Its been a while :p

So, heres the deal...

When I moved back from Milwaukee to Michigan, I had a lot of plans.  These plans were going to define the rest of my life, and at this point I could not be happier that most of them did not follow through.  I have no regrets, and no hard feelings towards anyone, and I mean ANYONE out there. I get asked sometimes about Madcap, and all I have to say is that Madcap is AMAZING and recommend that everyone I know go there and get some of the best coffee in the world.  I learned so much from working at Madcap and could not owe more to a group of individuals.  

Now though, almost three months later by my unchecked approximation, I have my pour over bar business moving units and a super busy life once again.  I am happy, super happy and am really looking forward to my future here in Ypsilanti.  The picture below is of my business card... I am super proud :)

THE UGLY

So it is my charged duty at the Ugly Mug to train the staff and be quality control in cahoots with Ramiro and crew.  I have developed a weekly training session/ cupping/ testing lab to help our staff here grow as humans as well as coffee professionals.   This picture below is of Ethan and Sean Wray yelling madly at me after we cupped different roast profiles of the same coffees... It was a crazy week, people were flipping out, going crazy and getting tunnel vision.

The picture below is of our cupping session last week where we blind cupped nine coffees from Anodyne Coffee Roasters in Milwaukee, Stumptown Coffee in Portland, and our very own coffees from the Ugly Mug here in Ypsilanti MI!!!  We were doing varietal, origins, and profile analysis with this cupping... This had to be one of my favorite cupping sessions because it really changes peoples perceptions on the coffees.   Being that it was a blind cupping, I think the staff here really ended up loving the Anodyne (thanks again Steve, you are the ultimate best for sending out those samples!!!) coffee, it really just blew us all out of the water.  The Stumptown was good coffee and great for comparrison, and our coffee was delicious as per usual!!!

The next two pictures are of tonights lab that we had.  We were testing different toothpastes and the effects of SLS on how we tasted things... So we did a few things... First we tasted orange juice, coffee, and water as a basis for what we were going up against.  The toothpastes were Tom's SLS free, Colgate, Crest, and Jason SLS free toothpastes.  Between each brushing we tried the water, the orange juice, and the coffee to see how everything tasted. To our surprise we found that the Tom's actually made the orange juice sweeter, and the coffee taste better... where ass the Crest and the Colgate both ruined anything good about the coffee and orange juice.  Seriously though they both made the orange juice taste like rotten bitter nasty butt nasty bad bad bad! (that was my choice descriptors) And the Jason ended up distorting the flavors more than the Tom's but not nearly as bad as the other two.  My outlook is that SLS equals bad for a cupper's palate, someone trying to dial in coffees, or espresso... If you dont believe me, give it a shot and see for yourself.

Oh and a serious thanks to everyone on the Ugly staff for being so freaking dedicated to trying all my crazy ideas as well as Sanford and Foster from Comet, who dared to brave the drive from AA to the outskirts of civilization (Ypsilanti) to do some lab time with us...


I swear I will post more soon, I gots lots to talks abouts...

Moving forward?

So, in the sense of "moving forward," I have always tended towards trying new things and experiencing something different in order to learn more.  My recent move to Ypsilanti, has left me with the feeling of a wonder.  I ask myself what is the best way to brew a cup? V60? Bee-house? Fetco? French-press? I am sure everyone has their preference of brew method, but is there one right way to brew?  If you were to hear of a shop who brews all french-press, would you instantly not want to go there for a cup of coffee? (although you may just have the best french-press in the world?)  Would you turn your nose up to a shop that just does pour over bee-house brews?  Who is defining what is right in the coffee industry? What if it was not possible for a shop to do slow brew due to space or customer flow? Triple ristretto or double traditional? What is your biggest cup size? What is your base price for a "regular" cup of coffee? Is there really an excuse for a coffee shop to not brew quality? Roast quality? Source quality?

My past tense has caught up with me... who is defining me & what do I stand for?

All I needed was a personal 'Thunder-bolt!'

Looking back, I do not remember who told me this but if you were the person let me know and I will give you full credit for inspiration, all I know is that it was recent... The Thunder-bolts, it was the title of some high school team's mascot, kinda like the Milford Redskins or the Hartland Eagles.  What strikes me about this team name is that there is no such thing as a thunder-bolt, and another striking thing about this is that an institution of knowledge could allow themselves to be called the thunder-bolts (or redskins for that matter).  I bring this all up as a sort of analogy for my ever changing and always chaotic situation.  An institution of knowledge, a place where you go to learn, reflect, critically think, behave, and ultimately try to define yourself as independent, humble, and willing to take on the world.  I always thought that I would ideally live a life that mimicked the hard fought battles found in learning and growth.  I guess even the most romantic, optimistic and prepared person can wear blinders in the worst possible times and situations. I was involved in a situation that was not right from the get go, something was always amiss.  It was not just the team name, the players were not right, and the goal was always wrong.  Free of 'the hazards of love,' I find myself looking forward solo, independent, and unique.  I am moving to Ypsilanti to work at the infamous Ugly Mug Cafe and Roastery.  I am anxious, focused, and itching to start this new leg of my journey. 

Extract Mojo-ing

This will be short to echo the time I have spent playing on the extract mojo.

What I realize is that most of the brewing methods I have learned, been taught or have read about are for the most part on the over-dosed under-extracted side of coffee brewing.  Having spent a few hours trying to dial in a coffee using extract mojo and comparing it against my pallet, I seem to be finding that what I am experiencing is mimicked in the program.  It is also helping me put a more precise idea of what is going on in the cup descriptively.

I gotta say that it is really freaking cool... expensive, but shifting my mind...
My new favorite borrowed toy... I may just have to buy a refractometer to do this all the time...

Meaning, Michigan, & My Home.

It has been an exhausting few weeks.  We arrived in Grand Rapids with the help of my parents and the hands of a few friends.  Courtney and I made the decision to move back to our home state of Michigan, settle down and start planning our futures in coffee and life.  We have set up our professional residence at Madcap Coffee, the place where a kid can be a kid.  Wait! No! That's another place.  Madcap, from my perspective, is a place where we can work with other coffee professionals in developing ourselves and help in shaping Michigan into a coffee hub of sorts.  I am not going to name drop, but many a coffee professional hail from Michigan. But, just as we once did, these coffee professionals tend to leave the state for more lucrative coffee opportunities seeing as there are not many in Michigan.  Madcap, with the aim of the good souls that started the place, have put their gun-sights on quality, and what can be done to improve quality in all aspects of the coffee expierence.  I remember leaving Madcap the first time I visited, peering into the windows of this newly opened cafe and wondering to myself if Michigan was ready for the experience I had just had.

I now find myself serving up single brewed by the cup coffees to the fine people of Grand Rapids.Their open ears hanging on my every word.  They are looking for every nuance in the coffee I am serving and describing to them.  I find myself elaborating in great detail the benefits of providing Grand Rapids with the best quality cup brewed to the best of its ability.  I find myself empathizing with the needs of an ill informed public and raising their standard of living by giving them something only found in some of the biggest and most advanced cities around the world.  I find myself fine tuning the details of my routine in order to better understand what and why I am doing what I am doing.  I tell people that the emphasis that has been for so long been put on quality espresso and espresso based drinks has consequently left brewed coffee devalued  and under-appreciated.  We are filling that void by putting a single cup of brewed coffee in its proper place.  A cup of coffee is a gesture of romance and class, culture and soul, it gives real emotional value.  I do not mean value in a sense of monetary means but value in that a single cup of coffee can be worth far more than any action during a day.  A cup of coffee creates meaning and tells a story, the story, your story.

NOW!!!

I have moved to Michigan.  I have just had the internets hooked up.  I am working at Madcap Coffee Company in Grand Rapids. I have not had time to stop and write.  My laptop died.  I have things to write soon. Sorry I have not called, I have been super busy.

Saying goodbye

I worked my last shift at Anodyne today.  It was sad, but I never tend to get sentimental.  I am sure I will return.  Not as a worker, but as a customer.  I am excited to see what will come of my new adventure.  I need to get packing.