What to do with all those cold brew stubbies

A beautiful arrangement by Katie Davis.

All the Right Equipment - Barista = 0

The right equipment is nothing without a skilled barista behind it all. Love working with a team of talented baristas.

Single Origin Gorilla

Gorillas love Saturdays. It means we're pulling two single origin espressos. And we love gorillas.

Professional Baristas

There is a certain small, but growing, segment of the coffee industry that began looking at the barista position as more just a short-term, get-me-through-college job. We have taken seriously an art-like approach this drink - calling ourselves coffee professionals and professional baristas. However, just because we're serious about coffee, doesn't mean we need to take ourselves too seriously. I've seen this too much in the coffee world - excellent coffee craftsmen who are less than excellent hosts. There is this air of superiority, "I can brew better coffee than you. That makes me more valuable than the rest of you peons." This needs to go.


So, here we find ourselves - professional baristas - taking the art of coffee very seriously. But let's not mix our egos into our craft. There is a time to poke a little fun at ourselves, because - let's face it - we're just nerds.

 

Cupping Coffee with Stephen Vick

Last month I get a tweet from Stephen Vick saying, "hey, I'm in town. Have some coffee to cup. Interested?" To which, of course, I replied... "YES!" It was a good chance to learn from someone who's been in the industry for a decade, to hang out with a friend, and to taste some bomb coffee. Intelligentsia, Ecco, Blue Bottle, and Four Barrel represented on the table, including an coffee from Ethiopia Stephen helped source. Incredible coffee and enlightening conversation - what could be better?

Best of luck in your transitions these coming weeks, Stephen. I appreciate your willingness to pass on your knowledge and your friendship.

Baristas as Models

Christmas was a good excuse to be goobers and strike a couple poses. I thought I'd share a few of those poses.

Stumptown's Grand Cru Cupping

This is why we love working with Stumptown. Matt Brown and Skip Colombo came down packing five Grand Cru coffees from their new coffee release for us to cup. 


Minds were blown. 


These are some of the best coffees in the world, and we feel so privileged to be able to taste them. The astonishing care behind El Injerto's Peaberry, the surprising single side of the spectrum La Cima brought as a micro-lot of a coffee we know well, the gorgeous complexity of the Gaturiri, the crowning achievement of El Salvador's coffee rock star, Aida's Grand Reserve, and the fabeled Esmeralda.


It's coffees like these that will push the limits and change the face of our industry.

Siphon - Brewing Coffee in Salem

My friend, Eugene (Eugene Pavlov Photography) recently took some pictures to document the Siphon pot. Here is what he created:

Coffee Tastings and a Birthday at Broadway Coffeehouse - September

Brothers 

Happy 1st birthday to Broadway Coffeehouse! The crew dishing out Chemexes. 

Matt Brown from Stumptown telling stories at our birthday party.

Beau and Cate Stumberg - Brother/sister barista team.

This is the most epic picture. Ever.