Again, long over due.

Well, alot has happened since the last post, much like the last. First off, Maytag and I went to the Midwest Barista Jam on April 15 at the Roasterie's main warehouse. It was a great experience. They covered the marketing behind signature drinks, roasting(with a tour by Norm Kilmon) and cupping, and finally brewing techniques (and they had a Clover!).

Jason from the Roasterie and Anthony from Monin presented the marketing presentation. It was very interesting, and displayed alot behind the ideas of signature drinks. We were given a free container of Caffetto espresso cleaner, which was nice. Next was the roasting and cupping presentation by Norm Kilmon. The Roasterie has 4 pretty good sized air roasters, the biggest being able to roast a whopping 300lbs of coffee. Cupping was by far my favorite. We got the basics of how to cup, Aroma, Fragrance and Taste. We cupped three origins, Panama, Sumatra and Ethiopian Yirqicheffe. The first two were nice and bold, but when I got to the Ethiopian coffee I was blown away. Finally the brewing techniques, we had two people from Clover. Let me tell you, the Clover machine is AMAZING. Just watching it work was a sight to see. The coffee it produced was very clean and flavorful. The second half of the presentation I thought was a little boring, the other member from Clover went though the process of brewing a proper shot of espresso. This for me was a little redundant since I've worked at a cafe before, but the other girl in the group was very interested the whole deal. Overall it was a very great experience and I do plan to attend the next Jam.

I've also started a adventure into home roasting. I found my parents old, Westbend Poppery II. So far I've only roasted some Yirqucheffe. My result are going pretty well. Next I plan on ordering some Brazilian green and practicing on going to Vienna roasts. I also want to explore making some espresso blends. Should be fun!

And, whats this blog without a cafe to critique! Black River Espresso on 69hwy in Excelsior Springs Missouri, my home town (and hopefully my next place of employment). The cafe has a great location on the highway, perfect for grabbing a cup on the way out of town. Inside is nice, they have several tables and three really big chairs with a coffee table, very nice. Their prices are very reasonable and affordable. The espresso they have is a little bitter for my taste, but still a good blend that makes a good macchiato, and any other espresso based drink. The owner Phil is very knowledgeable about coffee, he has been helping me a little bit with the whole home roasting thing. Telling me what origins would be good for specific roast levels. Overall Black River is a very good coffee house, tasty blend comfy chairs, friendly people and lots of caffeine.
Final Rating: 4 Shots out of 5