THE EDGE OF AWAKE

old dog, new trick...

2011-08-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

sprudge dropped an article the other day about global espresso pioneers illy caffe, and more specifically regarding illy's recent marketing of single-origins components of their signature espresso blend.

we're going to come back to that, though. for the time being i have a story.

so, last summer i went to italy. you may peruse my exploits in that nation here. i spent a month studying small- to medium-sized corporations in rome, torino and milan. you may read about these travels here. late in the trip, i took a train to trieste because, as you may also know, i'm something of a coffee nerd and trieste is home to the corporate headquarters and main roastworks of illy caffe, one of the worlds' exclusive coffee brands.

illy caffe is what is referred to as a lifestyle brand. their product is meant to create a sense of belonging in the consumer to a social contract or a memory, or even a desire. their product, which happens to a high-quality espresso blend available in a variety of grinds and roast profiles, is simple the most elite espresso blend in the world, produced with the finest-grade arabica coffees that can be found.

that's what their marketing materials say, anyways. but it's not really about the coffee at all. not really. it's about the ambiance.

seriously. try this out. go to the swankest italian joint you can and you can bet they're serving illy, lavazza or segafredo. you'll know the culprit by spotting various metallic packaging pieces, illuminated plexiglass plates, logos on everything from cupware to sugar packets to napkins to menu items. the motif of the brand is stamped on everything and, in being so accessible and repetitive, becomes background noise that lives the very air of the business. these brands lend authenticity to the experience, whether it's dining, sipping, clubbing, what have you.

i'm getting detracted, though. the point is that i took a day exploring the roastworks and i picked an ear or two about illy intentions for the growth of their brand. one question i asked was,

"hey guys, with all the beans you have moving through your roastworks, why haven't you capitalized on global barista trends and released single-origin versions of your coffees?"

logistically, it only made sense. they had the beans in inventory, they manufactured their own packaging, created their own marketing materials... it seemed at the time to be a huge point of neglect on the part of the legacy italian espresso companies.

moreso, it seemed a grievous oversite in their global marketing efforts that they couldn't see the untapped market potential in single-origin, specialty coffees. with their close relationships with origin growing partners and vertical integration of all marketing activities, from production to manufacture to sales, the company seemed capable of exploiting the specialty market... but just didn't.

since then a lot has happened for that company. they've seen a lot of growth in the united states with a number of forward-thinking marketing endeavors. they introduced a ready-to-drink coffee product, reaching the ever-growing energy drink market. they converted home users with consumer-friendly, pod-based espresso systems that produced drinks just like they got at that cafe in italy that one time. they partnered with local restaurants and coffeeshops, lending certifications and prestige to those that hailed illy's name and kept their bright red umbrellas outside on their patios.

i guess you guys see where this thing is going. they've decided to revisit the idea of single-origin offerings. and this is really cool news. only, they have plenty more coffees to offer, so one hopes they continue the campaign and extend their offerings. and really, let us americans get this stuff in our grinders.

Exciting Upcoming Stuff...

2011-06-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

So, it's becoming something of a yearly ritual where I log onto this blog, cry profusely for somewhere around 45 seconds over the general, shabby state of affairs plaguing the thing, and then resolutely promise myself and you, my readership, that I will do my darnedest to revive the dying menagerie of overwrought three-dollar vocabulasm that is "The Edge of Awake."

Now, I'll bet you're thinking,

"Good lord, here it comes. More quasi-empty promises followed by theoretical coffee-centric nonsense that's completely inapplicable to my everyday life. Where's my Cosmopolitan magazine..."

And, to an extent, you'd be right. Because I am here today to make bombastic claims that may well never come to fruition, and they are predominately coffee-centric. But now I'm adding a novel new twist to the experience...

Jet-Powered Air Travel!

Yes, you heard me correctly. The blog is once more getting the Auto Elec Defib treatment, but if I ever get a pulse back, the first thing this blog is doing is printing out it's electronically confirmed boarding pass, hopping on the closest single-engine Cessna and taking to the region airways to bring you the very best in Southeastern coffee!

I recently took a trip down to Brazil to experience coffee at origin. No, not the mystical lands of East Africa where most believe coffee got its humble beginnings, but rather to the coffee farm owned and operated by the company that I work for. It was once of those experiences that opened my eyes in a good many ways, but left me yearning for more of what the coffee lifestyle is.

Okay, that's cryptic. What does it all mean, I hope you're asking yourselves. It means that not once in Brazil did I sleep on a well-worn straw mattress, fight off large, predatory jungle arachnids, or even go one night without the option of conditioning my hair the next morning. One day, I will get that experience, I'm sure. And I long for that day.

Until then, I've come to realize as I have a few times in my past, that I have been blessed with the gift of a middle-class upbringing and a job that allows me to travel about our great country in search of the best the coffee industry has to offer. To turn my back on that gift would be something of a tragedy.

With that I will leave you all with this. I will be working closely with a blog based out of New York, The Daily Meal, to bring you all the best of coffee in the Southeast, and beyond. Starting sometime very soon, you shall see a monthly editorial about my escapades across this lovely region of the states chronicaling the 5 best cafes and coffeeshops to visit when you're in town.

This is something I believe I was born to do, and something I should have dived into years ago. Alas, I've always been something of a late bloomer. It's cool though. You guys and gals out there have some great stuff to look forward to, and as I go along on my travels, I invite you to comment on my posts and recommend your favorite spots in cities I have not yet visited.

Who knows. Perhaps your favorite shop will make the cut.

For now, look forward to a post on Atlanta coffee, followed by... WHO KNOWS?! I don't want to ruin the surprise.

As always, enjoy and feel free to comment!

-Dan

Cupping Results 1/20/11

2011-01-25T19:53:00.000-08:00

I've been AWOL from the blog for a minute, but here goes!

I've been cupping a lot of coffees lately, honing my skills and whatnot. Here are some notes of coffees I have cuppoed lately.

Today I cupped a series of coffees roasted by Dallis Brothers Coffee Roasters. These were all winners in a multinational coffee certification competition held yearly in coffee-producing countries.

The coffees were:

NICARGUA - Las Flores (#8)

The heaviest of the four, i got deep wine notes in the nose, a buttery mouthfeel and citric flavors that were a bit savory. It finished liked a baked apple.

EL SALVADOR - La Pinera (#11)

Piney, with notes of curry in the nose. Sweet and creamy when blooming and almost tea-like when it brews. Some bright red flavors mingle with breadiness.

HONDURAS - Las Amazonas (#8)

Definitely the aromatic standout of the table. Deep, sweet fruity notes hit you as this coffee grinds. They are pungent, but pleasant. There are lemon-y flavors in the cup, but those red fruits from the nose develop and reel in the brightness of this one. Good stuff.

RWANDA - Kopakama Co-Op (#5)

This one really shines and speaks volumes about Rwandan coffees. The aromatic and flavor notes were all deep and rich, while also mellow. banana stood out in the nose, but gave way to floral and melon notes in the cup. the body was full, but not too much so.

Okay, that's what I've got so far. Look forward to a series involving coffees from more folks soon enough.

-Dan

Coffeeland Honduras - A Documentary

2010-11-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

All right everyone, this one is important.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1405419560/coffeeland-honduras-a-documentary

Help these dudes out. Go to this site and READ THE DAMN THING! These guys are attempting to do something truly historic. The renovation and subsequent return to grace of a coffee farm that got about the worst of it is the subject of their forthcoming documentary.

I know I talk a lot about my love for coffee, but no amount of latte art throwdowns or lackluster competition performances have the capacity for change that this project has.

The gentlemen of Safehouse Coffee in Griffin, GA are not unknown to the wild world of coffee bloggery, but I have the distinct pleasure of holding them as close, personal friends. Of the many and varied folk I've met in my yet-brief but life-altering journey into the industry, there are few that stand upon the principles of quality, transparency, progression and goodwill than the staff of that establishment.

Any amount donated is enough, but the clock is ticking. If you've ever felt an itch to do something bigger than yourself, bigger than your own world, scratch the itch now, in a moment poised to change the lives of a battered community and the history of an industry always capable of more than it ever accomplishes.

Help us do something good for this farm, and in doing so, do something good for the world.

-Dan

a bedtime story...

2010-07-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

in the heart of florence there is a great bridge of stone that crosses the river arno. seven hundred years ago, at the height of the great italian renaissance, the bridge was home to the greatest culinary artists in the world, and their many and varied shops. here could be found the finest pastries, breads, fruits and vegetables, cured meats and cheeses, steaks and poultry in the world. also could be found the jewels of these great culinary minds, their restaurants which served the most delicious food of the age.

all was not well and good, however. though florence and all of tuscany was well fed by the market and the fine chefs, the bridge was the source of a great evil. you see, at the end of each night, when all the fruits and vegetables had wilted in the summer sun, or when the meats and cheeses had rotted and molded, or when stuffed patrons left scraps upon their plates, all was pitched over the bridge and into the mighty arno.

over time, these scraps from the bridge collected and rotted and created the most foul stench man has ever known, tarnishing the once-glorious bridge. soon the crowds dwindled from the market until none came. and soon the hungered throngs grew wary of the restaurants and diners, until all chairs were empty, and the great chefs of tuscany were forced to board up their windows and doors and leave the bridge. the market, having no one to provide produce, breads, meats and cheeses too was soon closed and boarded up.

the great tuscan minds gathered upon the bridge and gazed upon the ruins of a once-thriving community and wondered,

"what shall become of this place, that was once so glorious?"

all looked down in shame and their eyes landed on the arno, filled to the brim with rotting scrap. in disgust, most averted their eyes and their noses, but one man kept his gaze upon the filth. of a sudden, illumination came upon his visage, and with it a great smile.

"look men! the answer lies before us and you avert your eyes? the filth of the arno has felled this great market, but the war is not lost. heed me men, for i have a plan!"

with that, the man withdrew from the crowd, the others speculating in his absence. what was this man up to? what was he playing at?

the man stayed away for many weeks, locked in his home where he saw no one. however, every day correspondence came and went, came and went, came and went. the great minds of tuscany heard of his hermititude and gathered outside of his door, beckoning he come out and share his great illumination with them. they offered him power, women, great sums of money, and nothing enticed the man to leave his home and speak his mind. for two months hence they waited upon his doorstep, their numbers growing everyday and their pleas growing ever more desperate, but still he kept his silence, and still correspondence came and went, came and went.

then, one beautiful spring day his door opened and he walked out, clothing ragged, face unshaven and unwashed. he was deathly thin and used a cane to walk. but walk he did.

"sir, what have you been up to all this time? what say you of the market, and of the filthy arno?"

but he did not respond. he simply walked in silence, following by the maddened crowd. he walked down side streets into the very heart of florence, through the once-proud market and to the great stone bridge.

there, on the bridge, before all the great minds of tuscany, stood three mighty kings, each with 1000 carriages filled with the greatest treasures in all the world and the men to drive those carriages. upon a nod of his head, the three mighty kings signaled to their men to dump their vast riches into the arno! the gold and jewels plummeted over the bridge to the great dismay of the tuscans, but upon piling into the river dislodged the great damn of filth and rot that ha collected! the filth flowed freely down the arno and out of florence forever!

at once the great throngs of tuscans that had followed the man dove into the river and surfaced with handfuls and armfuls of jewels and golden chains and lockets and all manner of treasures, and dove and dove again until they could no longer move their arms and collapsed upon the shore in exhaustion.

when they awoke, those that dove into the water took their treasures into the old restaurants and began selling their riches to all of tuscany. to this day, if you should happen upon Ponte Vecchio you will find their descendants selling the great riches of the arno still, and on a bright summer day, if you look down to the river, you will find it still shines with the brilliance of the riches of those three great kings and the one man that was never seen or heard from again.

*this is a work of fiction based on fact, as told by a good friend of mine. thank you, jacqueline*

The State Of Italian Industry, Summer 2010

2010-06-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's with great expectation, not sadness or disappointment, that I say I haven't been on nearly enough adventures in life thus far. It's not that I'm short on ambition, I just never saw the appeal in traveling abroad with so much opportunity here at home. Lo and behold, a lovely friend of mine meets me for lunch one day last fall and enthusiastically tells me she's going to Italy for a semester in the summer. Why would you do that? A differing perspective, she says. Snooze. All the history and art, she says. Snooooooze. Authentic Italian food and beautiful women. CHECK!

So here I am, half a year later, back in Atlanta from one of the great adventures of my life. Rome to Florence. Florence to Milan. Milan to Torino. Torino to Trieste. Rome to Amsterdam. Stops off in the Lombardi countryside, Naples and Lake Como. I saw the entire country, ate all the pizza I could stand, drank fine wines and amidst it all, I experienced that new perspective I felt I was so sure I didn't need. I'm going to try to relate this experience, and I'm going to try to relate that new perspective to you.

As you read this, it will be split into two parts. The meat and potatoes will be the intermittent blog entries that I wrote as part of the class segment of the trip. The in-between sections will be commentary on Italian economic and production practices, tourist culture, historical curiosities and espresso lust.

So, with no further ado, let us begin.

Italians create some of the most exclusive products in the world. They don't mean to be arrogant, but you can't deny that Farraris, Ferragamos and Lavazza frappes are what they are because Italians place more value on products further up the production possibilities frontier. They require only the finest input materials, they craft their products with their own hands, and they rarely let family secrets stray too far from home. There's an overwhelming number of globally-renowned companies in the country whose core values lie in quality of craftsmanship and simple functionality but whose designs push the borders of timeless beauty.

The Italian production mentality creates an entire population of warring factions struggling to hawk their wares everywhere from the city markets in Florence to the fiercely competitive high fashion markets in Milan. Even venturing outward to the globally revered historic city of Rome and to Trieste, the quiet coastal town on the Adriatic sea, I kept finding myself having to choose how I wanted to experience Italy at the hands of warring restaurants, shopping malls and tourist attractions.

In Rome I found myself constantly barraged by players in an elaborate tourist game, in which each local had some offering just slightly different, but just as assuredly Italian in order to preserve the natural continuum of the experience. The restaurants had very little variety. It would seem there are only three or four authentic Italian foods to choose from. Scallopine, tagliatelle, spaghetti pomodora and pizza were the mainstays. Also, there were paninis.

Monday, May 24

We arrived in Rome two days ago. That afternoon I fulfilled a long-standing dream of mine to enjoy an espresso in the birthplace of the beverage. I subsequently enjoyed many more. Yesterday I toured some of the oldest-standing architecture in the world. It's been a dream, but I'll say right now, that's not really what this blog is about. This blog is not about tourism, or the objective appreciation of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. No, this blog is about studying a faltering economy, attempting to diagnose its shortcomings and submit my unwarranted suggestions to what may prove to be a supremely critical and, in all honesty, uninterested audience. Regardless, I'm here regarding a purpose, so let's get right down to it.

In the following submissions I will draw from case studies, company tours and interviews in an attempt to discover the roots of the problems facing the Italian economy that have caused a once-proudly industrialized country to languish behind such young bucks as the United States and up-and-comers China and India in a global market. I didnt know quite what to expect from our first day of company visits. Our studies of Italian business ethics and theory gave me a framework upon which I made certain assumptions.

Assumption One: Manufacturing infrastructure developed during the two World Wars gave Italy a scale economy advantage.

Assumption Two: Production quality was of utmost importance.

Assumption Three: Italians face ongoing concerns regarding floundering production levels, efficiency and managerial best practices.

Of the three assumptions I had coming into our first visit, Banca D'Italia, two proved correct. The quality of Italian exports is indeed superior to the lion's share of what one might find coming out of the far-east nations or even out of such reputed engineering nations as Germany and the United States. Likewise, Italians do face concerns regarding productivity. Contrary to prior thought, however, Italy's infrastructure is not equipped to accommodate scale economies. Not on the bigger scale, anyways. No, Italian firms tend to be small (<10 employees), family-owned and content to sacrifice growth in order to maintain control.

Indeed, the pride that Italians take in the craft of their work leaves little room for full mechanization of the production process. Much more emphasis is put on the work of the hands and the work of the mind, as stated by the Communications Director of Brioni, one of the worlds most exclusive tailors.

Brioni made a name for itself shortly after World War II, when young American actors first found it fashionable to travel abroad. Thanks to these celebrity testimonials, both spoken and otherwise, Brioni found themselves in such demand as they had never known. They're now called upon by the worlds' elite in search of garments that express uniqueness and strength of personality.

I found an interesting dichotomy between the two visits. The young economists and social scientists we spoke to in the bank stressed, with a sense of urgency, that it was not the current economic crisis plaguing the world, but an ingrained sense of patriarchal business ownership that was holding the country back from the natural course of growth that it should be experiencing. Even Europe as a whole, despite having a collective economy that flirted with stagnation for the past three decades, has shown evidence of a “catching-up” process, while Italian managerial methods and productivity levels remain stuck in the past. Italian firms are unwilling to sacrifice family-ownership for cost efficiency and managerial best practices.

Representation from Brioni substantiated these studies beyond any doubt. The company, though well-established and well-reputed, doesn't seek growth in any form I, as an American, am at all accustomed to. The typical American business-person is taught from Day One to develop an idea until someone else is willing to give you a substantial amount of money for it, then to take the money and run. Brioni's intent is instead to remain in complete control of the family company, and to not lose that control at any cost.

Because of this they may find themselves stifling organic growth for the sake of exclusivity, which seems contrary to the natural evolution of their business. Why does the company make such a big deal out of Barack Obama wearing their ties, or Michael Douglas wearing their suits in his new movie and then intentionally limit the number of suits produced per year?

The company further contradicted themselves by claiming to have released a second-tier fragrance in a nice bottle simply for the sake of releasing a fragrance. They also have plans to expand into the accessories market. For a company hell-bent on not diluting their brand, Brioni has come a long way in diluting it I the past couple of years.

Perhaps they have to make these mistakes to learn where their true strengths lie. This strikes me as odd because the company seemed so sure of itself in the beginning of our meeting. Their ecstasy in having created a top-tier tailoring school and their current stature amongst the worlds' elite gave them the appearance of a company that understood the demand of their market, but after hearing of their cheap fragrance bid and accessory push, they come off as being slightly full of themselves.

Monday, May 25

On somewhat of a free day, the group gathered and headed down to old Rome to experience the wonder and marvel of some of the oldest standing architecture in the world. The ruins of Rome are legendary, and they more than lived up to their reputation. It's one thing to see pictures of the old arena on the internet, or to see it in movies, but it's quite another thing to stand atop the stadium, in the slaves section and look down at the intricate series of underground passageways used by the games-keepers, gladiators and slaves that once populated the bustling complex.

Of note is the fact that after the games were largely ended throughout the Roman empire, the Colosseum was converted to an ancient apartment complex, filled to the brim with living quarters, offices and retail outlets for all manner of business. The only remaining signs of this are square holes in the walls that once housed beams that supported the floors of the apartments. Some of the living quarters were four and five stories off the ground!

The Vatican mirrored the splendor of the ancient ruins in a lot of way, though the architecture was slightly more modern and vastly more ornate. The power and opulence of the Catholic church is simply mind-blowing. Witnessing the sheer volume of sculpture-work and paintings populating the chambers of St. Peter's Basilica rendered me speechless. I mean, seriously, didn't they know the vast majority of their empire was poor at the time. Beautiful as their display of wealth may be, it seems a terrible waste of resources.

A highlight of the trip was our visit to the Necropolis, which struck me as something of a second nursing home to rich and powerful Romans. I thought it was funny that the Romans would throw elaborate parties in the Necropolis and decorate the second-life condos with beautiful mosaics and carved-marble sarcophagi.

After our tour of historic Rome, we parted ways with our Professor and our guide and headed back to the hotel to regroup and prepare for the opera, where we saw a haunting and memorable rendition of Madam Butterfly. That night we rested, and the next day we split into two groups for a day of adventure.

Wednesday, May 26

In the morning, our group left for the train station, all bound for Positano, on the Amalfi coast. As fate would have it, only a few of our group actually got their. I believe we took the gravity of the trip for granted and didn't plan accordingly. We woke up in a hurry and ran to the train station. At the station we found that half of our cash cards didn't work, and that none of us really understood the train system yet. The result was that three of us got tickets and the others promised to follow close behind. Our train was scheduled to make a stop in Naples before completing its journey. In Naples we stepped off the train and debated whether to continue onward or wait for the rest of the group to catch up. We decided to wait, but after an hour we thought the best course of action was to salvage the day the best we could and enjoy Naples for a few hours before heading back to Rome.
This proved a fantastic choice, as Naples turned out to be a varied and photogenic town. I don't mean that Naples was particularly beautiful, because the city itself was somewhat ratty and beat down, but the coast was nice. From the marina just down the street from the train station we were able to see a volcano in the distance and many large and elegant yachts harbored at the local yacht club.

In a small cafe by the water I made friends with the barista and was invited behind the bar to pull a shot of espresso for the owner of the shop. The shop was using a lever-operated espresso machine, which I had never used, and pulled some pretty lovely shots of espresso. Upon presenting the espresso to the owner, I informed him it would cost him two Euros. He didn't get the joke. And even if he had, he probably wouldn't have found it funny.

Eventually, we made our way back to the train station and headed home. It was a long day spent walking around a town of unique character. Our feet were black with dust and our clothes soaked through from a hot summer day, but there was a sense of ease as we boarded the train and headed home that seemed the perfect end to our first adventure away from the typical tourist channels.

That feeling of perfect contentment was short-lived, unfortunatey. Upon arriving we found the group in uproar. The other half of the group returned to find their rooms ransacked, with many Euros missing from a few of the students bank rolls. Chaos ensued, we attempted to contact the police, who were all asleep, and somewhere in all the confusion the culprit returned a large portion of the cash. Not all, but a large portion. It was a very emotional end to our time in Rome, and it left a bad taste in my mouth for a city I was already on the fence about.

No matter, though. We packed our bags and in the morning we left Rome behind for the city that I will always love: Florence.

In Florence we witnessed history firsthand. For example, the owners of Castello del Trebbio still only use a few rooms in their renaissance castle during the Tuscan winter.

Thursday, May 27

As you're reading this post, search the internet for hi-resolution photographs of the Tuscan country-side and turn on the song “Music For Satellites” by circlesquare and wonder how this region has escaped the noise, pollution and corruption of Rome.

And then thank whoever it is you thank that it did indeed escape.

Col d'Orcia is a vineyard and winery in the rolling Tuscan hills, hidden safely away from main roads and pesky tourists. The sprawling estate covers over 2000 acres of hill country and produces some of the finest wine grapes in the region, as well as a small yearly crop of fine olives used to make oil. Along with 742 acres of land dedicated to wine grapes, 70 acres are dedicated to the olives and just over 400 acres are covered in forest.

Col d'Orcia specializes in the production of Sangiovese wine grapes and dedicates a majority of their land to them. It is important, however, to hedge against a bad crop by diversifying production, so they always grow Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Moscadello grapes. Their Moscadello grapes are of particular interest, as only 6 other producers in the region grow them. These particular grapes are from heirloom vines and produce an exquisitely sweet Moscadello dessert wine.

Much debate is given to what exactly makes one producers' wine better than another and the industry has created a blanket term in order to qualify the factors involved. The term, “terroir,” describes in a word the specific environmental factors that influence the color, body and flavor of the wine. The term covers unique soil conditions, humidity, daily sun exposure, wind conditions and precipitation. When asked to comment on a more specific definition of the term, the Count emphasized above all other factors the “hand” of the producer, comprised of the unique knowledge bank of the producing company, farming methods, seeds and vines chosen and specific production methods used by the producer. All in all, terroir is a term that encompasses all of the variables that make each estate unique, though many used similar grapes.

The Count followed this description of Terroir by explaining that weather conditions in the area are ideal for growing the Sangiovese grapes that the estate is known for. A nearby mountain, which happens to be the tallest point in the Tuscan region, shields the grapes from cold northern winds while simultaneously trapping coastal humidity from the south, providing the grapes with all the humidity necessary for healthy growth.

The winery is a relatively small player in the industry, producing only 800,000 bottles per year compared to the multiple-millions of larger producers. They maintain 10 labels, with roughly 75% of production dedicated to three wines: Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino and Spezien Toscana. Col d'Orcia is known throughout the industry as a truly quality producer, with consistently spectacular wines. They market to a very strict clientele, targeting high cuisine, 5-star hotels and the worlds' social elite. A large portion of their marketing is strictly word of mouth. Their wines are endorsed by the culinary elite, and kind remarks by world-famous chefs have gone a long way in solidifying their reputation as one of the worlds' model wineries. Their largest market is the United States, followed by Russia, China, Japan and other parts of Europe.

With these markets, Col d'Orcia has maintained respectable profit margins, even in the face of a worldwide financial crisis. Their production facilities in Italy and Argentina provide differentiated products for a variety of wine markets and their extensive knowledge base comes from generations of wine producers cataloging and passing along their know-how down the family line. These are the company's strengths and the reasons they should find their business strong for years and years to come.

Friday, May 28

Our day today began much like the days before: we awoke early, showered hurriedly and choked down as many mini-panini as we could handle before shuffling out the front of the hotel and trekking, single-file, to our first stop of the day.

We arrived at the offices of Lorenzo Villoresi after making our way through winding backstreets, dodging scooters and compact cars, only to find a nondescript brick structure with no markings identifying it as containing one of the most exclusive perfumeries in the world. After a quick rapping on the door we were buzzed in and made our way up a series of staircases to a cozy, if not slightly cramped library of scents that served as Lorenzo's point of sale and scent-development area. Through another door we were led to a sitting room with attached green room that boasted one of the best views of historic Florence that I have yet seen. The green room overlooked the river running through the center of town, views of waterfalls and various chapels in the distance.

We were treated to refreshments and then asked to seat ourselves as the wife of Lorenzo Villoresi began to relate to us some of the company's history and underlying production philosophies. Lorenzo himself studied philosophy and religion in university and was called upon to travel extensively in his days studying. During his travels, he began taking note of the intense scents and use of aromas in the Middle- and Far East, collecting samples that he would cook and experiment with back in his home, in Florence. The collection and manipulation of these foreign scents became a hobby of his, and between philosophical readings he would concoct scented oils that he used to freshen his abode.

It was during this time that Lorenzo was approached by a woman from Fendi interested in crafting a new scent for her company. She had heard mention of Lorenzos products through his involvement in fashion and high art events which he associated himself with. After crafting a scent for this woman she was so taken that she immediately ordered an entire collection be created. He obliged and provided her and her company with soaps, candles and perfumes all featuring the custom Fendi scent.

Lorenzo's reputation over the next years became synonymous with beauty and luxury. He demands only the finest input materials in his collections and requires his employees to have a vast and varied knowledge of every aspect of the production process, from scent development to packaging design to marketing the scent and eventually making a sale. His products are distinctly Italian in that they draw materials, such as alabaster candle-holders and hand-crafted crystal and silver bottles, from the surrounding area. Much of his input materials, in fact, are from Florence. In the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, Lorenzo incorporates art into his practice. His bottles are immaculately designed, his scents are complex and evocative and his office is both scenic and historic.

Lorenzo is pursuing a number of new growth strategies in the coming years. First and foremost his wish is to open a flagship retail outlet for his products. He toyed with the idea of opening such a shop in the United States, but decided the flagship store should be located in the true home of the company, beautiful Florence. Along with this flagship store he wants to create a scent university, of sorts, where his company can help train a new generation of perfumeries in the art and science of scent development.

Our second visit of the day was to the one and only Santa Maria Novella. This company boats what perhaps no other company on the face of the planet can boast: they have been a fully operational perfumery and pharmacy for an astounding 900 years!

The company had humble beginnings as a monastery for Dominican monks in the twelfth century A.D. During those times, monasteries were not simply places for monks to worship, but also served as safe-houses to travelers and hospitals to the sick. It was in providing for the sick that the company began developing its first products. Today the company offers a bewildering selection of products produced in one factory in the middle of Florence. The factory produces various lotions and balms, scents and perfumes, candles and scented pottery, liqueurs and breath mints, potpourri and soaps, and various medicinal and floral waters, along with dozens of other products, each varied and unique.

Santa Maria Novella has and always will place a lot high value on human craftsmanship and the strengths of their employees. They are quite prideful of their workers and of their workers' contributions to the company. For example, we were informed that a man we met dipping terracotta pomegranates into a scented oil bath had actually designed the apparatus he was operating. He imagined the machinery to be a giant French fry dipper and adapted several other machines to suit that purpose. That sort of ingenuity was found throughout the facilities. One of the lead scientists developed a system of resting soaps such that they would lose excess humidity during the resting process and would become more concentrated, allowing the soaps to last much longer than the average product one might find at the grocery store.

Another interesting tid-bit was the amount of hand labor present in the factory. Labels were pasted on my hand, soaps were hand-pressed with the logo and description of the company, candles and scented wax tablets were all hand-poured and later trimmed. The company ethic dictates that the use of the hands is good and that it makes for a better, more nuanced product. To an extent I agree with their philosophy, though I would argue that simply pasting a label onto a box does not constitute a substantial value-added price premium. It would make more sense to me to let a machine perform that particular task while focusing hand labor on more intricate procedures.

I suppose that is what makes Santa Maria Novella the company they are. None of their production processes are necessarily better suited to hand labor. Most of the processes could be done mechanically faster, and with great efficiency. In the end, it's the fact that the company has cared enough about their products over the years to sacrifice some efficiency for the sake of pride that gives them a premium edge. Also, if you ask them what they think about other companies working with more efficient and modern mechanization, they would likely not care at all about what those other companies were doing.

Because those other companies are not 900 YEARS OLD!!

Sunday, May 30

In a bit of a change of pace, our two visits today were a bit more leisurely than the few preceding them. Early this morning we boarded a coach and made our way 15 kilometers outside of Florence, back into the beautiful Tuscan hills, for a guided tour and wine tasting at a fairly new winery located in the Chianti region of the countryside. This winery, as it turned out, offered quite a bit more than a delicious selection of Sangiovese grapes and scenic mountain views. The winery was built adjacent and within a 900 year-old castle that one belonged to one of the most powerful families in Italy, the Pazzi family.

Legend has it that in the 1100-1200s, the Pazzis were a banking family of great renown, eclipsed only by the legendary Medici family, with their strong ties to the financial and political elite of the time. The Medici were famous for their opulence and their patronage to the arts, though at the time their focus was largely on the volatile politics of a country caught up in Catholic ideals and struggling to come to terms with the new-found artistic enlightenment spreading throughout Europe, but based in Florence. The Pazzis were jealous of the popularity and wealth of the Medici and plotted the demise of their patriarch, with the help of the then-Pope, who desperately wanted Medici land for the expansion of the church. The Medici, controlling the most powerful bank in Italy at the time, controlled vast swathes of land bordering Switzerland and Austria that the Pope wished to seize in the name of the church.

With the support of the Pope on their side, the Pazzis went about the grizzly business of murdering the head of the Medici household, Lorenzo di Medici, while he attended mass one Sunday morning. Within the course of the plot, a mistake was made and Lorenzo's life was spared. He vowed to take vengeance on the Pazzi family, and systematically began to wipe them out completely. When he was finished, not one Pazzi remained breathing. The stronghold of the Pazzi family, the future winery, was taken over by the Medici, who cleaned every last Pazzi marking from its campus, save one coat of arms that was designed and produced by the legendary Donatello. To this day, the coat of arms remains hanging in the foyer in homage to the great artist, but hiding within it the grisly story of one family's descent into madness, and eventual eradication from the annals of history.

Wowzers, that was heavy. Did I mention we also tasted wine on this visit?

So anyways, our tour began in the wine storage facilities of the company, located in the basement and dungeons of the fortress. We were informed that Chianti wines are named such after the region in which the grapes are produced and the wine is fermented and bottled. Other countries claim to produce Chiantis, but as a matter of definition, a wine cannot be labeled a Chianti unless it is produced in a Chianti region, of which there are only eight, all in Italy. The winery produces two such Chiantis, and each is vastly different. The funny thing is, the 3000 year-old grapes are the same in both, as are weather conditions. The key difference in the two is the amount of sunlight the grapes receive. The Reserve grapes are grown on the side of a hill that receives more sunlight and therefore causes higher sugar production in the grapes. These grapes are pressed and stored for a minimum of 3 years in oak barrels, while the grapes that receive less sunlight are processed and stored in stainless steel barrels for 6 months.

The wine itself is compose of no less than 80% Sangiovese grapes mixed with others in order to create what the world has dubbed “Super Tuscan Wine.” Historically, wines in Italy adhered to strict production practices in which each label was made of one particular grape from one particular vineyard. Quality standards and pricing were all set by this standard. When Italian winemakers began experimenting with blending as a creative outlet, the resulting wines had no standard by which quality and price were determined. It was at this time that American wine afficianados began referring to these as Superior Quality Tuscan Wines, a label which was later shorted to the marketing-friendly Super Tuscans.

After our tour of the castle and production facilities, we were led into the family's personal dining quarters to taste the mostly dry, but aromatic wines, along with a selection of meats and cheeses from the family's own stock. The lunch was intimate, and we discussed the marketing woes plaguing a mid-sized player in the saturated American wine market. As it turns out, it is difficult for the small winery to gain a foothold in the coveted American market next to established labels and cheap knock-offs alike. The company has resorted to Agrotourism in order to keep the grounds maintained and the family fed while they pin down a distributor for their wines. Foreigners are encouraged to visit the castle for a week, housed in historic laborers' quarters and shown the lifestyle of a winemaker. These agrotours are popular and they sustain the family, but there are worries that it distracts from the core activity of the winery which is, obviously, making wine.

After a lengthy discussion we concluded the tasting, said our goodbyes and retreated back to the hotel for a short snooze before heading out to the street markets and, eventually, the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum. Outside the museum spirits were high. Goofy, staged photographs were taken. Poses were resplendent and replete with glam. Personally, I have always enjoyed Ferragamo-designed shoes and aspire to own a few before my days are out. Needless to say, I was thrilled at the opportunity to study a progression of his work. I was, in a word, disappointed.

The museum was an unexpected distraction and, honestly, held little of substance. The exhibition at the time was a collection of dresses and gowns worn by Ferragamo-enthusiast Greta Garbo in her films made throughout the 40s and 50s. The dresses were of interesting design, the influences of which are still seen in today's high fashion, but the exhibition showed little of what put Ferragamo on the map, his shoes. A wall of photographs highlighted Salvatore in his workshop, sitting amongst countless stays labeled with the names of all the star actresses at the time, but by and large shoes were absent from the exhibit.

After getting over the lack of footwear in the museum, I began to study the dresses more thoroughly and marveled at the variation in design. His early work flowed easily, with each piece appearing airy and light, mimicking the lighthearted hedonism of the time. Moving onward, he was influenced heavily by the Far East for much of the remaining collection. The pieces were minimalist, clean and simple. Collars were cropped as tunic length expanded. Later in his career, the dresses kept their minimalism but garnered more structure. Coat lengths were cropped slightly and his design took the shape of something Jackie Kennedy might have worn out.

At the end of the our time at the museum we made our way upstairs to ogle at loafers and suits and purses for a moment before heading off to dinner in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Ah, life is a dream.

In Milan the group navigated itself around a modern, metropolitan city. The architecture was an interesting blend of Gothic and 80s modern, which catered to both "Miami Vice" set extras and the historically inclined alike. And in the end we all ended up sharing a burger at McDonald's anyways. It was kind of like watching one of those every-clique John Hughes films from the eighties.

Monday, May 31

Today was intense, folks. We awoke at 5:30 in the morning, after not a lot of sleep, boarded a coach with all our belongings and a lackluster breakfast bag and hit the road as a gentle rain fell on Florence. It was with a heavy heart that we drove away from the most beautiful town I've ever been in. I thought back on the time spent meandering about the markets in the company of beautiful women, eating fantastically well, marveling at the old-world architecture. I reminisced about standing on the bridge, late at night, looking out across the river Arno at the spectacularly-lit city and thought that it would be easy to fall in love in such a city. It spoke to my soul, and I will miss Florence terribly.

I didn't have much time to reminisce, however. Our first stop, Pagani, was an hour away and closing in fast. Pagani is a manufacturer of some of the worlds' most exclusive supercars, a trend that many in the auto industry see as an indulgence of the past, but an ideal that the company still upholds with all the pride and attention to craft that we've come to expect from an elite Italian design firm. Their claim to fame, the Zonda F, is a 1.4 million Euro street monster capable of reaching speeds of up to 360 kilometers per hour with a 768 horsepower AMG-built engine. It is able to achieve these ridiculous speeds because it is constructed mainly from a carbon-fiber shell and aluminum and aircraft titanium components, all of which are extremely lightweight and deliver high performance.

The Zonda F is more of a status symbol than a practical vehicle. According to the company, they have become quite popular with wealthy Chinese women, and there are an estimated 15 vehicles being shipped to Hong Kong and mainland China alone in the coming year. The company itself is interesting, and the founder is something of a prodigy. His love for automobiles manifested itself at a young age. At twelve years he was crafting intricate models of autos from wood blocks. At age 20 he built his first Formula 3 vehicle. He got his start in the industry designing components for Lamborghini's Countache model in the early nineties before starting his own design firm, Modena design, working on components for Lambo, Ferrari and Aprilla.

The machines themselves are fully customizable. The workshop is aptly name the “Atelier,” due to the parallels between custom-tailoring a dress and building a prized supercar from the ground up. Each vehicle takes between 6-7 months to build and with the staff on hand, the company is able to produce twenty of these 12-cylinder street beasts a year.

As an added bonus, each vehicle comes with two stow-able leather suitcases produced by Schedoni, a super-exclusive leather manufacturer based in the area, which also provides leather for the seats and dash inside the vehicle.

Our second stop of the day was at super- and street-bike manufacturer Ducati, where we were graced with a detailed tour of their production facilities and then led through a comprehensive collection of the company's vintage motorbikes. The Ducati factory itself is impressive enough, boasting a well-thought-out assembly line utilizing just-in-time inventory management and highly specialized tasks for each worker. Due to the efficiency of the assembly line, the factory is able to crank out an astounding 200 bikes a day!

Their staff is larger than the typical Italian firm. They maintain 500 employees on the floor at any give time, as well as 380 in the corporate offices and 120 in the fabled racing division, which is the only division we were not allowed access to. This was unsurprising. The racing divisions of the both Pagani and Ducati are where all research and development take place. In other words, they are treasure troves of industry secrets that many would kill to discover.

Here are some specifics of the assembly line, just for kicks.

The factory produces 5 models of bike, ranging from entry-level to extreme performance, and everything in between. It receives components in two materials daily: aluminum and steel. The aluminum components arrive finished and ready to assemble, but the steel components arrive unfinished and need to be machined before they can be put to use.

The camshaft system is exclusive to the company, and is highly prized.

Each bike takes 3-4 hours to produce, and workers much sign off on their work to assure maximum accountability. Quality control forms are kept on-hand in case a customer finds issue with the bike. In that case, the company is able to determine who caused the defect and how better to remedy the situation.

After our guided tour of the factory floor, we were taken to the entrance of the Ducati Museum and encouraged to walk around and familiarize ourselves with their extensive collection of bikes, which ran the gamut of vintage to current, focusing on the components and drivers that made each model legendary. It was quite an impressive collection that spanned 50 years of motorbike history.

Our visit lasted slightly longer than expected and we were forced to forgo a sit-down lunch in order to make our third visit of the day, Academia Barilla.

Academia Barilla is a revolutionary idea is the culinary arts that takes inspiration from something of a phenomenon I observed around the country, starting with Brioni and Villoresi and eventually with Lavazza. The phenomenon is such that, as these elite firms grow and compile a vast base of knowledge within their organizations, they find themselves learning LESS and spreading their knowledge MORE. Basically, after a firm establishes itself and begins setting the trends by which the rest of the industry sets their standards by, these firms tend to set up schools to share their accumulated knowledge to the interested public.

Academia Barilla had its rather humble beginnings as the brainchild of the man sent to America to bring Italy's market-leading pasta and food products to a market woefully underrepresented with quality Italian food. Their objective, as a company, is to become the market leader in every category they enter. So far, they are able to make that claim, and they hold the position as the top-selling Italian food producer in the world. Still, until the 90s, Barilla was largely unknown in the States. Barilla America was founded in 1994 to capture this market, with a major factory being built in 1999, followed by a second in 2007. After only 16 years, Barilla has captured a 30% market share of pasta in the States.

Academia Barilla was created in 2004 in order to highlight products of the highest quality in Italy and to educate the public on the best practical uses of these products. Using state of the art test- and educational-kitchens, the leaders at Academia Barilla develop training courses for the public that revolve around a specific ingredient, tool or genre of food. These courses dive deep into the history behind the subject matter, how best to utilize the subject and everything else in between. The Academy strives to establish food not simply as calories, but as a way of life. This philosophy is known as gastronomy, and Barilla is at the forefront of the movement.

Another important division under the Academia Barilla umbrella is the quality certification division, whose sole purpose is to scour the Italian food industry for the best and brightest products to which it lends its endorsement. Academia Barilla seeks out these products and the companies that produce them, solicits samples of the products and stamps them with their own brand, adding instant credibility to the producer.

Questions arise as to whether Barilla is worthy of lending its credibility. In response to cynics, Barilla has composed a team of highly-regarded food professionals from around the world as a sort of certification panel to test and rate the products submitted for endorsement. The certification program is stringent, and only the finest Italian-made products make the cut. If they do, however, they gain world-wide exposure and credibility from the most dominant Italian food producer in the world.

Academia Barilla was an interesting stop, but the tour was not very deep. I felt we only skimmed the surface of the potential of the company. Our last stop of the day, however, was much more enlightening. From Barilla we made our way to Dallara, producer of the most successful Formula 3 cars in the world, and component designers to another of the most exclusive automobiles ever created.

Dallara is, first and foremost, a race car designer and manufacturer. Their Formula 3 car bodies are the most celebrated in the world and have garnered them accolades amongst the major car manufacturers in Europe, America and everywhere else.

The founder, Gian Paolo Dallara, originally worked for Lambo, Ferrari and Maserati designing components for each of the three manufacturers. He split from these companies to form his own in 1974, focusing on Formula One and Formula 3 designs throughout the early years. Eventually the company dropped F1 development due to imposing costs, but they have dominated the F3 circuit for the past twenty years. Intermittent attempts have been made to break back into F1 development, but costs are extremely high, and the company has come to embrace their particular strengths.

It should be noted that Dallara does not manufacture every component in their cars. On the contrary, they develop a relatively small portion of the car, namely the chassis and gear box. Engine, tires

Currently, the company's main focus remains its racing division, but plans are in place to develop a Dallara-branded street car that properly represents their heritage in racing. In past years, Dallara has worked with major car manufacturer Volkswagen Group in the development of the Bugatti Veyron, which proved a dramatic revitalization for the essentially hollow brand. The partnership has been a wild success and now the two companies are looking to how they can benefit from each other more in the future.

Specifics of the first Dallara-branded street car are tightly held, but whatever they choose to produce should be a lot of fun to drive. Now, questions arise as to whether Dallara has the competencies to produce their own branded vehicle, and whether the company has a clear market segment to serve. A road car requires complex systems, such as air conditioning and other power-managed systems, that the company is not familiar with developing. Also, the last thing Dallara wants is to dilute its brand with a vehicle that has nothing to do with the heritage of the company.

This is just food for thought, though. Given a solid opportunity, I believe it is in the company's best interest to expand their horizons, if for no other reason than to hedge against the high costs involved in the racing division. If the company could develop a cost-effective vehicle marketed towards those looking to experience the thrill of racing on the streets, strong sales could give Dallara the financial cushion they need to be more competitive in other race circuits.

Tuesday, June 01

Today was a leisurely sort of day. This morning we took a cab over to Pariani, fine English saddle craftsmen, and then made our way to Santa Maria della Grazie to observe one of the most controversial pieces of artwork ever painted, the Last Supper.

Our day started a bit late today. Our first visit was a bit later than what we were used to, so breakfast was decidedly unrushed. Also, breakfast expanded a bit in Milan. We were treated not only to the obligatory soft roll/prosciutto/hard cheese combo that we'd grown accustomed to, but to more Americanized fare such as scrambled eggs and sausage patties. Unfortunately, the eggs were bathing in yolk and the sausage was a bit crispy, so I settled for breakfast paninis anyways.

After a couple mini-sandwiches and a cappuccino, I made my way to the front lobby to meet the group and catch a train over to Pariani's headquarters and workshop. The company was not what I expected, though at this point I'm starting to realize my expectations were way off, in general. The facilities were small, but cozy. The decorations were quite equestrian, but not as highfaluting as one would imagine from the makers of the finest English saddles in the world.

The man that greeted us, Carlo Pariani, was none other than the grandson of the founder of the company. The founder, Adolfo Pariani, opened a shop in 1903 selling mostly English menswear, but also importing British-made saddles. As demand increased the company decided it would be in their best interest to begin manufacturing these saddles. Around this time, revolutionary changes in popular riding styles created a necessity for a saddle that was easier on the horses back. Pariani jumped on the opportunity and designed a saddle utilizing a pliable wood that gave upon landing, distributing the downward forces across the horses' backs and down their sides, easing pressure on the spine.

The first of these saddle models was released in 1939 and garnered the company instant accolades. The saddles have been used by myriad riders of some celebrity, including the Kennedy family, Ronald Raegan, General George Patton, the current president of FIAT, and countless equestrian champions since its development.

Today, their saddles are crafted of high-quality spring woods and full grain leather that, though it requires substantial and continuous maintenance, will last the user many decades and provide unrivaled comfort for both horse and rider. The company has an unrivaled attention to craft and insists each saddle is constructed by one craftsman, start to finish. The process takes the craftsman an average of two days to complete, as opposed to two hours if done mechanically. It is the attention to detail and hand-craftsmanship that make the saddles not only exclusive, but of the highest quality possible.

The saddles are imbued with the human factor. That isn't to say they are built with imperfection, because the craftsman constructing them are the best in the business. Rather, I am saying the saddles are built custom to order, the leather softened by hand and the seams hand-stitched. Looking at the final product, you can see that great care and attention were given to each detail in its construction.

One would read the above and think, wow, this company is doing something right. But there is a logical disconnect. The saddles sell for around $2500, which is relatively mid-range in the high-end saddle market. It is not uncommon to see $5000 saddles in this market. These saddles are inferior, however. Somewhere along the way, the company lost sight of the concept of value-added premiums and willingness to pay. For example, if a customer requested a different, even exotic, colored leather, the company would think nothing of it and comply, though they could obviously charge a premium for these customized services. The company sees such services as complimentary, though really they are not. Another issue is that the saddles are selling for $2500 at the retail level. Many of the saddles produced, however, are purchased by wholesalers for substantially less and the sold for mortifying margins.

After discussing these issues and other, mainly concerning the acclimation period (7 years) of a new employee, to the possibility of expanding into the equestrian accessories market, to the feasibility of setting up a now-infamous school to train new saddle craftsman in a more informal setting, the group took their leave of Mr. Carlo Pariani, catching a cab to Duomo for lunch, and then a train to Santa Maria della Grazie to view the Last Supper.

The painting itself was impressive, taking up the lions share of a large wall inside an empty chapel. The chapel was a strange hybridization of classical and modern architecture. The chapel is a relic of renaissance times, outfitted with modern environmental stability technology that strictly monitors and controls the purity of air, humidity levels and contaminant levels entering and exiting the space, in an effort to preserve one of the last pieces Leonardo di Vinci ever completed.

The viewing was brief, as the chapel is only opened to the public once every few months. Once we made our way through various airlocks we were lined up a few meters away from the painting and told not to take pictures, talk loudly or even breathe hard, as the integrity of the work was fragile. See, the painting was not done in the then-traditional fresco style. Rather, it was painted using water-based tempuras that sat atop the stucco walls, as opposed to the egg-based frescos which are painted while the stucco is wet, infusing the paint into the drying wall.

Because the paint rests atop the stucco, it is perpetually falling off. Since the initial painting was completed, it has been fully restored nine times, the longest restoration lasting more than twenty years. This sort of effort is crucial due to the nature of the painting, its contents and the implications of those contents to the Catholic church. Much speculation has been made about the feminine figure to the right of Christ that may or may not be Mary Magdalene, about the background that is more Tuscany than Jerusalem, and about the symbology regarding the groupings of the apostles and the numerical parallels between the doors and the tapestries.

I'm not versed enough in the history of the painting to discuss any of these controversies, so I won't bother. What I can say is that, when Milan was bombed heavily over the course of World War II, the monastery in which the chapel resides was hit and mostly destroyed, leaving only the chapel and other random segments standing, which I thought was pretty interesting.

A few of us students made our way to Como Lago, a quiet lake town surrounded by hills, located thirty miles north of Milan. The lake flirted with the Swiss border, at the very foot of the Swiss Alps. From it's high perch, the small town of Brunate consisted of high-priced condos and light tourist fare, all with spectacular panoramic views of the pristine lake and surrounding mountains. We took a tram up to the town and enjoyed drank cappuccini in full view of the breathtaking lake and surrounding countryside. The trip was a welcome distraction from the frantic pace of the trip up to that point. Even our last free excursion, to Naples, was hurried by comparison. Como was about relaxing and enjoying the natural beauty of the country, rather than analyzing what made the country beautiful. Do you see the distinction?

We returned that night tired, but fulfilled. And maybe just a little bit in love.

That night we dined at Duomo. We drank a bit too much wine and crafted the single most convoluted story known to man, starring a young and lusty Italian couple with decidedly French names, a Baron, a Baroness, a talent promoter, a bartender, a stripper, an economist, an academic and a party girl with a red dress and an overactive bladder. After dinner I was invited to the back to try my hand at whipping up a cappuccino, which I delightfully accepted. After dinner we smoked cigars, drank whisky and smoked cigarettes, feeling lighthearted and free after a day that was all our own.

Thursday, June 3

I am writing to you out there on an overnight train from Torino to Trieste. I'm on my way to tour the production facilities and corporate headquarters of Illy Caffe, the Italian espresso producer that provides the espresso I use in my coffeeshop.

So, I've been keeping this fairly well under wraps. Actually, I'm pretty proud of how very quiet I've kept this little secret. I've gotta come clean, though. Truth is, I like coffee. Yeah, I know. Shocking. But really, I like coffee.

So, imagine my surprise and delight in hearing that my study abroad group would also be touring the production facilities of the largest espresso producer and distributor in the world, Lavazza. Yes, I was surprised.

We arrived at Lavazza after taking a two-hour train ride west of Milan, into the heart of Torino, followed by a speedy cab ride out into an industrial district, through the center of town. Entering Lavazza's offices, we passed by a display case exhibiting and extensive collection of demitasse mugs from various coffee institutions. A few interesting mugs of note were Dunkin' Donuts, Illy and Starbucks, but the collection was truly vast, with hundreds of roasters and producers accounted for.

We were then led through the facility's main training room, replete with a dozen or so espresso machines of all makes and models. Pictures were taken, cappuccinos were offered and tears of joy were shed. The man leading the way was called Daniele. He was Lavazza's head barista trainer and all-around coffee enthusiast. After pouring and serving a number of perfect capps to the group, he led us into a presentation room where we learned all about the company's history and discussed the future market growth potential of the global coffee giant.

I got a bit frustrated during this bit of the discussion, because as a coffee person I feel the giant producers are not listening to the pulse of the consumer environment. No one knows whether the idea of specialty coffee is a trend or if it has potential for sustainability, but the movement in coffee as of the past five or so years has been to develop lasting relationships with farmers, working at the ground level to improve the qualities of specific coffees, and then to highlight the nuances of those coffees through careful roasting and brewing, in the hands of a talented barista. I won't limit my argument to espresso, though espresso preparation is my passion and my forte.

The fact is that the coffee-going public is clamoring for coffees of substance in this day and age. They are no longer content with commodity products purchased from haphazard processing stations for the lowest bid. There's a shift occurring in the industry towards single origin coffees and limited blends that highlight a particular farm, or a particular growing region, as opposed to bloated, complex blends aimed at providing a consistently even taste. In the same way that Italians value the hand-made, craft products that I've discussed thus far in these posts, the coffee public in the states value the natural nuances of coffee.

That's a bit of a rant, but it serves a purpose. I discussed the possibility of a company like Lavazza providing exclusive lines of single-origin or limited-blend coffees for a premium cost to the consumer, and was politely shut down. It all came down to a matter of logistics, which bothered me immensely. The company has the infrastructure to handle this sort of program, and they obviously have the source materials. The only reason I can think of NOT to pursue a single-origin program is that the company, like many other Italian espresso producers, believes more in the art of blending.

I don't blame them that. It is an art. It's just not what we want anymore. It's boring. It's tiring. One blend day after day after day. It just doesn't make sense. Okay, I'm done with my rant.

After the discussion we were treated to a tour of the production facilities. We were shown coffee intake and sorting, where 60 kilogram jute bags from various origins were dumped into sorting machines that shook out impurities and sent the various coffees to various silos for storage. We were shown the control room that kept tabs on what was where, and how much. We were shown the 400 pound roasters that contain meters that read bean density and record infrared readings of the internal temperatures of the individual beans to assure even roasting. We were shown the packaging machinery, and finally we were shown the football-field-sized robotized storage facility in which the coffee is stored at random, because it is easier for the robots to retrieve it that way.

Coming from an environment celebrating microroasteries and borderline-obsessive attention to preparation as we are sometimes guilty of, it was great to see the other side of the industry. Lavazza has a fantastic product, and fantastic marketing. There's really no way to argue either of those points. In the end, I was lucky and ecstatic to have been afforded the opportunity to check them out.

Upon leaving Lavazza we made a short drive over to Pininfarina, perhaps the most exclusive and decorated automobile designer in the world. They are the firm responsible for Ferrari's award-winning automobiles for the past 60 years. We weren't brought in to discuss Ferrari, though. Upon arriving we were taken downstairs to the main presentation room and introduced to the senior design manager of the firm and given a personal presentation on the company's latest concept for the Geneva Auto Show, the Sintesi.

The Sintesi is the manifestation of the speculated future needs of drivers, and as exotic as the car appears, it was actually designed to be completely functional. The beauty the car exudes came only after certain practical concepts were fully realized. The most obvious example of function lending to form would be what Pininfarina have dubbed “Liquid Packaging,” in which the engine block is removed and replaced with four independent fuel cells (one on each wheel) that are linked to a central, cylindrical fuel cell processor. These fuel cells move each wheel independently, or they can be synchronized by the central fuel cell processor. The effect is increased fuel efficiency, traction control, and a whole lot of space up front freed up for more dynamic body design. Very cool stuff.

After the presentation the senior designer took his lead and we were handed over to the public relations lady for a tour of their design showrooms to look over their past work. Some of the designs truly were impressive, especially when taking chronology into account. Their design precedes its time. Radical body shapes and functionality such as engine placement and door range of motion were found throughout. The only gripe I had with the firm is that it sounds like a lot of their time is devoted to concepts that never make it into production. It seems to me to be a waste of time, but for the firm it could be a creative outlet in the midst of near-constant design submissions and job bids.

Who knows, I'm not a designer.

After the tour we had a chance to pick our hosts brain about the state of her industry, who she would love to work with and what constitutes good design. Most of the answers to our questions were confidential. What should be public knowledge, if it is not already, is that Pininfirina designs are a perfect melding of functionality and timeless beauty.

Sound like common sense to you? Yeah, it did to me, too.

So that's it. All the scheduled company visits are done and I am on my way towards my last great adventure in this country. My train should arrive in four or so more hours and then it's off to get caffeinated. Ciao friends!

Due mainly to inexperience, but surely also to my propensity to rush, my travels to Trieste were mostly uncomfortable and not terribly scenic. I took an overnight train from Torino with a stop-off in Bologna at 1 am. My connecting train didn't arrive until 3, so I had to find a few hours to kill. I managed by venturing out of the station, eyes open for the first operational cafe to get a cappuccino and a panini to fill my growling stomach. It didn't take long to find a spot. It was the only cafe open in the area and was bustling with travelers.

I had been seating two minutes when a flustered Korean couple stumbled up the cafe, obviously weary and unsure of their whereabouts. I offered them a seat and they accepted. Before I knew it, we were discussing our travels, our professions and our various loves in life. Both were bankers and met each other at work. At the time they were taking a month-long break, exploring parts of Europe. They were on their way to Venice and were due to catch the same train as me.

We had some difficulty communicating. I'm no natural linguist, I guess. What we did have in common was a mutual respect for the country we found ourselves in. They spoke to me of the natural beauty of Korea and the disparity between the citizenry and the governing body. I spoke to them of my love for coffee and mentioned that Korea was home to a couple well-renowned cafes. We spoke of Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, and of Italian architecture and industry. Before we knew it, it was 3 and we were all rushing to catch our train.

In the hustle and bustle of boarding I lost sight of them, and upon searching later I was unable to locate them and thank them for their company, but I hope they know how much I enjoyed our conversation. I also hope they enjoyed Venice. I hear it's quite a romantic city.

Trieste is a picturesque town on Italy's far Northeastern Coast, bordered by both the Adriatic and Slovenia and rimmed in sprawling hills. The hills are covered in mid-rise condos and apartment complexes with fantastical views of the sea spanning far into the distance. I arrived in Trieste early in the morning after a long night of travel. I didn't have an alarm with me, so I couldn't sleep on the overnight train. Again, I stepped off the train and headed out of the station in search of a cafe in which to grab a bite and perhaps freshen up.

I found one with ease. It was 7:30 in the morning at this point and most businesses in the area were opening up. I stopped in for a pizza and a Coca Cola and to ask directions to my destination, the corporate headquarters and production facilities for Illy Caffe. The barista couldn't help much, but suggested a cab driver might be more knowledgeable. I paid her and headed to the restroom to change and brush my teeth.

I left to find a cab and gave the driver an address I had found online before I left for Italy. After five minutes we arrived at a vacant building and panic ensued! I hadn't truly just traveled across the country to find an empty building, had I?! I asked the driver if there were any other Illy offices in the area and he mentioned there were two. One was in an industrial sector east of the city and the other was 10 kilometers north of the city. Taking my chances, and drawing on my experience with Lavazza before, I asked him to drive me to the industrial site.

We drove for what seemed a long time, though it surely wasn't more than 15 or 20 minutes. My anticipation was growing, as was my anxiety. We passed a huge industrial port with massive cranes loading and unloading tankers and cargo ships. The magnitude of the port humbled me and eased my worries a bit. After a time we arrived at a modern office building and the drivers exclaimed that we had reached our destination. I thanked him profusely and exited his cab, feeling very much alone, but exhilarated! I approached the door and my worries melted as I saw a long, soft-white reception desk bearing the distinctive red logo of Illy Caffe.

Entering, I offered the receptionist my name and she welcomed me warmly, beckoned I sign in and assured me my tour guide would be coming round shortly. I was directed to a locker to store my belongings and then to a lounge to rest while I waited. I took the opportunity to look around and marveled at the sleek, clean appointments of the office. The decor adhered strictly to Illy's design aesthetics, abounding with soft whites, reds and blacks, with hints of silver. All was well-illuminated. In the center of the main foyer was a four-sided coffee bar constantly populated by Illy employees taking short coffee breaks. A lady behind the bar churned out an astounding number of drinks as I watched.

Soon enough my guide, Roberta, arrived and asked if I'd like a coffee. I assented and we enjoyed an espresso before beginning our journey through the factory. The factory itself was, in many ways, like Lavazza before it. And yet, something was different. The scale was smaller, and the feel more personal. The personnel looked happy and the facilities were bustling, unlike Lavazza's spartan, mostly mechanized assembly lines.

We began by visiting the green coffee intake center, where 60 kilogram jute sacks are stored and distributed to the sorting and blending machines. The sorting machines are really something special, shooting the beans at high speeds past lasers that examine them for defects. The defective beans are discarded and those that pass inspection are sent along the way to be blended. The blending process seems simple, on the surface, but only on the surface. Later in the tour I was shown one of the company's daily cuppings, where samples of green coffee are roasted, tasted and sorted according to specifically-evaluated flavor profiles. Back at the blending center, certain percentages of each flavor profile are combined to create the well-balanced, signature flavor the company is known for the world over.

After blending the beans are sent to the roasting room, where large barrels capable of roasting 400 pounds of coffee at a time are happily set in motion, rolling the beans over themselves and embracing them in a 500 degree bear hug. The beans are exposed thusly for a very short time before being dropping out of the barrels and sprayed with cold water, which evaporates immediately, shedding all the heat absorbed by the beans. The process brings the beans from roasting temp down to room temp in a matter of seconds.

Things got a bit more interesting after the roasting room. We headed into the mechanized pod and capsule creation center. Along expansive belts crossing the factory floor ground and dosed small quantities of the roasted beans, wrapped the grounds up in logo-stamped woven-paper envelopes or tamped them into small plastic capsules before lining them up into neat rows and placing them within the various cans, tins and boxes that they would one day be sold in. These packages then got stacked onto pallets and sent to a warehouse where robotic arms arranged them to rest until their shipping orders came in and they got sent out into the big, wide world.

From start to finish the process left little to chance. Defective beans, pods and capsules were discarded and only the finest final product was sent for shipping. Pods and capsules that found themselves not properly aligned for packaging were sent back to be repackaged. It was a highly efficient process that discouraged waste. The company wasn't outputing the same volumes as Lavazza, and their final product seemed better for it.

One particular process I haven't touched upon yet was the tin manufacturing process. Illy packs their wholesale coffees in distinctive aluminum tins that are produced right there in the factory. The aluminum arrives at the factory flat-packed on pallets. On an assembly line designed by Illy engineers, the sheets of aluminum were wrapped into cylinders and welded. The bottoms and tops of the cylinders were them machined, capped and welded with other, more specialized pieces of aluminum. After the tins were welded completely they were corked with an air compressor and submerged in water to assure they were airtight.

After the air test, the functional tins were dried and filled with beans and nitrogen to assure the natural gasses within the beans stayed within the beans, while the defective tins were separated, crushed and sent away for recycling. The tins are, in a way, iconic of the company as a whole. It was interesting to witness their creation up close.

We proceeded upstairs to Illy's world-famous training facilities that boasted myriad espresso machines and other brewing apparatuses. It also housed the personal library of Dr. Francesco Illy, which contained thousands of books pertaining to science, philosophy and coffee geekery.

I regret that I was not able to experience the infamous Illy Aroma lab, where cutting edge research is conducted into the molecular chemistry of coffee and the gastronomical applications thereof. It was in this lab that one of Illy's newest products, Cafe Crema, was created. Cafe Crema is a frozen, nearly gelatinous concoction of Illy espresso and heavy cream that has a texture like gelato, but without remaining rigid. It is smooth and creaming and utterly delicious. It's been released in Italy. Let's hope it makes it to the States soon.

The next couple days are a blur of insomnia and emotion. I took a train back to Milan that same afternoon, to find only the empty rooms of my classmates. I took the opportunity to take a much-needed shower and headed out on the town for dinner. I spent the evening at Duomo, sipping red wine and watching the street salesmen sending illuminated flying toys into the sky against the looming silhouette of the chapel. It was an interesting setting to look back on the trip and digest what it meant to me. Everything has changed. There's a new perspective within me that wasn't sought out, but it crept in nonetheless

You see, I never saw myself as the traveling sort. I always figured the States had enough to offer, enough to see and experience. But there is a pervading thought in America that life is about the accumulation of wealth, and that the pursuit might somehow lead to happiness. That is simply not the case. It struck me that, walking down the streets of Florence, one could count a dozen or more neighborhood shops founded over 100 years ago and still attracting the necessary business to sustain the owners in comfort. It became apparent that the Italian mentality relies on the retention of a firm's control, either by family or by a select group of individuals, by any means necessary. They have traded short-term profitability for security and longevity and they're perfectly content with the switch.

These things I pondered over spaghetti con ragu and a Chianti Reserve. Feeling tipsy, but content with a bit of coconut gelato in my stomach I took the Blue line back to the hotel. My roommate was back, exclaiming the group missed me terribly, and that the professor was singing “Oh Danny Boy” all day to alleviate their lamentations. I helped her pack and we discussed some of my thoughts from earlier, and a bit of what we loved about this country. We fell asleep feeling nostalgiac, but happy. In the morning I walked her to her bus and then she was gone. Her adventure was nearly over, but I still had one last leg of my journey: Amsterdam.

I wasted no time getting to the airport. I had a train ticket for the next morning that I switched for an overnight leaving that evening. The ride was, as usual, uncomfortable. I didn't bring my phone across the pond, and I never thought to pick up an alarm clock before this point, so I didn't get a lot of sleep on the train. My car was full so I didn't even get to stretch out. I arrived at Schiphol airport exhausted, but thrilled. I checked my baggage into a locker and went downstairs to catch a train to Amsterdam Centrale.

The train station was packed. So were the streets, despite ominous clouds and the beginnings of a light drizzle. I left the station and headed for a tourist center, where I found a map of hostels in the area. I started walking towards what I later discovered to be the Red Light District and took a room at the Bulldog. After a shower and a shave I set out to discover the city. The canals were a maze, a web of long names and ambiguous signage. I got lost a few times, but I never hurt for good food. The streets are lined with pastry shops, coffee bars and, ironically, Argentinian steak houses. A word to the wise: the chefs prefer their steak quite rare.

I didn't have much time in the city, so I mainly wandered the streets. The town lit up at night and I soon found myself bathed in neon. The squares hosted live music and soon enough the city was awash in everything from rock and roll to jazz to hip hop tunes, setting a peculiar mood. Everywhere, groups of friends walked about with beers and cigarettes in hand, reveling in the lively atmosphere, largely ignoring the drizzling rain and offensive odors rising up from the canals.

There was too much to do, too much to see for the few hours I had to explore. I met up with one of the guys from my dorm for a beer late in the evening. We talked about where we were from, and what we did. I told him of my quest to seek out the best coffee in Europe and he told me that he had planned to be in Amsterdam for two days, but was on his fourth night. The city, it would seem, has that effect on people. Knowing I had an early flight, I took my leave of the gentleman in search of an alarm clock. I found one, but I couldn't set it, so I stayed awake by the sound of the ticking.

When the sun rose, so did I. I made my way out into the gray Dutch morning with my camera in one hand and my overnight bag in the other. The day that followed was much like many before it. I boarded a few trains, sought out my luggage, got on a plane and made my way back to the States.

You hear a lot about culture shock when you go abroad. Heading to Italy I felt none of it. Perhaps it was my American arrogance, or that my excitement drowned out any negative mental state of mind that the cultural differences may have brought to bear. Regardless, I felt shock coming home. I began to miss the old continent the moment I stepped back in the airport, but by the time I boarded my plane I wished with all my might I could have just one more day far from home.

I'm thankful for my time away, and I feel I'm a better person for it.

Florence, wait for me. I'll be back someday soon.

cafe nineteen two-point-oh. maybe.

2010-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

so, i've spent some time recently redesigning the layout at my shop. i'm focusing my efforts on creating a modular work environment, kinda like what you see at intelli's shop in venice, ca. the problem i'm facing has most to do with the limited space i have to work with. what i wouldn't give to have an hour to discuss the scarcity of space and the efficient use thereof with ingvar kamprad, founded of ikea and recently-named rich person.

the idea is creating separate little station for each brew method we would offer. stations would include espresso, french press, chemex and drip station. if this whole thing is done right, gone are the days of tripping up over fellow co-workers in an attempt to craft that perfect chemex while they're pouring a capp or what-have-you.

has anyone tried this? better yet, if you have tried it, any advice on making it work in a small area?

-dan

idle hands are the devil's playthings...

2010-04-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

so, it's a bit of a shame, but i haven't had a whole lot to do at work lately. due to office politics, as it were, my hands as a "manager" have been tied somewhat and i've found myself deflated into more of a figurehead than anything else.

i've been finding ways of making this time productive, however. i've been catching up on the blogs. those crazy cats over at dirtycup produced some pretty kick-ass videos out in california at the USBC. they're a riot. jacob is the king of karaoke. also, they're interviews with dale delchamps, kyle glanville, the slayer and la marzocco teams and everyone else they spoke with were all top-notch and insightful. rock on, dudes.

tonight was the first of what i hope to be many efforts at consumer education. it's one thing to talk a customer through the process of brewing their cup and it's quite another to let them in on the experience and gauge firsthand what makes a cup great and what makes a cup lackluster.

now, to be fair, the first Be Your Own Barista night was a bit lackluster itself. no one showed up for the official "timed" portion of the event. however, as i was packing up all my gear, a gentleman by the name of coleman stepped over and asked me what i thought was the best way to brew a cup. wow. that was what i would call a "window." i jumped through it. nearly forty-five minutes later he and i were both very much caffeinated and stoked about his returning later in the week to chemex a few coffees side-by-side. it will be his first foray into cupping, and i'm excited to be part of the experience.

so, i'm just throwing this out there. if anyone wants, at any time, feel free to drop by and i will take a moment to brew a cup and chat with you about it. i know if i'm talking to anyone on this thing, it's coffee folks who pretty much know what they're drinking. regardless, if you ever want to chat about a particular bean, text me, meet me at the shop and we'll get into the drink.

in other news, i've been working on my rhymes lately and i think i have enough verses to get into the studio and record a mixtape or something. look forward to that.

what else is there? well, italy is coming up. the trip is shaping up nicely, with some company visits planned that are sure to knock some socks off. so far we're booked to visit ducati, ferrari, lavazza, brioni (the suit-ery!!!!), some super-old perfumery, and a couple others that i can't remember. and then, at the end of it all, i hope to take a train out to trieste to visit illy's headquarters and maybe see their factory! holy crap. i'm thrilled, but i'm also nervous. it's my first time out of the country. i've been to mexico, but i really don't even count that. is that wrong?

watch m.i.a.'s new video. just not at work.

-dan

uh oh... it's a long one!

2010-04-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

okay, so i haven't been current in a month or so, and a lot of stuff has happened between my last post and now.

to start, i sort of took a break from active coffee culture for a little while after the southeast regional comps. i needed a bit of time to decompress. coming out of the event i was a bit frustrated with my final scores, but after having given it some time and consideration i realize i'm fine with the turnout of the competition. in the end, i had a fantastic time performing. not much mattered after i came to that conclusion.

so now i have to get back on that horse and try to get my knowledge game up. there are a few things i have in the works for the coming weeks/months. first and foremost, i am making it a mission to learn more about roasting. this is something i've been wanting to do for a while, and lately opportunities have been presenting themselves. the most exciting is the atlanta roasting co-op that local coffee fixture byron holcomb has in the works. the premise is simple. byron has a sample roaster on loan from his farm in the dominican republic. in order to keep the roaster around atlanta, he needs to recoup some of the machines cost. in order to do THAT, it is being made available to atlanta baristas for a per-session/per-month fee. specifics are still working themselves out, but it's looking like $25/day will get you roasting privileges, plus a bit extra is you don't have any green coffee to roast and have to use his own personal stock.

at first i thought his pricing structure was a bit steep, but then it IS a co-op. the more you roast, the greater share you have in the project. also, you can't put a price on the experience and potential for knowledge gained through playing with the thing. at any rate, this is a big deal and i'm making it a personal mission to 1.) get the most out of this roaster personally and 2.) garner as much interest and participation as i can from those coffee folks i know throughout the city. this is a great opportunity to further the already tight-knit community we have and expand our avenues of expression beyond cupping and latte art throwdowns.

i don't know if i'm making my excitement clear, but this is huge.

okay. what ya got, dan? how about BE YOUR OWN BARISTA NIGHT!!

i've spoken about this before, but it's time for another shameless plug, i think. BYOB is a course i am hosting on home preparation of coffee and espresso. together with whomever shows up, i will be discussing the virtues of five popular home-brewing methods, including espresso, auto-drip, french press, moka pot and chemex preparations. the class will be an hour to an hour and a half. IT IS FREE! and we will have the featured devices for sale at the end of it, along with a variety of coffee (provided by illy caffe) to purchase to go with the devices.

Be Your Own Barista
April 27th - 7:30 pm
Cafe Nineteen.

so come along and talk coffee for a while.

lastly, i have some huge news. i will be heading to ITALY towards the end of may with a group from school. this is something of a pilgrimage for me. i'll be visiting the birthplace of espresso! while there, the group will be visiting various small- to medium-sized companies, studying cases and seeing the sights of the old world. after the trip proper, i will take a train out to Trieste to visit the Illy factory and see how Italian espresso is produced in this modern world.

i'm stoked about the trip, but i don't really know what to expect. if anyone out there has any suggestions for me (what to see, what to do, etc.) please let me know. i will be blogging (mandatory for the trip) while i'm there, so look forward to some interesting posts, pictures, what-have-you.

that's about it. everyone watch the national barista comps and cheer on the atlanta baristas that are competing.

later,

dan

working with the livia...

2010-03-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

so, i've been working with the pasquini livia for a few weeks now, and i'm starting to iron out the little quirks of the machine. one thing continues to bother me, however.

the machine has a funny way of steaming milk. and by funny i mean annoying. and by steaming milk i mean not steaming milk.

yeah, basically, i can't figure out this steam wand. it feels like the machine doesn't have the power to kick up and circulate milk in a way i feel it should. as a result, my foam is loose, bubbly and virtually unmanageable.

the espresso, on the other hand, is quite another matter. i'm pulling some pretty tasty shots out of the machine. it's taken a second to dial in my grind and work out dosing, but the shots are coming around. i'm getting stable, colorful crema on top of very bright, rich shots.

now if i could just figure out the milk thing. anyone have any experience foaming milk on a home machine?

also, i had to put together a makeshift knock-box. i did so out of a retail illy can and a metal chopstick.

-dan

movie night...

2010-03-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

i watched this movie last night. it was real.

also, i've been sitting on a couple verses for my musical side-project, seven.fifteen.
there are a few online now.

www.purevolume.com/sevenfifteen

enjoy.

-dan

Be Your Own Barista...

2010-03-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

so, i was having a conversation with my coffee guy, ron, the other day about chemex-ing illy coffee, and that perhaps the popular 2-gram per ounce recipe didn't quite fit the coffee. we experimented with the dose and grind for about an hour trying to get the brew right.

we were at wits' end when we had an epiphany: there must be thousands of coffee folks out there who have the same difficulties dialing in a coffee to our idealized specifications. better yet, perhaps there is a perfect recipe out there that someone has concocted.

the idea is to gather home baristas under one roof to make a bunch of coffee and see what works and what doesn't. some shops call these barista jams. others call them throwdowns, sprodowns, smackdowns and all other manner of -downs that usually end in latte art contests and lots of jittery folks that are lucky to get any sleep at all. ever.

at any rate, we're going to try it out at my shop, cafenineteen. we are calling BE YOUR OWN BARISTA NIGHT!!!

the format is thus:

instructions and demonstrations on how to prepare coffee in five manners
   -french press
   -chemex
   -moka pot
   -auto drip
   -espresso

these are, by all accounts, the more popular in home coffee making.

illy caffe will be providing coffee for the night, but if anyone would like to bring their own, it is more than welcome. we may even throw a cupping in with all the brewing action.

so, this is a first for us here at cafenineteen. in the future we will try out an instructional on cupping, as well as maybe including other devices, such as single-cup melittas, aeropresses, costa rican sock coffee makers and ibriks. who knows.

anyways, if this sounds interesting to anyone, please let me know and we'll get crackin'.

-dan

Be Your Own Barista Night

2010-03-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

so, have you ever wanted to take your homebrewing to the next level?

come attend our one-stop-shop for everything coffee-at-home. we will discuss how to brew the drink in a french press, chemex, moka pot, drip coffee maker and we'll even hit the basics for making espresso and milk drinks at home.

there isn't yet a spot on our website to register. it's coming. for now, just hit me up if you're interested.

-dan

'nuff said...

2010-03-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

pasquini livia 90 semi, mazzer super jolly and lots and lots of illy caffe.

ballin' out.

come join me for an espresso some time.

-dan

minor dilemma with milk foam...

2010-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

so, i've been having some issues with my microfoam that i'm sure someone out there may be able to address.

allow me to set the scene. i've been pouring the usual art in lattes and capps, and after a spell i start to notice these nasty little bubbles accumulating in the areas of crema that persist around the designs proper.

i went down to safehouse coffee and tea the other day and chatted with jacob and dozier about foaming technique a bit and they confessed to having the same issues with their foam.

after troubleshooting a bit and comparing foaming techniques, we decided that letting the milk settle, or mature, for a few seconds after foaming generally decreased the likelihood of this happening, but we still noticed a few nasty little bubbles here and there.

i started to wonder if it might be the coffee itself that was the issue. perhaps the problem is that the coffee was too new, releasing too much carbon dioxide which broke through the foam layer, degrading its stability.

another theory is that we were steaming too hot, which we debunked after a serious of temperature tests.

at last, we tried letting the milk sit for a minute after steaming while we cleaned up the station and purged the wand. the rationale was that after foaming, the proteins in the microfoam might be locking together a bit more as they cooled, giving the foam more elasticity. i'm not a scientist. someone help me out with the specifics.

anyways, these are the foaming issues i've been having.

any thoughts?

-dan

A Couple Cool Videos...

2010-02-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

so, i know lots of coffee folks out there have seen these videos, but i'll post them anyways for the non-coffee folks that may be reading.

Espresso, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.

Syphon, Intelligentsia from Department of the 4th Dimension on Vimeo.

Notice the gorgeous espresso machine. It's a refurbished La Marzocco GS2 from the 70s. You have to hand it to those Intelli dudes... they know how to put together a shop. Classic.

-Dan

a moments rest...

2010-02-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

whew...

and all atlanta beansters breathed a collective sigh of relief.

so, firstly, congratulations to atlanta's finest.
chandler rentz (batdorf and bronson) - 2nd place
dale donchay (octane coffee) - 3rd place

you guys do atlanta proud. your performances were awesome and you have my utmost respect.

also, dustin mattson (octane) and dave delchamps (1000 faces coffee) get props for ending top-6. have fun in anaheim, everyone, and make sure someone is filming it for those of us that can't be there.

so, that's it, the SouthEast Regionals have come to a close, and most of us are able to get a decent night's sleep for the first time in months. the turnout was incredible. 35 baristas. that's a 100% increase in participation over last year. the field was strong, and the performances and creativity overall were off the charts.

personally, i am proud of my showing. as a first time competitor i didn't know exactly what to expect. i mean, i've watched hours of performance video from the WBC and whatever i could find online, but nothing really prepares you for those 15 minutes on stage, with all eyes on you.

i want to thank everyone who came out to support me.

first and foremost, i want to thank my loving girlfriend, hasanthi. your selflessness and strength held me up in my weakest moments. you pushed me through the long nights of training, you kept me humble when i was proud, you kept me calm when i was frustrated and you kept me focused when my mind wandered.

and to my jonesboro people, i salute you. dale and chevy, john and allison, kenny, valerie, max and joan, kit, susan and stacy, ben and paloma. you guys lit the fire in my heart and gave me that huge smile you saw on my face. without you guys, there's no point in doing any of what i do.

i want to thank my coffee family. ron, you trained me well and imparted your vast knowledge upon me. i hope i was able to represent you, your company and illy to the utmost of my abilities. speaking of illy, thank you caroline, sarah and barry. without your support, i wouldnt have had the means to compete at all. thank you for everything. also, janet, julie, nick and bob, you guys all kept us focused on the task at hand, and your humor kept us laughing through the tough moments. rally and jezara, i was more than happy to see you guys at the show, and i hope you saw that i represented the cafe proudly. everyone else at cafenineteen, i'm sorry none of you could make it, but i know i was in your thoughts. thanks guys, you're the best. and everyone else in the coffee world that has helped me along the way. david lamont and byron holcombe, ben helfin, dale donchay, john cole and josh flail, hunt and amanda slade, jacob, david and dozier, and the rest of the safehouse guys, you all play some role in the barista i am today, and i thank you profusely.

finally, i want to thank my family. thanks for all the kind words and support before and throughout the process.

okay, now to business at hand. i will upload a video to the blog as soon as i possibly can, but for now let me mention some points that i might change for next years performance:

-practice on a competition machine and grinder, if i can get them on-hand
-become more familiar with my coffee, on a micro level. it's not just about knowing the flavor profile, but the individual components of the blend that create the nuances in the coffee. it helps to know origins, blend structure, roast profile and optimal dosing in order to create the very best drinks possible.
-tighten up my technical performance/cleanliness.
-tighten up my timing.
-create a sig-bev based on flavor profile, not simply a delicious drink. in all fairness, my choice to create a good-tasting drink over one that was indicative of the contents of the espresso was against my primary notions, and in the end was a stupid decision, although the drink itself was tasty, and i encourage all to come to my shop and try one.
-don't change my coffee at the last second. also stupid.

despite some technical errors on my part, the fault pertaining to my somewhat lackluster scores in the comp rests in the execution of my drinks and the descriptions of flavor profiles that i gave the judges. thinking back on my choice of wording, i realize my descriptions of the coffee were a bit generic. even beyond that, working on unfamiliar equipment had detrimental effects on my drinks. i prepared for the competition using illy's normale blend, which is illy's signature blend of coffee at a medium roast profile. the coffee has a red fruit nose, with hints of cinnamon toast and a chocolate-y, caramel-y body. problems arose when i chose to use their scurro blend at the last moment. scurro is a darker roast profile of that same signature blend, but those red fruits in the nose turn much darker, into a raspberry, black currant-y nose. lost are some of the faint citrics in the body, though the dark chocolate remains. also, there isnt so much of a caramel finish. its more carbon-y.

at any rate, in my preparations i didn't pick up on these changes. working with mahlkonig grinder and simonelli machine at the comp severely changed the expected flavor profile. i can think of a couple reasons for this.

1. the mahlkonig is a much higher-quality grinder than the one i was using in practice, which was basically a chinese knock-off of a mazzer major with a doserless mod. the burrs were worn, i fear, leading to a lack of uniformity in grind. this may or may not have muted some of the more delicate flavor notes and most certainly affected extraction levels. in my practice time before i went before the judges, i was pulling shots like i'd never seen illy pulled. the crema was thick and dark, deep red with striping. in my own shop, ive barely seen the crema color pass tan, with only occasional striping. needless to say, i was a bit shocked.

2. the simonelli itself was programmed with a soft infusion cycle. wow. this feature is NUTS! this was the second major driver behind these sick shots i was pulling. basically, my linea is set to shower an espresso puck with an even 9 bars of pressure from the get-go. the simonelli starts an extraction by drenching the puck in a 6.5 bar pulse for a moment before ramping pressure up to a full 9 bars. this soft infusion saturates the puck in water, creating a uniform infusion throughout before full pressure sucks every emulsified bit of syrupy goodness out of the puck. i've been speaking about pre-infusion on this blog for a second, and this soft-infusion program is basically what i've been wanting to play with the whole time. i really want to spend some more time on this machine, or another of its ilk, to push the limits of what soft infusion can do, especially for illy coffee.

3. the portafilter basket on the simonelli was a 20 gram basket. in training i had optimized my dose at 16 grams, in a 14 gram basket. using a 20 gram basket, i was unable to properly distribute the grounds. upon requesting a change of basket, i was denied. this seemed unfair at the time, as my coffee was not optimized for a 19 or 20 gram dose. there was no way around this, however. so, every shot i pulled i was penalized for improper dosing a tamping due to my optimization of dose. it struck me that this may be the result of current trends conditioning competition rules, which is backwards. the drinks i present to the judges should be an accurate representation of myself as a barista. the competition rules, in effect, held me back from creating the drink i had optimized.

4. i got a lot of points off for my signature beverage not articulating the flavors in the espresso, which 1.) they did, and 2.) should matter little. why shouldn't that matter? because the signature drink shouldn't represent the espresso as much as the barista who created it. the comp already requires two drinks that allow the coffee to shine. the signature drink should allow the barista to shine. if what the judges want is another drink to elevate the coffee, they should require a pour-over or a press or something. it just bothers me that my drink should be deemed "too sweet" when the whole point of the signature beverage is to take creative license.

so, the preceding is a bit of a rant, but its neither passive nor antagonistic. i learned a lot about what it takes to deliver a stellar coffee drink, how to connect with your beans and how to be an entertaining and effective performer.

i love the idea of competing, and as ambiguous as some of the competition's principles are, i love that we baristas are given this opportunity to share a bit of our passion with the public. i do feel that i didn't fully understand the expectations of the judges going into this whole thing, but all that has changed now. next year the southeast will get a better show. i'll have the game locked down. i'm stoked and i can't wait to get started.

see you all then. as always, i invite commentary!

-dan

BIG NEWS!!!

2010-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

so, one idea ive had for a blog for a while is a sort of digital tackboard where readers could post pictures of establishments that use comic sans in their literature/logo/official documents, and to thusly ban business interactions with these establishments.

i haven't figured out the code for the tackboard yet, but what i am going to do is begin an ongoing thread, complete with cheesy logo, for this very purpose.

look forward to that in the coming days.

in other news, the pork at moes kind of tastes like hot dog. in an unpleasant way.

neon ocean...

2010-02-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

I've been restless lately.

My mind wanders aimlessly, set adrift amongst the crested waves of a neon ocean, undulating perpetually.

With a moment to breathe, I will try to get some thoughts out there into the world.

one: pre-infusion is a bust. using a hard-infusion method with the linea at work yields shots that are overly bright with a diluted finish, with weak crema that breaks within seconds. an ideal shot would be syrupy and rich, and the shots produced using my pre-infusion technique are without viscosity. reluctantly, i've re-programmed the linea and halted the pre-infusion experiments. why do you reckon i got the results i got? my only guess is that the pressure of that initial burst is cracking the coffee puck inside the filter and allowing the water a path of lesser resistance. without ample time to infuse with the puck, the shots are essentially under-extracted. future experimentation will involve tricking the machine into soaking the puck with line-level pressure before extracting the shots fully, if i can ever figure out how to do that. newer machines such as the slayer and the synesso hydra utilize paddle-groups, allowing for continuous gradation of water pressure from zero to nine bars, making line level water output possible. i would love to have a day on a synesso, to play around with these infusion concepts.

two: i've been listening to a couple cool bands lately. a few worth mentioning are apparat, the xx and bibio. all three are electronics-tinged projects, and i think all three are foreign. apparat does this sort of ambient/idm amalgamation with unconventional beat-making under darkly melodic synth textures. the xx are a british group also utilizing synthesizers, and, interesting, drum machines in their live shows. yes, one of the band-members plays two mpc 1000s during performance, tapping out beats while the rest of the band plays conventional instruments. guitar and bass are complemented nicely by sampled drums, and the whole act is stitched together in minimalistic form. this is a group to chill to, for sure. think circlesquare/portishead/cranberries all rolled into one. finally, bibio takes a page straight out of the book boards of canada is still writing. wobbly guitar loops over trip-hop beats, funky bass riffs and filtered vocals. it all melds into one creamily woozy dreamscape. this is great music to drive to, just not late at night. youll fall asleep and end up wrapped around a tree. otherwise, its really great stuff.

check out the albums "walls," "the xx," and "ambivalence avenue," by each other the three bands.

three: practice and performance schedules for the SouthEast Regional Barista Competition have been set. i will be performing first on day two of the first round of competition.

i go on at 11 am on Saturday, February 20th. Come and see me perform!!

four: there is no four.

catch ya later,

dan

economics in action...

2010-02-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

i just read a paper on the above economics model. in a nutshell, international trade volumes become the function of the size of each of two countries' gross domestic products and the distance between the two countries. that's what i'll call the "abstract." the paper added to the equation factors such as language commonalities, infrastructure development and the distribution of urban centers.

the winding path of the gravity theory of economics is dotted with "duh" moments.

for instance, according to the model, two countries with telephones and computers will evidently trade more than two countries with sticks and rocks. wow. insightful. or, equally shocking, and you may want to feel around for the closest armchair, the correlation between the length of time it takes to fulfill the necessary paperwork and international trade volumes is NEGATIVELY proportional.

and this paper is full of that stuff.

-dan

Setting Goals for Oneself, and A Great Metro Area Coffee Shop...

2010-01-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

So, here's the deal.

This big barista competition I keep talking about. I feel it needs a bit of background info.

You see, I am a man very passionate about making coffee. It permeates all aspects of my life. I know there are lots of us out there, slangin' drinks and just trying to make our ways in this big, crazy world, but I honestly don't know if I COULDN'T be one of those people. It's pretty much all I do, all I think about, other than my beautiful girlfriend and the all-too-infrequent calls I make to my family.

That being said, after a while of pouring your heart out into lattes and capps and the like, one begins to look around for the next challenge, the next morsel of knowledge, the continuation of the rabbit hole. Deeper and deeper we crawl. We seek out exciting new beans to cup, we dabble in roasting, we experiment with extraction methods, we read books upon books, we scour the web for information, and then when we run up against a wall, we start to travel. First, it's down the street to the next shop, to see what they're doing, to pick some brains and glean every tiny bit of brain we possibly can in the hopes that it may sate the thirst for knowledge that drives us. Next it's to the next town, then where? Then abroad. We head to Italy to drink espresso the way it was meant to be drunk. We head to Turkey to experience the oldest infusion tradition in the world. We head to Costa Rica to drink coffee brewed in a sock. We head to Ethiopia to experience the homeland of the coffea plant.

We go to these great lengths because the drink beckons us onward.

Onward.

It is in that spirit that I bring you to my main point. I am taking my next step in this industry in the middle of next month. On February 19th, I begin my quest to become the next World Barista Champion. The Southeast Regional Barista Competition is the first step in that quest. Entrance into the World Barista Championships comes with a successful ranking of 1-6 in the Regionals, followed by a 1st-place performance in the Nationals. Only one barista from each sanctioned country competing in the Nationals is allowed to perform on the World stage, making for some truly stiff competition.

My resolve is iron-clad, my friends. For the Regionals, I am attempting what, to my knowledge, no other barista has ever attempted. I will be representing and using Illy Caffe in the comp, with a beautifully crafted signature drink to round out a truly ambitious presentation.

So, if anyone wishes to see a brilliant display of espresso expression, come see my performance. ATL baristas, be on your A-game.

http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/southeast/
February 19-21
King Plow Arts Center
Atlanta, GA

Now, enough of the shameless self-promotion. Onto other new and exciting things.

Top of the list is a cafe south of Atlanta that took me entirely by storm.

Safehouse Coffee and Tea is an independent coffee roaster and cafe located in Griffin, Georgia, run by Hunt Slade and wife Amanda, as a co-op of sorts with a crew of passionate and dedicated coffee professionals from all walks of life. The team I've met so far includes Jacob, David, Dozier and Ike. They're a rowdy bunch abounding with knowledge and hell-bent on taking the Atlanta coffee scene by storm. I say take by storm because, along with have some monsters behind the bar, they can also roast a fine coffee bean. Stand-outs I've tried include a Brazillian (Monte Allegre), a Sumatran (Sidakalang) and a Kenyan whose name escapes me now.

The cafe is set in the remains of an historic mens' clothier, the name of which escapes me, but shall be provided with all possible haste. It is truly a breath-taker. The central atrium, in which you will find a refurbished La Marzocco Linea and all manner of traditional brewing apparati, including syphon pots, french presses, Moka pots, Turkish hand grinders and myriad other paraphernalia is overlooked by a loft that houses a lounge and a walkway surrounding the atrium. It is, hands down, the coolest layout for a shop I have ever seen. It reminded me greatly of standing on the deck of a ship. Standing up on the second floor, looking over the railing to the chaos below (which I shall return to shortly) made me feel as though I were about to fall over into a teeming ocean of over-caffeinated dolphins. Okay, maybe not dolphins. I think I stretched that metaphor JUST past the breaking point. Regardless, it was cool.

So, I say chaos because I ventured to the shop on a bit of business over the weekend. The Safehouse team was hosting Georgia's very first Tamper Review, in which about twelve of us baristas had the opportunity to test around as many tampers, quantifying criteria such as ergonomics, construction quality, and general ease of tamping in an effort to glean some insight into what exactly makes a great espresso tamp. The variety was impressive and there were definitely some stand-out tamps, including a couple one-off prototypes by the likes of Gorilla Tampers, Johannes Farino and Espresso Parts, as well as others by Espro, Reg Barber, and one dynametric training tamper by god-knows-who that looked like something out of a steam-punk fan fiction. It was truly unique. And by unique I mean it sucked. The event was awesome. It was my first opportunity to play with such a diverse set of tools. Look for a video round-up of the event on the shops reglular video blog, Dirty Cup.

Afterwards was a novel latte art throwdown utilizing a wheel of death. Before each round, baristas would spin the wheel, made up of various cuppage into which they had to pour. There was a good variety of cups used, ranging from machiatto mugs to cappuccino mugs to latte bowls. The night proved a test of all baristas versatility as much as the steadiness of their hands. I am proud to say I took home the hand-turned trophy (carved by shop owner Hunt Slade himself) that night, but I didn't get the thing easy. Store favorite Dozier had a number of great pours and met me in the finals, as well as strong showings by Mighty Joe baristas and Blackbird Coffee staff. All in all, it was a fantastic time.

So, that's about it for now. I'm still playing with pre-infusion. I'll get back to you all about that, and maybe about my recent adventures with a moka pot.

Until then, I invite commentary,

Dan

p.s. dirty cup folks, put me on your blog roll. please.

Infusion Woes...

2010-01-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, quick question for anyone reading...

Pre-infusion: allowing a small amount of water into contact with the prepared espresso puck in an effort to bind the puck and allow for more even extration.

Does this work? What are the benefits of a soft infusion versus a hard infusion? Can a Linea be rigged to soft infuse?

I'm casting a wide (symbolically) net here. If anyone has any insights, please feel free to share them.

I will conduct some experiments at my cafe and give a full run-down of the results.

In other news, I will soon be posting a rap I concocted on espresso. It's set to the Forever beat, a track by Drake, with the verse inspired almost entirely by Eminems spot on the track. It is, for lack of a better word, incredible, and it would be a crime against humanity NOT to share it.

Look forward to it.

-Dan

Coffee in Houston, and a BIG Announcement...

2010-01-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Firstly, a warm and gracious welcome to my readership! Thanks for hanging in there throughout my absence.

I'd like to wish you all a belated happy holidays and a truant happy new year! How did everyone spend their holidays?

I spent Christmas in Houston visiting with family. Along the way I picked up a few new sweater vests, a great book regarding the quest for a beautiful coffee, titled "God in a Cup." It basically concerns the travels of three heads of industry, Peter Guiliano of Counter Culture Coffee, Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea and Duane Sorenson of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, on their quest to dig up the origins of what is currently among the rarest and is certainly the most expensive green coffee on the market, Hacienda La Esmerelda Special, a coffee that, once roasted, proceeds to punch the drinker in the face with brilliant floral notes, washes of red berries various other mixed fruits. I had the distinct pleasure of cupping this coffee some months back and I was taken by intense blueberries and cream notes in the nose and in the mouth. Anyways, the book was written by a journalist that tagged along with these three gentlemen all over the world, from the Cup of Excellence competitions in Granada, Nicaragua to the wilds of Ethiopia in search of the origins of the plant responsible for producing such phenomenal coffee. It's a cool read with loads of insight into the industry and what it takes to produce and market an exceptional cup of coffee.

Also, while in Houston, I had the opportunity to visit a coffee shop by the name of Fioza, whose espresso was unlike any I've ever tasted. It was a lot like drinking a small cup of pureed green beans drenched in BBQ sauce... but in a GOOD way! They're using a custom blend roasted by Fontana Coffee Roasters. They made a hell of a cappuccino and a not bad cup of brewed Ethiopian coffee, as well. I give these guys a thumbs up, and I recommend anyone in the area to check them out. Ask the purveyor, Michael, to let you watch him pour your latte. You're in for a treat. He's an artist with some steamed milk.

All right, I'll be coming back to you guys with some more inspirational and hopefully educational coffee stuff soon, but for now I need to make some announcements:

Tomorrow, Thursday the 14th, I will be pouring latte art at Octane Coffee Bar and Lounge, in West Midtown. If you're in the area around 9 PM, come by and cheer for me. I have some great new pours I'm going to try out. Oh, and they have a great Belgian beer and scotch collection. So, if nothing else, come by and join me for a drink.

And finally...

I've been talking to everyone I know about the Southeast Regional Barista Championships for the past month or so, but now I am making it official: As of last night, I am registered to compete come this February, representing the great city of Atlanta, Cafe Nineteen and Illy Caffe in the biggest little barista comp around!

It's going to be a hell of a time. I feel great, my menu is fantastic and I'm at the top of my coffee game. I'm going to give the Southeast an uphill battle, but all in good fun.

For any of you out there that wish to come and cheer me on, the competition spans February 19th-21st, with actual performances on the 20th and 21st, I believe. It would mean the world to me to have anyone come and give me a little moral support, and I promise I'll give you all a show to remember!

So, that's it for now. As usual, I invite commentary!

-Dan

A Study of the Dichotomy Between Standardization and Tweak-ization...

2009-12-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

When you speak to seasoned baristas regarding proper espresso preparation, they speak often of strict dosing levels, proper tamping pressure, shot timeframes and the like. Problem is, if you watch them for long enough, you're apt to see the same baristas up- and downdosing, pre-infusing, pulling short shots and constantly tweaking their grind levels. What in heaven's name are they doing, you may inquire. In short, they are looking for that sweet spot in any coffee that produces what some call the "God Shot," or perfect shot of espresso.

It is important to know what each stage of tweaking will do to the final product and how to use these techniques to your advantage. There are certain standards that form the foundation for all espresso preparation. In short, these are:

Dose = 7 grams/single, 14 grams/double
Extraction Time = 18-35 seconds
Grind Level = whatever facilitates the above.

Some variables do not change. You will always tamp at 30 lbs of pressure, and your machine will always be calibrated to push 200 degree F water through the coffee at 9 bars of pressure. These things you won't really ever change, but the dose of coffee you use, the extraction time and the grind level are all fair game to change as you wish, within reason. Basically, if you follow the above levels, you will get a palatable shot of espresso. But these are just GUIDELINES. In fact, if you look at what baristas are doing with coffee these days, you will often find an 18 gram, 18 second shot as commonplace, whereas tradition would dictate this severely updosed and quite short volumetrically.

So, with such standards in place, why do baristas feel the need to constantly tweak their settings? Why is updosing becoming commonplace in today's coffee culture? Why are ristretto shots preferable to long shots?

Are roast levels changing? Are our palates fatiguing? Where does the madness END?

I think perhaps both situations are true. Coffee today is trending towards single-origin espressos, which tend to have a rather limited flavor scope, necessitating compensation in the intensity of the shot. You see, a finely balanced espresso gives the drinker a complex map of flavor notes to explore, minimizing palate fatigue. Practically, blended espressos are harder to tire of because there is so much going on in the shot, whereas these single-origin varieties, with their limited flavor scopes, have a tendency to get old fast.

One great example is an espresso a local shop was pulling for a while, Idido Misty Valley, from Sidamo, Ethiopia. The espresso, like many Ethiopian coffees, was exceedingly floral, with strong notes of strawberry and blueberry. It blew away many a barista with its almost brashly bold flavor profile. This was a sharp, intense shot of espresso. It was refreshing in that it tasted like no other espresso blend you've ever had. But, because of this intensity, it tended to grow old to the palate faster than most well-balanced blends. It is almost as if it burned out in its own glory. Adding to the problem is the fact that baristas began pulling 19 or 20 grams of the stuff at a time, for 18-24 seconds, producing a super-short, super-intense drink that could only be handled in moderation. It was an interesting excursion. The coffee was an inspiration, not only to experiment more with single-origins, but also to experiment more with dosing and timing, squeezing every little bit of flavor out of those 18 grams. Many a coffee-geek got over-caffeinated while that coffee filled grinders across the nation.

But what did this over-tweaking do for coffee nuts in general? Did it wear people out or did it spark the interests of marginal coffee drinkers? This is the question, in my opinion. In my experience, that one coffee intrigued literally every barista I come into regular contact with, but at the same time, I knew plenty of moderate coffee drinkers who were utterly turned off by the intensity of it. It was TOO different. It was TOO intense. The updosing and decreasing shot volumes that shortly followed became too much for casual espresso drinkers to take, and it scared some folks off.

Okay, that was a fine rant, but let's get back on topic. Traditionally, espressos are blends that go through EXTENSIVE testing in order to produce a complex and full coffee experience when pulled according to the above parameters. Ideally, tamping pressure and shot time should be standardized so that the only modification necessary is that of grind level, taking into account ambient temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure, all of which can throw a shot off. Ask any barista out there and they will tell you the same thing. I believe the reason we have grown accustomed to tweaking levels to the extent that we do is that taste is such a subjective sense. For instance, barring any abnormalities, blue looks like blue, sand feels like sand, an E note sounds like an E note and a rose smells like a rose, but taste is an entirely different beast. Everyone's palate is slightly different, and so every barista strives to adjust his or her espresso to personal preference, oftentimes alienating the customers' tastes.

The question - and I suppose I went around my elbow to get to it, as they say - is why do we demand such stringent blending practices from our roasters when we're going to tweak the blend beyond recognition on the bar anyway? Is it the nature of the barista to seek out perfection, or should we show some faith and restraint when dealing with the artistry of the roasters blends?

As usual, I invite commentary.

-Dan

a short semesters' review and a brief look at barista comps...

2009-12-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

it's been a while since my last post, so i'll start by trying to get you guys up to date.

the past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of work things and christmas preparations. with the big holiday right around the corner, i've been struggling to get my ducks in a row. i think i've gotten all of my shopping done, and i've had a little time to reflect on the past semester at school and hash out some ideas i have for the future of the coffee program at my shop, cafenineteen.

this past semester has been enlightening, and one of the most enjoyable of my college career. my advertising class was a blast and i'm stoked to be taking another course on the subject in the spring. my international business classes were interesting, though they didn't hold my attention quite the way my ad class did. as i am pursuing a minor of sorts in IB, i feel obligated to show up every day and at least TRY to enjoy the material. nonetheless, i have a hard time getting excited about business abroad when i have much domestic business to attend to. a couple courses just didn't capture any of my passion. marketing research and buyer behavior are interesting subjects to know something about, but aren't really where i see the focus of my studies going.

this brings us to my domestic business, the coffee program i'm developing at cafenineteen. a lot has been happening in coffee lately. first and foremost, our cafe has been branching out a bit more in local competition. the december match-up at octane coffee's thursday night throwdown saw some pretty impressive pours. octaner dale donchay took the prize with a series of tulips that were nothing short of masterful. the following tuesday i poured at element coffee's first ever throwdown and brought the prize home for the cafe. again, the competition was fierce, but i had a good night and won with a pretty solid rosetta. the shop up there was very cool. it had clean, minimalistic design elements and served intelligensia coffee. their signature espresso, black cat, is a fantastic shot. in fact, i think i drank two that night.

barista comp is the word of the day, i feel, for a few reasons. reason number one being that i now have a couple baristas under me that have begun to compete, exposing not only the baristas to the competitive side of the industry, but also exposing the rest of atlanta coffee to our store. the competitions are a great tool for getting our word out there, letting the atlanta bean-kids know what we are all about, while at the same time keeping the area baristas on top of their game. it's hard not to get behind the comps, especially in a coffee environment as nurturing as atlanta's. in the coming months i will be hard at work training for the southeast regional barista comp in february. this will be my first major barista competition and i will be going up against the best the southeast has to offer. from what i understand, there are some pretty intense competitors coming from south carolina and florida. i'm a little nervous, but it's also an exciting proposition.

the idea of hosting a comp at cafenineteen has arisen on a few occasions, and it's looking like it may be a real possibility in the coming months. the format has yet to be decided. with latte art throwdowns popping up all over the metro atlanta area, i was thinking perhaps a french press or chemex comp might add a bit of flavor to the comp circuit. whatever the case, there will be jameson on hand.

that's pretty much it for now. i will conclude by making several promises to you, my readership. an upcoming post will delve into the dichotomy between the philosophy of standardization of the espresso preparation process and the natural tendancy of the barista to tweak each component of the mix in search of a more perfect shot. also, i will be posting some sketches i drew up of a couple machines that might just revolutionize the way coffee is prepared in the future.

stay tuned!

-dan

A Discussion Regarding Progressive Business Practices...

2009-12-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

A couple thoughts today.

First, I spent a hot minute in a local coffeeshop, Tilt, yesterday. The shop is located in Castleberry Hill, on Atlantas southwest side. It's Atlanta's loft district, I suppose, with loads of historic manufacturing and warehousing spaces having been renovated in years past. The district itself tends to be rather slow, with regrettably little foot traffic, but opens up a few times a month when the district puts on loft and art strolls for the public.

Anyways, Castleberry aside, Tilts space is fantastic. I believe the space was converted from an auto mechanics shop or something, judging by the large garage door that makes up the front of the shop, which is opened up on nice days letting a little fresh air into the place. The walls are lined with these sleek floating tables, suspended from the ceiling with sturdy metallic cord, like a robots fishing line. Also lining the walls are the artworks of local artists, with a budding art program that cycles fresh work in monthly. The rest of the space is taken up by minimalist contemporary furniture in neutral tones so as to emphasize the color of the art on the walls.

The whole of the space was well-thought-out and inviting, for all the modernism of the decor. A back room holds a few couches, some flat screens and a bar/counter with stools. This area is used sometimes as a second gallery, sometimes for conferencing, sometimes just as spillover room during the busier art strolls. The store itself took its name from the iconic floor, which declines at a very modest grade.

The store uses Counter Culture Coffee, a local favorite. They practice fair-trade, direct trade and support organically-grown beans. All fantastic practices which I will discuss in more detail in a moment. I had a total of four shots of Espresso La Forza, a Seattle-eque espresso heavy in veggie notes and dark chocolate notes. It's a savory shot that took a moment to acclimate to, but once I got past the fact that this wasn't going to be a particularly SWEET shot, I started to notice some of the more subtle flavors. It was a bit lemony, the finish a bit caramelly. It had a thick crema of rich browns that wasn't half bad all by itself. It was a little less bright than some of CC's other espresso offerings. Overall, the espresso was good, if not just a tad too dark for my liking.

Besides espresso, the shop makes all manner of milk-based drinks and does pour-overs for everyday foot traffic. I believe the barista on hand mentioned they make an airpot of brew for the heavier morning traffic, but then phase that out in favor of pour-over as the day wears on. This is a good practice. It saves the subtleties of the coffee by sparing it the abuses of a burner and time to go flat. If you're hungry, they have pastries, sandwiches, soups, salads, snacks and smoothies.

All-in-all, Tilt is a great little shop that is coming into its own. The baristas have a passion for their craft and fully support their product. It's not too noisy, so it makes a great place to spend a dreary afternoon, at least until the rest of Atlanta catches on and gives Castleberry the attention it deserves.

And now for the heavier stuff: Sustainability practices and how they apply to third-wave coffee!

It's necessary to define some terms.

Fair Trade
Direct Trade
Organic Farming

It is becoming commonplace to describe retail coffee efforts in terms of mainstream consumption surges and their overall dedication to craft. Together, these two abstract descriptors of coffee are dubbed "waves."

As a basic breakdown, the first wave occurred in the late 1800s and early 1900s as companies like Folgers and Eight O Clock Coffee became common staples in both grocers and pantries across the country. The first wave is typified by low-quality beans purchased and roasted en masse, and sold affordably to the average coffee drinker. These products make for a passable morning drink, but manage to commoditize coffee in the process.

The second wave of coffee occured in the 1960s with the explosive retail expansion of Peets Coffee in Washington State and Dunkin Donuts across much of the South, and continued with Starbucks and Caribou in the late 1980s. Recently, McDonalds has expanded its coffee program, stepping up its game in an effort to remain competitive in the beverage industry. It is in the second wave that you also see brands such as Illy, that have made a name for themselves by providing one high quality blend on a mass scale. More care is given in the second wave to compensating growers than is in the first wave, and the focus of the drinks rides a fine line between quality and profitability.

America is now in the throes of the third wave of coffee, a movement mirroring the "Slow Food" craze in the food industry in the 1990s. Companies like Counter Culture Coffee and Intelligensia are developing lasting relationships with coffee growers around the world, going to great lengths to provide applicable and meaningful feedback to farms in an effort to produce the best quality coffee possible. Also riding the third wave are the independent coffee shops across the country that choose to roast their own beans, or focus on the craft of making espresso and coffee drinks, rather than moving mass volumes of product. Shops such as Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle, Stumptown in New York, Intelligensia's outposts in both Chicago and Los Angeles, and even San Francisco Coffee Roasters in Atlanta all roast their own beans, in house, in an effort to find the best possible roast profiles for each of the beans they import. Shops in Atlanta such as Aurora Coffee, Octane Coffee Bar and CafeNineteen differentiate themselves by, among other things, pouring Latte Art. It may be thought of as the signature on a potable piece of art. For a more detailed description of the technique, refer here. There are even popping up regarding shops and roasters using environmentally-conscious facilities in an effort to combat needless waste.

It is this attention to detail that epitomizes third-wave mentality.

Now, it isn't enough to simply roast your own beans in-house, or pour latte art, or to provide cups and lids made from recycled products. Sure, these practices could better the industry in the long run, and a bit of social consciousness is good for the environment as well, but cherry-picking ones favorite third-wave practices while dispelling others is no way to further specialty coffee as a whole. These days, coffee people understand that a good cup is as much about the journey of the bean, from plant to mug, as it is about the end product, and that the painstaking detail that goes into sourcing and roasting and brewing all ultimately lead to an exemplary cup of coffee.

The question I ask is, is it possible for a company to employ these often-exhaustive "third-wave" practices and still remain profitable. I would certainly like to think it is. It strikes me, as a coffee person, that it is worth paying a premium for a product made with care. A shot of espresso and some hot milk are nothing special in and of themselves. Rather, it is the connection the consumer makes to the journey of the bean and the rich history of the drink that makes a cappuccino or a french press worth paying 5 dollars for. It is the idea that those small beans are being handled and prepared by one whose life is dedicated, at that moment, to presenting to you the finest beverage you have ever consumed. That sort of passion does not go by unnoticed, and there will always be a market for it.

I invite commentary.

-Dan

Thoughts on Flight, and the Thrill of a Hidden Gem...

2009-11-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a mish-mash of ideas I've had over the past week. I've discovered that the time between boarding a plane and liftoff are some of the most creative moments, and I tried to make good use of them between flying to St. Louis and flying home.

Sitting on my jet in preparation for my return flight from St. Louis and thinking back on the week I'd just spent with family, I wondered what a miracle it is that I live at this place in time, that a two month journey by foot, a month by wagon, twelve hours by car might be accomplished in just over an hour by air. Also, in just below two hours, the Concorde jet is capable of spanning the Atlantic Ocean, and the space shuttle may orbit our planet in its entirety.

How splendid, indeed.

So, I ask you, was it luck or merely coincidence that I awoke into this life? Is it not equally plausible that I might have awoken in third-world Africa, or as a Shah in Dubai? I'm not speaking of my physical form, mind you, as that could only have come from my parents. Rather, I'm speaking of the spark that gives me consciousness, that sets my heart to beating, my eyes to seeing, my mind to dreaming. Consciousness itself is a fragile and transient thing, disrupted by elation, death, dreams, and myriad other states of being that send ripples through our individual realities, distorting our continuance and rendering the validity of our perceptions null and void.

I consider this all RIGHT NOW, because the plane I'm sitting on is more than capable of extinguishing the timid flame that burns within. As we taxi out my heart begins to race. My eyes are set outside the window, a million thoughts running through my head. Passing lights of multiple colors that line the runway, the cracked tarmac in desperate need of a pave, the pilots twitchy adjustments of course, my stomach and my lungs being pushed into my seatback by ever-increasing lateral Gs. As we gain speed, the dull bass drone of the engines grows louder, louder, forcing all thoughts out of my head save that at the present moment the severe frictional strains on every nut and bolt of the craft might prove JUST TOO SEVERE, snapping the landing gear, or the wings like twigs and sending us plowing back to Earth with all deliberate speed.

I draw a breath and hold it till it burns. The adrenaline pumps into my brain, faster, faster, slowing the moment until the jet, screaming down the runway at two hundred miles per hour, may very well not be moving at all. The world outside is a muddled blur. Speed mounts. The drone of the engines is at a fever pitch, and my palms sweat.

Faster
Faster

And it is at the point when the front wheels leave the tarmac, that you feel the sickening dip as the back wheels leave and the wings catch a breeze, that time halts and the anxiety is infinite. It is at that time that I break through.

LIFTOFF.

The breath I held, I now exhale.

~

So, in other news, I found a brilliant little shop up in downtown Belleville, about fifteen minutes east of St. Louis. The shop is set in an historic building on Main Street, the interior is all light hardwood neatly varnished, with walls covered in local art and lined with bookcases filled with literature of all types. In one corner rests an acoustic guitar, beaten well. I put this to use for nearly an hour. The highlight of the shop, obviously, is the coffee bar, boasting a beautifully cared-for La Marzocco Linea, its trademark deco logo shining proudly for each and every customer. A homemade fixture showered soft light down on the machine. In front of the bar was a feeding trough stocked with fresh bags of coffee. The coffee is imported green by the owners son and roasted in the back. They had a selection of African and South American beans. The coffee I enjoyed was a Kenyan, which I was moved to purchase a bag of. It was floral, a bit fruity, light. It was a fantastic breakfast coffee. I am anxious to see how this coffee will work when run through an espresso machine.

I mentioned these notes to the owner, who was working behind the bar, and she joined me in a cozy corner to talk shop for a while. At the present, her and her husband run the only specialty coffee shop within twenty miles in any direction, capturing business from students in town and the numerous attorneys lining Main Street. I mentioned my shop in Atlanta and she immediately called her son only to state that he had been in the shop not a month ago, with a church group. I grinned ear to ear as I told her I had assisted her sons group in a scavenger hunt they were conducting. I believe I offered them dishes to wash. It's fantastic how small the world seems sometimes. We discussed competition, machinery (she procured a four-group Linea for just over $4000), and the general direction the coffee industry is taking.

I enjoyed the conversation, I enjoyed the shop, and first and foremost, i enjoyed the coffee. So, if anyone happens to be in the area and dig the cozy shop vibe, check out Oregon Trail Roasting Company, in downtown Belleville, IL.

In my next post, I'll talk about some industry-specific topics, like third-wave practices, and about the virtues of sending everyday coffees through an espresso machine just for kicks.

Later,

Dan

Cloud Cover...

2009-11-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

Cresting waves of cloud
White with foam
Like an ever-crashing tide
With no shore to call home,
Tinged pink by
A swiftly-setting sun
Just wave after wave
Spanning the globe,
Through break in violent sea
I see
The irregular grids that
Mark civilization,
Like the scars of past dreams,
The legacy of men and women
Ill-content with a life of chasing...
What?
Sustenance?
Accumulation?
Grass that's more green.
Through the crystal waters
of calmer seas
I see
Inevitability.

Like electrons attracted to their nucleus within,
perhaps people are attracted to, and invariably surround, some greater force, some dominant energy, some life-giving power that, when stumbled across, beckons that we stay a while, take rest from the eternal mobility of purpose. it beckons we set up shop and just see what happens.

but then,
those people don't see what i see,
confined by land
is that the world is full of opportunity,
and they are not free,
that i,
though similarly confined
by chair and cabin and general lack of atmosphere at a cruising altitude of 34,000 ft,
i am living,
i am free.

-dan

It's Time To Slow Things Down A Bit...

2009-11-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting thought...

the number one traded commodity in the world is crude oil.
the number two traded commodity in the world is coffee.*

in many respects, oil runs the hardware of our everyday lives,
while coffee runs us.

i was reading an article the other day about, among other things, the prevalence of coffee in everyday american life. i found it not particularly shocking, but somewhat surprising that 54% of american adults drink at least one cup a day, and amongst coffee drinkers, they average 3.2 cups/day.**

coffee has become a lubricant for fast-paced american culture. so much in this life happens over a cup. business meetings, first dates, artistic expression, philosophical debates. the drink stimulates the minds of over 160 million americans every day, and yet, as integral as the drink is to our lives, i sometimes feel it gets taken for granted. drinking coffee is no longer about enjoying the history, ritual and complexities of each cup, but more about juicing oneself for the rigors of the coming day.

in times such as these, in the throes of global financial meltdown (or, to be fair, recovery) the last thing we need is more rigors. i mean, scurrying around all day trying to make ends meet is stressful enough, but add to that a giant caffeine buzz from the 20 oz shot in the dark you just pounded whilst stuck in morning rush hour and you're at serious risk for an embolism before your boss even utters a word about how this quarters falling stock prices are inexplicably linked to your actions.

all i'm saying is, it's time we brought some of the enjoyment back into drinking coffee. this is a drink steeped (thank you, thank you...) in history and ritual. its been enjoyed all over the world, from peru to pennsylvania, from sumatra to san antonio. in ethiopia, the birthplace of the drink (and the only region of the world to which coffee is native), natives sit in a circle while coffee beans are roasted, ground and then brewed, passing a vessel around the circle so that everyone may enjoy the drink communally. in italy, there are over 270,000 baristas dedicating their lives that each of the 14 billion espresso shots consumed annually is better than the last.*** coffee has tradition, and it has a passionate following, and it's a shame that the majority of americans enjoy the drink "on the go," gulping it down before it has a chance to make any lasting impression on their taste-buds, much less their lives.

in recessionary times, it has been said that people tend to turn to one or two indulgences to get them through the rough spots. people go to bars, they go to the movies, they go shopping, they knit, they do whatever it takes to distract them for a short time from reality. i would love to see people turn to coffee shops in this manner. let's reinforce the ritual, celebrate the history. let's make coffee a relaxing part of the day and not an added stress. there's no reason to wait in line for twenty minutes, constantly glancing at your watch, worrying you might run late, all for a 20 oz burned cup of brown-drink. it just isn't worth the stress. that same cup of coffee can be produced at home, in somewhere around 5 minutes, and you'd have to try pretty hard to make a cup of coffee at home that's as abused as the stuff you buy in the typical starbucks or quiktrip.

just picture this little scenario: you rise from slumber one morning and wipe the sleep from your eyes. slowly, you amble downstairs and flip on the television, surfing for a moment until you find an interesting news story. you then walk over to your pantry and take out a freshly-roasted bag of ethiopian coffee from a small farm just outside of yirgacheffe, known for organic farming methods and traded fairly and directly with quality-driven importers in the states. you pull out your french press and your nondescript grinder and grind a small amount, just enough for a couple cups. from within the grinder you can smell the light floral notes, maybe a hint of strawberry and blueberry, maybe a little vanilla. you dump that into the press, add some hot water and then amble back upstairs to hop in the shower.

elapsed time, from bed to steeping brew - 6 minutes.

by the time you get back downstairs, there will be waiting for you a steaming mug of the most beautiful coffee in the world. the aroma may meet you as you step out of the shower, it may meet you when you hit that last step, but it will meet you, and it will brighten your day.

so, in an effort to use coffee as a way to relax, and not let it add to everyday stress, here are some things to think about:

1. take a few moments with the cup. sip it as you eat some toast and bread, watching the news. since this whole lecture is about leisurely enjoying the cup, i would advise keeping it out of the car.

2. explore the drink. read up on it. study the history. more knowledge of the drink will foster a more fulfilling, satisfying drinking experience.

3. try cupping. cupping is the coffee equivalent of a wine tasting, where cuppers are able to compare three or four coffees side by side, calibrating their palettes to the distinctions between the offerings. in my opinion, it is the best way to expand ones coffee palette. better, in fact, than simply drinking a lot of espresso. basically, when one drinks two or three coffees side by side, he or she is able to compare distinctions between the coffees immediately. there's really nothing like it.

4. use coffee as a way to reconnect with friends and loved ones. schedule a meeting at your local coffee shop, take a date, whatever. just find a way to make connections over a mug.

5. use your local coffee shop as a reference, not just for the end product. most local shops sell home brewing equipment such as french presses and pour-overs, but some also sell the more heavy-duty stuff, like home espresso machines. the baristas at these shops will be more than happy to discuss the virtues of any brewing technique, as well as which coffees are best suited to each. so pick their brains. and when you pick their brains, tell the baristas you'd like to pick their brains. they love hearing phrases like that.

6. buy your beans at these local shops. forgo the pre-ground, mass-market stuff in the grocery store. chances are its old, and of dubious quality. the beans at local shops will be the sorts of beans the baristas would want to sell, and the sort they would drink themselves.

7. finally, when you must get a cup on the go, get it at that same local shop. buying independent fosters a sense of community, of belonging. having a regular coffeeshop is like having a regular bar or barbershop. after a while, you develop a rapport with your barista and the shop becomes more than just a spot to get ones morning fix, it becomes an escape, a respite from the tedium of everyday life.

so there you are.

key thing to take away from this is that coffee can be a relaxing experience, it doesn't always have to be the fuel for future stress.

i hope you all get out there and enjoy some coffee.

-dan

* Top Traded Commoditites
** American Coffee Consumption
*** Italian Coffee Consumption

So What's All the Fuss About...

2009-11-11T14:50:00.001-08:00

Those of you who know me know I am a guy of somewhat limited interests, and they pretty much all revolve around espresso these days.

You all may have heard that I do something called latte art. In specific, you may have heard that I've made a practice out of dominating local latte art competitions. But this is all very ambiguous.

What is latte art? What's the point? How is it applicable? I think these questions deserve a bit of clarification.

So, without further ado, let's just dive right in, shall we?

Latte art is the creation of designs on the top of a latte or a cappucinno using espresso as a canvas and milk foam as a medium. It is a technique used by baristas to add a bit of flair to an otherwise standardized beverage, to differentiate quality-driven, specialty drinks from the sort of ho-hum everyday stuff you might get from the larger chains. The practice began in Europe, in the traditional cafe setting, with baristas using a flick of the wrist to manipulate the foam atop cappucinnos and machiattos into resembling small leaves, or hearts. The practice became more widespread in the early nineties along with the lattes explosion in popularity. As the latte became the drink of choice in America, latte mugs began growing in size, inflating from the traditional 5 oz capp to some 14-16 ounce monstrosities served in vessels that more closely resembled cereal bowls than anything you might drink coffee from.

With all the extra surface area atop these massive drinks, baristas began pushing the limits of latte art creation, pouring increasingly complex designs to fit the larger pouring surfaces.

Latte art sometimes comes under criticism for being superfluous, or vain, but I believe it serves a number of beneficial purposes to the client. First and foremost, the foam that compsoses that perfectly poured rosetta you are about to consume is made up of millions of tiny bubbles, each containing within it the aromas and flavors essences of the coffee below. Soooo, with each sip you are not only tasting the latte, but some of those aromas are drifting upwards into your nose and you are smelling the drink as well, adding extra sensory involvement. At the same time, you can't really pour art unless you have smoothe, velvety foam that feels as good as it tastes when you drink it. Again, extra sensory involvement. So, now you have taste, smell and feel all involved in the drinking process, making the experience much more than simply drinking a hot beverage. Finally, add to all of that the striking visual appeal of a perfectly symmetraical, high-contrast work of art floating atop your latte and the drink is elevated to something more than it once was. A latte with well-poured art is an EXPERIENCE.

Another benefit of pouring art that us baristas love is that it piques the interest of the consumer in what is known as Third-Wave, or Specialty coffee as the future of the business. You see, it's not that we baristas pour art for our sake, but it's very much to emphasize what we believe to be an exemplary product. A nicely-poured design gets people asking how, and why we do what we do, and what it means for the end-consumer. Seriously. Next time you go to a shop, if you notice a rosetta atop your beverage, ask the barista why he chooses to take the extra few seconds to pour art. But be careful what you wish for. The response will likely take much longer than it took him or her to pour the beverage.

Enough of the preamble. Let's delve into how it's actually done.

In order to pour latte art, the barista needs a few things.
1. Fundamentals
2. Tools
3. Time
4. Dedication

Firstly, the barista needs to have his fundamentals down. He needs to pull quality shots, with quality crema. It has been shown that crema is not essential to the creation of latte art, but some good color in the crema makes the end product look more appealing, and less washed out. I'll get more into that later. Also, the barista needs to master the art of foaming milk. The creation of microfoam is essential to pouring, to the extent that some might say it is the most important aspect of the technique. So, break out those shiny new steaming pitchers, folks!

Secondly, the barista needs a number of tools, including a quality espresso machine, a good grinder, a tamper, a mug and a steam pitcher. Let's take beans and milk as a given.

Thirdly, the barista needs time to practice, practice, practice. It takes a making a lot of drinks to learn to steam the proper milk, and to get any sort of muscle memory for the movements of the pour itself. It certainly helps if the barista has a shop to practice at, because you get a lot of practice on any given day of making drinks for customers.

Lastly, the barista needs a passion for creating drinks, a drive for continuous improvement, and thick skin. I say thick skin because it takes a LONG time to get any good at doing this. I've been slingin' spreezy for almost three years now, and I've been pouring art for about a year and a half, and I'll say right now that my art isn't the best out there. In fact, it took me a good six months to pour my first design. That's hundreds of drinks with awkward milky blobs that got served to customers. Thankfully, most of those drinks came with lids to shield the customer from the horrors beneath.

Okay, when you've got your basics down, and you have tools at your disposal, and you've had a lot of practice and you've thickened your skin, it's time to attempt a pour.

Start by pulling some shots and steaming some nice, creamy milk.

Holding your steam pitcher loosely in your fingertips and your mug at a slope in your other hand, begin pouring slowly into the mug towards the edge closest to the pitcher hand.

If any foam rests atop your espresso at the beginning of the pour, move the stream of milk over it to push it back under the espresso in the mug.

As your pour slowly, the milk should be pushing through the espresso and creating a layer beneath it, raising the brown espresso layer up as the mug fills. This is all physics and density, but it is very important. You want to keep the espresso and the milk as separate as possible until the "shake" to maintain high color-contrast for the end design. Keep pouring until the mug is about half full. At this point, lower the steam pitcher all the way to the surface of the liquid, beginning to pour a bit faster as you lower as the pitcher drops.

When you've reached the surface of the liquid, you should be pouring agressively. You should see a little bit of white foam come out of the tip of the pitcher. This is often called the "halo" of foam.

As soon as you see the halo, flex your fingertips rhythmically, swinging the pitcher in a tight pendulem motion, back and forth, back and forth. Every time the pitcher swings upwards, a little stream of microfoam swings out of the tip of the pitcher, creating a continuous line of foam that etches back and forth in a crescent, much like switchback hiking trails on the side of a mountain.

As more milk comes out of the pitcher, these lines will begin to crescent and compress upon themselves. Keep your stream of milk close to the pitcher edge of the mug. As milk comes out it will cause the lines youve pouring to expand backwards, filling the mug up with your design.

Keep in mind that as your mug fills, you should be tilting it back to avoid spilling the liquid.

When the mug is nearly full, slow your pour (but do not completely stop it) and move the pitcher forward, pushing the crescents of foam into each other.

Finish your design by swiping the stream of milk across the newly-compacted lines, towards the far side of the mug. This action will suck in the top of the heart and shoot a tip out on the far side of the mug.

Carefully set down the mug and admire your handiwork.

If all went to plan, you should have a well-defined heart in your mug. If you were careful about pouring slowly at first and pushing any stray foam back under the espresso layer, you should have a high contrast between the white of the foam and the deep brown of the crema. If you kept pouring close to the pitcher edge of the mug, you should have a design that fills up the mug. If you flexed your fingertips rhythmically, you should have symmetrical and well-defined lines comprising your design. If you slowed your pour and swiped your milk across the design at the end, you should have a well-shaped heart top and tip on the bottom.

If you don't have all these things, don't fret. This stuff takes practice. Just keep at it and you'll be pouring like a master in no time flat!

For more reference, please go to Youtube and search for "Latte Art." There you will find hundreds of videos of pours. This is partly the secret to my success, as I have spent hours studying the pour techniques of baristas from around the world. Just keep at it until you find what is comfortable for you.

And next time you see a design in your morning latte, make sure to let the barista know. It will be a nice break from dealing with the everyday stresses of his morning rush.

Later guys,

Dan

They're Known For More Than Good Chocolate...

2009-11-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

The Swiss are also known for their sense of design.

The Swiss style is a typographical format utilizing left-justification and minimalist typefaces to foster a sense of standardization. The movement began shortly after World War II as a solution to the growing issue of miscommunication in the midst of cultural integration. After the war, the governments of several European countries decided to make use of the extensive rail system constructed for the war effort as a means of connecting Europe in a way unrealized at any point before. The rail systems were linked and facilitated cross-border travel, but many travelers found themselves at a loss understanding signage across the continent.

Enter the Swiss style. It was decided that a standardized system for formatting rail signage was necessary. From that point onward, all signage would be left justified, set in either Helvetica or Akzidenz Grotesk, which are both sans serif fonts.

The picture at the top is an example of Swiss style typography.

I suppose I should mention the differences between serifed and sans-serifed typefaces, as I spoke of them above.

The term "serif" refers to a graphical "base" at the top and bottom of a serifed font. These bases came into prominence as older civilizations began imprinting type into clay columns. The ends of letters tended to dry thinner than the middles, creating cigar-like shapes that were unpleasing to the eye. This was compensated for by adding flat lines at the ends of the legs of letters, which balanced the weight of the legs with the fatter centers of letters.

The above is an example of a serifed font.

The term "sans-serif" refers to type families that do not have these bases. These fonts are typically more minimalistic and have been used to express progression, modernism and clean class. The first words, or even symbols beforehand, were written in this style. Cuneiform, an ancient writing style, utilized an instrument with a pointed end and a flat end that was pressed into wet clay to form rudimentary symbols. Cuneiform is one of the oldest methods of recording data and is the progenitor of the sans-serif style.

The above is an example of a sans-serifed font.

Modern examples of each have strayed from prescribed forms and shapes while sticking to the fundamentals. Here are some examples of typefaces popular right now.

Slab Serif

Future Sans-Serif

Another way of looking at typefaces is type width. Most fonts have a proportional width, in which the space a letter takes up varies depending on the letter. Some other typefaces are fixed-width, or monospaced, in which the space a letter takes up is predetermined and every letter is made to fit within that space.

Here are some examples.

Proportional

Fixed-Width (Courier New)

So there you have it. That is my meager introduction into typefaces. I may supplement this in the future with some insight into how one might use each kind of type, and what emotions or image each kind evokes.

Later,

Dan

Don't Fire Til You See The Whites Of Their Eyes...

2009-11-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704112904574475722260947260.html

This article features my cafe. It concerns the guerilla efforts of Illy Coffee, and Italian coffee conglomerate, to break into the American retail market. Illy has been selling specialty coffee in the United States for the past twenty years, but their product has largely been isolated to high-end grocers such as Whole Foods and Fresh Market. As brand recognition and demand increased, Illy felt it was time to expand, offering retail outlets to move their product to a wider demographic.

Basically, instead of setting up their own retail venues, Illy utilizes independent coffee shops all over the country to feature their products. These shops are help to a stringent code of quality in an effort to control the brand equity of the roaster and distributor. Shops are chosen based on location, predicted sales volume and general commercial values. If a shop is approved, they are set up with an espresso machine, grinder, branded swag and various amenities necessary to conducting a profitable coffee business.

The deal is win-win, as Illy sees it. The independent business gains one of the most well-respected coffees in the world, and with that brand they gain a global customer base. The coffee company gains a foothold in the retail market without expending capital on property and all entailed costs. The independent shop involved is held to contract, however. They maintain that they will provide, exclusively, Illy coffee products for a duration of 3 years. In exchange, the roaster agrees to maintain all equipment, provide continual training and provide business consultation all along the way in order to develop a highly profitable business entity.

My experience with Illy has been excellent, mostly. Their training is indeed top-notch, if slightly infrequent. Our sales rep is knowledgable and shows genuine interest in seeing our establishment flourish.

If I had one complaint about the arrangement, it is that I see Illy as being slightly behind the specialty coffee times. The trend of the foreseeable future is towards more sustainably-run establishments, promotion of single-origin, direct trade, organically-produced coffees than large-scale, mass-production coffees. Even Starbucks, sworn enemy of Illy and independent coffee shops around the world, recognizes the publics demand for single-origin, differentiated products and provides them readily. Illy espresso is indeed fantastic, but it represents a blanket flavor profile of all good coffees and does not emphasize any given source in its blend of 14 varietals.

My question for the company is, if you have access to farms around the globe, why not provide some single-origin, small-batch offerings every now and again. How fantastic would it be to drink a Yirgacheffe from one of the finest roasters in the world. Or, better yet, how fantastic would it be to be able to offer that same Yirgacheffe spreezy-style to a discerning customer in his morning latte.

In my experience, a fulfilling coffee experience is an adventure. It is pulling a super-bright, fruity or chocolately single-origin, widely known as a pour-over specialty through my Linea just to see what would happen. It is playing with dosage and brew time to compare a coffee at various stages of the brewing process. I guess what I am saying is that an enjoyable coffee experience is about embracing the natural variety in coffee. It is an organic product and is therefore succeptible to variation. This should be welcomed and worked with, not worked out through careful screening and blending.

That is my challenge for the company. Show some single-origin love. Your customers will love it and your retail venture will benefit. There's nothing worse than losing a customer to Starbucks becuase you're not carrying the customer's favorite Peruvian vartietal that just happens to be in season at the moment.

In other, related news...

THURSDAY NIGHT THROWDOWN!!!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
9PM @ Octane Coffee Bar and Lounge

Come support me as a try to bring it home for CafeNineteen in an Atlanta-area latte-art pour off. The event is a blast. There's good music, good drinks, friendly people and the electrifying atmosphere of healthy competition.

Sign-ups start at 8. I'll be there at 830-ish. Pouring starts at 9. Stop by and cheer me through the first few rounds. And, back by popular demand, I will be taking requests for which shape I pour.

That's about it. Keep dreaming, but be awake when you're awake.

-Dan

A Clean Start...

2009-11-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

I love coffee.

Here's a thought I had on the matter.

I was cooking dinner the other night. Steak. I was using a cast-iron skillet. Rule number 1 for cast iron is, apparently, to season your skillet when you first purchase it. Basically, you give it one good wash and then rub some crisco on it. You rub it in good, into all the little iron-y nooks and crannies. Over the life of the skillet certain flavors and oils will get stuck in those nooks and crannies, trapped in with the cooking grease, providing an evolving flavor to all future foodstuffs you prepare with the skillet. In the case of the cast-iron skillet, its usually a good thing. You get a nice smoky flavor when you cook a steak, you get a grilled flavor when you throw in some veggies. It's pleasant.

Anyways, the next day I was pulling some shots at work and noticed that, out of habit, i tend to wipe out and rinse the portafilter with hot water between shots to get rid of all the espresso grounds and oils from the previous shot. Why do I do that? What would happen if I simply wiped out the previous shots' grounds but did not rinse, effectively leaving the espresso oils in tact for the next round of shots?

Thus the experiment began. For the next twenty shots I pulled out of that portafilter I wiped out the grounds, but I left the oils on the filter. After twenty shots I a shot from that filter and a shot from a freshly cleaned filter and compared taste.

Results - Aged oils very much ruin a shot of espresso. The natural brightness of the shots were masked by burnt, smoky overtones. The shots were ashy and overly bitter. The shots out of the clean filter remained balanced, bright and finished sweet and clean.

I was shocked with the results, but when I thought about it a minute it made sense. Espresso is delicate. The grind is fine enough that it burns easily and the oils tarnish quickly, souring shots as quickly as thirty seconds after being pulled. Coffee, in general, when exposed to water for too long, have a tendancy to become bitter. espresso, especially. If the preinfusion on a shot is too long, or if your grind is too find and water rests atop your puck for too long before pushing through the filter and out the pour spouts, it sours and embitters (word?). Thinking along these lines, it's easy to see why aging a portafilter doesn't have the same effect as aging a cast-iron.

Anyways, it was an interesting experiment and I urge everyone to give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Dan

An opening word...

2009-10-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've done this blogging thing.

If it's all the same to you, I'll just speak my mind from time to time and hope something resonates.

Enjoy.