Jay Rocks!

Some coffee links for Monday, Aug. 21, 2006.

You gotta love Jay. From the 1:16:40 mark and on, of the portafilter.net: Podcast 49.

Starbucks’ shares took a beating on 8/02/06, after its earnings missed the mark. SBUX blamed its inability to meet unprecedented demand for the icey and sweet Frappuccino. I think the problem is the fancy names which SBUX came up for its candied coffee drinks. Try to see how long it will take to say, “a venti, light-iced, half-caf, upside-down Caramel Macchiato with soy and an extra shot of vanilla!

Moldy coffee tastes better. Really? I guess I’ll pass, also I don’t think I’ll ever try the coffee coming out of the civet’s a$$.

Some coffee trivia.

Coffee has many health benefits, but the latest report indicates coffee may trigger heart attack. Oh well, you can’t win all the time…

First there was Kiss. Now Jackie Chan is opening up his coffee shop franchise.

COFFEECUPPERS.COM

Jim Schulman is a coffee guru and an excellent coffee cupper. I’ve met Jim in person on a few occasions; he is authoritative, friendly, and just an awesome guy. I just discovered his website called COFFEECUPPERS.COM. If you are looking for some great coffee to enjoy, start with his website first.

Danny Wilson - Mary's Prayer

I got this song looping in my head for the last 2 hours, and luckily it didn’t take me too long to remember the name of the band and this cool song. This is one of my favorites back in the 80’s, and the best part is that I get to watch this video for the first time. The video is kinda silly, because it was made during the infancy of the music videos, but I like it, it makes me laugh (with it)! The music videos sure have come a long way...

Road Trip!

CoffeeHound exterior
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Yesterday, after I said I would two years ago, I finally went to see Steve Fritzen of Coffee Hound in a picturesque Midwest town, Bloomington, IL. Steve is a top ranked US barista, he finished 6th in the 2006 US Barista Championship. I got to know Steve from coffeegeek.com at the time I was learning how to pour latte art, and meeting him and his wife, April, for the first time when they came to Chicago as Steve served as one of the judges for Intelligentsia’s in-house barista competition in early 2004.

It was sunny with some scattered thin clouds, a great day for an enjoyable interstate driving, and just a little over 2 hours (about 130 miles), I arrived at the front door of Coffee Hound. The shop is a good size of 1500 sf space, with high ceiling and plenty of room.

Steve, Chris, and I shoot the breeze about coffee and I chugged the shots as fast as Steve could pull. I even got to try some of Steve’s home roasted espresso blend. Steve’s Christmas arrived earlier this year, he just got a HotTop home coffee roaster. I liked his blend. Steve has a very good foundation for his blend, and he is tweaking a bit to his liking. Steve even let me to pull a shot on his 4 group La Marzocco FB/70 and steamed some milk. It was fun, but kind of nerve wrecking under the watchful eyes of a top barista.

Steve’s Coffee Hound is now serving Zoka Coffee’s award winning Paladino espresso blend. A great deal for any Midwesterners who don’t have to fly all the way to Seattle for some tasty treats…Did I mention Steve bakes?!

Direction from Chicago to Coffee Hound:
• South on I-55.
• Off at exit 167.
• Left (go south) on Veterans Park Way
• Right (go west) on Washington St.
• Right (go north) on Main St
• Right side of the street after a block and a half.

Can it? Could it?

The 2006 Citysearch’s Best Coffee voting result is in, and my beloved Intelligentsia finished second behind Savor The Flavor Coffee House. Can this be true? Can this place’s coffee be better than Intelligentsia? Earlier this afternoon, I made a special trip to check out this year's winner.

Savor The Flavor Coffee House sits where Lincoln, Sheffield, and Wrightwood meet. It turned out that Savor The Flavor uses Intelly’s beans, that explains it! My iced coffee was refreshing for the warm summer afternoon. The owner and the staff were friendly and taking their time to make sure each customer is well taken care of.

I think Savor The Flavor won the Best Coffee award for its customer service as its #1 priority. I didn’t say that Intelly’s staff is not friendly enough, it is quite the opposite. This voting thing is more of a popular award. Whoever can get the most people to vote for them wins. No more and no less. Metropolis coffee finished in 5th, and I know their coffee can easily beat the #3 and #4.

The editor’s winner is Julius Meinl Café. Its pastries are awesome, but I can’t say the same about its coffee…

When There Is Nothing To Say, Say Anything!

Colombia
Originally uploaded by Spinnaker007.

I bet most of the non-coffee drinkers and the majority of Starbies’ customers mistaken with Columbia for “Colombia” coffee.

Now, the fillers. Some are old and some are new...

I can’t believe how little I know about my birthday. How much do you know about yours? That’s right, like me, not very much!

If you want to be rich, all you need is thick skin, cunning - and a work ethic.

Ditching Your Cell Contract. Something we all need to know. Just in case...

Beer takes its place at the table. Let’s not forget about coffee.
Added on 8/5, Some pictures from Stumptown Coffee/Food Pairing at Navarre.

How about tomatoe cupping?