« USBC Countdown - T-minus 5: Expecting the Unexpected | Main | As If We Don't Have Enough to Do... »

USBC Countdown - T-minus 3: It's Not Just About Those Who Are Going

3_days_till_usbc Including Rich and Mel, there are 10 people on the staff.  Six of us are headed to Minneapolis this week, either as competitors, judges or volunteers.

The four staying behind have all stepped up to work extra shifts and ensure that things run smoothly.  We couldn't pursue this opportunity without Lois, Lauren, Michelle and Melinda. 

While the coffee and espresso drinks will continue to flow in their expert hands, there will be some changes for the week ahead: 

- We will be closing at 6pm on Friday, May 2.  We apologize for that inconvenience. 

- We will begin a limited panini menu starting tomorrow.  Lauren will be putting out North Beach and Tunas from Wednesday through Tuesday, but the other panini are off the menu until Rich returns to the kitchen next Wednesday.  We will continue to have daily soups (Rich is finishing the last couple this afternoon) and we'll also be putting out a hummus and pita option for the next week.

- You'll see a friendly and familiar face scooting around the shop this Saturday morning as regular customer and home barista extraordinaire Chris M. takes a shift as bar back to help us through the Saturday morning rush, bussing tables, replacing supplies and handling that glamorous dishwashing task.  Thank you Chris for offering to pitch in!

We expect our Fantastic Four who are staying behind to be quite bushed by this time next week as they don't normally pull six or seven consecutive days of shifts. 

And we especially appreciate the support of all of our customers throughout the competition season.   You make this very easy for us. Thank you.

Rich flies to Minneapolis at the crack of dawn Wednesday for the two day judges' training.  Belle and Frank will be on the road Thursday morning with the precious load of all the performance materials. Melanie, Sonja and John will be on the first flights out on Friday. Sonja and John will perform on Saturday.  If either make the semifinals, they'll join Belle in performing on Sunday.  Finals will be on Monday.  We will post more from onsite.  Meantime, you can follow the coverage on the USBC liveblogging site.

April 29, 2008 |

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments

The comments to this entry are closed.

What's Goin' On

  • Hey there... if you're looking for our physical store, we closed as of November 15, 2011. The space is under new ownership as Orbis Caffe, still serving delicious coffee and food with great service. We hope you'll give them a try. For info on Melanie and Rich, follow @aldo_mel or @richwesterfield or visit accidentalroaster.com.
Aldo's Slideshow

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Coffee How To's

Advancing the Coffee Culture

  • Coffee Kids
    A charity we support that improves the quality of life for children in coffee-growing regions around the world.
  • CoffeeGeek
    Reviews on gadgetry and techniques for the home brewing enthusiast.
  • Coffee Review
    Connosieur Ken David and friends review and rate various coffees, including offerings served at Aldo Coffee Company from Intelligentsia Cofee Roasters like the fabulous espresso blend Black Cat.
  • Coffee Research
    What do you want to know about coffee?
  • Portafilter.net
    The geekiest of coffee geeks aspire to extract the absolute perfect cup.
  • Tea Guide
    Directory of shops serving quality teas.
  • Espresso Map
    A map that pinpoints the best espresso joints in the US and Canada as determined by the site's author and professional peer reviews.
  • Barismo
    Jamie Van Schyndel and friends dissect anything and everything coffee and tea related from beans and leaves to technique and equipment in pursuit of perfection.
  • Pittsburgh Area Coffee Association
    Jake Liefer of Beaver Falls Coffee & Tea built a blog aggregator and community site for local baristas.
  • In Season Coffee
    No coffee served after its time.
  • Sweet Maria's
    The ultimate source for green coffee for home roasters. Tom's knowledge of coffee is encyclopaedic.
  • twitchy
    Liz Clayton's blog is the ET of coffee.
  • Intelligentsia LA
    Group blog from Intelligentsia's Silver Lake and Venice baristas and roasters.
  • Accidental Roaster
    Adventures of a barista/cafe owner on becoming a coffee roaster.
  • Bitter Press
    Jess from Intelligentsia uses science to explain things.

Heroes & Legends

  • Murky Coffee (NoVa)
    Retailer (non-roaster) who's one of the best indie shops on the East Coast. Features selection of top roasters and pulls only ristrettos. No drip - Americanos and press pots only.
  • Stumptown (Portland, OR)
    Along with Intelligentsia, probably the most acclaimed coffee roaster in the US. A certifiable Coffee Mecca that's turned Portland into the quality coffee capital of the Pacific Northwest.
  • Espresso Vivace (Seattle)
    David Schomer is widely acknowledged as a perfectionist. Espresso Vivace is home to his science and art.
  • Intelligentsia (Chicago)
    Our coffee source and one of the most highly acclaimed roasters in US. Taught us most everything we know (although we think they're still holding back some secrets).
  • Joe The Art of Coffee (NYC)
    Preposterous name, but consistently ranked among top espresso joints in New York, which has to mean something, no?
  • Caffe Vittoria (Boston)
    OK, maybe it's not the best espresso in Boston. But Vittoria is a great North End experience. A riot of noise, cappuccino, cannoli and sambuca. This is Rich's dream joint. Except with better coffee.
  • Blue Bottle (SF)
    Beans microroasted fresh daily and whatever doesn't sell today is tossed. Has raised the bar for every other joint in the Bay Area.
  • Peets (Berkeley/SF)
    Alfred Peet is often called "the grandfather of the specialty coffee industry". Started in 1966, Peets continues to have a loyal following, despite tons of regional competition.
  • George Howell's Terroir (Boston)
    George's Coffee Connection was specialty coffee in New England for years. Then he sold out to the dark empire. Now he's back with Terroir, identifying and promoting single source coffees. No stores yet, only whole bean sales.
  • The Roasterie (Kansas City)
    Reginal powerhouse coffee buyer, roaster, trainer and local retail chain in KC, Missouri.
  • Ninth St. Espresso (NYC)
    King of espresso on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
  • Gimme! Coffee (Ithaca/NYC)
    Gimme! was among the first Eastern shops to rival the best in the PNW. Born in Ithaca, they're now in Brooklyn, Chelsea Market and LES.
  • Simon's (Boston)
    Cambridge, MA, used to be home to Jaime VanSchyndel, barista provocateur. Not sure if they're still what they were when Jaime was on bar, but it's likely still the best cup in Boston.
  • Caffe Artigiano (Vancouver, BC)
    Two time Canadian Barista Champ Sammy Piccolo and his roaster brother Vince have put Artigiano in the heads of espresso geeks worldwide. They cornered the market on 2005 Brazil CoE Santa Ines to ensure their proper place on the quality map.
  • Ritual Coffee (SF)
    Ask for Gabe or Baca. Lines usually out the door. For good reason.
  • Cafe Grumpy (NYC)
    In the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and now with a Lower West Side storefront. Top equipment and beans from Ecco and Counter Culture.
  • Octane (Atlanta)
    Hotlanta's cool kids of coffee, led by M'lissa. Great skills, great training, great coffee.
  • Alterra (Milwaukee)
    One of our favorite macchiatos was served here. Scott and Justin rock. The espresso stands up to milk like few others.
  • Zoka (Seattle)
    One of the largest and best macroroasters in the Pacific Northwest. Numerous barista champions worked on bar for Zoka.

Local Talent

Local Conversation Starters

Press

Muses

  • Chris Brogan
    Fun guy, busy guy, usually in Pgh for PodCamp. Chris is the best at distilling high-tech social media concepts for use in low-tech businesses.
  • Seth Godin
    There are a lot of big thinkers out there. Seth may not be the biggest, but he's the best at crystallizing big ideas into actionable agendas.
  • Hugh McLeod
    Been following Hugh since the early days of blogs. He called us one of his first global microbrands. We call him a revolutionary genius.

Charities We Support