Espresso News and Reviews – TheShot.coffeeratings.com

Just when you think the profession of the coffee “middleman” was on its way out in this era of the Internet, in come a number of entrepreneurs trying to reintroduce them. What we’re talking about are consumer retailers that intermediate the sale of roasted coffee — with examples that include Citizen Bean, GoCoffeeGo (see Man [...]

San Luis Obispo County is not known for a whole lot, even among Californians. There’s Hearst Castle, Cal Poly in SLO proper, and the burgeoning Paso Robles wine growing region — or what the locals simply call “Paso”. But as is happening in many lesser-known regions around the country, SLO County’s appreciation for better food [...]

Today’s Daily Californian, an independent student newspaper for the UC Berkeley campus, published an article on Berkeley’s venerable Caffe Mediterraneum: Historic Cafe Grounds For Coffee and Conversation – The Daily Californian. Sure, the coffee isn’t so great here. But for a place that is over 50 years old and is most often credited as the [...]

With Spring upon us, that means it’s time for the 2008 Western Regional Barista Competition (WRBC): ‘Attention to every detail’ at Berkeley barista contest – San Jose Mercury News. Starting this past Friday and ending today (check out their photo album), the 2008 WRBC performs a time-honored ritual to select a barista champ representing our [...]

Many congratulations are in order for Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA: Specialty Coffee Association of America Names 2007 United States Barista Champion. Heather entered the 2007 U.S. Barista Championship as a reigning three-peat winner of the Western Regional Barista Competition (or WRBC). Yesterday at the 2007 SCAA conference, Heather beat out [...]

Congratulations again to Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA. Over the weekend, she successfully defended her 2006 title at the 2007 WRBC: Western Regional Barista Competition March 16-18, 2007. Also placing were Kyle Glanville of Intelligentsia in Los Angeles (yes, you read that city correctly) and Chris Baca of SF’s own Ritual [...]

Some of you may recall just how much the zombie children of the Fair Trade cult scare the bejeezus outta me. Ritual Coffee Roasters barista, Gabriel Boscana, wrote a much more tactful and civil approach to these single-issue customers in this month’s issue of Barista Magazine: FebMarch 07 – Certified Coffee Pusher. It was oddly [...]

As a former resident of Palo Alto for several years, a trip down Santa Clara’s Stevens Creek Boulevard conjures up images of discount mattress stores, Denny’s, and strip malls as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, that’s commercial real estate in the Silicon Valley — regardless of the hidden gems tucked away in Northern [...]

Here’s an update for the fellow home roaster geeks who have lamented the demise of Hawaii’s Ka’anapali Farm … from today’s The Maui News: Buzz over coffee has come back to Kaanapali. As reported here in March, I first spotted the return of the Maui Moka bean — easily my favorite bean stock for homemade [...]

And the winner is… The Charlotte Observer posted an article today covering the final rounds of the 2006 U.S. Barista Championship, held yesterday on the final day of the annual SCAA conference: Charlotte Observer | 04/11/2006 | Coffee artists grind toward national title. For all those who scratched their head thinking, “A quality coffee conference [...]