Mel and Rich are driving up to Indiana this afternoon to visit Andi and Bill Szep's new shop, Caffe Amadeus, which will officially open tomorrow morning. Bill's doing the roasting himself, so we're looking forward to tasting some of Bill's efforts. Caffe Amadeus will actually be something novel for the region - a Viennese coffeehouse experience (Bill originally met Andi in Budapest and both can cook/bake Austro-Hungarian foods).
Meanwhile, Belle just returned from a day in DC where she was training on advanced cupping and tasting techniques under the tutelage of Peter Giuliano. We're looking forward to Belle using this knowledge to up the ante at our staff tastings as well as in our featured coffee programs.
John was in DC on Friday for a class on advanced barista techniques led by Ellie Matuzsak and Nick Cho. Although John knows most of this territory, he's been interested in trying whatever new techniques are out there, particularly concerning distribution, tamp pressures and using the grinder to affect cup flavor.
Why the training and tasting? Regardless how good the ingredients and equipment, it's the barista who ensures whether you have an extraordinary coffee experience or a miserable one.
For us, it's important that our staff is up to snuff with the best cafes in the East so that our customers continue to get the best espresso and coffee experience in town and that our restaurant and cafe clients are learning state-of-the-art expert knowledge and techniques.
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