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.