I am a green bean

2006-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

okay. this blog has moved. go here!

Pre-Game Warm-Up

2006-08-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

While we are waiting for the official announcement of the NWRBC, I would like to let ya'all know that there will be a "Pre-Game Warm-up" at Bellissimo Coffee School.

Thursday, August 17th
5:00 pm- 7:00 pm

This will be an informational meeting for all those interested in competing this October in the regional. We will be doing a competition demo, a once over on the score sheets, a Q & A, and (hopefully) a couple World Barista Championship judges on hand to tell you what they are really looking for.

Stumptown thought it would be a great idea to put this on, so that everyone who has never seen a competition before could get an idea of what they are in for.

Be there!!! This is a great opportunity to learn a little, and to get excited for the competition.

Oh, yeah, and we can all get drinks later across the street after we're through.

And by drinks, I mean booze.

Yippee!!!

how the hell are ya?

2006-06-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

So, it's June 2nd now, and I am not sure if I should continue to apologize for my delinquency on the ol' blog, or just move on cause no one is reading anyway.

I could rehash that last month or so and try to make it more interesting than it actually was, but in reality the only highlights were Phuong working a Sat. morning shift, and hearing about Matt Riddle kicking some ass in the WBC.

I finally recieved my membership for the barista guild, but I signed up in D.C. at CoffeeFest. I am not sure why it took so long to get my member info, but I am glad that I am finally on board. To be honest I haven't really heard what the BGA has done lately, but I contacted Teri (my local rep.) and am trying to get the "down low" on the happs.

I have gradiose visions of working with the BGA and turning it into a training powerhouse that motivates the entire service industry (coffee-wise). We'll see.

On a more likely note. Karen Foley has a new magazine out that you all should check out, and does have potential to boost our industry. She is the owner of Imbibe magazine and is the self professed zine of liquid culture. Her publication has the real possibility of reaching all our customers that are not yet customers. Fresh Cup, Barist Mag, Roast... these are all trade pubs and you will not pick em up at your local New Seasons. But you will pick up imbibe.

So here's to Karen. good luck.

more to come, but first...

This is why we work so hard

2006-04-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

I remember listening to NPR last Saturday and Garrison Keillor was talking about the fruits of our labor.

I am not a very good story teller, and I am even worse at telling someone elses stories... but suffice it to say that he was waxing poetic about a man who went into the woods not to go hunting but to relax and read a book... drink a nice bottle of wine and to be by himelf.

I feel a little bit like that man right now.

It is 8:30 at night and I am enjoying a beautiful evening on my front porch. It's about 68 degrees and the light is fading. I live a block off the bustling Mississippi Avenue and I can sit and watch the young couples park in front of my house and walk to the trendy new resaurants and pubs.

Life is good. My dog is off on a run with my darling Sonja and I am left all alone with a glass of Blanton's Single Barrel (thank you Sean) and a bowl of tobacco blended by our local tobacco guru's down at Rich's Cigar Store.

Will my Super Jolly(s) hold up, will out new space be zoned for retail and food service, will I be audited this year? None of this matters right now. My only concern is if I should get up and go inside the house and grab a sweatshirt, or am I really okay with what I have on.... I think I'm okay.

My trip to Seattle two days ago was good. I proabably could have enjoyed myself more if I would have stayed overnight, but it was great to get out of Portland.

On the way there we had a little tire trouble and memories of "A Christmas Carol", ran throught my head. I think it took me a good 10 minutes. A man's man I am not

But we made it to Seattle, and my first stop was to be Victrola. I said a quick hi hello to Daniel and Jodi and plopped down for a cappa for the lady and an americano for myself. I didn't get the name of the lady who made our drinks, but she was very friendly and playful. The coffee.... was great.

The lady and I went to Hopvine down the street and had a good lunch and some brews and strolled by Vivace.

We have been leaving our doors open for the past week, and I have had troubles keeping my grind in line... I have no clue how the boys at the Broadway cart can keep up. It must be a real pain in the arse. But, I guess it's a trade of for getting to work more-or-less outside.

After Vivace my beer buzz and coffee buzz got into a fight, and I have to say I was kinda confused. Should I drink more beer... or drink more coffee. Coffee prevailed and off to Alley 24 we went.

I regret to inform the readers of this sloppy blog that I did not bring my camera with me. The lady had hers and I snapped a few, but I'm not sure of said cameras locale. Maybe I'll post a few when I get a chance.

Suffice to say it was great. I got there to see Bronwen hangin' out having some late luch before her shift.

Now the delima.

Do I get coffee now, or wait 25 minutes until she is on bar.

Solution: both.

A double espresso to tide me over, and a cappa from B to put me away.

Both we delicious... and no I am not saying that in the diplomatic sort of way. Vivace's espresso always intriuges me. I am not going to give you some bullshit about how I discerned all these flavors that really inspired me. No... the thing about Vivace that gets me is how damn thick that espresso is. If I pulled a shot that dense with the Hairbender and at that temp., it would taste like shit. So, IMHO, different is good and Vivace fulfills that.

After Vivace the "Spring Coffee Fling" was waning quickly. I had lost all desire to go to the other bars on my list, and beer became my main priority. What is a boy to do? Ahh yeah.... Elysian IPA here I come.

The rest of the day is of no consequence, so I will not bore any readers with the sundry details of my evening quest to put myself into stupor so that I could sleep the ride home.

Suffice to say that it was a good day off, but I am glad to be home, and to be sitting on my porch.

Good night.

Third Wave is the new "WMD"

2006-04-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

what is a boy to do when it's not competition season?

2006-04-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday... or Saturday to me.

I feel a trip to Seattle coming on.

It's more than a feeling [(echo: more than a feelin') Thank you Boston.]

Its a reality.

Let's see.... Victrola, Vivace (all of them), lay some flowers down next to Hines', go see Jenn Prince at Zoka, egg lighthouse... what am I forgetting?

Pictures will come soon.

gossip gossip

2006-04-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air, and the busy bodies are moving back in forth pollinating minds.

Well, about the rumors... Doesn't everyone know that we want to open another cafe? And sorry to say... Stumptown knows we have the probatino.

The Probatino for us is a big expensive toy. We could not possibly roast production on that thing. If and when we hook it up, it will be to play with coffee and to learn.

I just won a Krups espresso machine while in Charlotte... who wants to be the first one to tell Kevin that I'm opening up my own coffee shop?

And now, our parting shot.

2006-04-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hmm... it sure is a small location.

but it is a good location...

2006-04-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sittin here listening to podcast #32. good times.

It's 6:30 now, and i'm drinking a lagunitas pilsner and pettin the dog (winston). Gawd I wish that I could be better at this whole bloggin stuff. i think about it all the time, but it's a pain in the ass to get online and do it.

there's a lot i could write about. but suffice to say. 2nd place is good. i'm happy, and now our focus is to open a new cafe and roast coffee.

here's a parting image of a few of my favorite people

I suck

2006-02-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, why are you even checking this blog anymore. It seems that I can't update this thing more than once a month.

It turns out that we are in Anthem magazine as the best place in Portland to get coffee. Now, I haven't actually seen the article, but I guess that every month Anthem picks a city around the world and does a little diddy on it, and this month is was ptown. You can't do a piece on a major city in the NW and not mention the coffee scene, and somehow we snuck in. woot.

Later this month Kevin and I are gonna roll out to DC and do the latte art competition there, and check out the Mid-Atlantic regional... and maybe a few monuments. Should be a good time right? It would be nice to win a little dough cause the trip ain't cheap.

In other good news, Fresh Cup Magazine has asked me to write their 9bars column for the rest of the year. The cool thing about it is that it's paid whereas before it wasn't. Now I just hafta figure out what I want to write about...

2006-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

One post in one month. I don't blame you folks of you stopped checking this blog. Lazy lazy... oh, and no wi-fi at my house. Reason being, I moved and if I wanna get online it's at the shop, like right now.

That and the holidays... glad they're over. It makes business do funny things, and one principle that shops like ours rely on is routine. We are busy when people are on their routines, and sparatic when the're not.

But now that things are back to normal, we can move ahead with what we're doing.

(I'm sitting at the bar right now, and just overheard the barista say that we had run out of macchiatto cups!!! How lucky am I to work in a cafe where that is possible... know what I mean?)

So, I promise to keep updating this thing and making it more interesting... so uhh, stay tuned.

Meet Gary

2005-12-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is the first of hopefully quite a few customer profiles. I don't know for sure how in depth I will get, but this is a good starter.

So, uhh... meet Gary. He has been a regular of ours since day one. Every day, he comes in, throws down his dollar and gets a cup for here.

For sure he is a surly old man, and I love it. Gary is a music buff, and could talk you in cirlces about Miles Davis and the like, and he will... just stop by around noon any day of the week.

He is also really into politics and pretty ladies. Gary, can I be like you when I grow up?

And damn it... stop touching the art!

I really haven't forgot about you

2005-12-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

If any of you are wondering why my blog hasn't been updated, it's because there really isn't anything new to report.

But I'll try.

Thanksgiving and the week following gave us a little breath of air. It was a little slower than we were used to, and it allowed us to relax a little behind the bar. But it was only a week, and we are right back in the thick of it.

Today a guys tipped me 20 bucks, that was pretty sweet. He was from San Diego, and is doing work North of Seattle, and strolled by Lighthouse. He evidently chatted them up, and they directed him to come by and check out our shop. Thanks for the referal Lighthouse!

So his deal is that he is traveling back around on business, and is kind of a coffee geek. I mean, the guy has a mazzer super jolly... anyway, I made him a double espresso, then another double, and then a double cappuccino. And this guy wasn't one of "those" coffee guys. You know the ones... they come in and want you to talk to them for an hour... they want tips on brewing better espresso and how to do latte art, which is fine, except that you have a line of drinks to make and other customers to talk to, and they are standing in front of the french press airpot and interupting you when you are trying to work. This guy wasn't like that at all. He seemed well spoken and was very polite without any of the creep stuff. And, as he was about to take off, he stopped back by the bar and thanked me for the time and dropped a 20. Very cool guy, and totally made my day.

We moved the roaster, and the first batch should be rolling out of 'er hopefully before the end of the year.

More to come...

Uhh... yeah

2005-11-18T21:03:00.000-08:00

That last post was created today on the 18th. It was posted by accident as an edit (I guess) to another post.

Long time, no post

2005-11-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

So to shed a little light on my last post: I wrote this nice little bit on Mindy's (cashista) birthday party, and how it was at a speakeasy and how they had absinthe, and how it was really a weird night, but as I submitted my post, blogger locked up and post went bye bye. So if you really want to hear about it, we can go to said speakeasy, and you and I can experience it together.

Moving on.

Kevin (owner), Dan (barista), two other friends, and I went to Sun River, Oregon for a little R&R. It was quite nice and we got to play a little in the snow. Most of our time was spent drinking whiskey and eating really good food. There was a little Sorry (boardgame) session that took place, and my oh my... you would think that Sorry is a nice family game, but try throwing five drunk adults into the mix and see what happens. I am not quite sure if Kevin's gettin' his deposit back. Good times all around, and it was what we needed before heading into the holiday season.

First order of business is finally setting up the roaster. We have rented out the back space behind our shop, which is basically a garage, and threw some heat back there, and ran the gas lines. We had originally planned on running the thing on propane, but at the last minute figured it would be best to go with gas.

It looks like I will be going on a little trip in December for a crash course in roasting. I don't want to say too much right now, but pictures and more info on that will be coming as it happens. For sure it is intimidating to start roasting your own coffee. But I figure passion is a good place to start.

Dan and I went over to Chris's house the other day to play with the GS3, but if you're reading this, you probably already know that as Chris posted all about it on his blog. For sure it is a cool machine and it has a lot of potential as a home machine, and also as a pro machine (in the right setting). I haven't had sufficient time to play with it, so to say that it's worth a test drive is a safe bet. I am not endorsing the product, and I don't want any posts on Chris's site, Home-Barista.com or mine to be viewed that way. I came, I played, I left caffeinated and happy.

DJ Danimal on bar.

A good bad day

2005-11-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Alright.

This is bar far the busiest day we have ever had. We still have three hours to go, and we are already at a new record. It was fun for the most part. Just seeing the door open over and over again, and watching the lines come and go. It's to the point where I don't know a lot of these people anymore... and I'm not getting to know them either because it's too busy to stop and chat.

The Hairbender was rockin yesterday. It was 6 days out off of roast, and was just awesome. Today we started to roll Fridays roast and it was still a bit fresh and was a little frustrating to work with, and when we are that busy, I start getting self-concious about the way the shots taste. I haven't pulled the 'bender at 7 days before, and I don't know how it will do, so I haven't been buying enough to last until then. But I definately don't like pulling it fresher than 3 days. What's a guy to do?
Maybe on tomorrow's order I'll get enough to last us through next Sunday.

In other news... So does everyone remember our pet spider that was in one of my first posts? Well, some fucking asshole snatched him out of the window and threw him outside and killed him. Yeah, that's right... what a prick! I mean, come on, we had a fucking sign hanging right next to the spider with his name on it and everything. So imagine this. Our shop is at capacity with a line to the door. We got four people working behind bar, and just storming through drinks, then Gretchen yells out. "Oh, No!!!" Kevin and I look up from the bar to see this jackass's daughter stomping on the poor thing (after jackass had already killed it). Grethchen went flying from behind the counter and stood at the window just looking at this girl. It took a second or two for us to figure out what happened, and then we all just kinda stopped and stared. I was so fucking irate that some asshole like that could just drive in from the 'burbs, give us tons of shit while ordering, and then go and kill our spider. Kevin took a minute or two to talk to the tough guy, and pointed out how much of an asshole he is. Guess what, Ingrate... you are our worst customer we have ever had, and you will not be drinking here again.

You, sir, are a douche.

Sunday, Seattle

2005-11-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Yay... latte art. Congrats to Lindsay from Artigiano... they just keep on taking first in Seattle... I hope they don't come down to Vegas next year. Chris showed up, and took home second. And some no namer from the Albina Press took third. Uhh, I mean, Nate (a.k.a. Nasty) went up and expected just to hang out in Seattle and the next thing you know he walks away with 250 in his pocket.

So, yeah, I had a lot of fun in Seattle, and it probably had something to do with the 2 wise-asses I was with. I also want to give another shout-out to Andrew Barnett for helping me big time. Dan and I thoroughly enjoyed your words of wisdom at the Elysian Brewery. Also, I want to thank Stumptown, Hines, the SCAA, judges, runners, sponsors, and Brent @ Crema for making this event possible. I look forward to my next visit up there.

Saturday, Seattle

2005-10-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

A big applause for Jenn Prince, who won this Saturday. She is a wonderful woman, and I am glad that she is honored with the title.

After the championship was over, it was time to cruise Seattle.

I am so used to being in my own shop, usually working, and never really getting to enjoy the product of my passion. Even on my days off, when I come in to get a cup, I am working. No matter how many people we have on, there is something to do, and I find myself helping with it. I miss just coming into an anonymous place and sitting for an hour. I would buy my double espresso (french press back) and enjoy just being. Watching people coming in and out, drifting from one distraction to the other. Not talking. Listening. Breathing in what the city has to offer. Coffee shops, for me, were more than a "second living room". They were a catalyst to my senses.

Enter Victrola.

I honestly don't know what my fascination is with Victrola, maybe it will be apparent to me by the end of this post, as I work it out.

The space welcomes me, and well, they welcome me. On Saturday I went there and drank coffee.
A wonderful macchiatto(sp) made by Rebecca.
I sat outside, and watched Seattle stroll by. Nobody knew my name. I didn't have to stir the french-press, fix the register tape, or grab more milk from the back fridge. Instead, I just sat there.

Thank you.

Clover

2005-10-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

It's tough to say whether this will be the brewing device in the future. Everyone seems to like it enough, but I couldn't really give it a whirl. I had a cold and couldn't taste jack... (which is great when you're competing). It is quite an impressive device and a lot of hard work went into it's production. It looks like I'll get another chance to taste coffee from her, as a local roaster that we all know and love will have one in their possession for a few days.

And of course a big thanks to Tony, Jen, Chris... and all the other Vickies that helped make the V2 happen.

V2

2005-10-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

Dan, Nate and I rolled up to Victrola 2, to check out their new home and see the clover.

David was rockin' the Synesso. It was cold out, and he hadn't pulled shots in a while that afternoon. He pulled something like 20 shots for us, till he felt it was just right. Gotta be tough pulling shots outside.

Friday, Seattle

2005-10-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

Jenn Prince rocked the house the first day of the NWRBC

Practice makes perfect

2005-10-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

The last several nights before competition are always the roughest. My mood varies from excitement to burn-out. That, and to be honest, my pallet can only handle so much, which means there's no real use tasting anything after the first hour or so. It's either that, or I just suck!

Last night was good though. Dan and Nate practiced for a bit for the latte art competition, and after they took off I started setting up. The coffee I am using for my sig. drink has been tasting a bit different the last few batches, and I was delighted that it was back to where it was. Talking to Andrew Barnett on the phone put me at ease, as he said he would fix the problem, and he did!!! I have no clue what he changed, and I guess I won't understand all that till I start roasting.

Oh, I guess I let the cat out of the bag. I am using someone elses coffee for competition (THE SHOCK!!! THE HORROR!!! BILLY YOU'RE SUCH A BASTARD!!!)

Really though, I think using someone elses beans really represents our shop. We're always running different blends through, and it shows our flexibility as a retailer. I mean, when you are roasting, you use your own coffee, but retailers... who says that they can only use one?

Having said that... two more nights of practicing, here I go.

What a night

2005-10-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Whew! Saturday night was a blast. Tons of people showed up, and we never got shut down. The free bar, of course, was a hit. It took a couple days setting everything up. Kevin lives in a warehouse and we made the main level the blue room, and the downstairs the red room. From what I hear putting up all the blue lights was a pain in the arse.

We had the dj's up on the loft area of the main room. This way the crowd could look up and see the dj spinning away.
The only bad part was that the morning came way too early. A big thanks to everyone who showed up and made our 1 year birthday party a success.

See ya next year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALBINA PRESS!!!

2005-10-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Damn! One year ago today the Press sold it's first cup of coffee. So much has happened and so many friends have been made. A year and a week ago I wasn't sure if I was moving to Chicago or Vancouver, B.C. and I certainly wouldn't have thought that I would be working in NoPo. And for damn sure I didn't think a year ago, after starting up the joint that we would be as busy as we are now.

I am so effing proud!!!

So what do we do? We close early today. 2pm. And what's kinda sad is that we were on record pace for highest sales... oh well... our customers will be back tomorrow.

But now it's time to party.

If you be in the vacinity of 3903 N. Michigan tonight, be sure to check out our 3 d.j.s and full bar. Come by early, before we get shut down!!!

Come get some.

Closing shift tonight

2005-10-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since my last post. This worries me sometimes I get excited about stuff, but only for a week, and then it's over. Granted there are some excpetions, coffee namely, but haven't been home much lately. The Press has basically been partying the last few days. This time of year always seems to bring out big parties. There are three guys that live a few blocks behind the shop, their party was Friday... and on Saturday another regular was throwing down "Paul's Free-Fall, Free-For-All". I tell ya, Partying and then doing record weekends makes life a little difficult. But really, can I complain?

Speaking of partying, The Albina Press is having it's one year anniversary bash this Saturday. I am trying to get Kevin to open late on Sunday, but I don't think that'll swing. It's just gonna suck for all of us working the next day... that is unless all our customers are hung-over and don't come in till the afternoon.

The weekend after that is regionals... and I don't even need to mention the parties there. Like I said, 'Tis the season to party.

Oh, then there's Halloween.

Anyway, back to coffee.

Besides having nil sleep, Saturday was a very difficult day to be a barista. We had blown threw our early week delivery of coffee, and I was pulling Friday's roast. Which was a bitch. That, and this time of year, I find that you have to open the grind up huge when you first open, and then you spend the next 6 hours tightening it back down. I get frustrated when the coffee isn't at it's best. Basically, you'll know if the coffee is pulling easy if I am working the line while on bar. Everything is flowing smooth, almost every shot is perfect and I can relax and chat with everyone.

If I'm not doing that, all is not well. Rough pulling days take all my attention, I am watching every shot closely, and I don't ever seem to lift my head up. People will think that I'm in a bad mood, and granted I might occassionaly throw a demitasse across the room, but really I'm just focused on what I'm doing.

I was having a pint with Danimal (barista) the other night, and he said that I focus so much sometimes on the coffee, that I lose sight of the people. I knew it was true when he said it, and it kinda made me sad. I mean, it is about the coffee, but really it's about the people. That's one thing I admire about that guy, there could be a line out the door, and he would be mellow. His coffee could suffer from it, but he's taking care of the people.

That could be why I enjoy working with him so much, we kinda balance each other out.

Yes, I am a sentimental fool.

I am closing tonight. This means a busy few hours, and then it will be time to crank up the temp. of the machine and play till late tonight.

Stop by, maybe you'll get a sip of my sig. drink.

Playing with coffee

2005-10-14T00:31:00.000-07:00

I played with a bit of coffee today. It's Andrew Barnett's coffee from Ecco Caffe. It's his espresso blend that you've heard numerous people talk about. For sure it's the shi... stuff.

One thing that I enjoy about The Press is that we're always playing with coffee. We'll grab a few pounds from here and there, and run it through. Why?
Well, it's because we can.

The problem...

2005-10-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

The problem with a public blog is that the public gets to read it.

There are some things that I want to post, but I don't want to be misunderstood.

Better wait till later.

So uhh, did anyone catch the game tonight?

Saturday: Mission Accomplished

2005-10-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Stumptown stopped by and dropped off some fliers for the regionals.

Word on the street is that big D himself is competing. I can't express how intimidating this is. I mean, the guy has been a role model of sorts for me. He is a self made success and in six years, he has become one of the most influential roasters in the U.S. So to compete against a man like him is very humbling for me. I know many people will make the extra effort to watch him compete, and you all better get ready to learn something.

I stopped by Stumptown Downtown before my evening practice sess'. Kyle showed up a short time later
and shared a beer with me. I guess he isn't competing this year. Which is good news for me, cause he won the regional last year. Instead he is going to judge, which I gotta say, I am envious of him. I can't wait till I get this competition business out of my blood so I can judge. It seems a little more laid back (meaning you aren't practicing for several weeks or months before you do it), and I think it is great to have more barista as judges... know what I mean?

Speaking of practicing, it gives me a chance to play with our scace device. We set the Linea at a lower temp for the Hairbender, but for competition I ramp it up to 200 to simulate the competition machines. Oh, and I finally got a sig drink that I am happy with. I'm gonna keep it a little under wraps right now, but the most important thing for me is that it actually tastes good. Time will tell how I do, but as Duane once told me, "Just go and represent!"

It's my Friday

2005-10-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

I get Wednesdays and Thursdays off, so today is my Friday. I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, going to Gravy for breakfast, stopping by the shop to see the late morning madness, then enjoying a double of the Sidamo. I'll sit there for a while and read the paper (comics) , check on some forums, then go climbing, maybe take a nap, and then finding some lunch. After lunch I might wander somewhere with a book read for a while and generally waste my afternoon until I swing by the shop and harass my baristas. After that I will squander my early evening until I can rationalize drinking some beer at Amnesia Brewing before settling into a nice beer coma and then start it all over again on Thursday. And yes, in that order.

I love my weekends.

Today was a busy day again. So far it has been 5 straight record days at the Press. All the employees are in good moods, they really seem to enjoy the business. It's great to see my co-workers interested in our numbers, and seeing a desire by them for us to continue to grow. All my baristas are making me pleased to be their trainer. Today they were just pulling shots and doing taste comparisons with other shots and just trying to get to know the Sidamo. I was sitting at the bar watching them work and having fun when I snapped this photo. I am really blessed to work with a crew like ours.

On the other end of things, our dishwasher is broken. Some sort of short. I saw a blue spark leap from the damn thing when Kevin (The Man) turned it on. We both jumped back a few feet, and decided it would be best to do without the washer tomorrow. We got someone coming in to look at it, but until then it's to-go cups for everyone (save espressos and macchiatos...machiattos....hmmm.... how do you spell that damn drink?)

Nate and Dan are getting excited about competing in the latte art competition. I think they really want to do the Press proud. And they will, regardless of how well they do.

3:30 on a Monday

2005-10-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

3:30 on a Monday, and I am beat. We have been slammed for four straight days now, and I am ready for some sleep. Only thing is that I gotta work on my sig. drink and try some stuff out tonight. Sig. drinks have to be my least favorite thing about competitions. I feel that if I can come up with something innovative and actually tastes good, then I have a chance at regionals. It's just so stressful (boohoo, I know).

A coffee guy named Brad from Vancouver, B.C. stopped by the shop as I was on my way out the door. He owns a shop up there called wicked cafe. He also is a member of coffeed.com, which is probably my favorite bulletin board right now. Some good folks runnin' the board and contributing there.

We have been pushing the new Ethiopia Sidamo from Stumptown as our Single Origin (SO) espresso. It just friggin rocks. When we serve SO we serve it only as an espresso, machiatto, or as an americano (as long as it's at least a double in a 12 oz.) The smell of Strawberries is undeniable as we prep the shot. You could be at the register and smell it. It also has a nice cream aroma to it... so it's kinda like Strawberry shortcake... or a Strawberry nutri-grain bar. On the pallet the strawberry is still very intense, but there also seems to be some brightness lurking around. I wonder if some of the extra acidity is because the coffee isn't roasted very dark at all. It is definately a medium roast. (no agtron numbers:( )

Anyway the SO is a delight, and even warranted one customer say it was the best espresso he had ever had.

On a side note, I am thinking about posting a picture of one regular a week, or every few days, with a little bit of info about them. I don't know why exactly, but I see these people every day I work, and putting them on my blog would just seem to make their existence in my life a little more ... a little more... I don't know what... maybe permanent? Who knows, maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't.

Time for a nap.

I was right

2005-10-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

This day was busy indeed. We had our regulars, but there were a lot of people with a Saturday off and nothing to do but go cruise coffee shops. For how busy it was, everything went smoothly. We had four people working and two of us on bar. Good times.

Also, a friend of the shop, Casey Ohngren, came by and dropped off a few shirts that she made. She's owns her own clothing line while she works for the man (Nike)

Oh, and say hi to Gregory. He's been living in our window for months now, and he's getting huge. We saved him once from the window washers. We put him in a paper cup, and when they were done washing we put him back on the window and he went back to work making a web. Sometimes it's the little things.

Article in the Oregonian

2005-10-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

There is a weekly insert in the Oregonian called A&E. Each week they feature anything from new restaurants to top 10 things to do on your day off. This week, it's for 15 shops that can get you wired. One of our employees, Mindy Farley, is on the cover. We were curious as to how the article would look, and how if it will affect business. Right now it's too early to tell, but we're bracing for a strong weekend.

I just hope I don't break it

2005-10-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to roast coffee for a long time, knowing that it was the next step in understanding coffee. We decided to go top-of-the-line. Introducing: Probatino.

There is so much to learn about roasting (thanks for the understatement). It reminds me of four years ago when I stepped behind an espresso machine for the first time. I knew absolutely nothing, but wanted to learn so badly. I can only hope that my learning curve will be the same for roasting. If not, it'll be a while before the public tastes beans from this guy.

Something to go along with my new camera.

2005-10-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

To go along with my new camera we also got a new roaster. Actually, I have planned on making a blog for so long, but lacked the necessary tools to do it. I would have loved to chronicle The Press' opening days until now, but now is better than never. With the roaster arriving today, it gave me the added encouragement to get the project off the ground. So now we all get to see the birth of a roasterie. For good and bad.

Trial run after trial run

2005-10-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

I just bought a new camera. A canon powershot A610. This is the first digital camera I have owned, and the first time I have tried making a blog. So far it has taken me several hours just to figure out how to set everything up. This is the first photo taken. I think it's adequate.