Our Field Trip!

A long time ago (June 18th), a group of ERACE members traversed Southern California to sample some of the region’s finest coffees. This is their story.

JONES COFFEE ROASTERS, 537 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA

Jones Coffee Roasters in Pasadena was our first stop. The humble facade outside cleverly conceals the space within–a space with a bustling central bar, pallets of beans stacked up next to a churning roaster, and enough coffee and espresso related doo-dads and thingamabobs lining the walls and shelves you feel like you are in a museum. This place makes you happy.

So the vibes are cool, but how is the ’spro, you ask? Well, our first round was somewhat below expectations. In fact it wasn’t until the owner, Chuck, appeared and had his training barista help us that we got good shots. I must admit, that fact makes me somewhat apprehensive about the quality I would get should I return sans entourage. My advice? Bring your friends and act as geeky as possible–and make sure you look around for this guy:

Chuck Jones–owner/roaster, and one of the most enthusiastic and generous coffee folks I’ve met in quite a while. He was stoked to share his current plans and future projects with us, as well as tales big and small of his many adventures. He genuinely cares about his business, and wants to share his passion with you. I am seriously anxious to work out going down to the Jones farm in Antigua, Guatemala someday–ERACE holiday, anyone?

Oh, and one more thing about Jones–the place will be even cooler once Chuck polishes this baby up and puts her on the bar (or sells her to me so she doesn’t look so sad…hmm…):

INTELLIGENTSIA, 3922 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California

Our next stop was Intelligentsia in the uber-chic Silver Lake. A Chicago import, Intelligentsia has had to work for my love. They are in a super-hip area and have a world-class bar with a sleek design (serious time and money went into this place)–but I always feel like they have a bit too much of that assembly-line operation (a la that mermaid place whose existence we all ignore–albeit with MUCH better product). But if you want a good ’spro fast and without the fuss (but with all the glamour), this is your place. They also have a small complement of top-notch pastries (go early for those) and a large outdoor patio with misters (perfect for sitting and reading for hours). Next door is The Cheese Store of Silver Lake, and down the road is a super-hip raw eatery called Cru. Take a day to visit this block of L.A. and you, too, can be a super-hip Los Angelino.

CHOKE, 4157 Normal Ave., Los Angeles, CA

Just a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Sunset Boulevard, was our next stop, Choke Motorcycles (& Espresso). If I owned the Vespa I’ve always wanted, Choke would be my new home. Espresso and motorcycles in one place–unfamiliar concept but it works. Chris had one word to say about his macchiato: nirvana. My shot was good, but it was the groovy, funky atmosphere and decor that sold me; like the stir sticks and sugar packets in old oil cans:

The bar was fantastic; check out the vintage setup:

The barista wishes to remain unpublished, but he’s a great guy who knows his stuff–a motorcycle shop worth checking out even if you don’t own a bike!

LAMILL, 1636 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Lamill–our last stop of the day, and a more pretentious coffee bar setup you will never see. The equipment is state of the art, the decor is almost stifling, the menu is a novel (I was in heaven!). I expected an equally ostentatious display from the staff. Amazingly, however, Lamill’s was one of most hospitable stops we made! Add to that, the ’spro was quite delicious–the shots came on a bit harsh, but had the most lingering and delicious caramel aftertaste I have ever experienced. Jason had a capp and said the milk cut that initial bite–perhaps tweaking the blend in future could alter the bite for those of us who prefer straight shots. The head barista, Ryan Palmer, (who had moved to California literally the day before) was particularly gracious and accommodating. His knowledge on the Lamill selection was weak (I’m sure he’s an old hand there now), but his knowledge of the bean was not. He was kind enough to bring us a siphon pot of the El Salvador La Montana–Cup of Excellence #1.

Our only complaint was that we could not finish the pot–at this point in the afternoon the three remaining revolutionaries were beginning to feel a bit over-stimulated. The siphon was excellent, though, notes of rose and almond with milk-chocolate undertones–more akin to sipping a fine tea than to the way us revolutionaries normally brew our beans. A great experience, though, and such great people!

Well that was a brief summary of our grand adventures–I hope more of you can join us when we have our next adventure! Until then…

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN, MIS AMIGOS!

Meeting #4

On the eve of Monday, June 9th, a polka-dotted invitation was sent to a couple dozen coffee fanatics; on Wednesday, June 11th, a handful of those fanatics gathered in a cozy pool-side rec hall; and drank a crazy amount of coffee…

…and that’s as far as the Maestro got in his blog post…so here I go again, picking up his slack p

Thanks to everyone who stopped by last Wednesday to participate in an insane amount of Blue Bottle espresso tasting!  We tried the four espresso blends offered by Blue Bottle, and Mike Colston brought some beans as well!  We didn’t even get to the Urth Cafe beans!  I never thought there could be such a thing as too much coffee…

Some highlights, you ask?  Well with two espresso machines, two grinders, and a refrigerator all plugged into the same outlet we managed to trip the breaker about half a dozen times.  This resulted in significant delays and some rather innovative grinding of the Finca Matalapa from the ceiling fan outlet:

Technical difficulties resolved, we had some satisfied revolutionaries:

Mike Colston poured me a BEAUTIFUL capp with my homemade almond milk:

And Chris showed us all that he really is the ultimate fashion guru:

If you are interested, I have included the descriptions of the Blue Bottle blends from their website, along with ERACE tasting notes for your perusal.  Verdict on the Blue Bottle?  The Temescal was the hands-down favorite, but the roastings as a whole were something of a let-down.  We are taking suggestions for the next espresso blend tasting–just email with ideas (emhartop@gmail.com).  Also email if you are not yet part of our mailing list–you will receive updates on meetings, etc.–and lastly, be sure to email if you are interested in our first ever ERACE field trip taking place this Wednesday, June 18th!!

Espresso Temescal 

If we were to commission a sonnet for one of our blends, the Espresso Temescal would be the hands-down choice for this honor. It is complex, poetic, finicky – if you make coffee in your garrett, loft studio, Pied-a-terre, atelier…this is your blend. A medium roast that is a fairly intricate blend of coffees from Sumatra, Costa Rica, Mexico and Ethiopia, the Espresso Temescal reigns supreme in the Mokka pot. It also pulls a fascinating shot on a lot of espresso machines. 

ERACE notes: buttery aftertaste; some plums, berries, raisins, and overripe cherries; almond and cocoa undertones; very finicky (every shot seemed fascinatingly different!)

Hayes Valley Espresso 

This espresso is quite a departure for us here at the BBCC, but it’s working out quite spectacularly on the majestic La Marzocco at our Kiosk on Linden Street. As opposed to the other espressi we offer, this is more of an – American-style – espresso – darker, lower-toned, no brightness, plenty of chocolate – thick and rich at 192 degrees at the portafilter – with an engaging complexity as a straight shot. The shots are gorgeous: achingly heavy with voluptuous red-brown crema, and the silky, somewhat dangerous-looking viscosity of a power-steering stop-leak product cone used on our coffee roaster’s (now departed) heroically battered 1983 Peugeot. In milk, it tastes like chocolate ovaltine, and holds its own from the daintiest 3oz Macciato to our towering 12oz caffee latte. 

ERACE Notes: Creamy consistency, a hint of red wine + chocolate, touch of spice, Milk Chocolate and Malty–much like Ovaltine or Whoppers

Retrofit Espresso 

Named after the upcoming terrorist-proofing of the bay Bridge Bart tube, this espresso is a sweet and simple delight. Not particularly demanding of the barista, the retrofit is a balanced and mild espresso: the most Italian tasting of any we currently serve. We serve this coffee every Tuesday and Saturday in our little kiosk at the west side of the Ferry Building. Generally, we serve on day four or five, up-dose moderately, and pull one ounce doubles at a leisurely 30 seconds. This is not an espresso for big milk drinks. Lovers of tall milky drinks might scratch their heads in disappointed confusion wondering where their coffee is. But if you know that a macchiato does not have carmel in it, this could be your espresso. 

ERACE Notes: Creamy with a caramel finish, pear (or so Chris claimed–but when we brought pears back and sampled them we decided he was crazy!), dark chocolate, nuttiness (walnuts?), balanced

Roman Espresso 

A bit of a hothouse flower, the Roman Espresso can turn on you in an instant if one of a dozen or so brewing parameters are not to its liking. Generally, it likes lower brewing temperatures (approximately 184 at the portafilter), and slower extraction times. In the right machine, it is a crema bomb, pouring oceans of the red/brown frothy stuff into your unsuspecting demitasse. When all is well, the result is a sweet, carmelly, fruity medium-bodied espresso that takes modest amounts of milk in the most delightful way. As pleasant as it is, after a couple of years of tweaking and fine-tuning, it doesn’t much resemble the espresso enjoyed in Rome any more, but we’re not about to shell out another twelve bucks for a new rubber stamp when we have a perfectly good one right here. 

ERACE Notes: Like a cherry cordial, very smooth, plum, like a salsa dance on the tongue (Haha, there he goes again…), citrus, fruity, tastes like Italian orange soft drink

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN, MIS AMIGOS!

ERACE MEETING #3

Fellow revolutionaries–I bring you the much anticipated blog of last week’s meeting! Enjoy!

The third meeting of ERACE, IE was quite a success. We had a number of members stop by (Thanks Jason, Cliff, Laura, Sarah, William, Mac, Simon, Kurt, Jim, and Jeff!–and of course Chris and Justin!) over the course of the evening. It was great to see so many of you! The focus of the evening was on Caffe Luxxe espresso blends (aka renamed Espresso Vivace blends). We had both the A Cappela (Dolce) blend and the Tetra Rossa (Vita) blend:

Both blends were fantastic (I’m a huge Vivace fan, though, so I needed no convincing!). We tried straight shots, capps, Aero-pressed, and used a Vacu-pot. Unfortunately, the second tasting of the evening was supposed to be Urth Cafe’s two espresso blends–but we had been duped into buying OLD beans (long story). I have since had a word with Urth Cafe and I received some very fresh, very tasty smelling beans that we will try THIS week!

The pours were fantastic, but by far the highlight of the evening was the debut of a future espresso SUPERSTAR…here he is beaming with pride over his very first pour… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…William!!!

Yes, this young man actually handpulled a couple of very nice pours on the Gaggia. Not only did he pull the shots:

But he hand-tamped them as well:

Look for him in regional competitions starting Spring of 2021! He’s shooting for the WBC by 2025, we wish him the best of luck–he’s off to a great start!

The rest of the evening was filled with the usual fiddling about with our machines and grinders, and things got really interesting when Chris attempted some blind portafilter improvisation:

We all hope he gets a blind disk soon so we aren’t subjected to an evening full of portafilter abuse again in the future! )

Well I’ll keep this blog short–but please stop by this week for the meeting! We are starting at 5:00 pm when we will begin with the Blue Bottle blends. We will also sample the Urth Cafe blends and discuss the upcoming field trip! Simon and Justin highly recommend stopping by:

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN, MIS AMIGOS!

Jason and Kid O’s

The third installment of the Intelli espressos–Organic “Kid O’s”.  Member Jason Grafft and I pulled some shots this evening (the Maestro eventually stopped by and gave it a go as well).  Jason pulled some great shots, but one really fabulous one, take a look:

 

STOKED!!!!!

Espresso Stoke–got it?

If you do–pass it along!  Share your pictures and stories with us (just email)!  I’ll start:

Today Justin and I pulled some fabulous shots of Intelligentsia’s Black Cat (the conventionally grown blend), here’s a little sample of what we were getting:

See those stripes?  See that viscosity?  I feel so proud (especially because this particular pull was Justin’s)! Anyhow, my moment of triumph actually came when I frothed up some homemade almond milk for a Machaccino (my beverage of choice–more volume than a macchiato but not nearly big enough to be called a cappuccino).  It was as if the planets were aligned–I pulled a great shot, frothed up some liquid velvet, and started to pour…

Now I know it’s not quite a “heart”–but it is at least a blob that vaguely resembles something sort of close to maybe being a little bit like one, possibly.  I was stoked.  It gives me hope for my future almond milk endeavors.  Thanks for listening, and feel welcome to share the stoke when you get it!  :o)

Pictures!

I begged and pleaded with The Maestro for e-permission to upload pictures of this Wednesday’s festivities.  Finally, he relented!  So, without further adieu, here they are!  

Jason with his “Iced Capp”– ouch…

Black Cat–Organic Single Origin Version

Can you smell the fresh ground beans? Mmmmmm.

The Maestro explaining flat v. convex tampers to Chin.

Simon of The Maestro’s “Simon says…” conversations. Also a supporter of the Unicorn Cafe.

Billy and his fluffy puppy (neither of them espresso drinkers, the horror!)

Delicious. Simply delicious.

The videographer and the chemist (Justin and Drew).

Roastmaster General Cliff! One of the coolest people I’ve met in a long time!

 

Week 2–The Revolution Continues

A handful of revolutionaries gathered for the second time this last Wednesday to revel in the many sights and smells of lovingly crafted espresso. Member Jason Grafft was kind enough to contribute a bag of Intelligentsia’s Black Cat (single origin organic, not to be confused with the conventionally grown Black Cat espresso blend). He, unfortunately, had time for but a single hastily pulled shot before scampering off to be a responsible member of RCC’s faculty for the evening. The rest of us enjoyed an evening full of Black Cat creations and great conversation with fellow revolutionaries. Some highlights included The Maestro’s first ever hand-pulled shot, a short visit by Billy’s puppy (okay well it was a highlight for me), some homemade almond milk that actually frothed (highlight for the non-dairy folks, all two of us), an influx of UCR scientists (Shoutout to Chin, Simon, and Drew!), radio show host and Roastmaster General Cliff Young’s contribution (including some wines from John Alan and great conversation, thanks Cliff!), and, of course, espresso to last us well into the evening. Much of the evening was captured by amateur photographer Me on my new camera (things will be improving in the coming weeks on that front). Some video-journaling was also done by amateur videographer Justin, and clips may become available soon! Please remember that our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 4th. We will probably start earlier (3:00 pm or so) but will undoubtedly pull shots until well into the night. If you need directions to this week’s meeting location stop by Goodwin’s and chat with Chris, or feel free to send me an email at emhartop@gmail.com. Until then, stay safe and don’t do drugs (except caffeine).

VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN, MIS AMIGOS!