Road Trip!

Devin and I are road trippin' to California. Updates will be dropped soon. SCAA is going to be a blast.

Thus far we've seen all the places of the country that suck... Nebraska, New Mexico, etc. Today we're chillin in Phoenix. Many pictures will be online...

Till then, stay caffeinated...

Weekend Escaping (Chicago Pt. 2)

My friend, Devin Pedde, and I just got back from an awesome two day escape back to the city of Chicago. It was a much needed time for both of us. Things are getting crazy in all directions. Life's stressful, SCAA is just around the corner. We both just needed some time to really get away. So, we packed up my jeep and busted down to the Windy City for a couple days of exploration and experience.

Upon arrival in Chicago, we headed to the roasting works for a cupping with Marcus Boni, Sarah Kluth, and Doug Zell. The cupping was practically a necessary after leaving Minneapolis around 7AM. Of course, no trip to Chicago is complete without a stop in Milwaukee to visit Alterra, and the people's hero... Scott Lucey. Anyway, the cupping involved some of the Direct Trade offerings and a couple other coffees in the Intelli line-up. Standing out most on the table was either the Papua New Guinea or the Peru. Both were solid coffees with few flaws. The New Guinea tasted much like mango or passion fruit to me and was very enjoyable. The Peru had a very veggie like aroma with a medium chocolate-like body and flavor.

From the cupping, Doug and Sarah bounced with us over to a bar called The Matchbox. Which is, literally, a bar. There's room for no more and no less. The best part about being in Chicago is the availability of New Belgian's Fat Tire. I probably should have realized how great of a beer this is before I moved to the 'Tireless' state of Minnesota. We BS'd the night away until Doug had to bounce home to put his daughter to bed.

Being exhausted, we trekked our way over to master barista, Mike Philips apartment, where we ended up crashing that night. Initially, we had every plan on making to The Map Room... but with our lack of energy, and the fact that Mike had to open the Broadway store the next morning, we thought it best to just stay in. However, that did not keep us from enjoying a little rum. For months now, Miguel has been sharing with me how excellent this 'Ron Zacapa Centario' rum is... So, you should have seen the look on my face when Mike pulled out a bottle. Miguel was right... the stuff does not disappoint.

Devin and I had made arrangements to meet up with Mr. Boni the next day to explore the Chicago stores. However, we were up way before we needed to be, so we took to the streets of the city. I miss big, busy cities. It was lovely finding a new breakfast spot around every corner. Almost everyone of them had an Intelligentsia logo somewhere. Eventually we caught up with Marcus and on to Broadway we went!

The weather was perfect the entire time we were in Chicago. With so much sunshine and the bustle of the city, Chicago was ten times more appealing than any past visit has been. We made our way into the Broadway store, which was rockin' very steady. We ran into Matt Riddle, who was passing through on his way out and about the city with his bike. I like Matt... he's all-champion with no ego. Mike Philips, who just made the change to working in a retail store, is yet to be bar certified. So, he kindly took our orders and made sure we received a couple nice cups of cat.

Watching Marcus as we visited each store was cool. It's a Saturday, the guys showing us around, and more often than not, the moment he's in the store he's asking the employees how they are, helping out, collecting loose dishes, and just making sure every customer is being taken care of. He's thorough. Even as we were on our way out of the Broadway store, he stopped for a few minutes to talk to a customer who was sitting outside the store. He was was making sure she was enjoying her drink and informing her that next week the out door furniture would be out for her to enjoy.

Our last stop was the Millenium Park store. I've seen the Broadway store a few times, but the Millenium Park store is so different... and beautiful. It's very polished and sheik. The lighting and sign-age is awesome. We had a few drinks there and tried some of the coffees we had on the cupping table, pulled from the Clover. The Kenya from the day before was no longer muted like it had been. It was shining citrus and sweet melon. Lovely! We wrapped up our visit and Marcus dropped us off back by the Jeep.

It was a lovely couple days escaping Minneapolis and life. It was nice to be around more passionate coffee professionals. Now, it's back to getting things together. Billy Wilson flies into town tomorrow. It'll be good to see him. SCAA is less than two weeks away and I am stoked to see everyone there!

Oh, and be on the lookout for a new Twin Cities publication... The Twin Cities Imbiber. The cover was shot at Kopplin's and my latte art is on the cover. Jeff Halvorson, the guy putting it together is a very knowledgeable beer resource and is a passionate imbiber himself. I think the publication is going to be sweet and really help specialty coffee in the cities...

Final COE Colombian Cupping

So, I wandered back to Cafe Imports to cup the final 13 Colombians. My scores this time were much closer. However, there were two coffees that jumped out in a major way. One of them was Diogenes Muchicon Perdomo's coffee from the farm San Antonio. It's a 23 bag lot and jury scored this coffee to the number 3 place. The coffee tastes of ginger bread and pleasant spice. It's got excellent body... and honestly, kinda reminds me of Christmas.

My highest score for the day actually co-insided with the jury's score. I gave the #1 Colombian the highest score of a 90.5 that day. It was a very well rounded flavor, semi-fruity, and excellent sweetness. The coffee also has a delicious dry aroma.

Well, I have to run for now. Gotta get to the cafe to help close. Andrew Kopplin lands today sometime from Norway. Apparently, he visited many great shops and has a bunch of coffee that is coming with him. I'm stoked for it all. Later kids~

Maddness. COE Maddness.

Well, after 4 hours and 30 coffees, there's no lie... I'm tired. This years Colombian COE's bring in some craziness. We cupped the coffees blind in two 15 coffee rounds. Ends up round one held mostly coffees from the back end of the jury's selection, while round two held the majority of the top 10. It was an awesome learning experience for me, as I have never cupped that many coffees at once, let alone all from the same country of origin.

Some of the stand outs to me were the first and second place finishers. Both being very nice. I actually scored the second place over the first place by two points, but don't get me wrong, Isaias Cantillo Osa's farm, La Esperanza produced a very fine coffee and I will be very interested in seeing how much it sells for. The second place finisher came from El Cedro, a farm owned by Leonte Collazos Rajas'. I found the aroma to being more pleasing in this coffee than Esperanza. Ironically, though, these coffees were the last two in our line-up, so my senses were numbing a bit.

One of the other notable coffees was actually the 30th placed finisher. What I liked about it most was the aroma. It smelled of fresh mozzarella, or a similar soft cheese. It was something I had never experienced before. I enjoyed that part of it.

The first round of 15 was harder to score. So many of the characteristics of them found to be common in the field. Lot's of acidity found all day long. Enough that I could have just had a few bowls of tomato soup and had the same kind of sensation after.

Monday, Cafe Imports will be cupping the top 10 scorers from today to determine which they are most interested in buying. I'm hoping to get enough roasting done early enough to join them once more. I should have more of an in-depth recap of the top 10.

Colombian COE's

I heading to Cafe Imports this morning to cup all the COE Colombians... I'm stoked. More later...

More on Portland...

Seattle was a blast and I had a great time, and even more great coffee. Still, I feel there was so much more to my week. First, I've gotta say a major thank you to Matt Miletto, Kyle Larson, and all the other great people who bought me beer and such while I was in town. It truly was great to catch up with so many awesome baristas. Portland has a lot of talent and it's only growing... soon enough, it'll deserve it's own regional competition.

My first night in town, I found myself at a table filled with people like Matt, Stephen Vick, Jenn Prince, and David George... All eating some of the best pizza I've ever tasted. Another night, I was able to grab a bottle of Le Chouffe and chill with Matt Miletto, his fiance, Rob Ward (of Bakery Bar), and one of Matt's students. From the pub where we were, Lizz met up with us and she and I moved with some friends to The Horse Brass Pub. I love the Horse Brass. Always have, and always will. They have some awesome IPA's, including the Pelican IPA, which I had another night when I was there with Kyle and Sarah Allen. Seriously, so many great people in an awesome city!

The coffee though is what initially glued me to Portland. It used to be Hairbender was the only quality espresso you could find in Portland... One man has changed that. Philip Search has an awesome blend that I believe I have talked about before. It's a true quality espresso from top to bottom. It's body and full flavor reminds me of a red wine. It's heavy in chocolate and wonderfully smooth. It's yet to cross the river into Portland, but is available in 4 locations in Vancouver, WA.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't strayed far from my roots. Hairbender still puts a smile on my face. Oh, and to all you Portland and Seattle kids who like to travel up and down I-5... do not over look Lava Java. It's right off of exit 14 in Washington. Literally, you can see the shop from the freeway. They are doing some great things still. While I was home, they were featuring Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley as a single origin espresso... and it rocks. You can pick out all the traditional ethiopian flavors of sweet fruit, but it still has a heavy body.

Well, I am going to close this here. I leave you with this. Right now we're featuring 49th Parallel's Epic blend. It is so high quality, it leaves me with no doubts. Unfortunately, It's being pulled on a Super Jolly cause we had an issue with one of the Roburs where the spring got jammed into the burrs... don't ask. I wasn't there... I only cried when I found out. But hey! If you can't pull a good shot of espresso with a Super Jolly, then who are you to be calling yourself a barista? Especially with this kind of coffee and a Synesso. If you're in the cities, or within a few hours of the cities! Come by!

March 21-27 Recap

The last week was supposed to be a vacation, but I'm wiped out. Mainly from the travel schedule I put myself through, but hey, I'm young. Like I've said before, watch out Portland, stuff is on the move... everywhere. From Duane & Co. creeping North to Kevin and Billy moving a bit south... everyone is expanding and pushing things further forward! Heck yes.

I can honestly say that in my entire trip I had only one undesirable espresso... And I consumed somewhere around 30 doubles in the week I was there. Seattle was the high point, where I consumed around 8. Seattle is dormant, there's no doubt about that. Beyond the Stumptown crew, you don't really hear too much about what's happening up there. By the way, on the trip were some great friends! Bridgetta from Lava Java is a rad chick. She's been around the LJ for a good while, but we never really worked together much because just as I was hired, she took off to Mexico for a year. Then, just as I decided to move, she comes back. Ridiculous. Then, Ashley Raugh, who also worked at Lava Java joined us as well. Ashley is also a hair master at a salon near LJ, and she is the only person I will let cut my hair. She's that good. Ashley's good friend, and someone who I made many-a Honey-Vanilla latte for at Crema, Kelsey, joined us as well.

We stopped in at Batdorf & Bronson on the way up. It's always a decent mid point on the way, and I like to support the fact that they own a Clover. So, that's what I generally choose. This time my pic was their Harar... a bit disappointingly flat, but not bad. Still quality.

Once we arrived in Seattle, our first choice for coffee was Vivace. I had a decent double and a cafe Nico. The Nico never ceases to make me smile. Anyone can drink it. For the coffee fanatic it's candy, for the newb, it's a mini-S-buck kinda flavor. Jeremy Summer from Hotwire met my friends and I there. Jeremy and I met first in Charlotte last year. He's a cool cat who never ceases to amaze me with how laid back he can be.

After some catching up, Jeremy lead us to the new Victrola. The space is wonderful. Reminds me of Crema. Very open, very bright. The 3 group Synesso is a beaut. I enjoyed the roasting works being visible throughout the entire space. There is also a large window showcasing the cupping room. The barista mentioned they are still working on a new blend for the cafe. I really enjoyed it. It had one of the nicest spicy/sweet finishes I've had in a while.

Post-Victrola, we busted out to the University Zoka. It was surprisingly quiet in the space. Spring break I guess. Had a double. It was ok. The fun part was seeing the old school pictures of Jenn Prince on the wall. Even better was seeing the Seattle Times article on Phoung framed on the back wall. Go boss.

We visited Trabant as well. This was a first for me. They are working on the space, but the coffee was well pulled. It was cool to walk in and see the new Intelly packaging. Oh, how I love the packaging. Smile... Anyway, the double Black Cat I had was lovely. One of the better I've had in a bit.

The Seattle trip wrapped up in a visit to Cupcake Royale. This place is cool. It was the first Stumptown wholesale account in Seattle. I had already cut myself off from coffee at this point, but the cupcake made me smile!
Well, I'd go on about the rest of my trip, but this is long enough... if you get a chance, head over to Billy's blog (myspace.com/xristrettox) and catch the video clip of a documentary on the barista competitions. It's well done. I really liked it... and make sure to note my good friend, Philip Surge... Peace. Love. Coffee.

Updates and Travels

Apple called. My computer is ready... $180 later. I'm in Portland for the (long) weekend. At least the thing will be ready when I get back.

My tattoo is awesome and makes me happy. No, there will be no pictures until it's completely finished.

I have to say a major congratulations to Lizz Hudson at Stumptown. I absolutely had to stop by their new store. The Ace hotel is awesome, and the cafe they've built is even cooler. 4 Clovers, 2 Mistrals, and a lot of great coffee.

Spent Friday in Seattle. I consumed more great shots of espresso than ever before. I'll write a full recap when I am back and have my computer to work with...

This Awed Me...

Lately, I've been experiencing one of the greatest strings of bad luck ever. Things from financial issues, to health problems, and all kinds of things. Well, it all topped off last night when I was installying Apple's new OS update an iphoto update. I installed the updates and when my computer was turned back on my OS failed to initiate. My powerbook is a few years old, so I never expect perfection, but I need it be alive. Badly. I've got a 4:00 appointment with a geinus and we'll see where we can go from there.

My point in posting from this computer at the Roasterie is to tell you a story. My financial issues have left me "relieving myself of some excessive possessions." For instance, my pride and joy 2005 Taylor 512CE. Another instance would be my Mazzer Mini. I bought the thing before I "went pro," and so I rarely use the thing except to test small batches of espresso. So, to craigslist it went! First call I get sounded promising, setup a time to meet and he failed to deliver. Another dude had been calling for awhile, waiting for dude #1 to show... and his aggressive pursuing paid off...

He asked me to drop it off at his house so I could make sure it was setup correctly. He also said he'd pay me a little extra to make sure he knew how to use it. Little did I expect what I found. I walk into his kitchen to find a seperate bar... solely there for the man's love of espresso. On top of the bar was a completely piped in Faema. Old school style, but still rockin the E61 group head. To the left of the machine sat his Conti grinder, and then we threw the mini up there... To be his decaf grinder! We plugged the thing in and he pulled me a decaf espresso. He apologized for his shotty tamper and said he had one on the way. The tamper he had was the standard plastic one you see with cheap home machines. The espresso was good. Not great. Beans had aged a bit, but there was no bitterness to be found in the cup. It was thin and had less body that what I would like, but I was blown away.

I have to explain that I never really believed too much in the hardcore consumer market. I figured coffee is easy enough to be involved in that post people who cared had found a way to be involved. Especially in Minneapolis. I was wrong. This guy loved the grinder and I was pleased to show him a few things and just have a ball playing with his home setup. What was equally impressive was how many people I had asking me about the grinder. It's a mazzer mini... and probably 30 people were interested. Anyway, this really impressed me and showed me how much untapped interest there is out there for the consumer market.

Today I also start my half-sleeve. It's a tattoo totally devoted to coffee, from seed to cup. I'm stoked.

Coffee and Sentiment

The weather is finally warming up here in Minneapolis. Today has been a pleasant 50 degrees... and I never thought I would find myself without a jacket in such a climate. Anyway, with this new burst of "warm" weather we've had requests for iced and cold drinks. So, time to play with cold press coffee! For some reason, over the past few weeks, I've been trying new ways of brewing the stuff. So far, the most (slightly) creative, and my personal favorite was using a Bodum Teapot. For the first two hours of the twenty-four I brewed it, the coffee was left at room temperature. Then it was refrigerated for the remaining two hours. Oh, and the coffee I used was our Sumatra Blue Batak. I don't know if was the temperature sequence or the fact that the teapot allows the coffee to not always be in contact with the grounds, but something about the method produced an incredibly sweet cup of cold press.

I also figured I'd throw up a picture of my sweet burr set. These are actually the burrs from the Robur I used in the 2006 USBC. I spent a lot of time with that grinder preparing for the competition, so I guess there's still some sentimental connection. What can I say, I like the pic...

This week our new guest espresso has been Andrew Barnett's Ecco Espresso Reserve. It's mostly Brazil and incredibly sweet. I feel like it gets lost in milk though. As espresso, this blend is delicious. We've been dosing it at about 18 to 18.5 grams and have the group set at 201. I haven't been over packing much at all, but I feel like I could remedy the milk issue fast if I did. Bottom line, I do really enjoy the blend.

Other coffee I received this week was a pound of cat and a pound of Intelly's DT Bolivia. The Bolivia and I first became friends on the show floor at Coffee Fest Chicago. Tis' a good coffee for sure. The Cat is rockin' way better than the last batch. As much as I love my espresso pulled over-packed, I've finally given up and realized that Black Cat is just best when not over-packed. The macciatto pictured is made with the cat in my favorite cup. The cup means more to me than any other one I have. My little brother brought it back from Italy last spring... So, here it is.

I saw Miguel's agenda for the next few months today. We are bringing in, easily, twenty new coffees now through June. Many will be micro-lots that come and go very quickly. Some will be around longer. Keep an eye out for what be will in.

Back To Life As Usual

This week we had a very curious man drop by the shop. His name was Chris Nichols. Chris works for Espresso Midwest. He was in Chicago last weekend working the show floor and researching stuff. There he heard about the Clover for the first time. So, he came stumbling in to check our out. I've never seen anyone's jaw drop so hardcore like his did when he saw we have two. It was magical. He was wowed by everything we have. This is where is became so apparent to me how many cafes open in the midwest that based on numbers and so few based on quality and serious research as to what really can rock an espresso well. It kinda saddens me...

He came back a couple days later and brought a friend. His friend was from Italy and is a Nuovo Simonelli rep. They'd be taking their new grinder around to different cafes and coffee companies and letting them play with it. So, of course, we threw the thing on our back bar and went to town. Good times. The thing is impressively fast. It ground 21 grams in 3 seconds. Nice. It's digitally controlled and has no doser. Nice. It also had a built in tamper that could be set to 20 and 50 lbs. Whatever. It's not my style, but I'd been wanting to play with such a grinder for curiosities sake. Thanks guys.

We're now cupping all the coffees we have in house every Friday at noon. So far, we've had a nice turnout. Andrew's cupping setup is way cooler than when we started. I like it. I feel like cupping is something to be done with a certain level of reverence and respect. I feel it's slightly ceremonial and has a right and a wrong way to be done. Those "cupping on the fly" kinda experiences are never my cup of tea... So, I am glad we've got all the bells and whistles and what it really takes to cup "properly."

Yesterday was probably the busiest day I have worked at the cafe. It left me tired in the end, but I felt so much more productive than the average day at the shop. At one point all I had on top of my machine was a few espresso demis and macchiatto cups. Every cappuccino cup was in use and the latte cups were all occupied as well. Wonderful. Well, that's all for now. Bien.

See My Trip Here...

Well, I've been back home a couple days now, and it's always fun coming back from these things. Everyone gets tired and needs to sit down for a couple hours, but in reality, you just miss your friends. The coffee community never ceases to amaze me. We compete, we party, and we tell each other of the latest happenings all around. It's inspiring to me. Luckily, no PCD (Post-Competition Depression) has set in yet. But it's obvious I'm not in Chicago anymore.

You've all probably heard that Mr. Riddle brought home his second regional title by now... He did very well. His drink was similar to something I once tried, but warm... a direction I never even thought to take it. He rocked so smooth and so well. I've got the video of it that I'll try to get online sometime soon.

The weather in Chicago got really crazy the last couple of days. Many people got stuck in Chicago due to snow and cancelled flights. Our drive home wasn't the most fun, but I slept through a good part of it. Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know that I posted all my pics from the trip. Good times...

Kopplin's has a little bit going on right now... If you are in the area, do stop by. We now have an official "industry professional" policy. If you work in the coffee industry, let us know and you're espresso or macchiatto is on us... We are also working on our own custom blend.

Eventually, I'll try to get some videos posted online too... Oh, and if you haven't figured it out. Click the blog title to go to my Flickr.

Chi City Love Pt. III

To continue on with information from yesterday... Like I said, congrats to the finalists of the GLRBC... I forgot to mention the Millrock competition. What a blast... and a crowd. I don't know if it was really that entertaining, or if it had something to do with the baristas who were actually there, but there were a lot of people watching, and that was awesome. Scott Lucey and Chris Baca get to rock the finals today. So does Hiroshi from Purple(something) coffee in Japan. Sorry, can't remember his store name right now... but Hiroshi comes from Tokyo to compete in these competitions all the time. This is the first time he made finals and I am very happy for him. Baca is at the top of his game and poured some very clean lattes... I would love to see Baca or Tiesel take home the heavy cash. Both of them have been in the top three for the last couple latte art battles, but neither have taken it yet. Good luck today homies!

The show floor was good times. I very much need to point out that The Roasterie is here in Chicago... and they brought the Mistral. It's very clean now and beautiful. Many props to Jason Burton for A) being a cool guy and B) bringing some good coffee to the show and handing me the best macchiatto I've tasted on a show floor.

The Ritual kids and myself decided to bust out for some lunch. So, we busted over to this place called The Wiener Circle. Amazing. The kids working there are straight up. You walk in and immediately people are yelling at you, "Hey! You ready to order?!?" The hot dogs are damn good. Then they shoot at you with, "What's on this Polish?" And you ask, "What'd you have?" To which they respond, "Everything." Yeah... it's great. Oh, and when you order fries. You get probably 3 lbs. of fries.

We ended the day at the Intelligentsia Party. Their roasting works is awesome. Very impressive. The kegs and wine were great. It was awesome to see everyone there. Nick Cho immediately got the dance party rolling and Ryan Jenson was definitely not scared to rock it as well. Marcus Boni was running around making sure everything went well... and it did. The party was his baby and he raised it right! Doug was happy to share the nickle tour with us... Oh, and major thanks to you Doug... I much appreciate the skate deck! Eventually we found the basketball hoop mounted on a wall... and that started a whole new realm of craziness. Oh, and I got to try Justin Tiesels full sig drink. Excellent!

The night ended in chaos as we roamed the streets of the industrial district looking for a cab... not fun. It was sleeting... Sleet people. That hurts when it hits your face... so not cool. Anyway, we finally found something and Aaron and I crammed into a cab with all the Rituals... We finally got back safe. Well, we're about to head out for the finals of everything... time to get going... more later.

Congratulations Mike Phillips.

The post is named as it should be. By now, most of you have probably heard who the finalists are in the GLRBC... Anyway, I think its awesome when someone who really cares about coffee... genuinely... is successful. Mike is one of those people. Before he moved to Chicago to work for them, he was a home roaster and barista. He's been passionate since before he was a professional. AND!!! He's a really nice guy. I have met many competitors and the compassionate ones are the ones I respect. People like Scott Lucey, Chris Baca, Chris Deferio, and, of course, Jon Lewis. Anyway, congrats to all the finalists, but especially to you Mr. Phillips.

Today has been awesome. Good friends, good times, good coffee. We had a blast at the Millrock show! We're lighting it up tomorrow too! My condolences go to my man, J. Tiesel! I wish he had made it to the finals. He's the man. Bottom line. Tomorrow, latte art. His time to shine! I'm going to go party with the Tellie's!

Chi City Love Pt. II

Well, day one of the Coffee Fest Chicago show is done. The competitions have been awesome. The Millrock Latte Art competition is right next to the GLRBC. In fact, they are sharing audio for the events. The show floor is kinda cool. Not too many seriously interesting booths, but the ones that are cool, ARE COOL. ESI has their booth filled with Franke and Marzocco gear. We played a bit with the GB5 they have, but they've paired it with a Swift. Not so cool. The GS3 is there... the third one I've played with... and ironically, still different than either of the other two. Justin Tiesel and I had some fun with the thing, but like Klaus has said on coffeed, the steaming is questionable.
Zoka has their standard booth up... Clover and Linea putting out great stuff. During the later half of the day, competitor and past USBC finalist, Steve Fritzen, was pulling shots.

Next to the Zoka booth was one of my favorite places to be. The Barista Magazine booth. They have an awesome new shirt I encourage you all the check out and buy. Sarah and Ken are some of my favorite people and I am very glad they are here.

There is no Clover booth, but if you hang out long enough at Intelligentsia's booth, you'll probably be able to say hello to Anastasia. She is here serving up some great stuff. The booth also features an FB-80 and some great Black Cat. Oh, and Major props to Intelly's new packaging. I was floored. I really really really like it. No joke. If there was anything on the floor that had me impressed, it was that. Tomorrow night is the big Intelly party and I am stoked to see the roasting works.
I spent some quality time at the GLRBC and I was fairly impressed by what I saw. This was the 7th competition I have seen and each time it gets better and better. Only two of today's 13 competitors looked like rookies. Hardly anyone went over time. It was smooth. Mike Phillips from Intelligentsia... in all honesty, has some serious advantages training with his team and just working for Intelly... but, he still did a knock out job. First competition... hardly! He looked great and I wish him the best. Justin Tiesel rocked his presentation. Not as fast as when I saw him in Kansas City, but great non the less. I was able to taste a component of his sig drink yesterday up at the store... and it was awesome. I really hope he advances.

Speaking of advancing, Nick Cho will be moving into the finals of the latte art rock out! Even Doug Zell is in this one... he didn't advance, but he did a much better job than I'd expect more head hancho's to do. Honestly, I forgot who else moved on, but give me a break... there's much happening. Well, we're about to head out for the parties. Till tomorrow! Viva Espresso! Viva Chicago! Viva Barista!

Chi-City Love.

Today is the first day of the GLRBC and Coffee Fest Chicago. I'm stoked. Mr. Scott Lucey flies into the city tonight, straight up and outta El Salvador. Chris Baca and Co. are here representing Ritual. The only sad story is that Nick *AKA* PureArabica... Couldn't make it. Not enough out of region spots for this one... Nick we'll miss you!

We left the cities around 9:15 yesterday and headed first to Cedarburg, WI to drop off some coffee to a wholesale account. The place, The Java House, is awesome! David, the owner, buys both green and some roasted coffee from us. What green he buys he roasts in this tiny space in a local music store. It's literally a closet that he has his roaster in. Anyway, the espresso was surprisingly good... It was actually the first shot I had pulled using a swift, so I was very skeptical. But, the results were great. Heavy chocolate presented in a totally balanced and unoffensive way. Well done Kevin. We would love to have more wholesale accounts like this place.

From Cedarburg, we headed down to visit Alterra. We stopped, first, at the main store. The one with the roasters... yes, it is awesome. Justin Tiesel was there and gave me a quick tour around the space. It's awesome and they're expanding... It's cool to see such good coffee in Milwaukee. I lived in Wisconsin for a few years back in the day, and coffee was the last thing I remember about Milwaukee... but not anymore. We rolled over to the Lakeview store, and I was blown away. Alterra knows how to market themselves in ways we dream of. I could have purchased enough Alterra clothing to where I would never have to wear anything else again. They've got it all. Cups, clothing, teas, chocolate. And the store itself is beautiful. Oh, and the food we had at the Alterra stores was awesome. Well, done kids.

We finally, after a short detour looking for some other cafe, got into Chicago. Out hotel... Hotel 71, is beautiful and makes me smile. We're a short distance from some sweet bars and the venue. Aaron and I spent an awesome night with some great cigars. Well, we're about roll over to the competiton. Much love to everyone! I'll do my best to keep everyone updated!

More News...

Well, after a bit of a battle, it sounds like our GB5 is running ever-so-smoothly at the Paradise Roastery. I'm excited. To actually have great tasting espresso at anytime at either job will be great. The problem we've had to deal with was in one of the copper compression lines related to the hot water jet on the front. But, now that's in the past. As a result of the new machine, we'll be offering our first espresso training classes on March 3. So, call the roastery (763-433-0626) for more details on how you can join in the fun and play with the new GB5...

If you haven't seen this then you're sure missing out. My good friend, Scott Lucey, is bearing it all in this issue of Barista Magazine. Scott's a rad due, and the article proves there are things happening here in the midwest.

We've been rocking the Espresso Havana at Kopplin's lately... well, I haven't, but our other baristas have (Story to come someday). Here's the shot I just had...
While this blog seems to be giving props to cool people in the world... I've got to give it up for my girl, Lizz Hudson, and the man- Mr. Duane Sorenson at Stumptown... This past week was the opening of their 4th cafe... on Valentines day. The shop, on the main level of the Ace Hotel, is amazing. 4 Clovers... putting us to shame. Power to the industry!

Well, finally, for now, I leave you with this... Here's a shot of our coffee menu as is right now. Notice the note about the Tolima Perez. Life isn't bad here in the 'Sota! Oh, and this Thursday we take off for Chicago! We'll be staying at Hotel 71 and I am excited to see everyone!

Dancin' Pat

Well, while I'm on a video kick... here's a crappy one taken with my phone a bit back. Enjoy as we celebrate some the terrible music we used to play in the shop...

Finger Lick'n Goodness...

Well, the GB5 is in. We've spent two days getting odd parts to make it work with the ridiculous water system the roastery has. Finally fixed it today... only to find a fastener needs to be tightened or the thing shoots water whenever we turn on the hot water jet. Either way, we can now pull shots that taste great... I'm loving it.

Pat, a good friend and hilarious co-worker at Kopplin's took this video of Andrew Milstead... one of our great baristas. I'm sure there will be more Kopplin's videos to come...

Where does your coffee come from?

Many of my friend this year have been able to visit coffee origins... Billy, Kevin, and Phoung all just got back from Guatemala. Scott Lucey is about to bust out to El Salvador, Nick Cho just spent some time with Ms. Batlle in El Salvador, and apparently, Jay Caragay is on his way to Ethiopia... I talked to Phoung the other day and spent some time checking out Billy's Flickr photos... and it's all got me wondering more and more about what it's like on the farms we buy coffee from.

Now, when I say what it's like... I don't mean, how hard is the work, or anything like that. I mean, how much do the farmers care about a) the human being working for them and b) the coffee they are producing. From start to finish... is the coffee being taken care of? Paradise is a small company and we don't have a huge travel budget, but I am becoming more and more uncomfortable with the idea of buying coffees, even great tasting ones, where we have no idea what's going on beyond what gets to us.

All the time we talk about specialty and relational coffee in the cafe... Getting to know your customers and all that jazz. I feel it needs to be just as relational with the farmers. If I had a mug in my hand right now I would raise it to the simple idea of continuing to raise standards and to making the world a better place!