Oh... It's ON

Stumptown opens shop in Chicago.

That's right folks... the pride of Portland is going straight into Intelligentsia's backyard.

Who wins?

We do.

That's right... you know that this means Intelli is going to step it up. Their coffee will get better, their green will get better, their roasting will get better... And you have to know that Stumptown is going to be bringing their A game.

I'm so incredibly envious. The coffee lovers in Chicago are going to have it so good! Damn.

Things to ponder:

1. Will Intelli Chicago be able to keep their best employees?
2. Will Stumptown's indy punk rock vibe sell in the midwest?
3. Will Intelli open in Portland?
4. Will Stumptown go for a beer and wine license?
5. Will Intelli try to better leverage Ecco now?
6. Will Stumptown be Stumptown without bike messengers?
7. Who will Alinea use?

Break out the popcorn.

This is going to be fucking EPIC!!!

it arrives

I am the luckiest person in the world.

For many reasons.

Today just brought me another reason.

One of the greatest people in the coffee business (Terry Z of Espressoparts) - who also built out the Monster Mia I've been using for the past few years - is world renowned for his work with vintage espresso machines. I've admired these gorgeous restorations and rebuilds for years now.

And now I have one in my kitchen.

I adore everything about this machine.

The classic 70s Italian design... the orange and brown color scheme... the skateboard wheels...

It's one of the greatest espresso machines (the La Marzocco GS), and thanks to Terry and his Merry (mad)Men - this one is comparable to the most modern machines now.

Check out the gorgeous portafilter handle.

drool...

It's a total stunner - and it's actually (reasonably) practical for the home.

I said it had been modernized, right?

Clean and pro...

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Espressoparts does fucking AMAZING work.

The electrician arrives on Saturday.

I cannot WAIT for Sunday morning.

Coffee Common

This is a hugely important step for the coffee industry and I am so incredibly happy about it happening.

What am I talking about?

Go check out Coffee Common.

Stumptown. Intelligentsia. Square Mile. Counter Culture. George Howell. And on. And on. I mean... just look at that list!

I've long decried the lack of collaboration in the industry. I've pointed out time and time again that a rising sea raises ALL boats. I've tried to explain that a common voice about coffee issues and consumer education would leave the coffee companies that are trying to do the right thing less vulnerable to the misinformation spread by the other (cynical and unethical) coffee companies.

And for the longest time none of the leading companies were willing to even consider the idea. They saw this as a competitive issue.

But now... it's happening.

And I am so incredibly happy about this.

Brent... Tim... Sean... Stephen and Brian. Thank you!

Duane, Doug, James, George, Peter and all the other leaders within the various coffee companies involved. Thank you!

Coffee consumers. Coffee professionals.

Get involved with this. Read it. Explore it.

And celebrate it.

This could be the start of something special.

Bye-bye Anfim

So, the demo Anfim is boxed up and about to be shipped away.

And this morning was my first morning with the Robur back on the counter.

As a result, this gives me a chance to revisit my Anfim vs Robur at home thoughts.

To sum it up simply... if I had to recommend one of the two to a home barista I would absolutely recommend the Anfim. It's simply easier to work with and wastes far less coffee than the Robur. In fact, the only real negative of the Anfim for the home (as compared to the Robur) is that there are some coffees that I was never able to get optimal shots with. The stepped grinder adjustment meant that there were three times where the ideal extraction fell between steps.

Of course... both of these grinders are obscene overkill for the home. But if you're the kind of person who thinks too much is just the right amount - then I'd seriously suggest the new Anfim over the Robur.

2011

Rather than doing a retrospective analysis of 2010 (too obvious and there are people better than me at doing this), or doing a set of predictions for 2011 (my ego isn't THAT big) - I'm instead going to share my hopes for coffee in 2011.

I'm going to structure this quite simply...

What I hope happens with coffee in 2011

1 - Better focus on customer experience

2 - A move away from elitism

3 - Better consistency

4 - The pendulum swings on espresso

Customer Experience

If, as a semi-outsider, I were to rank the perceived focus for top US (artisan) coffee companies, it would look something like:

1. Volume of sales
2. Green bean purchasing and management
3. Marketing (coolness, buzz, brand, etc)
4. Preparing coffee the right way
5. Roasting

We now have a situation where customer experience is (depending on the company) anywhere from inconsistent to terrible. I've been to retail locations for almost all the top US coffee businesses. I've literally never had a "great" customer experience. In any of them. Ever.

At this point the customer experience almost always lags so far behind the quality of the coffee that it's insulting to the coffee. Seriously.

Folks... we need to fix this. Let's start by trying to understand who our actual customers are. Then we should probably figure out what they want from us. And what kind of experience they hope to have. Then we can determine what kind of experience they're actually getting - where the big gaps and failures (on our part) are - and can take steps to solve the problems.

But, to do so, one thing has to change first. Note the above "... big gaps and failures (on our part)." Right now we blame the customers. Always. And that's fucked up. Until we fix this - we can't fix anything else.

Elitism

Coffee has always had a problem with elitism. It's an industry that - to many - seems driven by not only the need to be considered "elite" but also by the need to constantly redefine the criteria by which one is considered elite. This results in tiers of greater and greater elitism and a junior high school clique behavior that is at best irritating and at worst highly destructive.

This elitism creates some of the customer experience problems that coffee has (similar to the behavior you get from the clerks at a vinyl record store). But it also creates problems within the coffee industry. It's distracting, it creates unneeded conflict. It's just lame. You aren't really that fucking cool.

Consistency

The lack of consistency in coffee is increasingly troubling for me. At this point in time, customers of the best US coffee companies shouldn't be getting dramatically different roasts of the same coffee on subsequent days. Two back to back shots of the same espresso shouldn't taste like completely different coffees. In some ways I think consistency has actually gone down in the last year or two for the top companies.

What I'd really like to see is not the above minimum level of consistency, but actual consistency at a higher level. I'd like to see these coffee companies have consistently good coffee across all coffees and all roasts over time. I'd like to see them buying consistently good green. And I'd like to see coffee prepared to consistent standards and quality (at least within their own business) across all coffees and all staff.

This is where the commodity speciality coffee companies are killing the artisan ones. Sure, Peet's coffee is usually not good. But it is 100% consistent in how it's not good. If you know how you like it - it will always be that way.

Espresso

Life is all about watching the pendulum swing - and go past it's optimal point. By overshooting again and again we get a better idea of accurate targeting.

This is true with coffee as well. And right now, the pendulum has swung too far when it comes to espresso. We can see the obvious drivers (a return to brewed coffee, single origin espresso, better equipment, baristas becoming roasters / green bean buyers, etc) but what's important is to look at the results. I'd honestly say that (for the top coffee companies in the US) the espresso over all has become less pleasurable over the last 2 years. It's become more interesting, for sure, but it's not as enjoyable.

It would be worthwhile I think to start reconsidering desired flavour profile in creating espresso. The current models (particularly the "nothing but sweet and tart" model) seem to rarely produce espresso that is actually something you'd enjoy drinking every day.

So... those are my hopes.

Do I think we're going to do any of them or see any of them being addressed?

I have no idea - but I can dream now can't I.

dirty == chocolate?

So I've been running a little experiment over here.

You see - due to the combination of thanksgiving chaos and work chaos I screwed up recently and didn't backflush my machine for a couple of days. Those who know me have heard endlessly about the importance of a clean machine - and about how I backflush with detergent daily. In this case, however, I didn't have the chance. Sure, I rinsed - but no full clean.

On the third day, I pulled a shot of Ecco espresso and got a very unusual flavour profile. The shot was incredibly chocolate-dominant. I realized that the shot tasted the way home baristas on the internet keep describing "comfort food espresso" tastes. Various folks have described espressos ranging from the Four Barrel to Stumptown to even Ecco in this manner. I never really got this profile and assumed that it was either due to different prep or just the subjectivity of taste.

Home baristas also seem to clean their machines rarely.

Hmm... I wondered... could there be a causal relationship here?

So I've been experimenting with a dirty machine. And the results are very interesting.

First of all, almost all the espressos I've tasted end up tasting similar. They mostly turn into chocolate dominant shots with very little clarity or separation of flavours. Fruit notes are preserved although often translated into darker (or dried) versions of the same flavour.

Secondly, while I think that in milk drinks this profile is often very nice - I feel like the uniqueness of the espressos is lost (the coffee is "dumbed down" in a sense). I could see how someone coming from a coffee background that is based on roast flavours might like this.

Third, the results are pretty much universal for blends. For single origin shots, however, the results seem to be more positive with some regions (Brazil and Ethiopia for example) and far less positive with others (in particular with more delicate central american coffees).

Finally, this seems to work best with lighter roasted coffees. Darker roasted coffees seem to "foul" the machine more quickly - yielding shots that taste dirty and "fish oil" nasty.

I think this is a good example of needing a similar context and perspective in order to share opinions. I know understand why a lot of home baristas describe some coffees the way they do. I understand why most home baristas feel cleaning daily is a waste of time. I even understand (a bit better) why some coffees are so prized by home baristas.

Personally, I'm glad to have the experiment over. I'm looking forward to a nice, transparent and clean coffee tomorrow.

33 Coffees

I'm glad to be able to announce that my long dreamed of product is now available.

For those who know me, you've probably been subjected to my excited ramblings about the 33Beers book / journal (and its companion the 33Wines version). Some of you might have heard me say that there should be a coffee version of this lovely and useful tasting notes keeper.

Well... now there is.

Dave (of 33 Books) has done an amazing job creating what I think is the single best tool for tracking and managing your coffee tasting experiences.

For me this is an absolute "must have" item for those who love coffee, taste coffee a lot and who care about coffees.

It's important to note that, while the book would be very valuable for pros, it's designed for consumer use. It's easy to understand and easy to use. It's affordable and fits in your pocket.

Buy it now!!

Full disclosure time: While I am not affiliated with 33Books and have no financial arrangement with or compensation from 33Books or 33Coffees, I did provide advice on the content development for 33Coffees. And Dave is a friend of mine.