I’m so very excited to be heading to The Northwest Coffee Festival today. This has become one of my favorite events to work. The festival is a consumer based coffee and food event. A ton of great roasteries and cafes from the area get together for two days to hold talks on the current state of the industry to customer service and serve awesome coffee.
I took these pictures on my way to the bus stop yesterday.
I had the great pleasure to work at TEDx Peachtree this Friday in Atlanta. Here’s a little time-lapse thingy I made. I’ll be posting a more detailed blog later this week.
_Panda
Today is the day we get to make coffee for the TEDx Peachtree masses. We’ve been brewing our butts off since eight this morning! It’s been so much fun working with people from Oklahoma, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri and Washington. I’ve had the pleasure of brewing Batdorf & Bronson’s Nicaragua Finca San Jose JavaNica with a siphon. Super chocolaty and lots of caramel. The attendees have been loving the coffee and they are asking a lot of great questions. Well I need to get back and prep for the next wave.
The good ol’ mason jar has been working perfectly for storing old beans. The one thing I somehow managed to overlook is the lid to the mason jar. I was so stoked about the paint job and forgot about the gas the beans give off. The other day I went to unscrew the lid and it popped off and made a loud noise. DUH!!! There was a bunch of gas built up behind the lid because it had no where else to go. My friend Marcus Young recommended cutting out the one way valve from a bag of coffee!!!!! IT WORKED! Have fun!
I currently live in Olympia, WA and I’m originally from the south which means I’m inclined to re-purposing mason jars. I have a Baratza Maestro plus at home and when I need to dial in the grind for a certain brewing device I don’t waste new coffee I use old coffee. To keep the beans from getting too gross I keep them in an opaque jar covered in ColorTex by Design Master. It’s a spray adhesive that has bits of multi colored plastic in it. After I’ve covered the jar with the ColorTex I let it dry overnight. I noticed that the jar smelled of spray paint afterward so I covered it in two coats of Mod Podge. This helped cover the smell and give the jar a more glossy look. I really love how the jar looks!
I’ve been struggling with updating this blog more often. In an attempt to help with that I’ll also cross-post some things I feel like you guys might want to see. I just posted a review on a really great new site tehcoffee.com Dan Baumfeld dreamed this baby up and it’s been picking up speed. These reviews are done by industry professionals. People that actually work as judges for the SCAA & BGA, cafe owners, baristas and other active members in the Barista community. You can trust that these reviews and the places that are reviewed are quality. The next time you go out for coffee check tehCoffee!
Direct link to the review——-> http://tehcoffee.com/reviews/86
_Panda
We are a little over two weeks into the year and I haven’t posted anything. My bad. I will post more often…starting now.
I’ve been getting ready for NWRBC coming up next Friday in Tacoma. This will be my second time competing and I’m pretty stoked about it. I think Baristas should try it at least once. Regionals are a great opportunity to be in front of your peers, share awesome coffee and create an amazing experience for the judges.
I chose to use Bluebeard Coffee out of Tacoma this year. Kevin Roaster/Owner from Bluebeard visited EP in August and dropped off some of his espresso The Narrows blend. I threw it in the hopper and magic came out. The shot tasted like marzipan and sunshine. From tasting that shot I knew I wanted to use his coffee for competition. I’m so lucky to have them as a coffee sponsor and be able to rep a Tacoma roaster.
Espresso Parts is once again supporting me by covering my entry fees and helping with small-wares costs. I’m fortunate to work for a company that is completely committed to the Barista community and coffee industry.
I know that competing is spendy but there are a few things you can do to cut down on costs. Ask the roaster if they will sponsor you, this can be by selling the coffee to you at a discount or even covering the cost completely. See if your employer will cover any costs you might have be that entry fees or small-wares. Don’t forget BGA members are a great source of knowledge when it comes to competing and anything coffee. There are a lot of people that want to help all you have to do is ask.
Alright, I gotta go play in the snow with my doggy.
This Sunday I will be hosting an open lab at Espresso Parts from 10-3. The lab will be strictly slow brew, no espresso. In the near future I will hold an espresso lab session but for now we will focus on manual brewing. Batdorf & Bronson has donated three pounds of Guatemala Antigua for us to play with. Huge thanks to them for helping out and being an active member of the coffee community! Feel free to bring any coffee you have that you might want me to help you brew better. I look forward to seeing you there!
_Panda
I decided to spend some time with the Kalita Wave this afternoon. First off I love the how the wave looks, its shiny stainless steel with ridges hence the wave I presume. It has a brown plastic handle with little brass embellishments. I’ve mainly done pour-overs with the Hario V-60 so this shiny device is a nice alternative. It has three ridges on the bottom of the inside to keep the filter from stopping the water flow. The water flow is slower than with a V-60 so I went two steps coarser on my grind. After side by side tasting the natural brown filter MUST be pre-washed.
What you need: Kalita Wave, coffee and a kettle.
For my pour I did a 70g bloom for 30 seconds
Bloom
then I added half the brew water let it sit for ten seconds
first fill
and added the remaining water in a circular motion. What ended up in the cup was caramel and walnut up front with a light floral mid and a sweet creamy finish.
Bolivia Cafe Golondrina
| Extraction Yield | 20.32 % |
| TDS | 1.26 % |
| Dose Weight | 26.0 g |
| Brew Water Weight | 466 g |
Coffee Details
| Brew Water Start Temp | 93°C/200°F |
| Brew Time | 2 mins 39 secs |
| Method | Pour Over |
| Roaster Name | Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. |
| Roast Style | Medium |
| Farm/Farmer | Celso David Mayata Quispe |
| Grinder | Mahlkoenig Guatemala |
| Grind Setting | 8 |
Kalita wave
