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Asheville, NC coffee scene.

Posted by Jason Dominy on March 2, 2008 at 4:00pm

Well, I just got back from a trip up the mountain to Asheville, NC. It's a pretty laid back town, with a broad spectrum of people. Every time I get up there, the place is a little different, so it's fun to see what's going on there. I visited several coffeehouses in the area, even one in a red double-decker bus that was cool. The shops I visited were, Double Decker Coffee, Izzy's Coffee Den, World Coffee, Asheville Coffee Roasters, and Caffeind. I had some great coffee, I had some horrible coffee. I won't say where each was, suffice to say it's the same everywhere. I will give the highlights. Talking to Jay at the Double Decker. Really cool guy who seemed passionate about coffee, and wanted to learn alot more. Cool guy, and some good coffee. Meeting up with Chris, Lindsay and Jessie, who are opening up their own shop this August. I actually met them on here, and they were good people for sure, I hope I can help them in some way. I had a great Counter Culture Rwanda and Greenlife, a "Earth-Fare" "Whole Foods" kinda store there. I had a great Counter Culture Bolivia at Izzy's. That place is always good, and I was seeing some sweet heart art on the lattes. Nice. I also got to visit my firs chocolate lounge. The French Broad Chocolate Lounge was a unique place where you could get sipping chocolate, organic hand-made truffles, and coffee only by french press. It was a very cool concept.Overall, it was cool to get up there and see what was going on with coffee up there. It's clear Counter Culture has done a good job in that area, they were everywhere, and I guess so with a training center there now. It's just great to get up there to Asheville, to breathe the mountain air, to live laid back for a weekend. Saturday night I spent with my wife eating barbecue and listening to live bluegrass at a cool place called "Fiddlin' Pig." It just doesn't get much better than stopping for a second and smelling the barbecue. (Then going out for a cup of coffee that ended up being one of the worst I have ever had.) So, to sum it up, Life Is Good.(I should add, I have been to Dripolator many times, and it's always been a cool place. I just didn't have time to get in there this trip....)

Ethical Beans

Posted by Coffee Kids on March 1, 2008 at 6:00am

In Search of an Ethical Bean This recent article from News Leader in Staunton, Va., gives a recap of local efforts to ensure fair trade for coffee farmers. It's a nice article covering the benefits of a variety of price premiums for farmers. But in the seventh paragraph, Melissa Scholl, co-owner of Lexington Coffee Roasting Company and a Coffee Kids member, makes a great point.

"Fair Trade Certified coffee is a wonderful program, but it's only part of the answer," she says.

Fair trade and other price premiums are all good approaches, but poverty is complex and the real problem in many of these communities is not so much a low price as the complete dependence on one crop. That's why Coffee Kids isn't involved with the commercialization of coffee.

We work exclusively in coffee-farming communities, but we really have little to do with coffee. Our approach to helping coffee communities lift themselves out of poverty is to help them develop vibrant local economies that can function independent of coffee. Without complete dependence on one crop, coffee farmers can continue raising coffee without the daily worry of how they will survive.

Coffee Kids isn't the only answer either, but complex problems are solved with a variety of approaches. Check out our programs and find out how you can help.

How do you manage your Barista Stress.

Posted by Jason Casale on February 29, 2008 at 6:15pm

Okay so i have been an official latte art shot pulling barista for about a month now.I have quickly realized at times it is stressful.You see peeps there is usually only 2 people in the morning to run the register make drinks and food.So if we get a ton of food orders the customers at the register wait and the bar person usually gets stacked with drinks at the same time.It does not help we offer every breakfast option known to man breakfast burritos made from scratch, Breakfast sandwich on bagels croissants and toast.Eggs bacon sausage toast. Oatmeal to It would be hard to find a breakfast option we don't offer.Needless to say I hate the huge food options we offer and would like them to be reduced significantly so would the other baristas.Needless to say I feel like food slinger half the time not a barista.Not exactly why I wanted to be in the industry.I do realize food is a necessary evil.I would just like less of it.Needless to say someone walks off like almost everyday out of line cause they can't anymore or they leave without getting there food because they can not wait anymore and they usually get mad at someone meaning me.I hate that.But what I hate even more is we stiff the customers and they do not get the service they deserve.Anyway there is a fair amount of stress in serving the customers when everyone is mad at you.So when it slows down I go back and wash dishes and freaking mutter quietly about unreasonable customers who yelled at me.I would like a poppy seed bagel please toasted with cream cheese 2 pieces of swiss cheese 2 slices of tomato cut into 4 equal pieces for here. What I kid you not I had to right it down to get it right.I graciously filled the request told them thanks have a nice day the usual banter.later however that customer got the dishes muttering treatment later when I was by myself in the back.They won the prestigious worse customer of the day award of course without them knowing it.I realize there will always be customers like this and we are there to provide the best service to them and our good customers.However this does add to your stress level and can make what was a good day a sour one at times.Also it can to your frustration level as well.We have other stresses as well the drain box on the machine yup clogged today as well.leaking everywhere.Trying to work with and train the new girl.Thank goodness she pretty much new what she was doing on the bar so there she stayed.While I handled the register and the food uggggghhhhhh.Coffee hopper was broken and cracked for like a month until we got a new one.It litterally almost fell apart it was cracked so bad.Got the new one in the nick of time.You see peeps I put up with the food and the other things to work the bar and make great drinks.All the other stuff we have to grind out to be able to do this to me is worth it.I love making great drinks and getting compliments on the art and drink quality.This is reason I am a barista.Lord knows it isn't for the the pay or the tips or even the glory.I also love other baristas they are always great and encouraging I have made some good friends.The quiet muttering technique does seem to work some what.Cranking the music on the way home that helps to if things did not go so well that day.Well there is my stress management for ya peeps what about you.

The End is Nigh: Cream City Café to Close March 4, 2008

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 29, 2008 at 8:30am

I just read an article on JSOnline that successfully managed to blow out a couple of bricks from the sturdy wall I have carefully built against sentimentality and flood my mind with a rush of childhood memories. The last of the real department store restaurants in the Milwaukee area, The Cream City Café at the Southridge Boston Store, will shut its doors for the final time on Monday, March 4.When I was but a wee lass, my Mother and Grandmother used to take me and my siblings to Gimbels--that's right, you heard me, Gimbels. On those nearly all-day excursions, we would go shopping and have lunch at the department store cafeteria. The waitresses would coo over me and call me sweetie. It was like being transported back in time and into an unfamiliar world where even the younger women still had their hair set weekly and every lunch ended with a cup of coffee and a piece of pie, no matter what, because there's always room and time for pie.While I am not a Milwaukee native, having been born and raised in the state capital of Madison, I have lived in this great city for more than seventeen years and I consider it to be my true home for many reasons. Chief among them is its dedication to remain honest to itself by carrying on with the traditions of the past that have long since died elsewhere. Bowling, polka, the Friday Fish Fry, the corner bar, ethnic festivals and celebrations, the Italian Community Center, the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, the resurgence of Bronzeville--all of these things are what bind Milwaukee together, both for those whose can claim many generations of citizenship and for newcomers.The tenacious, almost stubborn, and continued presence of department store restaurants and cafeterias well through the 1990's also made Milwaukee special. Long after they had all closed down in Madison, there still existed here the Goldmann's Department Store lunch counter, which sadly closed in 2007 after 111 years in business. Boston Store's Cream City Café served its largely retired and mature customers well as a comfortable, affordable restaurant and an important social spot, independent of the institutional senior centers that are now so prevalent, and it will be greatly missed.As I stated earlier, I am not the type of the person who relishes sentiment, certainly not for its own sake, for there exist real truths in our shared past that are ugly and vile--truths that cannot be dismissed or whitewashed through maudlin reminiscing. But within that past live other truths as well--truths that are beautiful and kind--truths that we should not forget and, if we can, try to keep alive through recognizing and supporting those places of tradition that make Milwaukee its own unique self.Goodbye, Cream City Café. The last cup of coffee and piece of pie are on me.LinkPost originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Dreams and Distractions

Posted by Bel Townsend on February 29, 2008 at 3:09am

So, it now looks like Costa Rica. And Nicaragua. Possibly sooner than I thought, as well. Christmas in the Carribean? I am supposed to be constructing Cunning Plans to make this a definite possibility ("A plan so cunning you could tie a tail on it and call it a weasel") and I am...in a way. I would LOVE to go back to Nicaragua, but it doesn't feel real yet. I don't think I am the same person as I was the last time I disappeared to Latin America on a whim.Instead I am dreaming and thinking and planning and fantasising about The Highly Improbably. I am collecting a diverse group of the Mentally Interesting it seems, and any idea reinterpreted through the minds of the Loons must, therefore, be borderline genius. The fine line has not so much been crossed as jumped on, scuffed, and bent to at least a 45 degree angle...One of the most Mentally Interesting is currently snoring upstairs. "Lets dance to Joy Division, celebrate the irony, everything is going wrong but we're so happy!"And what could be more sane, rational and sensible than planning my cafe? Sure, I have no money, no real capital, no time, no experience, no venue (this is NOT going to happen in Darlington. Ever. Understood?!) a crap credit rating, a doctorate to do, a mortgage to pay, plans to emigrate to the other side of the world in three years time, and family plans, but... hell, why not?All I actually want to do with myself in the future is run my own cafe. I don't actually need a PhD to do that, but I am at least learning far too much about coffee at the moment that I feel I've got to put this knowledge to use somehow! So, the cafe will be called Doctor Coffee's. We will serve only the best, fair trade, highest quality (and probably Latin American) coffees made by skilled baristas. And it's not going to be entirely espresso either! How revolutionary is that?And I will cook. Lots. There is not going to be pannini in sight!! No fake Italianess, but Latino food, as authentic as I can make, and as designed by the experts at CafeChavalos in Nicaragua and Senora Julia in Peru, who's recipes I am still using now! If amazing foods like quesedillas, tetelas, picarones and anticuchos can be made on the streets in Leon or Huancayo, I see no reason why I couldn't make them in a cafe.I was going to sell Cyberllama goods at the cafe too - Peruvian oddities for anyone interested. Carl and I started talking of this YEARS ago... he was going to get involved and turn it in to an internet cafe, and be responsible for the technical side of things. That was... 2002 I think. Nowadays, there wouldn't be much call for internet cafes...the world changes too quickly. Now, he says he'll support any mad scheme of mine, as long as he gets to keep a massive aquarium set into one wall - with piranhas in, of course, just to keep the Amazonian feel!These plans have been delayed and postponed because we've never yet been in the position to even take ourselves seriously. We are full of intentions of moving to Vancouver post-PhD, and that would make a far better base for business than Darlington! But still... that is three years away. I am not a patient person, it seems....And then the Mental Interesting contigent keep putting ideas in my head. A very dangerous activity. We have RASC - our writing group, full of the slightly eccentric creative types for whom even the most impractical ideas are a source of excitement. RASC currently meets in the overpriced and relatively atmosphere-deficient cafe at the Arts Centre. Wouldn't it be so much more inspiring if we had our own venue? A writing cafe? That way, it wouldn't be a business, it would be an arts venture. And we could get Arts grants, as opposed to business loans, and it would even be a community development and/or socially helpful project - it would provide gainful employment and a creative/productive outlet for the Mentally Interesting, teenage stench or otherwise unemployable members of our little town... With a little help from my friends, I could almost do it at the same time as my degree! And, the most bizarrely sensible suggestion yet: save on leases and business rates - set up my Gaggia machine in a caravan and have a travelling cafe! A Magic Cafe that pops up on request and is never in the same place twice! Yes yes yes!!!(You can tell I've had my caffeine now, can't you?)Sigh. It would be so good.And so to work....

From the Mouths of Baristas Flows Truth--Or Does It?

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 28, 2008 at 6:14am

The folks at Gawker media blog, the most prolific purveyor of snark on the web, were treated to a special email from a Starbucks employee, laying out exactly what happened during the company's three hour "retraining session".Apparently, it was not so much educational as boooooring.There's also a link to a previous post about the positively gushing analysis of "Starbucks Robots"--Gawker's words, not mine--on the Starbucks Gossip blog.Read it for yourself and don’t forget to gloat.Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Really need some help finding a plantation!

Posted by Bel Townsend on February 27, 2008 at 1:37pm

Hi all,I am doing my PhD research about the global coffee industry, and for part of my project, I need to visit a plantation. I am doing some comparison work - comparing a small-scale, organic, very high quality and ethically sound plantation with (I hope) a big commercial plantation that supplies coffee to the UK and likes of Caffe Nero or Starbucks. Ideally, I would like this to be in Central America, for purely practical reasons.Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've not had too much of a problem finding a smaller plantation (and big thanks to those of you on here that have contacted me about this!!) but I need help finding a big one. I've tried contacting Caffe Nero and Starbucks for help, and the sheer scale of this industry has meant that the buyers from these companies actually do not know exactly where the plantations are based. Which leaves me with a problem!Does anyone on here know of the plantations supplying the bigger UK chains? Do any of the farmers on BX supply to them? I'd really really appreciate any help you can give with this - contact details even better!cheers!Bel

Tamp this, son

Posted by Trza on February 27, 2008 at 12:27pm

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

James Hoffmann East Coast Tour - March 2-15

Posted by Mark Overbay on February 27, 2008 at 7:30am

Counter Culture Coffee cordially invites the barista exchange community to join reigning United Kingdom and World Barista Champion James Hoffmann for his 2008 U.S. East Coast Tour, March 2-15!The 8-stop tour will include coffee presentations, skill demonstrations, barista workshops, and more at Counter Culture regional training centers and other locations listed below. Hope to see many of you at the events!www.counterculturecoffee.com/jameshoffmannRegional event details:March 2Ninth Street Espresso - Chelsea MarketNew York, NY3:00 p.m.Live Barista Performance and MixerNinth Street EspressoChelsea MarketMarch 4Hyde Park, NY (Culinary Institute of America)10 - 11:30 a.m.Signature Drink PresentationDanny Kaye Theater2 - 3:30 p.m.Signature Drink PresentationDanny Kaye TheaterMarch 6Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Barista Jam10am - 12pmEspresso Extraction PresentationMarch 7Washington, DC10-11:30amCoffee Cupping7 - 9:30pmFood Pairing PresentationDC Regional Training Center1836 Columbia Road NWSuite 202Washington, DC 20009March 9Durham, NC2 - 5pmThree-Part Presentation:1) James' personal history in coffee2) Single origin espresso tasting3) Preparing for barista competitionsDurham HQ and Regional Training Center4911 South Alston AvenueDurham, NC 27713March 11Asheville, NC7 - 9pmBarista Comp. & Classic Drinks PresentationAsheville Regional Training Center77 Broadway StreetAsheville, NC 28801March 12Charlotte, NC7 - 9pmBarista Competition & Signature Drink PresentationCharlotte Regional Training Center1435 West Morehead StreetCharlotte, NC 28208March 14Atlanta, GA10 - 11:30 amCoffee CuppingAtlanta Regional Training CenterKing Plow Arts Center887 West Marietta Street NWSuite m210Atlanta, GA 303181 - 3:30 pmBarista Competition PresentationAtlanta Regional Training Center8pmParty at Octane!March 15Atlanta, GA2 - 5pmThree-Part Presentation:1) James' personal history in coffee2) Single origin espresso tasting3) Preparing for barista competitionsAtlanta Regional Training Center

James Hoffmann Biography:James Hoffmann started working as a barista back in 2003. He started working for the espresso machine manufacturer Gaggia, and quickly progressed into a training role. From there in 2005 he moved to another espresso machine company - La Spaziale to work as their national training manager. He also began competing in barista competitions that year and in 2006 won the UK Barista Championship and placed 5th in the World Barista Championship in Berne. He competed again in 2007, winning the UK again and this time went on to win in Tokyo, Japan and became the World Barista Champion. In May 2007 James left La Spaziale with the aim of starting a roastery and cafe in London. He continues to train and consult, as well as write for a variety of different publications and has an interest in food science, having worked with the chefs at the world famous Fat Duck restaurant when working on signature coffee drinks for competition.

Starbucks Closes for Retraining--Customers Say, "Meh."

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 27, 2008 at 6:38am

NPR's Morning Edition reported today that average Starbucks customers doubt that yesterday's massive barista retraining session will make a difference in the megacorp's coffee drink quality. And, they added, they couldn't care less. (Okay, those weren't their exact words but it was implied.)Customers interviewed in Bellevue, Washington said they didn't expect much to come from the barista retraining that closed all 7,100 of the US company-operated stores for a span of three hours. One remarked, "No matter what they do, I doubt they will make it as good as local coffee shops. Starbucks coffee is still like fast food, so it's convenient."According to Scott McMartin, Starbucks director of coffee education, the session started with an espresso tasting. "I want them to taste what the imperfections are. Taste the shot that's too long, the shot that's too short, and the milk that isn't steamed correctly." Well, good for him and them! Though I have to say that's pretty much basic training.Word on the street has it that the baristas were scheduled to spend some of their bar training time watching a corporate sanctioned DVD. I image it went a little something like this: "Susan here is a Starbucks barista. She is a valued employee and happy at her job. (Susan turns from the espresso bar to face the camera and gives a pleasant yet humble smile, showing no teeth, while her eyes betray her silent curses at having gotten roped into this project.) Unfortunately, Susan doesn't always take the time to sample the espresso at the start of her shift and doesn't know when the shots she's pulling are too short or too long, resulting in countless numbers of poorly made coffee drinks purchased by her customers. It's time Susan had a little retraining, don't you think?"All I can say is poor Susan. Why? Because I know that she and thousands of other Starbucks baristas actually do care about their job and want to do it well. Had she had the proper training and support to begin with, her customers might care, too.Susan, if I may, I'd like to give you and your barista compatriots some simple words of encouragement: Though this recent action taken by your corporate leaders may not have yielded the hoped for change in customer perception, we want you to know that, no matter what, we're all pulling for you! (Pulling for you? Get it? Oh, whatever.)LinkPost originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

The Journey of a small coffee shop.

Posted by Richard Watters on February 26, 2008 at 12:26pm

Ok. If a grand barista were to come into our tiny shop they might walk away with their head shaking. We are not just a coffee shop but we also have the basics in groceries, including toothpaste, eggs, milk, bread and cheese. We also have a couple of video games, a 5 ft Wizard gumball machine, 139 authentic autographs on the walls, Our espresso maker is a Saeko Vienna plus which is a super automatic espresso maker for the home rather than commercial ( it does make good espresso however). We serve gourmet coffee which can also be bought by the pound, two computers hooked to the Internet and free WIFI. Believe me, we have covered all the bases.We originally we going to be just a coffee shop but we are in a town of about 750 people. When we opened, we had no grocery store. As a matter of fact, the only businesses in town are a pizza/sub shop, two high end restaurants, another restaurant whose quality of food does not fit their prices, a bar (which has since closed down due to civil problems and a boat shop. Since we opened two years ago, a liquor store/convenience store has opened down the street which is taking many of our customers.Anyway, here we are. We are attempting to educate the town folk on the merits of gourmet coffee and tea instead of the sludge they get from some of the shops that are a few miles out of town. We have our regular customers that have been faithful for the past two years. But let me say this....the existence of the shop is getting critical. Being a seasonal town and waiting for the tourists to come in, it is getting hairy. Today, we have sold less that $30 in merchandise. That doesn't even pay the electricity. We have no employees, it is just my wife and I and poor Sharon has another job besides Main Street Station.The good news is that we are a place for the kids in town. Until we opened, the only place for the kids was a broken down basketball court and two toddler parks. Not much to offer teenagers. Now they have a place to go after school that keeps them out of trouble.If there was an extreme makeover for coffee shops, we would certainly be in the running.

i have the flu|grad school news

Posted by Amanda Lanyon-LeSage on February 26, 2008 at 10:35am

i have a wicked fever right now. bleccccch. i want swirl sherbet. my cousins used to call it "squirrel sherbet" because they were little and funny.also, i got into grad school! i am going to be going to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a Masters' in Library Science. yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Tragedy at Finca Vista Hermosa

Posted by Andy Newbom on February 26, 2008 at 4:08am

Tragedy at our farm Partner Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala.Carlos of FVHfvh logoOn February 15th, 2008 a tragedy struck our farm partners at Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala. For the last decade or more Carlos has managed the day to day operations of Finca Vista Hermosa. He has labored tirelessly to bring exceptional quality, exquisite farming methods, demanding harvesting and processing procedures and intense cross training for all farm workers. The results have been astounding. Finca Vista Hermosa has consistently won international awards for coffee flavor and quality in auctions and programs. Carlos Martin lived a rich and full life and lived for his family and for coffee. He was training his oldest son Edwin Martin to take over managing the farm when he retires.But Carlos and Edwin Martin's lives were tragically cut short. On a return trip to the Finca they were ambushed by armed bandits and brutally murdered. They were returning with payroll for the farm workers and supplies and food for the entire farm. The sorrow and pain we here at Barefoot Coffee feel is deep and taxing. Roast Master Eugenia Chien and Andy Newbom spent a great deal of time with Carlos and Eddie when we last visited Finca Vista Hermosa.To show our love and support for the entire family of Finca Vista Hermosa and to help Carlos' wife Juana and her 11 children Barefoot Coffee Roasters is launching a support fund for their family. From February 22nd through March 7th100% of all proceeds from sales of all of our Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa coffees beans will be donated to the fund for Juana.In about two weeks Edwin Martinez (the owner of Finca Vista Hermosa) will be going back to Guatemala and will bring down the check and present it to her. Please join us in supporting this amazing family of coffee farmers. You are also encouraged to make cash donations as well.Carlos Martin and his son Eddie were an amazing team of coffee professionals and our hearts are saddened at their passing. Carlos' older brother and original farm manager Lencho and Carlos' son Diego are working with the Martinez family to manage the harvest right now as they are in the middle of the key part of the harvest.Buy any Guatemala Finca Vista Hermosa coffee in our cafe or from our online store between now and March 7th 2008 and 100% of the sale will go to Juana and her 11 children.---------You can also make a cash donation in the cafe or online right here. http://stores.homestead.com/barefootcoffeeroasters/-strse-89/guatemala/Detail.bokor on Edwins blog:http://fincavistahermosa.wordpress.com/

blogging...

Posted by Sasha King on February 25, 2008 at 8:26pm

I don't know if I mentioned it yet but I too started a blog. You can find it at anothercoffee.wordpress.com. It's mostly about coffee but other seemingly unrelated subjects as well. You can look there for more up to date updates for this up coming trip!!!!

Jam Next Week!!!!!

Posted by Gerra Harrigan on February 25, 2008 at 4:22pm

Troy Reynard of Cosmic Cup Coffee and I (of New Harvest Coffee Roasters) are coordinating the Mid Atlantic Northeast Barista Jam NEXT WEEK! For all you who have registrations out there and plan on attending please contact either Troy or myself to secure your spot. We are trying to finalize the numbers and want to guarantee everyone who wants to be there is. If you are interested in more information please contact us.This event is getting better and better by the day....-Wednesday evening registration and reception featuring our keynote speaker Jon Lewis. Thursday and Friday all star cast of presenters Rob Stephen, Ellie Matuszak, Chris Deferio, Jay Caragay, James Hoffmann oh my!- 'Spro-Down, Espresso extraction competition. (Entry fees to benefit Bikes to Rwanda.)- Latte Art Throwdown (Entry fees to benefit Bikes to Rwanda.)- Two jam sessions open to the public, where jam participants will make drinks for the public, donations to benefit Bikes to Rwanda.This is in addition to the seven educational sessions and five jam sessions. There will also be a barista party on Thursday, at which the Latte Art Throwdown will take place, and yes there will be FREE beer!!!!!

Swimming in Coffee (syndicated)

Posted by Jason Haeger on February 25, 2008 at 12:28pm

Originally taken from www.coffeeaspirations.blogspot.comAaron Blanco asked me to do some testing for a brand new espresso blend. This blend is based on an interesting philosophy of espresso blending that Aaron has been thinking about lately. Creating a blend of two coffees to create an experience that equals more than the sum of its parts. This is the first attempt at a realistic execution of this concept, and only the second "production" (as in, regularly created) blend in the history of The Brown Coffee Co. It's called "Espresso Two: Jacinto".Since he was sending this coffee, and since I was leading a tasting for the Lubbock Coffee Club, I asked if he would be interested in kicking another bag of something my way. Well, that's what the Kenya Kichwa Tembo Cooperative was intended for, but there happened to be two extra surprises when the mail arrived.The bag of Espresso One: Cottonwood (which, btw, has been reformulated for the new crop season.. more on this later) and the bag of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gedeo Konga Cooperative FT/O (which comes to the roaster in 25lb. vacuum sealed bags. I've seen a green sample from the broker, and this stuff looks pristine) were intended for "friends" who backed out last minute. No worries. More for me. ;o)Needless to say, I've been making crazy amounts of coffee here lately. With a full 3 pounds to burn through in a very short amount of time (not to mention visits to my friends at Sugar Brown's), the Expobar has been working overtime (and I've been praying for a plumbed pump and drain).Even the Hario TCA-2(courtesy of the guys at Barismo)is getting in on the action, as is the French Press. Notes on some of these coffees to come, but for now, I'd like to say something about Espresso One: Cottonwood.If you've ever tried it before, you may recognize the contents, except for one slight change. The Ethiopean used to be a Harrar. Now it's this "my tastebuds are confused" Yirgacheffe. The general profile of the blend has been affected, and I'm not sure what I think about it yet. I don't consider it an incarnation of Cottonwood at all, when comparing to what I remember from the last crop year. Sure.. there are similarities, but the heart just isn't similar enough for me to see it as the same blend. Don't get me wrong. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with it. Perhaps it just needs its own name.To my surprise this time around, this blend seems to prefer a slightly higher dose with a coarser grind pulled at a pretty slow pace. (something like 35 seconds before blonding.. I don't keep track of volume) Obviously this is not the star coffee of the review, but I thought I'd drop one bomb at a time (and the slew of coffee is a bomb in itself). I wanted to visit an old friend. I've found this friend to have matured a bit since last we met.Meet: the new version of Cottonwood.

Daddy's 'spresso!

Posted by Coffee Noodle on February 25, 2008 at 11:04am

Daddy makes really good machiattos (the silly name one) for me with his 'spresso....but Mr. Pete apparently make it a bit better :)Yay! Mr. Pete is #1!

So Beautiful, So Dangerous

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 25, 2008 at 3:45am

The newest additions to the Francis Francis X-series home espresso machines, the X7 and X8, are set to debut this spring and java hipsters 'round the globe are trying their level best not to scream like little girls at a Beatles concert as they wait for their first look.Designed by Milan architect Luca Trazzi, the series' first machine, the X1, was released in 1995, sending shock waves through the coffee enthusiast community. Sleek, sharp and oh so pretty, it was a huge hit among those who prefer their espresso machines to go beyond mere function and into the realm of chic appliance speak as it says all you need to know about the owner in one quick glance.So, how much will the espresso fashion obsessed be expected to slap down for the X7 or X8? No word yet on that. The price range of the current X-series offerings is $500-$1000, so I'm betting that these two new machines are gonna be mighty dangerous to any hipster's bank account.Link (via Coffee Talk)Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

I have too many blogs

Posted by Jason Haeger on February 24, 2008 at 10:44pm

So this is most likely my last blog post here.The rest can be seen at:tx-coffee.comorwww.coffeeaspirations.blogspot.comI'd love to keep another, but I fear I'll just end up neglecting one of the three if I try to keep tabs on too many things.Who knows, maybe I'll blog here on occasion.

Barista Exchange

Posted by CJ on February 24, 2008 at 4:16pm

Finally my nerdom of coffee is met and challenged by other uber coffee nerds. I raise my imaginary drink in hand to the hopes of in depth coffee conversations spurred by this site.

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