5/6/2007
Coffee and California, these are a few of my favorite things.
Hot beverages and warm weather. Delicious. The Specialty Coffee
Association of America, or SCAA, is holding its' annual convention in
sunny southern California; Long Beach to be more specific. I know it
seems like a convenient place to have a conference especially while
Michigan's economy is going through tough times. I had read in the
paper just before I left about the municipal officials going to Hawaii
to learn about public pension issues. Strangely enough, I saw Kwame
Kilpatrick and about five large men in dark glasses at the Memphis
airport on the way out here. But some of us must be about the people's
business and so I am sending this report from the first day of the show
in Long Beach. For anyone who doesn't believe that I am at the show
and am at the beach instead, I saved my parking stub to show you.
The
show is a veritable madhouse of all things coffee. Perhaps never in my
life have I had the opportunity to try so many different kinds. There
are roasters, importers, growers, coffee boards from every growing
country under the sun. The whole world is present at this coffee
carnival. Exhibitors are barking about their wares as you pass by and
it can be a bit overwhelming at first so I walked the floor to get an
overview and then zeroed in on some key booths.
In our efforts
to maintain our excellent cup quality, I spoke with our coffee
importers and sought out new faces and countries. I had an espresso at
the coffee board of India from a single-origin arabica bean which was
very eye-opening. It had a floral aroma with notes of malabar
peppercorns and as I had suspected, pepper vines were some of the
plantings which shaded the coffee trees with their canopy. What is
grown near the coffee plants definitely impacts the final flavors of
the coffee beans and also creates a self-sustaining environment.
In
the environment of coffee grinders, Macap has a new manual tamper which
can provide a fixed amount of tamping pressure in a smaller package and
at a lower cost than the larger MPS tamping system. Plus it sculpts
your biceps. Macap also released a grind on demand grinder with a
stepless grinding collar. This means there are an infinite number of
grinder positions. It's all about the grind. As I have gone about
California recently, I noticed two things. First, espresso-based
drinks and espresso machines are in almost every possible business, and
secondly, in spite of the prevalence of these machines, no one adjusts
their grinders. So if you want a crema on your espresso you have to
pick your spots. One place which does it right is Buster's, an
independant coffee house in South Pasadena, a sleepy little town on the
north side of LA. It is right on the railroad tracks in a building
shaped like Zingerman's deli, like a slice. They buy coffee roasted
locally by Jones Coffee Roasting and know exactly what I mean when I
order a double short espresso. The staff is attentive and the outdoor
seating is superb. You just want to sit and take it all in. Ambience
does count for a great deal.
There were a great deal of
people in the La Cimbali booth as we tried to educate people about
machines which will help create the ambiance required for a successful
coffee operation. There is a new superautomatic machine with an
automatic frothing device which can be run a long distance from the
machine to make it more convenient to store the milk. The pump was
developed for medical purposes, but since coffee has been show to be a
health drink, plenty of anti-oxidents, Cimbali has translated that
device to coffee. Mille grazie.
So from one latin group to
another, I go out to celebrate Cinco de mayo in Los Angeles. What a
day with all the coffee, the Kentucky Derby and all three Detroit
sports teams winning. Goooooooooooooooal!!!
posted by roastmaster at 12:00 AM
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