The guest barista gig was super fun. Two shifts, it's like riding a bicycle! Even my latte art hadn't atrophied that badly. Very cool. Most of the old regulars were in, which was nice. It was good to catch up to people. Plus, I got to check out the bottomless portafilter in a true production environment. I was impressed. While it does add a little time to each drink, and while I was finding that I was throwing out more shots, the drink quality was up (and was noticed by all) and the cleaning time every 45 minutes was down around 33%. Plus, the espresso is more flexible. For example - I was able to pull some shots of the Intelligentsia Oromo that were really nice. I was able to downplay the berry, and amp up the spice and chocolate. Made for a very nice espresso indeed!
I'm glad I did it - but I'm also glad I'm not working there full time anymore, much less managing.
And now I'm getting all worked up about NASCORE. It's going to be a ton of fun is my guess.
I'll be at the Stumptown Single Origin even on Saturday and Sunday morning.
I'll be at the BGA Townhall Meeting on Saturday at NASCORE.
I'll try to make it to as much of the WRBC as possible.
And I'll be at the BGA party Sunday night at Crema (of course).
I'm also going to try and squeeze in some time on the show floor as well.
I'll be going to as many tasty restaurants as I can fit in around these commitments - so if you're going to be at the show and walk to eat good food... let me know.
I'll take pictures of it all (of course).
