The big jam in review

We had barista from A&E, 1369, Diesel/Bloc 11, Hi Rise, Simon's, Espresso Royale, Bonhoeffer's, Cafe Fixe, Amherst Coffee, Formaggios, as well as Taste and barismo! I hope I am not leaving anyone out but that's what I remember after that crazy night. Quite a few crews showed up in force putting to shame those who snubbed the invites.




Rene from Hi-Rise brought lemon Meringue pies, Gus of Toscanini's dropped off a special coffee ice cream, and Zack from 1369 came bearing gifts with a special bottle of Bourbon. The pourover bar was well manned and a big thanks to Ben Chen and Chris for offering our coffees up. A heaping big thanks to Fazenda for donating the tampers. That added a lot to the event and was very generous. A big thanks to High Lawn milk for donating a few cases of their 100% Jersey milk and sending out a rep to attend the event. I guarantee a few shops are taking a long look at upgrading their dairy to a local quality focused farm like High Lawn after this.

The place was really packed and a big thanks to the staff at Taste: Jason, Jamie, Clare, Logan, and of course Nik. It was a big mess to clean up, a lot of things to keep track of and they did a great job. Professionals to the letter.




Out of 20 some competitors (Nik will update this in detail later) in the latte art throw down, the six finalists were:
Jess (Diesel)
Ethan (A&E Roasterie)
Clare (Taste)
Emily (Diesel/Bloc 11)
Simon (Simon's)
Nik (Taste)



The overall winner was Emily (pour pictured at left) who took home a pour over kit from barismo and a red powder coated tamper from Fazenda. Second went to Clare, who took home a Rosewood handle tamper from Fazenda. The most creative award went to Simon who took a bumper tamper from Fazenda back to his shop.

For those curious, the winner of Kranky's latte chug contest was Logan (Taste) who took down a 12oz latte in 3 seconds flat.

I was very happy to see our community come out and represent. It is already making a difference and bringing new ideas to discussions on everything from milk to gear and of course, the coffee.

Metro Boston's First Jam @ Taste this Friday

We have quite a few cafes confirmed and a full list of barista showing up for this event. It's impressive to see the community coming together. I am sure I am forgetting something but here is the general idea of what's happening Friday Night. Schedule subject to change as we are just going to go for it.
5:00pm
Kranky's introduction: barista sign in and welcome. Name tags and id's please!
Coffee: Per Cup Bar - barismo
Espresso: Shots and Machiatto - Taste
Limited Edition Coffee Ice Cream - Toscanini's
Live music till late!!!
5:30pm
The Boston Metro '09 Latte Art Throw Down:
Entry is $5 each, all comers welcome: One shot, one pour. Prizes for best pour, most creative, and most difficult pour. Prizes include tampers by Fazenda (equipment division).
6:00pm
Kranky's Latte Chug Contest:
The challenge is to make a latte and then chug it in the fastest time. Entry is free and the prize will be decided day of the event, sponsored by Taste.
6:05pm
Beer and chips barista social sponsored by barismo.
7:00pm
Winner's announcement and prizes handout.
8:00pm
Last call.

We need volunteers, judges, and general help getting the word out so don't be shy. I will update this post as I have time.

Then there's tomorrow

The roaster's creed is always about what the next roast is. Rarely is it spent dwelling on last weeks roasts but it's always about moving forward and adjusting as we go. The weather is always changing and the coffees are always aging, nothing is really that firm and predictable.

We have new accounts on the way working the program slowly and surely but right now the big goal in front of us is Kranky's barista jam. Looks like a lot more shops are interested in it than you might expect. We haven't had a lot of SCAA sponsored events here (this one isn't) and in fact, the jams and competitions seem to get farther and farther from New England every year to be called New England. It's refreshing to see our scene forming and what's next is the real question.

In the meantime, the barismo lab will be undergoing several stages of renovations while we build out our kiosk so we can offer a little sampling to the Arlington public. That will be a great space to unveil a new prototype to help us brew our per cup offerings. More on that later...