Coffee Shop Archives - Page 24 of 73 - The Curb Kaimuki

Coffee dinners are not a new concept. We’ve covered quite a few of them on Sprudge over the years and they all have a similar underlying mode: a coffee company teams up with a chef or restaurant to bring the two worlds together. Sometimes this means pairing coffee with food, sometimes it means using coffee as a component of a dish, sometimes both. But generally, it is a person from the coffee world working with someone from the culinary world to find the middle ground.

But a new dining experience is happening in Austin where the coffee person and the culinary person are one and the same. Created by former Fleet Coffee barista and ninth-place finisher at the 2018 US Barista Championship Brandon Acuña, Rover Concept is a “progressive American ultra-fine dining experience” and they are now taking reservations. Oh, and it’s a pop-up.

Inspired by James Beard Award-winning chef Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago, Acuña tells Sprudge he wants to use Rover as “a way to show a new type of thinking,” one that “looks at every detail equally,” from the food to the spoons used during service to the light to the temperature of the room. The idea for Rover began to codify for Acuña while working at Fleet preparing his routine for the US Barista Championship. Working with Lorenzo Perkins and Patrick Pierce, Acuña wanted to do something different than the regular routine, to find the gray areas in the rules and do things that weren’t necessarily allowed but weren’t specifically disallowed. It was this same sort of thinking he wanted to apply to the culinary world. After placing ninth, Acuña was given the opportunity to work the front-of-house at Alinea for a few months before returning to Austin to begin his ambitious new project.

As a dining experience without a permanent address, Rover is Acuña’s answer to the question “how can I take a Michelin-level concept to the consumer without an address?” Being held at a currently undisclosed location on Austin’s east side—an event space “a lot of people visit frequently” that Acuña doesn’t want to name because he “[doesn’t] want people to have a preconceived idea of what to expect”—a total of 10 dinners will take place between May 23^rd and June 9^th.

“Stone Fruit”

Each dinner will feature a 10 to 14 course tasting menu, each with coffee playing a factor. For some courses, it’s about rethinking how coffee is served (Gesha snow, anyone?). In others, it could be playing off a word or phrase common in the coffee world, like the “Stone Fruit” course. Using the idea that a stone fruit is a drupe as is the coffee cherry, this course involves a white flesh peach poached in sous vide burnt heavy cream, served on top of a cultured version of that same heavy cream, with an Ethiopia YirgZ espresso thickened with a cold soluble form of gelatin and molded into the shape of a peach pit.

Tickets for Rover Concept’s “Coffee” experience are available via their website for $150 and include wine and cocktail pairings. If all goes well with this first installment, Acuña says he would like to take Rover on the road and is currently eyeing 10 cities in the Midwest and on the coasts. Currently, the first two dates have already sold out over a month in advance, so signs are looking good that this new coffee concept may be coming to a city near you. For more information, visit Rover Concept’s official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

All photos by Nicholas Friesen for Rover Concept.

The post Austin: Rover Concept Mingles Coffee With Progressive Fine Dining appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Who among us doesn’t like cracking into a beautifully designed can of cold brew? Our friends at Abracadabra teamed up with Vermont’s Luce Farm to create a crushable coffee chill brew infused with 20mg of hemp-derived CBD. Abracadabra asked designers Dang Olsen and Andrew Plotsky to help design the can—using magical elements and a psychedelic color story. Olsen designed Abracadabra’s cold brew cans all the way back in 2017. This time around, the cans are brighter and a little more colorful and even sport a custom typeface. We spoke with Clint Hunt to learn more.

Tell us more about the collaboration between Abracadabra and Luce Farm.

Our relationship developed over a nasty winter last year when mass amounts of CBD and coffee were pivotal to our happy survival. Our companies immediately vibed and we knew a collaboration was brewing. Our businesses are very similar in regards to sustainability, quality, and transparency. We are super passionate about sourcing, roasting, and brewing the tastiest, nuanced, out of this world coffees. Luce Farm is involved fully from growing their own dope ass hemp plants organically on their farm in Vermont, to extracting and producing their delicious full spectrum nectar with intense love and care.

How long was Chill Brew in development before its launch last summer?

We started experimenting in December 2017 with different single origin coffees, processing methods, brew ratios and CBD dosages. We canned a multitude of test batches which we tried throughout the winter months before deciding on the final recipe.

There’s 20 mg of hemp-derived CBD in each can. What does it taste like?

We chose this specific coffee to pair with CBD because of how well the taste and aromas complimented each other. This Ethiopia Gedeb coffee is super juicy and clean and when combined with the dank CBD creates an experience that keeps your eyes wide and your vibes chiiiillllllll. Notes of tangerine, caramel, chamomile, and spruce tips levitate from this can.

It’s been out for nearly a year. How has it been received?

It’s been fanfrickingtastic! We have been super stoked and overwhelmed by the positive feedback both in terms of taste and experience.

Tell us about the beautiful packaging—who did the art?

Our art and design boiz Dang Olsen and Andrew Plotsky cold crushed it. We took an image of a shirt, hand tie-dyed by Dang, to use for the soft colors of the background. Dang hand drew the squiggly alphabet for us which Andrew used to create the official ABRACADANG font. Dang drew all the dreamy psychedelic illustrations you see throughout the can and Andrew combined all the magick elements together.

Is CBD-infused coffee the future?

CBD coffee is now…THC coffee is the future.

Where is it available?

We just recently made it available via our website. Get it offline y’all. We distribute throughout Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island currently and are looking to expand into all of New England and the world, and beyond the world, we’re looking at you outer space.

How much is it?

You can cop a can for $8 or a 4 pack for $28. Cheap coffee ain’t good and good coffee ain’t cheap.

Thanks!

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.

The post Coffee Design: CBD-Infused Abracadabra Coffee Chill Brew appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Exciting news coming out of San Francisco as Linea Caffe has announced a new location opening in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. According to a press release, the 5,000-square-foot cafe/roastery is expected to open June 1st.

For Linea Caffe owner Andrew Barnett, the recently announced Mariposa Street location is a homecoming of sorts. Back in 2009, Barnett had just sold his previous business, Ecco Caffè, to Chicago’s Intelligentisa, who at the time were trying to break into the Bay Area. The plan was to for Intelli to open a shop in this exact same location, which Barnett would use to roast The Ecco Project, “designed to showcase the rare varietal, the auction lot, or the result of an experiment hatched between producers who met at our Extraordinary Coffee Workshop,” as Intelligentsia’s then-Director of Marketing Stephen Morrissey told Sprudge at the time.

That cafe never fully came to fruition. Instead, in 2017 Intelli turned it into a roasting space and training lab for their wholesale clients. A year later, the roasting facility shuttered.

The space has now come full circle, with Barnett nearly a decade later finally getting to open the roasting space he had wanted. From the press release:

It’s always been my dream to roast coffee in San Francisco, and to have a place where we could create an experience where our guests can see and smell beautiful coffees being roasted, and appreciate the finished product all at the same time.

The new Linea Caffe will be home to a “vintage German Probat UG-22” as well as the brand new, ergonomics-forward La Marzocco KB90 espresso machine. The space won’t stray too far from its past life as a training facility, with Barnett planning to continue to offer educational opportunities for wholesale clients and retail customers alike. According to the press release, the new café will offer “pastries from Dogpatch baker, Neighbor Bakehouse, whole leaf teas from Song Tea and matcha from Mizuba, and organic milk and alternative milk options from Straus Family Creamery and Oatly.”

It appears that good things do come to those who wait, even if sometimes, the good thing was what you thought you had 10 years ago. For more information, visit Linea Caffe’s official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via Better Together: San Francisco’s Linea Caffe And La Boulangerie Team Up

Disclosure: Linea Caffe is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network

The post Linea Caffe Returns Home For A New San Francisco Location appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

I don’t think I’m telling any tales outside of school when I say that New York City has one of the best coffee scenes in America. The number of high quality cafes in the Big Apple could easily number in the hundreds, a fact that even as I write this I can’t help but balk at. But there’s a problem: NYC is so big that even the most well-traveled coffee seeker may not have experienced some of the best shops the city has to offer. That’s why Counter Culture is hosting Pop Culture, a brand new pop-up series taking place at their Broome Street Training Center in New York. Starting in April, Counter Culture will turn over the keys to shop to different NYC cafes to bring a world of different coffee services under one roof.

For the inaugural Pop Culture, Counter Culture has teamed up with six different cafes from around New York City, who will each get two consecutive weekends to display their particular brand of coffee service as well as do a few experimental things they may not normally be able to do in their day-to-day cafe life. “New York has got so many visions for what coffee service can and should look like,” Counter Culture’s Matt Banbury tells Sprudge. “[Pop Culture] gives us the opportunity to showcase what makes our partnership unique with these shops.”

Shops participating in this series include: Little Collins, Little Skips, Southside Coffee, Everyman Espresso, Chalait, and Swallow. Each will be interpreting their time at the Training Center however they see fit. Little Collins, for instance, will be serving different toasts as well as heralding the oncoming summer months with an affogato made with Counter Culture’s natural processed Buziraguhindwa from Kayanza, Burundi. There’s even talk of a bit of a fun educational angle about potato defect in coffee and it may or may not include a side of potato chips. Everyman Espresso, on the other hand, will be turning the Training Center into more of a gallery space. Serving a menu focused on Ethiopian coffee, Everyman has plans of bringing in clothing designers and hosting an event with Sarina Prabasi, author of the soon to be released The Coffee House Resistance: Brewing Hope in Desperate Times.

And speaking of clothing, Counter Culture will be releasing a series of limited edition shirts and merch celebrating Pop Culture, which will only be available for purchase at the NYC Training Center.

Branbury tells Sprudge that if all goes well, he’d like to see Pop Culture travel to other Training Centers around the country, perhaps even bringing non-local Counter Culture accounts to takeover for a weekend. But for now, some really great New York shops and giving a whole new set of New Yorkers a chance to see and taste what they are all about.

For more information on Pop Culture and updates on the different pop-up events, make sure you are following Counter Culture on Instagram.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

All images via Counter Culture

Disclosure: Counter Culture is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network

The post Counter Culture Goes Pop-Up With New York City Cafe Series appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Opened in February 2016, Bosgaurus was built on the space of a modern mansion facing the Saigon river in the Saigon Pearl neighborhood—a 15-minute commute from Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. The city has many already established specialty coffee shops, namely The Workshop, Shin Coffee, and Saigon Coffee Roastery, but there are reasons that merit one’s trip out to this part of the city for a latte. Good coffee and beautiful aesthetics: Bosgaurus has both.

Nguyen Canh Hung, owner and roaster of Bosgaurus, formerly worked as an engineer before his European business trips guided him to specialty coffee: “I drank a lot of coffee during my stays in different cities in the world, but only after I had been to Berlin and Amsterdam did I know about specialty coffee,” he says. Despite being a “coffee layman,” as Nguyen puts it, “I could sense the fruitiness and sweetness aftertaste in my cup of filter coffee. That was an experience I didn’t have in Vietnam—despite it being a coffee-producing country.”

Nguyen signed up for some SCAE courses and went on to hone his roasting skill with roasteries around the world, including Boot Coffee, Maruyama Coffee, and April Coffee Roasters before he opened Bosgaurus. Nguyen named his coffee shop after a species of bison native to Southeast Asia facing the risk of extinction; Bosgaurus the cafe similarly carries a dream of keeping Vietnamese coffee on the world map.

The cafe resembles a laboratory, with tones of grey and white made up by transparent frameless glass walls and stainless steel bar, tables, bar stools, and chairs. This design might startle locals, as the classic Vietnamese cafe tends to be filled with wooden tables accompanied by yellow ambient lighting, which casts a warm glow upon the sitting areas. But at Bosgaurus, it works, thanks to the nearby parks and trees with vibrant green foliage that brings a refreshing feel to the space.

You’re at first greeted by baristas standing behind the counter of Bosgaurus’ most astonishing piece of design: the flybar. Made from unibody stainless steel, the flybar is 9.6 meters long and 0.8 meters wide, and weighs almost 800kg, suspended from the ceiling of the first floor, yet remains surprisingly sturdy. It bears the additional weight of coffee equipment, including Synesso Hydra and Mahlkönig grinders. Filter selections are offered via Hario V60.

I had the pleasure of spending a long week frequenting Bosgaurus. At the time of my visit, the cafe was offering tasting flights with several single origins from Ethiopia, Kenya, and El Salvador sourced from Project Origin, a pulped natural Catuaí from Brazil, and exclusive lots of anaerobic and aerobic washed Catimor from Vietnam through a direct trade relationship with Pham Manh Hung.

While espresso-based beverages were served with a Colombian blend, all filter roasts were also available as espresso on request. At Bosgaurus, every detail matters, so coffees are dialed in every morning with a refractometer, and recipes are written down to keep track of the changes. Taking a step down to the basement, guests can see the glass warehouse where all the coffee is stored. The warehouse is constantly kept at a temperature of 20–22˚C with humidity around 50–60%.

Maintaining consistent quality in specialty coffee is a challenge, yet Nguyen has partners to back him up. Bosgaurus is home to talented baristas, notably Tran Han—two-time Vietnamese Barista Champion. Vu Tran Nguyen Anh, the reigning Vietnamese Barista Champion, also worked and trained by Bosgaurus at the time of her winning.

Typically, coffees at Bosgaurus are roasted light, as Nguyen prefers to showcase a coffee’s flavor complexities while preserving regional characteristics. But Nguyen also offers dark roasts for customers who want a traditional espresso. “I’ve got something for everyone, as I don’t want a new customer to be intimidated by this whole new coffee concept,” said Nguyen. Dark roasts are also used in Ca phe Sua da, a traditional coffee drink in Vietnam brewed on Phin with a layer of condensed milk in the bottom. Aside from coffee, brunches and tropical fruit juices are also served at Bosgaurus—and don’t miss out—they also have one of the best waffles in town.

Tung Nguyen is a freelance journalist based in Vietnam. Read more Tung Nguyen for Sprudge.

The post Inside Bosgaurus, Ho Chi Minh City’s Stunning Multi-Story Cafe appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Drinking coffee can provide a quick jolt of energy, this much we all know. But new research shows that coffee is also an effective medium for absorbing energy, specifically from the sun. Scientists have found a way to use coffee to harness solar power, and it may be a game changer.

According to Phys.org, current methods for converting solar rays into usable energy involve “the indirect absorption of sunlight, where the efficiency is generally limited as a result of major convective heat losses into the surrounding environment.” One potentially advantageous alternative is direct absorption using a liquid as “both solar energy absorber and heat carrier,” which has the benefit over indirect absorption of less “convective and radiative heat losses,” meaning a more efficient collection of energy. And as you may have guessed, the liquid, in this case, is coffee.

Using the caffeinated cure-all, a group of researchers led by Matteo Alberghini at the Departments of Energy, Applied Science, and Technology and the National Institute of Optics in Italy created a colloid from distilled water, Arabica coffee, glycerol, and copper sulfate. And because they are Italian, the coffee was made with a Moka Pot, though the article states they chose that particular brew method was for the “consistency” and in order to make “student’s coffee,” which allows for “increased caffeine suspension in water.”

After testing the coffee colloid, the researchers found it “showed competitive optical and thermal properties for direct solar absorption” and that it performed “similarly to the traditional indirect absorption technique.”

To be honest, I can’t really understand 99% of what is going on here. If it wasn’t taught in high school Chemistry class 15 years ago, I don’t stand a chance of getting it; my Chemistry knowledge peaks out at hydrogen bonds, and even then I only know that they are the reason you can slightly overfill your coffee cup without it spilling. But while the inner-workings of the science are a mystery to me, what is clear is that using coffee in this way offers an inexpensive, environmentally friendly way of harnessing non-fossil fuel energy. For those more science-minded, more information on how the colloid was made and how it was tested can be found on Phys.org.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

The post Scientists Are Using Coffee To Harness Solar Energy appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

In a city with a dining scene that has been dominated by restaurants, bars, and coffee shops opening in huge developments, El Tesoro offers an alternative. The taqueria-cafe combo sits in an unassuming little building on Arkwright Avenue, an unassuming little street in Atlanta’s Edgewood neighborhood. What El Tesoro lacks in glitz and PR buzz, it makes up for with espresso beverages that complement comida de Mexico.

Co-owner Alan Raines has operated a nearby rental property for nearly two decades, and he says he’s been eyeing the building that El Tesoro calls home for years. He took the plunge in 2018, convincing the building’s landlord his business idea would be a good fit. These days, the typical new Atlanta restaurant boasts an address that is marketed as “right off the BeltLine,” a public works project that is in the process of converting miles of abandoned railroad tracks into a walking trail. The East Side portion of the trail was the first to open, and it has spurred an explosion of mixed-use projects popping up all over this part of town. Dining has been the anchor for most of these developments, but with high rent prices leaving little opportunity to gamble on innovation or outside-the-box thinking in the kitchen, these establishments, more often than not, offer style over substance, Instagram-worthy dining rooms, and forgettable food.

El Tesoro co-owners Darryl Howard, left, and Alan Raines, right.

Raines has taken inspiration from his business and pleasures and poured it into El Tesoro. On the dining side of things, he wants to serve dishes that might be found at roadside restaurants he encountered during his travels in Mexico. Cristina Lugo Soto, a native of Guerrero, runs a kitchen that turns out breakfast tacos, burritos, tamales, and mulitas for breakfast and lunch. The coffee menu features a variety of Counter Culture beans because Raines had positive interactions with the Durham, North Carolina, outfit during his time selling packaging to roasteries. Clover James, an eight-year veteran of Java Monkey a few miles away in Decatur, oversees the beverage service, experimenting with new drinks on a daily basis. Yes, there are cortados and lattes, but there are also horchatas and Mexican hot chocolates.

“I wanted to do Mexican flavors,” James tells Sprudge. “And so the cafe de olla is orange and brown sugar and cinnamon. We do a cinnamon simple syrup instead of a hazelnut or caramel.”

El Tesoro’s design, like its location, does not lean into modern trends. Raines describes it as “pharmacy or apothecary-turned-taco stand.” Upon entering, patrons are greeted by a bright yellow wall with dark-wood shelves displaying assorted tchotchkes. A speckled marble counter displays pastries and fruit for sale, and there is a La Marzocco FB80 espresso machine cradling a rainbow of colorful cups, mugs, and saucers. On one side of the seating area are more yellow paint and black-and-white photos. Opposite that is a cinderblock wall decorated with old layers of faded paint and a big, bold El Tesoro logo.

Photo courtesy of El Tesoro.

Dinner service is in the works, as is a full bar. But, no matter how the business evolves, breakfast tacos and espresso will be key components. Arkwright Avenue is a cut-through between larger thoroughfares and Interstate 20, and Raines estimates 200 to 300 cars pass by his front door each morning. The morning clientele is built in.

There’s not much room for commercial growth at this location. Only a few buildings sit in the area, housing a dog boutique, an auto shop, and a currently vacant storefront. The remaining neighbors are residential. So while the rest of Atlanta is swallowed by development, El Tesoro may continue to be a treasure for coffee drinkers and diners wary of the overblown hype that comes with BeltLine-adjacent restaurants.

Chris Fuhrmeister is a freelance journalist based in Atlanta whose work has appeared previously in Eater. This is Chris Fuhrmeister’s first feature for Sprudge.

The post In Atlanta, El Tesoro Brings Cafe Y Comida Under One Roof appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The Glasgow Coffee Festival is back! Now in its fifth year, the festival will again bring together some of the roasters in the UK for two days of coffee tastings, lectures, and one of the most exciting coffee competitions to spectate.

Taking place Saturday and Sunday, May 4^th and 5^th at The Briggait, The Glasgow Coffee Festival is the brainchild of Dear Green Coffee Roasters’ Lisa Lawson. For those who have attended the festival in the past, this year’s GCF will have a similar look and feel to previous years; why fix what isn’t broke, especially when what isn’t broken has a tendency to reach capacity? Along with the aforementioned Dear Green Coffee, attendees can taste coffee from roasters like HasBean, Allpress Espresso, Origin Coffee Roasters, Climpson & Sons, and so many more. This year’s festival also touts a total of 24 presentations taking place over the course of the weekend that is attendees can sit in on at no additional fee.

But perhaps the most exciting viewing spectacle at the Glasgow Coffee Festival will be First Heat of the UK Cup Tasters Championship. Folks will be able to watch as coffee professionals try to find the mismatched cup using only their taste buds, with the scoring coming in real time with all always-exciting dot-or-no-dot reveals. And for those looking to get in on the fun, there will be a “Cupping Lab where visitors can sniff, sip and scrutinize a variety of offerings from the world of coffee.”

Like with previous years, the Glasgow Coffee Festival has turned an eye toward the eco-conscious. Continuing the momentum from last year’s event, the GCF will be disposable cup free, instead requesting that all attendees bring their own reusable mug. And for those who forget or don’t have a mug at home, sponsor KeepCup will be on site to offer loaner cups for the day.

Tickets for the 2019 Glasgow Coffee Festival are currently on sale for £16.50 and £25.00 for single-day and weekend passes, respectively. They are available for purchase via the GCF Eventbrite page, with all profits going to World Coffee Research and Glasgow City Mission. Like with previous iterations, this year’s event is sure to sell out, so you’d be wise to buy tickets sooner rather than later. For more information, visit the Glasgow Coffee Festival’s official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via the Glasgow Coffee Festival

The post The Glasgow Coffee Festival Returns To Scotland In May appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Kaley Gann of Messenger Coffee in Kansas City, Missouri is your 2019 US Brewers Cup champion. After a second place finish at the Denver Qualifying Event, Gann—the hometown favorite—took an early lead and never looked back. This is Gann’s first win in three years competing, besting her third place finish from the 2018 US Brewers Cup. In the first round, Gann edged out perennial US Brewers Cup Finalist Jacob White of Bird Rock Coffee for the top spot by a mere .13 points, thanks in no small part to her third-highest scoring compulsory coffee. But for the Finals, she increased her Open Coffee score by over three points, an astronomical leap in the game of millimeters that is the Brewers Cup. Gann’s 91.35 Finals was the third-highest score in the entire competition, less than a point behind Klatch‘s Jennifer Hwang and the aforementioned White (don’t phone in your compulsory coffee, y’all).

Even as a return Finalist, Gann was by no means the heir apparent; she was up against a murderer’s row of competitors, including four other return Finalists in Hwang, White, 2017 runner-up Chelsea Walker-Watson, and multi-time Finalist Justin Goodhart. The only non-Finalist in the mix, first-time competitor Lance Hedrick, is an accomplished Latte Art competitor who represented Onyx Coffee Lab, a Finalist in just about every event at the US Coffee Championships and the home of the 2017 Brewers Cup Champion Dylan Siemens. There was no clear favorite this year; it was truly a dice roll.

But Gann’s performance had all the hallmarks of a high-scoring routine, both in the US and at World’s: an exotic and well-renown coffee, a custom brewer, meticulous detail in her script, and an out-of-the-ordinary brew recipe (190°F water? 28g water bypass? What?). And while these are all interesting details that make the Brewers Cup such an exciting competition to watch, what set Gann’s routine apart was her ability to nail her flavor calls. As Counter Culture‘s Kathy Altamirano—Gann’s Head Judge during Round One and her Sensory Judge during the Finals—tells Sprudge, “Kaley named cherry cordial as a flavor call and it was exactly that. It was a flavor that stayed in the cup from hot to cool.”

In the end, after all the scores came in, what looked to be a dice roll was anything but. It was a top competitor starting strong in Qualifiers who only got stronger as the competitor wore on. To find out more about her winning routine, her coffee, and her new brewer, Sprudge caught up with Kaley Gann digitally from her home in Kansas City, Missouri.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Tell us a little about your history in coffee? How did you get started? What’s your current role with Messenger?

I started in coffee almost nine years ago and worked for Kaldi’s Coffee in Columbia, Missouri. I was the General Manager of the cafe there then moved to Kansas City almost two years ago to work with Messenger. My current role at Messenger is Cafe Operations Manager.

Can you tell us more about Perci, your winning coffee?

The coffee I used is a natural Gesha from Ninety Plus Coffee. It’s grown in Panama and undergoes a unique uneven fermentation process that makes it very complex and overall interesting. I first tried this coffee in China when I was working with [multi-time Chinese Barista Champion] Jeremy Zhang and (current Chinese Brewers Cup champion) Du Janing and really enjoyed how it tasted, especially because it was so different. They gifted me 11 kg of green Perci to take back to the States and roast for competition.

I really enjoyed the coffee in China but was unsure of how well we can roast it, especially with only having enough for one roast. I had another speech and another coffee ready in case the Perci didn’t taste great after roasting it. So, two days before I competed in the first round I decided which coffee and speech I was going to use—our roaster Kiersten Rex totally nailed the Perci roast and it tasted great so we used it!

We have to know more about your custom brewer. How did it come to be?

The brewer! My favorite part. I had this dream design for a while now. I wanted a brewer that was completely open on the bottom and a straight-up 90 degree angle, because I wanted as little influence from the brewer as possible. So, no restrictive holes or angles that would influence speed or muddle flavors. I noticed that each competition season I use a brewer that has a steeper angle and a more open bottom (i.e., V60 to Saint Anthony C70) and I noticed I loved the resulting super quick extractions because I could grind finer, get more flavor/complexity, while keeping the brew super clean. So, I wanted a brewer that was as steep and as open as possible.

I made a couple of prototypes that were horrible and ugly, but I am not great at making things (admittedly). So, I went to Convivial with the design and they were able to make the brewers. The bottom is still very open with just a few ceramic beams to support the filter, so the extraction remains very fast. What I found was better than I ever imagined: higher extraction yields, more flavor, easy and quick brew, and SUPER clean and clear. As far as filters go, both Fellow Stagg filters and Kalita filters fit in the brewer, but I used the Kalita because they are a bit thinner and allowed quicker flow rate.

I would love to partner with a company that already makes brewers and refine the design. In working with ceramics there can be some small inconsistencies but that could be eliminated when using 3D printing and consistent mass manufacturing. I want to call it the K90 (Kaley, 90 degree angle) because it’s simple and fun.

Will the K90 be available for purchase?

Stay tuned! I’m hoping to look into this after Boston.

You finished second in the Denver Qualifiers and had the highest score going in the finals. How were you feeling heading into the Finalists announcement? Did you feel like your name was going to get called?

The finalists announcements were so stressful. It’s so hard being the last name called. I was surprised because anything goes in these competitions, and I was surrounded by so many ridiculously talented competitors. I went into this year already stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something different (unfamiliar coffee, custom brewer) and I honestly wasn’t sure how either would be received; however, I went into it knowing that I did my absolute best, took feedback from last year’s national competition, and changed how I approach competition as a whole.

It’s fair to say based on your reaction that you were surprised that you won. What did it feel like when Justin’s name was called and you realized that you were the new US Brewers Cup champion?

It felt amazing to win and I was relieved/surprised because, again, I went way outside my comfort zone for this competition—but what I enjoyed the most was being able to stand up next to five wonderful people who I have an immense amount of respect for and who represent the industry well. Any one of those people could have won and I would have still been very happy.

Are you going to be updating your routine for the World Brewers Cup?

Kate Blackman (mentor), Joel Bigelow (coach), Jeremy Zhang (mentor/friend), Du Janing (friend, fellow competitor), Matt Foster (friend, CIGS champion!!), EVERY single Messenger employee, sponsors, Sam (husband), Convivial… I have had more help and guidance this year than any other season and I am eternally grateful. I’m not representing myself—I’m representing an entire team and all I want to do is make them proud.

Thanks Kaley! We’ll see you in Boston!

Photos by Elizabeth Chai and Charlie Burt for Sprudge.

SprudgeLive’s coverage of the 2019 US Coffee Champs is made possible by Joe Glo and Mahlkönig. All of SprudgeLive’s 2019 competition coverage is made possible by Acaia, Baratza, Faema, Cafe Imports, and Wilbur Curtis.

The post 2019 US Brewers Cup Champion Kaley Gann: The Sprudge Interview appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Peter Harf, head of JAB Holding Co.

A bombshell report dropped today out of Germany, where Bild, a popular Berlin-based broadsheet, is reporting on the disturbing Nazi pasts of Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr., whose descendants today own JAB Holdings.

The Washington Post breaks it down in English:

The tabloid Bild, one of Germany’s most popular papers, reported that Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr., whose family backs JAB Holdings, had significant links to the Third Reich.

JAB Holdings is a privately held conglomerate that has investments in a wide portfolio of global companies, among them Peet’s Coffee, Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper-Snapple. It acquired Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, which owns three national bagel chains — Einstein Bros., Noah’s New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel — in 2014.

The report goes on to mention that Herr Reimann—Sr. died in 1954, Jr. in 1984—were “anti-Semites and avowed supporters of Adolf Hitler” whose businesses benefitted from association with the Third Reich, including the disturbing use of forced labor. Reckoning the German crimes of World War Two in today’s business climate remains an ongoing concern for modern German businesses, with WaPo namechecking “Hugo Boss, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and others” as firms with similar narratives. There are of course many more, including IBM, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola (through the Fanta brand), Kodak, Bayer, and the Associated Press, to name just a few.

For their part here in 2019, JAB is owning up to it, issuing the following statement to Bild (as translated by WaPo):

“It is all correct,” family spokesman Peter Harf, who is one of two managing partners of JAB Holdings, told Bild. “Reimann Senior and Reimann Junior were guilty. The two men have passed away, but they actually belonged in prison.”

In 2014 JAB commissioned a historian to learn more, and will publish his findings in a public book upon completion, as per reporting by Business Standard. Harf, the family spokesman, told Business Standard that JAB intends to donate some 10 million Euros (roughly $11 million USD) to “a suitable organization” as reparations for unpaid labor during the Nazi regime.

JAB was founded in Germany in the 1820s, and today owns a varied portfolio of brands including Clearasil, Calgon, Mucinex, Durex, Woolite, Coty, Dr. Pepper Snapple, and a wide range of coffee and fast casual cafe brands, including Pret a Manger, Caribou, Panera Bread, Krispy Kream, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Keurig Green Mountain, and Peet’s Coffee and Tea. In recent years they’ve extended ownership into the specialty coffee and third wave cafe market, acquiring Stumptown Coffee, Intelligentsia Coffee, and Mighty Leaf Tea, as well as investing heavily into Trade, the online roaster marketplace based in New York.

This story is developing…

Read previous Sprudge reporting on JAB Holdings.

Disclosure: Intelligentsia, Stumptown, and Trade are advertising partners on Sprudge Media Network. 

The post Berlin Newspaper Reports On JAB’s Dark World War Two Ties appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News