After 10 long hours, Carla and I made it to Portland at nearly midnight. Our friends from Verve and Zoka did not make it to the semifinals, but Sara Peterson from The Abbey did! This is her first time competing and she has less 
than one year of coffee experience; what a great accomplishment for her! We got to see a glimpse of her performance on Saturday, and she said she felt really good about it afterward. I believe her exact words were "bomb diggity".
At the competitions, they have what is called the 4th Machine, an espresso machine dedicated to roasters and coffee houses showcasing their coffee in designated time slots. They offer esspressos, macchiatos, and cappuccinos absolutely free! All day, everyday. I got to try a macchiato from Ecco Caffe and it was delicious!After hours of people competing and a day of waiting, it was finally time for the 6 finalists to be announced.
Sara patiently waits
for her results.In no particular order, congratulations to:
Ryan Wilbur (Intelligentsia)
Devin Pedde (Intelligentsia)
Mark Marquard (Kaldi's Coffee)
Scott Lucey (Alterra Coffee)
Mike Phillips (Intelligentsia)
Nick Griffith (Intelligentsia)Too bad there are no girls in the mix; it looks like team Intelli is working their way to the top as only one competitor from their shop didn't make it to the next round! They will be competing for the last time in the USBC tomorrow morning; unfortunately, the time springs forward tonight. (No partying tonight for them!)
More to come after tomorrow's results! And of course, you can check out more pictures and information at the USBC website.
I had the pleasure of testing out a new coffee at work yesterday. A roaster who used to work for Zoka recently left to go work for Herkimer Coffee. He contacted my dad and sent us samples to try out.
The espresso was pretty good. It was nice and thick, but I wish it was a tad sweeter. In a cappuccino, it had a buttery taste, which is not something I'm used to but good nonetheless.
Unfortunately, I didn't know there was a certain temperature our espresso machine needed to be set to (so that the coffee is at its full potential) that the roaster recommended to my dad. Of course, he had to mention it to me after I had used it all up. Maybe there will be more in the future. All in all, I'm glad I got a chance to use it.
But one last thing: I'm so not a fan of their logo/label.
As you may know, my family owns a coffee house in Santa Clara. We serve coffees from Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Company from Seattle as well as Verve Coffee Roasters located in Santa Cruz. This past week, my sister and I wanted to get away and decided to pay the guys at Verve a visit. We told them not to deliver our coffee and that we would pick it up instead.
It was such a beautiful day in Santa Cruz, I was tempted to go to the beach right then and there. Verve is located at the end of 41st St. (next to Pink Godzilla and near Pleasure Pizza). They have only been open for a little over a year but already have a good rep; they supply their coffee to tons of cafes in Santa Cruz, and to a well known coffee shop all the way in New York, and even to Google! Oh yeah, and to us of course!
The owners and many of Verve's baristas have coffee experience else where - from Pacific Bay, Barefoot, Groundwork, The Naked Lounge - these guys know their stuff! At the 2009 Western Regional Barista Competition, two finalists reppin' Verve are going on to the United States Barista Competition coming up in March: Verve's very own Jared Truby got 5th place and The Abbey's Sara Peterson just made it into the 6th slot. (The Abbey uses Verve's Coffee). Good luck to them both!
At Verve, my sister ordered a macchiato* and our barista, Matt, showed his excitement with a "YES!" I would be silly not to get an espresso after his comment. He pulled us a Single Origin Guatemalan coffee, and they were both delish: a trip well worth the drive! If you're ever in Santa Cruz/Capitola, this place is a must!
*By macchiato, I dont mean a Starbuck's "Macchiato" which is a caramel latte; they butchered the name macchiato! It is really espresso with just a tad bit of milk.
This is my blog about coffee, and in just in case I can't meet the three post minimum for class, shoes. I have so many things lined up that I am excited to share with you, but first, a little bit about me:
It seems like it was just yesterday that parents opened up Bellano Coffee - two and a half years goes by fast - and I've been working with coffee ever since. I started in my garage and went on to train at Zoka in Seattle. Since then, I have worked at Broken Door Espresso in downtown San Jose and was a guest barista at Barefoot Coffee Roasters in Santa Clara. There's my credibility for you, although I'm far from perfect; I still have SO much to learn, because coffee is without limits.
I hope this blog enlightens you about how coffee is so much more than just a morning beverage: it is an art, a skill that takes heavy, intensive training, a way to bring people together, an exceptionally good reason to skip out on your morning class (kidding!), but most of all, it's an entire community.
Enjoy!
than one year of coffee experience; what a great accomplishment for her! We got to see a glimpse of her performance on Saturday, and she said she felt really good about it afterward. I believe her exact words were "bomb diggity".
