1st Annual Geekfest.

CoffeeGeek_Event_041
Originally uploaded by Intelligentsia Coffee.

It all started with this post, and thanks to Intelligentsia's big kahuna, Doug Zell, the 1st Annual Geekfest quickly became a reality.

For the starter at 10:00AM, we had our tour in Intelligentsia’s ginormous roasting facility, where we observed a batch of Colombia Tres Santos being roasted. For about 13 minutes, the roasting process turned those little grassy smelly green beans into the aromatic rich brown wonders. We then ushered to their cupping room where Geoff Watts, the director of coffee and green coffee purchaser, explained to us the coffee grading and the green bean buying process, also more importantly to develop a healthy and mutually respectful relationships with the coffee farmers.

I have never cupped a coffee before, so I was very looking forward to it. There were 6 coffees; Peruvian Organic Cruz del Sur, Colombia Tres Santos, Colombia Tres Santos, Micro-Lot: La Planada, Rwandan Zirikana, Rwanda Golden Cup: Melange, and the crowd favorite from Kenya (I am not sure if this Kangocho auction lot was the one we cupped.) The first step of cupping is to smell the aroma/fragrance from the grounds when they are dry, and after the grounds being steeped for 4 minutes with just off the boil water, crack the crust and smell again, and finally actually tasting the coffee. Kenya was the crowd pleaser, but I liked both Rwanda's, and Cruz del Sur from Peru.

So, how do you like your coffee? The most unexpected event for me was the comparative brewing. This experiment was to use the very same coffee, brewed with 4 different techniques; Chemex vs. French Press vs. Eva Solo vs. Technivorm, and surprisingly there were 4 distinctive coffee drinking experience from the same coffee!

The most fun and yet nerve wracking was the latte art throw down, where everyone got one chance to pour and judged. It was tense to perform under many watchful eyes and especially to compete with Matt, the 2006 USBC champ and Amber, the finalist. I gave my best, and they simply blew me out of the water…

The Coffee Studio

Our coffee friends at The Coffee Studio is in today’s Chicago Tribune! They don’t need me to pump them up, their coffee can do the talking for them. This charming place is a must visit on the Chicago’s coffee shop list.

Steve-O!

The Coffee Hound is making the news!

Fast Enough For You??

Originally uploaded by espressoDOM


An Americano in a Lamborghini cup by espressoDOM... It is so beautiful and I am about to cry...

AFF Jump 1: Free & Clear

AFF Jump 1: Free & Clear
Originally uploaded by ciordia9.

Andy, my Coffee-Flickr-Future Coffee Shop Owner buddy in Charlotte, NC, made his maiden and solo sky dive yesterday. He made it looks so easy in the video, it sure was a nice day to jump off a perfectly flying airplane..

Congratulations to Rob and Chris.

Rob and Chris are my favorite CGs, and both of whom can pour some killer latte art (Rob taught me how to pour latte art). Rob and Chris won the Latte Art Contest in two different categories that was sponsored by Whole Latte Love. Pretty awesome, eh?

Just one coffee related news...

Ghetto latte. This is nothing new, but it is funny to see people (cheap people) always trying to beat the system...

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.