Shots With Heather, Cups with Mike, and, oh yeah, Don’t Let Jon take Your Picture.

On August 6th fifteen revolutionaries gathered not in a rec-room per se , but in a warehouse. Not to teach, but to learn. Not to talk, but to listen. We gathered in Upland, in a haven of green beans and fresh roasted goodness (for now we’ll ignore the occasional “snicker-doodle” bags of flavored coffee) — to learn the art of espresso extraction, the nuances of Milk texturing and free pour Latte Art, and to practice taste bud acrobatics in the gastronomic gymnasium of “the cupping table”. Some were more experienced than others, but all were eager, and as Mike Perry guided us around his roasteria a kind of expectation and wonderment spread through our collective mind– coffee could introduce us to culinary and cultural adventures previously reserved exclusively, in our minds anyway, to the likes of Anthony Bourdain.

New club member and coffee enthusiast Frankee Torres came with a few coffee friends from the OC.

We cupped four coffees with Mike Perry including La Esmeralda and a Sumatra that tasted like vegetables (in a surprisingly good way) .

We learned about Latte Art and Espresso Extraction from Heather Perry.

We learned not to ask Jon Dodson to take our picture.

Until next time…

…VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!!!!!!!

Colston Collection

There is an Inland Empire coffee nerd that needs our assistants and support. He goes by the alias SlawJava . He needs to go to Seattle. If you are willing to donate some money to send this person to compete in a Latte Art competition at this years Coffee Fest in Seattle, please contact either Emily Hartop or Chris Cayford in person or e-mail the club at EraceIE@Gmail.com…

…VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!!!!!!!

Coffee Klatch

As I sit here drinking my cup of delicious Klatch coffee I often wonder about the things of this world. I wonder how the Sistine Chapel was painted and why people freely choose not to eat meat. But I digress, for this blog post is not about the things I deem fit but about the wonderful coffee we all got to share last Wednesday and our spectacular host that evening. So let’s delve into the coffee world for a spill…

The night started later than our usual meetings, which are typically at 5, and it ended a little earlier than most meetings, which is anywhere from 10 to 2 a.m. But this had to be one the best meetings we’ve had in a long time and it was more fun than a Barrel of monkeys, which if anyone has tried is disturbingly fun. We all sat around a gigantic marble table while our host Mike Perry, owner and roaster of Coffee Klatch, gave us a great presentation on how coffee is grown, processed, roasted, and eventually sipped by loyal customers. Here are some shots of Mike in action:

If these pictures don’t make sense, don’t worry, we had no clue what he was doing either… Just kidding, in fact Mike was showing us how to properly smell the coffee and get a good sip for our cupping demonstration.  He showed us how to score the coffee and give it some good descriptors so that we could accurately interpret the coffee for ourselves. We all had these really cool cupping forms which he got from The Coffee Geek and they were extremely easy to use. After the presentation we all got to go to the next room and take a stab at cupping coffee.

This was really a great experience and we all had an absolute blast doing it. Here is a quick explanation of how the whole process works.

Tools of the Trade

• First pour the grinds into one of the cups

• Shake and smell the coffee to rate the fragrance

• Then you pour hot water until it reaches the brim of the cup

• Fill your spoon glass a little more than halfway so you don’t cross contaminate flavors

• Take a spoon and push some of the top layer  away to get the full aroma

• Scoop off the top layer and dispose

• Take your spoon and fill it halfway and suck in the coffee, which gets it all around your mouth

• Enjoy and rate the taste, aroma, acidity, mouth feel and anything else you’d like to add

That pretty much sums up what we got to do on Wednesday. It was a real treat to have Mike with us and he was a great host, speaker/presenter, and an all around nice guy. Everyone out there should check out his coffee and pick up a pound or two for yourselves. His website’s store is located right here Klatch Coffee Webstore. But heck if your in the area why not stop by his store in Rancho Cucamonga or San Dimas and get to see the coffee up close and in person. His coffee definitely gets our seal of approval and we think anyone out there who enjoys a good cup of java should check it out.

With that said, we will see ya next week kids.

Bon Soir Mon Amis.

P.S. For all of you who care about the matter, most, if not all, of Mikes Coffee’s are either Fair or Direct trade which gives a good wage to the farmer and provides them with adequate living standards and plenty to eat. It’s just the right thing to do.