SCA Golden Cup Technician - Probat Lab (more photos)

Attended the Specialty Coffee Assignation’s Golden Cup Technician Educational Pathway at the Probat Lab outside of Chicago. This was is the third class offered by Firedancer Coffee Consultants that I have taken now and it was just as well taught as the roasting and green coffee buying classes.

In our lab time we brewed on the Chemex, Hario V60, and in the French Press. We practiced tasting the coffee brewed on spec, as well as with adjustments made to the grind, quantity of ground coffee, temperature, and time of contact with between the water and ground coffee. Each of these adjustments through the flavor profile off, which helped us develop discernment between coffee brewed on spec and coffee brewed incorrectly.

We also used a TDS Meter to measure the total dissolved solids in the coffee to see where the extraction fell on the SCA Golden Cup chart. After this we practiced adjusting the brewing profile to move it to different points on the chart. Although part of the Coffee Roasting class, while cupping, we also practiced disinterment in tasting defects in the water that will effect the flavor of the coffee.

Suggestions for Changing the Curriculum

While I did find the the hands on use of the brewing devices, learning to taste brewing defects, using the TDS Meter with the Golden Cup chat, and tasting the water defects useful there were a number of things that could have been added.

Including information on the green coffee type, date of harvest, storage information, roast profile, Agtron number, and days off harvest. All of this information adds to the depth of understanding the final flavor profile produced by the brew.

Including more details of the brewing profile including as the grind size, grind weight, water quality, water start and end temp, pour profile chart, pour technique used, water flow rate, retention of water in the grounds, and challenging information. As each of these elements of the brew can greatly effect the final extraction, it is useful to record it.

Including full tasting of the coffee using the SCA Cupping form, with the addition of areas to record the paper taste or sediment. Doing sampling brewing taste tests between (1) three different coffees using the same brewing device and (2) the same coffee brewed in three different devices would help students better discern the effect the brewing devices is having on the flavor profile. Going through this process help us move past choosing the brewing device that we like best and towards choosing the one that helps the natural characteristics of the coffee best shine.

When we start collecting the pre-brewing data of the coffee, more detailed brewing profile data, and advanced tasting profile data we are able to better adjust the elements to improve the final quality of the coffee. Over time, using this data can help us improve our best practices for brewing Coffeehouse and drawing the best flavors out of the been. Without doing such things I feel like we do Brewbar flying blind or in a Willy Nilly fashion. Our costumers deserve better, not to mention the coffee farmers and roasters who put a lot of hard work into proving us with great coffee to work with.

My hope is that in time, the SCA and coffee industry as a whole will start taking manual coffee brewing as seriously as they do roasting, batch, cupping, batch brewing, and espresso extraction.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe -Wilson's Coffee and Tea Spent some visiting with Neal Wilson at his Coffeehouse + Roastery. His insight into green coffee buying, roasting, and tasting is absolutely amazing. Not to mention his understanding of software systems related to coffee. He had been mentioning this Ethiopia Yirgacheffe he has been roasting so I picked up a bag on my way out. Is was e first light roast I tried from Wilson's Coffee and Tea. Just like with their medium and medium-dark roasts I was impressed with the quality. Looking forward to trying more of Neal's lighter roasts in the near future.

Kickapoo Cafe - Viroqua (more photos)

Made a trip to Viroqua to attend the grand opening of Kickapoo Coffee's second Coffeehouse. There was live music, hors d'oeuvres, and face panting. The public really turned out for this event, creating long lines in fro until of the coffee-bar durning the entire event. Personally, I love their new space with its modern yet warm and welcoming design. Was happy to see the LM Linea PB espresso machine and Nuova Simonelli grinders, which are state-of-the-art equipment. Was also pleased to see the new Seraphim by Curtis, which automatically brews coffee fresh by the cup with whichever pour-over device the coffeehouse prefers. As Kickapoo has a passion for the Kalita Wave, it was no surprise to see them using this with their Seraphim. It was wonder to be able to celebrate this moment with Kickapoo Coffee. The more I get to know them the more I respect them as a company. Seeing them offering high quality single origin espresso shots and pour-overs in Viroque was a delight. Looking forward to stopping in to this cafe on future visits to the Kickapoo roasting facility.

Metrics Coffee Co. - Chicago (more photos)

Although I had tried some of Metrics’ coffee at Caffe Streets and Uppers and Downers, I wasn’t able to take the time to visit roastery until recently. I was impressed with their 15kg vintage Probat roaster, tasting lab, and small coffeehouse space.

Was able to sit in on a cupping and meet their specialist in green coffee buying who has deep roots in Peru and connections all over Latin America. This relationship is giving Metrics access to some of the best cutting edge coffee farms south of the boarder. Over all I was impressed with what I tasted on the cupping table. At the same time, Metrics is attract talent from Intelligentsia Coffee, Colectivo, and the now collapsed Bow Truss Coffee Roasters.

While a relatively young coffee roaster, Metrics is showing promise and I believe is one of the better coffee roasters in the Midwest. Looking forward to trying more of their single origins in the near future, as their sourcing and roasting vision closely matches my passion for the lighter and brighter fruit and berry forward coffees.

Everybody’s Coffee - Chicago (more photos)

Stopped in at Everybody’s Coffee as I wanted to see the coffeehouse that hosts the Great Lakes Coffee Showcase, Aeropress competitions, and the Barista Fight brewbar competition. Love their passion for being a multi-roaster coffeehouse that features the regions best coffee roasters. Was equally impressed with their mastery of a wide range of brewbar devices and their warm and inviting art-filled space.

Looking forward to stopping in a Everybody’s Coffee more often, as well as attending to competitions they host. This place is a true asset to Chicago and the coffee industry in the Midwest.

Passion House Cafe - Chicago (more photos)

Was able to drop in at the new Passion House Cafe in Chicago on their opening day. It was actually my first time trying their coffee and I greatly enjoyed the V60 pour I had. By random chance the barista serving me was actually Joshua the founder and owner Passion House Coffee Roaster. Rather than being pertinacious I found Joshua to be down-to-earth and chill, while at the same time passionate about coffee.

What I like most about Passion House is their intentionally balanced bean menu. Which starts out with the approachable “Ambient” blends and medium to darker roasts, moves up to their “Mainstream” high quality lighter roasted single origins, all the way up to the “Experimental” line which represents some of the best highly nuanced coffees in the world. There is something for everybody in their bean menu, with a noticeable emphasis in the medium to light roast direction.

In the conversation with Joshua, I also learned that a number of his team competes at regional and national competitions. This includes the Great Lakes Coffee Showcase and SCA events.

Greatly looking forward to visiting their Logan Square cafe more often, as well as stopping in at their roastery to see their vintage Probat roaster in action.  Most of all, however, I can wait taste test more their Mainstream and Experimental coffee lines. Passion House is one of the Chicago coffee roaster that is well worth getting to know as their coffee is delicious.

SCA Green Coffee Buying - Probat Lab (more photos)

Had another wonderful experience with Firedancer and Mike Ebert at the Probat Lab. This time is was a SCA Green Coffee Buying class, an area where I believe Mike shines because of his wide exposure in the industry working with importers and traveling to origin. In our classes there were also three students from producing countries who were roasters, exporters, and farmers. Their questions, comments, and insights brought the class into an even deeper understanding of the subject of Green Coffee Buying.

As a result of this class, I started to wonder if there is a way to discern the difference between old school and new school coffee farmers and importers. Wanting to develop some type of observable criteria   check list for those more interested in roasting higher quality single origins. 

Although I learned a lot of useful information in this class, I also discovered that there is much more to learn. Looking forward to taking Green Coffee Buying Level 2, as well as doing some origin trips with Mike and Firedancer in the near future.

I spy Roby Colorful Coffee at the Stevens Point CO-OP

Hario v60 and the Gear-V Dripper (more photos)

Here is another variation of the Hario v60 pour-over coffee dripper. Like the Kinto Brewer, the Gear-V take the v60 filter and grinder settings, yet has design dynamics that enhance the higher notes of the lighter and brighter single origins. On the Gear-V device this includes deep ridges that force a brewing dynamic on the pour that is similar to the cupcake shaped filter of the Kalita Wave. In addition, the opening at the bottom of the Gear-V is nearly twice as large as the v60. Although it does not effect the flavor extraction, another nice feature of the Gear-V is that the metal holder comes off so that it can be used in a wider range of pour-over stations.

Made by a company in Taiwan called Junior Coffee, but can be ordered through Amazon and eBay in North America. Comes in white, black, and brown, but the brown version is not yet available in the USA.

Hario v60 and the Kinto Brewer

Just received my second shipment from Japan of the Kinto Brewer (website). While similar in snap, size, and brewing concept to the Hario v60 it differs just enough to have dramatic impact on the water rate of flow and the resulting flavor profile. This is due to the fact the opening at the bottom of the Kinto is nearly twice larger as the v60, rather than 60 degree angle the Kinto has a 90 degree angle on the side walls like the Chemex, and the ridges are straight down as opposed to slanted like the v60.

The end result is that the Kinto is some place between the v60 and Chemex in terms of flavor extraction, thus bridging the gap between the two. It can take either the v60 or Chemex, as well as use coffee ground at either the finer Hario grind setting or the medium course Chemex setting. Which filter one uses and which grind setting are used we determine fir the end result is closer to the v60 or Chemex.

The Kinto Brewer is ideal for the lighter and brighter higher quality single origins, that are fruit, berry and floral notes forward. Some of the washed Ethiopians, Kenyon,s, and Panama selection would,shine in the Kinto.

My only disappointment with the Kinto is that it only comes in white or gray. It would be. Ice to see in a wider range of colors like the Hario v60, Kalita Brewer, or Bee House currently offer. A. Lack version would nice to see, as well as a red, yellow, or orange. In the coffeehouse setting, the more colors available to play with, the more fun it is to feature it on the brewbar.

Dark Matter Coffee - Chicago (more photos)

Had been wanting to visit Dark Matter Coffee and their Star Lounge Coffee Bar (photos) for some time as this place has a serious cult-like following in Chicago. Turns out that there are a number of good reasons why people are crazy about they are doing. Here are a few of them.

The creative branding around heavy metal themes at their roastery, cafes, on their coffee bags, and merchandise gives them with a alternative vibe.

They take social responsibility seriously as they Aline themselves with organizations like Fair Trade Alliance and Rainforest Alliance or UTZ,

Their bean menu is comprised of a balance between higher quality single origins and creative blends.

Before visiting their “Mothership” location (roaster and espresso bar) I was a bit afraid that their coffee would be roasted too dark, as a name like “Dark Matter” might suggest. However their roast level seem to be centered around the medium to medium-light levels, with only rare dark roasts. This allows the nuanced flavor of the bean to shine in their single origins and more complex flavor profiles in their blends.

What was most surprising to me is that part of their roasting operation is on two smaller and on larger Sivetz air coffee roasting machine. Dark Matter Coffee is perhaps the most skilled at using the fluid-bed air roasting technique that I have encountered to date. They also roast on a vintage Spanish made Roure Tectosa with a modified drum with perforation allow them to excel in lighter roasting.

Dark Matter’s creative branding, social responsibility, and air roasting set it apart from other Chicago area coffee companies and give it a unique twist that is worth going out of the way for. 

Over all my first visit to Dark Matter Coffee and the Star Lounge was pleasant experience. My only disappointment was that while they do offer single origin espresso, they have not advanced in offering brewbar methods. I would love to try some of their lighter roasted single origins poured on a Hario v60 or Chemex on location. Never the less, I do look forward to trying more of their coffee and visiting some of their other coffeehouse locations in the near future.

Hario v60 Pour-Over - Hawthorne Coffee Roasters (more photos)

Stopped in at Hawthone Coffee yesterday to check in with them and see how things were going. I was happy to discover that not only have they expended their hours, but they also have additional help with their roasting operation. It is exciting to see them advancing forward and surely but slowly expanding their business.

The main reason for my visit, however, was to satisfy a deep desire for a good pour-over coffee. There is something special about the art of the brewbar pour-over methods, in both watching the pour and tasting the end results. This experience is made even better when lighter roasted high quality single origins are used by a brasta who has refined pouring techniques and is knowledgeable about coffee being used.

The best place to find this kind of amazing brewbar experience in Milwaukee is Hawthorne Coffee on Howell Ave.

At Hawthorne Coffee they don’t offer batched brewed coffee, even during rushes, as they prefer to prepare each cup as its ordered to ensure the best possible flavor extraction for their customers. They use a Stagg kettle and Hario v60 on their pour-over bar, which are some of the best options for drawing out the nuanced flavor of the bean. Although the v60 take a bit effort to prefect, compared to other brewbar devices, Hawthorne has a team of passionate baristas who are able to get the most out of their freshly roasted coffee using it.

What is extra nice about ordering a pour-over at Hawthorne, is that one is able to pull up a seat and talk to the barista during the pour. They are knowledgeable about their coffee and can tell their customers details about the origin, as well as the complex flavor notes. After the coffee is ready, just sit back and enjoy listing to music their played on their vintage LP stereo system.

For those who love the flavor extraction a pour-over bar can offer, Hawthorne is doing an amazing job in this area. As their sign says, “take time to make time” at Hawthorne Coffee and will will not be disappointed.

Thanks Hawthorne for providing a cure for my pour-over bar blue and satisfying my craving for high quality nuanced coffee... LOVE what your doing with coffee!

Millars Organic Wood Roasted Coffee (more photos)

This as to be one of the most unique coffee I have tasted in a long time. It come from a company called Millars, which is directly connected with the same people who handcraft the Pull Espresso Machines that I recently posted about. Just as with their espresso machines, a great deal of tender loving care goes into the coffee the roast.

For starters all the coffee that goes into these blends is shade grown certified USDA organic. Secondly, all of the beans are barrel aged in 24 yr old Kentucky bourbon, oak barrels for a minimum of 30 days before they are roasted. Thirdly, the blends are roasted on vintage wood burning Turkish coffee roasting machine, using hardwoods like alder, cherry, and maple to infuse sweet and fruitful flavors with subtle smokiness to the beans.

This is perhaps the most eco-friendly coffee roasting company we have ever encountered.

Although at first I was a bit worried that the flavors from the barrel aging or wood roasting overwhelm the flavor profile, after taste testing the light, medium, and dark blends a number of times each it was clear this was not the case. At best the barrel aging and wood roasting adds subtle background flavor notes that make the coffee more interesting and present to drink.

The end result in the cup at each roast level is a well balanced and fully-body cup, with a creamy milk-chocolate finish. The Lucia Blend (light roast) also had some pleasant buttery, caramel, and nutty notes.The Moulton Blend blend (dark roast) has deep earthy and smokey flavor notes. Each of these blends would also work well as the base for a cappuccino or latte, as an espresso pull or using a pour-over brewing method.

Uppers and Downer 2017 (more photos)

This is a unique festival that celebrate coffee, beer, and coffee beers. It brings together some of the best breweries and coffee roasters to collaborate on new coffee beer combinations.

In terms of coffee, La Marzocco helps to sponsor the event and provided their Linea Minis and GS/3 machines for the coffee roasters to pull shots on. At each of the two sessions, there were six different coffee roasters, from national commercial roasters like Intelligentsia, PT’s, Stumptown, and Counter Culture to regional and local roasters such as Kickapoo, Gaslight, and Onyx.

Of the eight SO-Espressos I tried, my personal favorite pulls were the Ethiopia Sidama by Kindred Coffee Roasters and the Kenya Muthunzuuni Peaberry by Metric Coffee. These were all amazingly complex, bright, and fruit forward offers. The cold brew bar on the top floor hosted by Stumptown also had some interesting and enjoyable nitro and carbonated coffee drinks.

Over all the multi-roaster espresso bar was simply amazing and bye itself made the even well worth attending. My only wish is that they would have had higher end pressure profiling machines, competitions between the roasters, and offered single and double shot SO-Americanos.

Should also give a shout-out to Bille’s Local Foods, which is right around the corner from Thalia Hall. They offer amazing all natural smoothies, as well as a good range of vegetarian and vegan dishes. What a great place to grab a healthy lunch or dinner while attending Uppers and Downers.

American Story Night - 5th Element Coffee (more photos)

It is no secret that 5th Element Coffee is not only one of my favorite coffeehouse in Madison, but in the whole state of Wisconsin. I love their passion for qaulity single origins, their well trained barista staff, their brew bar, and the amazing vibe they create with their vintage LP music and their space. Most of all, however, I love their deep connection to the human element in coffee and their support of the coffee growers in Latin America.

After attending the American Story night on February 20th, 2017, I have yet another reason to LOVE 5th Element Coffee (website). At this event we celebrated cultural diversity here in America. There was an open mic for each to share their American cultural experience, the good side and the bad side. We heard from people from people who came from all around the world, as well as from mainstream white males who were daring enough to adventure and and experience radically different cultures here in America and in other parts of the world.

Coffeehouses like 5th Element that are committed social responsibility, both sides of the cup, can change the world and make it a better place to live.

It was also exciting to see the “Unity Walls” placed around the coffeehouse for people to write out their stories so that those who did no attend the event could see. People were also sharing about other efforts in Madison to help the new immigrant and refuges, as well as a few ideas put forward about future diversity events being hosted at 5th Element Coffee.

This American Story Night was a wonderful first step for 5th Element to celebrate the human element here at home and not just in the coffee growing countries it is connected with. Greatly looking forward to attend more events like this there in the near future.

Kin Kin Coffee Stand - Madison (more photos)

It is always a pleasure to quality coffee being offered in unexpected places and the Kin Kin Coffee Stand in the Festival Foods build is one such find. All to often the coffee stands at grocery stores are dominated by larger scale commercial coffee companies. The quality of coffee one can expect from such places is at best ho-hum. Sadly this is as true of the mainstream grocery stores, as it is of the specialty and organic type. This is why it was exciting to see Kin Kin Coffee, a relatively new 3rd-Wave Madison area roaster, setting up shop in the Festival Foods building in Madison.

At Kin Kin Coffee Stand one can find an impressive wide range of traditional espresso bar menu options. At the same time, they offer their higher quality lighter roasted single origins as SO-Espresso and Americano, batch brewed, and as Hario v60 pour-over on request. In side there was seating where one could watch the traffic on Washington Ave or sit as the counter to visit with the barista. There was also a walk-up service window to the outside serving those waiting at the bus stop, as well as a covered seating area.

So far I have tried Kin Kin Coffee picked up Johnson’s Public House, at the Kin Kin Coffee booth at the Milwaukee Coffee Fest, and now at their coffee stand at their Festival Foods coffee stand location. Greatly looking forward to doing touring their roastery and interviewing them, as I am finding Kin Kin Coffee to be among the top coffee roasters in Wisconsin.

My hope is that we will see Kin Kin Coffee in multi-roaster coffeehouses, restaurants, and other unexpected places like this supermarket coffee stand.

Pull Espresso Machines (website)

Positioned at the exact opposite side of the continuum from the ultra high-tech approach of the Sanremo Opera espresso machines are the ultra low-tech Pull manual lever machines. Each of these machines represents two extreme approaches within the 3rd-Wave of coffee. While both the Opera and the Pull are passionately designed for and able to pull that “god shot”, they each take a radically different approach to getting there.

The Pull approach is to return to the 1940s, to the original espresso machines, before they were outfitted electronic and computer computer. Keeping things simple and old school, based on trusted technology that can stand the test of time and that is easier for the non-specialist to fix.

Each of the Pull Espresso Machines is built by hand in a small scale assembly shop. This is not a large production operation, but rather a place where the machines are passionately hand crafted by a handful of dedicated workers.

All of the components inside are careful selected and of the highest quality available, mostly from the best  Italy has to offer. In a few cases the people at Pull have asked Italian manufacturers to revive parts that they haven’t made in year, but that offer a better quality than newer versions. These are machines that are designed to be old school manual espresso machines from the start, not just modern electrical machines with the manual lever stuck on as an after thought.

Above is a pour-over drip station that Pull designed to match their espresso machines, both have that old school charm to them.

Pull Espresso Machines are not alone in their passion to return to the origins of espresso. There is a growing segment of the 3rd-Wave that are highly devoted to the manual lever machines. From the army home baristas pulling shots on their La Pavonis, to high-profile players like Blue Bottle Coffee and Insight Coffee Roaster using their La Marzocco and Victoria Arduino machines to pull single origin espressos.

This movement to return to the manual lever espresso machines is closely paralleled by the revival of the manual brewing methods and vintage coffee roasting machines, as both movements want to restore coffee-culture to a craft industry.

In my travels out west, I have been fortunate enough to see and taste some amazing shots pulled on manual lever machines, as well as having pulled a few shots myself (photo album and previous post). Each time I have been impressed with the results and can honestly say that these shots are every bit as good as what I tasted on LM Strata EP and Modbar machines with the latest and greatest pressure and temperature profiling machines.

Out of all the manual lever machines I have seen in person and researched, I am most impressed with the look and feel and commitment to quality old school craftsmanship of the Pull Espresso Machines. This would be an amazing addition to any coffeehouse devoted to pulling high quality lighter and brighter SO-Espresso shots.