Daniel's World of Coffee

Cheese

This is a picture of my afternoon yesterday. Round after round of great cheese at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center in Chelsea.

You might spot some coffee cups there in the background, that's because Matt Russo and Waldemar Albrecht-Luna of Artisanal, and I were trying out our ideas for our upcoming Coffee and Cheese class.

Some of the combos were actually kind of mind-blowing. I was afraid the fattiness of the cheese would just overwhelm the coffees. And in fact that was the case with a few pairings. But there were many others that brought out amazing combinations of complimentary and contrasting flavors. I highly, highly recommend this activity for coffee lovers, and cheese lovers too! Makes a great breakfast treat, and a great dessert.

Here's my promo lit for our class:

Wednesday, April 15th, turn in your taxes and come try some delicious cheese and coffee pairings! I'm teaching a class at Artisanal Premium Cheese in Chelsea, with one of New York's foremost cheese experts, Waldemar Albrecht-Luna.

Many of you are probably already familiar with Artisanal, the company behind chef Terrance Brennan's restaurant Picholine's groundbreaking cheese program, and the home of Max MacCalman, author of "The Cheese Plate." They have the only working cheese caves in New York City, and oh my goodness is it a great place if you like cheese.

Artisanal does a lot of wine/cheese classes, but recently they have branched out into roasting fresh specialty coffee. So Waldemar and I thought it would be a no-brainer to do some pairings with coffee.

We've worked out a delicious, educational, and surprising menu for the evening. You'll be able to ask cheese questions of Waldemar and coffee questions of Daniel (me!). And as always, bring your taste buds!

It's Wednesday April 15th and will start at 6:30 with a reception of gougeres, fondue, cava and cheeses from the Caves. Artisanal's Cheese Center is at Tenth Avenue between 36th and 37th, and the formal address is 500 West 37th Street. Go to Artisanal's website to sign up!

Hope to see you there.

The Champ is Here

(photo courtesy of the usbc)

I'd like to offer belated congratulations and praise for the newly crowned United States Barista Champion, Mr. Mike Phillips of Intelligentsia. It's an honor to work with Mike.

Intelligentsia had four of the top five finishers, and this makes two straight years winning the top spot! Can you say domination?

I watched Mike's performance in Chicago, where he finished 5th in the regional. I was really impressed with the concept behind his signature drink, though I never got to try it. Mike made two different drink components based on two stages of his espresso inspiring textraction. As a trainer, I often break down a shot of espresso and have my students taste each stage. That is, I take, say 5 seconds worth of liquid then slide another set of shot glasses under the spouts to collect 5 seconds more, and on and on all the way to severely overextracted coffee. As soon as I heard that Mike was using this coffee-lover's tool to make his signature drink I was really blown away: what a great idea! And how simple! Amazing that no one had thought of it before.

Furthermore, if there is one coffee that is saw me through the last dragging month of winter, it's definitely the Anjilanaka from Bolivia. Ask the guys at Ost; ask anyone who has cupped with me at the lab; ask anyone who worked the booth with me in Chicago, over the last few weeks I can't stop talking about this coffee. It's so sweet, delicate-yet-rich, soft-yet-bright, and just generally lovely. Well... I must have impeccable taste (natch), because Mike used the same coffee as a single origin espresso to win the tournament. You can buy the best espresso in the United States here.

But of course, ideas and beans are nothing without execution, and it's such a tribute to Mike's dedication and talent that he was able to take the top prize. Doug Zell has an inspiring take on it on his blog. No American has ever won the World Championship. Well... it's just a few weeks away and this time it's on our home turf, in Atlanta, Georgia. If anyone can win top honors for U. S. and A., I think Mike might be the man! Go Mike!

Naked Coffee Trends Continue

From CNN.com, Topless Coffee Shop a Hit in Small Maine Town. There was something like this in Washington state, and another in Sacramento, if I recall. It's the gimmick that wouldn't die!

(Note: don't click that link if you can't handle commodified baristas. Major beefcake alert!)

The Good and the Nice

Sunday morning, March 1st, around 8 million people woke up in New York City to greet the first blush of spring. Sure it had been blustery all week, with yet another cold snap thrown in for good measure. But Friday and Saturday had been just a little nicer, and the ceiling of clouds hanging over the city had lifted a little higher into the sky, like a foot relieving pressure from a head it had been stepping on.

Well, the winds blew and night fell and on came the snow and by midnight it had coated everyone and everything with several more inches of winter.

But! In between I went to New Jersey and had a lovely afternoon with the people at Ridgewood Coffee Company. Many more than we expected showed up to taste coffee and talk coffee. Rich and Debra, the owners, were gracious hosts as always. And Joe, their son and a dedicated coffee guy in his own right, made me a really lovely shot of single origin espresso (Guatemala). They're really doing a fantastic job there! If you are in Bergen County, I highly recommend stopping by.

I'm lucky enough to work with and move amongst people who are really dedicated and passionate about what they do, so I think sometimes I'm in danger of taking for granted people's interest in all these things. Unlike that at some of our barista-infested NYCS events, the crowd today at Ridgewood contained exactly one other coffee professional, one other person who had been to a cupping, and over 20 complete newbies. The level of interest and engagement and friendliness was truly outstanding. I should remember more diligently the spread of specialty coffee is only just beginning. Thanks, New Jersey!

Incidentally, these larger events are sometimes tricky to organize. We have another in the works (for Manhattan this time). But if anyone wants to talk coffee with me this week in a little more personal setting, I have the following plans:

Tuesday the 3rd and Saturday the 7th in the afternoon, Espresso Enthusiast Classes at Intelligentsia's Soho Lab, for which some spots are still available. These classes are in-depth, hands-on, personalized training on a professional barista set-up. I train you on pulling espresso, espresso theory, steaming milk, pouring art, and anything else you want to know or learn about coffee. Info here.

Thursday the 5th, a cupping at said lab, at 11:30 am. Really great, in-season, Southern Hemisphere coffees to taste right now. Same link for info.

Sunday the 8th, slinging shots all day long at Ost Cafe on 12th and A. Come on by and say hi! Perhaps the snow will have melted by then... in the meantime, I'm off to stomp my boots in it.