Barismo patio grand opening Fri Aug 16 noon to 4pm

Join us for our patio grand opening and try fresh new Costa Rican coffees, a special offering from Toscanini's.
See you there! Register here.

Buena Esperanza 2012 Harvest Tasting Event

The Buena Esperanza lot from Hacienda Santa Rosa Alfaro in Huehuetenango, Guatemala was one of our most popular coffees last year.  Though it arrived much delayed, it had an instant following.  Calen from Voltage competed at the NERBC with it which was a footnote to third generation owner Gustavo Alfaro's visit to Cambridge last year.  Gustavo got to hang with us at barismo, Voltage, Simon's, and a few other neighborhood haunts in a whirlwind tour of our town.

Gustavo's coffee is milled and awaiting shipment to us, but thanks to an invite to the World Barista Championship side brew bar, we arranged a little extra to be air freighted to us ahead of normal shipping schedule.  When we committed to the WBC, we knew Gustavo would love that chance to be featured and have worked to make it happen.  Most of that air freighted lot is headed out to Vienna shortly but we are planning on having a little bit for a tasting with 'El Catador' Silas Moulton over at dwelltime this coming Tuesday at 3pm.  Silas spent several weeks living and working at Hacienda Santa Rosa during the peak of their harvest.  He did many varying experiments on the farm and learned a lot in the process.  The finale of which was a plaque installed by Gustavo to note how far the farm had come that was placed at the entrance to the Buena Esperanza lot.

It was a humbling and unique experience on our side that really put into perspective how much goes into making a great coffee.  The same lot we worked on was split in half, one part going to us with the other going to the Cup of Excellence placing 4th in the rankings.  A huge turn for a farm that not long ago was not selling microlots or doing any direct trade.

Join us over at dwelltime (364 Broadway, Cambridge, MA) the 29th of May at 3pm for samples of Syphon brews featuring the Buena Esperanza a week off dry mill.  Get a conversation with Silas and a unique taste experience.  This event is free but the supply is limited so first come, first served.

Gustavo Alfaro at the Cup of Excellence competition.

Tea Tasting - Saturday Nov 19th 3pm

Saturday @ 3pm, we will have a flight of teas available to taste from Shin Fong farm in Taiwan:
Fulu Red Oolong
Organic Fulu Red Oolong
Chin Suan Oolong

Space is limited to a first come first served basis so show up early!

Bosque tasting and direct trade lecture Saturday

On Saturday, November 12th, Barismo will be hosting a public tasting of El Bosque, the newest product of our Direct Trade Relationship program. The tasting will be offered from 12PM till 3PM. Following the tasting, Barismo’s Green Buyer, Silas Moulton, will give an in-depth presentation on Guatemala’s Bella Vista Mill, and the harvesting and processing of the El Bosque coffee. The presentation will also expound on the definition of direct trade and explore the cultivation of those relationships. Both events are free, and open to the public and coffee professionals alike.

Event Details:

El Bosque: Public Cupping

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

12PM - 6PM

at:

Barismo

169 Massachusetts Ave.

Arlington, MA 02474

OR

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

2PM - 5PM

at:

Simon's

1736 Massachusetts Ave.

Cambridge, MA 02138

Stephen J.

Cold brew coffee tasting Sun Aug 21th, 11am-3pm!!!

Starting at 11am on Sunday the 21st of August, 2011 we will have a cold brew bar. For the same price as one cold brew, we will rack a tasting flight of four different coffees in smaller portion cold brewed to peak flavor perfection.

You've heard the comments about cold brew and the controversy on both sides for and against it. See if the origin character of a Kenya and it's fruit floral flavor notes come through. Evaluate sweetness and depth in a Costa Rican dialed in to peak sweetness. The proof is in the cup so we aren't going to hide anything, come by and try it.

Seeing as our biggest critic(s) have never even tried our version of cold brew, we recommend they consider joining us and setting the date on the calendar. See you there.

Event at Simon's August 27th, 8pm

Looking for awesome coffee to push through until the late hours on a Friday night? Simon's on 1736 Mass Ave is having an after hours event put together by some of the barista there to drink coffee, socialize, and get down with some mad brews.

See the poster here, put it on your calendar as there will be some unique offerings on the table.

Event this coming Saturday June 18th @ Simon's

We will have v60 hand pours of our newly arrived Costa Rican Coffees this weekend from 10-5 Saturday the 18th. It will be the first chance to try these coffees and see fresh crop offerings.

We have a lot from Rio Jorco that cupped amazingly this year. We also have a few new lots from Don Mayo, a follow up to last years Don Mayo Mt. Canet offerings that were so popular.

Save the date, bring a friend and talk to our green buyer about our buying practices and his travels to Costa Rica to visit the farms and mills we sourced these coffees from.

Event this coming Saturday April 2

Our green buyer, Silas is back and will be in this Saturday to field questions and inquiries about our upcoming offering list. Curious about the changes at El Bosque and want to get an update, this is the chance. Want to get more information on our buying practices, this is the chance to ask those questions.

Silas just returned from Central America and has a lot to share. We will have a coffee or two on bar from his trip to Colombia on the bar that day as well!

Event: This Saturday pour over bar in Lexington

Our trainer will be at Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington this Saturday (05MAR) to present several coffees on v60. So you probably heard all the hubub about per cup in the NY Times, this is another chance to see what the fuss is about at another local up and coming shop.

Chris will be there most of the day offering up several coffees of our coffees that are ideal for hand pour, so come out and support progressive american coffee at it's finest!

Louisville Barista Bash 004

Friday night was an awesome event held by the Folks at Prima Coffee equipment in Louisville, KY. It was held at the Anchorage Cafe and the staff there were awesome hosts. I got the honor of being a judge for their per cup competition and having a short discussion about per cup bars with attendees. I look forward to hearing more out of Louisville's coffee scene in the near future.

There are a few things you need to know about the scene in Louisville: they are great hosts, serious about coffee, and the shop to shop camaraderie is something we could all learn from. I was certainly surprised by the amount of home roasters locally and how engaged, curious, and yes... polite that everyone was. It was refreshing that while the community may feel it has a long way to go to catch up with the noise coming out of the perceived coffee hubs, there is a good group of people there at the forefront.

I was honored by the discussions, the attention to what we are doing here in Arlington and I want to extended a big thanks to everyone there for having me down to speak. It was a lot of fun, great perspective, and I am more than a little worn out afterward!

Inserts of the core presentation on per cup bars I gave at the Louisville Barista Bash 004. These concepts are borrowed from some core Marketing concepts and the talk was an overview with Q&A rather than specific execution of a bar.

Building a per cup bar:

I. CONTENT
Goals for Per Cup (Coffee on demand)
As A Main Service

• To Contrast bulk brewing drip programs with freshly brewed cups.

1. The Pros:
2. The Cons:

As A Supplementary Service

• A coffee of the day (or method of the moment) service to provide an alternative to the standard offerings.

1. The Pros:
2. The Cons:

II. MESSAGE
Conveying a clear message is key.

• Menu
  
• Appearance
• Service

III. CONVERSATION
The dialogue that results.

• Interaction
• Engagement
• Discussion (Customer to Server AND Customer to Customer)
  

IV. CONVERSION

Single origin espresso tasting Dec 4th @ Simon's

Our trainer will be over at Simon's (1736 Mass Ave Cambridge, MA) the 4th for a single origin espresso lineup of four coffees:

Kenya Guama Peaberry roasted by Madcap

Costa Rica Los Lobos roasted by Madcap

Kenya Guama roasted by barismo

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Michelle roasted by barismo

All four coffees will be offered throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

Check it out!

barismo tasting event at Dave's Nov 13th 1-3pm

We will have a free tasting event at Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Sq., Somerville November 13th from 1-3pm!

An offering of our new coffees will be served up in samples. Our roaster and green buyer will be there to talk about how we get these coffees and what it takes to get the most out of them.

See you there!

New crop coffee tasting this Sunday @ 2pm

With all the new coffees coming in, we decided to have an old fashioned tasting of our lineup.

On the list will be our new crop Costa Ricas and the two newest Guatemalan coffees, El Bosque and Finca Trinidad. Miriam Leal de Villanueva's El Bosque looks like it's going to be a star in the lineup and early profile cupping are coming out exceptionally tasty.

We will update you soon about our travels in Guatemala and the photos/logs on these coffees as soon as we put them online for availability.

Coffee and Chocolate August 22nd 2pm

We will be offering a tasting set of Coffees paired with Chocolates from Colin Glasko at Rogue Chocolates the 22nd of August. A lineup of his Hispaniola, Sambriano, Rio Caribe, and the amazing Piura will be paired with manual brews of our fresh crop Coffees in each round.

The format will consist of the following:

Chocolates crushed and presented in warmed cups to allow aromatics and fruits to open up.

Selected coffees brewed in varying methods to form a tasting flight.

This will optionally be followed by the same chocolates offered as whole bar for texture and snap.

The first tasting flight will start at 4:05pm on the dot and signups will be capped at 15. The event will last on hour and finish at 5pm.

The cost for this event will be $12.50 by reservation online only.

Please check the blog or our events section for more special tastings like this.

Syphon Special Sat, Woodneck Sunday

This coming Saturday 8-7-10 we will be brewing Syphons for a discounted rate of $3.00 each but only from 12pm-3pm. Come in and check out the methodology and science that goes into the cup for a one time only bargain.

The following day, we will be doing 4 oz Woodneck cloth brews all day Sunday 8-8-10 will be the same price as an espresso. Can't beat that!

On both days, we will be focusing on our new Costa Rican coffees, shots of the El Llano as espresso, as well as Woodneck of the buttery citrus Mt. Canet lot 4 and Syphon's of the light roasted and aromatic Mt. Canet lot 5.

Tea Tasting Event Sun 8-1, 12pm to 2pm

August 1st will be a lineup tasting of our teas purchased directly from small farms in Taiwan. All teas will be presented as cold brew iced teas (Mizudashi) and the event will be a free sampling format.

Come in, ask questions about the farms, and taste our entire lineup!

NERBC fallout

Post NERBC there was a bit of local press coverage from the Globe that really stayed neutral and got quotes from a lot of people there. The globe also did a sidebar piece on Luminaire as well. The Hario brew bar had two of their beta Lb-1 water delivery systems running continuous duty during the 3 days of the event. It was a great field test for their new concept and got them vital feedback from area barista/roasters. We are currently using one in shop right now and there is talk of one at Hi-Rise on Brattle St. as well as Pavement Coffee Bar when it opens. The brew bar and 4th machine were hugely successful and busy during the entire competition. Turnout during all three days was steady but the 4th machine and per cup bars were jam packed consistently.

Anne and Neil of Tamp Tamp ran the espresso machine offering up drinks using a range of the sponsors and roasters who had contributed to the event. Likewise, the Hario and Luminaire per cup bar also rotated drip offerings by featuring two roasters at any one time changing throughout the day.

Both Somerville papers got in on the coverage. Between those articles, there were a few items that seemed a bit off, like '30,000 viewers online' and quoting how we at barismo had hosted competitions for years. We have organized and hosted many events over the years but this was our first barista competition.

As for competitors, we had a very specific goal this year. We did not want anyone to compete from our company but Jamie Lynn decided it would be great for her after the positive experience she had last year supporting a competitor that I felt burned us later. Her goal was to get on stage and complete a routine that represented her and the shop she works at even if that meant taking hits on the score cards or doing things that don't fit in with the stage show. I am happy about how she handled the whole situation because her confidence as a barista has increased as well as the quality of her skill set. I look forward to her article in Barista magazine about the differing experiences. Her role was a specifically unique situation where she took that same attitude of training (not marketing) toward supporting the growth of the barista we sponsored by helping prep them with rule sheets and outlines. Ironic, if only because she fully intended to challenge the rules in her own routine.

In the weeks after competition, I have seen the confidence and attention put in by barista in the community and I have been really proud of the leap in training made by the barista who took the time to use the preparation aspect of competition for personal growth. I am particularly proud of both Alison and Nathaniel at Simon's who had previously had quite bad experiences at competition in the past. It took a lot of courage and dedication to get past those traumatic experiences and turn in good performances this year.

Congratulations to Danielle who took first and to all the other competitors who got up there and put themselves up for critique. We wish her good luck representing the NE even if she is a New Yorker now! It takes a lot to get on stage and handle that pressure. Congratulations to Matt from Matt's wood roasted coffee who took home the NE Regional Cup Taster's prize and is a nice guy to boot. A lot of area barista are looking forward to next year.

Tea Tasting - Friday Feb 19th, 4pm - 6pm

We will debut our teas on bar this weekend with an open house tasting. The event will be informal and we will offer up each of our new Teas during that time slot.

Keep tabs on this and mark your calendar to have a chance to taste these absurdly fresh harvest teas.

Classes and updated brew guides

Classes are online for signup. Class size will be limited so sign up before they fill.

We will also be updating our list of brew guides and expanding our education section to include video materials and illustrated guides. Keep an eye on it or bookmark it as it grows.

Class updates and new espresso options

Kagumoini has been roasted as espresso for our S3 and S4 blends for some time. Recently at Hi Rise on Brattle Street, they requested it as a SOE. We obliged and have since had great feedback on this particular espresso. Where the Kiamabara is big and holds up even through short milk with unique fruitiness, the Kagumoini is best enjoy as a delicate but intensely sweet and delicious shot.

To get ahead of new coffees coming in and have creative diversity in our lineup of espresso, we are starting a new series. Where the Sonata series is built for consistent yet still quality results, this series will be about creativity and will change frequently. The staff and sometimes accounts will make unique sugestions for pairings we will explore for short timelines. The focus will be not on balance, but on asymmetry and finding beauty in what is essentially a work in progress. To express the beauty, impermanence, and the uniqueness of this series, we decided to give a nod to the term Wabi-sabi.

Next week's Wabi-sabi series will be codenamed 'Doppleganger' and will consist of two Kenyas, the Kagumoini and Kiamabara espresso paired together.

February classes are up online and ready for registration. We expect the classes to be informative and we recommend checking them out. Like all things barismo, the materials will be hands on, technical, and thorough.