I have been robbed!

does this happen to you too?

New cafe, new day

Sorry about not posting lately, I've been busy redoing another cafe-in-trouble. I have just got my first shipment of coffee, from the amazing 49th Parallel Roasters, this morning. Thank you Philip! The Epic espresso is wonderful, and I already sold two pounds of it.

I will post something more detailed and meaningful in the next day or so. Some more insight into whats going on here, and maybe some of my plans for this place.

-Ryan

One huge sigh of relief

Being back in Portland is real nice I do have to say, as I sit here with an empty capp. I have realized that I took such things as truly well prepared coffee for granted, and now I have aquired a better appreciation for them. Now I am watching everyone around me prepare for competition, having sets of four cups set-up everywhere, reading and re-reading the rules, getting critical of themselves. But still, everyone is STILL enjoying themselves, not being competitive with each other, but with themselves. Their aim is to improve each other, not to be self-serving, which is to be honest, getting to be a rare attitude to find.

The SCAA conference and USBC is fast approaching us, just 11 days away, the excitement is palpable. I will not be going this year, just not enough time or money to spare, seeing as working will be my main focus. I am looking forward to the fact that a friend of mine will be the BGA representative for this region, and I will definitely enjoy helping her in any way I can.

So everything is slowly returning to normal for once, I was starting to get used to living in bizarro world. Luckily for me there's a place for me to return, and put everything into perspective, work things out, and get back to work. These next few weeks I am just going to bury myself in work so I can get back into the groove of things. I think that working on my cappuccino's for NW will help.

Phoenix on the mind

This Wednesday I will be traveling down to Phoenix to check out Rocket Coffee, to see what all the talk is about, and to have myself a good ol' time in the nice weather. This will be an exciting trip for me, I looking forward to seeing what the desert has in store for me, and maybe seeing Rocket flex their roasting muscles on a blend for myself.

I will add more later, while on the trip and after.

Ryan

Field Trip to NOVO Roastery

Who say’s small means less, when it can mean the difference between a delicately selected, beautiful, full city roasted coffee and a dirty espresso machine. What do I mean? I mean the difference between a smart roaster, and one doesn’t care about what happens to their beans. Whenever you see a company that will sell to just about anybody, doesn’t care about how you prepare it, only cares that your last check didn’t bounce, and you made the minimum 15lb order this month (month??!!). Makes you scared? Right? But there is always a flip side to the coin, and I got to see it in action, right in front of my eyes, and without a self-congratulatory word uttered.

The space is maybe only a thousand square feet and change, divided amongst three separate rooms located in a central part of the city. A few doors down from them is an industrial metal artist, who I must admit, has some very cool stuff outside his door. The only people in the roastery today is Simeom, a very quiet and confident roaster from Ethiopia, and Herb, the PR man and father to Joseph and Jake, the other two masterminds behind NOVO.

The first space I enter, the actual roasting room, where some roasting action is taking place, I meet Simeom and he directs me to next door, where Herb is at. This is office/bean storage/meeting room/anything and everything else room. Herb greets me and we start talking about the facility, and how much expansion they have done, and will need to do soon, as it looks like they’re about to burst at the seams in some places. We look at some pictures of Joseph’s trip to Papua New Guinea, and all the people who where on that trip, which, if pictures can only describe 1% of the amazement, was incredible. Then Simeom comes in, and Herb says a couple jokes, I laugh, Simeom smirks, not even stopping in his quest for labels of some sort. Later I realize that Simeom is a machine, dedicated and efficient, in the few minutes that I watched him work, he is the MAN.

Their roaster is considerably different than most I have seen before. I do not have the words to describe it, but I will say that it does make some darn good coffee in their capable hands. You cannot miss the tubs and tubs of roasted beans against the wall. These will be shipped out the next day, which of course, Herb and I partook of, some Los Lajones Estate made in a Clover just for me. In this space the also have a small cupping and sample roasting lab, which like everything else, is slightly crowded, but has some CoE samples, and the obligatory growing pile of samples sent from farms around the world. A person could get lost here, a playground of Clovers, roasters, espresso machines, and mountains of freshly roasted beans, sounds terrible, right?

Then as get back to office I meet Patrick for first time, again, as we had only meet for a very brief time at the tasting the Friday before. Herb and I speak, he answers a few phone calls, which I think is nice, knowing that when somebody calls, they will get a person on the line, not an answering machine. I know that he needs to get back to work, and that I should go, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. As I say my goodbyes and get into my car, I start to drive away saying to myself, ‘Now that’s how you do it.’

Ryan

Life, by the way of Denver

About 6 weeks ago my wife and I finished packing and left Portland early in the morning, with the nose of our car pointed for Denver. Three days, bad weather, terrible road food, $100 in gas, hazardous roads, blowing snow, and a gallon of wiper fluid was all the stood between us and Denver. After arriving and getting into a hotel, we checked in with our new apartment, and it was to be ready on Saturday, we thought everything was alright. Saturday comes, we go to the apartment complex, sign papers and check out our new apartment, it’s not very nice at all, but we’ll deal. Then we go shopping for some food and supplies, and arrive back at the apartment, walk in, and turn on the lights. Cockroaches are everywhere, hundreds of them, an absolute deal breaker. I call the emergency maintenance line and leave a message, back to the hotel we go, unfortunately nobody calls. This had to been an omen.

Fast forward a week and we’re in a nice new apartment about a mile away from the cockroach filled one.

That is one of the few good things that has happened to us while in Denver, to be as polite as humanly possible. (The only two other things that come to mind are NOVO coffee, and Third Thursdays) I went back to Portland for two weeks to cover a few of my friends’ shifts while she is in Guatemala. That was rather cool, she has good employees, and her customers expect high quality, so I was able actually work the bar, not watering myself down. This is the last time I have worked since the move, and now it’s a month later.

Right now, according to my count, I have had 23 interviews, 0 returned calls, 2 people who said I was hired and then avoid me like the plague, 2 coffee shop owners that hide whenever I enter the building, over 100 phone calls to the above interviewers made, and 0 dollars added to my bank account. At this point I am actually looking at moving back to Portland just to get work, which is sad, there are quite a few people who will hire me, or hire me back in the Portland area.

Now I will wait until the end of the month, and by then I will make my decision. Is it really too much to ask for a few hours here and there, and I want to compete for whatever coffee shop picks me up. I really want to do well, expand my skill base, and elevate the knowledgebase of my customers and educate their palette, making them as happy as possible while making sure the coffee I’m serving is socially and environmentally responsible where possible.

I am going to cut myself short, see that I am rather upset at these circumstances that I find myself in, as I don’t think it is deserved, nor do I think it’s fair either. Now I will go and pick up my wife at work, and drive to Colorado Springs, to drop off film that one of her drivers forgot to drop off, woo hoo……..

Wish me luck (or give me a job, whatever works)!!

Ryan

A Family of Tastes

On the subject of coffee, I enjoy a good tasting, more than a little bit, and I enjoy watching people become amazed by really TASTING coffee for the first time. I really, really enjoy it when you get some amazing coffee and pair it with some very passionate people, then you're in for a real treat.

Just going into one of Novo's cafes can only give you a hint of what they're about, one that you can't quite grasp, its a palpable feeling you get, exciting and calming, all at once. They really do love their coffee, and they get giddy about just serving it to you and watching your reaction at first sip. But today isn't about their cafes, its about whats in the cup, and whats in the cup is very exciting.

The coffee on the menu today is: Tawar (Sumatra), Abeba (Ethiopia), and Los Lajones Estate (Panama), all excellent in their own right, but all very different. We are at their Denver Art Museum locale, and they have kindly set out some goody bags for our enjoyment. (I love swag, and I really love coffee swag.) The event is informal, but quite a few people are dressed up, with two ties in attendance, and three dresses, I'm impressed, but this coffee deserves this type of respect, and I'm all for it. Everyone is happily talking amongst themselves, but not everyone is at ease yet, and they are just looking around, so I talk to to a few of them, and they meld into the group, confident that they're at the right place. There's about 18 people in attendance, not bad for hardly telling anyone, but we, as we are informed, are the guinea pigs for the tasting, and they don't want to do a full dog and pony show and be unprepared.

The tasting starts with a few words from everyone, and introductions are made, we sit and they bring us some ground coffee of each type, we smell each and write down what we think it smells like on some tasting sheets. After this, we mingle, and talk to other tables while they prepare some press pots.

I go and talk to Herb Brodsky, and we sit a little bit removed from the event while we comment on how good it feels to have people enjoying the coffee that his son sourced, and his other son roasted, he must be on cloud nine right now. I'm going to visit the roastery this upcoming Wednesday, now that is a great development.

Now the coffee is coming out and I head back to my seat as the first cup has been served, and the second is coming out, and we get into it. At our table we decided to not have the coffee's labeled, this didn't turn out as well as planned, most people at the table are new to this, but after a bit of coffee wrangling, it all got sorted out, and will be labeled in the future to avoid confusion. The tasting goes on for another 40 minutes, talking and tasting, writing notes and tasting again, people really start to get into it, and then people start to mingle again. One table decides its had enough coffee for the night and cuts out before they go overboard. All the Novo employees are walking around and talking to the people at tables, answering any questions, giving their thoughts on coffee philosophy.

As the night wraps up, and everyone starts winding down, the feeling of the nights event starts to wash over you, and I feel somewhat elated and sorrowed at the same time. Although I love their coffee, love their philosophy, I feel as though I am still an outsider, not quite part of the Novo family, like someone looking into a house with a great party going on, but you not old enough to go. But I'm also so very excited, I got to at least SEE the party going on, and I know what going on. As my wife and I leave, on a caffeine high, feeling as though we could rule the world with just a flick of the bean, we resign ourselves to just having one day a month to really get into the hearts of the people who find, cultivate, nurture, and roast this wonderful coffee. This is my first, First Friday, and hopefully not my last.

-Ryan

Try their coffee at: novocoffee.com

Off to a odd start

This is repost of my old blog, to carry forth the flow of things......


This is how I got my start in the coffee racket, about 15 years ago....

Having Denny’s be your first impressions of coffee aren’t the kind of lasting impression a person looks for when trying to actually LIKE coffee. Here’s the situation, I’m 14 years old and I’m the new guy, and all my new friends like hanging out at night drinking coffee until the wee hours of the morning, so of course, needing friends more than I need sleep, I go out with them. Here I am, sitting with these new friends, being initiated in this new thing called ‘table-hopping,’ and I’m a bit sketchy on why I’m doing this, or more importantly, why anybody does this. I must be crazy. To learn better what table-hopping is, all you need to do is go to a Denny’s, or like minded establishment, and watch anybody under 20 years of age after 8:00 at night. They come in as groups, waitresses seating them knowingly, reminding them to behave, and giving them all her best stare-down. Then another group arrives, and another, some more couples, and now its party time. First the table-hopper checks to see if the waitress or staff are looking, then they examine where they want to sit next, making sure there’s room (there’s always room), then they half sit, half run to their target destination. Mission accomplished! They now have the privilege of talk to a whole new table of friends. Now a few more people muster enough bravery to make a run of it, and then the inevitable happens. POW! One gets caught, and then the waitress has it out with them, their intended table, the table that they came from, and anybody within earshot. That’s how it works, and of course there is the addition of sitting around talking, smoking, and drinking pots and pots and pots of coffee.

I’ll get back to the coffee, I’ve digressed too much. The wonderful staff at these establishments has been so kind to thoughtfully and carefully prepare my exquisite brewed-to-order cup of coffee. Two creamers and two sugars in their brew, same now as it was then, their coffee hasn’t improved, but my taste buds have. Nothing screams quality like bags of roasted beans that don’t expire for 9 months, coats of oil on the bean dispensers so thick that you can squeegee it off. Coffee brewed fresh every 2 to 4 hours? Calcium deposits on the brewer an inch thick? Coffee so astringent that it makes you wince like you took a shot of cheap vodka? Yep, they got it all. Of course, I’ve been to cafes in worse shape than this, and luckily most of those have closed. Now, with this kind of introduction to coffee, one would have to wonder, why did I ever really get into it? No matter how I had it, or how bad it was, I was hooked, and that is how I got into the coffee arena, and I still don’t know why, I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment.

-Ryan

A great experience in denver, people I met, and a jam I enjoyed

Thursday was a blast, if you’ve never been to a ‘Third Thursday’ in Denver before, you are missing out. I meet some great people, had some amazing drinks, played with a ton of coffee, and actually felt a sense of community for the first time since moving to Denver. We actually had some honest-to-goodness fun playing with coffee, albeit with a theme in mind. This month was ‘signature drinks,’ a little bit of practice for the rusty (me mostly), and a great experience for the uninitiated.

For those of you not in the know, ‘Third Thursday’ is a gathering, event, and unofficial barista jam, for like-minded individuals interested in the pursuit of unadulterated coffee bliss. All you will find here is a sincere appreciation for coffee, in its most artful forms. This event is open to anyone with high expectations in their coffee, and it’s highly encouraged that coffee professionals attend, as these events will help with your skills and knowledgebase.

This is also a chance for getting to know each company and what role each plays in the community, a time to shake off the ’but their our competition’ complaints and just get down to what really matters, what’s in the cup. But enough about that stuff, and more about the people, like these people who I would like to point out and thank personally.

Herb Brodsky, the people relations person at Novo Coffee, an upstanding, passionate, caring gentleman, who’s company exemplifies the qualities of a excellent roaster, in both the human element, and the careful selection and roasting of coffee.

Stephen Carey, from Calder’s Coffee, who I went out and visited early the next morning, is a driving force behind getting better and better coffee’s in Colorado. He is a kind hearted fellow who would give you the shirt of his back to help you out.

Mike Strumpf, with Allegro Coffee, an extremely knowledgeable and honest gentleman, who helped with organizing the event, and judging the quality of the signature drinks. He helped educate many, many people that night.

Shawna and Jennifer, at Heirloom Café, for hosting the event and letting everyone beat up on your machines, use your milk, and messing up your counters.

Everyone at Novo for the coffee, ideas, and inviting me to come along and experience this wonderful event. (p.s. the adado espresso was wonderful, thanks!)

While I still haven’t found the café to call home yet, I have definitely found some great people, some great companies, and some amazing coffee. I really didn’t expect this level of commitment in a community not known for its coffee, but you know, they could be well on their way. So, to some up my little wandering blurb here, the Denver coffee scene has come around, even though it’s a little green (pun intended), its has excellent potential with its current crop (pun #2) of purveyors, and that you should come by, on the third Thursday of the month and experience your coffee for once.

The website for ‘Third Thursday’ is: www.thirdthursdaybaristajams.blogspot.com

Blog reboot

This will be the marking point for me rebooting my blog, and bringing it to a place where everyone can read it. My last space wasn't so user friendly, and this will hopefully be easier, please feel free to contact me with idea's.

I will be reposting a couple of blogs from the old site, as they where some of my last, and sadly nobody got to read them because of site difficulties.

-Ryan