I would love to write more. I loathe neglecting these kind of internet opportunities to express myself. I promise to write more. For real, this time.
& off we go ...
I attended an event called Coffee Talk this past weekend of October 3rd & 4th. It took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan [my home state !] & was hosted by a fine bunch of coffee nerds, like myself, at Madcap Coffee. The lectures took place at an art gallery called Artprize, just down the road, & at Macap Coffee. I'll give you the run down.
The crew & I [which consisted of my non-coffee driven friend, Luke Longuski, & my very coffee driven-friends, Brett Felchner, Tif Harrison, & my coffee partner in crime Eric Mullins] drove out on Friday in the late afternoon [Liza Whitacre joined us on the ride back]. We arrived at our hotel [at a VERY discounted price thanks to Luke] around 1230 or so, & met immediately with Eric's parents. We headed up to our rooms, stretched & enjoyed a few beers & laughs until we felt too tired for conversation. The next morning, we promptly awoke around 7 & headed to a scarce supply of breakfast at the hotel buffet. What do you expect, right ? So we headed over, eyes bright & as big as the moon. As soon as I exited the car, I saw Trevor Corlett, & rushed to hug him. He led us over to the lecture building & showed us around. This place reminded me more of a basement like studio; perfect. Especially for hosting such a unique event. Art, everywhere !
MadCap Coffee Roasters, Grand Rapids, MI
Eventually, Trevor travelled back to Madcap & we followed excited & ready for our morning cup. It was a hopping morning for them. Laura Feldman & Ryan Knapp were pulling shots & were all smiles. I had some Third Coast espresso by the hosts themselves. Mm. Delicious. Full & bright with lots of mellow fruit nuances. I also shared a Costa Rica Brumas Del Zurqui pour over with Tif. Fruity fruit. Very enjoyable ! From there the gang was headed over to start the lectures over at Artprize & we began our Coffee Talk.
Edwin Martinez. Incredible guy. He is the 3rd-generation grower/manager of the Finca Vista Hermosa farm in Guatemala. He had a slideshow of his plantation & gave us a lot of infortmation about coffee farming, & how our role in the industry is so important. He mentioned how it takes 7 years to grow & be able to pick a ripe crop. & explained the Finca Vista Hermosa's washing methods, & more. I enjoyed our personal conversations, as well.
Next up, Chris Demarse from the Coffee Institute. Now, these dudes know their stuff like you know your mother. He discussed dosing, balance, & how important they both are in order for the sugars, oils, & lipids to respond to the water properly for tasteful espresso. "Bring the Essence out."
Following Chris ... Jam Time. We had five Espresso machines [if you count the La Marzocco G2], four donated by the SCAA [or did Trevor say it was the Barista Guild ?] & six guest Espressos to work with. 1. Intelligentsia Single Origin Honduras Black Cat. 2. Alterra Del Toro Blend. 3. 49th Parallel Epic Blend. 4. Metropolis Redline Espresso. 5. Anodyne Espresso Blend. 6. Madcap Third Coast Epresso. There was a lot of coffee shop employees [including myself] pulling shots for all who lusted, & there was also room for others to pull Espresso from their favourite shops ! Definitely awesome. After/During Jam time, lunch was provided; sammiches ! Yum.
Late into the afternoon now, Jesse Crouse from Intelligentsia up to bat for lecture on Alternate brew methods. He stressed the importance of particle size, temperature & turbulence & demonstrated & explained Chemex, Siphon, & Cafe Solo methods. & samples were given ! "We want the cofee to extract itself, not for us to extract the coffee."
More Jam time was followed & more delightful conversations were exchanged. I would like to mention here how many people were there, because there was a really great turnout. A lot of good representation from a lot of shops, as well. I would say about 40 plus coffee involved people attended. Everyone was engaged in conversation & I enjoyed being surrounded by so many people who care to engage in events like these. There was a lot productive conversations during the lectures & a lot of good questions followed by great answers. you had to be there to experience it. If you weren't there, you really missed out ... you've got to know I'm not mentioning it all ...
So, last for the day; Chris Defirio from the Coffee Institute lecturing about latte art. He explained how latte art is created, named a few techniques [which were SUPER helpful], key rules & how the pitcher should chase the liquid, & not vise versa. "The want to create good latte art inhibits the ability to create good latte art."
The event ended until the following morning, & we had quite a few adventures including, but not limited to; food, walking, talking, beer, coffee & napping.
Me & Brett Felchner.
& now the evening festivities were kicking off. HopCat, a local bar, was hosting a party for MadCap Coffee & all the Coffee Talk attendees. What makes this more special than any other bar hosted party is there was a La Marzocco G2 & a one Trevor Corlett [with a one Chad Morton helping !] pulling espresso for drinks like:
The Double Rigger:
HopCat Oil Riggger Imperial Stout topped with a double shot of Third Coast Espresso.
Imperial Machiatto:
HopCat Oil Rigger Imperial Stout topped with Third Coast Espresso & marked with foam.
Iced Stout:
HopCat Oil Rigger Imperial Stout with iced Rungeto, Kenya AA & a single shot of Third Coast Espresso.
Wow. What a night. I'll let these pictures explain split seconds of it.
Eric Mullins, Tif Harrison, & I.
Jim Saborio, Comet Crew ! Ryan Knapp, Brett Felcnher, Liza Whitacre, blurriness, Jesse Crouse, Scott Lucey.
Me, Eric Mullins, Chad Morton.
Bright & Early with bushy tails, headaches & all that, we headed to breakfast & out to MadCap. Trevor pulled me some Autumn Espresso from Square Mile. Ridiculous. It was amazing ... rad, awesome. Smooth & cocoa sweet. Oh, man ! I enjoyed some pour over of the Brazil Fazenda Sao Judas for the morning & slowly sipped the nectar-like coffee while Edwin held a cupping instructional.
Cody Kinart hat, Brett Felchner, Chris Deferio, Trevor Corlett, Jesse Crouse, Liza Whitacre, Scott Lucey, Colin Whitcomb.
We cupped three chemexed coffees as a group [& I apologize for the lack of information on these three]; an Ethiopia [a sidama ? Which I think was from the Coffee Collective ?], a Kenya, & a Brazil from Madcap. He advised that the best time to cup is early morning, around 10 am for the reasoning that your senses are at the peak of the day & also you haven't eaten a whole lot to skew your palette. For real.
Eric Mullins, Me, Tif Harrison.
We had a break in time for more conversation & jam time & the Square Mile was in everyones bellies with no other evidence than empty demitasses scattered about. Scott Lucey up next from Alterra, discussing The Next Level Barista Competitor. He discussed personal experiences on both judging & competing & encouraged everyone to compete. He might have even given me a little more encouragement me ... we'll see.
Jimmy Johns for lunch. Favourite, haha.
Liza Whitacre, Brett Felchner, Mike Jones, Jim Saborio, Ryan Knapp, Eric Mullins, Edwin Martinez, Adam Burley.
Ryan Knapp from Madcap hosted a panel discussion in the Role of Today's Baristas. Talya Strader from Intelligentsia on the panel, along with Colin from Alterra. Very in depth conversations. We got a lot of feedback from the Managerial side of things & discussed very important things in today's industry with each other as a group. I was very glad to be apart of that discussion.
Latte Art Throwdown ! Always fun :} Trevor Corlett kicked butt, haha. Goodbyes were exchanged shortly thereafter & numbers were given & recieved along with lots of hugs & a ton of free coffee from many, many coffee sponsors. Coffee Talk 2010 ? Where ?
Chad Morton, Edwin Martinez.
This weekend was such an important one to me. The coffee community will live on & grow like a sycamore. Our lust for specialty coffee will never go out, & we will keep trying harder to help the bean & everyone involved as much as possible. We are changing & saving the world !
See you soon, Mitten. I love you.
Ps: Did I mention I enjoyed a pour over of Panama Hacienda La Esmerelda from the Coffee Collective !? Twice !? Oh, em gee. Jasmine, & mellow spice with a crisp clean finish of sweet orange blossom & honey. MOUTH EXPLOSION ! :D :D :D
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