Category Archives: Coffee

Coffee & How It’s Becoming Something Bigger Than Just a Source of Caffeine

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There’s a trend that I’ve noticed over the last couple of years.  As a culture, the way that we related to coffee is changing.  It’s slowly no longer just a source of caffeine in the morning.

Coffee is becoming more like wine or beer.  People are recognizing that there are different coffee beans that come from different parts of the world that taste differently and invoke different characteristics.  There are also different brewing techniques that also change your coffee experience.

One example is from last weekend, Lauren and I stopped by Starbucks on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.   This is one of the first Starbucks in the area to be sporting one of their Clover Coffee Machines.   The Clover is one of the $11k coffee machines, whose company was recently acquired by Starbucks.

The Clover is special because it allows you to set all the variables that you have when brewing coffee.  Each coffee has different ideal temperatures and what not.  This machine allows you to dial into a coffee’s specific characteristics.

It’d be fun to sit down with a few different types of coffee all brewed on the Clover and see if you can more easily start to pick out how they’re different.  They’re slowly rolling these out to more and more stores.  If you love coffee, its definitely something worth keeping an eye out for.

BTW – there’s a great profile of the Clover Coffee Machines and their story in Wired Magazine that I’d HIGHLY recommend reading.  It’s pretty interesting.

Another neat and helpful trend as you continue on your coffee journey is coffee places offering multiple types of beans that you can get for your coffee.   At my favorite coffee shop, Peregrine Espresso, they offer a coffee menu, similar to the way that a beer bar would offer you a tap list.  Once you make your selection, your coffee is individually brewed for you.

Just like you’d get a wine tasting at a wine bar, lots of coffee places in DC offer the equivalent for coffee.  It’s called a cupping.  If you live in DC, Peregrine was doing them for a while with Hill’s Kitchen but I’m not sure if they do them any more.  Plus, Chinatown Coffee did them from time to time.

Once I was at Chinatown Coffee for a cupping and they were doing tastings of a particularly sought after coffee, Hacienda La Esmeralda.  I think I ended up paying $18 for a half a pound of beans but dang it was delicious.  It was a coffee where you could especially tell the differences in what you were tasting.

And with all this, we haven’t talked about anything except drip coffee.  With latte’s and such, it’s neat how baristas are able to turn drinking coffee into an experience by painting me a beautiful picture with the mixture of steamed milk & espresso.  Don’t believe, me?  Check out the tumblr blog: Art in my Coffee.

With all of this, don’t get me wrong.  Sometime’s its nice to not have to think about your coffee.  When it’s 6am and I need to get up, I just want something that’s going to inject caffeine as quickly into my blood stream as I possibly can.

I guess what I’m saying is that when I’m in the mood, it’s fun to learn more about what this little bean can offer me.

(Photo by Jennie Faber)

Washington DC Baristas Rock The Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition

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Well the word is in.  Washington DC baristas took the top 4 spots at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition.  The top prize was won by Peregrine Espresso’s very own Jeremy Sterner.   He’ll go on to compete in the US Barista Championships.

Mega congrats to our contingent who went.  It’s kind of awesome to see the region recognize the immense amount of talent that we have in DC’s growing indie coffee culture.

w00t!

Blue Bottle Coffee Coming to Brooklyn, NY

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The New York Times is reporting that Blue Bottle Coffee is going to be opening up a coffee bar and roaster in Brooklyn, NY.  I’m SOOO jealous.  I love Blue Bottle.  (Peregrine Espresso, don’t get jealous.  You’re still my first love.)   All of the San Francisco Blue Bottle locations consistently draw a crowd.  I’m confident that this new location in Brooklyn will as well.

(Photo by cristinabe)

Enjoy Peregrine DC’s Signature Competition Drinks Saturday Night

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Tomorrow (Saturday) night, at 8pm, Washington DC coffee shop Peregrine Espresso is going to be throwing a send off party for their baristas that are headed to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition.

At the party, you’ll be able to try their signature competition drinks, which will be pretty awesome.

Here’s the tweet about the event.

Hey, DC coffee lovers! Come join us Saturday night for a MARBC send-off party. Taste their signature drinks, drink some beer, etc. 8-10 PM

I plan on going.  Hope to see you there.

My Three Favorite Indie Coffee Shops in San Francisco, CA

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Over the last three or four years, I’ve been to San Francisco many many times.  One thing I’ve definitely noticed is a strong independent coffee shop culture.  Every few blocks, tucked in an alley or around some corner is some cool independent coffee shop where the locals gather to hang with friends or suck down some free wifi on their Mac Books, always while sipping a highly caffeinated beverage.

In my journeys to San Francisco, there are three coffee shops that have become my favorites.  I’m sure there are more that I’ve yet to discover (If you have recommendations, put them in the comments.)  but there definitely three that I’ve especially grown to love.

Blue Bottle Coffee Co. – 66 Mint Street (corner of Jessie)

http://bluebottlecoffee.net/

When my friends from San Fran heard that I was into coffee, they were all like, “you have to try Blue Bottle.” When you go to this cafe that’s South of Market, your first impression is that you’ve just entered a science lab.  Behind the counter, you’ll see tons of different glass doodads that are used to make different coffee drinks.

At Blue Bottle, you’re struck by the equipment, the attitude of the staff, and the beans that they roast, the extent that they just really have a profound respect for the product that they’re making, coffee.  They don’t want to give you some overly washed out sugary coffee drink, which there is a time and a place for.  They really want  you to be able to taste the coffee.   The end result is pretty amazing.   When I went with my bro-in-law, it was funny how blown away he was by the latte they made him.  My reactions were equal and am now a regular there every time that I’m in town.

Unlike other coffee shops, you don’t see people sitting at Blue Bottle with laptops and parking for hours.  This is  a place that you go to see people or be seen.

Epicenter Cafe – 764 Harrison St.

http://www.epicentercafe.com/Epicenter_Cafe/Home.html

This became my preferred place when I wanted a really good cup of coffee and check e-mail.  (Man, I love free wifi.)  Thanks to my buddy Thomas, I got hooked on their espresso drink The Cubano.  I’m not really sure how it’s different but it was good and after two of them, oh man I was wired.  Ha.

This place is a bit of a more full fledged cafe.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and even some alcoholic beverages.   It was very chill.  There is more room here so you don’t feel crowded, like you would at Blue Bottle.

Sightglass Coffee Bar & Roastery – 270 Seventh Street @ Folsom

http://sightglasscoffee.com/

For the time being, this is more of a coffee stand than a coffee shop.   They’re currently amidst construction of the cafe and the roastery so right now they’ve got a coffee stand that’s open in what looks like a garage of the building.

Regardless, the coffee was phenomenal.  There isn’t a whole lot of room to chill.  This is more if you’re looking to get a quick hit on your coffee break at work.

One of the highlights of going here was getting to pay with the mobile payment system Square.

(Photo by Darwin Bell)

In Boston This Weekend. Where Should I Go?

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I’m in Boston, this weekend, for work.  Where are all the cool food places that I should go?

I’ve been to Bull & Finch Pub before.  Might stop by just to update my memory.  I’ve been to Helmand the Afghan restaurant in Cambridge.  It was amazing.

Where’s the cool street food, the cool beer places, or the cool indie coffee shops?  Is there something like Blue Bottle Coffee or Peregrine Espresso in Boston?

History of Espresso Machine Innovations

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As someone who consumes three to four shots of Espresso per day, I have come to appreciate the innovations that have come around it’s brewing.

There is a cool article in Slashfood around the history of Espresso machine innovations.  It’s really interesting to see how someone that we take advantage of everyday has come such a long way.

(Photo by drooooo)