barismo just turned 3!

It is always customary to look back before looking forward.  Some people forget quite easily we've only been around for a little while.  Yes, we've been doing events, challenging others, and pontificating all things coffees for several more but the little coffee roasting shop tucked away in East Arlington just keeps on growing and we are diligently beginning our 4th year!

We want to thank everyone who supports us at the coffee bar, online, and through wholesale relationships.  We are particularly appreciative with how vocal those who support the shops that support us can be.  It's been an awesome year and we can't wait to get our new space open to present what we feel will be a very progressive concept.

The roasters will keep running but our little coffee bar will expand it's hours to Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-6pm, and Sunday 10am-5pm.  We may be closed in the near future for two days of remodeling but we'll keep you in the loop.

El Salvador San Jose is back

San Jose is back on the shelf and really clicking as an exceptional filter coffee.  We were so happy with the clean fruit (light body) and soft floral lavender aroma.  This is our second year sourcing this coffee and we are ecstatic to get such a great lot to work with.

Pickers at San Jose

Something missing on your brew bar

In recent trips to coffee destinations to see their per cup bars, one aspect was missing almost universally at every stop.  Temperature.  That is really a tough one to leave ignored and really calls into questions the credibility of the per cup movement.  If temperature is not a factor and every brew varies, then per cup brewing for many shops is just a fad or just about style points.  It makes one feel that it's not a movement towards fresher brews crafted one cup at a time but rather a trend that shops need to carry to fit in with the 'cutting edge'.  This is frustrating but also makes for heartbreaking visits to other shops seeing Syphons brewed at almost boiling temps, pour overs that two in a row are completely different cup to cup.

In some ways, we are lucky to have been instilled with a strong cynicism for the larger coffee culture we're supposed to be part of.  It can isolate us sometimes but we get less caught up in trends.  These days, we've been less interested in what is happening in the larger coffee culture and more focused on doing what we want to do but being lumped into the per cup movement, having this contrast matters to us.

One of the really nice things in shop is what were are doing with the Luminairecoffee prototype.  To do a pour over for any method, you walk up to the tap and get started.  You can set temperature, ending volume of water, and total time (if you are lazy) and it will figure out exactly the flow rate and adjusts to compensate while hitting the temp you set.  So, we often do the pre-infusion in such a way that the grounds are saturated to a balance point and then use the time/volume settings for the rest of the brew.  Since it measures the water volume/flow rate as it brews, a scale is unnecessary (aside from measuring grounds).

Reposo Espresso!

Reposo is another stellar addition to our Wabi series of espresso.  A simple pairing with elegant results within the same origin but from different estates.  We chose to match 30% Don Mayo Mt. Canet and 70% Rio Jorco Los Lobos. (Please read our travel logs from our spring visit to these estates).

We tested this offering in a few high end cafes and got really positive feedback so we are releasing it online as well.

This is a sugary cup of maple, almonds, tangerines, and complex red fruits.  It has a wide range of specs where it pulls well but we recommend it for straight shots only.  Grab a bag online in our new shop.