The book has been fascinating for me. I didn’t become familiar with Specialty Coffee until 2003. Most of the history I’ve heard about this industry, Seattle coffee, and Starbucks has been blurry, and everyone I’ve talked to has had their own version. Hearing how things actually started has been enlightening. I really do believe it is important to know where we’ve come from to know where we are going.

That being said, the biggest fact that I’ve taken away from this book is that Third Wave coffee, as it has developed, has not seen anything new.

First of all, Starbucks started with the same dogmatic principles that most of us hold close to today. The only real difference between where many of us stand now and where Starbucks was in the 1970′s is that the founders believed that you had to buy the best green coffee because only high quality green could stand up to a dark roast profile. Now, granted, this is pretty counter to where we are today, but they still stood by grinding fresh and brewing with proper technique… In fact, I was most surprised to find that the reason Schultz even found Starbucks was because he worked in sales for a company that made a manual, pour-over style coffee brewer… And Starbucks was selling an unusually high number of these brewers.

In the books Schultz even talks about how Starbucks didn’t offer anything except whole milk until the early 1990′s. It was the issue of whether to serve nonfat milk that made Starbucks have to question where to draw the line on customer service vs. coffee quality.

At one point, Starbucks had to reevaluate it’s customer service policies. People were becoming too elitist in their customer interactions, steering away many first time customers. 

There are many issues brought up in this book that connect directly to trends and issues we’ve encountered in our modern version of Specialty Coffee. Obviously, as Starbucks has grown, customer service has trumped quality. However, it’s interesting to see that a business can grow to 25, 50, or 100 stores and maintain most of it’s fundamental beliefs in coffee.

With talk of growth and expansion, and rumors of mergers, this all makes me even more curious as to where Stumptown Coffee Corp is going… Or what Intelligentsia is building up for. Starbucks laid the groundwork… but what if someone grew a chain as big, but intended to hold Third Wave quality intact. Reading this book has me dreaming and wondering, “Is it possible?”

We’re a trash-talky industry. I’m a trash-talky kinda guy too. In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to give you all something positive to read. So, here is a list of some people doing amazing things that I wanted to highlight as my top 10 in 2011.

10. KONE 2.0 by Coava -The coffee world was pretty excited when the first KONE was released. However, it was 2.0 that really made the new device worth while. With a new hole design, the second variation of the KONE delivered the results that creator, Keith Gehrke, was looking for. Less sediment, cleaner cup, easier to brew… Score.

9. Jared Linzmeier moves to Caffe Ladro- I worked with Jared when he was first hired at Intelligentsia. He’s a sharp guy who just gets it. As of last week, Jared is now a Seattle resident and the new Director of Coffee for Ladro. Caffe Ladro is a Seattle institution, but has not been synonymous with high quality. From what I’ve heard, the plans are quite ambitious to update the company on all fronts. With 13 existing cafes, if done right, this could really elevate coffee in Seattle for 2012.

8. Pete Licata wins the USBC- Pete has always been a strong competitor and a hard worker. There are few competitors who know how to play by the rules and the score sheets quite as well as he does. He’s also been working hard at this for a long time. He was there during my first USBC experience in 2006. Not only did he win the competition, but he did it with coffee from Hawaii, something I’d say most of us had written off as gimmick and not quality. You cannot hate on someone when you’ve seen them work as hard as Pete has.

7. Extraordinary Coffee Workshop (Los Angeles)- This was the third year of Intelligentsia’s ECW event. What made this year special is that rather than go to the producers, Intelligentsia brought the producers to Los Angeles. In the past, there has been an open invitation for baristas to fly themselves to the ECW, but to have the event in LA gives the baristas such an opportunity on other levels. Yes, there are meet the producer events going on elsewhere, but this was a week of shutting down businesses for education and inspiration. Pretty rad if you ask me…

6. Milstead & Co. opens in Seattle- Andrew Milstead and I have known each other a good while. It’s extremely exciting to see someone I worked with open their own business. Even more so, it’s also exciting to see someone start what I’ll openly call the most progressive coffee bar in the Northwest Region of the US. There are few coffee bars here where I can order an espresso and get a proper volume. Andrew is also one of the few to bring an entirely brew-by-the-cup program to the NW. His menu is slim, you won’t find decaf, but you’ll get excellent service and a delicious beverage.

5. Heart Coffee Roasters- Until recently, I probably visited Heart more when I lived in Los Angeles than when I’ve lived here. But one thing really grabbed my attention… The coffee. Specifically, it’s the roast profiles. Owner, Ville, takes a much more Scandinavian approach to roasting. The coffees burst with acidity and sweetness. In a market where so many play it safe, Heart is a breath of fresh air. Heart’s espresso, Stereo, is getting great reviews around the country. They are working towards relationship coffee. Recently, Heart opened a second coffee bar across town inside a bike shop. It’s still a small company, but the coffee coming out of it is super exciting.

4. Intelli-Town-Both Intelligentsia and Stumptown have seen big changes in 2011. Intelligentsia has seen a fair amount of employees go for all kinds of reasons (See #’s 9 & 3), as well as, has taken on a new C0-CEO to work with Doug Zell. It seems like decisions are being made to shape Intelligentsia for growth and a bright future. A healthy chunk of Stumptown Coffee Corporation has been purchased by TSG, and with it, Stumptown is looking to put coffee everywhere it can. They’ve taken steps to boost benefits for employees, and we’ve all seen the cold brew bottles. Both companies will be exciting to watch in 2012 as things continue to develop… and you have to wonder if this kind of growth ever crossed the minds of Sorenson and Zell when they opened their first coffee bar/roastery operations in SE Portland and Chicago?

3. Handsome Coffee Roaster- Starting your own business seems like the thing to do if you win the World Barista Championship. But, if you had ever asked me if I thought Mike Philips would have been one to do it, I wouldn’t have even dreamed it. But that’s what’s great about Mike. He just comes off as content wherever he is. Bottom line. He’s got a brilliant team around him, too. Tyler Wells is more tenacious than a Honey Badger. Chris Owen’s is great at whatever he puts his mind to… What’s extremely significant about Handsome is the fact that they are in Los Angeles. See… whatever is cool in Los Angeles, will find it’s way into the spotlight of the entertainment industry… and the more cool, coffee companies can put themselves in that spotlight, the better it will be for all of us around the world.

2. Madcap Coffee- What a year it has been for a small roaster in Grand Rapids, Michigan! Two of the top six baristas in the US come from Madcap. Stacey Wieck, of Madcap, was in the 2011 US Brewers Cup finals. Now, the company is expanding to Washington DC! I’d say great things are certainly to come for Madcap!

1. Alejandro Mendez wins the 2011 World Barista Championship- One of the themes I remember seeing for Bogota, was something like “Baristas go to origin,” Well, they did, and then the competitor representing a coffee producing country took the prize home! Not only did Alejandro win, but he had one of the most inspiring and educational performances I’ve ever seen. His performance was the kind I hope many future competitors will steal from for inspiration.

There you have it… Epic things that occurred this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2012 will bring!

See, I went to school to be a musician. I used to write a ton of music. As I got older, I got more self-conscious. Where when I was younger, I would write and say anything- putting thought, feeling, and emotion into whatever I wanted to. Every now and again, I still try to write, but I’ve lost a naive sense to just write what I felt. This blog has become the same sort of thing. I no longer just post. I ended up thinking twice about everything I write.

I’m trying to say that I still feel the same sort of naive nature in this industry. Like, anything is possible… and we NEED to change so much of what we do to actually be regarded, world-wide, as a specialty product. I’m hoping to take advantage of my youthful, over-ambitious opinions while I’m still young enough not to become jaded and think things are impossible.

This has been floating around the web. It really bums me out. I’m not addressing the places he visited or the quality of the beverages he had… Although, if you want to talk about pretentious, how about complaining publicly about the price of a cup of coffee that was purchased for you?

Or this-

“Earlier in the day I visited a busy Peet’s in Santa Monica. The only caffeinated choice in the urn was Italian Roast, which I of course scolded them for even brewing (“the only thing worse would be French Roast”). “

My real issue with Kevin’s thoughts is that if you want this industry to progress, then do not complain about high prices. Those prices are what allow retail businesses to actually thrive not just survive.

High prices in retail also allow companies like Intelligentsia to actually take care of their employees. I’m not talking about health insurance and a free ticket to see Slayer… I’m talking about 401k taken-care-of. They may be charging some of the highest prices, but they’re sure paying better wages that most of the Third-Wave establishments out there.

Finally, I do not like batch brewing for the same reason I do not like the Clover. I hate the illusion that you need some expensive piece of equipment to brew great coffee. Whether it’s a single-cup machine or a Fetco, I’d rather showcase beautiful coffees on the same methods customers can purchase and use at home.

Fuck. Teach people to make excellent coffee at home and then their palates judge what is quality and what is not.

It’s exciting to see that everyone has bounced back from our ‘dark ages’ of the Clover, and the belief that it took automation to make great coffee. I mean, I think it is safe to say that the 10k price tag on the Clover machine scared many businesses away from the idea of single serve coffee.

Specifically in the Northwest of the United States, it seems that everyone is implementing pour-over in some manner or fashion. But often times, I think the wrong message is being broadcast, and coffee enthusiasts are getting the wrong idea.

It’s never been about pour-over coffee. It’s not about the V60, the Wave, the Kone, or any one brewing method. It’s about coffee that is made to order, gives customers more options, and it’s about creating a stage for which you can showcase your coffees.

I’m saying this simply because I’m seeing so many pour-over programs that are lacking execution. Or worse, business that put manual coffee on the menu, next to their Fetco, only to see their brew methods sit and collect dust.

In some ways, it feels like many of these businesses are simply trying to keep up with the cool club.

The absolute worst situations I’ve come across are the folks who offer chemex, offer V60, or offer a melitta option, but have no means of getting water at a proper temperature… Maybe they pull off the coffee brewer, maybe the espresso machine… It’s like the get ‘it’ but they miss the mark.

So, what am I getting at? I guess my point is, don’t do something if you’re not going to do it well. Commit to the things you believe in. Why throw a V60 option on your menu if you’re yet to brew one that you even enjoy over your Fetco?

And if you’re going to commit to manually brewing coffee, remember why it’s a great option over batch brewed coffee. Commit to the right equipment. I mean, even a $99 induction burner can change your world with manual coffee.

Above all else, forget about the method. Showcase the coffee. Pick coffees that actually shine in the chosen brewing method… and just get people excited about the personalized experience they get to have.

I want the espresso machine version… I’ve been lucky enough to have been playing with the Strada EP for a few months now. It’s pretty epic. A serious game changer. I’m not even going to hint that I might know a thing about profiling pressure yet. I know Hoffmann, Wendelboe, and a small crew have been making the real head-way in that department.

What I’m saying would be rad… and by rad, I mean RAD! Is a machine that could be profiled and programmed to replicate the temperature and pressure of a range of older machines. Imagine you want to taste a coffee on something that replicated the effects of a Faema E61, a La Pavoni Lever, or a GS2.

I’m dreaming of a machine that surfs temperature… and replicated the instability of an older machine. Something that changes pressure as well… “Auto lever” if you will. In some ways, I guess I’m trying to bridge the gap between ‘going where we’ve never gone before’ and ‘recreating the past.’

That said, I’ve been wondering… What is more important? The relationship between a barista and their grinder or the relationship between the barista and the burr set? James Hoffmann has been trying get some momentum built on this topic here.

I had a brief conversation with Mike Phillips about his experience in London. Asking how he managed to get all his gear over seas… and how did he pull off two Robur-E’s. He said he borrowed two roburs and brought with him the two sets of burrs he had been working with.

To me, this was genius. It’s also a lesson in priorities. In the past few months, I’ve ran coffee through and broken in a dozen new e-grinders or so… all of them settling out differently. Different grind times for certain dosers. Variations of speed. I’m wondering, what is different between them all? Is it the grinder or the burr set?

I feel like I could get better at or find a more consistent way to break in new grinders. Could I have one Robur-E that is constantly set up to throw new burr sets into, then run a set amount of coffee through them, so they all break in the same? Would they break in the same? Is there anyway to get a consistent result? Or does it vary from burr set to burr set… From date of manufacturing?

I’ve never had a problem voicing how much I like the Robur-E. I really do. I just want to know how much of what I love is a specific burr set or the grinder itself? Which has the greater impact?

Everything has shipped and is packed. My parents are coming to Houston, as well. They are the kind of parents who never give up on ‘being there.’ This bothered me when I lived in Los Angeles. Really… The added pressure of how much my parents spend coming to see me compete doesn’t help anything… However, since they are close and convenient to me now… I’ve realized they can actually help. So, they are bringing half of my coffee with them tomorrow. Flossin’.

My kitchen was turned packaging room yesterday… heat sealer and all. Four batches. Two roast dates of a super clean, lighter profile, and two roast dates of a slightly tweaked espresso profile. The coffee… Duromina. But more on this to come through-out the week…