July Wrap-up

So I’m noticing, it’s been 20 days since our last post. Hm. What have I been doing?

Cuppings: At Cafe Grumpy, Southside, Beer Table, and Everyman. I’ve tasted new crops from Kenya, Columbia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Uganda (see the post below). I also tasted this year’s Hacienda Esmerelda, roasted by Counter Culture (thanks for the taste!). I also had some delicious coffee from my friend Steve’s family farm in Nicaragua, roasted by Intelligentsia.

The (New York Coffee Society) Cupping at Beer Table was especially interesting because we had a demo of Japanese pour-over brewing. Koji Yamanaka, a japanese roaster who recently moved to the US, showed us the differences between American and Japanese pour-over methods, and also had us taste different paper filters. It was fascinating to watch the process, which clearly influences the taste in the cup. The result? A clean, crisp cup of coffee. Delicious.

I’ve also been out and about, visiting coffee shops. I’ve been to Oslo (I think the pulse lately has said Oslo has the best espresso in NYC), swung by Joe Grand Central shop to take some photos, visited Ryan Goodrow at Ninth Street, worked at Everyman Espresso, spent a fair amount of time at 23rd St. Grumpy, and visited Alie Camp at Lorimer Gimme a time or two. But, old news, right? What about the new stuff?

Ellen, star TempTamp employee, steams with intensity at Dames Coffee.

TempTamp worked at a new Counter Culture shop in Hoboken, NJ on Friday. The shop is called Dames and has a modern meets subtle-punk look to it. Great coffee, in Hoboken? Neil’s been working there for years and had finally settling on brewing his own coffee at work. Dames opened approximately on the day Neil put in his notice. What’s that? Yes, Neil has finally left his desk job, and he’ll be working in (…) coffee! What a surprise.

Anyway, Dames is certainly worth a visit if you’re ever around Hoboken. Tell the owner Borah we sent you!

Finally, yesterday, Neil & I trekked to the palatial, original, very special Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint. Both Cheryl and Shaq, baristas we know and love, were taken aback that it was our first time at the Greenpoint Grumpy. But, despite their shock, they manage to produce some amazing coffee for us to consume. Typical. Of course it was great to see Greenpoint Grumpy in real life, and yes, I took a picture of the egg holder.

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~ by Anne on July 27, 2008.