffee. We're doing ok, and growing every week now. We've had a 9 month head start. Its McDonald's, for heavens sake.We're not really worried, just a little apprehensive as we wait to find out if we got it right. I do have many questions though. How many of our friends will leave us for "not that bad, and cheaper"? When will the free mocha coupons hit the mailbox? How many days of reduced sales will we ride out as our loyal customers give McDonald's finest a try out of curiosity? How many people will McD's lure down the rabbit hole for us, creating a new generation of coffee customer for us to lure away? Will we get a bump due to increased traffic and awareness? Have we done enough to educate our customers about good coffee? Will they really care when presented with a cheaper option?I honestly have no idea what to expect here. I'd like to think that we'll see no impact -.the McDonalds customer will continue to be a McDonalds customer, and just start buying fancier stuff there. Our customers will be curious and then come back. Good coffee will win. But who knows...My friends here on the bX, thank you for the help you've been in raising the level of our techniques and drink recipes, preparing us for battle. I'll post back when the dust settles with an update.
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Check out my other blogs at:http://blog.omy.sg/ezprezzoandhttp://www.geekterminal.comI will begin my training of Baristas for the upcoming first ever F1 night race. The venue will be at Geek Terminal, Singapore Premier Business Lounge, where I work. It will be exciting as I will get to meet up to 45 baristas who exchange notes and knowledge with them to prepare for the upcoming race where all of us will be stationed to serve all who comes to the race!We will be expected to work at least 12 hour shifts to cater to the entire 3 day race on 26 - 29 Sep. Can't wait...
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Posted by CoffeeJunkie on September 12, 2008 at 8:02pm
I am sooooo excited to say that I have now embarked on a new journey for myself - ROASTING COFFEE! I'm surprised that it has taken me so long to actually get down to it and do it, but I might say, I am VERY ecstatic about it! The very first roast was a little too much, but after the second roast, I was on a roll!! I was now ready to make my BIG DEBUT at my first Coffee Soiree for my newly established coffee club which featured Ethiopian Coffee and South African Wine while club members smoked their favorite cigar! I roasted and served Ethiopia Organic Sidamo DP Special Selection, complimented by Lemon Chicken, Chocolate Fondue, Apples and Caramel, cheese, and red and white grapes - all of which were a hit! My goal is to have monthly coffee events that encompass a variety of experiences, so I am currently brainstorming on what to do for October's event. Check out my page for pictures from the Soiree!I will now take this opportunity to join the coffee roasting group~YAY!See you Soon!CoffeeJunkie
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Posted by Andy Newbom on September 12, 2008 at 5:17pm
Barefoot made it. Five years of making sweet coffee love. we're celebrating September 23rd with free Cappuccinos all day. If you come in a gorilla suit reading Nietzche we will buy you food and drinks all day.party with us. Drink coffee till you get sick and pass out.
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Posted by Andy Newbom on September 12, 2008 at 5:02pm
Whos gonna be up there? THe Tony Serrano and Jared are up there machine techning it up and slingin sweet espresso. We're all pretty jealous that we have to stay home.
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Sept 11 - My shop plans were approved by the city today!! And, a building permit is now in hand!Sept 19th - Searching for an electrical and plumbing contractor....More to come..
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Posted by Jason Dominy on September 11, 2008 at 6:00am
Alright, so this may turn into a rant. Let me warn you in advance. I didn't get much sleep last night. I was angry, and frustrated, all in one. Couldn't stop thinking about it. ("Thinking about what already?" you ask. Well, Creative Loafing's Best of Charlotte came out this week, and it wasn't who won that surprised me, it was what the food editor wrote. The Reader's Pick went to a small indie shop in a real cool, vibrant hip part of Charlotte, and although it wasn't one of the shops that brew our coffee, I could understand the pick. It's a loyal crowd, that hip crowd. So, what got me so worked up?The Critic's Pick for Best Coffee in Charlotte went to the 3rd Ward Starbucks. Well, there are alot of people that visit that place on a regular basis, and lots of editor-type people frequent it as a place to work on their articles and such. So, the Food Editor picked Starbucks. Well, it was the description of the shop that sent chills up my spine. And I quote, “Many of the skilled baristas are J&W students who take coffee seriously.” To which I said, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????" "Skilled Baristas"??????? It was obvious three things at that very moment. One, I was going to have to check that place out to see if they are doing anything different than any of the other gazillion Starbucks there are out there. So, I went there today, and you know what? Same store, different address. Workers still same "faux-friendly," emphasis still on smoothies, I mean, Vivannos.The second thing was that I was going to have to let the food editor know she had made a mistake with her use of the words "skilled baristas." Which I did, respectfully, and with as much passion and gusto as I could muster at what a real barista does, and how it's different than what some call "button monkeys." I then gave her a personal invitation to visit one of our shops, and I would buy her a drink and let her be the judge of whether or not the drink a real barista makes tastes better. (And yes, I know that to most the drink one gets at Starbucks or McDonalds for that matter, are adequate drinks. My wife, unfortunately, agrees.) But there's so much to be said for the skill of becoming a real "barista." Of learning the craft of making proper espresso, and steaming milk the correct way. Of making drinks your customers crave.The third thing it told me right then was, although I have done alot of work in this area to try and push a better barista culture, there is much work to be done. I will actually be laminating the article, and putting it at my desk as a motivator, a reminder of the work that needs to be done. Of the person who doesn't know or appreciate what a real barista does on a daily basis, one drink at a time. The barista that knows the right amount to dose, the right pressure to tamp, and when the shot is done. There are many people out there just like this Food Editor. Probably the majority, and although we won't get to all of them, we will get to some of them, and when we do, we must be prepared to make the better drink. The ball's in our court. Let's all work to be the best at what we do, and a long coffee life be ahead for us all.BTW, J&W students are Johnson and Wales students, an award winning culinary school here in Charlotte.http://charlottehappenings.creativeloafing.com/gbase/BestOf/BestOfAwards?Award=oid%3A153961
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Posted by Nicki Cole on September 9, 2008 at 12:39pm
Hello baristas, shop owners, and coffee enthusiasts. Are you interested in or employed in the ethical coffee movement? Do you buy or sell fair trade, direct trade, or otherwise socially responsible coffee? If so, consider helping me with my research on the ethical coffee market (fair trade, organic, direct trade, socially responsible, etc).I'm a graduate student in sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I'm researching the production, sale, and consumption of ethical coffee. I am interviewing consumers and those in the industry across the nation about why they buy it, how it is perceived as different from conventional coffee, and in what ways such choices affect coffee farmers.If you are affiliated with an ethical coffee serving establishment, consider posting a flyer for me to recruit consumers.If you are a consumer of ethical coffee and are willing to be interviewed, please drop me a line at nickilcole@umail.ucsb.edu, and you can also view my website www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~nickilcole/current%20research.htmlI'll be in the following locations in the fall, and would love to interview people in person when possible, but welcome phone interviews too.Seattle: October 5 through 18Portland, OR: October 20 through November 2San Francisco/Bay: November 3 through 16Please be in touch for more information!Peace,Nicki
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Posted by Brent hall on September 9, 2008 at 7:00am
Hey everyone,So the time has come and the date has been set. Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 there will be a latte art throw down at Julia’s Coffee from 6-9 PM. Probably won’t take that long, but it would be great if it did. So, why am I telling you this? Because I want you to tell your friends, and them to tell there friends, and for those Baristas out there that would like to join, tell them to bring the throw down!!! And even better, you don’t have to be from Charlotte to participate. This is a “no boundaries, no company representation” event. Meaning we are all here to build community and some friendly competition. Besides, we’re all baristas; shouldn’t we all just get along? All levels of baristas are encouraged to attend, throw down, and surprise us all.There is a five dollar throw down, winner gets the pot. Up to 15 baristas will be able to sign up. We would like to do more, but then we would be there all night. You have 3 minutes to make any adjustment, pull, and pour your best Rosetta, heart, tulip, or farting bunny!! But please no etching!!! Official rules will be available soon. But just for reference, take a look at Octane's TNT Rules. There are some minor tweaks, but the ideas are the same. Donations to the winning baristas favorite charity is highly encouraged, but sometimes the favorite charity is a personal bank account...totally understood.I am currently working to get more sponsors for some 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes. If any of you know of, or would like to sponsor along with Julia’s and Counter Culture you are more than welcome. They don’t have to be huge prizes. Sometimes a buy one get one free pint and a loaf of bread is all a barista needs.Also, I will need judges; three to be exact. For those interested in judging, please email me. I will get an information packet about how to fairly judge a latte art competition to them ASAP.Yes, all of this is based off Octane Coffee’s success with TNT. I have spoken with them and they are totally psyched that this may catch on and spread like wild fire up the eastern sea board. So come, bring baristas, have a drink and throw down like never before.Thanks for your time.Cheers,
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This is the perfect website for me. I haven't been doing the coffee thing for as long as some people, but I already know now that it's something I love, and I would be perfectly happy to do it for as long as I'm working. Eventually, one day, I'd like to own my own coffee shop(s) - as well as some other businesses, business is kind of a passion of mine, although it might seem slightly boring. In highschool marketing was my favorite class and my orginal major going into college was Entrepreneurial Management. I would've liked to stick with that major but it required too many math credits and honestly, I am not a math person...at all. Anyways, like I was saying, I dig the coffee.Right now I'm particularly interested in competitions and latte art. At the coffee shop I work at we don't focus a lot on latte art, namely because the stores I work at are drive thru only so almost all of our drinks go out with lids. Sometimes I'll try and make a heart or a flower when I'm making a latte, but no one's really shown me how it's done or the different things you can do. In addition to this, I think it would be radical to compete, but I have no idea how to get started or what level you need to be at or anything.Well, those are all my thoughts for now!
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Posted by Chris DeMarse on September 8, 2008 at 5:05pm
I love my wife. My wife is amazingly unusual compared to the stereotypical domestic housewife that carts 2.5 children around in a Caravan with a soccer ball sticker in the window (we don't even have kids yet). I suppose I shouldn't expect a typical wife as I don't have a typical marriage. I am 25 and have been married for over three years now, which almost unheard of in a post-modern generation of delayed decision and overly cautious attitudes toward the whole "institution" of marriage. But I digress. The reason that I love my wife, or should I say one of the reasons, is my wife's ability to embrace adventure and step into the unknown. She is not fearful of being in unsafe or unfamiliar places and she is definitely not afraid of taking risks physically. I know this for certain because one of our favorite common interests is to go rock climbing together. No; not hiking; 100+ vertical feet with a rope and harness.It, therefore, should have come as no surprise that, when her best friend decided to cash in hotel vouchers in Panama, she jumped on the opportunity to join in the wild adventures of this trip. Who could resist, after all, with tickets being 350 dollars round trip. It may seem all too easy and inexpensive to get there, but the fact that it's rainy season is just the beginning of what makes this trip so wild and unpredictable. In fact, the weather will probably be a metaphor for this trip; brief, explosive pockets of heavy rain quickly followed by clear, sunny skies. Foreboding? Maybe. Enticing? Yes. We stared at each other making half hearted statements of intention and dreamed out loud sporadically. We argued over the dangers and impossibilities making such a trek. But, in the end, we found ourselves looking at a computer screen ready to buy our plane tickets.We stared at Travelocity for about ten minutes waiting to see if the heavens would part and would give us a sign that this was a wise and honorable decision, but the excitement got the best of us and we found ourselves with 690 dollars on our credit card and two coach class tickets to the southernmost country in North America. So where is this all going?The point of this trip is not coffee. I would like to say that my wife is as much of a geek as I am and would love to sleep in trees of the mountainous Boquete region while picking cherries side by side with the local workers, but she is a different person than I am (that is part of what makes her so beautiful). However, the most beautiful thing about my wife is her selflessness and the fact that this selfless attitude births a desire for her to see me fulfill one of my more recent dreams; a visit to origin. I have a deep desire to see the passion that translates into the quality and pure enjoyment that I take a part of in every cup. I have much to learn from an attitude of commitment and sacrifice like this. It is the attitude embodied by people who love what they do. It is an attitude that drives my wife to sacrifice some of her adventure for the sake of fulfilling my desire.I have no idea what to expect from this trip, but I know for certain that this is something that I want to remember as a part of my shaping in life. I really don't care if people read this, though I appreciate a persistent reader, but I am compelled to have a vivid account of both my experiences and emotions going into this trip. On October 9 I will fly out of Chicago and arrive later that day in a country that speaks a different language and has a different culture than mine. I will stay in that country for six days and try to capture as much possible with my eyes and ears what this foreign place has to offer and what is stands for. I am scared because of my vulnerability. I am excited because of the opportunity. I am grateful for the chance to grow. What will happen?
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