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The 20th Annual SCAA Conference & Exhibition

Who is going? The SCAA United States Barista Championship will be held at the same time.

The talent present this year is absolutely astounding. As the CI blog mentioned, there will be 3 previous national champions in the mix, as well as Chris Baca who scored an amazing 798 points in the WRBC. Absolutely stunning.

Patric Pierce, Clancy Rose, and Ashlind McAshan will be competing. (the Texas trio?)

Patric Pierce is the reigning South Central Regional Champ.
Clancy pulled a 2nd place finish in the same competition.
Ashlind was working for Starbucks when she competed in the SCRBC, and I don’t remember her final placing. She’s competed a few times out of region since then, and I expect she has improved much over the past year.

Also going on is the Roasters Guild Coffee of the Year Competition

“The Coffee of the Year is an event intended to evaluate exceptional coffees utilizing Q-Graders, SCAA Certified Cuppers and other industry cupping experts as selected by the competition’s organizers. Coffees will be ranked after the competition based on the scores provided by the participating cuppers. more…“

I am sorry that I am unable to go. I’ve been asked by a lot of people, and I hate to tell them that no, we don’t be able to meet, grab a drink, shake hands, etc.. at the show. I won’t be there.

For those going, have a GREAT time! And Tell us all about it when you get back.

If you don’t, I’ll source the information elsewhere and blog it anyway.

Oh yeah, and there is a ton of live-blogging scheduled for this year’s conference.
Apparently, according to Mr. Nick Cho, we will be able to find it RIGHT HERE. (where Mark Innman’s face is)

Cold Brewing With Style: Coffee Snob Cold Brewer

I saw a picture of someone’s home espresso shrine, and noticed a cold brewer that looked very similar to the larger version I saw in pictures of Blue Bottle‘s “$20,000 Coffee Brewer” (which is really a very very expensive heating element paired with some normally priced vac pots)… the cold brewer is made by the same company, and thus, it matches the vac-pot bar.

This smaller home version of the elegent design got me curious, and so I started hunting, and came across this little gem.

This is the Coffee Snob Cold Drip Coffee Maker.

You may already be familiar with the Toddy style brewer, which differs in design just a bit.

With the Toddy brewer, ground coffee is steeped in cold water overnight, and then filtered through a cloth filter.

The Coffee Snob brewer drips cold water ever so slowly through a cup containing ground coffee at the speedy rate of about 1 drop per second. (yippie!)

The result (like the Toddy) is a concentrated brew unlike any brew method relying on hot water for extraction.

While Cold Brewing has many fans, the previously available home versions have left much to desire in visual appeal.

The Coffee Snob does the job in a roughly 2ft. tall package that adds elegance and miles of style. Guaranteed to spark a little conversation for converts and future converts alike.

And best of all, Coffee Snob is a company located here in Texas. Manchaca (near Austin), no less.

They are available for purchase online, or at Monkey See, Monkey Do located at 1712 S. Congress in Austin.

I just couldn’t resist sharing this with you. A new discovery for me, possibly not for some others, but certainly interesting nonetheless.

www.Coffee-Snob.com

What are your Tamper preferences?

realize this is a subjective of a topic as any, but I’d like to see some discussion.

There used to be only one option. Flat base. Most of them were one-piece aluminum or stainless steel, and were not entirely ergonomic, but weren’t all that uncomfortable either. Rarely did they ever fit the basket like a glove.

Now days, we have several options to choose from. There are a wide variety of manufacturers of quality tampers, each with their own ideas.

There is massive range of styles of tamper handles. From skulls to giant sticks. From ergonomic form, to rubber handles. But really, the only part that has any impact on the espresso is the business end. The piston, or base.

(click for larger version)
There are plenty of opinions and ideas about why each is better or worse than the others.

The original style was the flat base. Then came the convex base, now known as “euro curve”.

Then along came the milder “american curve” to serve as a bridge between “flat” and “convex” bases.

Well, Reg Barber decided that this just wasn’t good enough, and designed what he calls the C-Flat base. The ultimate hybrid design. Curved edges, and a flat center.

I have personally done a lot of experimentation with the different tamper styles, and the results are about what one would expect if they felt they had a good intuitive understanding of espresso preparation.

There are also ideas floating around about how the tamper base should be paired with the shape of the shower screen on your espresso machine. For example, if the shower screen is flat, you should get a flat tamper. If the shower screen is curved, you should try to match that curvature with your tamper. A more aggressively curved shower screen needs a euro-curve tamper, a flat shower screen needs a flat tamper, and so on.

There are other ideas going around about how the tamper should be based on whether or not your filterbasket is tapered or straight-walled. The degree of curvature should, in theory, be determined by the degree of inward tapering found in the filterbasket. There is a theory that states that the supposed benefits of a convex tamper base are only applicable if the filterbasket has an inward taper. Unfortunately, the theory doesn’t go into many details, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.

I tend to prefer an American Curve base, for all filter basket applications, personally, althought I used a flat base in competition, and I tend to vary between them from time to time, just for taste or observational purposes.

But this blogger is curious. What is your preference? Whare the reasons you think your preferred base is beneficial?

Leave comments below, and let’s get this discussion rolling.

Houston Coffee Geek meetup: Sunday, May 25 3pm

TXCP forums member petunia clued me in to this meeting.

See the original thread on CoffeeGeek.com

I’d been following the progress of its planning for awhile, but I missed the finalization.

Catalina Coffee
3pm
Sunday, May 25th

Be there, or be square.

Catalina Coffee
2201 Washington Avenue
Houston, TX
77007

Kohana Coffee: Austin, TX

I received an email from a Piper Jones on behalf of Kohana Coffee desiring that they be added to our list of roasters. I added them to the list yesterday, and am just making the announcement today.

Would love to be listed on your site as a Texas roaster. We’re located in Austin, have been in business approx 18 months and are in love with great coffee.

Done!

I found this statement from their website in the “About” section:

Inspired to bring incredible coffee moments to every day life, we founded Kohana Coffee. Teaming up with some of the best
in the industry, we buy only the finest beans, including our core Hawaiian beans, and use the proper slow roasting technique to alleviate any bitter or acidic aftertaste. And because specialty coffee should be enjoyed by all, you’ll find Kohana coffees available at affordable prices.

There are also quite a few “testimonials” for their decaf espresso blend. It might be worth checking out for those who need to lay off the caffeine from time to time (or all the time).

Welcome to the list.


www.kohanacoffee.com

Brown Coffee Co’s $9 Sale: San Antonio, TX

Brown Coffee Co asked that we announce a coffee sale. What’s good for state-wide roasters is good for sate-wide specialty coffee in general. So naturally, I was happy to help.

Our goal at Brown is to put quality coffees into the hands of as many folks as possible. Enter now the “discount offer.” For a limited time, enjoy any Brown coffee for the flat rate of $9. No limit. If you’ve been waiting to try something, or are in need of a stock up, here’s your siren call. Consider this open season.

Their online store is HERE.

http://browncoffeeco.com

The Final Positioning: USBC 2008

1 = Kyle Glanville

2 = Pete Licata

3 = Heather Perry

4 = Chris Baca

5 = Nick Griffith

6 = Drew Cattlin

The scores were tight! Kyle’s performance was something to behold. He was smooth. He was suave. He was sovereign, and he used the semi-SimulSpro™ technique. Not entirely SimulSpro™, but not far off. His art was by far the best of the competition (not that art matters.. in fact, someone made a comment that latte art was soooo 2007, and I happen to think they are right, if it matters.)

In case you were unable to see the semi-finals or finals performances, they are all available to watch online at the official SCAA live blog. -> http://scaa.wordpress.com

And in case you missed the semi-finals round performance of our very own Mr. Patrick Pierce, here he is ;o)
Patrick Pierce, Semi-finals round, 2008 USBC

For those who missed the live-feed discussions, you don’t know what you were missing. It was a great time. Almost as good as being there.

USBC Semifinals (where are they?) and The Finalists Are Announced

I realize I didn’t post a run-down or primer for the semi-finals round. Apologies!

Unfortunately(or fortunately?) It’s one of those times in which tangible life beckoned.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the finalists. The final six. The elite. The worthy. And so on.

Nick Griffith, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Pete Licata, PT’s Coffee Roasting Company

Chris Baca, Ritual Coffee Roasters

Heather Perry, Coffee Klatch

Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Drew Catlin, Ritual Coffee Roasters

I couldn’t help but notice that all but one of these competitors is from California.

I also couldn’t help but notice that there are two representing Intelligentsia, and two representing Ritual.

Pete Licata took second last year, and Heather, as we all know, took gold (and went on to take silver at the WBC).

This will be a good round to watch! (and at only 2.5 hrs long, it should be managable, I think).

They are scheduled to begin at 12:00pm CST. You can watch it LIVE by following this link.-> http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2008-united-states-barista-championship-live-feed

NOTE!: You can also watch the recorded semi-finals round. Just click the feed above, and click on the recorded video links under the viewing window.

If you want to keep up with photos from the event, there is a group for the SCAA show on flickr which can be found here: http://flickr.com/groups/scaa2008/

Enjoy!

USBC Round 1 Day 1 is History: Round 1 Day 2 Primer

Today two of our Texas Trio ran in the first round.

Clancy Rose was the 6th competitor of the day. I missed seeing his performance, but I heard from others that he did really well. Go Clancy!

I did happen to catch the end of Ashlind’s performance, however, and she’s been practicing! She’s had a rougher run at this than almost everyone else in the running, but she’s been putting in the time and definitely has the spirit to persevere.

I really enjoyed Scott Lucey’s performance, personally, and Chris Deferio rocked my socks.

Tomorrow is the second day of the first round. Patrick Pierce got a by-in to the semi-finals round as the reigning champion of the South Central region.

To see the official SCAA Conference and Exhibition update blog, click here->http://scaa.wordpress.com/

In case you haven’t discovered it yet (and assuming you care), there is a live-feed being broadcast straight from the competition floor. To view it, click here!->http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2008-united-states-barista-championship-live-feed

To see the schedule of competitors for Day 2 (that’s Saturday, for you folks), click here (PDF)->http://scaa.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/usbc2.pdf

If you only want to catch the prime cut, Sunday is the day to watch.

I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely loving the ability to watch the competition LIVE. I wish I could be there, but since I can’t, this is a GREAT next best alternative.

Ex-USBC Champ Bronwen Serna will be competing 3rd tomorrow. (scheduled to go on at 10:00am)

Reigning USBC Champ Heather Perry (and second place in the WBC, with the title of “Best Espresso”) will go on 10th tomorrow (scheduled for ~12:40pm).

Ex-USBC Champ Phuong Tran is slated to go on at ~3:00pm.

The famous foodie/shaved ice junkie/Barista extraordinaire/PF.net Podcast partner Jay Caragay is the last competitor of the day scheduled to go on at 6:27pm.

If today’s schedule was any indication, things are going to be running a bit quick, so plan to begin watching earlier than the competitor you want to watch is scheduled to go on.

Tomorrow should show some excellent footage for those interested in maybe competing in the future.

Enjoy!

Texas Coffee People: Now Straight to your Email Inbox

Ladies and Gentlemen, we now offer Email subscription service.

Lord knows I have a hard time keeping up with everything I mean to read. I stay busy, and love it when I can get updates via email. It makes it easier to keep up with things when I seem to be too busy to remember to check for updates.

I thought, why don’t we offer this for Texas Coffee People readers?

Why not indeed.

Well, now we do. Just click the orange email feed icon.

Or, just Click Here.

Enjoy the hot juicy succulent content fresh to your Inbox once a week.

Email updates sent every Sunday evening, so you can read them first thing Monday morning.

What a way to start your week off right: with a cup of coffee reading about coffee.

It just doesn’t get any better than that.

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