Aldo Coffee Company

Coffee Cupping 101 This Saturday, 1pm

UPDATE:  There's a special surprise for this Saturday's cuppers:  After the cupping, we'll do a separate tasting of four levels of roast of the much-heralded Panama Hacienda Esmeralda.  We have samples of this year's Auction Lot 5 roasted at 1:00, 1:15, 1:30 and 1:45 past "first crack".  You'll learn that even 15 seconds of heat makes a big difference in flavor.

This month's introductory cupping class will include coffees from Central America, South America and Indonesia.  We'll explore differences in coffee between regions, talk briefly about processing methods and bean varietals, and demonstrate how "cupping" - a practice used by coffee buyers to determine quality - differs from simple tasting.  You'll have an opportunity to cup three coffees and look for flavor notes beyond "tastes like coffee." 

It's a free class, but you must reserve your spot.  Email us, call the store at 412-563-1220, or tell your barista when you're in the store this week.  There's a limit of six, so reserve early. Four seats still available as of CoB Wednesday.

Matt Manzo this Friday, 8pm

Matt Manzo returns this Friday, 8-9:45pm.  Free show, all ages.  Stop in after the First Friday celebration for some great music by one of our favorites, including some cuts from the latest Reveling EP, "Zuzu's Petals".

Love Coffee? Head for The Grind, This Afternoon at the Union Project

If you enjoy coffee as a passion or profession, you'll enjoy this event.  The Grind is an even run by The Union Project and the Pittsburgh Area Coffee Association.  It's happening this afternoon, 12-3p at the Union Project, 801 N. Negley.

Belle will be leading cuppings of several Intellgentsia coffees, with John and Lauren assisting.  There will be espresso demos as well as latte art training.  Additionally, a raffle for some coffee-related items from sponsors and participants will be held.  The sponsors include Aldo Coffee, Enrico's Tazza d'Oro, La Prima, Starbucks and Beleza Community Coffeehouse.

Admission is only $5.  For $15 you also get a Union Project cup.  All proceeds go directly to the Union Project, which uses the monies to further promote job programs.

New Coffees to Get Excited About

Two new coffees are here this week, available by press pot or pourover.  So far, only Belle has cupped the Finca San Jose, none of us have tried the others.  So for now we're going to give you tasting notes from Intelligentsia's cuppers:

- Kenya Gaturiri.   

Surfacing above the hearty wine-like body and grapefruit-inspired acidity are hints of peach, guava, apricot, mango, and a myriad of other ripe fruit nectars that resolve gracefully into a warm and clean finish of clove, cinnamon and sweet molasses. Its broad-ranging appeal is certain to excite the taste buds of both the adventuresome and casual sipper.

- Finca San Jose, Nicaragua.

Begins as smooth baker’s chocolate and dried berry. The body is firm but not overbearing as hints of orange spice and cardamom emerge in the center. Notably, the coffee blooms in the finish, letting baking spice and licorice notes effloresce to add complexity and length to the taste experience.

Additionally we've got Tanzania Edelweiss Finagro Estate, Colombia Tres Santos, Honduras La Tortuga, Nicaragua Los Delirios and Panama El Machete.

This is the largest number of origins we've had in quite some time, which is nice given the sparse choices of this past Spring.  Such is life when your roaster is fanatical about only selling coffee within a short time frame after harvest.  The trade off is freshness vs. year-round convenience of purchasing. 

Come in and try some of the new offerings.

Washington Road's Foodie Charms Featured in the P-G

P-G food critic China Millman spent some time on Washington Road over the past few weeks.  Seems she liked what she found.  So will you!

All we need is some good Thai and Mexican and we'll never have to go into the city ;-)

And yeah, Rich totally stole that roasted tomato idea from 'Ino.  If you're gonna steal, steal from the best.

Saturday Advanced Cupping Class - Still Two Seats Open SOLD OUT

This Saturday at 1pm we're doing another free Advanced Cupping Class.  These classes are designed for coffee connosiuers and foodies to experience finer nuances in selected brews.

Belle will be featuring four coffees:  Two versions of Colombia Tres Santos, one just roasted this week from new crop and one from a microlot of last year's crop which has been vacuum packed for the past year to determine at what level freshness can be preserved.  We haven't even tasted the latter yet, so we're excited to see how it performs against the new crop.  We will also have two grades of Honduras La Tortuga, one roasted for blending, the other as straight-up single origin coffee.

It's bound to be educational, so if coffee is your thing, don't miss this.  To reserve one of the remaining seats for Saturday, call us at 412.563.1220 or drop an email (use the link to the left above the Google box). Sorry - sold out!  For future class dates, click here.

Soup's Off

We're taking soup off the weekday menu until the end of summer.  We will still do chili/spicy soups on Saturdays.

We're expecting to add a cold salad to the menu once our back patio lettuces and veggies are ready for picking, hopefully later this month.

First Friday

Tonight's First Friday is being held on Second Friday because last Friday was the Fourth.

I Don't Know is on Third.

On Washington Rd: various R&B bands and buskers with Jill West and the Blues Attack headlining in the Commons.

Here:  Mt. Lebanon HS Student Show - music & poetry.  Fundraiser for Amnesty International.

Stop in for dessert and coffee.  It's perfect Shakerato weather.

Barista Training - From Basic to Pro

The verdict on last night's Barista Skills 101 class: "Much more than I expected!"

We had four folks in for the class, two of whom will shortly be opening new shops in the area, and two who simply want to achieve professional results on their home rigs. 

Belle and John took the four through the elements of defining and evaluating coffee for espresso, preparation, brewing methodology, grinders and traditional drinks.  Everyone got time on the Linea and a greater appreciation for the trade.

Our next Barista Skills 101 class will be held September 17.  We also have a Professional Barista Skills class on August 13 for those who've been through the 101 class or who are already working as a barista and wish to improve their skills and understanding of the business.

For more information on all classes held at Aldo Coffee, click here.

Talking Coffee

The first story on this morning's newsfeed was a Trib article on the potential effect of Starbucks store closings on Pittsburgh coffee drinkers.

The first paragraph read as follows:  "Allison Shneck might have to find a new place to get her morning fix -- a venti espresso with two pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup."

What's amusing about this is that the reporter got the Starbucks marketing lingo right ("venti") but couldn't get the drink name correct (venti=20 ounces and a 20 ounce "espresso" would be about 20 one-ounce shots, 14 shots if you're pulling longer 1.5 ounce shots as many chains do).

We could be wrong on this, but it's unlikely that Allison - or any human being - starts their morning off with 20 ounces of espresso.  Not even John can do that.  And he's an animal when it comes to espresso consumption. If someone came in here for a 20 ounce espresso, we'd likely ask them to sign a legal waiver.