March may seem like a long way away for baristas planning on compete this year, but the complexity of the competition means the sooner you get familiar with the rules and start to practice, the better your performance will be. Plus, Ben Wilkinson is a pretty fun guy, and we’re planning on having a post-meeting cocktail hour somewhere in the neighborhood. Join us!
Just wanted to let everyone know we’ve made a post about last Thursday’s TNT at Everyman Espresso!
Just in case you thought we weren’t doing anything since we’re back in NYC, I am here with a little report to prove you wrong.
To start I (briefly) stopped by the Ace to see what they were up to, which of course were good things. I need to get back there for a full report, but there’s plenty to read about this cafe already, right? I recommend Man Seeking Coffee’s report if you are jonesing! And here’s my one lone, sort of not interesting photo:
hanging out with Anthony at grumpy.
A few weeks ago we finally made it out the to Greenpoint Grumpy as part of a Cafe Grumpy trifecta I achieved that week. Anthony Kurutz from Plowshares, Neil & I scoped out the place with the ever-courteous and photographically elusive Colleen Duhamel who has been doing all the sourcing for their roasting program. We tasted both their first batch guatemalan, and followed up with the Kenyan Coffee. I also tried to Flor Azul by Intelligentsia for the first time this year (and it’s no longer in season! October is going by quickly!). And guess what? It all tasted awesome. I’m looking forward to what will come from the Grumpy roasting program.
Cup.
While we were in Greenpoint we hit up a cute new cafe called Cup. The place had a pleasant simplicity to it and great layout for its small square footage. We were given a great treatment since Cup is a Plowshares-exclusive shop… and chatted a little bit about coffee packaging on the side. All in all, a great new addition to the neighborhood!
And just today, I got into Joe to check out the big switch from Barrington to Ecco Caffe. Brendan pulled me a lovely shot – as Ecco tends to be. I am excited to see Ecco show up more and more in NYC after a lot of work on Andrew’s part! So thanks, Joe, and Third Rail, and Kaffe, for making that coffee more available. Although if you’re still jonesing for Barrington Coffee, I believe it’s still available at Red Horse Cafe in Brooklyn! Why I used the word “jonesing” 2 (3 now) times in this post, I don’t know.
Ok, I’m off to go set up a throwdown now! You can watch it live tonight at 9pm EST: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tnt-nyc
Bye!
Insert obligatory apology for lack of blogging here. We were a bit preoccupied this month, and have some posts up at our company blog, an piece or two in Barista Magazine, and were, you know, working and stuff. But we still love writing about our coffee shop visits, so expect them to resume again regularly soon.
So long ago and far away, Neil and I were on vacation in Seattle. While we were there, we hit up some spots that we’ve yet to mention anywhere. And so, here we go.
The first thing we did when we visited Seattle was leave it. That was true the first time when we high-tailed it for Victoria, and once we got back we got right back in the road to Olympia. But there was a very special Michael Elvin there to visit!
There he is! And I just noticed that the tamper he’s got there was on it’s way to the Nordic Cup.
And so visit we did, arriving just in time to slurp some new coffees on Olympia Coffee Roasting Company’s cupping table. Since we had managed to miss the visit to Espresso Parts during our trip across the country, Elvin was gracious enough to show us around the workshop, showroom, cafe and roastery. We also got to see the 5 group Darth Vader Linea getting souped up before it traveled to Japan. In the midst of such excess, we chatted about whether most cafes even needed a 3-group machine, really.
Imperial espresso preparation.
Elvin always manages to make espresso equipment modification and repair pretty interesting, so Neil was happy as a clam chatting about the ideal theoretical espresso grinder, wether complete pump pressure control is all it’s cracked up to be, and learning how to use an elvinator. We also got some delicious tacos out of the deal. Thanks again, Elvin & Terry!
Then we headed back to Seattle and to the newest Espresso Vivace on Capitol hill. Lovely as always, I was happy to see that the original spirit of the roastery on Denny was alive and well at the new space, along with some added features – like glass lined garage doors that open to the street.
The Coffee Enhancement Lounge at Visions Espresso.
On our trip, we also met Sarah Dooley, the lady in charge of The Coffee Enhancement Lounge at Visions Espresso. She gave us a tour of her new state-of-the art facility and as usual when we’re in the same room as other trainers we fell into chatting about the challenges of our work. We ended up staying well past closing time, but I was glad to have met my new partner in training, since we are now both teaching Coffee Solutions courses in our respective regions.
We also spent a fair amount if time in Ballard and Greenwood, my true home turf. A great stop we made in the NW corner of Seattle was visiting Will at Home Espresso Repair on Phinney Ridge. Will is a true Seattleite, who took on home espresso machine repair in the early nineties when he was working at one of the original Starbucks’ (University Village). Independently, HER has been around for over a decade and is full of great stories and funky espresso gadgetry. Perhaps the vest part was seeing the backyard, where bad espresso machines go to die! I highly recommend a visit to the shop.
Espresso Machine BBQ, anyone?
We did a few other things, like visit Neptune Coffee and get ridiculously cheap banh mi in the international district. Bronwen Serna made us some unbelievable steamed mussels at her house on Queen Anne. I took Neil across a floating bridge and to the Ballard locks – but wait, what am I talking about? This is a coffee blog. So I’ll defer to my next coffee adventure.
This is Neil at the Locks, where he had a fun time watching water go up, water go down, and watching salmon jump.
For those of you that missed our original premise for traveling the road to epiphany, some boys from the midwest are at it now – on motorcycles! Part Coffee Crawl, part “The Long Way Round” these guys are surely going to have a blast. Ah, memories. So go check it out – The Cafe Circuit.
Barista Jam Schedule
check-in: 9:30-10:30am
Introduction and Welcome From Dottie’s Coffee Lounge and TampTamp Inc.: 10:30-11:30
(Color) Group A 11:30-12:30 CLASS 1 Top 5 Ways to Become a Better Barista – Right Now! by Benjamin Wilkinson, Blue State Coffee, NE BGA Chapter Rep
12:30-1:30 CLASS 2 The Good, The Bad, and The Really Ugly: Why Espresso Maintenance Will Set You Apart By Michael Dejesus, Espresso Technician from Dallis Coffee
(Color) Group B 11:30-12:30 CLASS 2 The Good, The Bad, and The Really Ugly: Why Espresso Maintenance Will Set You Apart by Michael Dejesus, Espresso Technician from Dallis Coffee
12:30-1:30 CLASS 1 Top 5 Ways to Become a Better Barista – Right Now! by Benjamin Wilkinson, Blue State Coffee, NE BGA Chapter Rep
1:30-2:30 Lunch Break
Group A 2:30-4 Special Event with Chemex Coffee with Liz Grassi, owner of Chemex Coffee Corp.
4-5:30 CLASS 4 Coffee Cupping lead by
Group B 2:30-4 Special Event with Chemex Coffee with Liz Grassi, owner of Chemex Coffee Corp.
4-5:30 CLASS 3 Coffee Cupping lead by Gerra Herrigan
5:30-8 Dinner Break
8pm Milk Steaming & Latte Art Demo – by Anne Nylander, President & head trainer at TampTamp Inc.
8pm – 8:45 p.m. Signups for Throwdown. $5 to enter, winner takes all! Plus trophies and additional prizes.
9pm Latte Art throwdown & party!
intro
Class Descriptions & Instructor Bios
AM CLASSES (11:30am-12:30pm – check your packet for which group you are in to determine your class schedule)
Top 5 Ways to Become a Better Barista – Right Now! by Benjamin Wilkinson, Blue State Coffee, NE BGA Chapter Rep
Ever feel like you’re stranded on a desert island in a world of bad coffee and are thirsty for more information about making it better? Benjamin will go over some easy, cheap, and free ways to stay in the loop and get inspired about coffee all over again. Ben will also briefly discuss his experience competing at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s North East Regional Barista Competition this year, where he placed 5th place overall.
The Good, The Bad, and The Really Ugly: Why Espresso Maintenance Will Set You Apart By Michael Dejesus, Espresso Technician from Dallis Coffee
Michael Dejesus, or “Mike D the tech guy” from Dallis Coffee will cover the good, the bad, and the ugly side of espresso and coffee equipment maintenance. From his years of experience servicing coffee equipment in all kinds of businesses, Mike will show us exactly why cleanliness and regular maintenance sets specialty cafes apart from the competition.
PM Classes (2:30-4:00 – check your packet for which group you are in to determine your class schedule)
Special Event with Chemex Coffee Chemex President Liz Grassi will share information about Chemex coffee’s origins and history. We are thrilled to have Chemex as a guest due to both its rise in popularity as a brewing method and its proximity to our event: the Chemex headquarters are located in Pittsfield, MA!
Coffee Cupping Learn how the pros evaluate coffee on a daily basis, while experiencing coffee in an entirely new way. We will cover the major terms used to describe coffees in the industry (Aroma, Brightness, Flavor, Body, and Aftertaste) and help you use those terms to discover new things about coffee. Instructor Gerra Herrigan from New Harvest Coffee Roasters will walk you through the process and show you how much you have in common with other cuppers!
8pm Milk Steaming & Latte Art Demo – Anne Nylander of TampTamp Inc. will show you how to improve your latte art’s game at any level – from none at all to ultimate pours. Her experience teaching latte art at SCAA conference and competing in the national Millrock Latte Art Competition has taught her exactly how to pour and how to show you.
9pm Latte Art Throwdown
Anne Nylander, President of TampTamp Inc., will host the main event: a Thursday Night Throwdown. Find out who pours the best latte art in the region. $5 in. 1 Pull. 1 Pour. Winner takes all. Anne will provide a latte art demo before the competition begins so baristas of all levels can participate! The winner of the throwdown wins a custom made Reg Barber tamp in addition to the prize pool.
Welcome to Dottie’s Coffee Lounge! Anne Nylander and Jessica Rufo have come together to establish a fun, informative day of coffee education in Shire City, aka Pittsfield Mass!
The goal of the days’ events is to provide education and inspiration about coffee at little to no cost, as well as invigorate the coffee community that exists throughout the Berkshires. TampTamp has sought to incorporate expert speakers to host our courses for the event, while Dottie’s has reached out to include several local businesses in the event, such as Barrington Coffee Company, High Lawn Dairy, and the Chemex company. We have coffee arriving from companies across the country so you also have a chance to experience some of the best coffees currently available in the U.S – for FREE!
The courses are geared for professionals but the public is welcome to come and learn tricks they can use on their home espresso equipment, or how to make a great cup of drip coffee, or simply how much work truly goes into your morning cup of coffee.
So come in, grab a seat, and try some delicious coffee.
Donations will be welcome to help offset the costs, any additional income will be donated to Coffee Kids. This free event would not have been possible without our generous sponsors.
Recently, I found myself in Boston with a few hours to kill, so what else did I do but go on a coffee tour of Arlington, Harvard, and Cambridge?
is this sign too ostentatious?, jamie pulls a shot
Continue reading ‘2 Progressives and an Old Standby in Boston’
On the Road to Epiphany 