We have been playing around with multiple names for the espresso blends lately. Our stock blend though it has changed was called (Ben K.'s idea), Rudiments. Honestly, we really want to call it elements but we aren't sure how the guys at Supreme are going to play that theme out and don't want to sound overtly similar. Rudiments is the essential basic blend barismo style. Since it is not set, we will come back to it later.
What I decided on with much harumphing from the group is that I want to name the one blend right now that is completely set something personal. We were calling the blend that was 25% CR Las Lajas miel, 10% Kenya Ichimara pb, 65% Brasil Morenihna Formosa screen dried, our 'Barista's Pick.' It's a simple blend highlighted by maple red apple notes mid palate and it just works really well. After playing with a few points on the acidity and mid tone, we settled on one line and percentages. I am changing the name to reflect a static blend called Linnaean St. Espresso even though I am sure there will be mispronunciations because the nonlocals give it a little more effort on the first 'a'.
When I first moved to Cambridge, we lived in a cramped Studio on Gray St. off Linnaean in Cambridge. It was also a block from where I cut my teeth as a barista. Taking a shop from Hazelnut coffee, nameless dark blends in jumbo cups, dull grinders, scalded milk, and ancient equipment with bad training to Estate Coffees and a decent reputation for espresso. That was a long time ago and many battles were fought that I don't care to recount but I will always have an affinity for the people I met, the relationships made, and the support they gave me.
I am now detached from the shop and doing my own thing but I don't forget the uniqueness of that area community. The willingness of the people I met to get personally invested or simply interested still impresses me even today. I grew so much so quickly with the confidence that people believed in us and the directions we were moving. In few other places could I have flourished the way I did. For that being said, the area has a lot of familiar faces and a personal attachment still.
