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Thursday, January 22, 2009
NERBC
Nik is getting ready, another practice session today, for competition. We are putting together the support to get him in a good position to deal with his first venture into competition. We are doing our best to give him the worst so when he gets on stage, it will be a bit easier.
Our friends at A&E Roasters may be sending representatives and I think there are more entries we aren't aware of going this year but we will have to wait until the day of competition. barismo may be supporting one more local barista but more on that when it's firm as we have to keep it under wraps because it involves a new account. Simon's is confirmed to not have any competitors and it remains to be seen if other cafes like bloc 11 are going to respond to the influx of area barista this year(yes, I know they read and that's why I asked the question). Even 1369 will be fielding a few competitors so I wonder what the reasons not to show up are?
Competitions are something strange to behold. A stage show you only can experience by competing. On the outside, it looks much more mundane than the boiler it feels like during your fifteen minutes. It may not be for the purists who want to sit around and cup coffee all day, but I will tell you it takes mettle to get up there and I respect those who do. This year, it's good to be new as all the old faces seem to be out f the competition mix this time around. I think that's a good thing because what the competitions need is fresh new faces.
Having been in both the latte art contest and a last minute invite to the USBC a few years ago, I don't revel in competing. The pressure you can put on yourself is intense but worth every bit of stress. Of course, I wasn't saying this after the first round of the USBC, I was cursing the very existence of the thing praying not to make it to the next round. It was afterward, the lessons I learned, and the simple experience of putting myself out there to be judged that I saw a different angle of what it was to compete. You grow up a bit as a professional and that's a good thing. So many of the cafes in our area suffer one simple problem, insulation. They have no larger view than their shop vs another shop down the street set up as some kind of straw man to beat down. A simple illustration of this fact is that some longtime successful cafe owners have finally discovered that single origin and estate coffees do exist.
We all talk about how serious we are about coffee, but the good cafes will find a way of proving it. It might be the mix of coffees served or the flare in serving them, it might be on the competition stage, and it could be by pressing the issue and creating a new coffee bar concept in your region. More on that last teaser soon...
Nik is getting ready, another practice session today, for competition. We are putting together the support to get him in a good position to deal with his first venture into competition. We are doing our best to give him the worst so when he gets on stage, it will be a bit easier.
Our friends at A&E Roasters may be sending representatives and I think there are more entries we aren't aware of going this year but we will have to wait until the day of competition. barismo may be supporting one more local barista but more on that when it's firm as we have to keep it under wraps because it involves a new account. Simon's is confirmed to not have any competitors and it remains to be seen if other cafes like bloc 11 are going to respond to the influx of area barista this year(yes, I know they read and that's why I asked the question). Even 1369 will be fielding a few competitors so I wonder what the reasons not to show up are?
Competitions are something strange to behold. A stage show you only can experience by competing. On the outside, it looks much more mundane than the boiler it feels like during your fifteen minutes. It may not be for the purists who want to sit around and cup coffee all day, but I will tell you it takes mettle to get up there and I respect those who do. This year, it's good to be new as all the old faces seem to be out f the competition mix this time around. I think that's a good thing because what the competitions need is fresh new faces.
Having been in both the latte art contest and a last minute invite to the USBC a few years ago, I don't revel in competing. The pressure you can put on yourself is intense but worth every bit of stress. Of course, I wasn't saying this after the first round of the USBC, I was cursing the very existence of the thing praying not to make it to the next round. It was afterward, the lessons I learned, and the simple experience of putting myself out there to be judged that I saw a different angle of what it was to compete. You grow up a bit as a professional and that's a good thing. So many of the cafes in our area suffer one simple problem, insulation. They have no larger view than their shop vs another shop down the street set up as some kind of straw man to beat down. A simple illustration of this fact is that some longtime successful cafe owners have finally discovered that single origin and estate coffees do exist.
We all talk about how serious we are about coffee, but the good cafes will find a way of proving it. It might be the mix of coffees served or the flare in serving them, it might be on the competition stage, and it could be by pressing the issue and creating a new coffee bar concept in your region. More on that last teaser soon...
Labels: bloc 11, NERBC, Simon's, taste
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 7:14 PM 0 Comments
Saturday, January 10, 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.
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 11:06 PM 0 Comments
Monday, January 05, 2009
FREE espresso and competitions
The free shots are over here on the 10th. This reminds me to mention that Taste is fielding competitors for the Northeast Regional Barista Competition. It takes a lot of personal investment and time so please support them in this endeavor. Oh yeah, did I mention free espresso... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 8:40 PM 1 Comments
The free shots are over here on the 10th. This reminds me to mention that Taste is fielding competitors for the Northeast Regional Barista Competition. It takes a lot of personal investment and time so please support them in this endeavor. Oh yeah, did I mention free espresso... ¶ Jaime van Schyndel 8:40 PM 1 Comments
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Round 10
I had a solid shot of PF at Taste in the AM, headed back to the shop after a brief stop at Simon's to drop off some Nimac Kapeh.
It was one of those days where I decided, again, I needed a hammock at the shop.
Then the snow came.
I ended up calling it a day and wanted to try to get some rest because it's been a long week. A lot of long hours to get roasts out ahead of Christmas. That means a few long days but in the end, so be it. We didn't get into coffee to be romantics, we knew it was work.
Retail sales have been solid but we do have a little extra espresso at the shop this week. If nobody braves the snow to get them, we'll just drink it ourselves. That reminds me, we are working on two new espresso projects.
One project is to rebuild Rudiments. Our initial vision is a roast of 70% Brasil and 30% Guatemala Atitlan, Nimac Kapeh. We finally found the espresso profile for Nimac and it's a hell of a straight shot. I wish some shop would just pick thtat coffee up and serve it as both house espresso and drip. But then... The idea for Rudiments is to be almost a classic North Italian profile done to our tastes. The Brasil is the base and the Nimac is the 'Yirg' profile that sweetens and adds aroma. In barismo fashion, it's clean, but this would be very mellow fruit compared to some of our other versions of Rudiments.
The final espresso is a work in progress called Soma. I am still trying to finesse a third component so it probably won't be finished until post Christmas. More on that later.
I had a solid shot of PF at Taste in the AM, headed back to the shop after a brief stop at Simon's to drop off some Nimac Kapeh.
It was one of those days where I decided, again, I needed a hammock at the shop.
Then the snow came.
I ended up calling it a day and wanted to try to get some rest because it's been a long week. A lot of long hours to get roasts out ahead of Christmas. That means a few long days but in the end, so be it. We didn't get into coffee to be romantics, we knew it was work.
Retail sales have been solid but we do have a little extra espresso at the shop this week. If nobody braves the snow to get them, we'll just drink it ourselves. That reminds me, we are working on two new espresso projects.
One project is to rebuild Rudiments. Our initial vision is a roast of 70% Brasil and 30% Guatemala Atitlan, Nimac Kapeh. We finally found the espresso profile for Nimac and it's a hell of a straight shot. I wish some shop would just pick thtat coffee up and serve it as both house espresso and drip. But then... The idea for Rudiments is to be almost a classic North Italian profile done to our tastes. The Brasil is the base and the Nimac is the 'Yirg' profile that sweetens and adds aroma. In barismo fashion, it's clean, but this would be very mellow fruit compared to some of our other versions of Rudiments.
The final espresso is a work in progress called Soma. I am still trying to finesse a third component so it probably won't be finished until post Christmas. More on that later.
Labels: espresso, poker face, Simon's, taste
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:35 AM 3 Comments
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Espresso Notes: Poker Face and the Espressothon
Saturday, the 13th of December will be Espressothon at Taste in Newton. All day at Taste, there will be two espresso offered up. Noteworthy in that it will be the only place in town you can get both our L. St. and the new blend Poker Face pulled on a Synesso on the same bar. Mark your calendar.
Poker Face is a creation I came up with in cooperation with Nik Krankl, owner of Taste and a serious poker player. Nik was an avid poker player and a published author for Magazines like All In until his new coffee career began. It was from this influence that the name Poker Face came about for this blend. A mix of two vacuum packed coffees, our Kiandu(20%) and our Cardenas (80%).
In one way, it was a throw back to his father's success in the wine industry. An acknowledgment of his father's influence and deference to an exceptional wine his father created, of the same name. Much like the Syrah, this espresso has notes of berries, vanilla, and fruit but with a creamy texture and excellent mouth feel. Looking back before you go forward is something we respect a lot in our choosing names for blends and this is no exception.
Nik now takes this name a bit more literally. As a former barista myself, I understand how difficult it can be to read the espresso drinker. They rarely come out and literally say what they felt. Instead they hold it tight and keep a 'poker face' in regards to their emotions about what they just imbibed.
I have known Nik for a few years now. I can say I knew him when he had aspirations to open a shop across the river. Now he is the owner of a shop in Newton that in time will be the new destination for espresso enthusiasts in our area.
That reminds me that if you live in NY and don't feel like a day trip for espresso, Grumpies will have a version of this on guest through the weekend.
Saturday, the 13th of December will be Espressothon at Taste in Newton. All day at Taste, there will be two espresso offered up. Noteworthy in that it will be the only place in town you can get both our L. St. and the new blend Poker Face pulled on a Synesso on the same bar. Mark your calendar.
Poker Face is a creation I came up with in cooperation with Nik Krankl, owner of Taste and a serious poker player. Nik was an avid poker player and a published author for Magazines like All In until his new coffee career began. It was from this influence that the name Poker Face came about for this blend. A mix of two vacuum packed coffees, our Kiandu(20%) and our Cardenas (80%).
In one way, it was a throw back to his father's success in the wine industry. An acknowledgment of his father's influence and deference to an exceptional wine his father created, of the same name. Much like the Syrah, this espresso has notes of berries, vanilla, and fruit but with a creamy texture and excellent mouth feel. Looking back before you go forward is something we respect a lot in our choosing names for blends and this is no exception.
Nik now takes this name a bit more literally. As a former barista myself, I understand how difficult it can be to read the espresso drinker. They rarely come out and literally say what they felt. Instead they hold it tight and keep a 'poker face' in regards to their emotions about what they just imbibed.
I have known Nik for a few years now. I can say I knew him when he had aspirations to open a shop across the river. Now he is the owner of a shop in Newton that in time will be the new destination for espresso enthusiasts in our area.
That reminds me that if you live in NY and don't feel like a day trip for espresso, Grumpies will have a version of this on guest through the weekend.
Labels: espresso, grumpies, newton ma, poker face, taste
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 1:00 PM 0 Comments
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Taste in Newton, MA
Today, I dropped by my friend Nik's new digs in Newton called Taste. He is taking over a space on Walnut street where it was an existing crepe bar with limited coffee service. Nik is hoping to change the coffee service and is working on upgrades and renovations with an idea of expanding the coffee program to be more progressive. Particularly, an interest in espresso that peaks my curiosity. Of the new additions, Nik scored a nice three group Synesso and is in the beginning stages of building a nice little coffee scene. With a small dedicated staff and continued investment, it looks like it will progress in a good direction.
Having followed Nik for some time (and having an affinity for his grandfather Larry), it's good to see him land in a space where he can start to work out his direction in coffee. I am curious to see how things progress and where he takes his interest. It should be noted, his espresso cup collection is well ahead of expectations.
Something I noticed today while at Taste. We spend so much energy in producing coffee but many of us don't get to see the end product realized. This was part of the realization I had in Guatemala, they had very little perspective of how the product often arrived 'finished' in the cafe. We typically only get to see the customer reaction as a barista and that reaction rarely makes it back through the multitude of people who had a hand in production. I recently have not been behind a counter in a while and I was beginning to lose touch with that relationship and the joy of that exchange. The barista to customer connection made over a product. Sometimes we forget that without that, there is nothing more than a product. Nik has that, a fluid conversationalist, he has an ease in making that connection.
For a good conversation and to see the varying stages of his progression, I recommend a visit or two.
Today, I dropped by my friend Nik's new digs in Newton called Taste. He is taking over a space on Walnut street where it was an existing crepe bar with limited coffee service. Nik is hoping to change the coffee service and is working on upgrades and renovations with an idea of expanding the coffee program to be more progressive. Particularly, an interest in espresso that peaks my curiosity. Of the new additions, Nik scored a nice three group Synesso and is in the beginning stages of building a nice little coffee scene. With a small dedicated staff and continued investment, it looks like it will progress in a good direction.
Having followed Nik for some time (and having an affinity for his grandfather Larry), it's good to see him land in a space where he can start to work out his direction in coffee. I am curious to see how things progress and where he takes his interest. It should be noted, his espresso cup collection is well ahead of expectations.
Something I noticed today while at Taste. We spend so much energy in producing coffee but many of us don't get to see the end product realized. This was part of the realization I had in Guatemala, they had very little perspective of how the product often arrived 'finished' in the cafe. We typically only get to see the customer reaction as a barista and that reaction rarely makes it back through the multitude of people who had a hand in production. I recently have not been behind a counter in a while and I was beginning to lose touch with that relationship and the joy of that exchange. The barista to customer connection made over a product. Sometimes we forget that without that, there is nothing more than a product. Nik has that, a fluid conversationalist, he has an ease in making that connection.
For a good conversation and to see the varying stages of his progression, I recommend a visit or two.
Labels: cafe, newton ma, taste
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 10:00 PM 2 Comments