Tuesday, September 20, 2005

espresso tasting


espresso tasting
Originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.
I like my espresso straight!

Monday, September 19, 2005

Updates In my life

I've been busy lately getting our warehouse that we will be roasting in. We took possession of it I think September 9. Now comes the hard work of getting it up and running. We are getting a 15 kilo Ambex roaster with some special features at the end of October and hopefully our afterburner should be here before then. There is also all the permitting which can be a nightmare. Then comes the outfitting of the warehouse with grinders, scales, shelving, espresso machine and the list goes on. When this is done a new roasting company will be done. Our roasting company will be a separate company from our Hotwire coffee houses http://www.hotwirecoffee.com I've also been roasting three days a week for our two locations which I am doing out of my garage (I'm not proud you gotta do what you gotta do).
I'm also working on a barista certification that I'm hoping will be a industry standard. I think I will be able to start it by the end of October.
We also started training our barista that will compete in the NW regional competition. Now don't get me started on that. It is extremely frustrating as far as I've been told the competition is still the end of October. This means that whenever they open up registration people will have less then a month to register and make plans to attend. I would think that this would be extremely burden some to those who have to travel from Alaska, Oregon or even Western Washington. You would think that the USBC committee would make it a requirement that whoever is the competition host would need to have it announced and start taking registrations two to three months ahead of time. It seems to me that it would be better if they secured a location for after the first of the year then it would wouldn't seem so disorganized and unprofessional. I feel better now that I've got that off my chest.

Friday, September 02, 2005

My last day at Zoka July 04


My last day at Zoka July 04
Originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.
I enjoy roasting coffee and preparing it for customers to drink. I don't think if I was only just a barista or just roaster I would be happy. If I could I would grow coffee roast it and then serve it in its final form. I think that would make me truly happy.

My last day at Zoka July 04


My last day at Zoka July 04
Originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.
I started this blog mainly to have a place to put my pictures of experiences in the coffee world currently and over the past six years. This is Craig my good friend and manager of Zoka.