Aldo Coffee Company

The Doug Zell Card. Don't Leave Home Without Intelligentsia Coffee

It's Intelligentsia's Doug Zell in his own American Express card commercial!

We'd heard rumors of this but thought it was going to be one of those Pinkberry-type Plum card commercials.  Way to go Mr. Zell - you are officially a celebrity!

So we're going to start another rumor... why was Doug headed to San Francisco when Intelligentsia's West Coast roastery is in Los Angeles?  ;-)

Greetings from San Diego

Since nobody else is posting anything this week, figured I'd put up a short travelog.  I (Rich) am in San Diego for a couple of days for a conference.  I'm speaking on social media at the National Association of Consumer Shows in about an hour.  It's a beautiful 70F and sunny outside, as it is just about every day between February and November.

Hope all is well in Pittsburgh.  Saw that last night's Bucs-Yankees rubber game was rained out.  Sonja's on lunch today and Melanie tomorrow, so all is well. 

Started off this morning with a cup of the prepackaged Wolfgang Puck coffee they put in the rooms at the Omni.  It was better balanced than most prepackaged filter hotel coffee.  But there wasn't a single flavor note other than roast that you could hang a hat on.  In other words, it's what you'd call emergency coffee - nothing you'd seek out.

I had to find a Kinko's to copy some handouts, and the closest was on C and 5th, which is about half the alphabet from the hotel (L and 6th).  Luckily, the Kinko's was only one block away from Elixir, which is generally acclaimed to be the best espresso spot in the Gaslamp District - or anywhere downtown for that matter.

The doppio macchiato I ordered featured more of a southern Italian style espresso instead of the sweeter northern Italian balance of Black Cat, but it was well done, with a traditional dollop (which they etched) instead of the noveau Pacific style of freepouring small lattes so the barista can show off art skills instead of letting the drink's espresso shine.  It does make a difference in the taste.  I myself once lobbied for the freepours, but the staff and our macchiato-drinking customers convinced me the traditional Italian-style dollop was the way to go.

If you're in San Diego, by all means give Elixir a try.  They've got a beautiful LaMarzocco FB80 three group, beans roasted locally by Calabria, an inviting, if small seating area, a friendly staff and free wireless.

It's so nice here, I might decide to stay awhile.  Had the cod tacos at the Tin Fish yesterday since it was close... it's also good - am going back for more.  Benkovitz should do fish tacos.  It's a great dish sorely lacking in Pittsburgh.  And it's good to know some places still respect pizza here in SoCal.  Wish more places back home had the same reverence.

Your New WBC Champion

6. Denmark 5. Canada 4. Sweden 3. Netherlands 2. Australia 1. Ireland

TV Show hosted by UstreamCongratulations Stephen Morrissey (aka Thud) on an exceptional performance!
(if the video isn't loading, it's not our fault!)

WBC Finalists Announced

Tomorrow's World Barista Championship finals will run from 5:30am-8:00am Sunday.  Here are the six baristas out the 51 national champions who competed who will go for the gold tomorrow:

Sweden, Daniel Remheden
Canada, Mike Yung
Netherlands, Liesbeth Steijster
Denmark, Soren Stiller Markussen
Australia, David Makin
Ireland, Stephen Morrissey

Congrats to all competitors for being a credit to the trade!  You can view the finals live at worldbaristachampionship.com, approx. 5:30am-8:00am Pittsburgh time, with the world champion being announced around 8:30am.  US champ Kyle Glanville finished eighth, behind Luciano Marcolino of New Zealand.

Advanced Cupping Class this Saturday 1pm

This month's advanced cupping class subject is Central America.  We'll be cupping the following coffees:

Los Inmortales Finca Matalapa (El Salvador)
El Machete (Panama)
Los Delirios (Nicaragua)

Our advanced cupping sessions take your taste buds well beyond our Cupping 101 classes.  In advanced cupping we generally look at a specific region or country and will focus more on flavor nuances related to the types of processing or bean varietals.  While terroir remains important, tasters should not expect the stark flavor variances found in a Cupping 101 comparison between say, a Sumatra and a Brazil or Ethopian coffee.  Saturday's session will be a challenge to your palate.

One question we'll ask our tasters this week is to identify which of the coffees is most characteristic of a classic Zinfandel, a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.  However, you don't need to know wine to enjoy this culinary tasting experience.

To reserve a spot, email us or tell your barista to reserve a spot next time you're in this week.  The cupping will start at 1pm Saturday and last around an hour.  There are eight seats available.  First come first served.

World Barista Championship Live

The World Barista Championships are being streamed live from Copenhagen. 

The schedule for the preliminary rounds (all times EDT):
Today: 5am-11am
Friday: 4:45am-10:45am
Saturday: 4:45-9am, with the six finalists announced at 10:00am.
Sunday (finals): 5:30am-8:00am, with winner announced at 8:30am.

US Barista champ Kyle Glanville's performance is scheduled for Friday at 7:10am EDT.  The always affable Canadian champ, Mike Yung, is on today at 10:34am EDT.  The full competition schedule can be downloaded (pdf) from the WBC Live site.  There is also a live chat that you can sign up for and participate with baristas and espresso fans from around the globe (Melanie is Aldo1).

Btw, the screencap is Icelandic barista champion Thor Hlodversson using liquid nitrogen to finish his sig drink.  Pretty impressive, especially as it's apparently illegal to drive around with the stuff!

Go Rocco

Admittedly, watching golf is normally not nearly as exciting as the Stanley Cup.  And maybe not even as excruciatingly gut-wrenching as the three Bucs-Orioles games this weekend.  But it's the US Open and Rocco's in it against the world's best, who keeps producing magic like he's got an endless supply in his pocket.

We'll have the playoff showing here this afternoon on the HDTV.  So if you can't watch the stream in your office and need an update, swing by for a quick shot or two this afternoon and catch up on the action.

Third Class Tonight 8pm. Channelling The Modern Lovers.

On their MySpace page, Youngstown rockers "Third Class" list about six dozen musical influences, ranging from Zappa to Sigur Ros to 'Oklahoma the musical'.

Surprisingly to us, the one band they bear the most similarity to isn't listed.  That would be Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (with heavier percussion).  Which, of course, is great thing.  In other words, if you were compelled to slap a label on them, you might say that Third Class is post-"post-punk". 

It'll be loud and your parents won't understand it.  Unless, of course, they liked Jonathan Richman growing up.

8pm tonight.  Free all ages show.  Tip well.

Signs That Specialty Coffee Has Come of Age

This site is the talk of the cognoscenti this week: Rod Lazar Exquisitely Fine Coffees.

The Tomatoes Are Safe. The Baristas Remain Dangerous.

With the new menu, we'd been going through about eight pounds of Roma tomatoes a week. Figuring we'd be asked about this and just to be on the safe side, we switched to vine tomatoes until everything clears up in the supply chain.

We still prefer working with Romas and plum tomatoes because their mass favors our oven roasting - less water, fewer seeds, better texture - but we don't want to take any unnecessary risks with y'all.

So, the tomatoes here are safe. However, judging from the amount of spills today due to the increase in smoothies (last day of school), our baristas are dangerous.