The new era in blogging!

Just found this app so I can blog straight from phone. This will mean I have no excuse. I hope to do more in conjunction with my new project I'm doing with Natural Isreal called This Coffee Life. Right now our main presence is on face book but that will expand in the near future.

A Coffee Festival for the People

So last weekend in Seattle was the first NW Coffee Festival and by all accounts it was a resounding success. I had the pleasure of going to many of the planning meetings leading up to the event and got to witness the dedication and passion that the organizers put into the event. The amount of work to get a event like this of the ground is practically super human & watching the mostly volunteer group dedicate their time to making this event the success it was is both inspiring and humbling. It strikes me as funny that it took this group of pioneers to put on one of the few consumer oriented coffee event in the country and only one in Seattle given how much coffee industry insiders have often lamented the lack of knowledge among consumers and lack of eduction being done by the industry. The coffee industry events have often seemed to me like big navel events where we tell each other how great coffee is and how great we are for realizing this and then complaining that the great unwashed masses should know this too.
Well now there is at least one event for those that want to delve into that mysterious beverage known as coffee and it took a group of non coffee professionals to get the Seattle area coffee industry together to put on a united front and share our love of coffee with the world.





It was a pleasure for me to participate in this event with Caffe Ladro and I was very proud of my company for jumping in and being involved. Next year will be bigger and better.





I was somewhat surprised by the amount of coffee people could drink on Saturday our booth that consisted of a two group La Marzocco Linea a pour over Melitta bar and aeropress had a line from 5 people to at times 20 people deep from 10am to 5pm. We had three Mazzer espresso grinders with our Ladro espresso blend in one and a blend with 5 parts Guatemala to 1 part Brazil natural in another and a lovely Rwanda coffee that tasted lovely no matter how it was prepared. You were able to get these three coffee brewed as espresso, pour over or through the aeropress. For the pour over and aeropress we used a Mahlkonig Guatemala lab grinder. People had many of questions and were very curious.


Well that's all for now.

So I am opening a coffee house in Fremont which is a neighborhood in Seattle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont,_Seattle,_Washington
It is a small space with lot's character and potential. There is not enough room to do everything I would like but, it is a start. For those of you that know me know that this has been my dream for the past 8 years since I started working in coffee in 99. Since I started working in coffee I have done little else. I eat, drink, sleep coffee often to the neglect of my family. Since day one my single minded goal was to own a coffee house.
My ideal coffee house would have several espresso machines and numerous ways to brew coffee but, that will have to wait for now. I will have one espresso machine, the Clover brewing system (www.cloverequipment.com), a two group gold cone bar setup (http://www.espressoparts.com/product/DRIPSTATION_DS-2/Drip_Station__2_Cup_Coffee_Brewing_Station__Single.html)
and Cafe Press (aka French Press)
I would also like to offer competition style signature drinks and do regular coffee cuppings. Here are some pictures of the space and surrounding area.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dismas/sets/72157601887587823/

Real Men

This is kind of old but, it is still funny.
http://thefuntimesguide.com/audio/Bud_Light_Real_Men_of_Genius_Mr_Fancy_Coffee_Shop_Coffee_Pourer.mp3

Something New

Well Craig you wanted something New. I am opening my own coffee house but, I think you knew that.

It's all about the espresso

I do allot of training both for my company Borogove Coffee and contract work for other roasters and coffee houses. Recently I was doing a training at coffee house for a roaster that was unhappy with the way this coffee house was presenting their coffee. At some point during the training we were talking about why it is important to make the espresso the best that it could be and I reiterated something about making good espresso and macchiato's and short drinks. I was somewhat startled by their response. I don't know why because I have heard this response before especially from busy coffee house's like theirs. She said well we don't make that many straight espresso's and macchiato's. I don't remember how I replied at the time but, the more I thought about her answer the more it bugged me. From my perspective it all starts with a great shot of espresso. If you can't do that you are vulnerable to Starbucks or another company coming in who can make good espresso. I'm not saying that Starbucks makes good espresso but, if they moved in to your neighborhood and you aren't taking care of your coffee you are vulnerable.
Here is a example. When I first started working at Zoka in 1999 they had great coffee but, no training program. A new person would be hired and they would get to make drinks for customers on their first day. The quality of drinks from barista to barista (I use the term barista her very loosely) varied greatly. Their where a couple of really good barista's and allot of mediocre barista's. It was not uncommon for customers to come in and ask for specific barista's to make their drink. At the same time there was a extremely busy bakery a short block away and they where always busy but, they had crappy coffee. I was hired at Zoka to be the manager and my first course of action was to start at least a basic training program. Within a year later the situation was reversed the Zoka started to get busier and busier while this bakery that had been their for fifteen plus years was starting to loose business. Customers started to comment that they used to have their favorite barista's but, now they are all good. The number of straight espresso's and macchiato's and other short drinks grew. I saw the same thing happen when I later moved to Hotwire. The change I made was very easy and simple I made the staff take care the their espresso shot's.
I think if the bakery that was near Zoka had better coffee and took some care with it I don't think Zoka would have had such an easy time stealing their customers. The thing that baffles me is that it is not that hard to make good espresso. It just takes a little knowledge and training and with the internet their is no excuse.
So, pull that espresso with love and take care of it and it will take care of you.

Work that coffee baby! Work it!

There is a new coffee house in downtown Seattle on Pike St. near the Pike Place Market. Their Grand re-opening was this last Monday. I went down their with my cheapo camera and hung out and took a few pictures. Their thing is that they have ten different roasters Seattle area who's espresso blends they are using. They have twelve different grinders. The name of the place is Seattle Coffee Works. When you go in you can order what they call The Works it is three espresso's from three different Seattle area roasters. They also have the Coffee Drinking Man out front.

The Coffee Drinking Man will eventually have a battery powered motor attached so that it will move automatically but, for now he needs to be hand cranked. The guy next to The Coffee Drinking Man is Sebastian the owner of SCW he is a crazy German with a mad scientist look in is eyes who you can't help but like.
The next time you are visiting the market stop by Seattle Coffee Works and ask for a shot of Espresso Gitano or Espresso Cremona. They are using Borogove coffee among other coffees.
Sebastian I hope you do well and you have all my support.

Borogove Coffee

Many people have been asking me lately what is this Borogove and what is up with Hotwire. Well Borogove Coffee is my roasting company that I am in parternship with Tim McCormack. It is still pretty much a start up and we are now looking for potential wholesale accounts. I am still a part of Hotwire I am mostly doing the training for the two stores. Yes, our Shoreline location was sold. It is at the moment still a Hotwire and they are using Borogove coffee and I am doing all their coffee training. My main focus right now is on growing Borogove. The name borogove comes from the Lewis Carol nonsense poem Jabberwocky:

"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Our web site is www.borogovecoffee.com The web site is still rough but, feel free to check it out.

So, What?

All right I know it's been awhile. I've been busy OK. I do have a life. Well sort of. I have a knew camera. Just a cheapo I bought so I could take with me on a family visit last month but, better then nothing. I can at least post pictures on my flickr site which I do update regularly. I just got back from Long Beach for the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America and the USBC (United States Barista Championships). I did compete and I sucked it up pretty bad. It is kinda a surreal experience to have spent a good number of hours training and getting ready and then almost at the out set of your competition to mess up bad enough where you know that you will not advance to the next round. Well that's what happened to me but, I will practice even harder and I will be ready for the NW regional competition that will be held here in Seattle at the end of October or early November. Other then sucking it up at the competition I had a great time in Long Beach. I got to see allot of my coffee family. Jeremy made a surprise appearance down (Jeremy used to work with me at Hotwire and didn't think he could come) thanks to his girlfriend. I participated in the latte art smack down and got smacked down. ha ha. That was funny.

Dismas House

Dismas House
Originally uploaded by belmontvisionphotos.

So I how do you like my new place?

yours truly

yours truly
Originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.

My digital camera was stolen last November so, until I get a new one I will be scanning pictures and posting them on my flickr site. I hope you enjoy them.

Seven Coffee Roasters

Cogratulations to my good friend Sean Lee on opening his new coffee house and soon to be roasting company. Today was his first full day of business. He has a awesome looking new coffee house that I think will be very successfull.
I first met Sean when he bought a coffee stand that was owned by a Zoka wholesale customer. I gave him is initial training. He actually became a great barista in spite of that. He sold his coffee stand and worked with me at Hotwire for awhile. He also competed in a NW reginal competition and maybe the US in Seattle.
The name of his coffee house is Seven Coffee Roasters and it is in the greenwood neiborhood in Seattle 153 N. 78th St. Good luck and may your espresso run thick.

This Crazy Life

Well I don't know about you but, life has been crazy for me. My camera was stolen from my car right before Thanksgiving. I'm still upset about that. I'm not sure when I will get a new one and when I do it will be a lesser camera. The weather here in the Seattle area has been crazy. November was a record breaking month of rain. Mt. Baker which holds the world record for snow fall expects to break that record again this year. Then we had a abnormal amount of snow and cold weather for this area. Then last week we had a huge wind storm that blew roofs of knocked down tree's and power lines. Some people will have been without power for over a week by the time they get power back. Both of our Hotwire coffee houses are busier then ever.

We are still trying to get Borogove Coffee of the ground. Borgove is our roasting company. Hopefully our web site will be up and running soon. As soon as the coffees are available Borogove will have some of the Brazil coffees that I went down to Brazil to judge. I found the web site of Christian Wolthers who was with us in Brazil. http://www.blaserwolthers.com/news01.htm He does a great job describing what we did in Brazil.

I have been thinking about my crazy life lately and at times have gotten alittle down but, I remind myself how good I have it. I have great family, a nice house, food to eat and much more. I have the potential to do even much better then my dad ever did. Growing up we were poor by American standards. So, I have allot to be Thankfull for. I really can't complain but, I do. It gives me something to talk about.

On a funny side note I found myself on Utube. Mark Prince put some footage he had of me from the USBC competition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eta7CvtsqhM

Happy Holidays and I hope to see you all in the new year.

Brazil

I had a great time in Brazil. I was sorry I had to miss the NW regional Barista competition and Coffeefest but, oh well. Thank you Bruno and Neto for inviting me. I was down there for a cupping coffee for a new coffee auction for coffees in the state of Minas Gerais. I was in country for nine days plus two full days of travel. We visited three farms and a place where they cachaca (a cane alcohol). I will write in more detail later.

New coffee pickers

Because of high labor costs many Brazilian farmers are starting to train monkeys to pick their coffee. One of the unexpected side benefits of this is that the monkeys have begun to eat some of the coffee and the beans that have gone through the monkeys digestive system are fetching prices that are close to the prices of Kopi Luwak. Sometimes the monkeys eat them twice and these are called double pooped and demand a even higher price. We were able to try some while in Brazil and I must say that it is good Crap.

Brazil here I come.

As usual I had stuff to say earlier today, but right now all have to say is "I am going to Brazil and that rocks ha ha ha yea baby.

Sanders new old roaster.

Sanders new old roaster., originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.

Went to Vancouver BC on Monday for the Canadian Coffee Expo and Canadian Barista Championships. Had a great time watching the competition and seeing all the Canadian coffee people. Went to John Sanders new roasting facility after the show. Overall had a great time but, then I usually do.
I always have alot that I want to blog but, when I sit down my mind goes blank.

Enjoying a summer day on Vancouver Isl.

Enjoying a summer day on Vancouver Isl., originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.

It has been a fun summer for me. I have barely paid attention to the coffee world at large. I have mostly been trying to get our coffee roasting plant up and running. It is now functinal. We just have one more inspection and we will be good to go. Our roasting company is called Borogove Coffee and is a seperate company from Hotwire. Other then drinking coffee I have gone camping twice and built a big swing set for my kids. Hopefully this next year the two companies that I am apart of make money so I can start travelling again. I am hoping to start blogging more so, that Jeremy will quit bugging me.

Gary Smith

IMG_8688, originally uploaded by Dizzy Mouse.

Tim and I took a little trip across the water to visit Gary Smith at Mukilteo Coffee Co. last week. Gary is on the left in the picture. He is a gracious host and a great guy. They have a beutifull roasting plant and cafe in the middle of the woods on Whidbey Isl.

This is Chris. Chris is a barista. Chris works at Hotwire. Chris used to work at Hinnes. Chris has a blog. Check out Chris's blog . Blog Chris! Blog!