Daniel's Coffee Blog

These Cherries are Not Ripe . . .Yet!

Radio silence ended! Coffee Scholars has been moving its world headquarters for the last week or so, culminating with two days of madness Sunday and Monday. Thank goodness that is over. It even caused me to miss a great event...

Check out what Anne and Neil did on Sunday! Coffee at the New Amsterdam Market near the Seaport! To raise money for the market and for Bikes to Rwanda! Plus a cupping at a new (to the NYCS) spot on the same day!

And their report on the last NYCS cupping before that! Amazing stuff.

In the process of moving our offices and warehouse space, I realized just how many green samples I have laying around. The quantity isn't that mind-blowing (nothing that an addict like me couldn't put away in a couple of months), but there's a huge variety. I'm always complaining to people that I don't get enough green... well, I guess it's paid off without me even noticing. This calls for a cupping, and soon! It's time to give Anne a break, since she and Neil have been doing all the work round these parts lately.

I haven't done anything in BK lately, other than our little brunch shindig. Perhaps we shall do something at a café in my neighborhood for a change.

Coffee and coffee and coffee and food and coffee....

As always, the more going on, the less time I have to post about it. There's tons going on right now!

First of all, a huge round of applause for the new World Barista Champion, Stephen Morrissey of Ireland. Stephen is a great guy, and so dedicated to great coffee. He will be a great ambassador for our industry. I can't wait to see the wonderful things he does in the next year and beyond. Congrats to Stephen, U.S.A. champion Kyle, and all the great competitors! We all owe you so much!

Second, Bobbie and I had a great and delicious time on Saturday with our food and coffee pairing. As always, Bobbie outdid herself with the dishes. The prize for best dish was a close match between Bobbie's "breakfast quinoa" and the eminently edible steak and cheese sandwiches (I devoured mine like a hungry wolverine). But the dish that truly blew me away was the medium-boiled eggs with garden sprouts and fresh pea puree served with a Blue Batak Sumatra from Volcafé. I have been at this food-and-coffee pairing business for a while. I daresay I've done more of this than just about anyone in North America. And I can't say I have ever seen it nailed so well as Bobbie nailed it on Saturday. I kept going back and forth between the coffee and the puree, even rudely interrupting conversation, to taste the incredible similarities and contrasts. Wow! Thumbs up to Volcafe and the producers of the coffee, and double thumbs up to NYC's best-kept chef secret: Bobbie Marchand!!!

Thanks to Bobbie for doing all the work, Rachel G. for helping, and thanks to Cerise, Randal, Allie, Ashley and Ginnie for attending. (Ginnie has a rad science-writing blog here.)

Third, my colleague Willem Boot is in New York for two days on his way to Mexico for a conference on natural-processed coffees in Acapulco. We have big plans for the quality coffee scene in New York. I know I am more coy than revealing in these blog posts when it comes to future plans, but I'm not at liberty to say much now about our plans. But it will be cool! And it will result in better coffee for everyone in New York! Huzzah!

Fourth, the excellent and estimable Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffé, of Santa Rosa, California, revealed to me last night that he's opening a roastery and café in New York City. AhhhhHHHH! Awesome. Anyone who knows me knows that I basically consider Andrew the pre-eminent coffee roaster in the United States. That he has been on the West Coast these two years that I have been on the East Coast has been a constant thorn in my coffee-loving side. There are many hurdles to clear and inspectors to placate in the meantime, but the knowledge that Ecco is on the way to Gotham makes me happy inside.

Go Andrew Barnett. Go Stephen Morrissey. Go Bobbie Marchand. Go Willem Boot. Go love it all.

Coffee Pairing Brunch in Brooklyn

Oh snap, NYC. Bobbie Marchand and I are doing it again.

Saturday, June 21st, 10:30-ish a.m: another coffee and food pairing in Brooklyn! The last one was all nighttime and rooftops and dinner; this one will be all late morning and backyard and brunch. Once again, Bobbie's handling the food end of the things. Coffee by yours truly. 

What's going to be on the menu depends on what I find on my current adventure out West. At Willem Boot's lab in California where I am this week, I have access to some excellent El Salvadors, Panamas, and Kenyas. And there may finally be some big batches of sample material arriving from Addis Ababa from the Ethiopia Limited project. 

What a dreamy time of year to do this, too. All the Central Americans are fresh off the boat bursting with sweetness and sparkling with life; spring foods are fresh and in-season. I can't wait to see how Bobbie works her magic this time. I can tell you the coffee will rock (we'll do at least four or five... small portions as always). 

Cost is $25 to cover Bobbie's food ingredients. Location is a beautiful backyard patio in Carroll Garden (to be revealed to people who RSVP in time). Menu and coffee choices will be disclosed as soon as they are settled on. Space is very, very limited. 

E-mail me (newyorkcoffeesociety and then an at sign and then a gmail.com) if you are interested!

Entropy is Not Freedom

(photo by these guys)

Daniel Mulu took the train up from Baltimore (where he is visiting family before his return to Addis Ababa). We missed Andrew Barnett's Brazilian coffee event at Grumpy, which was a major bummer. Daniel got off the train in Jersey instead of Penn Station. I predict I will not stop making fun of him until mid-2015 at the earliest.

But we did manage to make it our own coffee event in time, the next day. It was freaking great! We took the A-train out to Ozone Park where John Moore of Dallis Coffee set us up on their sweet two-barrel Probat sample roaster. We roasted up 12 delicious samples from the Ethiopia auction and then trained it back into town just in time to pick up some cupping supplies from Gimme! and head up to the BODUM headquarters.

Andrew Barnett came, and Oren from Oren's Daily Roast, Genevieve Kappler of international cupping fame (France, US, Ethiopia, Colombia), a delegation from the Ethiopian permanent mission at the UN. Plus Koji from Japan, Matija and Mare from Croatia, and assorted Mannahattoes and Breukleiners...

(thanks Koji, Anne and Neil for the photos... and Anne and Neil I swear I am getting a new camera and will stop stealing your pics).

THANK YOU BODUM.

THANK YOU EDIBLE MANHATTAN.

Much coffee was cupped. The space is beautiful. Afterward, much meat and beer with Anne and Neil and Andrew (what a terrible Buddhist I am), and I took Daniel to SoHo to see the pretty girls and the bright lights.

Perhaps some Cup of Excellence events there in the near future? Raise your hand if you like this idea...

Special Event in New York: May 8th

Tri-state area coffee people are invited to an event at the new BODUM USA headquarters in Manhattan, Thursday, May 8, at 6 pm.

We'll be cupping and pressing some of the top coffees from this years Ethiopia Limited auction. For those of you who wanted to attend the April 10th event but couldn't make it, here's your chance. And for anyone who's going to Minnesota for SCAA, this should leave you enough time to get home, get some sleep, and get back out there and cup with some fellow New Yorkers!

The coffees are outstanding; you have my guarantee on that. Also, this is a chance to rub elbows with some international coffee judges, including Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffé and Daniel Mulu, one of Africa's most famous cuppers.

The event is courtesy of yours truly and ...

BODUM USA

Edible Manhattan and....

Boot Coffee

A special invitation to roasters and green buyers. Space is extremely limited, so please write to me if you want to come... I expect that we will unfortunately have to turn some people away. RSVP here. Hope to see you there!

How Much Coffee Schnapps Do YOU Have?

Last Friday, Anne and Neil organized a New York Coffee Society cupping at the beautiful El Beit in Williamsburg. It was a lot of fun. Anne does a great job with these! We had a couple of Moka Javas, one from Barrington and one from Gimme!, plus a beauty Kenya peaberry from Kownta Kultchah. It was my first time to El Beit, despite the fact that I have many friends there, like Danger Dan Griffin.

My camera's broke, so thanks Anne Nylander for letting me steal your photo without asking permission.

Afterward we went to Spuyten Duyvil for all kinds of strange beers from Belgium and beyond. (And some crazy meat, and the mostest bitterest chocolate ever). Duane Sorenson was there. I guess I was the last person to hear that he's moved to New York City. Look out, NY. Here comes Stumptown to take over your entire operation.

Also Bob Peyton, who works for Stumptown in Portland now.

But the best part of the night was that Matija brought me a freaking bottle of freaking coffee schnapps from freaking Croatia!!!

Article in barista magazine

Check out my new article on the coffee scene in Harlem in the "Field Reports" section of the new issue of barista. The article begins on page 31. Click here to read it.

An excerpt:

Still, for a city of this size, where the disdainful restaurant review pan was elevated to an art form and where the local papers run wine columns the way most towns discuss high school football, there has been a remarkable lack of sophistication when it comes to coffee. The corner bodegas feature commodity grade robusta, and in many neighborhoods the big chains still pass for “gourmet.” But things are changing. Events like the one at Society — and others we have hosted around the city over the last couple of years — have proven that there is no lack of interest in great coffee.

What made the night at Society feel special, aside from the amazingly warm atmosphere (and the waffles), was that it was taking place right there in Harlem, on Frederick Douglass Boulevard where Richard Wright and Malcom X used to roam.

Read on [go to page 31]...