I am a part of a discussion forum on LinkedIn, for coffee professionals. I would like to present here the comments so far, to point out that if we continue along this line of communication, we will go around and around with little progress. I have been a part of similar conversations with any number of coffee industry professionals. The context for a conversation is not established, and therefore there is no end in sight. I suppose we all need to bandy about ideas in any case in order to come to some consensus at some point. One individual posed a question as a topic of discussion in preparation for the upcoming World Coffee Conference this week. Since the conference is nearly underway, I imagine the discussion will cease in this venue.
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Hello friends! Chris here, attempting to write my second blog post ever! I agreed to help with the Roastery blog, thinking that it couldn’t be that hard to write about coffee, seeing as how it’s one of the few things that I know a lot about. As I enter the vast world of blogging baristas, however, I’ve begun to realize that I still have a LOT to learn. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still confident that I can make you one of the best latte’s you’ve ever had, latte art to boot (see our facebook page for proof). Still, as I peruse blogs written by some of the world’s most knowledgeable coffee guru’s, such as ‘Tamp This’, I am both overwhelmed and excited by everything going on in the coffee world, and all that is left for me to learn! As I’ve surfed the coffee blogosphere, I’ve been noticing a running theme: pretty much everyone who considers themselves a dedicated barista is attending and/or competing in, barista competitions. I, on the other hand, haven’t yet had the chance to attend even one. Fortunately, that’s about to change… because we at the Buena Vista Roastery are attending our first Mountain Regional Barista Championship in Fort Collins, Colorado this weekend! None of us are competing at the Fort Collins competition, but our excitement about attending is still so great that, not only have we been practicing our latte art with a fury, but we’ve been inspired to do a little research into the rules and and regulations enforced at such competitions, just in case we want to enter the next one. We weren’t surprised to read that each competitor must present the judges with both an espresso shot and a cappuccino… that’s pretty standard. What we weren’t expecting was the third drink that each competitor is required to present: the signature drink. A signature drink is a drink invented by a barista that’s espresso based, alcohol- free, and if you want to win a competition, very creative in its construction. Here at the Roastery, we have several great coffee concoctions that are delicious, fairly simple, and honestly, the most experience I’ve ever had making anything more than straight cappuccinos and lattes (most of my years in the industry were spent in Australia, where even the addition of flavor to lattes is scoffed at as tainting the purity of one’s coffee).  Barista pouring his signature drink at the Canadian National Barista Championship That in mind, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered that, to compete in a barista competition like the one we’re attending this weekend, not only do I need to invent a signature drink of my own, it must be able to challenge the likes the ‘Coffee and a Cigar’ (which, yes, actually uses tobacco-infused cream as an ingredient) and the ‘Crimson Sage,’ an espresso shot with sugar-cane juice, a pinch of white pepper, and topped with a dollop of sage-infused steamed milk. Winning signature drinks are always awesome… and incredibly intimidating. Continue reading Tobacco infused latte, anyone??  Brad's Triple Short Latte We at Roastery in Buena Vista take our latte art seriously, perfecting our foam and playing with designs on our lattes and cappuccinos. A triple rosetta on a macchiato is next in line. All of our baristas shy away from playing with chocolate sauce to make teddy bears and other cute things. Still, no matter how well we like to think we are doing in our ‘art with coffee’, there is somewhere new, like Coffee on Paper. This caricaturist is taking art with coffee somewhere else, and filling a great niche for himself. Much like the teddy bear latte, it will appeal to a distinct group. One of these days when my to-do list in pared down to a couple dozen things, maybe I’ll play around with a sketch of Bongo Billy. Pretty unique niche to find and capitalize on. Check out the art of Dirceu Veiga.  courtesy of www.aeromedi.com Winter is in full-force here in Buena Vista, and we all know that this lovely, crisp, cold weather often goes hand-in-hand with crummy head-colds, sinus head-aches and other unwanted sicknesses. If you’re anything like me, you’re hesitant to see a doctor for this seasonal stuff that generally dissipates on its own with time… but bring on the natural remedies, right?? A couple of weeks ago, while making a drink here at the Buena Vista Roastery, I overheard a customer telling her friend about how her husband cured 3 years of sinus problems simply by drinking a few cups of green tea a day! Apparently, after trying everything from antibiotics to the neti pot, he visited a specialist, who told him to try green tea. He added a couple of cups of a green tea to his daily coffee routine, and his sinus problems completely disappeared after only 3 weeks! Crazy! Continue reading Green Tea: Can It Cure What Ails You?? Great Recipe for Coffee Fudge Brownies
 Photo by bloggyboulga, Creative Commons Brownies 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour 3/4 cup brown rice flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups maple sugar 3/4 cup soy-rice milk blend (or any nondairy milk) 3/4 cup brewed decaf coffee 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped Glaze 1 1/2 cups grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or other vegan) butter Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan with oil or cooking spray. Continue reading Coffee Fudge Brownies! I came across this 6 minute video on coffee. The video takes you through some of the process of production and generally describes the regions where coffee is grown. It’s truly a coffee 101 piece, and interesting to learn the geography. We at the BV Roastery and Bongo Billy’s have coffees from about 30 different countries of origin, all Arabica with a variety of subspecies.  Coffee Talking, courtesy of LA Times Just in time for the holidays, the Coffee Talkie. Complete with antenna and coffee safe key pad. Unfortunately, we won’t be carrying these at the Roastery, just our regular Bongo’s travel mug. It’s a gag gift, but you can read about it and the Wake & Bake Dream Griddle in the LA Times. The BV Roastery and Bongo Billy’s Coffees offers free shipping on orders more than $25, for Cyber Monday. Earn Reward Points and get your ridiculously good coffee delivered for free…  Phot by: Mimar Sinan, Creative Commons A roaster of ours at the Buena Vista Roastery who is taking a few years respite in the Virgin Islands shared an interesting article with us. A study suggests that caffeine, whether in the habitual coffee drinker or the novice, can help to reduce the pain one may feel during exercise. Placebos and caffeine pills were used on a number of trials. Here’s one excerpt from Robert Motl of the University of Illinois.
Author Ray Gill states that,
 from Creative Commons We at the Buena Vista Roastery and Bongo Billy’s Coffees are embarking more formally on a quest to support terrestrial carbon sequestration. For two years we have been advancing our environmental commitments and pursuit of the triple bottom line – financial security coupled with long-term environmental regeneration as well social prosperity. So far, I am happy with some of our efforts, and know that there is plenty yet to do. One of the things we can do is be more proactive with dealing with carbon. Continue reading BV Roastery and Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration |
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