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Friday 6/20 Cupping...Sumo, Costa, Guat...

Posted by scott@herkimercoffee.com on June 16, 2008 at 5:49am

Checking out some new Sumatras and some centrals as well. Guat, Costa, Colo. Even another Yirgacheffe.Friday 6/20 at 2pm.Cheers,Scott

How I became a barista.

Posted by Tava on June 13, 2008 at 10:30am

After working as a Starbucks barista for the past year, I've been looking for other opportunities. The main reason of course is to get away from Starbucks. I don't want to badmouth the company. I was still in high school when hired. I had been wanting to be a barista for at least 2 years before actually getting the job. People think i'm kidding when I tell them how much I love the coffee industry. I first decided I wanted to be a barista when I was 11th grade. I was fascinated by the big shiny machines inside of coffee shops. The smell, the scenery, and best of all the drinks! I was also attracted to the 'hipness' of coffee shop employees. I wanted to be one of them. It might sound silly now, but I was 17. Plus it seemed more appealing than the Mcdonald/Taco Bell jobs that the majority of students my age seemed to have. I was young with no job experience, and I really wanted to work in a coffee shop. I researched everything I possibly could about the barista profession in hopes of getting hired one day. Well it literally took 2 years. I think during my junior and senior year of high school, I must have applied to at least 9 different coffee shops (ranging from indie shops, Starbucks, mall shops, etc.). I interviewed with only 1 of those 9, and still didn't get hired. I was so frustrated and didn't know what I was doing wrong. Finally, mid-senior year I was hired at a new Starbucks that was opening in my town. I was so thrilled! I finally got what I wanted. I was also thrilled about the $7.00 an hour pay! Hey, that was good money for a high school student.Well to make a long story short, I loved it for the first couple of months. My manager was great, the employees became some of my best friends, learned alot about coffee, met so many different people, and had fun. Well, eventually things started changing. The old manager left, and we got a new manager. Starbucks handed out new rules and standards. Some were great steps, and others made me feel embarrassed to work there. Starbucks is a cookie-cutter coffee shop. As much as they don't want to admit it. Of course it is a corporate green machine, but it wasn't always that obvious. Now it is just not the same. It's about SELL SELL SELL. Not quality espresso. Try asking your co-workers what latte art is, and you'll get a clueless look. Ask your manager about latte art and get "That's silly. That's a waste. People that do that have too much time on their hands." You'll get the same response mentioning microfoam, semi-automatic machines, tamping, USBC, etc. Those are all the things that I wanted to learn, only to find out Starbucks has nothing to do with it. I just feel so cheesy working there. I mean, don't get me wrong. It is a great company. I loved the benefits. I even have stock in this company. If only they payed a little more, then maybe I would bare it out until I finish college. However, I'm not in high school anymore. I have bills to pay and things to take care of now. It's time to step it up. Reason number two, I want to relocate. I want to move out, and just try something different. I think it's time for me to move on.I had an interview for the Ebar (the coffee shop inside of Nordstrom) this week. So the interview went well. I knew it would, because I was confident. Today I got a call for a second interview. If hired, I'm more than positive that they pay more than Starbucks. Plus a discount at Nordstrom would be nice! It's in the Houston Galleria which is a very nice area. I think I might enjoy it. They are very high-end, so I suspect that their espresso beverages should be as well.

June's Informal Barista Jam Recap with Pics!

Posted by Jason Dominy on June 13, 2008 at 3:30am

We had our fourth Arabica Labrica Barista Jam last Sunday, and it was again a success. We had about 12 people, representing four different coffeehouses, including the youngest barista I have ever seen in action, 14 year old Dylan from BacInTyme Coffee in Fort Mill, SC. Dylan was a joy to watch, and was also one-half of the winning team in the Iron Tamper competition. It will be great to watch this kid grow in his skills with time. It's also great he's started so young!Dylan

Last night's Barista Jam was alot of fun, and if you haven't made it to one yet, you are missing out! The practical things we went over last night were "How Not To Have To Replace Your Grouphead Gaskets," as well as tamping pressure 101, in which we utilized a scale to see what our tamps were, and where they should be. Most people were surprised at what their tamp pressure was, and a few have something new to work on. Tamp pressure is such an important part of the shot-making process, it's important to fully understand it. And none of like replacing grouphead gaskets, and although they do need to be replaced from time to time, there are ways to increase the life of them, and that's what we looked at last night.The Iron Tamper competition was still a blast, and remains one of the most popular pieces of the Barista Jam. Last night's theme was "Spice," and featured these Secret Ingredients: Nutmeg, Ginger, Anise Seeds, and Cardammon. The winning team was made up of Dylan from BacInTyme, and Emily from Heck Yeah Coffee Hub here in Charlotte. The other teams made noble efforts, but in the end Dylan and Emily came out on top! I should also mention that Dylan and Emily finished their drink and presented it to the judges in 5 minutes. Crazy!Winning Team

After the Iron Tamper competition, the "jam" part began. We poured latte art, and practice the techniques of pouring latte art. This is always fun, as well! I have posted pics of last night's Barista Jam here: http://gallery.mac.com/jasonandapril#100183&view=carouseljs&sel=0Next month's Barista Jam will be held Sunday, July 20th at 6pm, here at the Dilworth Roastery. Go ahead and put it on your calendar! You don't want to miss it!We are holding our monthly coffee cupping next Friday, June 20th at 10am, here at the Dilworth Coffee Roastery. We will be looking at the three growing regions, and learning how to identify each one. These are always fun, and spaces fill fast, so let me know if you are coming, as there are only 12 spots. You can R.S.V.P. here: http://www.facebook.com/editevent.php?eid=16653962529#/event.php?eid=16653962529&ref=mfThis is a reminder that I have created an Arabica Labrica facebook site, that is totally FREE, and is where all the upcoming events and details are posted, as well as pictures and events from previous events! There's also a place for discussions, and this is a great place to network with other people in our area that are doing the same thing we are! I highly recommend hopping on, many of you have already done it, and I know it's a great place for a more involved community builder!

Reasons for Clasifications of Coffee

Posted by Peter Tam on June 12, 2008 at 3:30am

In fact, one can say that there is no real reasons, like argue, to confirm the right clarification.Clasification is a kind of scheme, which can better help people to understand or analysis something. That is to say that, it is only a tool. None of them can be absolutely correct. But, what is the better way to clasify? It depends one different people's understanding.For the same reason, we have got our own way of clasification. So, we have got our results.

Home-trip/San Fransico to Seattle coffee tour

Posted by byron on June 11, 2008 at 3:00pm

I have pictures and the same story on my blog at Young Tree CoffeeLast week, my closest friend from childhood, Max, and I took a trip up the West coast from San Fransisco to Seattle. I was born and raised in Northern California, Weaverville, to be precise. I hadn't been back to my 'home-town' in 18 years, so we called the road trip a home-trip. It was amazing!We followed a break in the clouds all the way up the coast, I must have had some good-karma points to cash in because that region is typically overcast and rainy. On to coffee. . . my first stop in San Fran was Ritual Coffee Roasters. I had a great chance to catchup with Chris Owens and M'lissa Muckerman. They have recently left ATL and moved to San Fran to work with Ritual, M'lissa with training (of course) and Chris the with the roasters. It had only been a couple weeks since we last talked, but we had plenty to catch up on. The Atlanta coffee people will miss them dearly as their excitement, passion and knowledge of coffee is contagious.Back to the black stuff in the cup! Gabe, a Ritual barista, pulled me the best shot of my entire trip, which says a lot considering the amount of quality coffee I consumed en route to Seattle. The shot was fruity with a sweet walnut body. The nutty body then mellowed a little and gave way to a green finish. It was by far the most unique shot I have had in a long time. The fruity bright flavors weren't typical acidic tongue attacks commonly found in bright shots, but balanced clean notes off the cupping table.Blue Bottle Coffee Company: I ordered a Ethiopian - Misty Valley Ididio from the Siphon Bar. A.J. was the siphon barista and was great to talk to. Was the coffee worth the 12 dollars they charge? Yes. The first few sips of the natural processed Ethiopian were divine: sweet, heavy, round, blue-berry milkshake, and balanced acidity. Then as the coffee quickly cooled in the thin glass they served me, the coffee lost some of its balance. I tasted black tea, dirt and molasses, which are all things I tend to like. It could have been the age of the green coffee. A.J. said the Misty Valley has been showing some more earthy notes lately. I'm pretty sure that it was the same Misty Valley that a few other quality roasters have, and the green coffee is past its golden age. Would I order another one? Of course. One cup and one coffee is not a representation of a roaster. I would have to try a few different coffees and methods to really evaluate Blue Bottle and its halogen powered vac-press.Home-trip! Weaverville CA hasn't really changed much in the 18 years since I left - Population: 3,500, Industries: lumber, government, and other, Supermarket: same, Park: same, Elementary school: same [Max and I swung on the old monkey bars for old times sake]. The whole experience seemed like a lucid dream because my memories as a 10 yr. old were meshing with my 28 yr. old reality.We went to Portland via the coast and yes, Redwoods are huge. . .PORTLAND: HAIR BENDER - Every other shot I drank on my way up the coast was Stumptown's Hair Bender. (There were a few others but not very memorable). I had a wonderful Capp. at the new Albina Press on Hawthorne Street, but the best Hair Bender shot was at the original Stumptown location on 49th and Division. The staff was on point and the shot was delicious: like 60% cocoa, hints of mint, dark, herbal zest tingle, just a hint of hickory; basically it was a long pull and short volume of goodness.I also attended one of the Stumptown's twice daily cuppings. The coffees were diverse and stellar. There were two Pacamara varietals from El Salvador, a wonderfully sweet Columbian , a great typical Kenya AA, and Misty Valley natural process from Ethiopian. I was really excited about the Pacamaras because I have some of that varietal (but Nicaraguan source) to plant on my farm! It is a hard season to cup coffees because most Centrals and the Columbian have seen better days (at least 12 month old green coffee). So the coffees were good, but not at their peak. I was fully impressed at the diligence that Glen (Stumptown employee leading the cupping) used in prepping the coffees. The grinder was flushed for every coffee and the pouring pitchers brought to temperature before filling.Now I know what all the Stumptown talk is about. They have great espresso, amazing coffees, and wonderful employees!I have many more stories about cold rivers, break failures, amazing food, and more, but you will have to ask me about those in person.

Purism or Pretense?

Posted by Chris DeMarse on June 11, 2008 at 8:30am

We all know the indescribable feeling of holding a warm mug with fresh steaming coffee, unhindered and unfettered by any hint of "pralines and cream" or "cinnamon apple turnover. We have all delighted to watch as the freshly extracted puck rises like a the star in a play to center stage on the Clover and we are handed our fresh CoE microlot coffee. On the other hand, we have all cringed when we hear customers request things like "extra caramel" or when we hand a customer a drink with a beautiful rosetta only to hear "you forgot the whip cream". Given that, I have begun to wonder if our protective nature towards coffee is one of a desire for purity or simply a deep pretensiousness.Let's face it; we're snobs. Not only are we snobs, but we are excedingly proud of our snobbery. I met a barista from Intelligentsia who dealt with a customer who wanted to buy Panama Esmaralda and add a shot of vanilla to it. Without mercy or hesitation she curtly replied, "No, I won't do it." We are obviously emotionally connected to the coffee we drink and serve and we often fear the tainting of something so raw and pure. The very thought of introducing anything that would change the flavor of our coffee causes us to think of our white trashy family reunions where our aunt Alice takes sparkling wine and adds sprite to it to "make it taste better".Some of the most respectable baristas hold to this mantra of "the coffee stands alone" even when they compete or run their coffee bars. Billy Wilson, in an interview with Nick Cho, said that, in presenting the coffee in competition, his goal is to showcase his coffee without causing the flavor to change largely. This has led to his gutsy rosewater americanos and single espresso signature drinks.On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if, in our mission to save the quality of our coffee, we neglect the possibilities that coffee offers in enhancing and being enhanced by appropriate flavors. I think that, in theory, most would agree with me, but even the idea of adding chocolate to coffee anymore makes a lot of people cringe. But let me pull from my knowledge and experience, although somewhat limited, of the culinary world. I think that most any chef would say that the world of flavor has a web of interconnectivity. We even see that very web on our cupping charts and flavor wheels, and if you had time to take a glance at it there was a great break down of how flavor develops. While I appreciate the love of pure coffee, there might be something amiss when it comes to appropriately pairing coffee and infusing coffee with other culinary elements.My friend and fellow barista, Chris Deferio, has done much to enlighten my mind in the buildout of a signature beverage and, in general, in the possibilities that coffee has in unlocking a whole new aspect of the culinary world. He seems to fully embrace coffee as a complimentary flavor in food. When I asked him how he came to the place he came to the point of understanding that he has, he simply told me, "I had help from a chef." I believe that it was his interactions with the chefs at Carriage House Restaurant that let him to create a feast of delicious food and coffee combinations for the judges at NERBC (see Barista Magazine for article and pictures). It has been his inspiration that has pushed us to looking to install equipment on our bar that will aid us in preparing signature beverages as a regular part of our menu.All my ramblings are to say this; there is a great value in our desire to keep coffee from being spoiled by the ignorance of those who care less than us about such a high quality item. At the same time, we must be open to earnestly seeking out new levels of understanding coffee, and until we are willing to sacrifice a bit of our sacred beverage to the altar of innovation, we will be amazingly myopic in our understanding of coffee. But this is just one mans view.

Earth to Fellow Coffee Enthusiasts!

Posted by Stone Creek Coffee Roasters on June 10, 2008 at 6:00am

Posted by: Christie BoivinWe are proud to announce that we have adopted a coffee compost program in our stores. Look for the bright green garbage can and help yourself to a bag of free coffee grounds for your compost pile or garden! (This program will be running throughout the summer) Here s a little information about coffee and composting:Every day across America, Asia and Europe, millions of pots of coffee and tea are brewed, and the millions of pounds of wet grounds, filters and bags are thrown in the trash. The grounds from coffee are rich in many vitamins and minerals and are proven to work as an excellent, environmentally safe way in composting and gardening.Some Gardening Tips:-Use coffee grounds directly into the soil in flower and vegetable gardens.-Sprinkle grounds in soil directly. Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting fertilizer.-Outdoor plants: 1 part coffee to 2 parts water. Indoor plants: 1 part coffee to 4 parts water.Have fun, Sip slowly, and be green!

Best Coffee Conferences/Fests worldwide?

Posted by Fede Cabrera on June 10, 2008 at 2:00am

Hi,I would like to know which are (in your opinion) the 3 best Conferences/Fests in the Coffee Industry, and why.Best regards,Federico

Coffee in a small Town

Posted by Taylor on June 9, 2008 at 11:05am

There are many challenges in small towns for a barista. Not the least of which is actually getting a job. So far, I am confined to making single espressos with a friend on his thrift store machine. It's a party every day, though.What are the things we miss most when we are away from our callings? I miss people. Face to face, emotion to reaction. I miss the perfect crema. I miss the "God Shot" and "Jamie's Spicy Tuna". I miss the music. I miss the machine. Ah, the machine... the instrument of our creations. The weight of a porta-filter, the spin and twist ritual of a snug connection. The hiss of steam and dance of pressure timed perfectly for cascade... for crema rimmed clouds.These are the things I miss. The things my hands and olfactory senses crave when idle or working. Smile, though, and try again. Just as a customer/barista dance so I serenade my heart in cheerful sorrow.- dedicated to my friends of many years with whom I share a mutual passion or two -- much love, Tay -

Coffee Kids in Copenhagen

Posted by Coffee Kids on June 9, 2008 at 7:16am

A little more than a month after the trip to Minneapolis for the SCAA Conference (check out our pictures on our Flickr site), we'll be taking off for Copenhagen, Denmark for the SCAE 'Wonderful Coffee' Conference and Exhibition. Coffee Kids Executive Director Carolyn Fairman, Board President Rob Stephen and Membership and Development Manager Heather Ferraro will be attending the conference.If you plan on attending be sure to visit us in Booth #91. See you all there!

T-Mobile Sues Starbucks Over Free Wifi

Posted by Shane on June 7, 2008 at 11:35pm

http://gigaom.com/2008/06/07/t-mobile-vs-starbucks-free-wifi/

How do we improve the quality level of the world coffee drinks' market?

Posted by Peter Tam on June 7, 2008 at 1:30pm

For the top level of those coffee professionals, we may be at the similar level for the quality of espresso drinks.But, most people cannot make others to do the same, or even better coffee drinks. It is mainly due to the understanding about espresso and its brewing skills.As I said once, we can train about 30 - 50 people in 15 days, if there are enough people coming.Someone said that, they can do many more. Does it mean that they can have those people to make their cafes and the coffee drinks great? OK, let us make a simple calculation.Suppose they can train 80-100 people, then it would be > 150 people per month, and 1800 people per year. How many cafes they can have? it is probably 500 cafes? Or an half of them? In three years, their cafes will cover the whole country and improve their local coffee market totally. Does it happened somewhere?For us, the difficulty is mainly too few people who want to be trained, or know how to choose a right place to be trained. There are indeed many trainers here. If one care enough to visit some of them, and taste their coffee drinks, they can easily find that we are better. But, most people do not. Specially for those young people, they chat with others on the internet and go with them, without careful searching.On the other hand, our trainees are mostly the potential investors for cafes, only few would work as barista. They are mostly high educated and know how to choose the right one from several training places. So, the number of "high qualified cafes" are still small, but continuously increasing. For last year, it was about less than ten, but for this year, it is expected to be around 20-30 for the whole country.As many people knows, we are extremely different from the world coffee industry and those professional organizations. But, our theory really works well. Do you want to give it a try?If someone would have our "barista training" set up for other countries, we can give the best condition for cooperation, because the globel market is so huge and we cannot cover it all. We also expect to improve the quality level of the world coffee industry. So, we need your help.

Yirg, Yirg and more Yirg!!!! Friday Cupping 6/6/8

Posted by scott@herkimercoffee.com on June 5, 2008 at 5:18am

Checking out some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and possibly some other africans on friday afternoon. 2pm at Phinney. See you then!Cheers,ScottHerkimer Coffee7320 Greenwood Ave NSeattle WA 98103206-784-0202

Bellissimo wins Award at the 2008 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for WBC documentary

Posted by Matt Milletto on June 5, 2008 at 5:00am

Bellissimo Media Productions wins Award at the 2008 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for documentary about The World Barista Championship Portland, OR - Bellissimo Media Productions Wins Bronze Award at the 2008 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for The World Barista Championship 2007: Tokyo. “The World Barista Championship 2007: Tokyo,” co-produced by Bellissimo Media Productions and the World Barista Championship (Wbc), was honoured with a Bronze Remi Award at the 41st Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival held April 11-20, 2008 in Houston. This elite award was given to only 158 video/film productions out of a total 4,500 category entries from 37 countries. WorldFest-Houston is the 3rd longest-running International film festival in North America and one of the premier film festivals in the world. Previous WorldFest-Houston winners include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Jonathan Demme, Ridley Scott, the Coen Brothers and Ang Lee, who were novice filmmakers when they each received their first awards at WorldFest. WorldFest-Houston offers 12 major areas of competition and awards. “The World Barista Championship 2007: Tokyo” won its award in the Film and Video Production Category in the training sub-category. “It’s a great honor to win this award,” said Bruce Milletto, Bellissimo president and the DVD’s director. “Knowing the criteria and how difficult it is to win an award at WorldFest makes this particular honor very sweet.”

“The World Barista Championship 2007: Tokyo,” documents the 8th Annual World Barista Championship (WBC) held in Tokyo, Japan July 31 to August 2, 2007. The DVD is the first of its kind produced in the eight-year history of the WBC, and uniquely captures both the heart and mind of the exciting 2007 championship event. This documentary-style DVD includes interviews, local colour shots and footage of many of the competitors in action. The film was shot and edited by Dana Vion of Sky’s the Limit Productions also based in Oregon. “The DVD documents the full WBC experience, and allows viewers to see and feel the excitement generated by this competition as well as to hear from the participants, attendees and coffee professionals from all over the world,” said Milletto. This is the third time Bellissimo Media Productions has been honoured by WorldFest-Houston. In 2001, the Bellissimo/Kenneth Davids production, “The Passionate Harvest,” was one of only 15 festival entries to win a Platinum Award, and in 2005, “Advanced Barista Training: Extreme Pours,” won a second place Gold Award in the training category. You can also find this DVD at PT's Coffee Roasters website or at Espresso101.com

Looking for Great Coffee?

Posted by Scott Baldwin on June 4, 2008 at 1:21pm

Well, It has finally happened. I finally got the Dream Job of a life time back in Specialty Coffee. I now work for Caffe Vita. So for all of you reading this... Go to CaffeVita.com Right Now! And even if you do know about or think you do. I still would recommend you to go to CaffeVita.com Right Now! There is a really great aspect to Caffe Vita on the top of the website called CaffeVita+OnePot. Deffinately Check it out! Great information about farm direct coffees and traditional rituals that take place when roasting coffee at the estate.More to come soon.

BBQ Drum Roaster

Posted by Jim on June 4, 2008 at 6:27am

I got a BBQ Drum Roaster installed this weekend and I have to say it will take a little getting used to to get the roastes to come out right. I also tasted some Kenya AA for a company, they had an Iced coffee recipe that came out great. Now I know what my next endeavor will be, a cold brew coffee maker. Toddy makes one that sounds easy.

Market Time!!

Posted by Stone Creek Coffee Roasters on June 4, 2008 at 6:00am

Posted by: Steve HawthorneFor us here at Stone Creek, there's always one sure sign that summer is here...Farmer's Market Season! The time as finally arrived to kick off the markets. This weekend, you can find us pedaling our wares at the East Town Market in Cathedral Square Park. Our Farmer's Market manager, Stephanie and her team have been gearing up for another great season. You can catch them this Saturday from 8am-12:30pm.We will also be working Bay View's South Shore Farmer's Market in South Shore Park this summer. You'll have to wait a few more weeks for that party to kick off, though...The South Shore Market runs 8am-12 noon beginning on June 21. So come on out and sip slowly with us at the markets!

bX - Upcoming release on Thursday, June 5 from 9-9:15 p.m.

Posted by Matt Milletto on June 4, 2008 at 5:12am

A message to all members of Barista Exchange! I wanted to let you know that we are rolling out a new release to the bX network this Thursday, June 5, from 9 to 9:15 p.m. bX will be offline during this brief window. There are a number of features in this release, including: 1) Forum Improvements. In addition to a redesigned forum, you will now have the option to choose between two styles of threads: "Flat," where replies are shown in chronological order, or "Threaded," where replies are indented below the post or the reply that they respond to. 2) Allow members to customize their My Page layout. Members will now be able to drag-and-drop modules around their profile pages. This will allow you as a member to fully customized what you want on your My Page. 3) Enhanced Widget Distribution. Members can easily spread Barista Exchange badges, widgets, individual videos and photo album slideshows to MySpace, Facebook and 15 other popular destinations without the need to copy and paste HTML embed code. Thanks for your patience I am hoping the site will only be down for 15 minutes. - Matt

A Robot Barista? Starbucks to install selve serve coffee bars

Posted by Matt Milletto on June 3, 2008 at 8:08am

After all their latest pushes to express their passion for quality coffee and espresso, Starbucks now is launching a self serve coffee kiosk, without baristas!? This reminds me of the DVD rental kiosks now littering large supermarkets. Will consumers really want a machine to serve their flavored lattes? The supermarket employees are the ones to refill beans and milk it says, and one can only wonder about the "training" they will receive. Will be interesting to see how these fly with the consumer. - Matt Link to Full Article (Bizjournals) Starbucks Corp. is experimenting with selling espresso drinks from a machine, sans barista. The company, through its Seattle's Best Coffee label, has teamed up with Coinstar Inc. and a small Bellevue company, Concordia Coffee Co. Inc., on automated, self-serve espresso kiosks in grocery stores in eight states. The idea is to "bring coffee to places where you wouldn't or couldn't put a full-service espresso bar," said Tom Ehlers, general manager and vice president of Seattle's Best Coffee.

Ghost Flute Glassware - Barista Competition Signature Drinks?

Posted by Matt Milletto on June 2, 2008 at 8:21am

I am always on the look out for cool glassware and cups that would work well in a barista competition. A lot of baristas serve small volume signature drinks and I wanted to share these beauties. They look awesome and come in Flutes, Tumblers and Goblets. Would be cool to experiment with, and would add a nice visual flare to any presentation.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.