Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea Blog

Movin' on up

2009-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

For those on you who have this blog in your feed, I'm officially moving over to the new blog: BFC&T Blog. I invite you to switch your RSS feeds or change your bookmarks. I hope to post a little more often there as well.

About Direct Trade

2009-02-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

We are currently four bags into our ten bag order of Finca Vista Hermosa's "La Vega" Huehuetenango microlot. We love it. It forms the centerpiece of our drip coffee regimen and is a vital part of our 3219 espresso blend (webstore coming soon). Bethany and Jake, along with some other Geneva staff and students, are visiting the farm in mid-March and helping out (best they can) with the harvest. Our relationship with the farm is growing strong and we hope to be able to buy a container of their coffee next year.

That, though, is hard. Being a cash-strapped Beaver County business is difficult in itself, but when you add our commitments to the highest quality and the best buying practices, the dollar signs really add up. We are committed, though, to doing this.

Our work with the farm gives us a level of control over the long-term that isn't possible working with distant importers (although the ones we do work with, Royal NY and Coffee Holding, do a great job). We can work over a number of seasons to identify with lot (with its specific terrior) brings the flavors that we want. We can watch the farmers create and maintain great growing practices and be involved with their community (farming, after all, is never an individual endeavor). As the farm does better, we do better; as we do better, the farm does better. Gotta like those odds.

Why I Love My Work

2009-01-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

I was struck the other day that I truly love what we are doing here at BFC&T. It has been a long time since I could say that: we've been racuously busy, in both the positive and negative sense, and I've just had a hard time sustaining a level of acceptable humanness. But the other day I was struck by a couple of things. Coffee, well grown, picked, processed, stored, roasted, and brewed is a wonderful beverage. Tea is the same way. I just did a cupping of Silk Road Teas and they were, by far, the best teas I've ever tasted. Seeing customer expressions after trying them confirmed in my mind why we do this day in and day out. Add to that the fact that Waffles Incaffeinated is making some sweet, culinarily adventurous waffles for us on Saturdays and Mondays.

Then, we've also moved the roaster. (Yes, that would be the third time in one year). It's new residence is a mere three doors down, on ground level, in the old Blue Room Billiards Hall here on College Hill. Compared to the space it was in, there is no comparison (but here's one anyway--100 sq ft v. 1100 sq ft). Now the roaster looks truly diminuitive, but its new digs herald a new age. Beleza Community Coffeehouse, in the Mexican War Streets of Pittsburgh, will soon be carrying our 3219 espresso, a specially created Beleza house blend, and our drip coffees. Yay! So, if you need a BFC&T, but cannot make the drive, try us in the city itself. I'm chasing down other possible wholesale accounts as a new part of my duties here.

Also, I learned about Terry Davis' Demitasse Poetry Contest. Few know it, but I am a published--and fairly prolific--poet, so I'm excited about this contest.

Lastly, competition is a-comin'! We are excited to have Jake and Meg compete, with Bethany judging, and myself volunteering at the event. If you have a chance, this is a great way to learn more about coffee and to support your favorite shops in our area. We'll be organizing trips down there for BF natives and Geneva College students, so be on the lookout for that in the store.

Coffee is great. Life is great.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T05:35:00.000-08:00

A couple of notes:

First, sorry I haven't posted much here as of late. A combination of insane business and the ease of Facebook have taken my attention. Expect more from here in the near future, especially as our new website is finished up by Jake. Also, if you are on Facebook, please consider joining our "fan page". Just search for Beaver Falls Coffee under the "pages" search section. We send out copious updates about concerts, new coffees and teas, and other items of interest.

Second, I just received a shipment of Sumatra and Timor coffees. They will be available for consumption and purchase on Monday. Coffee makes a great gift, as do coffee club subscriptions, brewing equipment...you get the idea.

Lastly, we will be closed Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and (as usual) Sunday this week to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Please have a safe and wonderful week and we'll hope to see you right after.

Things Are Happening

2008-10-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in awhile. Lots of stuff going on and I feel so tightly-stretched that I cannot write what I want to or need to. I want to go on and on about La Vega, our direct trade with Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala. But I need to save that for another day. I want to speak about the development of Espresso 3219, our signature blend, but that also will have to wait. There is just too much to say about them now.

I will say that things at the margins are happening. We aren't in a big city, we don't have a lot of wholesale accounts. None of us have been in this business for very long and have had to struggle with some less than standardized equiptment (especially in the kitchen). But we love the margins. This is where we thrive and can make great stuff happen: especially when the margins connect with the center.

Cryptic, eh?

What Should We Call Ourselves?

2008-08-01T19:31:00.001-07:00

Note: All opinions expressed on this blog are the thoughts of the writers and do not necessarily reflect BFC&T policy or official opinion, although you can be sure that we go back and forth about them constantly.

Jake has been in an interesting conversation over at Barista Exchange which can be found here, concerning coffeeshops and "working class" culture. Some parts of the discussion, from the perspective of a coffeeshop owner in a largely working class area, are disturbing--especially Jake's comment about McD's having a better shot at establishing an "Italian" coffee presence precisely because they aren't a coffeeshop and don't pretend to be (see the "Fratalian" Dunkin Donuts ads). That discussion informs this post/rant, but I don't want to post it there--I'm already involved in more forums than I should be.

If some of the problems associated with all of this revolve around language, then I think we should rethink our terms. I agree with Luke at 21st Street Coffee & Tea that our language should have concrete referents--in other words, a cappucino should refer to an Italian capp, just as a croissant always refers to a croissant, never to a scone. Within that linguistic space, though, there is considerable room for interpretation: good capps and undrinkable capps, croissants light and flaky, pan chocolate, etc. This, of course, is not easy and we still offer (and will for the foreseeable future) a 12oz capp. However, that doesn't mean we don't think about it and haven't encouraged some customers to try a 6oz for here capp. This argument, though, has been ably rehearsed elsewhere and isn't my main concern tonight. My main concern is what we call ourselves: barista.

For the record, I like the term. It is elegant and sets our industry apart from others. However, it is a lot like opera: for the Italians opera is in the vernacular, for us it is high-brow and unintelligble without an interpreter (and even that is no guarantee). When opera is done in English, historically at least, it hasn't been regarded as nearly as high an art form--the irony is terrible, but such is life. For this reason, I don't think barista is a good term for all coffeeshop employees to use, especially in areas where that sort of linguistic boundary marker is off-putting. Not to mention that if McD personnel are going to be calling themselves barista, then the word is so cheapened as to have lost meaning altogether, so why use it?

Instead, may I propose that we gravitate towards the term 'craftsman' (or craftsperson, if you like). In the specialty coffee industry, we often emphasize that the better shops do treat the position of barista as a craft: respect for tools, for materials, a constant betterment of product, presentation, and service. However, we rarely, if ever, look at the other crafts to see how they handle themselves and what they do. There are master carpenters, plumbers, electricians, bakers, chefs, and the list could go on. Rarely, at least with the construction trades, do we see the level of bravado and snobbery that we see with many so-called barista. The folks that I have worked with in these trades (for that is my work background--food and construction) are humble about what they do, letting the product speak for itself as a showcase of work, talent, and the pursuit of beauty (and a paycheck). Certainly, there are characters, there are cads, and there are pricks, but the level of self-overestimation is lower on the radar.

If a coffeeshop is to find itself reaching a working class clientele (and I find no reason to assume that the working class wouldn't appreciate good coffee, good surroundings, and good food expertly prepared), then it must embrace something along these 'craftsman' lines. This doesn't mean, by the way, a cheapening of quality: a shoddy building is despised, good tools are looked upon with pride by the user and envy by others--so there is plenty of room for excellent coffee prepared on excellent equipment. The problem is that, as one of the posters on the BX states, "quality is overrated". The coffee industry operates with most coffee, regardless of origin or preparation, tasting basically the same--the differences are "nuances" or "shades", hardly a convincing argument to ask people to shell over $4 more for a similar product to what they are used to. I don't think this problem is intractable, though. I've talked to many people here who can't drink coffee anywhere else anymore, because we've "ruined" them. I know I certainly cannot drink the local gas station coffee anymore, it just tastes disgusting (and they have the same equipment as us).

Which brings me to the idea of "just" coffee. We hear it all the time, "I just want a coffee". It is almost like good coffee carries the stigma of hubris, of transcending one's boundaries in a sinful way, so that anything associated with the "latte lappers" (as one local radio personality puts it) is trying to be better than your roots, as if it is a cultural slap in the face to tradition and propriety. We rob ourselves if we think anything is "just" anything. Humankind wasn't meant to live with substandard things, whether food or tools or dwellings. That doesn't mean we should all be elitist or aim for hubris, but we shouldn't lock ourselves into thinking that because something is quality, is good, is tasty without cream and sugar but still tasty with, that is necessary "above us". It isn't. Good coffee comes from humble origins and only through hard work, attention to detail, and a lot of sweat and tears can it reach a level fit for human consumption. Whether you are working class or a Brahmin, you should fight to have coffee treated so well.

I find a lot of hope in the working class culture (from which I spring) that I don't see in the "upper crust". But we've let ourselves be deluded into thinking that our way of life shouldn't be beautiful--because we've let others set the terms of debate. It is time for "unsnobby" coffee, but not from an industrial swill factory, whether the largest national chain of coffeeshops or fast food joints. There is too much to lose if coffee isn't looked at as a trade to be enjoyed and appreciated.

Shakerato!

2008-08-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Bethany and I were privileged to give an informative look at iced coffee theory and practice at last weekend's Grind Event, hosted by PACA and the Union Project. I usually don't go for iced coffee, it just isn't my thing, but doing the research for the presentation brought a new appreciation for what can be done with ice and espresso (even with the recent Arlington unpleasantness). Our presentation ended up being a little slap-dash, but we have honed since then and are prepared to ice anyone's coffee.

We usually make iced americanos (shaken) for our iced coffee--the shaking seems to cut down the bitterness associated with hot coffee poured over ice, but retains the full flavor and aroma. Today, though, I made a modified Shakerato using a combination of Tim Wendelboe and Rich Westerfield's recipes. Tasty stuff. These are definitely going in my next presentation.

The Australian Coffee Scene

2008-07-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was reading the blog for Barista Magazine and was struck by the coffee scene in Australia, specifically The Aroma Festival. This event, going on its 11th year, links coffee retailers with the general public. The turnout is usually between 60,000-100,000!

In related news, Starbucks announced it will close 75% of its Australian stores. Independent shops often fear Starbucks and feel that the only way to compete with Starbucks is to act like a Starbucks. However, this isn't the answer. As it has been said before, the real way to beat Starbucks is to offer a better product and the consumers will decide. Unfortunately too many independent shops in the States offer a sub-par product and Starbucks wins out. Offering events such as the Aroma Festival showcases the shops that are passionate about their craft. I hope that working through BFCAT and PACA I can partner with others who are excited about developing the coffee scene in the Pittsburgh Region. It's been great so far and I look forward to all the possibilities.

(Photo by Halan)

Clinton Campaigns For Baristi

2008-04-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

As a quality third-wave coffeeshop, BFCAT (and many others) have good reason to be proud about our coffee over gas station coffee. Some reasons are the quality training, the care and concern for the farmers, better atmosphere, community commitment, and the coffee doesn't come out of an automatic machine that spews out powdered milk and instant coffee.
In this video, potential 44th President of The United States of America, Hillary Clinton, demonstrates the need for more quality third-wave shops with well trained baristi ready to serve potential commander-in-chiefs anywhere in this expansive nation. Will someone please get her a real cappuccino?

Roasting notes 4/28

2008-04-28T20:11:00.001-07:00

Roasted a little bit tonight, some observations:

Guatemalan Coban, at least the bag I have, always roasts unevenly. Probably the borer holes that litter the beans. Maybe the fact that some of my burners are not burning clean.

10 degree difference in final bean temp between Guat and Tanzanian Peaberry yielded no difference in final bean weight. Curious...

We've begun talks with two coffee farms to do direct importing (as "direct trade" as we can get so far): Finca Vista Hermosa and Daterra. Wondering if Klaus Thompsen will sue if we use those two coffees in an espresso blend...

It is interesting how quickly one comes to conclusions regarding certain origins. Based on just one bag, from who knows where, is a dangerous thing to do, but it is difficult to not think of Coban as always-and-everywhere inconsistent and borer-ridden. It is difficult to not think of Colombian as always having a bitter aftertaste, regardless of roast level. Here is the problem of prejudice and having to roast in larger batches (requiring a larger initial investment in origin). I tried roasting in our machine at its lowest capactity (1.1 lbs), but was met with an uneven, lying roast (it said 424f, but looked--at least some of it--465f). Two pounds didn't improve much. If I always have to roast 3+ lbs, then the options I have are limited, especially when it comes to my proposed triple blend ideas. I don't want to roast 9lbs for a product that I have no idea if it will even be good. Such is life, I guess. I'll just keep roasting away.

I need to remember to clean out the chaff bin before I turn on the gas.

Finally!

2008-04-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

The roaster is up and working here at the C&T. A couple of notes...

1) YEEEEE-HAAAA!

2) We now have bags for sale and our new packaging should be ready soon. Both retail and wholesale accounts available.

3) I've been post-roast sorting and have determined it one of the most difficult things to do. I'm not sure how to make pre-roast and post-roast sorting commercially viable, at least from where I'm standing right now. However, I was noticing a lot of "charcoal" beans--yes, beans literally reduced to charcoal--and berries in the Tanzanian Peaberry. Even in specialty grade coffee, sorting is necessary. Not to mention, even with an immaculately cleaned roaster, uneven roasts are still possible and probable. Sorting is, really, the next step of quality and consistency.

Silence and Roasting Smoke

2008-04-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

We've been quiet here lately...and haven't been producing much coffee.

I moved our roaster to the shop last week (maybe the week before, but I'm starting to get confused myself on how long this has taken) and thoroughly cleaned it. Top to bottom, left to right, six ways of Sunday. The roaster is probably about five years old and I think I may be the first to give it a thorough cleaning. Such was the start of my troubles...

After cleaning, the drum worked fine. But I broke the heat probe and so cannot tell the temperature inside the roaster, no pre-heat, guessing on what temp I'm roasting to, etc. One is in the mail from the nice folks at Ambex, but I still have a day or two before it arrives.

The cooling tray fan bound up--nothing happening. Once I finally got it unbound (involving taking it completely apart and enough WD-40 inhalation to kill a small horse) it is so loud that I need to wear earplugs. Sigh. It was quieter when it was dirty.

The sweeper has been the thorn in my flesh. The motor runs from the get-go, without the sweeper actually turning. When I get around to turning it on, it moves slowly. Then when I turn it off, it keeps on going. Sigh. It turns out to be an easy fix, I messed something up in the wiring. It will work fine tomorrow.

Ducting is leaking worse than a government employee to the media. New, permanent ducting is being installed next week (hopefully), but now I just am laying the sealant on pretty thick.

So the roasting, for all intents and purposes, has been shut down for about two weeks. I've been out of decaf for who-knows-how-long and I'm beginning to get worn down by the whole process. Thanks to Phil at La Prima, though, who supplied us with an emergency 13lbs that we blew threw in almost one day. I'm hoping that by the end of my 16 hour day tomorrow I'll be going strong, but I've been hoping that for awhile.

Anyway, roasting smoke. I wrote on this blog, some time ago, about distilling coffee smoke. Aside from some interesting culinary possibilities, I'm now wondering if it would be a good way to control the smoke I'll inevitably produce in this residential neighborhood. I certainly want to be a good neighbor. The difficulty, as I see it, is to make sure that no chaff goes out of the stack and into the condensing unit--something not possible with the setup I have. Otherwise, all that will happen is a solid mass of chaff that will back up the roaster and...fire. Once that problem is taken care of, though, this could be a major innovation in the "greening" of the coffee industry. Maybe...I'll keep you posted.

Improving On The Reverse French Press

2008-03-25T19:44:00.000-07:00

Trolling the Coffeed forums, we came across this post, about how to make a 'ghetto Clover' using a French Press in reverse. Instead of putting the grounds on the bottom and pressing down, put the grounds on top of the screen and pull up, supposedly creating a cleaner cup, akin to a Clover. Hearing that we could replicate a cup of coffee from an $11,000 machine using tools we already have, we were interested and had to try it out.

First there were some problems to overcome. Many of the replies to the post mention that the French Press has a limited range and that some of the water at the bottom doesn't get a chance to brew. Using our McGyver-like tactics we contemplated how to construct a longer dowel rod to get the screen to the bottom of the French Press. While fabricating our own dowel rod would be awesome, the solution actually turned out to be much simpler. We have several Bodum French Presses and just unscrewed the dowel rod from a larger French Press and attached it to the lid and screen from a smaller one. Voila! Just like that we extended the rod and didn't even have to take any pills mentioned on late night TV infomercials!

Once we fixed this problem, the other issue was how we should get the water in there. After some trial and error, we found the best way is to put the screen (and grounds) at the bottom of the French Press and pour water over it through the spout and swirl the French Press to get all the grounds wet.

While this produced a great cup, I'd like to continue working to improve the reverse French Press. I'd like to use a finer grind for this reverse method, as the Clover tends to use a finer grind to achieve a fast brewing time. Sweet Maria's sells a nylon filter that could allow for a finer grind to be used. Another area of interest is how much the vacuum effect of the Clover contributes to the cup and how it could be implemented. Hopefully this is only the start of the 'Ghetto Clover' and that BFCAT and others will contribute to new designs and new ideas. Any ideas on how it could be improved?

G-G-G-Ghetto C-C-C-Clover

2008-03-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

We are in the beta testing stages of "pimping" our French Press to make-shift a Clover. Tastes pretty good so far, but we've got a lot of problems to overcome. Thankfully, now that Jake is posting on this blog, we'll have pictures!

Just to whet your appetite, though, the initial problem of the insipid under filter water has been solved by using the dowel from a larger press pot (which we happened to have handy).

More to come...

Extra-Curricular Coffee Education

2008-03-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

As a group of passionate baristas, we go to trade shows, compete in barista competitions and read over coffeegeek, barismo, and coffeed to hone our craft. Many shops (including ours) hold events such as coffee cuppings and latte art throwdowns to increase customer awareness. The majority of the time these events are attended by people already passionate about coffee, very rarely will Suzy Q. Iced-banana-four-sugar-packet-Mocha or Johnny Caramel-mint-vanilla-orange-frappachino be attending your coffee cupping event. Tell them you're practicing for a barista competition and they'll think it's amusing that you practice for an event where 'all you do is hit a button'.
How can we educate these customers, who see coffee as just a gateway for caffeine, as something more than this? Often we seek to give our customers on-the-fly education while we're working the espresso machine. However, this rarely translates into a conversation and at worst can be viewed by the customer as a pompous, arrogant and hostile lecture. The answer for customer education isn't found in two minute lectures but rather a conversation that starts both outside and inside our shop.
This past week I was invited to speak at an International Justice Mission meeting about coffee economics and the craft of creating and understanding quality coffee. If you're not familiar with IJM, they're a human rights organization that operates from an understanding that God calls us to "Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, [and] plead for the widow." They have student groups at college campuses across the country to educate and work towards their mission. I was honored to be able to speak at their Robert Morris University chapter. When the event started, I asked those in the room (about 15), how many drink coffee (~8), how many have heard of fair trade coffee (~6), how many have heard of direct trade (0), and how many have participated in a coffee cupping before (0). Starting with this, we discussed coffee economics and different trade models. I spoke about Edwin and Carlos, the Finca Vista Hermosa farm manager and his son who were tragically murdered only a few weeks ago and seeing coffee as not a mere commodity, but rather a crop that people around the world rely on to put food on the table and send their children to school. Understanding coffee quality and having a respect for those who produce it is intimately tied together. We cannot, and should not, have one without the other. To that end, everyone in the room got a chance to cup coffee. It was fun teaching these students, many who don't even drink coffee, about the nuances of the bean. They were excited for this new opportunity and got their noses and tastebuds into the coffee as they worked to describe them. After the cupping we opened the floor up for questions. These students, now on their way to becoming passionate about coffee, asked me questions ranging from how they should brew their coffee, to what I thought of Starbucks, to what coffee I recommend. It was a fun and exciting time for coffee education and happened 30 miles away from our shop. Sometimes the best education happens when we step away from our espresso machine and find natural partnerships with those who rarely, if ever, step into our shop. My question to you is this: How are you taking coffee education outside of your shop?

-jake

Finca Vista Hermosa

2008-03-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today, with much anticipation, our sample order from Finca Vista Hermosa, a Guatemalan coffee farm, arrived.

I've seen a lot of green coffee, relatively speaking. While it is exciting, after awhile green coffee looks, pretty much, like green coffee. But this was different (and it wasn't just because it was in a burlap bag, either). This coffee has a face. In his excellent article on CoffeeGeek.com, Mark Prince tells the tragic story of farm manager Carlos Martin and his son Edwin. But that isn't all.

In our industrial society, for all its benefits, we often miss that the things we enjoy, the things we live off of, are made by someone--especially "raw" agricultural products. This easily leads to a dismissibility, a disposibility. When the human face behind the product becomes clear, though, the reaction must change. All of the sudden, the product isn't something that we deserve, but a gift that we must make sure we are worthy of. Am I worthy of FVH coffees? No, but they make me want to be more worthy and do justice to the people and land behind these fantastic beans.

Does Anyone Care About Quality?

2008-03-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

These thoughts require a little background reading of one of the most important threads on Coffeed.com: The Third Wave and Milk-Based Drinks. The ostensible topic of the thread isn't what I'm thinking about, but where the discussion turns to whether or not cafes and coffee shops could stand up to competent critics, much like restaurants must.

Really this discussion cuts to the quick of my marketing whining (as seen in the last post)--we have no baseline definition of quality, whether in drinks or in ambiance. One question that I'm confronted with often from my staff is "what should it taste like?" and we spend hours each day thinking about it. The impression of what coffee and espresso should taste like from a consumer standpoint makes my head hurt. Not to mention the often obtuse tasting notes from "quality-oriented" roasters (note: I have had coffee that tasted like pink grapefruit and one that tasted like fresh-roasted peanuts, but those flavors were so overwhelming that the descriptions were more than apt). Same applies to roasting level--I've only met two people who *actually* like dark-roasted coffee, most folks I've met think dark roast is better because they've been told by some self-proclaimed coffee "authority" that dark is best for everything and everyone. We have no baseline.

Part of the problem, I think, is that we have assumed that coffee tastes a certain way and espresso tastes a certain way. Considering the sad state of coffee in this country (analogous to the state of tea and food in general), it is no surprise. I get chided for not carrying Lipton in the store, because it means "I don't sell tea". Same as when a gentleman tried to get us to sell Chock-full-o-nuts (one of the cheaper coffee brands) because, "They make it with 100% Colombian, which everyone knows is the best in the world!" Same as the marketing from the local gas chains coffee being "100% arabica beans", which they want people to interpret as "Our 99 cent coffee is made from the best beans in the world" but which actually means "We hope you don't realize that our marketing obfuscates much more than it clarifies and we hope you are too stupid to notice". With that sort of thing, Big Cream and Big Sugar team up with Big Coffee for Big profits. We have no baseline.

Building a baseline, though, whether in drinks or ambiance, is difficult. Not all coffees taste the same and even similar coffees, from similar regions or sometimes the same farms, taste different from season to season. Blends change from roast to roast. Percentages in each brew are contingent and ever-shifting.

The lack of a baseline is so frustrating because I've seen so many shops here and elsewhere that have attached themselves to a substandard of coffee because the owners/baristas have never had good coffee. Their baseline is so low (and often driven by dreams of profit--ha!) that it is no wonder that people still don't like coffee...even owners and baristas.

They say you can't beat something with nothing. So, what should the baseline be? I don't think I can give a definitive answer, but I've got hints in a direction that we are following here. Coffee, regardless of brew method, should be (at least) palatable with cream, sugar, or additional flavorents. If not, something is wrong and (as an owner/barista) you need to find out what and change it or (as a consumer) you need to send it back and create the demand for the owner/barista to do their part. If your espresso blend does not taste good straight, but shines in milk drinks, let your customers know that. If your espresso blend does not hold up well in milk, but shines as a straight shot, let your customers know.

I would love to hear your opinions on this, whether you are a drinker, an abstainer, or a professional. Let's build the baseline here in Beaver County.

Achieving Drip

2008-03-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

I've been working with the Melitta pour over (the little red one) for a couple of days now. I use it to do cuppings immediately after roasting. One memorable moment was the cupping of decaf Sumatra, which I quickly decided was the best cup of coffee I had ever had. I think that the pour-over is immensely superior to the auto drip. However, since my electric kettle is at the roastery and my hot water tower is atop my drip brewer, I cannot get accurate weight measurements for how much water I'm running through. Thankfully, I've been accurate within an ounce...and never had a spill over (yay!). However, with a scale and moveable water source, it puts some amazing control into your hands. I'm hoping to write a litle something up about this and maybe submit it to Barista magazine.

What should be the goal?

2008-02-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

I've seen signs in the area advertising the Beaver Valley's "best" or "finest" coffees and tea lately. I am not a fan of these sorts of marketing tactics. Partly because I believe that calling yourself the best is the worst thing that can happen to a coffee business. Partly because calling yourself the "-est", whatever the first morpheme, is the worst thing that can happen. If you call yourself the best, you've got nothing left to do, nowhere else to go, no way to improve; so if someone dislikes your (and the industry's) "best", then they certainly aren't going to give credence to anyone or anything lower on the totem pole. Which means a possible fellow worker in improving coffee has been lost, possibly forever. And this is putting aside the question of who has the authority to determine "bestness".

One of the genius moments of the "third wave of coffee" is that consumer education is a major emphasis. No assuming that the customer is ignorant or that the coffee professional is knowledge incarnate. Both are learners and rely on each other. Usually the emphasis with coffee education tends to be on understanding origin, supply chains, and brewing method. I would like to offer one other aspect for consideration: improvement. Forget "best", getting better is where it is at.

If I'm best (at anything), then I am always in the defensive. If I'm getting better, then my main competition isn't others, trying to keep them off the top of the hill, but rather myself, trying to push harder for my own betterment and the betterment of others, whether customers or fellow professionals. So the goal cannot be "be the best" (as if there are any objective standards to follow at any rate), but "be better today than we were yesterday". If you see that here at BFC&T, whether in the quality of our drinks, or our roast, or our service, then we have done it right. If you don't see that, please help us improve because we believe that there is a responsibility, a gift, given to us from farmer to drinker, and we want to respect that gift.

Updatus 3/8/08:

If you get a chance, read Luke's comment to this post. He says, much more concisely, what I was trying to say, albeit through a frustrated haze. It is the self-proclamation of "bestness" that gets my goose. Striving for bestness, or betterment, is what it is all about. Thanks again Luke.

Passion for the bean

2008-02-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

This weekend impressed, once again, in my mind why we roast and try to roast well:

Because we can. But even more importantly, because we should.

I suffer (or, better yet, my wife suffers because of me) from a sinusoidal polarity in my personality. I ascend to extreme ups, only to crash into (wasteful) periods of unrelenting depression. The frequency is so high, though, that I don't spend a whole lot of time in the middle, where productivity happens. This post, for better or worse, is on an uptrend day (last night, not so much).

Ever since we left CoffeeFest (but not DC, John Carpenter hasn't let us out yet), I've been itching to pull shots and to roast. I've devised a few drinks I want to try, a few roasting experiments (what about beans with vastly different roast dates in a blend--properly aged post-roast of course), and we are hosting our first ever latte art party tomorrow night at the C&T (come one, come all). All I can think of, though, is the one off-coffee we cupped at Aldo's sometime back--the acrid taste of cigarettes and turpentine (Erik's description). Turned out to be a mass brand that a lot of people in the area drink, including some customers of mine that like to drink ours in-house, but don't have the budget to drink ours at home. Couple that with the surprised looks I've invariably gotten from folks when I tell them that the best-tasting cup of coffee I've ever had was from a decaf Sumatra right off the roast (and medium at that!).

It all reminds me that I love what I'm doing. If anything ever goes south here in the Falls, I'm going to search around till I find something in the coffee world that lets me continue to push my own envelope and bring quality coffee to everyday folks (which I consider myself to be a part of). I want to take the gift that has been given to me by God, by farmers, by importers and do right by it. I want to coax the full potential out of the beans, both roasted and brewed. I'm beginning to see that this will require much more out of me than I initially thought (I only work 92 hours a week as it is now). Seeing the beautiful stemware (especially that of Sonja from Aldo) used in competition made me want to further differentiate my drinks: dessert, morning, lunch, and all-the-time. Imagine the Canaan Conquest (a latte with honey, vanilla, and a little cinnamon) as a con panna or an affogato--beautiful!

Everything done to the glory of God, a motto, a mantra that I've tried to live by, but have had trouble defining "glory". A least here, with this work, I'm seeing shades of meaning blossoming: full flavor and aroma, presented beautifully, prepared respectfully from growing to brewing. There is a reason that organizations like the SCAA exist and people dedicate their lives to this field: the chance to be human here is high, the possibilities exciting, and the community enlivening. Cheers.

Western PA Pride

2008-02-16T19:03:00.001-08:00

Three cheers to Belle, John, and Sonja from Aldo Coffee as they made the finals in the barista competition held at this year's CoffeeFest in Washington D.C. This is, mind you, out of 6 total competitors--Western PA baristas represent half of those competing. Awesome.

When we heard the news today from Melanie, co-owner of Aldo, we were overjoyed. Even though Aldo is over an hour away, these folks (along with many others in the W. PA area) feel like family. This region of the country, combined with this industry, has really been hospitable and familial to us as we've continued growing. I don't know where we would be if we didn't have these other shops pressing us, encouraging us, and testing us for quality and service. It is part of the reason that Bethany (originally from DC) and myself (originally from Omaha) decided to stay here after college and find our calling in Beaver Falls. It makes me proud to serve a hand-crafted, fresh-roasted, fresh-brewed coffee drink to my neighbors (even the ones I haven't yet met!). It drives me to intensively cup every roast, to create my 150-point (exagerration) roaster log, and to endlessly taste shots of espresso until I find the right way to serve excellence to every customer. What else can I do? These people are family. I wouldn't want to do any less.

Necessity is a mother...

2008-02-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

of invention.

Thursday night of last week I realized that I was short on espresso and we had a catering gig on Saturday night. So, Bethany and I discussed options and roasting/blending my own was the most logical choice. Friday brought me to the roastery to prepare some Papua New Guinea, Mexican Chiapas, and Kenya AA for blending. Not the beans I would have chosen, but I work with what I've got. Later on that day, I started pulling and tasting straight shot after straight shot.

The Verdict

PNG was sweet with good body--I decided to use it as the base.
Kenya had a slightly smoky aroma when ground, but nice acidity and fruit when tasted. This was the other majority player, bringing in some punch and complexity.
Chiapas was overly smoky (not burnt) and somewhat flavorless as a straight shot. It would be the minority report for a little funkiness.

Tasting the three together was a good espresso, but awfully boring. Not to mention that the ground Chiapas smokiness overpowered all the other aromas and was a little bit sickening. I decided, in the end, to ditch it in favor of the acidic Guatemalan that I had roasted for drip earlier in the week.

The resulting espresso was a good straight shot and combined well with milk, although it made it "mild" (the words of many a tester-taster). It was sweet and balanced with a nice aftertaste--a good introduction into what espresso can be (that is, good tasting instead of bitter yuck). Since it was only a few hours til showtime, this blend was what we were going with.

The catering job had many folks new to the espresso scene and a few old hats. The old hats complimented me on the blend and the new folks were surprised by espresso. Mission accomplished, as far as I'm concerned. We even decided to name the blend after the catering place (all our blends will be named for places around Beaver Falls): Espresso Blend 819, for 819 Lincoln Place, otherwise known in the Geneva community as "City House".

Maybe we'll have it in the store soon so others can give me pointers. Onward and upward!

James Hoffman and the Siphon Bar

2008-01-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

Pre-reading reading: James Hoffman on Italian Terminology
and
Blue Bottle's New San Fran Siphon Bar

Both of these posts excite me in different ways. Here in the Beaver Valley, drip brewed coffee is king. Espresso, far from being a novelty (we have Nuova Simonellis in our gas stations), is still viewed--it seems--as a fancy-schmancy way to act "above your place." Many folks just want "a regular cup of coffee," which is just fine with me. Espresso, while being a fine way to brew coffee, is not for every palate and is too easily susceptible to being masked by sugary syrups and too much milk (I had a nice, chocolaty macchiato earlier today--just right). Plus, I'm not too sure it is the "pure essence of coffee" as every brewing method (whether technology driven or not) produces different aspects of coffee, with none that I have tried bringing all out at once.

Since the crew and I have started working/experimenting with manual methods we have seen a rebirth in our palates towards non-espresso coffees. This is part of the reason that we will soon be adding Aeropress, Chemex, and (someday, if I can get my Schyndel on) siphon options to compliment our Americano, drip, and French Press methods already available.

To bring James Hoffman into this, his post concerning our way of using Italian inconsistently brought to my mind the problem of American coffee culture: we don't have one. The Blue Bottle piece talked about importing a Japanese siphon bar (even thought siphon was very popular in the U.S. before the "convenient" percolator); Starbucks made Italian-style (or -esque) commonplace. But distinctly American coffee culture, as far as I can tell, is still in its infancy, if not in utero. We should not, in my opinion, be totally enamored with one culture's coffee style. Much like our post-modern sensibilities, our fusion of many may produce something even better. Having such varied local cultures (which are, again in my opinion, of much more importance than our mass, national culture), different ways can certainly thrive and change for the better in our places. What about integrating Turkish/Greek/Cypriot/so on into our offerings?

I see, everyday, people becoming more educated about coffee in this area. When we introduce our varied ways of getting your "regular cup of coffee" I hope to see a veritable renaissance in coffee-brewing, as each method produces something different for different palates. Also, it will cause the perception of barista (or, as I'm thinking about it more and more, bartender) to be enhanced, since they will have skill sets not usually seen in coffee bars. Lastly, it will cause an increase in the quality of roasting since defects are more easily seen using different methods--especially as home-brewers become adept at using their favorite methods.

The espresso craze, if it is coming to an end, might well be replaced by the Chemex or Siphon or French Press craze, but hopefully we can get off the pendulum swinging from culture to culture and settle down with our favorite method and favorite coffee for a good cup and a good conversation.

All right!

2008-01-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

Finished installation of the roaster today and "test" roasted 15lbs of beans; Colombian, SWP Colombian, and Papua New Guinea (a kind I've never had before). Still a few kinks to work out with the exhaust (and that fire code inspection, of course), but otherwise all systems go.

Time to think philosophy. What sort of things am I going to be stringent about, what sort lax? How much sorting, how many defects, how many blends? For whom am I roasting? And why?

The New Era Starts Tomorrow

2008-01-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sigh. Roaster installation is harder than originally anticipated (as always). We've run out of pretty much every coffee we have, so I roasted some in my faithful-but-struggling popper on the stove in the house (too cold to do it outside). Enough to get us through to tomorrow? Don't know yet. Hopefully.

The New Era Starts Now

2008-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Jake and I brought our new (used) Ambex YM-5 back from Chicago yesterday and got it put in Hwaet Books & Games, waiting for install and inspection on Monday (maybe Tuesday). Good trip, but the cold was just atrocious.

We stopped at The Coffee Studio, a good little place off of Bryn Mawr in Chicago. Good coffee from Intelly through a Synesso, highly recommended if you are in the area.

I'll post when our roastery is open for business once I find out. Jake will be posting some pictures here soon.

The Most Exciting Thing

2008-01-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Jake and I leave for Chicago early Saturday morning and should return late Saturday night with our new Ambex YM-5 roaster. Unfortunately, we will be missing the grand opening of Hwaet Books & Games, a wonderful new shop here in Beaver Falls. We will, however, be working closely with them in two regards: Hwaet will feature BFC&T coffee in their game-playing, book-reading area and we are housing our roasterie in the upper-back portion of their shop. Eventually we would like to host semi-public cuppings/tastings, but for now I think I'm just going to try and keep my head above the waters.

If you have never heard of him, Simon Hsieh is someone to check out. His passion and dedication to coffee is legendary and an inspiration to me as I'm fleshing out my roasting philosophy. My neighbors and friends don't deserve anything less than the best coffee that I can provide, so why wouldn't I take a clue from this master? The idea of a consistently good cup of coffee, with fewer variables running rampant (defects, in this case), fills me with great excitement. If you are drinking a cup of coffee, would you want defective, off-tastes in your cup? Hopefully not. If you aren't sure what "off-tastes" would be, hopefully I can show you what a good (and someday, God-willing, great) coffee should taste like. If I can get a small cadre of folks around here to care, then I've reached an important place. From there, it spreads.

Today has been, sort of, "gourmet day" for me. I've done research on roasting technique and philosophy, researched distilling liquor (and why not?), and seen our sandwiches housed in a much more attractive (and environmentally friendly) wrapper as opposed to the plastic clamshell. I'm looking forward to a great day behind the bar, especially since the students of Geneva, my alma mater are back. The students bring an energy to the shop that is more muted over breaks, which in turn gives us more energy and zest. I'll finish my day with making scones and possibly another round on biscotti--I'm using some new techniques with the scones, which, in my opinion, has greatly improved both texture and flavor of an already exceptional pastry. I'm also starting to dream of "choose your filling" pate a choux (as known as cream puffs). I'll go through a whole box of store-bought-frozen ones in about an hour (yes, I know gluttony is a sin...cream puffs excepted), so I think that home-made will be even better. Plus, if you can choose your filling, how could that not be, in the famed words of Peter Griffin, "freakin' sweet"? Top this off with my new quest for a great Muffaletta recipe and you'll complete this "day of food".

After writing that, I think I need some lunch.

MickiD's and the Third Wave

2008-01-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

A lot of internet ink is being spilled about McDonald's plans to add full espresso drink service to all 14,000 US locations. The question that comes up for shop owners like myself is the quality of the coffee served and how their ubiquity will influence perception of what "coffee" is.

In an area like Western PA, where perception of coffee quality often goes no further than Eight o'Clock supermarket blends, this is a big issue. I've had many customers tell me that they didn't come into the store before because they considered coffee to be coffee. When they do come in, we have a chance to change their minds, and thankfully many folks have switched. However, for many that pass by everyday, the Sheetz gas station/espresso bar is more convenient and lower cost--quality doesn't even factor into the equation.

The question of quality, though, is slippery too. Many "third wave" coffee folks talk about how "its all about the coffee," but I think that is too nebulous. What does it mean to be "all about the coffee"? A lack of customer focus? No to-go drinks? Just standing bars with no food? It seems to me that a focus on coffee quality is part of a package deal, at least at the cafes and bars I've seen: customer focus and interaction, skillful preparation, great food, options for beverage enjoyment, options for different levels of coffee for those of different means while still keeping the taste level high and consistent. Thing is, though, McDs has many of those in spades. I wouldn't have one as a third place myself, but there are many folks who I'm sure do. What is better: to have a friendly place that will serve a consistent and non-pretentious product (even if the flavor quality is not top-notch) or a place that is committed to quality but is arrogant, too expensive, or down-right rude--all of which are common perceptions of coffee shops (which, of course, does not necessarily make them true, but we still have to battle them).

My hope for all of this is that more folks in this area will try the McCafe scene and then try us; I think we can win them over, even without egg McMuffins.

A Great Day for a Roast

2008-01-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

Today the weather was perfect for something I hadn't done in a long time: roast coffee beans.

But once I learned about the conditions outside (around 5pm--I don't get out much), I took my little Chefmate-voided-warranty-popcorn-popper to the back porch and let 'er rip on some Royal NY supplied Yirgacheffe. The beans were evenly roasted and had a distinct caramel note after the first crack. In fact, the smell was so sugary-sweet that I had to double-take--I thought I was making it up in my head. But both batches had that sweet smell. Makes me very excited to try the brew tomorrow morning. Also makes me wonder about the sugar content on these specific beans (just to note, no sugar was added to the green or roasted beans--I'm speaking of natural sugars in the beans themselves)--I've never smelt caramel in a roast before.

Add to this that BFC&T just acquired a roaster, an Ambex YM-5, that we are going to start roasting on in the next couple of weeks. Fresh roasted coffee all the time here in the Valley...it almost makes me want to cry.

Cinnamon Christmas

2007-12-21T18:23:00.001-08:00

For the first time tonight, I've made our (mostly) famous Saturday cinnamon rolls. They stay locked away in the fridge overnight, so that is why my making them on Friday may seem strange. One of the prerequisites for our morning baked goods is that they must be able to be made the night before. The idea of waking at 4am to make rolls is horrifying (I've done it too--it never ends well). Usually Bethany or Jenny makes them, but tonight was my turn. I was a little nervous, but Bethany said, "You can do it. You are a good cook." I've never heard those words uttered about me before. Truth is, I didn't know how to cook or have the confidence to do it until this last year. My desire for independence and my desire for homemade combined with the shop to force me into the role of cook. We do make almost everything we serve here from scratch and we are always looking for ways to make more (I also learned how to make pop tarts from scratch today, yay!). Having everything hand-made, from scones to sandwiches to espresso drinks, is one way that we are trying to distinguish ourselves here in the Valley.

On that note, tomorrow enjoy our Saturday Cinnamons and then you'll have to wait until Thursday for our scones to reappear. We are closed Monday-Wednesday so that our staff and us might have time to celebrate. We'll see you bright and early Thursday, though.

Man, Machine, Coffee

2007-11-29T20:08:00.000-08:00

Check out this picture here.

The Clover, the hottest toy in the coffee world, may get picked up by the world's largest coffee chain. The Clover is capable of producing some stellar brews and (of course) some lackluster ones. I've had both from well-trained professional hands. For the largest chain, this move makes a lot of sense: mechanical brewing that gives a concentrated amount of face-time with the customer. While the Clover does require training, I'm sure that it can produce brews up to the quality standards of said chain with a bare minimum. Not the full potential, mind you, but that isn't what mass marketing has ever been about.

As one astute commenter notes, if the chain picks up the Clover for all of its stores, it will introduce a new, potentially quality-increasing product to a large audience, which then will switch (statistically speaking) to the independent shops. Seems good for all.

However, my thought in general, not just about the Clover in particular, is that the introduction of mechanized technology into the equation does not make sense until the fundamentals of manual technology are at least understood, if not mastered. A Clover can produce a fine brew, but I've had just as good from a Chemex in regards to cleanness and just as good from a vac-pot in regards to taste clarity. In fact, I prefer almost all manual methods over commercial scale drip brewing (its that scale factor that gets me) and many over (shock! horror! gasp!) espresso brewing.

No doubt technology improves over time, but as Wendell Berry might say (if he were a Coffee Geek), the change from manual to mechanical isn't an improvement, it is a whole 'nother category. Technological improvement from manual methods involves redesigning carafes, fiddling with filters, and lots of training and cupping.

This isn't to say that mechanical brewing methods don't require skill: they do, even though an executive at the large aforementioned chain said even a "monkey can pull a double-shot" (don't get me started!). Pulling a shot of espresso is easy, pulling a decent (not to mention excellent) shot is doggedly hard. Manual methods, though, require a different skill and knowledge set than mechanical means. I think that, for the future of BFC&T at least, manual skills are what will set independents apart from the big boys, whether it is chains or grocery tin-cans.

Pittsburgh Bar-Hopping

2007-11-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Jake, Erik, and I went bar-hopping today. Coffee bar-hopping.

Started at Tazza D'Oro in Highland Park. Hip joint, hopping when we were there. Couple of shots and a soy cappa (a huge number of our staff is lactose haters, I just don't get it...). Good espresso, the milk foam was sweet and almost looked like peanut butter. Still trying to figure how they did that.

Next was 21st Coffee & Tea. Cortado, cappa, and Clovered Kenya Chemo auction lot. Black Cat, from Intelligentsia, is good, but a little bitter for my tastes (I still like it though). The Kenya tasted just like pink grapefruit. For all of you who don't believe that coffee can taste like anything other than coffee, try this Clover brew. It will shock and awe you.

Third was La Prima. No drinks here. The line was incredibly long and we were pressed for time. Next time.

Fourth was AldoCoffee. Had lunch and then a semi-public introductory cupping. Went very well. Had more Kenya Chemo, although the taste was different because of the brewing methods; Intelly's Nicaragua, which had heavy dark chocolate notes (I love dark chocolate); 8 o'clock regular blend--I kid you not it tasted like cigarettes, it is one of the most popular mega-mart offering, question is, "why?". Finished with a vacpot demitasse of Peruvian beans from Caffe Amadeus in Indiana. Fresh-roasted salted peanuts was the dominant flavor.

Thanks to all the shops for letting us in and talking with us (if possible). A special kudos to Aldo for holding the cupping! Pictures from Jake are forthcoming, so stay tuned.

When Does Coffee Go Stale?

2007-10-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

I love watching crema levels. A day after roasting, our espresso blend is so crem-tastic as to include little actual coffee. Three weeks after, the ratios have reversed. About 4-7 days into a batch, I think that the crema sweet spot has been reached. Taste-wise also. Knowing this allows me to alter how I make a shot and also when to order (we only like keeping around coffee for about a week).

With all the espresso evaluation stuff that has been going on, some defining is being refined, especially at Coffeed.com (I post here because no new members are allowed there). What I still haven't seen, though, is what exactly "stale" means. How do we know when a coffee has gone stale? How does roast level affect this? Transportation methods? Green quality? What about rates of staling whole versus ground? (I've heard that ground coffee goes stale in 30 seconds, but have yet to see anyone reference any scientific data).

That, I think, is the crux of the issue: science. Most barista/shop owners don't have the fancy-schmancy equipment needed to get past the anecdotal level. Do I think our espresso goes stale after two weeks? Actually, no. But that is my opinion from working with/tasting it. I'm sure others would disagree, both other professionals and customers. The only people who do seem to have the equipment live in Italy at Illy Cafe, but their research skews towards pod brewing--conveniently considering they produce a lot of pods. There is no independent, third-party scientific research going on that I know of. It is frustrating, especially since espresso preparation requires so many steps to achieve a decent, not to mention a superb, shot. Like I said in the last post, where's the beef with polishing? I've been dabbling this week and haven't noticed a huge difference: the bottom of my tamper is scuffed up anyways because I'm a complete newb (Chris Deferio pointed that out to me, analogizing the tamper with the pupil of the eye), so what sort of "polishing" is going on anyway? Add to this my lack of current financial means to afford a Scace device (have you seen the price of the Scace2? Wowsa.) and no PID control on our machine. But we still pull lots of good shots.

I do have hope, though. One of my professorial friends, a Chemistry teacher at Geneva College here in Beaver Falls, is interested in coffee science. Maybe some day I'll have access to fancy-schmancy equipment, or, better yet, a chemistry intern to do some research for me. In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away trying to bring you the best tasting espresso we can. Bottoms up.

PS--When someone asks what drip brewed coffees you have available that day, is it bad form to say "On tap today we have House Blend and Sumatra..." I said that today, even though I do not recall actually tapping a keg/airpot. I stopped midsentence (the ellipsis in the quote above) and stared dumbfounded at the customer until he assured me that he understood, despite my (apparent) best efforts to confuse myself.

Thoughts on Espresso Preparation

2007-10-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

I was wondering, as I do, about "polishing" the espresso before brewing. For all those that aren't baristas or at-home-baristas, after you pack the coffee into the brewing device (the portafilter), many spin their tamper to "polish" the top of the espresso. The question, of course, is why?

Before that got to me, though, I was wondering about proper polishing technique. Pressure or no pressure? Back and forth or unidirectional? 360, 580, 720 degrees around or just a little teaser?

I wound up here. I can't post on Coffeed (I'm not part of the club), but I do read it from time to time. Basically, what I learned from this thread confirmed in my mind the number one rule of espresso preparation:

Everything is relative.

Does it taste better with a pressurized spin? Then do it. A convex tamper? Then do it. An expensive tamping grinder? Then do it. No spin? Then do(n't) it. Digging your finger into the middle like a mole? Then do it. With little bits of hair? Then due it. With yellow soda? Then Dew it. And so on.

The strange thing about espresso, and one of its most wonderful qualities, is that it is a mystery, even to those who have worked with it for a long time. What is polishing for? Maybe to lock in the oils, maybe to develop an intricate architectual framework for water passage, maybe to keep the puck clean, and maybe for nothing. There is no scientific basis for any of the conclusions, except taste. That fickle, subjective, allusive, elusive property that snagged me in the last post.

It makes it hard to train folks, however. It takes awhile before someone is ready to start experimenting with their technique; a lot longer to break habits (over and over again). The uncertainty is hard to deal with. Especially when there are so many other factors that go into making a decent, not to even mention an excellent, shot of espresso.

The one factor that I didn't notice having mention in the thread was one of blend. Do different beans, roasted at different levels, need different preparation techniques to bring out their best? I guess this relates more to the last post, but it is something that should be considered.

Here's to chasing that delicious shot! Bottoms up.

Thoughts on Espresso Evaluation

2007-10-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of debate going on, especially at wunder-sites CoffeeGeek and Coffeed, concerning what methodologies, boundaries, limits, variances, etc. are appropriate for evaluating espresso blends much like single origins and cupping. For what it is worth, here's my take.

Coffee, whether green, roasted, ground, or brewed, is an extremely volatile product. The guys at Barismo would be the first to tell you that if the pre-roasted green is skanked, then no level of roasting mastery will make a good cup of coffee. The crop, the level of moisture, the storage, the transportation from farm to processing to warehouse to wholesaler to roaster, the depulping method, the geographical location (both regional and down to the individual farm), and much more! all affect the way that the coffee will roast and taste down the line.

The roast can happen in too humid of conditions, too dry of conditions, type of roaster affects taste, length of time, change in air stability, cleanliness of machine, and whether the roaster has a cold all affect the final product.

Time from roaster to grinder, whether too long or too short, affect it, although I've never seen any hard data on this, just a lot of assertion.

Time from grinder to brewing device (in this case the overly complicated, Gnostic-like-initiation-needed espresso machine) affects it, although everyone's opinion on this seems to differ (30 seconds to staling, 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 weeks; I've never actually seen any hard data on this, just my own experience and, you guessed it, assertion).

Time in said brewing device, temperature, tamping, leveling, dosing, distributing, barista competence, all affect the final product.

Not to mention those overly subjective taste buds--they just won't bow down to the canons of modern science!

One weak in the chain makes a weak product. The question is, can any entire company or roaster be judged on one lot of coffee? Many variables are beyond the roaster's or the barista's control. Even the best can have bad days. Or not "dial it in" well enough. Let's not forget transportation from one place to another. Yes, coffee from Italy is going to stale before it reaches the states, but probably also coffee that has sat (sitten?) in a hot UPS truck for one day is going to be adversely affected or one that has flown in a cold hulled FedEx plane. How much difference? It is hard to tell, but there is a difference, even in color.

More than any possible (and possibly uncontrollable) weak link in the chain, it is this transportation issue that bothers me the most (green storage is the second, but the barismo.com guys are pretty tight-lipped about their experiments). If we know that transportation affects the beans "adversely", why do we continue to send them long distances for evaluation and expect a fair hearing? The quality of the product has changed and the score has dropped, possibly plummeted. One reason, money. If you ship your beans farther, more people can buy them, which turns into cha-ching. Two reason, branding and furtherance of your name/philosophy. Intelligentsia is a great example of this, and please notice that I don't think any of these reasons are bad reasons, I respect Intelli and have had great coffee from their providers in the Pittsburgh area. Three reason, everybody's doing it. I have yet to meet a roaster that refuses to ship farther than a day away "as the UPS drives". I'm sure they are out there; that is going to be my policy when I start roasting (getting ever closer!), although that might be more from my regional bias than anything else. I'm sure there are other reasons, also, all of which make a formidable barrier to the idea of not shipping. But what about the quality?

I realize that my own Achilles-heel is showing; our drip provider, Grounds for Change, is located way far away (more than a day, that's for sure). However, I'm not using them for evaluation, I'm using them for the taste that I get, even after transportation (which is pretty good, otherwise I wouldn't serve it).

But I don't know if evaluation quality can be maintained through transportation. Imagine if the slighted Italian roasters (just check out their scores!) would agree that the American/Canadian "upstarts" are better than them. They might be right, but only locationally. If an Italian CoffeeGeek had the same test, with the same provisions and methodologies followed by Mark Prince, then I assure you the scores would be reversed. You just can't compare things that have had such divergent histories. It is like comparing a McCormick Reaper (which a great-grandpa of mine had a patent on) to a modern John Deere corn-harvesting-zip-code-having-eat-all-massive-soil-compacting-behemoth tractor in how efficiently they harvest corn. Well, what are the factors? Are we talking large, industrial field, or small, tight, hilly field? Etc. Etc. Etc. (Yul Brenner cameo). So, the results there, at least the Italian stuff, doesn't mean a whole lot. Plus, the initial impetus, the infamous Ken David's review, had a less transparent methodology, so we aren't sure why the Italians fared better: did he have access to fresher Italian roasts or older American roasts; was that batch of BlackCat an off-batch, etc. etc.?

Do I think it is possible to accurately review and evaluated espresso? Sure, but the methodology should be tightened up significantly. Here are my thoughts (with, of course, a provisio that should have been placed at the beginning perhaps: I'm not an accomplished cupper and I'm still working on "dialing in" my shop's espresso, so I'm no expert):

Batches with similar histories since roast should be evaluated, not ones that might have been roasted weeks or months apart.

Anonymous batches should be selected, that is, no roaster should have the opportunity to dress up their roast for the competition while they offer their customers something different.

A disclaimer should proceed all such evaluations of the volatile nature of said reviews. Roasts change from batch to batch, taste buds change, etc. In other words, this is an art, not a science. You cannot, I know, make people actually believe or listen to this disclaimer, but it should be there anyway.

As for the rest, I generally agree with Mark Prince's evaluation criteria and methodology, although I think more than three tasters, and preferably less than half of them related by blood or marriage, should be the rule.

Well, if you've made it this far, I thank you and would greatly appreciate your feedback. Bottom's up!

Something Exciting is Coming Soon!

2007-09-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Keep your eyes out this week at BFC&T.

New things are happening.

More soon.

Distilling Coffee

2007-09-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

I am watching one of my favorite TV shows right now, Alton Brown's Good Eats. Tonight's episode is about making beef jerky. One of the ingredients he adds to his marinade is liquid smoke, which he says he likes to make himself. The process is basically the same as stilling whiskey. He creates a homemade still (did I mention I love this show?) and throws charcoals in the still along with properly moistened wood chips to make the smoke. It got me to thinking...

What if, instead of moistened wood chips, a vaned drum roaster was used to produce coffee roasting smoke to turn into liquid? Coffee aroma essence! This I've gotta try...

The Best?

2007-08-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

First of, congratulations to our friends in Mt. Lebanon, Aldo Coffee for being voted "Best Baristas" in Pittsburgh. Way to go!

Today, something frightening happened in the shop. No, it wasn't that the pastry case broke (again, second time in a week) or that some metal was mixed in with our decaf Sumatra beans--stopping the grinder until I could take the whole thing apart and reassemble (should have taken pictures). Instead it was two customers who asked for straight espresso shots. We take a lot of pride here in our espresso and our preparation technique, as does our roaster/blender TJ from the Commonplace Coffeehouse in Indiana, PA. The lady of the sibling pair told me that she has a Francis!Francis! home espresso machine in which she uses Illy beans, considered some of the finest in the world. Understandably, I was nervous--a lot rides on that initial impression, especially in a business so dependent on good word-of-mouth.

She told me it was the "finest espresso I've ever tasted." Her brother agreed. I was both relieved and made even more nervous. I had done well with this gift given to me. I had brought out its full potential (as far as I know--I did taste the leftover ounce of the single and it was sweet and delicious). But, that sort of experience can easily lead to pride--to snobbery, which leads to an inferior product and inferior customer service. Neither of which, honestly, I have any desire to be associated with.

It did bring out a question I've had about marketing for a long time. Who has the authority to say something is "the best"? There was a (now defunct) local shop that touted itself on its website as having "America's best espressos, americanos, etc..." According to whom? The owner? The critics? The customers? I don't know in this case.

The lady that I spoke of before asked for something, though, before she drank her shot. Somewhat sheepishly, she asked for cream. Many in the coffee world would cringe at such a request, because (possibly) it is easy to forget that we aren't doing gallery art that shall forever remain forbidden territory. We are preparing culinary art that is meant, above all, to taste good. Does she want cream? I may not take cream in my espresso, but I don't have the right to pronounce on the "proper" way to taste something, especially since everyone has different tastes. Even with the cream, she said it was darn good. In the end, the only ones who really have the authority to say whether something is the "best" or not is the taster. Critics have their place due to (hopefully) refined palates, but they are not the only ones to consider. Every customer is tasting and will vote with their hard-earned dollars and precious time. I want every one of them to have the best tasting (and dining) experience every time they come in. Even so, we won't be the objective best, but we'll all be getting better together.

The Excitement in Building

2007-08-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

Within a week here, most all of the returning/new Geneva College students will be here. Slowly and steadily the daily business has been increasing over the last couple of weeks, as professors find their way back, students discover Beaver Falls again, and staff keep us company. This is the beginning of an exciting season here at BFC&T. So many folks from the college have brought much to the proverbial table here, whether a kind word, a suggestion, a recipe, or a regularly scheduled class to use our backroom.

Welcome back everyone! Hope this year produces much academic fruit; we'll brew the coffee that fuels the intellectual engines.

It's "Cooler" Than Ever to Hang Out at BFC&T!

2007-08-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

The sweltering summer heat has let up for a few days, but it is ready to charge back on through again. To combat this, we have installed another air conditioner here at BFC&T to improve your comfort. Whether you're coming for the drinks or the company, or just to get out of the heat for awhile, stop on in! Relax, cool yourself, and enjoy any number of our iced or blended drinks.

The Dawning of a New Day

2007-08-07T11:33:00.001-07:00

Today marks the first time I've ever roasted coffee beans. I jimmy-rigged a popcorn popper with a candy thermometer and went to town (with the help of CoffeeGeek.com). What an incredible process! The smell is lingering, even now, in my nostrils. Wonderful. I'm going to try brewing it tomorrow, so we'll see if it is any good. If not, I'll try again. If so, I'll try again. Eventually the goal is to start roasting in house, so you will be able to get fresh coffee to order. Someday...

In Search of the Perfect Pastry

2007-07-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about microbreweries a lot lately (but not necessarily for that reason!). The offer a wonderful, hand-crafted, unique product, much like coffeeshops do. However, one major difference is that rarely, in my experience at least, are micros just breweries or bars. Usually, they have a restaurant menu, chock full of delicious foods that compliment their beers. Coffeeshops, especially in smaller towns like Beaver Falls, often try to just be bars--just the beverages and maybe a few little things on the side. However, for us here at BFC&T, things didn't work out that way. We offer a nice sized lunch menu and would like to eventually expand it to a "made to order" style, more cafe-ish. But that, actually, isn't my point tonight.

Returning to the micros, they carefully select their menu items to compliment their beverages. Focus on the beverage, but food isn't an afterthought. That is similar to what we are trying to do here. We've gotten raves about our scones and they are good stand-alone, but they really do compliment either a small cup of drip brewed coffee (especially Yirgacheffe) or (even better) a double normal shot of espresso. Great little breakfast or mid-morning snack. However, scones aren't the only pasty on our radar. We keep plugging away at perfecting a biscotti recipe. Biscotti is, probably, the ultimate coffee compliment pastry. It is like they were meant for each other. Hopefully by the time school starts up again we'll have a nice selection on the floor for you.

The pastry that I'm having the hardest time with, though, is cinnamon rolls. What wonderful creations that scream "Have a cafe au lait or cappacino with me!" However, each time I've made them it has been an unmitigated disaster. This week, I made them for a catering job, rising up early at 430am to make them. By 630am, it was clear that the rolls did not want to be made. Sigh. However, the will happen. That is where you come in. Part of the problem, I think, is that I haven't found a good recipe for cinnamon rolls. If you have one, I would love to try it out, and if we decide to use it in the shop, we'll make sure to put your name on the menu beside it.

I hope when you stop by that our selection of sandwiches, soups, and pastries compliments your drink perfectly. If not, please tell us what we can do to make it so.

"Live Sound" This Saturday!

2007-07-17T04:02:00.000-07:00

"Live Sound", brought to you by the creators of Dodge Intrepid and the Pages of Time, will premier this Saturday, July 21st, at Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea. Along with being a hilarious comedic romp through Beaver County library-dom, Jason Panella, our very own singer-brewer, will perform between episodes. Admission is free, but come a little early to get your favorite drinks or to try something new! The show begins at 7:30PM.

Also, our address is 3219 4th Avenue, not 3912 as reported in the Time, nor 3214 as reported on our own website! Too much caffeine I suppose...

Artists in Residence

2007-06-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

If you haven't had a chance yet, come into the shop and check out the beautiful photography provided by local artists Rebecca Michalik and Alex LaSala! Each wonderful photography is for sale. Soon we will have a page on the website where you can see the photos. These ladies do delightful work and we are glad to have their work grace our walls.

New Summer Items!

2007-05-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Homemade lemonade (and may I emphasize the homemade, no mixes or powders allowed)
Root beer floats
New Italian Soda flavors (raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate, lemon, lime, coconut, watermelon, wildberry, ruby red grapefruit, apple, orange, and add a little vanilla to make it a creme soda or combine one or more flavors to create your own)
Flavored colas (add vanilla, lemon, lime or any other flavor to your Boylan's soda)
The Crans (add a flavor to a glass of cranberry juice to make cran-this or cran-that)

Also, don't forget the year-round cold favorites:
Iced Lattes/Mochas
Iced Coffee
Iced Chai
Iced Promised Land or Canaan Conquest (Milk, honey, cinnamon with or without the espresso)
Iced Teas (Honey Lemon Green or Mango Passionfruit Green with more on the way)
Blended Fruit Tea Smoothies (Strawberry, Wildberry, Mango, Pineapple Coconut, Lemon, Banana, Pomegranate-Blueberry, Peach or any combination thereof)
Blended Icespressos (various flavors from Vanilla to Mocha and back again)
Organic Juice boxes (for the kids or the kid in you)

How May I Help You?

2007-04-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin, a marketer that I have been reading (recommended by my good friend Tim Edris) raises an interesting point in a recent blog post. For those who don't buy from BFC&T, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to say, "Why not?" The don't, to use Seth's terms (yes, I know it is improper to speak about someone you don't know in the first person), have a coffee "problem" that needs to be fixed. A better question might be, "What could I do to make you a customer?" In other words, how can I make them have a coffee problem? Most people in our area have their coffee problem solved, hence the reason that much of our business consists of college students, who tend to have lots of problems, one of which I can fix.

Some folks, with coffee otaku, as (once again) Seth would put it, are always looking for new and creative (and better quality) solutions to their coffee problem. One customer that I spoke to today had a massive coffee problem: she came from an area where she had ten coffeeshops to choose from and moved here where there is one. I have helped her problem...plus she likes the coffee.

Another customer I spoke to, though, didn't have a coffee problem. He would get whatever whenever. That changed, though, when he came with some friends to the shop. Now he has a coffee problem and says that we are the only acceptable solution. He's the kind of customer that is the hardest to reach, since he could have taken one look at the shop and said, "I don't need that. I've got all my coffee needs met." I'm glad he's here, though, since he is one of our best promulgators about the shop.

I'm currently toying with some ways to make the coffee problem deeper here in the Falls. I'm excited about the combination of community, coffee, and comfort that we offer here and I want to extend it to all my local neighbors--that is the point of the shop and the point of all problem-making that I might go about.

The Tyranny of the "Short"

2007-03-14T19:22:00.001-07:00

We currently serve our drinks in small (12oz), medium (16oz), and large (20oz). In Seattle terminology, for what I understand of it, there is a missing size, the 8oz or 'short' (hence the reason that at some other places the 'small' is called the 'tall'). I purchased some 8oz cups (one latte bowl, one macchiato cup) and started trying to do art pours with single shots. I pulled off some amazingly beginner rosettas, something that has eluded me with the 12oz cups. I began to realize why...

The single shot ristretto is meant for the short, not for the tall. The blend and balance of espresso to milk is spot on, while on the 12oz they often taste too milky and pours are hard to do since the vast overpowering of milk tends to destroy too much of the crema (either that, or I just really need work on this). The double shot ristretto, however, doesn't work well in the 12oz, but works perfectly in the 16oz. In other words, the 12oz is a strange anamoly in the espresso world. Very few American consumers are going to get an 8oz drink, even pop comes in 12oz standard. However, folks want something smaller than 16oz.

I really like the short, though. It is the perfect amount for a latte or any espresso-based beverage, at least for my tastes. I like to drink my beverages fast and enjoy the mingle of foam, steamed milk, and espresso dance quickly over my tongue. The short gives me that ability.

Interesting, though, is our recent, unrelated decision, to only offer cappuccinos in the short variety. The reason being that if it isn't a short, it isn't a true Italian cappuccino--we are trying for integrity in all of our drinks and this is a short step towards it. Plus, trying to accurately foam a 20oz cappa can easily lead to burnt milk and poorly done foam. A short cappa is hard enough to do as it is.

Beaver Falls Celebration Week

2007-03-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

We love Beaver Falls. It is a great place to live and work and worship. So, in light of that, this week is Celebrate Beaver Falls Week at BFC&T. Bring a friend who has never been to the shop and receive 25% off of your drink. Also, be shopping at select other local businessess and you may receive another 15% off a drink order! Lastly, this week only, come in for a delicious lunch and receive a free drip-brewed coffee.

Why?

Because we love Beaver Falls and hope you do too!

A Ringing in My Ears

2007-03-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

At BFCAT we have Sirius satellite radio. Well, sometimes we have Sirius satellite radio. More often than not it seems we are "Acquiring Signal" than enjoying commercial free music from outer space.

Anyway, when it does work, it seems we rotate through a select couple of channels. They include, but are not limited to: Coffeehouse (ironically enough), Left of Center, Sirius Disorder and, at least when I'm working, Symphony Hall.

Coffehouse is an annoying channel that plays way too much Indigo girls and not enough of anything else.

Left of Center is your typical college-indie-rock channel that plays some iffy songs in the lyrics department.

Sirius Disorder is usually the best bet. The songs are "safer" yet not laden with girls of any color, be they indigo or anything else. Today, however, they played an Indigo girls song forcing me to switch over to...

Symphony Hall. More and more I'm liking this channel. Classical music allows you to sit and enjoy the environment of the coffee shop without being focused on the song itself. It truly is background music at its finest.

So if you're enjoying a tasty beverage at BFCAT and wondering why you're stuck listening to Bach instead of the Indigo Girls and you see me working, then you'll know that I just want some inspirational music playing while I plot out how I'm going to kidnap the Indigo Girls thus never allowing them to create new music ever again.

But I digress, my break is over and I'd better get back to work.

Art

2007-02-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

All of the employees and owners of BFC&T have been working on what is known as Latte Art. Jason has some pictures of his work on his site. This strange blend of physics, chemistry, and dexterity produces some beautiful cups of espresso. The ability to make rosettes and hearts is considered by many to be the mark of a true barista. The thing that every wannabe wants to hear is, "This is so beautiful I don't think I can drink it!"

Why?

In our culture of rush-rush-rush, a cup of coffee must be fast and frill-less. Folks who are used to a home brewing experience of instaneousness find it hard to wait in a line at a coffeeshop while a barista is making a cup. Many times I've found myself in that same position, looking at my watch, wondering what is taking them so darn long. Latte art, while not actually taking that much longer than the production of a non-art latte, serves as a justification for the wait. If your barista/entry-leverer does not provide the visual stimulation (or doesn't try, at the least--nobody said art was easy) for your wait, there is a legitimacy to the grumble. However, if your barista tries--sees coffee and milk and their combination as a gift--then hopefully the rush-rush-rush will for a second slow down for a wonderfully fully-orbed experience of coffee. And maybe, just maybe, the gift can be passed on.

We're trying it here and we hope you like it.

BFCAT vs. The World

2007-02-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

In many ways I feel quite fortunate to be working at a place like BFCAT (yes, I refuse to include the "i" as I feel it is unnecessary and causes too much confusion). First and foremost: it's a well known fact that only the coolest people can work in coffee shops (see: Russ, Jason and myself. I rest my case.) Second, I get free drinks. I am personally well-acquainted with several people who would shed innocent blood for this kind of perk. Third, well, Russ summed it up pretty nicely with his previous post about Mr. DeFerio's article.

But fourth and finally, I love the big picture behind it all.

Beaver Falls is not known for making good first impressions. A number of Geneva College students leave with negative feelings towards this town and maybe those negative feelings are warranted. Afterall, Beaver Falls does not offer much in terms of a night life, or a cultural district, or a music scene, or... well... you get the idea. The simple fact remains that Beaver Falls is downright depressing. Are you going to tell me I'm wrong?

Like many Americans I am good at figuring out the problem, but what do you do next?

Sadly, the answer seems to be, more often than not, "Not much." We assess the problem, then promptly shake our heads as if to say, "What can you do?" and proceed with our lives that probably exist well outside the realm of Beaver County. It's an arduous task to find people willing to tackle the problems of a depressed city when they have bills of their own, mortgages to pay, work to be done, lawns to be mowed... And besides, what can one man do?

This is where places like BFCAT come in. On the surface of BFCAT is a place where students come to study, mothers come to meet, good coffee is served and "baristas" work on their latte "art". But if you ask Russ or Bethany you'll find there's more going on here. You see, BFCAT is ideally just the beginning: the beginning of many shops that add character to a community, that focus on service as an act of worship, that want to promote relationships, that want to instill a bit of pride in a town that desperately needs it. Hopefully, BFCAT is an inspiration that, with the help of projects like City House and places like Pine Valley Bible Camp, will foster the type of love and dedication that give people a respect for the place where they live. People in Beaver Falls need to know they live in a unique place. They need to know their community is worth effort and hard work. They need to know that if they're willing then they'll find others who are willing too. Otherwise they are left to wallow in self-pity while things cease to change.

Want to talk about it more? Come find us at the coffee shop.

It's a lofty goal, but one worth striving towards. Could it be possible that a cup of coffee leads to a prosperous community? Only time will tell.

Coffee as a Gift

2007-02-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

I'm reflecting on an article by Chris DeFerio about what it means for him to be a barista. At one point, he says:

Coffee beans are practically vibrating with potential. Throughout its history, centuries of species migration and cultivation, hundreds of steps and stages in the processing of the green bean, the roasting of the bean to develop its potential further--all of it leads to differences from bean to bean. Then the barista recieves this little package and is responsible fro creating an accurate representation of all that has gone into that coffee....I feel priveleged to be a professional barista because I am the last link between grower and consumer, and it is my job to expose the bean's potential to the world.

As a potential barista (my quality level is not quite there yet, but getting better everyday), I like knowing the same thing.

It involves a certain understanding that the barista has received a gift. Many corporate/entry level "barista" treat the bean like most Americans treat everything else: disposable. But to think of the work, love, and time that has been expended to get the bean to the barista is staggering. How can we not approach it with a level of humility and gentleness?

Even in a capitalist system, commodities do not need to be viewed as bought (and abusable) property, but rather as gifts. All things that are created are given to us by the Father God, so regardless if we have paid for them or not, thanks must be shown in our dealings with everything. Imagine the difference between a cup of coffee prepared by someone who views all beans as expendable foodstuffs or one who is passionately grateful for the product and the opportunity to make that product shine especially for you.

Drink for thought.

Already but Not Yet

2007-02-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

Since we are waiting for the website to become fully functional, I thought I'd start doing some coffee blogging here. I've invited both Jason and Brett to join, we'll see what happens. Thanks for viewing and try the Americano, it's great.