an apology

sorry it's been so long since i updated this jam.
i moved. moving just totally throws me through a loop every time. i've moved 6 times since i've lived in pittsburgh. a bunch of bad living sitchs and unfortunate timings. but now.... everything is gravy. i love my new living situation. a big rambling house close to work with some people who appreciate coffee! yes!
i find myself, on my days off, making lattes on the stovetop espresso maker, and making french presses for my roommates and our assorted guests. on the weekend of thanksgiving, i ended up giving a few lessons on the correct way to make a french press to our guests, staysee and dave, and my roommates jason, monika, and emilie. totally the raddest way to experience coffee at home.
i've been really digging the B&B nicaragua los milagros lately. i've been making it as both espresso and as french press in the mornings i dont have to work. it's really nice and sweet with hints of dark fruits like cherries and plums with some chocolate too. so nice anytime of day.
i havent been getting out so much to experience the coffee scene these days, though i did come second place in a latte art throwdown recently. i am determined to win next time though.
competition is quickly approaching and i'm beginning to feel a little stressed about it.i'm sure i will be fine. i need some experience on an aurelia though. that is what i am most stressed over i think. i've got most stuff set in stone as far as my 'spro and my drinks and my prep time and other stuff. i need a few run throughs and a few xanax and i'm sure i'll do okay. i really would like the bar to be raised for pittsburgh as far as coffee goes.
in addition to preparing for competition, i'm working on a business proposal that may change the face of things to come in the burgh coffee scene. i'll keep you posted. but i am very excited about it all. a bit too much. i might pee my pants from the excitement or is that the obscene amount of coffee i drank today?

joe van gogh

my mom sent me some awesome coffees from my hometown of durham,nc.
the name of the roaster is joe van gogh. it's all fairtrade and mostly organic and i'll tell you, the coffee is incredible. she sent some guatemala and some costa rica and some sumatra that i did not try because i pretty much always hate indonesian coffees. the costa rica was sweet and had some maple syrup and some tangy citrus. very very tasty. and the guatemala was smooth and chocolatey and spicey at the finish. if you're ever in the triangle area, look up joe van gogh. i wish i had gone to the shop they have on duke campus, but as a rule i avoid duke campus like the plague. my mom went in there and started talking about how her daughter is a coffeegeek/barista and the owner got really excited and told her to tell me that i was invited to come to the roasting works when i'm in town next. which is typical NC fashion; invite the relative of a complete stranger into your home/workplace/bedroom.

on other topics of coffee news..... we did the african coffee cupping today. it was pretty cool. we "cupped" batdorf & bronson's kenya AA, ethiopia sidamo, ethiopia harrar, yemen, and kenya peaberry. i made french presses of each and had a "calibration table" that had a bunch of stuff that would get everyone's noses and palates ready for tasting the nuances in the coffees. strawberries, blueberries, currants, scotch, lapsong souchong, jasmine, molasses, lemon zest and butterscotch. yum. it was a great cupping, even though we didnt do the traditional sniff/sniff/break/taste/talk/sniff/taste cupping, it was good to facilitate discussion in another way. taking away the technical aspects of the cupping helped us talk mroe about the coffee than about the method of the cupping, which was way cool.

anyway. till next time.

october events

please come to tazza d'oro these days for good times and great coffee.

october 23rd- an african coffee cupping. this is open to the public. we will have a variety of african coffees to taste along with a "calibration" table to get everyone's olfactory nerves in sync.

october 29th- a Halloween themed latte art throwdown. $5 to enter. freepour only.each competitor gets one attempt at making a beautiful 12 oz double latte in the first round ( 4 minutes each) and then in the second round the top 5 scoring lattes from the first round will get one more chance to out-do each other. there will be no "warm-ups" or "second tries". what you pour is what is judged. we will have some kind of food and refreshments. call the shop if you have any questions . 412-478-8533

NC day two

we woke up and ate a very belabored breakfast and late breakfast at mom's. had some of the batdorf and bronson organic nicaragua isabelia with our tofu scramble and toast. very delish. went through chapel hill on our way to asheville and killed some time at surplus sid's which is such an awesome military surplus store. thought about stopping somewhere to get a quick cup before the drive but said "fuggit " and got on the road. we eventually touched down in asheville around 7. we had seen some epic sunset on our way but we were unbelievably hungry so immediately set out for rosetta's, which has the BEST food in all of asheville. got the peanut butter tofu,greens, sweet potato fries and gravy. so good. and then went over to izzy's to see dean and make plans for meeting up after he finished work. walked around and showed randy my old haunts, ran into some people i hadnt seen in years. it turns out that dean lives right next to the dripolator's new location on biltmore ave. and i resolved to get a capp there in the morning. the driploator carries counter culture which seems to have a sort of monoculture here in NC. instead of a capp i got a cup of drip mexico organic which was chocolatey and spicy. yummy. we wokred our way over to the tupelo honey cafe for breakfast. earlier i had made the joke that asheville is the place to go if you like having some hot girl serve you organic eggs first thing in the morning. there are like 10 breakfast only restaurants in town. but still with the saturation of breakfast joints there is still an almost hour long wait for a table at tupelo when we arrive. but we do it anyway. we got the biscuits with milk gravy and soysage, goat cheese grits and fried green tomatoes with more biscuits and peach butter. so good. when were sufficiently stuffed we went to izzy's to get a cappucino from dean, which was tremedous . i love izzy's.i love asheville. moreoever, i love good food. we're home now and ready to get back to work.

NC day one

the flights down here were pretty horrible. cramped seating,drunk moms, screaming children. but being greeted by my mom at the airport was good. i was so happy to see her and her partner. got back to her house to see that the kitchen had been completely remodeled with solid marble counter tops and stainless steel everything plus bamboo flooring. very posh and very comfortable to snack in!
we woke up friday morning with the intention of a) getting a good cup of coffee and b)taking care of the business i came down here for.
the first part was a lot harder than it sounds. i really wanted to go to this place called 3cups, that i'd never been to before ( check out their website www.3cups.net). it sounded and looked exactly what i was looking for in a cup of coffee. unfortunately they were closed. boo! then my mom recommended that we go to shadetree coffee on erwin road, which looked like it was permanently closed. boo! so we walked over to the building that she works in to the coffee shop they have on the bottom floor. port city java. upon walking, i noticed their fully automatic e(X)presso machine. i order an organic sumatra coffee. it had no syrupy body whatsoever. it was bland and i dont think that they used the standard 2 tablespoons per 6 oz of water rule. boo!
we gave up on getting coffee and focused on records and thrift stores which this area has a plentiful array of, but stumbled upon parker & otis where the old fowler's grocery used to be. the lady working the coffee bar had a great knowledge of the counter culture coffees and sold me 4 1/4 pounds of different coffees to take back to pittsburgh.she also made me a cappucino which was very tasty but the milk was steamed in the old way, not the microfoam way and was a bit dry for my liking. but eh. i was satisfied after having looked allover for a decent cup all day.
after dinner at watts grocery, an all local foods restaurant on broad st., we went to caffe driade for some coffee after some more record shopping. the guy behind the counter suggested the tanzania in a press pot and i took the bait. it was really delicious. it was light in body and mouthfeel, with some really nice floral aromatics. some serious dried apricots and cherry flavor notes with a robust tobacco note to finish. a great cup of coffee. i almost walked away with the tiny 12 oz bodum they had handed over to me, but my guilt got the best of me. it would have been a great souvenir from the day that coffee was not to be had.
later we discovered that we had missed a public cupping @ the counter culture roasting works earlier in the day. for that i am kicking myself, but now i know what to look forward to next time i visit: avoid coffeeshops in durham, full stop. only go to driade and go to the cuppings @ CCC fridays @ 10am.

regular?

just fyi- "regular" is not a size of cup.
thanks,sugartits.

i'm heading down south for a few days, to durham,nc and asheville. expect updates of coffee i have consumed. hopefully i'll get pictures too. if i can get another camera in the next 24 hours.

oh geez

so apparently the WBC machine sponsor for 2009 is nuova simonelli and the aurelia model is the one we will be using at the mid-atlantic barista competition this year, which will take place february 7-9th at the cranberry marriott. dang. i test drove that machine last time i was in atlanta. i liked the shots that it pulled but i hated the steam action. it is a lever that can be pulled out all the way for full steam pressure or half way to control your pressure a bit more, but the lever can be a bit erradic and i think that when nerves take over, i will have a tendency to lose control of the steam pressure and make a huge huge mess. i am getting nervous and wonder if there is a way to practice using this machine and not alienate the shops that have one. is that possible? who even has one of these in pittsburgh? i have no clue. perhaps some obscure shop in the north hills that no one ever goes to, well off the beaten path.
my plan: i already have my sig drinks worked out ( a smidge different than the previous stated recipe on this here blog). i was planning on flying out to the west in january to do a little hands on with some folks out there, who definitely have an aurelia. so i'll just gear my "hands on" to be more "competition on".
the aurelia is a good machine but i am kind of shocked to see that lamarzocco is not the sponsor. i've been hearing some good shit about them recently, mostly about their relationship with intelligentsia, which is totally sick, what they are doing together.
more to come on my illicit love affair with intelligentsia.

the rumor mill

rumor has it gthat the mid-atlantic barista championships will be held in pittsburgh this year. joy. guess who's hosting it? kiva han.
better them than us.
expect the shop to be kicking it into high gear for PR and hosting meet and greets and the like. it's gonna be stellar.
i'm so pumped for this to happen already.

what?

i read this post on the roboto project board this afternoon. it kind of blew my mind that people come to the shop that are cool and are associated with roboto in any way.

http://board.nevertellmetheodds.org/t.php?id=78233&r=27

just sayin'.... if you are into coffee, come here and try the ethiopia sidamo. that shit is the jam! it is a washed organic coffee from ethiopia. pretty rare, my friends.some dried fruit and lemon zest notes along with sort of a carmel aroma. when i brew this it reminds me of my dad's house and also the renowned coffee shop in my hometown, betty's tea rooms.

also, if you are a barista, contemplate this: the 'spro down in chi-town, october 2nd. you in?
i'll be organizing some events in october. a latte art throwdown and a few cuppings. i'll keep this updated to let all y'all know.

random note

last night, when we were riding our bikes through east liberty, we ran into someone my friend knew. this person, that we ran into, is a reputable chef in pittsburgh. for serious. has had articles written about him and shit. so he's working on a new project, that as he was describing it, i realized parallels my own hopes and dreams for owning a business. this guy is going to do something fucking awesome. there is no way that this guy will not succeed. soul food in east liberty. done right. with veggie options. and community involvement. i hope he puts in an espresso bar too and lets me be guest barista. i am so psyched for this guy. and his food which is phenomenal.or so i've heard. i've never been able to afford it.=(

unhappiness is......

really wanting a cappuccino and not wanting to have to go to work to get a proper one.
i am DONE with going to the shop around the corner to get coffee on my days off. it is horrible and i am currently alternating typing with scraping my tongue, to get that disgusting flavor out of my mouthhole.
i could go to the strip to get coffee from matt @ la prima or from luke @ 21st st. but then i have a huge hill to conquer on my way home.... boo to that too!
i am undercaffeinated an not too pleased about it.

signature drinks

so every barista that competes on a regional level knows about the terror of having to create a signature beverage and be judged on how good it tastes, smells, texture ,etc. the signature beverage is a drink that has at least one shot of espresso, and has ingredients that enhance the flavor profile of the espresso, and really embodies a barista's passion for coffee. last year, i made a drink that was not unlike a macchiato. at the base of a 3 oz glass, i mixed raw cocoa and heavy cream, then poured a shot of 'spro on top, then topped that with some milk foam made with milk that had been infused with cherries and orange zest. i thought it really brought out the qualities of the espresso blend that i was using. but i didnt score high on creativity. but from looking at my scoresheets, judges seemed to enjoy the drink and my explanation, but not creative enough. damn shawty. i thought that my drink was the jam (though it had ALOT of prep). so after competition, i went back to the drawing board. i really wanted to embody the great sweet citrus quality of the 'spro. i also wanted to highlight the coffee and it's origins and it's quality. so, i decided to use ingredients that are grown between the tropics of cancer and capricorn for my drink. that included alot of tropical fruits, cane sugar, limes, coconuts, macadamia nuts. so why not use all of those?
yesterday, i made my first run of sig bevs for the people i was working with at the shop. first, i rimmed a glass with lime and dipped it into raw cane sugar, then some coconut milk in the bottom of the glass with a shot of 'spro over it and finished with a drop of macadamia nut oil. it was pretty damn good. a bit too sweet perhaps, buti'm going to tweak it until i'm ready to present it again. but overall, i think this may be the path i choose for highlighting my espresso at the next regionals.
i'm also thinking of including some other ingredients such as mango and nutmeg, perhaps cocoa and also cayenne(???)
until next time.......

a story about mushy pucks......

so as we all know, a soggy puck is a sure sign of overextraction with espresso.
the snobbery in pittsburgh has reached a whole new low when a local fave barista is nicknamed "mushy pucks" by other local coffeeshop workers. i kind of love it though.
what's a mean nickname that you have for a rival barista or someone who you hate to see on the GB5/synesso/linea on saturday mornings, just wasting espresso like there's no tomorrow?

piss off the barista in twenty seconds flat

i try to not get so pissed off when i'm behind the bar but there are some things that really cannot be helped.
#1 saying "i'll just have......( insert complicated drink order here)..... to go"
yeah. there is no "just" about a triple short decaf mocha dry cappuccino. there is nothing simple and staright forward about that drink order. don't say it. also dont say "gimme". i really detest rudeness. say please, thank you and tip your barista. and when i ask you how you are, dont reply with your drink order. i may not be ready to take your order and i'm just being nice. you'll have to repeat your order when i ask "what can i get for you?".
#2 customers expecting table service when there are 4 people behind the bar but a line of twenty.
do not ever expect table service. anywhere. take a moment and observe. is the barista calling out orders as they are completed? are customers waiting for their drinks close to the counter? if they are, do as they do. and do not expect the barista to drop everything to make your order before everyone elses. despite what you may think, there is a ryhme and a reason and a line of drink orders that need to be done before we can get you your grande skinny decaf latte.
#3 ordering $39.93 worth of pastries and drinks, paying with two twenties and saying "keep the change."
on average baristas, make minimum wage. a seven cent tip split 4 ways is not only insulting, but totally degrading.
you say, get a higher paying job. we say, fuck you we like our jobs, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TIP AT LEAST %10 ON POURED COFFEE, 20 % ON ESPRESSO.
#4 not knowing your order and expecting the person behind the counter who has never waited on you to know what your "usual" is.
#5 changing your order 3 times after you have paid and the drink ticket is in the queue to be made while the barista "on bar" is making twenty drinks. trying to order directly from the person "on bar" when they are in the middle of steaming milk and concentrating on getting all those drinks out fast. it's the equivalent of walking into the kitchen of a restaurant to order directly from the head chef.dont fucking do it.

REMEMBER: A BARISTA IS A SKILLED CRAFTSPERSON, NOT A DISHWASHER, NOT A WAITSTAFF, NOT A TABLE BUSSER.

snobbery 101

you have got to love coffee.
i mean, it is liquid gold. it has such variety, such pizazz. what is not to love? from diner coffee at 3am to the double ristretto you get on your way to the office, it all has it's good qualities.
i am by no means an expert. i am a coffee slinger at a shop here in the iron city. i train new hires in the art and craft of espresso. i enjoy talking about coffee with people who dont care about half the shit that comes out of my mouth. i dont care that all they want to hear is how much it costs. i just want to show off my coffee knowledge. it's pretty much the only thing that seperates me from a dishwasher or a line cook.
i love coffee. did i mention that?
i had my first cup at 6 years old. it was fucking gross over roasted french roast made in a french press. the shit my dad likes.i liked the bitterness. i started working in coffee when i was in highschool. i was a manager at the coffee bar in the gourmet grocery store in my hometown. it was fucking miserable work but i got to use counter culture coffee, based out of my hometown, for the first time. it was my first experience with specialty coffee and i really liked what i saw. nevertheless, i was fired from that job because i was still in high school and couldnt commit to a 40 hour work week.
imagine that.
i've worked with counter culture coffee a few more times in the last ten years, however, it is batdorf & bronson's coffee that really gets me. i love their single origins, especially the ethiopian coffees. i also really love intelligentsia's single origins. i like their black cat espresso, but i think it tends to taste ashy when it is even a second over extracted.
there will be more to come, my dear afficianados. there will be more. but now i must go into the fray and educate the IRL masses on good coffee.