I have fears about catch words...
This very nice older lady comes up to me at work with a sincere concern of not wanting high 'acidity' in her coffee as she swore that she could tell the difference between low and high acidity coffees. Now, at first I just told her that we don't label our coffees or identify our coffees on a basis of low-high acidity as it was just a catch-phrase by the corporate industry to sell more coffee. She was very serious that she could indeed tell the difference between a low-high acidity coffee but that she couldn't tell which of ours was indeed low or high. I tried to relay the information that I have acid reflux and am very sensitive to spicy foods (ketchup is spicy to me) and know her plight, but again she was just not believing me that there was virtually no relevance to her wanting a low-high acidity coffee. Anyway, to cut to the chase I told her to stay away from our bold coffees like the Dark Roasted Sumatra (our only dark roasted coffee) since it would brew much stronger and give off the noticeable 'bite' that she so disliked. Right now I would recommend that you click on Coffeeresearch.org or Coffeereview.com where they tell you that acidity is a sensation your tongue experiences while drinking coffee, the sensation that a cupper talks about. But, as she was confusing the experienced term acidity with the acidity of pH balance in her cup, which is more commonly found in lighter roasted coffees and most recognized in coffees from Kenya. This older lady didn't seem like the type of person who spends a whole lot of time on the internet researching coffee acidity vs. pH so I avoided my go-to answer of 'internet=information." What to do in this situation when there is the loss of understanding?
I guess the moral of the story is that I am becoming more and more offended by the very high proportion of people in and around the coffee industry that ignorantly miss-sell information and knowledge to people. I do not just mean that these dealers of ignorance do not know the coffee, but that they will knowingly use buzz-terms to hook the publics mind and forever shape the idea that people have in their minds' of what coffee is. Terms like 'low-acidity,' 'french-roast,' and my least favorite "cappuccino-flavored" are all methods of devaluing and dumbing down the consumers and coffee person's nomenclature. It does not end with just the people who drink their coffees at home, but it extends out into the innocence of a mislead older lady in my coffee shop looking for something that she is unable to properly define because the buzz-term she knew really just helped to confuse when the idea behind it was supposed to aid in her digestion problems (I suspect?)
It really just hit me. I do not want to hear about hazelnut coffee creamers and 32 ounce quad-shot caramel mochas filled with high fructose corn syrups. It is unfair to consumers that they are mislead to devalue the hard work of so many people around the world. I have faith that humanity really does care about what they consume, and how it is consumed. I have faith that humanity cares about what it wastes and what is done with their waste. I also have faith that no-one wants to be ignorant and lied to.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Brewing Methods I Love the Most!
I have been thinking a lot on brew methods... what is my favorite, why is it my favorite?
#1 - I love the Chem-ex, it is by far my favorite brewing method. I bought my first Chem-ex a little over a year ago at Madcap in Grand Rapids, Michigan not more than a week after they opened their doors for business. I had Chem-exed coffee before my visit to, Madcap but they way Laura had made it with a heavy dose and careful brewing procedures. At the time, it was one of the best coffees I had ever had... I just remember being so floored that I had to buy a Chem-ex on the spot and try and reproduce the results. So, what is it about the Chem-ex that I like and why does it make such a good cup of coffee? (I don't know who wrote this but I'll put it in quotes to avoid problems--->) "History: The Chem-ex was designed by chemist and inventor Peter J. Schlumbohm, with the idea of using his knowledge of lab techniques and filtration to produce the best cup of coffee. In his quest to manufacture the Chem-ex, he managed to create one of the best ways to produce a clean cup of coffee, as well as one of the most visually appealing." To start, the key for me is that it is a very beautifully designed clear glass carafe that functions as a brewing instrument. The beauty of it brewing aesthetically is amazing: seeing the bloom, the water being added and seeing the extraction fully occur. All together just a very beautiful object and tool. The filter I believe adds to its function and look. Right from the Chem-ex website "Chem-ex® filters are 20-30% heavier than competitive brands. They remove even the finest sediment particles as well as the undesirable oils and fats. The formulation of the filter permits the proper infusion time by regulating the filtration rate - not too slow, not too fast." I don't know about all that on a scientific level, but what I have found is that Chem-ex brews give me one of the cleanest cups out of any filtration process. I never have had a muddy cup like in a French-press via the Chem-ex method. I am not dissing the French-press (just yet) but just get far to distracted by the full-immersion, non-filtered methods which continually give me over-extracted, or just mediocre cups.
#2 (+3) - In a tie for a very close second as of this writing is the Hario cone and the Aero-press. The Hario cone is similar to the Chem-ex in that it is in an actual cone shape and that aids in even extraction (=good cup of coffee) but am just so thrown off by the fastness of the brew time, sometimes using the same coffee, grind size, water and volumes I can get strikingly different results, but on average I get amazing cups of delicious enjoyment. The Aero-press at first just made me mad with its instructions of low brewing temperature, and dilution of the solution (oh me!), but upon messing around with my boy BBW at Roast and their method of brewing, my mind changed. Now, having one at Anodyne to play with and seeing a bunch of methods on the nets I have found that it, via the inverted method at 14 grams, produces one of the best cups around.
I highly recommend any of these methods for home brewing... and I think in the future I will write my three least liked brewing methods, but that is for another post.
Check out brewmethods.com for many different and awesome methods of brewing your cup of joe at home and enjoying the crap out of it!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Who, What, Where, When, Why?
I guess I have had slightly more to say lately (the past few days) than in the past few months. Maybe it is my lack of other things to do, or maybe the clouds have cleared from my mind and I am dealing with the clear open skies of my minds 'spring.'
So, I have been roasting more and more lately, usually doing anywhere from 10 to 20 roasts a day for at least 2-3 days out of the week. I have been spending more and more time getting specifically where our coffees are coming from finding what varietals, elevations, processing types, so as to not only pass the information on to our loving customers but so that we can potentially modify our roasting techniques to better suit the coffees. We have many different roasting profiles, but not necessarily for varietal or elevation specifics, and as we are still a micro-roaster not ever roasting more than 20lbs per batch, I am thinking that we could really start to hone in on a more specific line of roast profiles taking into account more aspects of the coffee. This would be done with the intention of education for the general public that coffee is a seasonal crop and that there is no one coffee out there that can just grow anywhere in any condition. There are different varietals that are used for a variety of reasons ranging from disease resistance to production and crop increases. The varietal I am sure, ultimately has an effect in the cup and it should be addressed sooner than in the brewing method, but at the roasting step. This also follows for the elevation, which equates roughly to increased bean density with higher elevations, and passed on potential flavor density and roast differences from a lower elevation grown coffee.
I must be clear that we do take these things into account with our roasting profiles. Unfortunately it is usually not known how much a roaster, like myself or papa Steve, does to really effect the final product. The coffee that may make its way successfully into your cup, and hopefully fully representing to the best of its ability, all the hard work and craftsmanship that was put into it at the farm and cooperative, in whatever country it was grown in. How would knowing about what varietal and how it is roasted because of the varietal help you enjoy your cup more? How would knowing what farm your coffee comes from help you enjoy your coffee more? How does all the information we can potentially provide you, the drinking public, help you enjoy the experience more?
When you know the who, what, where, when, and why of your coffee, you can essentially vote with your wallet and become an investor in that farm, family, processing method, varietal, and way of life of the people who grow that coffee. It may seem strange that it is that way, but it is true. If you were to find a great coffee that we at Anodyne are roasting and you continue to buy it, then we will get more. This is basic economics, but what you do is directly effecting how we operate the business. If you know most of the factors that go into your coffee and find that you enjoy a specific taste that comes from the pacamara varietal you can go back to or shelf or our wholesale accounts in the future and say, 'I know specifically that I enjoyed this type of coffee, perhaps I should get it again or not necessarily the same country but the same varietal from a different country or region.' And the same goes for bourbon varietals, or perhaps higher or lower elevation coffees.
It is not often in any circumstance that the general public can see the effects of their purchases, unless it is with a small business like a local farmers market. You see and meet the people who are doing the work that ultimately gets eaten, made or passed on at your home. Our world food supply has become a production line and coffee is no exception with the majority of coffee in the world grown by multinational corporations without a focus on the people or quality, just profit. Coffee is a strange industry in that coffee can only be quality grown between the tropics of cancer and capricorn on the globe. Beyond that, specialty coffee is for the most part grown in far off, hard to reach locations in jungles, picked by small farmers and families that never get the chance to ever leave their country or let alone get to try their coffees the way we do here in America. We as consumers, and as the general public, never get to meet the people who grow, pick, process, and for the most part roast our coffee. It is easy to grab a bag of Colombia coffee off the shelf, have it ground, and drunk within the week, never thinking twice about any of this. But to all the hands along the line that it took to bring you this coffee, it does mean a lot. This is what I meant at the beginning of this rant when I was trying to underscore the idea of information provided on the coffees, the who, what, where, and why. The specialty coffee industry represents just a small fraction of the coffee produced in the world.
I say it is fortunate that there is a 'buy local' movement going on all around the country and world both for environmental and economic reasons. And although coffee is literally grown on the opposite side of the world from us in some cases, your impact on that area of coffee growing may be more direct than how you effect your next door neighbor. Even if you cant buy from Anodyne specifically, find your local roaster and get all of the information you can from them to improve the quality of life, not just for you and your coffee loving senses, but for the farmers around the world that put so much into growing you the best coffee that they can.
So, I have been roasting more and more lately, usually doing anywhere from 10 to 20 roasts a day for at least 2-3 days out of the week. I have been spending more and more time getting specifically where our coffees are coming from finding what varietals, elevations, processing types, so as to not only pass the information on to our loving customers but so that we can potentially modify our roasting techniques to better suit the coffees. We have many different roasting profiles, but not necessarily for varietal or elevation specifics, and as we are still a micro-roaster not ever roasting more than 20lbs per batch, I am thinking that we could really start to hone in on a more specific line of roast profiles taking into account more aspects of the coffee. This would be done with the intention of education for the general public that coffee is a seasonal crop and that there is no one coffee out there that can just grow anywhere in any condition. There are different varietals that are used for a variety of reasons ranging from disease resistance to production and crop increases. The varietal I am sure, ultimately has an effect in the cup and it should be addressed sooner than in the brewing method, but at the roasting step. This also follows for the elevation, which equates roughly to increased bean density with higher elevations, and passed on potential flavor density and roast differences from a lower elevation grown coffee.
I must be clear that we do take these things into account with our roasting profiles. Unfortunately it is usually not known how much a roaster, like myself or papa Steve, does to really effect the final product. The coffee that may make its way successfully into your cup, and hopefully fully representing to the best of its ability, all the hard work and craftsmanship that was put into it at the farm and cooperative, in whatever country it was grown in. How would knowing about what varietal and how it is roasted because of the varietal help you enjoy your cup more? How would knowing what farm your coffee comes from help you enjoy your coffee more? How does all the information we can potentially provide you, the drinking public, help you enjoy the experience more?
When you know the who, what, where, when, and why of your coffee, you can essentially vote with your wallet and become an investor in that farm, family, processing method, varietal, and way of life of the people who grow that coffee. It may seem strange that it is that way, but it is true. If you were to find a great coffee that we at Anodyne are roasting and you continue to buy it, then we will get more. This is basic economics, but what you do is directly effecting how we operate the business. If you know most of the factors that go into your coffee and find that you enjoy a specific taste that comes from the pacamara varietal you can go back to or shelf or our wholesale accounts in the future and say, 'I know specifically that I enjoyed this type of coffee, perhaps I should get it again or not necessarily the same country but the same varietal from a different country or region.' And the same goes for bourbon varietals, or perhaps higher or lower elevation coffees.
It is not often in any circumstance that the general public can see the effects of their purchases, unless it is with a small business like a local farmers market. You see and meet the people who are doing the work that ultimately gets eaten, made or passed on at your home. Our world food supply has become a production line and coffee is no exception with the majority of coffee in the world grown by multinational corporations without a focus on the people or quality, just profit. Coffee is a strange industry in that coffee can only be quality grown between the tropics of cancer and capricorn on the globe. Beyond that, specialty coffee is for the most part grown in far off, hard to reach locations in jungles, picked by small farmers and families that never get the chance to ever leave their country or let alone get to try their coffees the way we do here in America. We as consumers, and as the general public, never get to meet the people who grow, pick, process, and for the most part roast our coffee. It is easy to grab a bag of Colombia coffee off the shelf, have it ground, and drunk within the week, never thinking twice about any of this. But to all the hands along the line that it took to bring you this coffee, it does mean a lot. This is what I meant at the beginning of this rant when I was trying to underscore the idea of information provided on the coffees, the who, what, where, and why. The specialty coffee industry represents just a small fraction of the coffee produced in the world.
I say it is fortunate that there is a 'buy local' movement going on all around the country and world both for environmental and economic reasons. And although coffee is literally grown on the opposite side of the world from us in some cases, your impact on that area of coffee growing may be more direct than how you effect your next door neighbor. Even if you cant buy from Anodyne specifically, find your local roaster and get all of the information you can from them to improve the quality of life, not just for you and your coffee loving senses, but for the farmers around the world that put so much into growing you the best coffee that they can.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Double, Triple, Naked, Spouted?
I have had quite a few strange espresso experiences as of late... things that would get me kicked out of the third wave. I am just slightly kidding when I say that, but here in Milwaukee with our limited quality barista base and those in the know being too stubborn to change their baskets, blends and portafilters to try something different it is hard for me to get a quality shot just about anywhere. I've gotta say that I have walked into many shops and have purchased espresso and not even touched it for watching and listening to how the shots are prepared and pulled scared me away from the attempt of trying said shots. My thoughts range from, "Did they just not tamp?" to "Wow, thats a 54 second, 4 1/2 ounce double shot of espresso."
So, although I have these experiences, they are not the ones I am actually talking about. The ones I am specifically referring to occurred when I began to work with Brett for competition. I have always been partial to the triple ristretto shot pulled to 1 1/2 to 2 ounces from a bottomless portafilter. With the competition though, the shots were required to be pulled as a double shot with each shot being one ounce from a double basket and spouted portafilter. What does this mean? And why should it matter. Well, in a sense, they are different brew methods all together... it would be like dosing your Chem-ex way more and changing the grind setting drastically to compensate for the excess of coffee like when pulling the triple ristretto, up-dosing and modifying the grind setting. That being said, I have for the most part always been a fan of triple ristretto (bottomless portafilter) shots for the reasoning that they are usually never over-extracted, super-bodied, great crema, and over all very flavor-ful. Why have I not preferred the double basket (spouted) shots? Mostly I have never been privy to favorable shots pulled in this fashion, with the results mostly over-extracted, thin, and without much crema (instant peaking.)
As it happens, like I said this began to change around the time of working with Brett for competition... Brett and I were looking for single origin coffees that he could use for competition and we were not finding anything that hit all the senses. We then began to look at blends and different blend combinations where we came across the Ethiopia- Yirga-Cheffe, Costa Rica- Herbazu Estate, and Guatemala- Finca El Injerto blend that he ultimately used and got in the top 10 in the Great Lakes. The funny thing is that the shots when dialed in and pulled were amazing citrus and tropical fruits, chocolates, and creamy like a mother! And this was with a double basket pulled from a spouted portafilter. We tried the same blend pulled from the triple baskets (bottomless) and as you can guess, it just really did not taste all that good, actually it tasted pretty bad.
I know there have been a ton of debates all over the Internet about bottomless vs spouted portafilters and basket sizes and shapes and so on and so on. I guess what I am taking away from the whole experience is that I have had quite a few shots since from double baskets both spouted and bottomless as well as triple baskets (bottomless) and have thus far strongly preferred the double shots and what I have gotten from them. Maybe my pallet has moved past wanting that super-strong over-powering triple ristretto shot and is liking the intricacies of the delicate nature that is found in the double shot when pulled right.
As a final question, and I am not sure how much of this has been answered in other places on-line, but I am wondering if the triple basket is merely a tool to ensure that the shot is not over-extracted and the bottomless portafilter a tool for bad crema on improperly pulled espresso? Almost a compensation tool for how the barista might mess up on a double (spouted?)
So, although I have these experiences, they are not the ones I am actually talking about. The ones I am specifically referring to occurred when I began to work with Brett for competition. I have always been partial to the triple ristretto shot pulled to 1 1/2 to 2 ounces from a bottomless portafilter. With the competition though, the shots were required to be pulled as a double shot with each shot being one ounce from a double basket and spouted portafilter. What does this mean? And why should it matter. Well, in a sense, they are different brew methods all together... it would be like dosing your Chem-ex way more and changing the grind setting drastically to compensate for the excess of coffee like when pulling the triple ristretto, up-dosing and modifying the grind setting. That being said, I have for the most part always been a fan of triple ristretto (bottomless portafilter) shots for the reasoning that they are usually never over-extracted, super-bodied, great crema, and over all very flavor-ful. Why have I not preferred the double basket (spouted) shots? Mostly I have never been privy to favorable shots pulled in this fashion, with the results mostly over-extracted, thin, and without much crema (instant peaking.)
As it happens, like I said this began to change around the time of working with Brett for competition... Brett and I were looking for single origin coffees that he could use for competition and we were not finding anything that hit all the senses. We then began to look at blends and different blend combinations where we came across the Ethiopia- Yirga-Cheffe, Costa Rica- Herbazu Estate, and Guatemala- Finca El Injerto blend that he ultimately used and got in the top 10 in the Great Lakes. The funny thing is that the shots when dialed in and pulled were amazing citrus and tropical fruits, chocolates, and creamy like a mother! And this was with a double basket pulled from a spouted portafilter. We tried the same blend pulled from the triple baskets (bottomless) and as you can guess, it just really did not taste all that good, actually it tasted pretty bad.
I know there have been a ton of debates all over the Internet about bottomless vs spouted portafilters and basket sizes and shapes and so on and so on. I guess what I am taking away from the whole experience is that I have had quite a few shots since from double baskets both spouted and bottomless as well as triple baskets (bottomless) and have thus far strongly preferred the double shots and what I have gotten from them. Maybe my pallet has moved past wanting that super-strong over-powering triple ristretto shot and is liking the intricacies of the delicate nature that is found in the double shot when pulled right.
As a final question, and I am not sure how much of this has been answered in other places on-line, but I am wondering if the triple basket is merely a tool to ensure that the shot is not over-extracted and the bottomless portafilter a tool for bad crema on improperly pulled espresso? Almost a compensation tool for how the barista might mess up on a double (spouted?)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Where have I been?
Well, to start my name is Eric Mullins. I am 24 years old. Don't let my age fool you, I have done more things in life than most people have done in their whole lives. I am not just saying this. During high school I worked for a canoe livery, and an engine shop. The shop I worked for made super-cat boat racing engines, v12 engines, big ones. Engines with dual super and turbo chargers attached, pumping out several thousand horsepower. After that I worked in warehousing, shipping & receiving, and other environmental testing equipment related things. This was followed by a stint doing housing and construction in Detroit and the metro area.
It was chance that my friends back in good old highland got jobs working for "Its a Grind Coffee House." Really I never drank coffee. I tried it at one point and hated what I tasted. But when a position opened at IAG I applied and was called in thanks to Ramiro, him being a manager and I got the job. I was a BARISTA! Well, I thought I was anyway. We had three group Faema with PID temp and pressure control with two automatic dosing grinders and a tamper press. I had no idea what I was doing. My training was sparse and all I had to do to qualify for the job was to learn drink recipes and make them. Not hard, I pushed buttons and got paid. This job was as I remember "just a stepping stone until something better came along in the little town of Highland. A person who stopped in often was Josh (the one who I have written about before, so I wont go into anymore back story) he took Ramiro and I one weekend to Ypsilanti to try out coffee from a few places... those being The Ugly Mug, Zingerman's, and another place that I dont really remember all too well. It was actually at Zingerman's that I sipped my first shot of espresso that didnt taste down right horrible and I could actually pick up on specific flavors and notes through the cup. Immediately afterwards Josh took us to the Ugly Mug and I had my first 'Ah-Ha' moment with coffee when he pulled me a shot of some blend that I have no idea what it was and it blew up in my mouth. The shot was a triple ristretto, that is what I remember... we went home to IAG and bugged the shit out of our wonderful boss, Ed Altuna,to buy some triple baskets and a hand tamper. I dont remember how long it took, but I remember getting the basket and I remember Josh letting us use his tamper. Around this time Ed got out of his contract with the IAG corporation and went 'independent.' The name 'The Mug-Shot' was deemed to be the new title of the business. I have to be honest, we tried towards the end to make the best coffee we could with what we were getting. We were getting our espresso from the Ugly Mug and the rest from a local cheaper roaster named Beanstro. Beanstro was owned by a guy named Paul. Paul is a seriously good dude who loves coffee and and loved the fact that Ramiro and I were getting more into specialty coffee. Unfortunately for him, (in my opinion) Michigan for the most part is a flavored coffee market. Maybe you picked up on my "towards the end" thing that I just wrote a few lines back. Another unfortunate thing was that the corporation killed Ed financially and therefore we consequently had to close. Ed let a few people know a few months before that the shop was in dire straights so me being paid more than most of the employees began looking for another job to save him money. To abbreviate the story, the shop ended up closing. Ramiro went to work for the Ugly Mug after some time and I moved to Hamtramck in Detroit to work for my brother and simultaneously work at the Kawian Cafe in the then new 'Asian Village Detroit' on the riverfront. I also picked up some work at the locally famous Cafe 1923. At Kawian Cafe I worked on a new Rancilliio and used Zingerman's coffee.
When my hours there began to get cut and I saw Asian Village begin to crumble, I made the call to my mom and asked if I could move back home. It seemed like forever, the winter I spent picking up odd jobs where I could in order to support myself. It was while I was in Detroit that I was fortunate to meet Courtney, and I can tell you that she had a big part me moving back to the Highland area, and not just finding other work Detroit. Back at home, in Highland, there was a coffee shop opening... I figured that I knew how to make coffee and that I know that I loved doing it... yeah, a good job while going to college, something to do until I found something better. I pretty much had control of the training and coffee operations at Kozy Koffee. It was me and Courtney working in the same shop doing something we loved. We were making coffee for all our friends and it became a second home. I fell even in more love with coffee, keeping in close contact with Ramiro, who was now the roaster at the Ugly Mug. And then we began to toll roast there for Kozy Koffee. I was thrown into the mix. The world famous Zak Rye taught Courtney and I the ropes and the what to dos and not to dos in roasting and we were off. It seems like most things in my life two things happened, the first I immersed myself in the coffee world learning everything that I possibly could to do better and fall deeper into rabbit hole of coffee. The second thing that happened is that Kozy Koffee began to be censored by the landlord telling us we couldn't have music shows on the weekends (and therefore cutting our revenue substantially) also in effect, it became apparent that I wasnt really happy working in a place where I couldnt grow as a coffee person.
This is where Milwaukee comes in. I was on BaristaExchange.com and happened across a post where the idea of a job being open at Anodyne as a roasters assistant was floated. I made the call and within two weeks I was living in Milwaukee working at Anodyne. Courtney and Luke moved with me and within six months Courtney got a job working for Intelligentsia in Chicago. I should note at this point that my story is very condensed over the span of the past nine years of my life. Now, and by now I mean specifically the past two months have been insanely hectic hence the lack of updating this blog. Meanwhile, Steve and our sales guy David have been aggressivly going out and winning accounts left and right taking the metro-Milwaukee coffee world by storm. This although translates to me roasting one or two days out of the week as well as packaging and delivering all around Wisconsin the rest of the week.
What have I been up to? I guess I will be chronological... About three months ago while Courtney was working one of her shifts at Intelly and Duane Suarenson (the owner of Stumptown) walks in the door and befriends Courtney. One thing leads to another and somewhere along the line the idea of a jobs comes up and we end up flying out to Stumptown in NYC. To make a long story short, there was a possibility of jobs, but the possibility evaporated due to scheduling conflicts. Back in Milwaukee, Brett Boy Wonder is prepping non-stop for the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition and wants to kill it. Me, I am his coach. This means that on top of my day job as a roaster/packaging/delivery guy I double it and make sure our BBW does well in competition, pushing him and helping him in what ever way I can. What were the results? How about making it in the top 10 in the GRLBC, thats fucking phenomenal! Now, I am not going to take all the credit because this guy has been killing himself to do well and I congratulate him for slaying it out there. Besides that, I have spent my weekends driving back and fourth between Milwaukee and Chicago to see Courtney. In two weeks as of today Courtney will be moved back to Milwaukee for good and I am happy that I will be able to finally get some sleep after months of running around like mad. Furthermore, I was just informed today that in the middle of next month Anodyne will be adding another person to the wholesale operation as a bagger and deliverer. This will make me officially the full time roaster for Anodyne as well as freeing Steve up to manage and grow the operation, and also allowing me to further grow and immerse myself into the world of coffee and roasting.
I love coffee, I love working in coffee. What I am doing in Milwaukee is not just something to do until I find something better. Looking at the Stump situation where I almost moved away to NYC, I am glad I didn't. I'm glad because I would probably never had the opportunity to grow and succeed like I am here in Milwaukee at Anodyne. I'm not just saying it to make anyone happy, it is simply the truth. I am a coffee person... I have found my calling. Watch out coffee world, Anodyne Coffee is growing and as humble as we are in principle, we love what we are doing and are passionate about what we are doing and there is not much anyone can do to stop the kind of drive we are bringing to the coffee world and Milwaukee community.
As an end note, I have been inspired by tons and tons of coffee professionals from the Ugly Muggers in Ypsilanti, to the Madcappers in Grand Rapids, of course the Intelly folk always pushing the envalope as well as Stumptown, Counter Culture, Ritual, and many many more. These companies and friends just make me want to strive to do better and more for the world...
It was chance that my friends back in good old highland got jobs working for "Its a Grind Coffee House." Really I never drank coffee. I tried it at one point and hated what I tasted. But when a position opened at IAG I applied and was called in thanks to Ramiro, him being a manager and I got the job. I was a BARISTA! Well, I thought I was anyway. We had three group Faema with PID temp and pressure control with two automatic dosing grinders and a tamper press. I had no idea what I was doing. My training was sparse and all I had to do to qualify for the job was to learn drink recipes and make them. Not hard, I pushed buttons and got paid. This job was as I remember "just a stepping stone until something better came along in the little town of Highland. A person who stopped in often was Josh (the one who I have written about before, so I wont go into anymore back story) he took Ramiro and I one weekend to Ypsilanti to try out coffee from a few places... those being The Ugly Mug, Zingerman's, and another place that I dont really remember all too well. It was actually at Zingerman's that I sipped my first shot of espresso that didnt taste down right horrible and I could actually pick up on specific flavors and notes through the cup. Immediately afterwards Josh took us to the Ugly Mug and I had my first 'Ah-Ha' moment with coffee when he pulled me a shot of some blend that I have no idea what it was and it blew up in my mouth. The shot was a triple ristretto, that is what I remember... we went home to IAG and bugged the shit out of our wonderful boss, Ed Altuna,to buy some triple baskets and a hand tamper. I dont remember how long it took, but I remember getting the basket and I remember Josh letting us use his tamper. Around this time Ed got out of his contract with the IAG corporation and went 'independent.' The name 'The Mug-Shot' was deemed to be the new title of the business. I have to be honest, we tried towards the end to make the best coffee we could with what we were getting. We were getting our espresso from the Ugly Mug and the rest from a local cheaper roaster named Beanstro. Beanstro was owned by a guy named Paul. Paul is a seriously good dude who loves coffee and and loved the fact that Ramiro and I were getting more into specialty coffee. Unfortunately for him, (in my opinion) Michigan for the most part is a flavored coffee market. Maybe you picked up on my "towards the end" thing that I just wrote a few lines back. Another unfortunate thing was that the corporation killed Ed financially and therefore we consequently had to close. Ed let a few people know a few months before that the shop was in dire straights so me being paid more than most of the employees began looking for another job to save him money. To abbreviate the story, the shop ended up closing. Ramiro went to work for the Ugly Mug after some time and I moved to Hamtramck in Detroit to work for my brother and simultaneously work at the Kawian Cafe in the then new 'Asian Village Detroit' on the riverfront. I also picked up some work at the locally famous Cafe 1923. At Kawian Cafe I worked on a new Rancilliio and used Zingerman's coffee.
When my hours there began to get cut and I saw Asian Village begin to crumble, I made the call to my mom and asked if I could move back home. It seemed like forever, the winter I spent picking up odd jobs where I could in order to support myself. It was while I was in Detroit that I was fortunate to meet Courtney, and I can tell you that she had a big part me moving back to the Highland area, and not just finding other work Detroit. Back at home, in Highland, there was a coffee shop opening... I figured that I knew how to make coffee and that I know that I loved doing it... yeah, a good job while going to college, something to do until I found something better. I pretty much had control of the training and coffee operations at Kozy Koffee. It was me and Courtney working in the same shop doing something we loved. We were making coffee for all our friends and it became a second home. I fell even in more love with coffee, keeping in close contact with Ramiro, who was now the roaster at the Ugly Mug. And then we began to toll roast there for Kozy Koffee. I was thrown into the mix. The world famous Zak Rye taught Courtney and I the ropes and the what to dos and not to dos in roasting and we were off. It seems like most things in my life two things happened, the first I immersed myself in the coffee world learning everything that I possibly could to do better and fall deeper into rabbit hole of coffee. The second thing that happened is that Kozy Koffee began to be censored by the landlord telling us we couldn't have music shows on the weekends (and therefore cutting our revenue substantially) also in effect, it became apparent that I wasnt really happy working in a place where I couldnt grow as a coffee person.
This is where Milwaukee comes in. I was on BaristaExchange.com and happened across a post where the idea of a job being open at Anodyne as a roasters assistant was floated. I made the call and within two weeks I was living in Milwaukee working at Anodyne. Courtney and Luke moved with me and within six months Courtney got a job working for Intelligentsia in Chicago. I should note at this point that my story is very condensed over the span of the past nine years of my life. Now, and by now I mean specifically the past two months have been insanely hectic hence the lack of updating this blog. Meanwhile, Steve and our sales guy David have been aggressivly going out and winning accounts left and right taking the metro-Milwaukee coffee world by storm. This although translates to me roasting one or two days out of the week as well as packaging and delivering all around Wisconsin the rest of the week.
What have I been up to? I guess I will be chronological... About three months ago while Courtney was working one of her shifts at Intelly and Duane Suarenson (the owner of Stumptown) walks in the door and befriends Courtney. One thing leads to another and somewhere along the line the idea of a jobs comes up and we end up flying out to Stumptown in NYC. To make a long story short, there was a possibility of jobs, but the possibility evaporated due to scheduling conflicts. Back in Milwaukee, Brett Boy Wonder is prepping non-stop for the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition and wants to kill it. Me, I am his coach. This means that on top of my day job as a roaster/packaging/delivery guy I double it and make sure our BBW does well in competition, pushing him and helping him in what ever way I can. What were the results? How about making it in the top 10 in the GRLBC, thats fucking phenomenal! Now, I am not going to take all the credit because this guy has been killing himself to do well and I congratulate him for slaying it out there. Besides that, I have spent my weekends driving back and fourth between Milwaukee and Chicago to see Courtney. In two weeks as of today Courtney will be moved back to Milwaukee for good and I am happy that I will be able to finally get some sleep after months of running around like mad. Furthermore, I was just informed today that in the middle of next month Anodyne will be adding another person to the wholesale operation as a bagger and deliverer. This will make me officially the full time roaster for Anodyne as well as freeing Steve up to manage and grow the operation, and also allowing me to further grow and immerse myself into the world of coffee and roasting.
I love coffee, I love working in coffee. What I am doing in Milwaukee is not just something to do until I find something better. Looking at the Stump situation where I almost moved away to NYC, I am glad I didn't. I'm glad because I would probably never had the opportunity to grow and succeed like I am here in Milwaukee at Anodyne. I'm not just saying it to make anyone happy, it is simply the truth. I am a coffee person... I have found my calling. Watch out coffee world, Anodyne Coffee is growing and as humble as we are in principle, we love what we are doing and are passionate about what we are doing and there is not much anyone can do to stop the kind of drive we are bringing to the coffee world and Milwaukee community.
As an end note, I have been inspired by tons and tons of coffee professionals from the Ugly Muggers in Ypsilanti, to the Madcappers in Grand Rapids, of course the Intelly folk always pushing the envalope as well as Stumptown, Counter Culture, Ritual, and many many more. These companies and friends just make me want to strive to do better and more for the world...
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