Recently I have made some changes to my twitter account by purging several dozens of accounts from the list of people and organizations I “follow”.  Those purged are coffee related entities who I consider to be doing damage to any hope of widening the tent to include those on the perimeter of specialty coffee.  A long stated mission of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and it’s offshoots is increasing membership and quality throughout the industry, but in my opinion, those results are unattainable while there exists a “cool strata” of personalities and companies that use their status not to improve their coffee community through cooperation and consent, but to fortify their status through ridicule and mockery.

In the past few months a couple of articles appeared in Esquire Magazine penned by Todd Charmichael, the owner of La Colombe Torrefaction.  The articles were humorous to me and well written.  I may not have agreed with the content, but I appreciated it for what it was…an opinion.  What followed was an all out assault by former barista competitors and champions, coffee personalities and bloggers.  While I didn’t consider those comments or rants worthy themselves of a second read, my impression was that they were not directed at the content of the articles, but to the character of the author and whether he was worthy of being published in a prestigious magazine and even expressing an opinion.

About the same time the former Italian barista champion Giorgio Milos made a good will tour of the United States sponsored by Italian coffee giant Illy.  Illy’s intent was to offer advice to those willing to listen about how they believed espresso should be prepared, advice 95% of coffee shops and cafes could benefit from.  Whether his methods and measurements were desirable should have been left up to the reader to consider. What followed again was an assault of ridicule and criticism which was personal in nature and damaging to the industry as a whole.  ”How dare this Italian give us advice on how to make great espresso”, sounds absurd, but the sentiment is true.

I am active within the SCAA and Barista Guild as an instructor and have had the honour of teaching some eager and interesting people.  They are running coffee shops and espresso bars in Arkansas and Michigan, Indiana and Ontario and hoping to make money while improving their skills and products.  They will never embrace the SCAA and Barista Guild while there continues to be a very vocal element whose goal is personal gain rather than collective improvement.

I am now making plans to attend the SCAA leadership summit in Houston in October.  I have nothing but respect for the individuals and supportive professionals who work for and volunteer on behalf of the SCAA and Guilds, but hope to leave with confidence that their voices will be amplified, drowning out those who pretend to speak for Specialty Coffee in America.

New Rancilio Leva installation at Johnson Street

A quick post on the installation of a new espresso machine at Johnson Street.  After too much contemplation, deliberation and costing I have chosen a Rancilio Leva 2 Group Machine.

Of course this only works when a well trained professional is behind the machine, and something I would not have attempted a year ago.  Initially customers will notice how quiet an espresso machine is when a pump is not engaged.  Our customers will also notice the excitement on the faces of our baristas, and the increased level of concentration required to hand deliver a great shot.

Coffeeco Barista Champion Renate

Today coffeeco crowned our first barista champion after an afternoon of competition at the Kingston Centre location.  Five eager competitors put hours of thought, practise and preparation into choreographed performances .  Each competitor was responsible for preparing four espressos, four cappuccino’s and four signature drinks in fifteen minutes while complying with accepted rules and regulations.

The competition was started by our Kingston Centre manager and barista master Danny R whose technical skill and abilities are well known.  Danny’s signature drink was a classic infused with orange zest and cardamon.

Next up was Renate whose cappuccino’s were perfect in every way.  Her signature beverage was founded upon sweet potato and tarragon and was as beautiful as it was tasty.  Daniel C followed Renate with another excellent cappuccino, and a signature drink using chocolate ganache, and rosemary whipped cream.

Emily was next with the best espresso’s of the day on all sheets and a surprisingly pleasing peanut and chocolate cappuccino.  Our last competitor was also our youngest, Graham who is heading off to university this year.  He was a little hesitant to enter but accommodated my request, and I’m sure he’s glad he did.  Graham is calm defined and exhibits the best dosing and grooming technique of all the competitors.  Graham served excellent espresso’s, cappuccino’s and mochas to complete the day.

After conferring with Johnson Street manager Rob and regular customer Donna who both served on the judging panel, we each tallied our score sheets.  Each of us independently scored the finishing order identically placing Renate in first place.  Renate’s reward is a $500 bonus and the honour of representing coffeeco in our Regional Competition.

Special thanks to Marianna and Joanna who selflessly volunteered their time to prepare the work station after each competitor and bus dishes after judging.  Also, thanks to our favourite espresso hound Fernando who documented the competition digitally and whose work will appear on the blog soon.

Coffeeco Competitors and Volunteers

Monday afternoon at 2pm we will be having our first annual Coffeeco Barista

Sweet stream of espresso

Competition at the Kingston Centre location.  Currently, we have four individuals competing for the title, cash prize, and the opportunity to compete at the Canadian Eastern Regional Barista Championships.  Each barista will serve four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature beverages to our judges.  The barista’s will be judged on technical as well as sensory skills based on criteria established by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.  While the store is closed for sales, it is open for spectators, curious onlookers and interested parties who share our love of coffee.

Daniel from coffeeco and Anya from Zingermans competing in Motown Throwdown

This past Wednesday evening coffeeco managers Danny, Daniel and Rob along with myself left Kingston headed for Ann Arbor Michigan to participate in the Specialty Coffee Association of America Skill Building Workshops.  The workshops are intended to bring the specialized training normally only available at the annual trade show to each region of the USA and Canada.  They are organized and run by Ellie Hudson Matuszak and Melissa Bula of the SCAA, and this event was particularly well planned with many extracurricular activities for participants.  I was scheduled to help instruct Milk and Latte Art in addition to Intro to Cupping and Advanced Cupping.  The Managers were each taking different courses from Milk and Latte Art, Intro to Espresso, Advanced Espresso and Into to Cupping, Advanced Cupping and the Barista Guild Level 1 Certification test.

Each Manager represented coffeeco extremely well, displaying superior technical form and skill in the espresso workshops and Level 1 Certification.  I personally feel that each manager’s knowledge in the written portion, and technical skill in the practical will secure a passing mark in the Level 1 Barista test.  After an excellent meal sponsored by Coffee Express of Michigan, Bunn, Zingerman’s and DaVinci Gourmet we all headed out to participate in the “Motown Throwdown” Latte Art Competition.

The next day Daniel sat in on both espresso classes while Danny and Rob took both cupping classes while I helped teach cupping.  While the espresso classes were review for Daniel,  the cupping classes were relevatory for Rob and Danny.  We cupped 10 flights of coffee, some average, some absolutely beautiful and memorable.  I’m looking forward to two new cupping partners who can share in the effort to bring in new and remarkable coffees.

A special thanks go out to Alan, Trevor and Jack who led sessions on Latte Art, Cupping and Espresso in and entertaining and informative manner.

The 7 hour drive home was filled with coffee centred conversation about the past 2 days.  What remains clear to me is that the workshops have energized our managers and given them exposure to some of the best baristas and trainers in North America.  Last, in the few minutes of conversation that took place in the parking lot at the end of our drive home we each acknowledged that we have put coffeeco on the map of espresso bars with exceptional baristas and that we have a responsibility to improve all baristas on staff to match the skill displayed in Detroit.