that's when Hotwire stepped in and saved the day with fresh roasted coffee and drinks made to order by barista's who care for the working stick.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Stickmen Unite!!!
Tired of stale coffee the local stickmen union went on strike to guarantee fresh roasted coffee.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Ballard Locks
This has no relation to coffee other then I was there on Sunday and it is in Seattle. On Sunday my family and I went to the Ballard locks to watch the boats being raised and lowered into and out of the Pudget Sound to and from Lake Union. We also wanted to watch the Salmon run in the fish ladder. It was a beautiful day and the fish were running strong and heavy. This is a great place to see nature up close and personal right in the middle of the city. This is one of the things I love about Seattle. To see the rest of these pictures click here http://www.flickr.com/photos/dismas/sets/1110749/
Thursday, October 06, 2005
The Barista
Now this is something that I have thought about for awhile and it was brought back to mind when I was in Denver for Nascore during a conversation I had. It is the role of the barista right now and how many barista view themselves and where the role of the barista could be. While I think that the "barista" has made great strides over the last five years I think we still have a long way to go. I guess what I mean is that for the most part most barista at best are really good latte makers. There are efforts to take the "barista" past that which is good, but I guess the thing that gets me is some of the egos I have seen. I guess this is just the way humans are wired. You see a barista who has won or done well in a barista competition which is fine and well, but all that means is you made a few drinks well at a given point in time. Competitions really don't show if the barista has any depth of knowledge in not just his/her chosen craft but the coffee industry as a whole. It strikes me as funny that someone with maybe two, three or maybe five years experience like to wax eloquent about what they know. It seems like the less experience the more waxing. If you go to the Court of Master Sommeliers web site http://www.mastersommeliers.org/ and look at becoming a sommelier you will notice the amount of knowledge one needs to know and at each level the requirements a exponentially larger. I think that here in the states any way we are a few years away from any organization like this from starting. In Europe I think there are at least two that I know of that are beginning to develop the knowledge and skill necessary. The two schools are the London School of Coffee http://www.londonschoolofcoffee.com/ and the Copenhagen Coffee Academy http://copenhagencoffeeacademy.com/index2.php?menuid=1&parent=0 , but even these if you look at their courses they are still very basic. I guess I'm not sure what I am trying to say just that I think the position of barista is going in the right direction, but we need to go in that direction with a certain amount of humility and guidance from those who have been in the industry much longer then us. Well I could write more but my "ADD" is kicking in.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Terry Davis of Ambex Roasters
"This is a coffee roaster man. Not a easy bake oven."
To see all my pictures from Nascore click here http://www.flickr.com/photos/dismas/sets/1073377/
A custom lever machine
This lever machine was being used by Novo Coffee at Nascore in Denver the weekend of Sept 23. The machine was designed by Espresso Smith.
Coffee roaster
This a Italian Roaster called Vittoria used by Novo Coffee Roaster in Denver Colorado.
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