The Tour Starts Today
Counter Culture Coffee cordially invites the barista exchange community to join reigning United Kingdom and World Barista Champion James Hoffmann for his 2008 U.S. East Coast Tour, March 2-15!
The 8-stop tour will include coffee presentations, skill demonstrations, barista workshops, and more at Counter Culture regional training centers and other locations listed below. Hope to see many of you at the events!
www.counterculturecoffee.com/jameshoffmann
Regional event details:
March 2
Ninth Street Espresso - Chelsea Market
New York, NY
3:00 p.m.
Live Barista Performance and Reception
Ninth Street Espresso
Chelsea Market
March 4
Hyde Park, NY (Culinary Institute of America)
10 - 11:30 a.m.
Signature Drink Presentation
Danny Kaye Theater
2 - 3:30 p.m.
Signature Drink Presentation
Danny Kaye Theater
March 6
Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Barista Jam
10am - 12pm
Espresso Extraction Presentation
March 7
Washington, DC
10-11:30am
Coffee Cupping
7 - 9:30pm
Food Pairing Presentation
DC Regional Training Center
1836 Columbia Road NW
Suite 202
Washington, DC 20009
March 9
Durham, NC
2 - 5pm
Three-Part Presentation:
1) James’ personal history in coffee
2) Single origin espresso tasting
3) Preparing for barista competitions
Durham HQ and Regional Training Center
4911 South Alston Avenue
Durham, NC 27713
March 11
Asheville, NC
7 - 9pm
Barista Comp. & Classic Drinks Presentation
Asheville Regional Training Center
77 Broadway Street
Asheville, NC 28801
March 12
Charlotte, NC
7 - 9pm
Barista Competition & Signature Drink Presentation
Charlotte Regional Training Center
1435 West Morehead Street
Charlotte, NC 28208
March 14
Atlanta, GA
10 - 11:30 am
Coffee Cupping
Atlanta Regional Training Center
King Plow Arts Center
887 West Marietta Street NW
Suite m210
Atlanta, GA 30318
1 - 3:30 pm
Barista Competition Presentation
Atlanta Regional Training Center
8pm
Party at Octane!
March 15
Atlanta, GA
2 - 5pm
Three-Part Presentation:
1) James’ personal history in coffee
2) Single origin espresso tasting
3) Preparing for barista competitions
Atlanta Regional Training Center
James Hoffmann Biography:
James Hoffmann started working as a barista back in 2003. He started working for the espresso machine manufacturer Gaggia, and quickly progressed into a training role. From there in 2005 he moved to another espresso machine company - La Spaziale to work as their national training manager. He also began competing in barista competitions that year and in 2006 won the UK Barista Championship and placed 5th in the World Barista Championship in Berne. He competed again in 2007, winning the UK again and this time went on to win in Tokyo, Japan and became the World Barista Champion. In May 2007 James left La Spaziale with the aim of starting a roastery and cafe in London. He continues to train and consult, as well as write for a variety of different publications and has an interest in food science, having worked with the chefs at the world famous Fat Duck restaurant when working on signature coffee drinks for competition.
My Taste Buds Are Sad
I guess this means I should give up on all that cupping.
I’m very proud!
I just want to say that I’m extremely proud of M’Lissa. She is smart, talented, a great person, very beautiful and completely deserving. Ok, I may be slightly biased but it’s still true.
I was honored to be the photographer for her cover. I think it turned out quite nice considering I’m a complete novice.
A New Wall
The walls are no longer bare at Octane.
The typeface, called Black Slabbath, was designed by Stefán Kjartansson a good friend of the shop.
Here is a great video of the install.
Pretty sweet.
Stearns Coffee
Daniel and Marisa Stearns, formerly of the infamous Murky Coffee, have recently opened their own shop. They are bringing great coffee to the lucky folks of Huntsville, AL. Check them out at www.stearnscoffee.com.
On our most recent visit, Daniel tells us he’s made a television commercial. Uh oh. We all know how bad those cable company produce, local business TV commercials can be. But, Stearns Commercial is great! They were smart and DID NOT let the cable company do it. The video is an homage to the awesome Goodrow Video. (Don’t worry, Daniel knows the filmmaker and asked permission first).
People and Importance
Thank you for all of those who chose to weigh in on my post “What’s that Flavor”. That is the kind of feedback I am hoping for as I move forward. You have to love learning.
I do, however, want to say a few things about the comments as well as other musings on the subject. The discussion seemed to go in two directions, people and importance.
1. People – I have to say that I never intended to, nor would I ever want to, actually place value on the people involved in the life of the coffee “bean”. We should all have pride in what we do. We are all “vital”. I feel it is counter productive to discuss who is most vital and certainly who is least. Not to be too sappy about it but, to me we are all a team. We must always strive to continue to learn and grow. To consider how our actions will impact everyone else’s, as well as the coffee, and in turn the customer. Who, we can’t forget make it all possible. One could argue THEY are the most vital.
2. Importance – It has been stated elsewhere that my question presupposes that one factor (of the pre-barista life of coffee) is “more important” than another. I disagree with that assertion and nowhere in the post did I ever ask which was more important. Just like the people involved, they are all interrelated. They are all important. No matter how large or small the influence on flavor may be.
To continue with the ever tired chain analogy, I just wanted to explore if maybe some links were bigger than others.
Maybe Geoff Watts will show up with those Venn diagrams.
I believe I’ve abused and misused the comma enough for today.
Barista Exchange
I love the idea of true and open information exchange. I think it is crucial for us to grow and learn.
To that effort, Matt Milletto has launched a website for baristas interested in participating in exchanges with cafes around the world.
This site is open to all coffee professionals and it is set up as a social network. You know, like MySpace or Facebook but just for us coffee people. It has resources for baristas, roasters, retailers, and such. I think this will be a great resource. Check it out!
