While I was in Portland, I heard several comments from people that got the gears turning a bit more about single origin espresso vs. a blend. A few times I heard people make comments about how a particular single origin had maybe been sweet, but now is spicy… but how it’s always delicious. Follow that up, though, with how it’s great, but how it isn’t too universal because it’s not as complex as a blend.

At the new Intelligentsia store in Venice, there are two grinders for every barista. One, hold black cat, and the other, holds a single origin coffee. The single origins haven’t been coffee that was roasted in any special way for espresso, rather, they are production roasts. We’ve followed that now in the Silverlake store. I held a tasting, the other day, with a few of the guys that I work with. We tasted all the coffees that we were serving as brewed coffee, but we pulled them as espresso.

As we went through the line up we discussed each coffee. Talking about where the coffee comes from, how is it processed. What about the origin of the coffee was affecting the flavors we were experiencing. We talked a ton about temperature and its effect on flavor.

I chose to set the machine (A Synesso) at 201.5 degrees Fahrenheit. My dose was low, as I was aiming for around 18 grams in a (Synesso) triple basket. The espresso ran between 21 and 29 seconds (varying between the 4 coffees). Each coffee had such unique character. So many flavors emerged throughout the experience, from craisins, red delcious apple, maple, figs, smokey bbq, meyer lemon, bubble gum, watermelon candy, and the list goes on…

The thing that was consistent about the tasting what how easily perceptable the flavors were. The layers of flavor were absolutely lovely in each coffee. Nothing tasted bad. The espressos that were rough, we held discussions around how we could improve the extraction (be it temperature, grind, dose, etc. ).

It got me thinking more about what I had heard before… Does an espresso need to be complex? What’s wrong with a coffee that is easy to explain? It’s almost like a barista competition, where I’d rather have one coffee to fill my customers in on than to have 3 or 4 to try to share about. There’s a part of me that is a constant coffee evangelist… and that’s the part that goes crazy for single origin espresso. I get tired of the conversations where I ask someone what’s in their coffee and I get the standard response, “It’s a Brazil, a little Sumatra, and an Ethiopia.” Okay… well, what Brazil? Where’s that Sumatra from? and where’d you get that Ethiopia? I wanna know!

In the end, the biggest reason why I love single origin coffee so much is because those are the espressos I remember. Call me Morrissey, but if there are only 10-15 good espressos I’ve had in my life, then probably 3 have been from a blend.

Just a quick word on my recent trip to Portland… after a few days of reflecting on it all. Definitely the most stressful trip home ever. What was supposed to be a 15 minute vehicle emissions test, turned into 48 hours of running around, back to the mechanic, back to the test, driving to get the on board diagnostic system to run it’s test, and then running back to try to retest. I got to know the people at the emissions test well. I never passed… They just told me to call their offices and fill out a form. I felt very defeated on the trip back to Los Angeles.

I had some pretty epic cups of coffee during my time there. Notable was the first espresso I had on the trip. I stopped on the drive up to say hello to the wonderful crew at Verve. Chris Baca seems quite happy, and I’m stoked for him. He pulled me an SO El Salvador that set me straight.

On the drive up, I debated whether I would have time to hit my old home turff at Lava Java. Ironically, I ended up there every morning. All week long they were pulling Stumptown’s single origin Panama Carmen Estate. Each morning I had a 5 oz. americano made with the stuff, and it was interesting to see how the coffee developed. Lime citrus, brown sugar sweetness, all the while, maintaining a clean finish on the palate.

My first day in town, I made my way to Coffee House Northwest. Possibly my favorite barista in all of Portland, Daniel Gunther, made me several drinks, all using a coffee from the Muraba Coop in Rwanda. Sweet black cherry sweetness, and a molassis finish made both the espresso and a cappuccino terrific.

Honestly, I think my favorite part of this trip was the lack of hairbender. Don’t get it twisted and think I’m hating all over the place… I would say the same thing about black cat if I was in Chicago. It says something about how the coffee scene is maturing when I can go to several coffee bars and get good espresso that is not the same thing. I had black cat, I had coffee from Rwanda, I had coffee from panama, I had a coffee from Bolivia, and I had hairbender.

I had coffee with friends and old customers whom I hadn’t seen in quite awhile, and in the end, that was what made the trip. I’ll probably forget what single origin it was that I had with that 5 oz americano, but I won’t forget the three ladies I was sitting with.

It was shortly after I landed in Los Angeles, that I began to hear murmurings from Doug Zell about importing our own coffee. At the time, I knew enough to make a good cup, but I had little understanding of what actually importing coffee would mean. To me, Intelligentsia importing our own coffee was simply a sign we were growing. Maybe business was getting better. I really didn’t think it would have much of an affect on me, a barista.

Here we are, two years later. We’re importing many (almost all) of our own Central and South American coffees on our own. I have a little bit more knowledge of coffee and the path it takes from seed to cup, but I still have a lot of questions. Regardless, I am seeing why importing was such an exciting endeavor to Doug.

Start with the Flecha Roja (Our project in Costa Rica), which we just started serving in the last couple of weeks. The coffee arrived a little late last year (which means even later for our Los Angeles roasting facility) and so we didn’t get to begin serving it until sometime in late summer. I remember how much anticipation there was for this coffee during most of June and July. We were so excited to taste it.

Upon arrival, the coffee was stunning for about three weeks. Then, quickly, it began to lose it’s luster. It didn’t show defect. It didn’t taste rotten. It just wasn’t the same coffee we first had. The brilliant pop! that had us excited, was gone.

It’s June 20, and we’ve already been serving this coffee for a couple weeks. It’s arrived so much sooner, you can almost feel that the green still needs to settle a bit before the coffee will peak. It’s still got that pop, and shows only signs of getting sweeter, with more clear and perceptible flavor.

Yesterday, June 19, we released the coffee from our project in Guatemala. Last year, this coffee was released on August 1st. That means that things are arriving 6 weeks ahead of last year. So, where in 2008, the coffee was sitting in a warehouse, waiting for a boat. This year, it’s already in my hands. I, the barista, am already preparing and serving coffees that last year were just sitting there.

I guess that’s what importing our own coffee means. Nothing is waiting. We’re getting to experience these coffees as the world should. Fresh, poppin‘, and with little delay.

My favorite question that I get from customers is “Who do you get your coffee from?” or “Where does your coffee come from?” They’re such innocent questions, and in a city filled with hyped businesses that come and go as quickly as our seasonal coffees do, I love to take that moment to tell them about how the store they are in is merely a small piece of bigger pie… And how it is the work outside of retail that really makes our coffee worth the experience.

Well, friends, another competition season is over. You can tell because of how quiet the online coffee world has become. My lack of blogging is a fine example. However, I think I’ve finally come out of my “Post Competition Depression (PCD)” cave. It’s something I’ve come to face every year since 2006. You gear up for a regional, step into the USBC, hopes are high, you’re on bar 30-40 hours a week, and spending countless time practicing after-hours, and then, it’s over… Suddenly you’re not traveling anywhere for awhile, your friends were left behind somewhere a couple of weeks before that regional, and you’re really not sure what else you do anymore, beyond compete and practice. Yeah… I’m glad I’m coming out of that.

In fact, there’s a lot to be excited about. My Intelli Family has recently doubled in LA. I posted some photos a bit ago capturing some of the BBQ we hosted at our place… Thanks Kyle, my fridge is still full of meat! It’s exciting to have awhole new crew training and preparing to do something epic. It makes me reflect and appreciate all the time we spent in the training lab at our roasting works. The foundation they are laying is going to play a huge roll in how the next 3-6 months of their lives will play out.

I’m anxious for the Venice store to open. Personally, I live too close and spend too much time at the Silverlake store to enjoy coffee there. I drink it and I love what we’re serving, but it’s that whole “most memorable cup” thing where it’s more about the context in which you are drinking coffee that matters more than what you are drinking.

In fact, while on the subject, I’d say these are the top 5 cups in my life so far…

1. Post USBC 2008 Ecco Experimental Espresso III @ Kopplin’s in St. Paul, MN

2. Hairbender, as Billy Wilson walked me through the layers of flavor. (My 1st straight espresso, Sept. 2003)

3. My first Cafe Niko @ Vivace Roasteria with my friend Ashley, sometime close to midnight, with still a drive back to Portland ahead of us.

4. !st experience at Broadway Intelligentsia, post an 8 hour drive from Minnesota to Chicago (Feb. 2005). My espresso was automatically served in paper (WTF). But it was the first good espresso I’d tasted in probably 5 months.

5. The French Pressed Kenya that Drew Cattlin, Chris Baca, Brent Fortune, Jared Truby, Devin Pedde, and I pan roasted last year over a campfire. (Looking forward to doing that again this year… it tasted like lemonade).

Anyway, I’m looking forward to more of those cups at the new coffee bar opening soon. The party, which I’m sure most of you have heard about it, is a week from tomorrow (5/22). It is going to be epic. Just like the store. I’ve already had a good couple of ’soul searching’ kinda conversations in the entry way, and I look forward to many more. For the crew that will beworking this coffee bar, it will be place to scientifically dissect every part of what makes coffee so great. For me, it will be a place to finally connect with what coffee is really about… and I’m stoked for that.

So, I know I’ve been on this kick about teaching everyone how to make coffee at home. When I started becoming interested in coffee siphons and slow brew methods, I told myself I wanted to learn where most consumers do… At home. So, I started building the home bar. We just started carrying a couple new items at the store, and looking at it now, we have built a pretty impressive collection of home coffee equipment… Anyone wanna trade 3 Virtuosos for 1 Vario?

The entire bar...

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of doing my first customer training with a Rancillio Sylvia. Interesting experience. Anyone who purchases a Sylvia from our store gets the esteemed privilege of training with either Devin or I… To steal a line from Kanye West, my greatest pain in life is that I’ll never get to train with myself.

Right now, I’m really hoping you can read my sarcasm through the internet.

Anyway, these trainings are definitely one my favorite parts of what I get to do for a living. The appreciation most of these customers show is really rewarding. It’s all about to get even better.

A few months back I wrote about how I wanted to put together a home brew kit for coffee. Sell things in packages. Doug Zell picked up on the post and said it would be done. Now, it is.

These showed up today...

We are now offering an Eva Solo kit, a Chemex kit, and a siphon kit. You pick the brew method and the level of grinder you want, and we put it all together for you! Even better, with the purchase of a kit, you also get a pound of coffee and a home brew class with either Devin or I. I’m really excited to begin this. I really hope it takes off and people get into it.

What’s great is the quality of the wares included. We are selling a really nice scale, an amazing Hario water kettle, and some great grinders… with an option to get the new Vario.

Also new to our walls, is a card that features instructions for how to brew with each of the three methods!

Our recommended method

I’ve come to the realization that I’m in a new stage of my career. Priorities come and go from time to time and I’m acknowledging a big change in my ‘coffee doctrine’ and belief. The part of me that is growing up is the boy who started in coffee. He’s the guy  you could run into in many coffee shops… The outward signs say he’s probably some sort of punk (i.e. the piercings, tattoos, band t-shirts, and so on). He’s got keen eyes and they always tell what he’s thinking… about you, your order, and the things that are coming out of your mouth. He’s constantly judging people and scrutinizing their daily coffee shop repertoire. He’s the kid who’s passionate about coffee in all the wrong ways. Espresso to go, fuck off. Nonfat, fat chance. Decaf, go to hell.

The difference is that my focus has changed. I’m finding that I’m less concerned with what people are drinking at the coffee bar and I’m more concerned with what they’re drinking at home. If any of the punk-teenager still leaks out on bar, it’s probably because someone is asking me to grind a pound of coffee for them. You could call it my ‘new’ espresso on ice. More than ever, I’m excited to push more and more people into making better coffee at home.

I want a series of t-shirts. Want is the key word because they’re probably a bit too passive aggressive for my customers to take them the right way. My first t-shirt would probably have a picture of a home grinder in the center… Orbiting around it, I would have silhouettes of brew methods (i.e. table top siphon, chemex, french press, eva solo)… The caption on top or on the back would say something like “It all starts with grinding fresh” or something relatively cheesy. Baratza, if you’re out there, I’m practically writing your new marketing campaign for you!

This also brings up a question I’ve been pondering for awhile… Which is the way to go? Do you only sell coffee equipment that is ideal or do you bend on a couple points for the greater good? To be specific, I was wandering through good ol’ Costco the other day and stumbled down the home appliance aisle (One of my favorite). What did I find? Well, a Capresso home coffee grinder. flat burrs (Not great ones either). Selling for a mere $29.99. Now, in our retail store, we sell the Capresso Infinity. We pimp that shit hard at $100. Still the price is a bit high for some of our customers who are a bit ‘concerned with the times.’ Do you sell the flat burr grinder that isn’t ideal for $30, or do you stick to your guns and only sell the quality stuff… while grinding dozen of pounds of coffee for people a day?

For me, the result is in the cup. I think I lean toward freshly (inconsistently) ground coffee as opposed to the stale (even) ground coffee.

Intelligentsia is working on a home brew kit, or something like that… I’m excited to see what comes out of it. Think of how much easier every baristas life would get if people were making good coffee at home! Okay, maybe it’ll make some baristas lives more complicated, but if that’s the case, then maybe they should pursue a different career path. Either way, how much easier is it going to be to sell high end coffee if people can appreciate it. I think anyone who is in this industry can attest to the fact that most people who get hooked on a good sweetened latte can easily get that person drinking stellar 5 oz. capps if the barista just does their job well and builds a strong customer relationship. How much further can it go if you can get that customer drinking amazing siphon coffee on their Sunday mornings! It’s worth working toward and getting excited about.

I hope you can follow that and it make sense. With all that ranted, I’ll go now.

I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am right now. First of all, simply for the time to write this post. Life is finally slowing down… Prior to the slow down, I am simply grateful for the outcome of the United States Barista Competition. I could not be more proud of the myself and the gentlemen that I was surrounded by in the final round. If you saw me during the finals, you might know how nervous I felt. My stomach was turning and twisting. Prior to competing I felt fine. Relaxed actually. Something about performing, doing my best, then watching everyone else- so flawlessly- doing their best, was the worst part of the whole weekend. Looking back on the situation, that nervous feeling was only a sign of how rivetting the final round was…

The new United States Barista Champion is Michael Phillips. Heading into the event, I’d be lying if I told you I thought I’d be writing that this year. However, nothing excites me more than being able to congratulate Mike. If you missed his presentation, you missed something truly remarkable. Mike used a coffee from Bolivia, and not only did he present the coffee well, but he showed the world that he is a great barista. Mike’s presentation involved shifting variables and using his coffee in ways that I’ve never seen a barista use coffee in competition before. For his espresso he pulled his coffee in a manner that would give it one flavor profile. Then Mike changed the flavor profile of his coffee to use in his cappuccinos. This could cause potential complications in his performance, but he did with poise.

I’ll keep this short for now… Before I go though, I must send out major ‘Thank You’s to several people… Including my Los Angeles teammates, Devin and Nick. Both have excellent eyes and opinions for competition. We do well in competition because we have each other… I’m amazed by the people who think we do well simply because we work for Intelli. I hear accusations like it’s because of the money, the equipment, or the time… No, friends, it’s the teamwork and our ability to be completely open and honest with each other that keeps us improving.

Much thanks really needs to go out to Doug Zell, owner and CEO of Intelligentsia. Doug’s vision for the company and what he wants it to be is what makes Intelligentsia such a great company to work for… and he’s done nothing but given us all a place to grow, learn, and flourish.

My girlfriend, Monica, is amazing. She designed and screen printed the menus I used in the competition. She is incredibly supportive and her patience is astonashing. She was that helping hand before each run-through… making sure everything had that perfect shine, and then she was there helping me at the washing station… Making sure everything was clean to either pack or move to the next round.

Kyle Glanville, Deaton Pigot, and Stephen Morrissey are all to blame for aspects of my presentation. Kyle is relentless in his critisims. He’s dastardly brutal and has had me to the point where I thought I was going to put in my two weeks notice… But everytime I bounce back and his ideas and thoughts sink in, I walk away as a better barista. Deaton has a keen eye… his feedback was encouraging and he never let us slip on our technical skills. He’d just tell me that my machine wasn’t clean enough… even when I was just pulling shots and messing around. Nick and Devin have been more open and wiling to acknowledge their help from Stephen Morrissey. I still feel like it’s something that I should be keeping quiet, but it’s true… Stephen is amazing. Just as a World Barista Champion should be. His ideas and opinions are inspiring and he’s got a lot of them to give. He’s loud and obnoxious at times, but in the end, he’s a great, more than helpful friend. Stephen came to give us a hand… and did it on his own dime. I can’t say how grateful I am.

Alright, that turned into a lot… I’m going now.

It’s been a long weekend and I’m about to enjoy a day of visiting the Chicago Intelligentsia stores, as well as, some coffee explorations at our Fulton St. Roasting Works. But man… has it been a long weekend.

We arrived Friday night, so we missed both of the first competition rounds. However, Saturday was packed with tons to do. I poured my way into the finals of Millrock, as did my coworkers. Then Michael Philips and Jesse Crouse worked their way into the finals of the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition. Sadly, my friend Talya Strader did not make the finals, however, she represented both herself and her coffee well.

The Great Lakes was a tough competition. I wasn’t counting, but it felt like there were many more blends represented here than single origin. However, it was single origin that took home first place… and I am stoked to be able to call Scott Lucey champion.

Scott’s performance was light hearted and fun. It wasn’t too serious, rather, it was full of knowledgable commentary and wit. It was the kind of perfomance that someone outside of the coffee industry could watch and sort of ‘get it’. His coffee was delicious and I’m very glad it scored well. Kyle, as an emcee, mentioned how American espresso that is balanced really just tends to be kind of muted. Scott’s espresso was balanced, however, it was not that old school American balanced. It was bright and full, floral, and intense. It was an espresso I’ll remember for a good while. Oh, and what impressed me most was that Scott used a Robur. No timer, dosered. He had a small mod on the bottom, and he didn’t level the coffee at all. Cheers to that!

Scott Lucey, GLRBC

Jesse Crouse performed very well. Very relaxed. It makes me quite jealous to see someone up there who presents a coffee well, all while looking like they just don’t care. Devin Pedde has the same characteristic and both seem to do well with it. I also tasted the coffee Jesse used and it, too, was delicious. His coffee was El Mirador, a coffee from Santuario in Cauca Colombia. Santuario is a farm that is broken into different plots of land, each containing a seperate varietal of coffee. The Mirador is the typica found on the farm.

Jesse, GLRBC, 2nd Place

I can’t close this without mentioning Mike Philips. Mike certainly had the most innovative performance of the weekend… Possibly of the competition year. Competitors have used multiple grinders for seperate coffees before. They’ve changed their coffee for different beverages before, but Mike took all that further. For his espresso coarse, Mike dosed his coffee about 17 grams. For his cappuccinos he dosed his coffee at 18 grams, and coarsened the grinder. Finally, he pulled the espresso a third way to create his signature beverage. Not only that, but he used different parts of the espresso extraction to make his signature bevergae… Using the first 18 seconds for one component and the remaining for another. Mike also chose not to use his prep table at all. Rather he treaded the judges table like a bar. With two small waters carts, he kept all his serving ware and drink prep hidden from the sensory judges eyes. Well played, Mr. Philips.

Michael Philips, keeping it behind the bar...

A week from today, Devin and I will be leaving for Portland. I have more scores to post… and when I receieve the real list of GLRBC scores, I’ll post the top 20 scores of the 2008-2009 regional season.

Lil’ late for posting, but I’m in Chicago for the GLRBC and a little Millrocking. Kyle, Nicely, and I are all in the finals today. We tied. Competely. For 7th place to make the finals. WE scored a 48.6667.

More importantly, today is the final-finals of the 2008-2009 regional competition season. I hope to have the new top 20 posted by tonight… Including, the scores from the SERBC (Mucho sorry Danielle Glasky).

That said, it’s going to be another long day, two crowns going out… One to a regional champ, and one to a guy with a check. Stay tuned coffee world.