Aldo Coffee Company

Grinder Rehab

Gloria Jeans in the Ross Park Mall closed.  They had a huge sale - everything had to go.  Whatever was left in the store as of this morning was put on a truck and removed. 

Yesterday Johnny and Rich went up there to see what we could get on the cheap.  We loaded up on some condiments and serving utensils for a few bucks and invested a whopping $200 on GJ's Super Jolly grinder (retails for around $680 new).

We've ordered a new set of burrs and have given its innards a couple of good cleanings to get rid of the funk from some of those GJ flavored coffees.  It'll still need additional reconditioning before going into service, but it's likely you'll see it behind the bar before the end of February.

John thought he was going to walk out with an Astoria two group espresso machine for his basement.  But there was a typo on the price list emailed to us that stated a much lower price than what they were ultimately willing to settle for. 

Good thing, since we think John would've been scrubbing rust off the thing through the weekend.  Or longer.  It was in fairly rough shape. 

A "Steamers" cafe is opening in GJ's spot opposite the food court.

SCAA Pulls Out of Pittsburgh. Let's Pull Them Right Back In.

A few days ago we made reference to the Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA) "sticking it" to Pittsburgh.  As promised, we're back to shine a little light on an injustice we believe must be righted.

The SCAA had selected Pittsburgh to host its 2011 convention, going so far as to publish the dates on calendars.  The Greater Pittsburgh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GPCVB) was certainly excited about landing such a prestigious national event.  So were we, along with other baristas from cities as far away as Baltimore and Providence.

Then the SCAA reneged.  It's going to hold its show in Houston.  Maybe.

$216 Raised Last Night for Voices for Animals

Thanks to everyone who came for last night's bellydancing performances (and y'all broke the previous record of most folks ever crammed into this space by two, reaching 78 warm bodies just before 8pm.) 

Thanks to your contributions, the dancers raised $216 for Voices for Animals, which they tell us is enough to spay six cats.  We raise our ibrik to you!

For All of You Who Bought An Aeropress from Us...

You could be a world champion!

We got a kick out seeing this post from former World Barista Champion Tim Wendelboe:

The First-Ever Unofficial Aeropress Championship

Belly Dancing & Turkish Coffee Tonight

Students from Amethyst Belly Dancing will be here tonight from 7-9pm. 

We'll be featuring Turkish Coffee brewed in traditional cezves.

The showcase is a benefit for Voices for Animals of Western PA.  A $3.00 donation suggested.  Larger donations are also appreciated ;-)

The Art vs. Science of Coffee

Today's New York Times featured a nifty article on the development of high-end coffee bars in the States.  Featured in the article was highly acclaimed micro-roaster Blue Bottle Coffee of San Francisco, which recently invested $20K in a halogen five burner on which they will prepare siphon (a.k.a. vacuum pot) coffee. 

Siphon coffee is a brewing method that was popular here in the States before the invention of percolators and drip machines in the 30s and 40s  It is still the preferred method of brewing in much of the Far East and among many coffee connoisseurs worldwide.  And coffee bar owners in Japan and Taiwan have turned siphon brewing into near-performance-art.  There are even championships for siphon brewing in Japan.  And personalized bamboo stirring paddles, custom fit to one's hand.  This is not for scmucks... there's serious talent required. 

As well as a unique mental state, it appears.  The article  goes on to discuss the artistry involved in siphon brewing, best exemplified by a quote from the importer of halogen unit: "If you just want equipment, you're not ready."  Very Mr. Miyagi-like.

More Pittsburgh Baristas Enter the Competitive Ring

Our travel team was up at Tazza d'Oro last night for a night of practice with Pittsburgh's newest entries into the world of barista competitions.

Braden and Emily of long-time bastion of quality coffee and community Tazza d'Oro in Highland Park will be joining Belle, Sonja and John in DC next month at the Mid-Atlantic Barista Competitions.  Tazza d'Oro graciously agreed to let us work out on their shiny new La Marzocco GB5, which just happens to be the machine used at the competition.

If only we had a sixth, Pittsburgh could sweep the thing.  That would show the SCAA a thing or two about sticking it to the City (more on that in a later post).  So Matt, if you're out there reading this, your town needs you - we know you're ready for it!

Owner Amy Enrico has a lot of confidence in her staff, all of whom have recently been certified by their roaster, Batdorf & Bronson.  Amy also told us that Braden was extremely fast on bar.  As you can see by the photo... he's so fast he's a blur!

We also need to find a local home brewer so we can make us some of these tasty things, except with Black Cat.   Care to volunteer?

We'll be praticing together a couple more times prior to the competitions at Coffee Fest, which begin February 15.

About Those Sunchokes...

When we were going through some new soup cookbooks we bought ourselves for Christmas, we found at least one (and usually similar) recipe for a sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) soup in all of them.  So we decided to try one and served a sunchoke/roasted garlic soup yesterday (none of that test kitchen stuff for us!).

Let's just say it's not a soup you're going to see here often.   Reason being:  it takes about 40  or so sunchokes to make just two quarts of the stuff.  Imagine peeling that many garlic knobs.  It's about that much fun.  If you peel them, the yield is awful... maybe a bit better than half. 

And as a sunchoke tastes something between a Yukon Gold potato and an artichoke heart, it's not like the soup is bursting with flavor (cue the roasted garlic)... it's more like a background element, although I suppose if we roasted them like potatoes they might pop a bit more.  Don't get me wrong, it's a good soup - very tasty with just a light touch of herbs and pepper - but given the time and energy, we'd probably opt for a silky potato leek.

Especially if we were making it.

Barista Competition Fever Rising

This year's Mid-Atlantic Barista Competition will take place during CoffeeFest in DC, February 15-17.

While our "travel team" (Belle, Sonja and John) have begun practicing after hours individually and as duos, tonight was the first time the three of them got together to collaborate and, at least in Sonja's case, begin fine tuning her signature drink presentation (can't tell you what it is yet - everything is a state secret for now).

A lot goes into preparation.  Some folks spend impressive sums on skills coaching and recipe development and several hours daily on practice in the months leading up to the competition.  Others seem to fly by the seat of their pants.

Beginning next week, we'll be practicing in the evening with baristas from another shop (not announcing which shop until they decide to announce themselves).  It's exciting to see another Pittsburgh contingent take the risk and put themselves "out there" because there's really no financial payoff (but there is a lot of expense in preparation and travel).  Really, the main payoff is professional pride and the community engagement from involvement with other equally dedicated baristi from the region. 

Just When You Think Everyone's Getting On the Same Page...

Oy. 

Someone geekier than us could nitpick on three or four of these half dozen "home brewing tips" as presented by Pittsburgh Magazine, but there's one that's just so far off the mark it had to be called out. 

See if you can guess which one ;-)

A couple of us were interviewed for tips as well - and we imagine other shops featured recently in Pittsburgh Magazine were interviewed.  Guess our answers (e.g. match the grind to the brewing method) were too complicated?