had a really fun cupping today (more on that later) but the highlight of the day was afterwards, when we pulled a couple shots of amazing single origin coffees. through some bits of freaky luck, we just happened to have about 1/4lb of the mighty El Salvador Las Nubitas sitting around at just the right age out of the roaster for espresso. for those who don't know, the Las Nubitas is an amazing Cup of Excellence coffee -- one of my favorites. and for the ultimate treat, we also found a 1/4lb of the incomparable Panama Esmerelda Especial (also, at peak age for espresso). again, for those who've been living under a rock, this was the coffee that won the Best of Panama competition and which sold for an all-time record for Latin coffees at auction ($21/lb green). it is one of the rarest and most spectacular of coffees.
so... an amazing treat indeed!
Las Nubitas... like roasted apples dipped in dark chocolate! wonderful french desert pastry tones of dark sweet fruit with a hint of sweet burnt sugar tangerine all on that wonderful rich apple-chocolate body. fabulous in the mouth, with a "fluffy" delicate mouthfeel. the sort of shot that makes you fall in love with coffee.
Esmerelda... what can i say? where do i begin? Muscat, Grand Marnier, candied tangerine fruit bomb, orchid perfume, tropical fruit brandy... intense, overwhelming, chaotic, insane... it tastes almost fake it's so huge and complex and concentrated in flavour. everything but the kitchen sink has been tossed in and rolled together to create a coffee that is sweetness and fruit amped up... and then taken past that to points heretofore unknown! i hate to admit it, but as much as i love this coffee in the cup - i think i might like it even more as an espresso. not something to drink everyday, but oh my god what an experience.
someone the other day asked me if i like working for Stumptown.
the above should answer the questions.
and if it doesn't...
we've been doing employee cuppings focussing on palate training. the idea is to start with the basics, cupping coffee for the foundation characteristics of coffee, and then building from that to eventually end up with nuances and cupping each coffee we sell.
every single employee of Stumptown is doing this. we cup in small groups four days a week.
employees are required to cup twice a month - and are paid for it.
i hear you say wow.
yup - committment to quality.
every employee cupping i've run has been great. today's had some truly wonderful moments that made me smile. i really love talking with people who work here about coffee. the passion, the knowledge and the palate... amazing. i feel so lucky to be surrounded by such talent. it's pushing me - and it's really really rewarding.
12.13.2004
12.12.2004
holiday weekend fun
helped out this weekend at the downtown location.
very fun! good crews, good coffee. yesterday was really busy and steady. today was slow. none the less, tons of fun.
oh... some photos of the various locations (for those who asked). these are not mine, just off the Stumptown site. i'll be shooting some once i get the flash issue sorted out.
downtown:
belmont:
division:
very fun! good crews, good coffee. yesterday was really busy and steady. today was slow. none the less, tons of fun.
oh... some photos of the various locations (for those who asked). these are not mine, just off the Stumptown site. i'll be shooting some once i get the flash issue sorted out.
downtown:
belmont:
division:
12.10.2004
the good the bad and the ugly
it's been an eventful few days.
on the good side... the job continues to be incredible. challenging, rewarding... amazing. Stephen and Kyle came down for a couple of days and seem to have found a place to live just two blocks away. the coffee continues to be amazing. i've been running some employee cuppings - which have been great. we've been focusing on a program of palate development and education and everyone is digging it. very cool. Stumptown continues to grow and expand. i was told that we are "the coffee mafia" of Portland the other day. business is booming. there was a great blurb about our COE coffees in the Willamette Weekly the other day. and we had a visit from Andrew Ford (Australian Mountain Top Estate) the other day which was very interesting. Finally... Phuong came down to visit which was super cool. she is taking on the role of wholesale training for Zoka -- which is awesome; for both her and for Zoka.
on the bad side... i injured my back (again) on Sunday. it's been really rough. i haven't been able to sleep well and there has been a fair amount of pain involved. getting older sucks.
and on the ugly side... we had a nice flood experience in one of the cafes. frantic and insane! the great thing was that, through great work by the cafe managers and our contractor Garth, not only was it resolved quickly and with minimal (given the circumstances) damage -- I don't think that any of our customers even knew what was going on!
on the good side... the job continues to be incredible. challenging, rewarding... amazing. Stephen and Kyle came down for a couple of days and seem to have found a place to live just two blocks away. the coffee continues to be amazing. i've been running some employee cuppings - which have been great. we've been focusing on a program of palate development and education and everyone is digging it. very cool. Stumptown continues to grow and expand. i was told that we are "the coffee mafia" of Portland the other day. business is booming. there was a great blurb about our COE coffees in the Willamette Weekly the other day. and we had a visit from Andrew Ford (Australian Mountain Top Estate) the other day which was very interesting. Finally... Phuong came down to visit which was super cool. she is taking on the role of wholesale training for Zoka -- which is awesome; for both her and for Zoka.
on the bad side... i injured my back (again) on Sunday. it's been really rough. i haven't been able to sleep well and there has been a fair amount of pain involved. getting older sucks.
and on the ugly side... we had a nice flood experience in one of the cafes. frantic and insane! the great thing was that, through great work by the cafe managers and our contractor Garth, not only was it resolved quickly and with minimal (given the circumstances) damage -- I don't think that any of our customers even knew what was going on!
12.05.2004
big news
so the cat is out of the bag.
Kyle Larson (WRBC champ and all around great guy) is going to be joining the crew here at Stumptown. he'll be working as a barista for us. very exciting indeed!
and Stephen Vick (fabulous trainer and wearer of velvet pants) will be working with us as well! he'll be in charge of the espresso program and training. super cool!
the amazing thing is that both of them came down here and said they wanted to work for Stumptown. the reputation that Duane et al have built is amazing and continues to grow. this is going to be an exciting time for us!
Stumptown continues to hoard talent.
Kyle Larson (WRBC champ and all around great guy) is going to be joining the crew here at Stumptown. he'll be working as a barista for us. very exciting indeed!
and Stephen Vick (fabulous trainer and wearer of velvet pants) will be working with us as well! he'll be in charge of the espresso program and training. super cool!
the amazing thing is that both of them came down here and said they wanted to work for Stumptown. the reputation that Duane et al have built is amazing and continues to grow. this is going to be an exciting time for us!
Stumptown continues to hoard talent.
12.02.2004
12.01.2004
cupping and more
a whirlwind day today...
to cut to the chase -- the high point was cupping the Bolivian COE coffees.
to be honest, i'd never had an especially good coffee from Bolivia. so... preconceptions and prejudices in hand, i cupped a whole bunch of coffees and got my world rocked.
in the end, there were four very good coffees - three of which were truly excellent.
what was particularly exciting was that these coffees all had very different styles, characters and flavour profiles. excellent - and yet different. very cool indeed!
tomorrow morning is the auction and with any luck we'll score at least one of them.
stumptown is going to do so much cool stuff in the next year.
it's hard to be relaxed and not get ahead of myself, but some of the stuff we're planning is insane!
there are things that no-one has ever thought of doing, and things that people have thought of but dismissed as unrealistic.
and we're going to do them.
people are not ready.
in other news... Portland is great, i ate at a very good Korean place today, life is good and we bought a bunch of super nice Eames dining room chairs.
on a personal note - i have a new computer so these posts should increase in frequency.
be well.
to cut to the chase -- the high point was cupping the Bolivian COE coffees.
to be honest, i'd never had an especially good coffee from Bolivia. so... preconceptions and prejudices in hand, i cupped a whole bunch of coffees and got my world rocked.
in the end, there were four very good coffees - three of which were truly excellent.
what was particularly exciting was that these coffees all had very different styles, characters and flavour profiles. excellent - and yet different. very cool indeed!
tomorrow morning is the auction and with any luck we'll score at least one of them.
stumptown is going to do so much cool stuff in the next year.
it's hard to be relaxed and not get ahead of myself, but some of the stuff we're planning is insane!
there are things that no-one has ever thought of doing, and things that people have thought of but dismissed as unrealistic.
and we're going to do them.
people are not ready.
in other news... Portland is great, i ate at a very good Korean place today, life is good and we bought a bunch of super nice Eames dining room chairs.
on a personal note - i have a new computer so these posts should increase in frequency.
be well.
11.30.2004
coming back up for air...
wow.
it's been a bit epic.
work, moving, visits from dear friends, a major holiday and the death of my laptop have conspired to put a crimp in my posting habits. i am sorry.
in any event...
things here are great.
still.
i cupped the Panama La Esmerelda the other day. it's a truly incredible coffee. without a doubt worth the (not inconsiderable) amount of money one has to pay. sadly, i think that there is less than 4lbs left in captivity at the current moment. the best descriptor i can come up with for the coffee is "complicated." not complex, but rather incredibly layered and knotted - with a huge number of flavour components which emerge and recede over the lifetime of the cup. flavours of bergamot and dried citrus peel, a gorgeous sweet caramel/chocolate in the body and through the finish, hints of berry and a jasmine-spice note in the aroma and a wonderful tropical fruit and wine brightness that evolves through stonefruit and overripe pink grapefruit.
i honestly think i could cup this coffee every single morning and never come to a complete understanding of it.
a lifetime experience for me.
the Stumptown Family Thanksgiving was great.
a true family event in every way.
i think i suffered a 36 hour food hangover.
and a visit from Matt and Tricia capped it all off. with luck i'll get photos from Matt.
a great week.
life is good.
it's been a bit epic.
work, moving, visits from dear friends, a major holiday and the death of my laptop have conspired to put a crimp in my posting habits. i am sorry.
in any event...
things here are great.
still.
i cupped the Panama La Esmerelda the other day. it's a truly incredible coffee. without a doubt worth the (not inconsiderable) amount of money one has to pay. sadly, i think that there is less than 4lbs left in captivity at the current moment. the best descriptor i can come up with for the coffee is "complicated." not complex, but rather incredibly layered and knotted - with a huge number of flavour components which emerge and recede over the lifetime of the cup. flavours of bergamot and dried citrus peel, a gorgeous sweet caramel/chocolate in the body and through the finish, hints of berry and a jasmine-spice note in the aroma and a wonderful tropical fruit and wine brightness that evolves through stonefruit and overripe pink grapefruit.
i honestly think i could cup this coffee every single morning and never come to a complete understanding of it.
a lifetime experience for me.
the Stumptown Family Thanksgiving was great.
a true family event in every way.
i think i suffered a 36 hour food hangover.
and a visit from Matt and Tricia capped it all off. with luck i'll get photos from Matt.
a great week.
life is good.
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