Aldo Coffee Company

Update on Brazil & Panama Award-Winning Coffees

We'll be serving the Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Gesha on Monday, July 3 beginning at noon until 8:00pm or whenever we run out.

It's going to be $5.00 per cup. 

That's right.  $5.00 per cup.  And if you appreciate great coffee it'll be worth every cent and then some.  Of course, if your preferred beer is Coors Light and your idea of Italian cuisine is Olive Garden... well, this isn't for you. 

After all, this is the coffee that had one professional cupper proclaim, "When I tasted it, I found God."

We were lucky to obtain a full pound of this world-record setting coffee - Intelligentsia had been limiting sales to only a half pound for most of its customers.  Having a full pound will allow us to make between 9 and 10 press pots, or somewhere between 36-40 cups all totalled (might be less - we'll be measuring by weight, not volume).  Figure on at least one pot (~4 cups) going to quality testing before we serve.  So it actually will be pretty precious.

If you have already contacted us about trying this unique and universally-acclaimed coffee, we will be holding some for you when you arrive.

The Santa Ines Brazil 2005 Cup of Excellence (holder of the previous record setting auction price) will be roasted on July 7th in Vancouver, BC, and will ship that evening, so we're expecting it about the 11th, possibly the 12th.  Tasting notes from cuppers and baristas who've worked with it suggest it should be at its peak on the 12th and 13th.  We'll send details to those who've reserved cups next week after it roasts.

If you'd like to add your name to the list of folks reserving a cup of the Esmeralda or the Santa Ines, send us an email.

$%*&# Road Construction

Looks like road construction to repair the aging sewer lines is going to start on Washington Road next Wednesday, July 5.  The construction will run from Alfred all the way to McFarland.

If there's a bright side for us, it's that we'll be the first block to undergo repairs, so they should be able to reopen the street parking spaces out front and have a clear two lanes to Cedar by beginning of August. 

We're working on plans to minimize the disruption (maybe even making Rich a delivery boy for July).  If you liked to sit out front and people watch, remember we do have three tables on our patio, so you can enjoy the view from the back.

Meantime, we ask that you continue to support the stores that will be affected by the construction - especially the couple of new stores like Planet Art Gallery and Kool Kat Designs that just opened.  It's difficult enough to start a retail business.  To start one and then have to immediately deal with road construction in front of your place is extremely difficult.

Bad Photos of Good Latte Art

We haven't posted any art in awhile.  We were hoping to get a bunch today, but we got a bit sidetracked, so were only able to snap these three rosettas from Andi.

Belle says she's working on something called an 'angel' - we hope to have photos soon.

Unfortunately, with the All-Star Game coming up in two weeks, we're running out of time to perfect the Pirates head logo some of the kids have been working on the past month.  It's a tough one to pull off with consistency.

Possibly Two Top Cup of Excellence Winners in One Night?

Looks like we're going to get ourselves a pound of the Panama Esmerelda Geisha CoE 2006 that recently broke the previous auction price (set by the Santa Ines Brazil CoE 2005 we'll be serving next week.)

Since we don't do commercial roasting, we're trying to arrange it so that both coffees arrive here no later than three days post roast, at the height of flavor - which is the easy part.  The hard part is trying to ensure that happens so both coffees arrive here arrive on the same day.  That may not happen, but we'll know for sure next week. 

If you're interested in trying either the Panamanian or Brazil let us know.  We've already got a half dozen coffee geeks reserved for the Brazil tasting.

Stephen's Bon Voyage, Part Deux

We're making a mental note that all Stephen posts should get their own category called, "Hello I must be going."

Anyway, he's off to Paris (again) on Monday to rejoin Lorene, this time for at least a year.  So his SECOND going away shindig is Sunday, 7:30pm in the back room at Molly's, if you wanted to say adieu redux (and buy him a drink, of course).

At least this party is in walking distance.  Last time we had to go to Claddagh's in Southside Works.

Meanwhile, we're still trying to decipher his parting gift to us... the most bizarre CD he's put together yet.  So far we've identified "9 Million Bicycles" by Katie Melua, a truly awful Vietnamese cover of Bowie's "Starman", several French lounge acts (including an Edith Piaf post-war number and possibly a Serge Gainsbourg), a tune that might be either Paul Anka or Bobby Darin, a rendition of "Swinging on a Star" that sounds suspiciously like Bruce Willis' "Bruno" (but not as cool as the version from Hudson Hawk), and some other songs we haven't classified yet.  We're hoping that he'll give us a track list before departing.

According to Therese and Petra, Stephen has already invited just about everyone in Mt. Lebanon he's seen over the past two weeks.  And just in case you were wondering, no we're not covering the bill. 

Intelligentsia's Sustainable Coffee Buying Practices Featured in Today's NY Times

Want to know why we continue to use Intelligentsia as our primary source for roasted coffee?  Nobody else is doing what they are in terms of helping to ensure the future of quality coffee.

NY Times:  A Coffee Connoisseur On a Mission: Buy High and Sell High (subscription site - also in the Business Section of today's print edition of the NYT).

An excerpt from the article:

Mr. Watts and the founder and chief executive of Intelligentsia, Doug Zell, do not ascribe to the "buy low, sell high" business model. They buy high and sell high. In the coming years, both say they expect to pay 50 percent, 100 percent, even 200 percent above Fair Trade rates for beans so good that customers will pay $20 and more a pound retail. "On the grower side and the consumer side, we're trying to create a culture of quality," Mr. Watts said.

Mr. Zell underwrites the $150,000 to $200,000 annual cost of Mr. Watts's relationship-building and his seven months of travel each year in coffee-growing countries because he expects these investments to pay off as quality increases and customers learn to appreciate artisanal coffees from around the world.

To speed this development, Intelligentsia has devised a plan that offers farmers financial incentives for improving growing methods and producing superior beans. Mr. Watts was in Nicaragua to introduce this new approach, which mandates direct dealings with farmers and limits the role of the cooperatives that currently market most Nicaraguan coffee.

In addition to us here at Aldo Coffee, you can also buy Intelligentsia Coffee locally at Caffe Intermezzo, 21st and Smallman.

Why Things Turn Brown

2006 UK Barista Champ James Hoffmann explains the Maillard Reaction (no, not the duck), Strecker Degradation and Carmelization.

If Jim keeps this sort of thing up, we coffeehouse owners will end up having to offer tuition reimbursement as a job perk.  Most of us hire the liberal arts types who never took Chemistry 201.

Interested in Tasting the World's Highest Rated Cup of Excellence Coffee? We'll Have Some Here In July

About two weeks from now we will have in our possession two pounds of the coffee that set a record for highest price paid at auction - the Fazenda Santa Ines Brazil 2005 Cup of Excellence, which fetched $49.75/lb at auction last year.

There are only 12 60kg bags of this limited production coffee which were purchased by Caffe Artigiano in Vancouver, BC and two Australian roasters.  The coffee is the highest rated in Cup of Excellence history, with a combined score of 95.85 points out of 100 (pdf).

Since we'll only have two precious pounds of the stuff (which is costing us more than $70/lb including shipping) we haven't yet figured out how we're going to release it - maybe a special customer event or fundraiser, but perhaps something lower keyed.  We're hoping some of the local food critics will come out for a taste so we can start getting world-class coffee some long-overdue recognition in these parts.

The exact date we'll have it is still unknown - depends on when Vince at Caffe Artigiano roasts the next batch, but it should be in about 10-12 days, if not sooner.  It will ship day of roast and will take three days to get here.  From what we're told by Vince, by the time we receive it it should be degassed and ready to go.

If you are interested in tasting some (and it'll be $5/cup, brewed press pot only), drop us an email to aldo AT aldocoffee DOT com and let us know.  Soon as we know the exact date we'll be receiving and serving the Santa Ines, we'll shoot you an email.

World Party Lives

This has nothing to do with coffee, panini, or anything remotely associated with the shop.  It's just that we're excited that one of our favorite bands, World Party, is back from the (almost literally) dead. 

Barista Certification - Possible Soon in Australia?

Doubtful such licensing will ever come to the US... after all, what would the chains do?

Excerpts from the article: 

Coffee aficionados know that it is not just the blend but the barista driving that hissing, grinding machine which guarantees a decent cup.

Now the industry, alarmed by the rising number of people who purport to know how to make a half drinkable latte, wants to license baristas so that the serious business of feeding the nation's caffeine habit comes with a guarantee of quality.

The AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association says those who qualify for the barista licence will require plenty of specific knowledge, including how to treat customers, something lost on many of the nation's coffee makers.

Chairman Robert Forsyth, an international coffee judge, said Australia had evolved in 15 years into one of the most sophisticated coffee-drinking societies in the world and licensing baristas was the logical next step.

Scott Callaghan, 25, an employee at Morgan's Handcrafted Coffee who last month won the World Latte Art Championship in Switzerland, said licensing could add credibility to the industry.

"I certainly think there are too many people behind espresso machines with far too much arrogance," he said. "To make one good coffee is not hard, but for a cafe owner to work with a professional barista and build the cafe's business, this is rare and takes years. Licensing could give cafe owners the confidence to determine whether the person walking into their cafe is any good."

If licensing ever does come to the US, you can bet we'll be on board with it.  But really, we don't see barista certification in the future.  Good baristas know who they are and know who the others are in their areas.  As do customers.  And for now, that's good enough for us.