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Espresso pack
We have a new espresso blend, SOMA, which though we are about to run out of some of it's components in the next month as new crops arrive, it's pretty darn good. I think that after all the time we have spent with these coffees, at a certain point we understood them well enough to know the pontential in these coffees as a roaster. There are few things we haven't tried to get more out of these coffees and this blend is a culmination of these lessons.
The blend consists of 10% Nimac Kapeh, 15% Kiandu, and 75% Cardenas. That's two Guatemala Atitlans and a Kenya Nyeri.
Sweetness, viscous mouthfeel, and ripe fruit dominate the cup character. Balance from top to bottom makes this smooth blend less challenging but still overtly complex. Front of the mouth cask conditioned red wine yields mid palate to soft cocoa, then finishes with sweet lingering spiced fruit jam.
It's a thick dark red shot that pulls well as a 19 gram double @ 201.5f and at shorter volumes.
During the WBC we are offering an espresso pack where you can pick up our three current blends at a reasonable price.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:14 AM
We have a new espresso blend, SOMA, which though we are about to run out of some of it's components in the next month as new crops arrive, it's pretty darn good. I think that after all the time we have spent with these coffees, at a certain point we understood them well enough to know the pontential in these coffees as a roaster. There are few things we haven't tried to get more out of these coffees and this blend is a culmination of these lessons.
The blend consists of 10% Nimac Kapeh, 15% Kiandu, and 75% Cardenas. That's two Guatemala Atitlans and a Kenya Nyeri.
Sweetness, viscous mouthfeel, and ripe fruit dominate the cup character. Balance from top to bottom makes this smooth blend less challenging but still overtly complex. Front of the mouth cask conditioned red wine yields mid palate to soft cocoa, then finishes with sweet lingering spiced fruit jam.
It's a thick dark red shot that pulls well as a 19 gram double @ 201.5f and at shorter volumes.
During the WBC we are offering an espresso pack where you can pick up our three current blends at a reasonable price.
Labels: barismo, espresso, soma
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:14 AM
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Metro Boston's First Jam @ Taste this Friday
We have quite a few cafes confirmed and a full list of barista showing up for this event. It's impressive to see the community coming together. I am sure I am forgetting something but here is the general idea of what's happening Friday Night. Schedule subject to change as we are just going to go for it.
5:00pm
Kranky's introduction: barista sign in and welcome. Name tags and id's please!
Coffee: Per Cup Bar - barismo
Espresso: Shots and Machiatto - Taste
Limited Edition Coffee Ice Cream - Toscanini's
Live music till late!!!
5:30pm
The Boston Metro '09 Latte Art Throw Down:
Entry is $5 each, all comers welcome: One shot, one pour. Prizes for best pour, most creative, and most difficult pour. Prizes include tampers by Fazenda (equipment division).
6:00pm
Kranky's Latte Chug Contest:
The challenge is to make a latte and then chug it in the fastest time. Entry is free and the prize will be decided day of the event, sponsored by Taste.
6:05pm
Beer and chips barista social sponsored by barismo.
7:00pm
Winner's announcement and prizes handout.
8:00pm
Last call.
We need volunteers, judges, and general help getting the word out so don't be shy. I will update this post as I have time.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 7:41 PM
We have quite a few cafes confirmed and a full list of barista showing up for this event. It's impressive to see the community coming together. I am sure I am forgetting something but here is the general idea of what's happening Friday Night. Schedule subject to change as we are just going to go for it.
5:00pm
Kranky's introduction: barista sign in and welcome. Name tags and id's please!
Coffee: Per Cup Bar - barismo
Espresso: Shots and Machiatto - Taste
Limited Edition Coffee Ice Cream - Toscanini's
Live music till late!!!
5:30pm
The Boston Metro '09 Latte Art Throw Down:
Entry is $5 each, all comers welcome: One shot, one pour. Prizes for best pour, most creative, and most difficult pour. Prizes include tampers by Fazenda (equipment division).
6:00pm
Kranky's Latte Chug Contest:
The challenge is to make a latte and then chug it in the fastest time. Entry is free and the prize will be decided day of the event, sponsored by Taste.
6:05pm
Beer and chips barista social sponsored by barismo.
7:00pm
Winner's announcement and prizes handout.
8:00pm
Last call.
We need volunteers, judges, and general help getting the word out so don't be shy. I will update this post as I have time.
Labels: 1369, barismo, barista jam, bloc 11, Fazenda, hi rise bakery, Simon's, taste coffee house, toscanini's
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 7:41 PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Then there's tomorrow
The roaster's creed is always about what the next roast is. Rarely is it spent dwelling on last weeks roasts but it's always about moving forward and adjusting as we go. The weather is always changing and the coffees are always aging, nothing is really that firm and predictable.
We have new accounts on the way working the program slowly and surely but right now the big goal in front of us is Kranky's barista jam. Looks like a lot more shops are interested in it than you might expect. We haven't had a lot of SCAA sponsored events here (this one isn't) and in fact, the jams and competitions seem to get farther and farther from New England every year to be called New England. It's refreshing to see our scene forming and what's next is the real question.
In the meantime, the barismo lab will be undergoing several stages of renovations while we build out our kiosk so we can offer a little sampling to the Arlington public. That will be a great space to unveil a new prototype to help us brew our per cup offerings. More on that later...
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:21 PM
The roaster's creed is always about what the next roast is. Rarely is it spent dwelling on last weeks roasts but it's always about moving forward and adjusting as we go. The weather is always changing and the coffees are always aging, nothing is really that firm and predictable.
We have new accounts on the way working the program slowly and surely but right now the big goal in front of us is Kranky's barista jam. Looks like a lot more shops are interested in it than you might expect. We haven't had a lot of SCAA sponsored events here (this one isn't) and in fact, the jams and competitions seem to get farther and farther from New England every year to be called New England. It's refreshing to see our scene forming and what's next is the real question.
In the meantime, the barismo lab will be undergoing several stages of renovations while we build out our kiosk so we can offer a little sampling to the Arlington public. That will be a great space to unveil a new prototype to help us brew our per cup offerings. More on that later...
Labels: barismo, barista jam
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:21 PM
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The big event
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:52 PM 0 Comments
An invitation arrived this morning. The first of what would be several that went out today. A bottle of wine with a special invite printed on the side.
The big unsanctioned unofficial barista jam over at Taste on April 3rd. The Jam was organized by Nik aka 'Kranky' (w/ Jamie and the crew very involved) over at Taste and we @ barismo are providing a support role.
The event is going to be an attempt to get a bunch of barista into one room, have some prizes, some gear, food, drink, and conversation. The idea is to remove the animosity and build a bit of camaraderie. With best intentions, it is about building a real community. Not within a single shop but across a few shops.
It may seem a bit foreign but the idea is that raising the bar requires a bit of understanding. Knowing your neighbor across town is passionate but has differences in palate is better than thinking they are simply wrong and disregarding them entirely. While I guarantee there will be representatives from all our accounts, the trick is seeing who shows up that isn't in our immediate circle of friends and partners in the coffee business.
If you are a local barista or otherwise a coffee professional, give us a heads up and join us at Taste. See you there barista.
Labels: barismo, barista jam, taste coffee house
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:52 PM 0 Comments
Friday, March 27, 2009
Congratulations to Nik
Big congratulations to Nik of Taste Coffee House for winning 2nd place in the NERBC! A great achievement for a first-time competitor!
¶ Ben Chen @ barismo 4:07 PM
Big congratulations to Nik of Taste Coffee House for winning 2nd place in the NERBC! A great achievement for a first-time competitor!
¶ Ben Chen @ barismo 4:07 PM
Sunday, February 08, 2009
A few things
Classes: We will be hosting a few formal classes on site outside of our normal brew demos and tastings. The first being a basic coffee class through the nonprofit Arlington Community Education Center and you can download the catalog to get more info. The other classes will be for students of CSCA and is not open to the public but is noteworthy because both classes will be held on site at our lab later in the spring.
The blog: It has moved, for those who watch the front page, and it will stay that way as we focus more on the shop. I had been mulling this for some time and decided enough already. We want to be more focused on the locals with the blog, much to the chagrin of our large professional audience.
The next week will be busy but I will update with a post when Nik does his final competition run through. The general public is invited to attend. We hope some locals will be willing to show up and be judges or fill out the audience. Bags of Poker Face are on sale online only through the weekend as we head into the days before competition.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:08 PM
Classes: We will be hosting a few formal classes on site outside of our normal brew demos and tastings. The first being a basic coffee class through the nonprofit Arlington Community Education Center and you can download the catalog to get more info. The other classes will be for students of CSCA and is not open to the public but is noteworthy because both classes will be held on site at our lab later in the spring.
The blog: It has moved, for those who watch the front page, and it will stay that way as we focus more on the shop. I had been mulling this for some time and decided enough already. We want to be more focused on the locals with the blog, much to the chagrin of our large professional audience.
The next week will be busy but I will update with a post when Nik does his final competition run through. The general public is invited to attend. We hope some locals will be willing to show up and be judges or fill out the audience. Bags of Poker Face are on sale online only through the weekend as we head into the days before competition.
Labels: barismo, classes, poker face
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:08 PM
Friday, January 30, 2009
Boston Area Coffee Community
Boston has a newly burgeoning coffee scene. This much is certain to me at this point. Today was spent highly caffeinated at a couple of coffee focused events we did not instigate. It was a good turn of events to sit in on someone else pushing coffee and be served by dedicated barista.
Early morning we got some work done at the shop and then took off for Newtonville. Great shots of espresso. Place was packed and we were feeling like it was tough to find any seat. That's a good thing though when it's standing room only. This was a 'welcome back Logan' event. Yes, 'How's your day going? And, would you like to add a shot of espresso to that?' Logan... It's a good enough reason to get psyched and rock some espresso. Talked to Nik afterward and it was definitely a rocking success. Give out the best espresso in town and people will come to drink it! Big thanks to the community for coming out and supporting it.
During lunch, we tried to recover from the buzz off the shots. We ended a good solid meal in Union Square and headed over to bloc 11 for a tasting they were holding. It was unique because we had done a tasting a long time ago at bloc 11 and were curious to see what was going on.
We rolled up at a Chemex demo of a few African coffees from mega roaster Intelly. By far, the Rwanda was the best cup of Intelly I have had in a long line of varied experiences. I have to credit the two barista who put it together for taking the initiative. It's good to see something outside of the house blend coffees being put out there and even better to see some kids putting themselves out there to bring the focus to the coffee. (I should note they knew who Silas was so that adds major street cred in our book) Big props to the coffee community for putting together a good cafe crawl today! It was a good experience and a nice change to be the aficionado instead of the presenter.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:06 PM 0 Comments
Boston has a newly burgeoning coffee scene. This much is certain to me at this point. Today was spent highly caffeinated at a couple of coffee focused events we did not instigate. It was a good turn of events to sit in on someone else pushing coffee and be served by dedicated barista.Early morning we got some work done at the shop and then took off for Newtonville. Great shots of espresso. Place was packed and we were feeling like it was tough to find any seat. That's a good thing though when it's standing room only. This was a 'welcome back Logan' event. Yes, 'How's your day going? And, would you like to add a shot of espresso to that?' Logan... It's a good enough reason to get psyched and rock some espresso. Talked to Nik afterward and it was definitely a rocking success. Give out the best espresso in town and people will come to drink it! Big thanks to the community for coming out and supporting it.
During lunch, we tried to recover from the buzz off the shots. We ended a good solid meal in Union Square and headed over to bloc 11 for a tasting they were holding. It was unique because we had done a tasting a long time ago at bloc 11 and were curious to see what was going on.
We rolled up at a Chemex demo of a few African coffees from mega roaster Intelly. By far, the Rwanda was the best cup of Intelly I have had in a long line of varied experiences. I have to credit the two barista who put it together for taking the initiative. It's good to see something outside of the house blend coffees being put out there and even better to see some kids putting themselves out there to bring the focus to the coffee. (I should note they knew who Silas was so that adds major street cred in our book) Big props to the coffee community for putting together a good cafe crawl today! It was a good experience and a nice change to be the aficionado instead of the presenter.Labels: barismo, bloc 11, taste
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:06 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The utility blend
I never believed as a barista that you could really have a great espresso that was good as a shot and in copious amounts of milk. To expect this feeling to change when I started roasting would be a bit presumptuous.
At one point or another, I have worked with many different espresso blends. There were those that made good shots, others made acceptable shots and good short milk drinks, still others only seemed geared at cutting through a 16oz latte.
It has been my feeling that espresso should be purposeful not utilitarian. Roast for purpose. If we are roasting our estate coffees and refining them each for specific brew methods, why wouldn't the same apply for espresso?
To that end, the L St. is a straight shot. It never occurred to me to work with it in milk. The current version is coming out really nice as a straight shot but all the complexity and sweetness is lost in a lot of milk. It just isn't tested in milk and I wouldn't take offense if someone didn't like it in milk.
We have done more milk geared espresso before. Rudiments being one, which also briefly doubled as 'You're beautiful'. It's just a matter of a good match.
The reason this is worth posting is not a defense or even about an explanation. It occurs to me that all too often we approach coffee from the lowest common denominator. We, the professionals, ask ourselves how it will taste in milk with sugar instead of simply asking ourselves, does it taste good. Well, does it?
Maybe the reason people put condiments in coffee is habitual. Maybe, though, it is because so many coffees are served with the thought that it will have condiments added to it. I guess if we focus on 16oz lattes that the espresso can cut through, the cappuccinos may be a bit rough or the straight shot a bit too strong. I think as a roaster and former barista, the truth is you can only focus on one portion of the coffee drinking market segment, so choose carefully. Trying to beat Dunkin or Sbux at their own game is a bit foolish when there are so many progressive shops moving into the market that do something completely different and are making bank. Something for the pros to chew on.
Happy Thanksgiving.
It's cold. We will be closed during the holiday and reopen Saturday.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:40 PM 4 Comments
I never believed as a barista that you could really have a great espresso that was good as a shot and in copious amounts of milk. To expect this feeling to change when I started roasting would be a bit presumptuous.
At one point or another, I have worked with many different espresso blends. There were those that made good shots, others made acceptable shots and good short milk drinks, still others only seemed geared at cutting through a 16oz latte.
It has been my feeling that espresso should be purposeful not utilitarian. Roast for purpose. If we are roasting our estate coffees and refining them each for specific brew methods, why wouldn't the same apply for espresso?
To that end, the L St. is a straight shot. It never occurred to me to work with it in milk. The current version is coming out really nice as a straight shot but all the complexity and sweetness is lost in a lot of milk. It just isn't tested in milk and I wouldn't take offense if someone didn't like it in milk.
We have done more milk geared espresso before. Rudiments being one, which also briefly doubled as 'You're beautiful'. It's just a matter of a good match.
The reason this is worth posting is not a defense or even about an explanation. It occurs to me that all too often we approach coffee from the lowest common denominator. We, the professionals, ask ourselves how it will taste in milk with sugar instead of simply asking ourselves, does it taste good. Well, does it?
Maybe the reason people put condiments in coffee is habitual. Maybe, though, it is because so many coffees are served with the thought that it will have condiments added to it. I guess if we focus on 16oz lattes that the espresso can cut through, the cappuccinos may be a bit rough or the straight shot a bit too strong. I think as a roaster and former barista, the truth is you can only focus on one portion of the coffee drinking market segment, so choose carefully. Trying to beat Dunkin or Sbux at their own game is a bit foolish when there are so many progressive shops moving into the market that do something completely different and are making bank. Something for the pros to chew on.
Happy Thanksgiving.
It's cold. We will be closed during the holiday and reopen Saturday.
Labels: barismo, espresso, Linnaean St.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:40 PM 4 Comments
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The barismo ristretto
Let me first clear something up. A ristretto means a restricted shot. That by definition means you shorten the flow for the espresso in the same time range as a normal shot. It does not mean you start pulling 20 second shots (that would be underextraction a la Sbucks method) and cutting the shot early by time, you actually have to change the grind and make adjustments to get the volume shortened in a normal extraction time. The dose is often heavier and the roast is often a bit darker but it does not imply shorter time.
We have been working on a new offering since the Cardenas arrived. It's interesting as we have been trying to come up with a more ristretto style shot. Now don't get me wrong, it still falls into our clean flavor profile but it has the deep viscosity and syrupy texture you desire without getting into the smoker's palate notes of tobacco and spice. The acidity is muted but the origin characters remain, a feat in and of itself. It even has the flecking and deep red visual cues with out the color corrected photo's help. The dominant notes of our blend right now are berries, vanilla, and brown sugar leading into cocoa. Some interesting aromas come into play but you gotta pull this tight. It is our best NY style espresso (very tight shot) attempt to date but done to a barismo taste profile (clean).
It pulls as an 18g double ristretto or a down dosed triple ristretto. Sorta Ecco style for the savy barista's out there. Tight and thick yields a soft texture and creamy profile. I had an 18g double this morning @ 201.5F just under an ounce that really was exciting.
While the L. Street pulls best around 198f 16g ~2oz right now, this new blend is the apple to that orange. Different, but both are special.
The new blend doesn't have a name yet (I guarantee it won't be something vaguely Italian sounding) but should be on the shelf at the roasterie and in a select cafe we will promote sometime next week.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:49 PM 5 Comments
Let me first clear something up. A ristretto means a restricted shot. That by definition means you shorten the flow for the espresso in the same time range as a normal shot. It does not mean you start pulling 20 second shots (that would be underextraction a la Sbucks method) and cutting the shot early by time, you actually have to change the grind and make adjustments to get the volume shortened in a normal extraction time. The dose is often heavier and the roast is often a bit darker but it does not imply shorter time.
We have been working on a new offering since the Cardenas arrived. It's interesting as we have been trying to come up with a more ristretto style shot. Now don't get me wrong, it still falls into our clean flavor profile but it has the deep viscosity and syrupy texture you desire without getting into the smoker's palate notes of tobacco and spice. The acidity is muted but the origin characters remain, a feat in and of itself. It even has the flecking and deep red visual cues with out the color corrected photo's help. The dominant notes of our blend right now are berries, vanilla, and brown sugar leading into cocoa. Some interesting aromas come into play but you gotta pull this tight. It is our best NY style espresso (very tight shot) attempt to date but done to a barismo taste profile (clean).
It pulls as an 18g double ristretto or a down dosed triple ristretto. Sorta Ecco style for the savy barista's out there. Tight and thick yields a soft texture and creamy profile. I had an 18g double this morning @ 201.5F just under an ounce that really was exciting.
While the L. Street pulls best around 198f 16g ~2oz right now, this new blend is the apple to that orange. Different, but both are special.
The new blend doesn't have a name yet (I guarantee it won't be something vaguely Italian sounding) but should be on the shelf at the roasterie and in a select cafe we will promote sometime next week.
Labels: barismo, blending, cardenas, espresso, Kiandu
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:49 PM 5 Comments
Thursday, November 20, 2008
It's cold!
The weather is turning a bit chilly here. It's a good time to try some new coffees.
If you are still looking for a good hand mill or a pour over kettle, look right here. We have ice brewers and other unique items coming later, so keep an eye out.
As for coffees, the Kiandu is really good right now for those of you who like a balanced light roast with deep dark berry notes. We are still working on the Guatemala coffees that arrived but the Nimac Kapeh is available now. It's red fruit and distinctly Oolong character is really unique. The other Atitlan will be available later next week but it will be roasted only as an espresso. More coffees later...
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:25 PM 0 Comments
The weather is turning a bit chilly here. It's a good time to try some new coffees.
If you are still looking for a good hand mill or a pour over kettle, look right here. We have ice brewers and other unique items coming later, so keep an eye out.
As for coffees, the Kiandu is really good right now for those of you who like a balanced light roast with deep dark berry notes. We are still working on the Guatemala coffees that arrived but the Nimac Kapeh is available now. It's red fruit and distinctly Oolong character is really unique. The other Atitlan will be available later next week but it will be roasted only as an espresso. More coffees later...
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:25 PM 0 Comments
Thursday, October 23, 2008
New crops arriving...
It's been a busy week. Last week and it looks like next week also.
This week, our new premium Kenya arrived in beautiful boxes sealed in shiny bags that popped open with the smell of fresh coffee. We profiled it and I think the final production profile was laid out Saturday morning. There will be more tweaks but I think we found the sweet spot. From that Saturday morning berried vanilla result came a much sweeter and more powerful cup. A tiny adjustment in a variable most have no control over put this coffee on the top shelf for me. I'll talk more about that soon as I have more fresh new coffees coming. Some more vacuum packaged stuff like the Kiandu was and a lot more work to do.
We debuted the newest Kenya, the Kiandu Microlot 9686, in an open house event this Saturday. We received a lot of positive response from the visitors who tried it. It went over great in Syphon but I noticed something odd. A lot of people in this area seem to cringe about Kenyan coffees. It's the acidity issue which I think is a touchy topic. Our fruit in the Kenya is juicy but not the tannin tart acidity you very often taste. To which, the response I have formulated is that drying astringency is not necessarily the terroir of the coffee, quite often it is a byproduct of the roast applied to it. Don't throw out the whole origin based on a few bad experiences. It's hard to get people to try something when previous experiences have been unpleasant. The feedback on this Kiandu was that it was really sweet, really juicy, and we won over more than a few converts to what Kenyan coffees are like in our profile.
Today was also another chance for us to debut our Kiandu at an event hosted by the coffee club at Olin College. We went out and did a talk on everything from processing methods to grinders and brewing. It was a good turnout (by one observer's note, almost 10% of enrollment showed for the event ;)) and we were appreciative of the interest. We kept it free flowing and informal but the audience was great and it was a lot of fun. The Kiandu in Syphon really was the highlight of the tasting though only a few days earlier, I was really sweating bullets over that coffee's roast profile.
That's generally how the business has been as we have fought so much to get up and running. A lot of ups and so many downs but we keep pushing forward. There are moments of doubt, self reflection, and then I just push forward. For that, there is nothing else I can say.
Next week, it will take a few roasts to get the Guatemalan coffees profiled to my overly critical group's liking but the lessons learned from this week will surely be essential to getting those Guatemalan coffees nailed quickly. Keep an eye out for them, we'll be busy working them over.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:39 PM 0 Comments
It's been a busy week. Last week and it looks like next week also.
This week, our new premium Kenya arrived in beautiful boxes sealed in shiny bags that popped open with the smell of fresh coffee. We profiled it and I think the final production profile was laid out Saturday morning. There will be more tweaks but I think we found the sweet spot. From that Saturday morning berried vanilla result came a much sweeter and more powerful cup. A tiny adjustment in a variable most have no control over put this coffee on the top shelf for me. I'll talk more about that soon as I have more fresh new coffees coming. Some more vacuum packaged stuff like the Kiandu was and a lot more work to do.
We debuted the newest Kenya, the Kiandu Microlot 9686, in an open house event this Saturday. We received a lot of positive response from the visitors who tried it. It went over great in Syphon but I noticed something odd. A lot of people in this area seem to cringe about Kenyan coffees. It's the acidity issue which I think is a touchy topic. Our fruit in the Kenya is juicy but not the tannin tart acidity you very often taste. To which, the response I have formulated is that drying astringency is not necessarily the terroir of the coffee, quite often it is a byproduct of the roast applied to it. Don't throw out the whole origin based on a few bad experiences. It's hard to get people to try something when previous experiences have been unpleasant. The feedback on this Kiandu was that it was really sweet, really juicy, and we won over more than a few converts to what Kenyan coffees are like in our profile.
Today was also another chance for us to debut our Kiandu at an event hosted by the coffee club at Olin College. We went out and did a talk on everything from processing methods to grinders and brewing. It was a good turnout (by one observer's note, almost 10% of enrollment showed for the event ;)) and we were appreciative of the interest. We kept it free flowing and informal but the audience was great and it was a lot of fun. The Kiandu in Syphon really was the highlight of the tasting though only a few days earlier, I was really sweating bullets over that coffee's roast profile.
That's generally how the business has been as we have fought so much to get up and running. A lot of ups and so many downs but we keep pushing forward. There are moments of doubt, self reflection, and then I just push forward. For that, there is nothing else I can say.
Next week, it will take a few roasts to get the Guatemalan coffees profiled to my overly critical group's liking but the lessons learned from this week will surely be essential to getting those Guatemalan coffees nailed quickly. Keep an eye out for them, we'll be busy working them over.
Labels: barismo, Kenya, Kiandu
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:39 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, October 05, 2008
barismo: Retail hours
The shop will be open to the public 12-6pm, Wed through Sun.
You can also catch us in house from time to time outside of those hours but those are firm.
We have Syphons, pour over kettles, and Skelton mills from Hario in shop. We will have more product from Japan and Taiwan in the near future. Along with our regular offerings of retail roasted bags. Retail roasts happen twice a week.
Events are scheduled and will continue to progress, stay tuned to the site for updates. We will update with a few of our partner accounts as things progress.
Our new Kenya has arrived and the much talked about Guatemalan offerings are being profiled right now.
barismo
169 Mass Ave
Arlington MA, 02474
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:40 PM 10 Comments
The shop will be open to the public 12-6pm, Wed through Sun.
You can also catch us in house from time to time outside of those hours but those are firm.
We have Syphons, pour over kettles, and Skelton mills from Hario in shop. We will have more product from Japan and Taiwan in the near future. Along with our regular offerings of retail roasted bags. Retail roasts happen twice a week.
Events are scheduled and will continue to progress, stay tuned to the site for updates. We will update with a few of our partner accounts as things progress.
Our new Kenya has arrived and the much talked about Guatemalan offerings are being profiled right now.
barismo
169 Mass Ave
Arlington MA, 02474
Labels: barismo
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:40 PM 10 Comments
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Pourover demo
Today at the shop we will have a demo of different pour over methods. Cloth and paper cone pour overs as well as Abid and possibly Chemex styles if we have time.
Drop by and check it out.
Very informal today from 2-5pm.
[where: 169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:24 AM 3 Comments
Today at the shop we will have a demo of different pour over methods. Cloth and paper cone pour overs as well as Abid and possibly Chemex styles if we have time.
Drop by and check it out.
Very informal today from 2-5pm.
[where: 169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:24 AM 3 Comments
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Linnaean St. Espresso
We have been playing around with multiple names for the espresso blends lately. Our stock blend though it has changed was called (Ben K.'s idea), Rudiments. Honestly, we really want to call it elements but we aren't sure how the guys at Supreme are going to play that theme out and don't want to sound overtly similar. Rudiments is the essential basic blend barismo style. Since it is not set, we will come back to it later.
What I decided on with much harumphing from the group is that I want to name the one blend right now that is completely set something personal. We were calling the blend that was 25% CR Las Lajas miel, 10% Kenya Ichimara pb, 65% Brasil Morenihna Formosa screen dried, our 'Barista's Pick.' It's a simple blend highlighted by maple red apple notes mid palate and it just works really well. After playing with a few points on the acidity and mid tone, we settled on one line and percentages. I am changing the name to reflect a static blend called Linnaean St. Espresso even though I am sure there will be mispronunciations because the nonlocals give it a little more effort on the first 'a'.
When I first moved to Cambridge, we lived in a cramped Studio on Gray St. off Linnaean in Cambridge. It was also a block from where I cut my teeth as a barista. Taking a shop from Hazelnut coffee, nameless dark blends in jumbo cups, dull grinders, scalded milk, and ancient equipment with bad training to Estate Coffees and a decent reputation for espresso. That was a long time ago and many battles were fought that I don't care to recount but I will always have an affinity for the people I met, the relationships made, and the support they gave me.
I am now detached from the shop and doing my own thing but I don't forget the uniqueness of that area community. The willingness of the people I met to get personally invested or simply interested still impresses me even today. I grew so much so quickly with the confidence that people believed in us and the directions we were moving. In few other places could I have flourished the way I did. For that being said, the area has a lot of familiar faces and a personal attachment still.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:09 AM 2 Comments
We have been playing around with multiple names for the espresso blends lately. Our stock blend though it has changed was called (Ben K.'s idea), Rudiments. Honestly, we really want to call it elements but we aren't sure how the guys at Supreme are going to play that theme out and don't want to sound overtly similar. Rudiments is the essential basic blend barismo style. Since it is not set, we will come back to it later.
What I decided on with much harumphing from the group is that I want to name the one blend right now that is completely set something personal. We were calling the blend that was 25% CR Las Lajas miel, 10% Kenya Ichimara pb, 65% Brasil Morenihna Formosa screen dried, our 'Barista's Pick.' It's a simple blend highlighted by maple red apple notes mid palate and it just works really well. After playing with a few points on the acidity and mid tone, we settled on one line and percentages. I am changing the name to reflect a static blend called Linnaean St. Espresso even though I am sure there will be mispronunciations because the nonlocals give it a little more effort on the first 'a'.
When I first moved to Cambridge, we lived in a cramped Studio on Gray St. off Linnaean in Cambridge. It was also a block from where I cut my teeth as a barista. Taking a shop from Hazelnut coffee, nameless dark blends in jumbo cups, dull grinders, scalded milk, and ancient equipment with bad training to Estate Coffees and a decent reputation for espresso. That was a long time ago and many battles were fought that I don't care to recount but I will always have an affinity for the people I met, the relationships made, and the support they gave me.
I am now detached from the shop and doing my own thing but I don't forget the uniqueness of that area community. The willingness of the people I met to get personally invested or simply interested still impresses me even today. I grew so much so quickly with the confidence that people believed in us and the directions we were moving. In few other places could I have flourished the way I did. For that being said, the area has a lot of familiar faces and a personal attachment still.
Labels: barismo, espresso, Linnaean St.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:09 AM 2 Comments
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Degree of roast
I have always had a lot of problems with discussion of roast degree. There are so many definitions floating around and many interpretations. Some of that lies in the liberal interpretations that are taken in descriptions.
I have seen fancy color coded color bars, listing actual agtron numbers on the bags, and even creating new roast degrees like 'full flavor'.
There is a problem.
If your roast has a high delta (outside bean color is in stark color contrast with grind samples) vs a very even roast, the same end level of agrton(grind sample) or drop point can mean something entirely different.
Our roasters are kinda special. The three we have are the only ones in North America like them.
Having an airflow where a normal roast that uses 5 of 10 settings, total control of drum RPM through a roast, a small enough batch size to really do some things you couldn't in larger batch sizes but large enough to be consistent, and a wicked patented hybrid drum. The drum is about ~60lbs of ~1" cast iron with some 2000 holes drilled by hand in the side and around the barrel. This allows for some really neat profiles that somewhat defy classic experience and traditional approaches.
We avoid the issues commonly associated with a perforated drum by having the large drum mass and a small ratio of perforations instead of the traditional screen. This also seems to make the roasts more stable since you are depending on the stored heat instead of ambient chamber air. Something that is more of an issue with an air roaster or any roaster that uses convection. You have such a tight control of airflow and still heat can penetrate so quickly that you can literally approach the roast in a solid drum/hot air hybrid profile and get some really unique elements out of the coffees.
Roasting is fairly consistent, keep tabs on the gas gauge, adjust for the ambient temp/humidity and go. Variance depends on humidity but there have not been any grassy or raw roasts produced, I promise. That's why I sign every roast that goes out because we cupped it first.
The point is, I can get to the exact same color or drop temp a myriad of ways. This renders a lot of the normal terminology a bit useless to a consumer. Our goal is to get the consumer into focusing on flavor decisions, not roast or origin buys so we had to come at it differently.
So I came up with a basic method we will use for now. Roast the coffees to the profile that works best. Note the 'degree of roast' by how much origin character vs roast development.
The idea is to use a number, 1 through 6, 1 being the most origin forward, 6 being the most roast development in the prescribed brewing method. Since we neither do a french roast nor a decaf, this works for now.
Style 5 would have a lot of roast development and softened origin characters, sweet deep roast notes would be dveloped. Style 2 would have little to no roast notes and intense origin characters like aroma and acidity would be enhanced.
It's a subtle thing on the bags and it doesn't really affect our overall approach that much but it was the best compromise. We are medium roasters, not dark simply for dark or light for the sake of light. We stay in that medium range and look for balance unless the coffee likes a little roast or a lot less.
By the way, the Kiandu is in the US, will be here soon. One of the first coffees to come out of Kenya vac sealed, should be fun to roast really fresh coffee.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:40 AM 4 Comments
I have always had a lot of problems with discussion of roast degree. There are so many definitions floating around and many interpretations. Some of that lies in the liberal interpretations that are taken in descriptions.
I have seen fancy color coded color bars, listing actual agtron numbers on the bags, and even creating new roast degrees like 'full flavor'.
There is a problem.
If your roast has a high delta (outside bean color is in stark color contrast with grind samples) vs a very even roast, the same end level of agrton(grind sample) or drop point can mean something entirely different.
Our roasters are kinda special. The three we have are the only ones in North America like them.
Having an airflow where a normal roast that uses 5 of 10 settings, total control of drum RPM through a roast, a small enough batch size to really do some things you couldn't in larger batch sizes but large enough to be consistent, and a wicked patented hybrid drum. The drum is about ~60lbs of ~1" cast iron with some 2000 holes drilled by hand in the side and around the barrel. This allows for some really neat profiles that somewhat defy classic experience and traditional approaches.We avoid the issues commonly associated with a perforated drum by having the large drum mass and a small ratio of perforations instead of the traditional screen. This also seems to make the roasts more stable since you are depending on the stored heat instead of ambient chamber air. Something that is more of an issue with an air roaster or any roaster that uses convection. You have such a tight control of airflow and still heat can penetrate so quickly that you can literally approach the roast in a solid drum/hot air hybrid profile and get some really unique elements out of the coffees.
Roasting is fairly consistent, keep tabs on the gas gauge, adjust for the ambient temp/humidity and go. Variance depends on humidity but there have not been any grassy or raw roasts produced, I promise. That's why I sign every roast that goes out because we cupped it first.
The point is, I can get to the exact same color or drop temp a myriad of ways. This renders a lot of the normal terminology a bit useless to a consumer. Our goal is to get the consumer into focusing on flavor decisions, not roast or origin buys so we had to come at it differently.
So I came up with a basic method we will use for now. Roast the coffees to the profile that works best. Note the 'degree of roast' by how much origin character vs roast development.
The idea is to use a number, 1 through 6, 1 being the most origin forward, 6 being the most roast development in the prescribed brewing method. Since we neither do a french roast nor a decaf, this works for now.
Style 5 would have a lot of roast development and softened origin characters, sweet deep roast notes would be dveloped. Style 2 would have little to no roast notes and intense origin characters like aroma and acidity would be enhanced.
It's a subtle thing on the bags and it doesn't really affect our overall approach that much but it was the best compromise. We are medium roasters, not dark simply for dark or light for the sake of light. We stay in that medium range and look for balance unless the coffee likes a little roast or a lot less.
By the way, the Kiandu is in the US, will be here soon. One of the first coffees to come out of Kenya vac sealed, should be fun to roast really fresh coffee.
Labels: barismo, dark roast, light roast, medium roast, roast degree
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:40 AM 4 Comments
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
barismo: Upcoming events
Based on the requests by those who missed out on a visit at the open house, we will split up and do a few follow up events so everyone can have a chance to have the same experience. Repeats welcome, new faces appreciated.
Other upcoming chances to sample coffees:
A Syphon demo at the shop hosted by Ben Chen.
Saturday Sept. 13th from 2-4pm
A few rounds of cupping hosted by Ben Kaminsky.
Thursday Sept. 18th from 6-8pm
A round of different style espressos presented by Chris van Schyndel.
Saturday Sept. 20th From 2-4pm
No RSVP, free to the public.
[where: 169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:44 PM 2 Comments
Based on the requests by those who missed out on a visit at the open house, we will split up and do a few follow up events so everyone can have a chance to have the same experience. Repeats welcome, new faces appreciated.
Other upcoming chances to sample coffees:
A Syphon demo at the shop hosted by Ben Chen.
Saturday Sept. 13th from 2-4pm
A few rounds of cupping hosted by Ben Kaminsky.
Thursday Sept. 18th from 6-8pm
A round of different style espressos presented by Chris van Schyndel.
Saturday Sept. 20th From 2-4pm
No RSVP, free to the public.
[where: 169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
Labels: barismo, cupping, espresso, events, vac pot
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 9:44 PM 2 Comments
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
barismo: Coffee lineup
So... we now have some offerings available while we await the vac sealed Guats and Kenya coffees which are literally arriving over the next few weeks. We are making it available through this site until we have something a little more formal.
The list includes:
Kenya
Ichimara 07 - Nyeri region: Mid tone fruit, notes of black cherry, ripe and sweet, strong red fruit aromas. This is a Syphon coffee with a slightly lower temp.
Ichimara 08 - Nyeri region: A singularly (as peaberry are) sweet sugar cane note with classic Kenya fruit notes.
Kiandu 08 - This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed and sealed at origin, more notes to come.
Guatemala
Las Pastorales 07 - Antigua region: Molasses, anise, vanilla, smoked plum. This sweet coffee is the darkest 'medium' roast we have done. It's a strong drip profile recommended for pour overs.
Nimac Kape 08 - Atitlan Region: This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed at origin, this is one of a few coffees that were the first to leave Guatemala in something other than Jute. Intense sweetness, juicy fruit and strong aromas. We will detail the specific story of this find in a later post.
Alex Cardenas 08 - Atitlan Region: This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed at origin, this is one of a few coffees that were the first to leave Guatemala in something other than Jute. Cupped like darjeeling tea with distinctly intense rose aromas. We will detail the specific story of this find in a later post.
Brasil
Morenihna Formosa 07 - Cerrado region: African raised bed prep. Almond, pistachio, dried cherry. A Smooth softly fruited coffee. Makes for a good shot.
Costa Rica
Las Lajas 08 - Miel honey prep. Red apple, maple notes dominate. This is a stellar coffee because it isn't a classic pine cedar Costa Rica. Sweet, round, ripe, good challenge as a shot.
Espresso
Barista's Pick
65% Formosa 25% Las Lajas 10% Ichimara peaberry.
Maple forward, sugar cane finish, apple mid palate and notes of nut and cherry.
This is a lighter roast, 196F to 198F 16g, 1.5 to 2oz. If the acidity dominates, lower the temperature or raise the volume a bit. Best on 5-7 days rest.
All coffees that aren't sealed at origin have been nitrogen flushed, vacuum packed on arrival and stored in a climate controlled cool storage.
In summary, there are a few more coffees coming but we will note them as they are closer. We have the online option but we highly recommend you drop by our space if you want a bag and save on shipping(if you can). You'll have to come off the feed reader onto the site if you want to sample one of these or visit us at the shop. Public hours are currently 12pm-6pm Tues. - Sat.
barismo
169 Mass Ave
Arlington, MA 02474
¶ Ben Kaminsky @ barismo 8:00 PM 0 Comments
So... we now have some offerings available while we await the vac sealed Guats and Kenya coffees which are literally arriving over the next few weeks. We are making it available through this site until we have something a little more formal.
The list includes:
Kenya
Ichimara 07 - Nyeri region: Mid tone fruit, notes of black cherry, ripe and sweet, strong red fruit aromas. This is a Syphon coffee with a slightly lower temp.
Ichimara 08 - Nyeri region: A singularly (as peaberry are) sweet sugar cane note with classic Kenya fruit notes.
Kiandu 08 - This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed and sealed at origin, more notes to come.
Guatemala
Las Pastorales 07 - Antigua region: Molasses, anise, vanilla, smoked plum. This sweet coffee is the darkest 'medium' roast we have done. It's a strong drip profile recommended for pour overs.
Nimac Kape 08 - Atitlan Region: This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed at origin, this is one of a few coffees that were the first to leave Guatemala in something other than Jute. Intense sweetness, juicy fruit and strong aromas. We will detail the specific story of this find in a later post.
Alex Cardenas 08 - Atitlan Region: This coffee arrives shortly. Vacuum packed at origin, this is one of a few coffees that were the first to leave Guatemala in something other than Jute. Cupped like darjeeling tea with distinctly intense rose aromas. We will detail the specific story of this find in a later post.
Brasil
Morenihna Formosa 07 - Cerrado region: African raised bed prep. Almond, pistachio, dried cherry. A Smooth softly fruited coffee. Makes for a good shot.
Costa Rica
Las Lajas 08 - Miel honey prep. Red apple, maple notes dominate. This is a stellar coffee because it isn't a classic pine cedar Costa Rica. Sweet, round, ripe, good challenge as a shot.
Espresso
Barista's Pick
65% Formosa 25% Las Lajas 10% Ichimara peaberry.
Maple forward, sugar cane finish, apple mid palate and notes of nut and cherry.
This is a lighter roast, 196F to 198F 16g, 1.5 to 2oz. If the acidity dominates, lower the temperature or raise the volume a bit. Best on 5-7 days rest.
All coffees that aren't sealed at origin have been nitrogen flushed, vacuum packed on arrival and stored in a climate controlled cool storage.
In summary, there are a few more coffees coming but we will note them as they are closer. We have the online option but we highly recommend you drop by our space if you want a bag and save on shipping(if you can). You'll have to come off the feed reader onto the site if you want to sample one of these or visit us at the shop. Public hours are currently 12pm-6pm Tues. - Sat.
barismo
169 Mass Ave
Arlington, MA 02474
Labels: barismo, coffee roaster
¶ Ben Kaminsky @ barismo 8:00 PM 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
barismo: full house
Thanks to everyone who took the time to drop by and sample some coffees. There is always the uncertainty of turnout but a big thanks to those who braved the heat and humidity to have some hot coffees because they made it a smashing success. To put it bluntly, it was as busy through the 2 hours as we could want and still keep control. It was great to meet so many new people and get honest feedback on the coffees.
One of the most rewarding things after months on the roaster working on profiles is to share your coffees with someone else and see them get the descriptors right. For this, it was a great revelation even if I am seriously tired tonight.
For those too busy or otherwise committed. Many shots were pulled, a few pounds worth of two different espresso offerings. A few rounds of cupping were later followed by some Syphon brews and I can honestly say, I did hear from a few people that it was the most caffeinated they have been by choice in a while.
The newest espresso blend, still searching for a name (currently called barista's pick), was really knocking out some good shots with the help of Chris (much props to the mad barista). A Brazil component that was almond and soft cherry @ 65%. A Costa Rica Miel component that was maple and red apple @ 25%. A Kenya Peaberry that was a clean sugar cane soft taffy cherry @ 10%. The maple note really sealed it paired with the clean sugar cane of the Peaberry in the finish while the acidity was very toned but clean and pleasant. Really happy with it but need to call it something a little more expressive.
This was the first time in a long time I felt like I got some of the mojo back from the last big event. Next time, we will keep it to one theme or another like Syphon or Espresso.
A lot of requests for home user events have been made and it is on the list so keep you readers linked here.
Thanks again to all of those who stopped by.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:07 PM 0 Comments
Thanks to everyone who took the time to drop by and sample some coffees. There is always the uncertainty of turnout but a big thanks to those who braved the heat and humidity to have some hot coffees because they made it a smashing success. To put it bluntly, it was as busy through the 2 hours as we could want and still keep control. It was great to meet so many new people and get honest feedback on the coffees.
One of the most rewarding things after months on the roaster working on profiles is to share your coffees with someone else and see them get the descriptors right. For this, it was a great revelation even if I am seriously tired tonight.
For those too busy or otherwise committed. Many shots were pulled, a few pounds worth of two different espresso offerings. A few rounds of cupping were later followed by some Syphon brews and I can honestly say, I did hear from a few people that it was the most caffeinated they have been by choice in a while.
The newest espresso blend, still searching for a name (currently called barista's pick), was really knocking out some good shots with the help of Chris (much props to the mad barista). A Brazil component that was almond and soft cherry @ 65%. A Costa Rica Miel component that was maple and red apple @ 25%. A Kenya Peaberry that was a clean sugar cane soft taffy cherry @ 10%. The maple note really sealed it paired with the clean sugar cane of the Peaberry in the finish while the acidity was very toned but clean and pleasant. Really happy with it but need to call it something a little more expressive.
This was the first time in a long time I felt like I got some of the mojo back from the last big event. Next time, we will keep it to one theme or another like Syphon or Espresso.
A lot of requests for home user events have been made and it is on the list so keep you readers linked here.
Thanks again to all of those who stopped by.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:07 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, September 06, 2008
barismo: Open House September 6th 2pm
We will open the shop to the general public Sat. September 6th from 2-4pm for an informal coffee tasting.
[Where:169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
There will be rounds of cupping and the espresso blend known in Porter Sq. as 'You're Beautiful' will be on tap pulled by a local barista.
No fees, No RSVP, a few rounds of cuppings, lots of chatter.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:32 PM 1 Comments
We will open the shop to the general public Sat. September 6th from 2-4pm for an informal coffee tasting.
[Where:169 Mass Ave Arlington, MA 02474]
There will be rounds of cupping and the espresso blend known in Porter Sq. as 'You're Beautiful' will be on tap pulled by a local barista.
No fees, No RSVP, a few rounds of cuppings, lots of chatter.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:32 PM 1 Comments
Friday, August 29, 2008
On tap
We did a signature espresso blend for a local friend based on our knowledge of his preferences. It's something we plan to do for each of the handful of people we work with. Just a simple pairing of two coffees to give him something that fit his flavor profile for espresso.
A few notes about what came of it. We received a slew of positive feedback among which I will take the time to share a few bits and pieces I found funny.
One comment from a Brooklyn interloper was that it was a traditional North Italian. It's a medium roast and yes, it does technically fit in that range but it's not something I would say because that wasn't the idea going in. Point is, it's not a triple ristretto deep disco type of thing but it's simply light because there was only a goal of a specific taste profile, not agtron.
A former Copacafe barista said simply, it's very good but there is too much of X component in the blend. Yes, putting the percentages on the bags makes for some armchair quarterbacking but we expect that. In a way it's fun because when you watch people read the components after sampling, you notice them saying, oh that's what flavor X was.
It's strangely awkward.
You work a long time to develop something, a concept or an idea. Then you get to the stage where you have to share and realize it. You have to come out of the lab and talk with real humans beings which is entirely tiring but likewise cathartic. You get wrapped up in your own world of 'Skeleton grinders' and Vacuum Packing for so long, it becomes easy to forget just how novel all of it is. I'm in a place where the worry over if it lives up to the expectations is met with the reality of how it is actually served up. The irony is that you almost expect issues after having so many months of problem solving sessions and it becomes hard to sit back to just enjoy the positive feedback and stop to have a shot. Getting an excited text message about 'ice cream cappa' is almost a bit hard to share in the excitement when you are refining and critiquing but you have trouble switching into sell mode to talk about how great it is.
Of course the next phase is a lot of training sessions, calibrations, machine mods, well... you know the drill.
Favorite quote has to be when the shop owner visited us and I pulled him a shot only an hour or two off the roast. He responds by telling me, 'shots are pulling better at the shop.' While we are barismo, I don't think I am good enough to beat three days worth of shots in a single pull but I digress. That's kinda cool in it's own way.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:30 PM 0 Comments
We did a signature espresso blend for a local friend based on our knowledge of his preferences. It's something we plan to do for each of the handful of people we work with. Just a simple pairing of two coffees to give him something that fit his flavor profile for espresso.
A few notes about what came of it. We received a slew of positive feedback among which I will take the time to share a few bits and pieces I found funny.
One comment from a Brooklyn interloper was that it was a traditional North Italian. It's a medium roast and yes, it does technically fit in that range but it's not something I would say because that wasn't the idea going in. Point is, it's not a triple ristretto deep disco type of thing but it's simply light because there was only a goal of a specific taste profile, not agtron.
A former Copacafe barista said simply, it's very good but there is too much of X component in the blend. Yes, putting the percentages on the bags makes for some armchair quarterbacking but we expect that. In a way it's fun because when you watch people read the components after sampling, you notice them saying, oh that's what flavor X was.
It's strangely awkward.
You work a long time to develop something, a concept or an idea. Then you get to the stage where you have to share and realize it. You have to come out of the lab and talk with real humans beings which is entirely tiring but likewise cathartic. You get wrapped up in your own world of 'Skeleton grinders' and Vacuum Packing for so long, it becomes easy to forget just how novel all of it is. I'm in a place where the worry over if it lives up to the expectations is met with the reality of how it is actually served up. The irony is that you almost expect issues after having so many months of problem solving sessions and it becomes hard to sit back to just enjoy the positive feedback and stop to have a shot. Getting an excited text message about 'ice cream cappa' is almost a bit hard to share in the excitement when you are refining and critiquing but you have trouble switching into sell mode to talk about how great it is.
Of course the next phase is a lot of training sessions, calibrations, machine mods, well... you know the drill.
Favorite quote has to be when the shop owner visited us and I pulled him a shot only an hour or two off the roast. He responds by telling me, 'shots are pulling better at the shop.' While we are barismo, I don't think I am good enough to beat three days worth of shots in a single pull but I digress. That's kinda cool in it's own way.
Labels: barismo
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 11:30 PM 0 Comments
Monday, August 18, 2008
barismo coffee: notes
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:37 AM 5 Comments
I saw this photo and it reminded me to take a moment and breathe. This is a photo of some of the first Guatemalan coffees to exit Guatemala in something other than jute. We are proud to have a hand in that process and look forward to seeing more lots exit the country that way. Guatemala is such a great place for good coffees. I am told the 18th of this month, our premium Kenyan coffee arrives which is also vacuum sealed at origin. We were lucky on this one because someone else already established the demand. We were all set to have our pick flown in at what is a pretty high cost until we found out vacuum packaging was ready and of course we jumped on it.
People talk a lot about quality but if you really look at the handful of people who have pushed progressive packing, that set the bar for me. Anyone can fawn over 2 buck chuck or overpay for the right to have paid the most but I respect those who put the money into preserving the coffee. How much of that proverbial 90pt+ coffee faded on the boat over bagged in jute? Who is legit if they ignore that, stuff the green in a hot and humid warehouse, then pitch you a romantic story? There is a lot of showmanship and you have to dig deeper to feel out what's behind the bravado.
This is a fun week. Profiling and working on the big roasters. Waiting for coffees to arrive. I owe a lot to Simon Hsieh for giving us a starting point to work from. I don't disrespect the influence he has had among others.
Roasting is complicated. Imagine working three variables: drum speed, air flow, BTU(heat). Now imagine you had no base, how long would it take you to find the right drum speeds, air settings, and gas settings for one coffee? If you apply true scientific method(which almost no professional roasters do), you would only change one variable at a time and test each single variable independently.
Tedious.
Take a basic profile and then test variations with a scientific process and you can progress very quickly gathering a mountain of data quickly.
We have a special roaster which was a great burden but I really believe it will be something great. It is a 4 kilo called a direct flame but it's really a hybrid. The drum is solid cast iron with a couple thousand holes drilled in it so it's not the mesh of traditional direct flame drums. This overcomes a lot of issues in the roast inherent in traditional direct flame roasters. The profile is a combination of an air roaster with a solid drum slash direct flame. You can get explosive aroma, deep sweetness, and the acidity can be decidedly candied instead of sparkling or the more common sharpness. The air flow is amazing and patented by the way. I won't post photos but the mfg developed a manner to make the airflow fairly linear. It operates, in essence, like a camera aperture. Gone are the dorky damper style flaps which are often limited to open, half, or closed where one quarter may not really mean one quarter. The custom air flow has 10 settings of which I use about 5 during a normal roast.
Other specs: variable drum speed, gas gauge, digital bean probe with measurement to one tenth of a degree(can be ported and data logged), and an analog probe in the exhaust. All of those components are controlled on a box that is located about chest high which beats bending over to adjust/log or having a stand with cords you can trip over. The flame pilot and lighting sequence is absolutely b-spec, automated with a flame sensor, timed lighting sequence, and the gas valve has an auto shutoff sequence when it reaches the over temp alarm. The kicker is an external chaff collector which is massive and completely unheard of for a roaster this size.
There were definitely some growing pains but thankfully I had been working the baby version of this, affectionately called the Mini, for half a year previous. The profile scaled up very well so it only took a dozen roasts to get comfortable. Though, honestly, I don't think we will ever stop long enough to really get comfortable so it's all relative.
All I can say is that for the first time in months, I had one of those moments the other day where I was smiling and goofy instead of deep in problem solving mode. It's a good feeling.
Labels: barismo, gear, green storage
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 1:37 AM 5 Comments
Monday, August 04, 2008
"Barismo Spec" EC/EP Hybrid Tamp - LTD LMWDP Version
"Barismo Spec" EC/EP Hybrid Tamp - LTD LMWDP Version - 3" Tall Handle & Brass Bezel
Now available to the public through EPNW
From Espresso Parts: "Well they say great minds think a like... I don't know if we qualify but the Barismo guys have a great mind for coffee and espresso alike.
First and foremost, what is the "B-Spec" or "Barismo Spec" Tamper? Well currently our version of the "Barismo Spec" Tamper is an matte finished Espressocraft tamp handle and custom brass bezel mod'd to fit the classic Espresso Parts height convex piston."
Having been lucky enough to participate in the HB tamper road show (thanks to Dan and others who helped organize) and get a feel of several prominent tampers, we did a review. After analyzing them, there was not a clear winner. There were handles that were nice and a base that worked but there was a lack of the complete package. Take into consideration that we were thinking of a cafe prototype rather than a home user tamp and you can understand some of the choices made as Ben C. put together the mod. Our first evolution arrived and we had a pretty comfy if not absolutely gorgeous tamper.
There was a lot of discussion about the piston height and we had a strong interest in having pistons that came level with the basket if the dose was correct which came to a satisfying conclusion. One more piece in consistency relative to our espresso OCD solved. After some mucking around and grabbing a few early versions of B-Spec from ESPNW, one more mod was added to really put it over the top. Ben decided on a sand blasted matte finish that added a comfy feel to the grip. We highly recommend you also get the EspressoParts S.S. 58mm convex base machined to a "c-flat" hybrid shape then mirror polished if you want to be hardcore and follow Ben's B-Specs.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:59 PM 3 Comments
"Barismo Spec" EC/EP Hybrid Tamp - LTD LMWDP Version - 3" Tall Handle & Brass Bezel
Now available to the public through EPNW
From Espresso Parts: "Well they say great minds think a like... I don't know if we qualify but the Barismo guys have a great mind for coffee and espresso alike.
First and foremost, what is the "B-Spec" or "Barismo Spec" Tamper? Well currently our version of the "Barismo Spec" Tamper is an matte finished Espressocraft tamp handle and custom brass bezel mod'd to fit the classic Espresso Parts height convex piston."
Having been lucky enough to participate in the HB tamper road show (thanks to Dan and others who helped organize) and get a feel of several prominent tampers, we did a review. After analyzing them, there was not a clear winner. There were handles that were nice and a base that worked but there was a lack of the complete package. Take into consideration that we were thinking of a cafe prototype rather than a home user tamp and you can understand some of the choices made as Ben C. put together the mod. Our first evolution arrived and we had a pretty comfy if not absolutely gorgeous tamper.
There was a lot of discussion about the piston height and we had a strong interest in having pistons that came level with the basket if the dose was correct which came to a satisfying conclusion. One more piece in consistency relative to our espresso OCD solved. After some mucking around and grabbing a few early versions of B-Spec from ESPNW, one more mod was added to really put it over the top. Ben decided on a sand blasted matte finish that added a comfy feel to the grip. We highly recommend you also get the EspressoParts S.S. 58mm convex base machined to a "c-flat" hybrid shape then mirror polished if you want to be hardcore and follow Ben's B-Specs.
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 8:59 PM 3 Comments
Friday, September 28, 2007
Profile: Silas Moulton aka 'the Tea Cupper'
Silas formerly was a purchasor for whole foods and also does cuppings with Mark @ MEM teas. Silas currently toils away at Peet's until something better comes along. Silas met up with us shortly after the Globe article hit and has been the most enthusiatic group member. He intially sought me out because he couldn't believe there was a good barista in Boston(his own words there). Silas will begin participating on the blog a bit to touch up his writing skills for his tea blog... I'm thinking... Terroirist tea blog! -Jaime
So a month or so after I met Jaime, I got an invite to taste some coffees with him and "some friends". To be honest, I thought his coffee tasting friends might be old men with mustaches and crazy stories about cupping kenyas in the glory days, when coffee wasn't so complicated. Well, It just so happens, we are all fairly young and none of us really care for facial hair. So after getting off work, smelling like Peet's dark roast, I went to meet up with Jaime, Judson and Ben. Ben was having issues with his tricked out home machine after messing with it too much, so we headed over to Asim's to pull some coffee shots. On the way Ben explained the difference between a chow hound and a foodie and of course Jamie was practically coming to tears of joy over the thought of having tegu coffee shots. They had been hoping earlier to pull some coffee shots on Ben's machine but they couldn't get it working. By now they were anxious for the coffee they had been waiting for all day and I was still curious what the hell these coffee shots were gonna be like. So when we get to Asim's place, we come to find out his machine isn't working either. This kick-ass, awesome $8000 espresso machine just couldn't get enough pressure. So Ben and Asim start taking the thing apart and trying to figure out what was wrong. They found out the thing wasn't building enough pressure cuz there was scale build up. Ben asked Asim where his cafiza was and Asim said he didn't know what it was. So now Ben was scolding Asim and just pissed that Asim doesn't know what cafiza is. They never ended up getting it working, and Asim had other plans. So the whole walk back to the T, Ben was ranting about how Asim didn't clean his 8000 dollar machine. I thought he was crazy cuz he had been practically yelling at Asim about it. We finally just went back to Simons and pulled some shots there. Then I tasted the Terroir yirg (2005) coffee shot..... and I was hooked!!
Well it turns out Ben is a pretty cool guy and Asim should just clean his machine. Now my mouth waters at the mention of coffee shot. We taste coffee pretty often now and I am known as "The Youth Project" or "Silas the Tea Cupper". I think I would prefer Flavor Cupper though...
Silas (flavor cupper)
¶ Silas Moulton @ barismo 10:22 PM 5 Comments
Silas formerly was a purchasor for whole foods and also does cuppings with Mark @ MEM teas. Silas currently toils away at Peet's until something better comes along. Silas met up with us shortly after the Globe article hit and has been the most enthusiatic group member. He intially sought me out because he couldn't believe there was a good barista in Boston(his own words there). Silas will begin participating on the blog a bit to touch up his writing skills for his tea blog... I'm thinking... Terroirist tea blog! -Jaime
So a month or so after I met Jaime, I got an invite to taste some coffees with him and "some friends". To be honest, I thought his coffee tasting friends might be old men with mustaches and crazy stories about cupping kenyas in the glory days, when coffee wasn't so complicated. Well, It just so happens, we are all fairly young and none of us really care for facial hair. So after getting off work, smelling like Peet's dark roast, I went to meet up with Jaime, Judson and Ben. Ben was having issues with his tricked out home machine after messing with it too much, so we headed over to Asim's to pull some coffee shots. On the way Ben explained the difference between a chow hound and a foodie and of course Jamie was practically coming to tears of joy over the thought of having tegu coffee shots. They had been hoping earlier to pull some coffee shots on Ben's machine but they couldn't get it working. By now they were anxious for the coffee they had been waiting for all day and I was still curious what the hell these coffee shots were gonna be like. So when we get to Asim's place, we come to find out his machine isn't working either. This kick-ass, awesome $8000 espresso machine just couldn't get enough pressure. So Ben and Asim start taking the thing apart and trying to figure out what was wrong. They found out the thing wasn't building enough pressure cuz there was scale build up. Ben asked Asim where his cafiza was and Asim said he didn't know what it was. So now Ben was scolding Asim and just pissed that Asim doesn't know what cafiza is. They never ended up getting it working, and Asim had other plans. So the whole walk back to the T, Ben was ranting about how Asim didn't clean his 8000 dollar machine. I thought he was crazy cuz he had been practically yelling at Asim about it. We finally just went back to Simons and pulled some shots there. Then I tasted the Terroir yirg (2005) coffee shot..... and I was hooked!!
Well it turns out Ben is a pretty cool guy and Asim should just clean his machine. Now my mouth waters at the mention of coffee shot. We taste coffee pretty often now and I am known as "The Youth Project" or "Silas the Tea Cupper". I think I would prefer Flavor Cupper though...
Silas (flavor cupper)
Labels: barismo, tea, tea leaf
¶ Silas Moulton @ barismo 10:22 PM 5 Comments
Monday, September 18, 2006
Homeless Barista...
I came to Simon's by way of luck really. It was close to my apartment and I needed something to fill the extra hours. I was working another job full time and took it on part time because it was right in front of my house. After a few months I was working @ Simon's full time. Somewhere along there I got the bug. Pouring through sites like coffeegeek and blogs like Tacy's. I really owe Mark Prince a lot for that site. It gave me a lot of information once you sort through the noise. It is the ultimate resource for the beginner. Tacy too has been a large influence on a lot of us. His snarky opinions and rants are often more true than not. His willingness to challenge things most people consider sacred... well maybe I got a little bit of that in me too... Sometimes it took me longer than I'd like to admit to find out how right he often was.
I want to thank Nick Cho and Michelle Campbell and the people who do the competitions and the BGA. I really defer to those who put the highlight on those who really care about their craft. Nick, who I thought might be a bit of a joker for hanging out with people like Jay :) it turns out is a pretty decent guy whether he knows it or not. The revered Cho.. hehe, why not? If it weren't for those competitions, I wouldn't be blogging about all the details that fire me up. I wouldn't be trying to create other passionate barista. I wouldn't have the voice I have today. It was those competitions where I really found some friends. Ben and Asim supported me and fired me up to 'go get kicked around in the competitions... because this is part growing pains... and because this is the path I have chosen so it's sooner or later.' They both stuck by me when I was getting little help from anyone else. Ben's words in particular were a piece of foreshadowing. It was at that time I found out simply put who my friends were. Ben is still what I consider to be my strongest supporter and I don't over look that or underappreciate it. My friends Judson and Silas, my conscience and my palate. Hong, my support and my foundation. I feel lucky in so many ways. The people I have worked with, Simon, Andy, Colleen, Dragana, Maric, Denez, Alexis, Kristin, Brett, and Jin. It's been cool knowing each and every one of them and I picked up somethng from all of them.
There is one more though. Peter Lynagh of Terroir. He had a great influence on my initial development in coffee. His influence is a big part of why I can't enjoy muddy coffee and crave clarity from my coffee. We may be at odds at times personally but I will always fall on his side of the fence when it comes to green quality. I appreciate that in many ways I can't express to him. Sometimes you have to have some distance to get perspective on things though.
I really feel like I have been a part of something special these last two years. A journey of growth and self realization in many ways. Simon's has been a place where I really felt appreciated by customers. I could name a couple dozen people, but I really appreciate so many of them. I will miss the espresso drinkers the most. Especially the ones who have been with me since the tastings way back when. You know who you are. The people I see everyday who challenge me to keep going, pour it left handed, and challenge me to come up with effective descriptors for a new espresso. The people who tipped me well for pulling a good shot, gave me sox tickets, or just said 'Jaime has high standards'. The people who complimented me for my latte art and my passion. For everyone who told me thank you or complimented me, I say thank you.
It's been one wild ride in Cambridge, MA. I enjoyed it on my side of the counter and hope everyone enjoyed it on the other. I guess this is leading to something quite obvious at this point. I gave Simon my notice the other day. Another three weeks at the most linear coffee shop in Boston and I'm just a memory. Stop in and say hi, get a double espresso and catch up. Wow. It's been a lot of fun and I will miss it.
Watch the blog for news. Judson, Silas, Hong, and I are planning some things with the support of Ben and Asim. I am looking forward to regional competitions and to meeting up with RichW, ChrisO, AndrewB, the Revered Cho... and getting a chance to bring my friends to this event to absorb the atmosphere and meet their peers. Maybe sometime I will finally see JasonH in a competition, and who knows what is yet to come. It's all wide open from here and I am anxiously looking forward.
-Jaime
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:30 PM 6 Comments
I came to Simon's by way of luck really. It was close to my apartment and I needed something to fill the extra hours. I was working another job full time and took it on part time because it was right in front of my house. After a few months I was working @ Simon's full time. Somewhere along there I got the bug. Pouring through sites like coffeegeek and blogs like Tacy's. I really owe Mark Prince a lot for that site. It gave me a lot of information once you sort through the noise. It is the ultimate resource for the beginner. Tacy too has been a large influence on a lot of us. His snarky opinions and rants are often more true than not. His willingness to challenge things most people consider sacred... well maybe I got a little bit of that in me too... Sometimes it took me longer than I'd like to admit to find out how right he often was.
I want to thank Nick Cho and Michelle Campbell and the people who do the competitions and the BGA. I really defer to those who put the highlight on those who really care about their craft. Nick, who I thought might be a bit of a joker for hanging out with people like Jay :) it turns out is a pretty decent guy whether he knows it or not. The revered Cho.. hehe, why not? If it weren't for those competitions, I wouldn't be blogging about all the details that fire me up. I wouldn't be trying to create other passionate barista. I wouldn't have the voice I have today. It was those competitions where I really found some friends. Ben and Asim supported me and fired me up to 'go get kicked around in the competitions... because this is part growing pains... and because this is the path I have chosen so it's sooner or later.' They both stuck by me when I was getting little help from anyone else. Ben's words in particular were a piece of foreshadowing. It was at that time I found out simply put who my friends were. Ben is still what I consider to be my strongest supporter and I don't over look that or underappreciate it. My friends Judson and Silas, my conscience and my palate. Hong, my support and my foundation. I feel lucky in so many ways. The people I have worked with, Simon, Andy, Colleen, Dragana, Maric, Denez, Alexis, Kristin, Brett, and Jin. It's been cool knowing each and every one of them and I picked up somethng from all of them.
There is one more though. Peter Lynagh of Terroir. He had a great influence on my initial development in coffee. His influence is a big part of why I can't enjoy muddy coffee and crave clarity from my coffee. We may be at odds at times personally but I will always fall on his side of the fence when it comes to green quality. I appreciate that in many ways I can't express to him. Sometimes you have to have some distance to get perspective on things though.
I really feel like I have been a part of something special these last two years. A journey of growth and self realization in many ways. Simon's has been a place where I really felt appreciated by customers. I could name a couple dozen people, but I really appreciate so many of them. I will miss the espresso drinkers the most. Especially the ones who have been with me since the tastings way back when. You know who you are. The people I see everyday who challenge me to keep going, pour it left handed, and challenge me to come up with effective descriptors for a new espresso. The people who tipped me well for pulling a good shot, gave me sox tickets, or just said 'Jaime has high standards'. The people who complimented me for my latte art and my passion. For everyone who told me thank you or complimented me, I say thank you.
It's been one wild ride in Cambridge, MA. I enjoyed it on my side of the counter and hope everyone enjoyed it on the other. I guess this is leading to something quite obvious at this point. I gave Simon my notice the other day. Another three weeks at the most linear coffee shop in Boston and I'm just a memory. Stop in and say hi, get a double espresso and catch up. Wow. It's been a lot of fun and I will miss it.
Watch the blog for news. Judson, Silas, Hong, and I are planning some things with the support of Ben and Asim. I am looking forward to regional competitions and to meeting up with RichW, ChrisO, AndrewB, the Revered Cho... and getting a chance to bring my friends to this event to absorb the atmosphere and meet their peers. Maybe sometime I will finally see JasonH in a competition, and who knows what is yet to come. It's all wide open from here and I am anxiously looking forward.
-Jaime
Labels: barismo
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 10:30 PM 6 Comments
Monday, August 14, 2006
Going full circle...
Ben did his full intro post as a new contributor to the blog(AKA Open Barista Project)and I realize I never introduced myself.
My name is Jaime.
I started working at Simon's in Cambridge about 2 years ago. Simply put, it was a block from my apartment at the time. I had no interest in coffee. In fact, I thought coffee was a nasty habit and avoided it like the plague. I just applied because it was convenient (part time job) and the place I was working at was a train wreck of bickering ex's who got into the food business because of misguided reasons.
I'm a picky person. I try to make things happen. I don't know when to leave things alone and like to tinker. I can also be very stubborn and abrasive. When I first got into Simon's there were some serious personalities to deal with, serious lack of direction, and general confusion about a lot of things. I knew nothing of coffee, so I couldn't speak about the drinks at that time. As I got training on the line, I realized something. This shouldn't taste so bad. I mean, why are so many people drinking this if it is so horrible. I then began to set out to figure out what was wrong here. Why did the espresso taste so bad?
At first, I thought it was me. It must be my lack of skills or in the very least some little bit of information I had missed. I searched for help from the roaster at the time. They came in and gave us a sales pitch about the company when all we wanted was training. I wasn't feeling good. I started paying attention to the roasts coming in for espresso. I noticed one week it was oily, dry the next and very inconsistent in how it looked. This set Simon into motion and I was given permission to search out comparable espresso options. I scoured the internet for information. Logging everything from coffee geek to espresso research and expressivo. It was on coffee geek that I locked into Gimme, Intelligentsia, and Metropolis. Another worker suggested barrington coffee. Simon preferred Gimme and I preferred Metropolis. We narrowed it down to those two. It would come down to who could get us brewers and service. I still have a lot respect for Tony and Jeff at Metroplois for the personal way they handled themselves but fate would intervene. It was as we were evaluating these coffees that I sent an email to the enigma that is Peter Lynagh(who in all sincerity, I respect a great deal) at Terroir. I wanted to sample the Terroir coffees but really thought they were too expensive to sell at Simon's. He promptly and with little discussion sent John Flynn down from Terroir with some samples. We were sold. The espresso tasted good. It really tasted good. It was not long after that we switched to Terroir.
At that time, and after some personel changes, I became the manager at Simon's. I convinced Simon to change grinder blades, change bad habits, and begin focussing on quality as a theme of the business. Our focus on quality and struggles with the old Rancilio HX led us to grabbing a 4G LM and a new grinder. We began serving guest espresso and focussing training on only the full time people.
Our first three months with Terroir was rough. We couldn't figure out the drip coffees and we were losing lots of customers. Simon knew there was a transition period but the weird thing was espresso sales climbed and continued to climb whereas drip sales took a hit and diverged. When things stabalized, we were doing 3/4 of our coffee as espresso drinks and selling lots of straight shots. From 3 a day to 3 dozen a day. After a good struggle and lots of tinkering, the drip coffees regularly sing. I learned how to diagnose them and adjust the brews to get the most. Simon is learning too and we are very happy with the drip from Terroir. Simon is now investing in upgrading his grinders to Mazzer majors and the first one arrives next week. Overall business is up and things were looking good since the Globe Article...
No wait, go back a bit... The one turning point for me personally had something to do with my cohort Ben here on barismo.com. I met Ben through a thread on CG. We were both starting to get hard core about coffee. It's hard to pin it down exactly, but he was the first kindred soul I met in this espresso fanatacism. We were able to share knowledge and expand our experiences together. It would eventually lead to Asim who was the guy with all the cool toys and Judson (the scenster barista) becoming part of our regular group. Hong (the chef) regularly comes and we are about to invite two more (professional barista and hopefully)regulars to the group. Sometimes work mates and friends will drop in but we are now very clear these days that it's about having fun and making friends and the coffee is the medium.
Tired as usual but happy that I got the support of my friends.
-Jaime
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:29 AM 3 Comments
Ben did his full intro post as a new contributor to the blog(AKA Open Barista Project)and I realize I never introduced myself.
My name is Jaime.
I started working at Simon's in Cambridge about 2 years ago. Simply put, it was a block from my apartment at the time. I had no interest in coffee. In fact, I thought coffee was a nasty habit and avoided it like the plague. I just applied because it was convenient (part time job) and the place I was working at was a train wreck of bickering ex's who got into the food business because of misguided reasons.
I'm a picky person. I try to make things happen. I don't know when to leave things alone and like to tinker. I can also be very stubborn and abrasive. When I first got into Simon's there were some serious personalities to deal with, serious lack of direction, and general confusion about a lot of things. I knew nothing of coffee, so I couldn't speak about the drinks at that time. As I got training on the line, I realized something. This shouldn't taste so bad. I mean, why are so many people drinking this if it is so horrible. I then began to set out to figure out what was wrong here. Why did the espresso taste so bad?
At first, I thought it was me. It must be my lack of skills or in the very least some little bit of information I had missed. I searched for help from the roaster at the time. They came in and gave us a sales pitch about the company when all we wanted was training. I wasn't feeling good. I started paying attention to the roasts coming in for espresso. I noticed one week it was oily, dry the next and very inconsistent in how it looked. This set Simon into motion and I was given permission to search out comparable espresso options. I scoured the internet for information. Logging everything from coffee geek to espresso research and expressivo. It was on coffee geek that I locked into Gimme, Intelligentsia, and Metropolis. Another worker suggested barrington coffee. Simon preferred Gimme and I preferred Metropolis. We narrowed it down to those two. It would come down to who could get us brewers and service. I still have a lot respect for Tony and Jeff at Metroplois for the personal way they handled themselves but fate would intervene. It was as we were evaluating these coffees that I sent an email to the enigma that is Peter Lynagh(who in all sincerity, I respect a great deal) at Terroir. I wanted to sample the Terroir coffees but really thought they were too expensive to sell at Simon's. He promptly and with little discussion sent John Flynn down from Terroir with some samples. We were sold. The espresso tasted good. It really tasted good. It was not long after that we switched to Terroir.
At that time, and after some personel changes, I became the manager at Simon's. I convinced Simon to change grinder blades, change bad habits, and begin focussing on quality as a theme of the business. Our focus on quality and struggles with the old Rancilio HX led us to grabbing a 4G LM and a new grinder. We began serving guest espresso and focussing training on only the full time people.
Our first three months with Terroir was rough. We couldn't figure out the drip coffees and we were losing lots of customers. Simon knew there was a transition period but the weird thing was espresso sales climbed and continued to climb whereas drip sales took a hit and diverged. When things stabalized, we were doing 3/4 of our coffee as espresso drinks and selling lots of straight shots. From 3 a day to 3 dozen a day. After a good struggle and lots of tinkering, the drip coffees regularly sing. I learned how to diagnose them and adjust the brews to get the most. Simon is learning too and we are very happy with the drip from Terroir. Simon is now investing in upgrading his grinders to Mazzer majors and the first one arrives next week. Overall business is up and things were looking good since the Globe Article...
No wait, go back a bit... The one turning point for me personally had something to do with my cohort Ben here on barismo.com. I met Ben through a thread on CG. We were both starting to get hard core about coffee. It's hard to pin it down exactly, but he was the first kindred soul I met in this espresso fanatacism. We were able to share knowledge and expand our experiences together. It would eventually lead to Asim who was the guy with all the cool toys and Judson (the scenster barista) becoming part of our regular group. Hong (the chef) regularly comes and we are about to invite two more (professional barista and hopefully)regulars to the group. Sometimes work mates and friends will drop in but we are now very clear these days that it's about having fun and making friends and the coffee is the medium.
Tired as usual but happy that I got the support of my friends.
-Jaime
Labels: barismo
¶ Jaime van Schyndel @ barismo 12:29 AM 3 Comments
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
A Retrospective by coffee_monkey
First of all, let me appologize for my crappy writing style. I am not a writer. I am an engineer who likes to use passives and long sentences. I also have the tendency to deviate from the main discussion for time to time... So if this bothers you... then that is just too bad!
Anyway... For my first post, I thought it will be nice for me to take a quick look back on my "history" with the whole espresso thing. It will give you a good idea of where I came from and how my current views toward coffee have formed.
I think for most ppl, coffee + internet = coffeegeek. Yup, I started out as a coffeegeek as well. Looking back to my old posts, the first one I wrote was on April 23, 2004 asking to purchase a non-pressurized portafilter.
Actually let me step back a bit... My obsession with coffee started in late 2003/early 2004. I was looking for a new hobby to do and for some odd reason, I decided coffee is cool (don't remember, don't know why). But I didn't want "normal" coffee. I wanted the good stuff. So, as any good consumer does, I went online and read.... I ended up with a Bialetti Brikka 3 cup , a Bodum "fake froather", and started to use stored roasted, store-ground Allegro that I got from Whole Foods (I think was still Freshfields back then). The mokapot makes some pretty nice strong drinks, and with milk, it tasted much better than any drip stuff. This was the time when I "found" coffeegeek.
When I first read coffeegeek, I thought all the ppl on that forum were insane. I mean, who in the right mind would call a $250 grinder "cheap" (Rocky), let alone using one that looks like a monster and costs a bundle (Mini). I decided I WILL NOT get an espresso machine because it costs too much (CG mantra = good grinder + cheap machine = sucess!), but will get a nice grinder to improve my coffee. After a long struggle, I bought a Maestro Plus and it was a very expansive grinder for me back then. I never spend so much on coffee stuff and was really disappointed at the piece of plastic toy I got for $150. Nevertheless, fresh ground stuff at home really tastes nice.
As my coffee improved, so did my appetite. The next step was home roasting so within a couple of months, I had a freshroast +8 and a few pounds of greens from sweet marias. I also started to read coffeegeek religiously and the desire of getting an espresso machine grew everyday.
I finally broke down and upon much research, the cheapest "solution" I arrived at was getting an old Estro Vapore (aka Starbucks Barista) from ebay. I got mine for $80 and aside from some minor rust on the frame, the unit I got was clean and functional. I did all the research I could to get the most out of this thing (unpressurized portafilter, temp surfing, etc) and realize that I finally have to face what I was trying to avoid when I got my mokapot - a serious grinder.
So, more money was charged on the credit card and shortly after the Estro Vapore, I have a Rocky doserless. And then all hell break loose. Soon after the setup was changed to an Isomac Rituale (E61 HX) and a used Super Jolly. I also bought just about any form of coffee maker including a Hario vaccum pot, a Bodum french press, a vietnamese coffee maker, a Presto drip maker, and most recently, an Aeropress. The only (worthwhile) thing I don't have is a manual drip and a ice-drip.
So where was I... yeah, coffeegeek. So you see, coffeegeek was a big influence on me. I have gained a lot of information from it. HOWEVER, I felt that I also gained a lot of mis-information from it, and did not realize this until I stepped outside of the online-world.
You see, back then, espresso to me is all about getting that 1 ~ 1.5 oz double restretto. In my head, it should taste thick, syrupy, chcolatey, smooth and SEXY (sorry... a little inside joke...). I mean, that was what EVERYONE was talking about on coffeegeek, so it must be right, right? And I worked very hard toward that. The shots from Vivace and Zoka when I visited Seattle in Summer of 04 further re-enforced the idea what "god shots" should be like.
With the purchase of my "nice setup", I went on to try many of the famous online blends: Vivace's dolce, Zoka's paladino, Coffee Emergency's code brown, Intelly's black cat, Cafe Fresco's Ambrosia, and Terroir's Northern. Even though I struggle with making great shots as I refine my skills, I manage to produce many drinkable shots from most blends. The only oddball from the lineup was Terroir's coffee. No matter what I try, I could not make it taste good. It was very sour and thin and shared none of the traits of other blends. It really puzzled me as it was quite well recieved online. Then an opportunity came along in spring of 05. I attended the first (and only) espresso seminar at Terroir and was really shocked at the difference of Nothern pulled at the warehouse versus what I tasted at home. I learned that my brew temp was too high, my dose too much, and my tamp too hard. I also learned that espresso can taste good at a full 2oz, medium body, and with tons of acidity.
But this experience also confused me. Because to get to that cup, I have to abandon "THE WAY" of making espresso as learned from coffeegeek. That is, overfill and leveled dose is good. Bigger basket and more coffee is good. 1.5 oz, thick, drippy ristretto is good. Chocolatey, smooth, non-acidic is good. Terroir's Northen is none of that!
I played around with Terroir's Northern a little bit more, but ultimately abandoned it since it was too difficult to repeat my experience at the Acton warehouse. Plus it tasted too different than all the other espresso I had previously tried and maybe it was not to my taste. So I continued to work on my ristretto style pulls in hope to get to those "coffeegeek god shots".
Then I met Jaime. It was the definitive turning point of my espresso hobby. At our first meeting, I tasted something that blew my mind. An espresso shot that actually matches the flowery descriptions on the bag!! An espresso that actually had multi-layers of taste yet smooth from start to finish. An espresso that tasted good and it was a full double?! It was at this exact moment that I realize I have been doing it all wrong all these times because the same exact bean tasted like crap on my home machine. For the first time, I have a "real world" benchmark to work with instead of the imaginative, description words online.
Since then, it's been an exciting journey. His pro-perspective helped me to advance my knowledge in understanding, brewing, and tasting coffee; and my home-perspective helped him to see more things outside the shop. And that is what I hope to bring to the blog. A home user's candid perspective that the pros might not have see from their environment. I also look forward to test/experience many of the things written online. Because.. as there is much good information online, there are also MANY mis-information that could lead many down the wrong way.
Btw, is the celebrated overdose ristretto style wrong? Not really... it depends on the coffee...
¶ Ben Chen @ barismo 9:04 PM 3 Comments
First of all, let me appologize for my crappy writing style. I am not a writer. I am an engineer who likes to use passives and long sentences. I also have the tendency to deviate from the main discussion for time to time... So if this bothers you... then that is just too bad!
Anyway... For my first post, I thought it will be nice for me to take a quick look back on my "history" with the whole espresso thing. It will give you a good idea of where I came from and how my current views toward coffee have formed.
I think for most ppl, coffee + internet = coffeegeek. Yup, I started out as a coffeegeek as well. Looking back to my old posts, the first one I wrote was on April 23, 2004 asking to purchase a non-pressurized portafilter.
Actually let me step back a bit... My obsession with coffee started in late 2003/early 2004. I was looking for a new hobby to do and for some odd reason, I decided coffee is cool (don't remember, don't know why). But I didn't want "normal" coffee. I wanted the good stuff. So, as any good consumer does, I went online and read.... I ended up with a Bialetti Brikka 3 cup , a Bodum "fake froather", and started to use stored roasted, store-ground Allegro that I got from Whole Foods (I think was still Freshfields back then). The mokapot makes some pretty nice strong drinks, and with milk, it tasted much better than any drip stuff. This was the time when I "found" coffeegeek.
When I first read coffeegeek, I thought all the ppl on that forum were insane. I mean, who in the right mind would call a $250 grinder "cheap" (Rocky), let alone using one that looks like a monster and costs a bundle (Mini). I decided I WILL NOT get an espresso machine because it costs too much (CG mantra = good grinder + cheap machine = sucess!), but will get a nice grinder to improve my coffee. After a long struggle, I bought a Maestro Plus and it was a very expansive grinder for me back then. I never spend so much on coffee stuff and was really disappointed at the piece of plastic toy I got for $150. Nevertheless, fresh ground stuff at home really tastes nice.
As my coffee improved, so did my appetite. The next step was home roasting so within a couple of months, I had a freshroast +8 and a few pounds of greens from sweet marias. I also started to read coffeegeek religiously and the desire of getting an espresso machine grew everyday.
I finally broke down and upon much research, the cheapest "solution" I arrived at was getting an old Estro Vapore (aka Starbucks Barista) from ebay. I got mine for $80 and aside from some minor rust on the frame, the unit I got was clean and functional. I did all the research I could to get the most out of this thing (unpressurized portafilter, temp surfing, etc) and realize that I finally have to face what I was trying to avoid when I got my mokapot - a serious grinder.
So, more money was charged on the credit card and shortly after the Estro Vapore, I have a Rocky doserless. And then all hell break loose. Soon after the setup was changed to an Isomac Rituale (E61 HX) and a used Super Jolly. I also bought just about any form of coffee maker including a Hario vaccum pot, a Bodum french press, a vietnamese coffee maker, a Presto drip maker, and most recently, an Aeropress. The only (worthwhile) thing I don't have is a manual drip and a ice-drip.
So where was I... yeah, coffeegeek. So you see, coffeegeek was a big influence on me. I have gained a lot of information from it. HOWEVER, I felt that I also gained a lot of mis-information from it, and did not realize this until I stepped outside of the online-world.
You see, back then, espresso to me is all about getting that 1 ~ 1.5 oz double restretto. In my head, it should taste thick, syrupy, chcolatey, smooth and SEXY (sorry... a little inside joke...). I mean, that was what EVERYONE was talking about on coffeegeek, so it must be right, right? And I worked very hard toward that. The shots from Vivace and Zoka when I visited Seattle in Summer of 04 further re-enforced the idea what "god shots" should be like.
With the purchase of my "nice setup", I went on to try many of the famous online blends: Vivace's dolce, Zoka's paladino, Coffee Emergency's code brown, Intelly's black cat, Cafe Fresco's Ambrosia, and Terroir's Northern. Even though I struggle with making great shots as I refine my skills, I manage to produce many drinkable shots from most blends. The only oddball from the lineup was Terroir's coffee. No matter what I try, I could not make it taste good. It was very sour and thin and shared none of the traits of other blends. It really puzzled me as it was quite well recieved online. Then an opportunity came along in spring of 05. I attended the first (and only) espresso seminar at Terroir and was really shocked at the difference of Nothern pulled at the warehouse versus what I tasted at home. I learned that my brew temp was too high, my dose too much, and my tamp too hard. I also learned that espresso can taste good at a full 2oz, medium body, and with tons of acidity.
But this experience also confused me. Because to get to that cup, I have to abandon "THE WAY" of making espresso as learned from coffeegeek. That is, overfill and leveled dose is good. Bigger basket and more coffee is good. 1.5 oz, thick, drippy ristretto is good. Chocolatey, smooth, non-acidic is good. Terroir's Northen is none of that!
I played around with Terroir's Northern a little bit more, but ultimately abandoned it since it was too difficult to repeat my experience at the Acton warehouse. Plus it tasted too different than all the other espresso I had previously tried and maybe it was not to my taste. So I continued to work on my ristretto style pulls in hope to get to those "coffeegeek god shots".
Then I met Jaime. It was the definitive turning point of my espresso hobby. At our first meeting, I tasted something that blew my mind. An espresso shot that actually matches the flowery descriptions on the bag!! An espresso that actually had multi-layers of taste yet smooth from start to finish. An espresso that tasted good and it was a full double?! It was at this exact moment that I realize I have been doing it all wrong all these times because the same exact bean tasted like crap on my home machine. For the first time, I have a "real world" benchmark to work with instead of the imaginative, description words online.
Since then, it's been an exciting journey. His pro-perspective helped me to advance my knowledge in understanding, brewing, and tasting coffee; and my home-perspective helped him to see more things outside the shop. And that is what I hope to bring to the blog. A home user's candid perspective that the pros might not have see from their environment. I also look forward to test/experience many of the things written online. Because.. as there is much good information online, there are also MANY mis-information that could lead many down the wrong way.
Btw, is the celebrated overdose ristretto style wrong? Not really... it depends on the coffee...
Labels: barismo
¶ Ben Chen @ barismo 9:04 PM 3 Comments
Wednesday, April 26, 2006