Happy Fourth of July from Seattlest
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul04
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul05
Seattle Int'l Beer Festival Ends at 7 p.m.
As if you don't know, this weekend was the Northwest Regional Barista Competition, presented by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, and hosted by Hines Public Market Coffee and Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Seattlest was there, live, reporting away like a real reporter, just without the expense account. (Actually we had to leave to go find a hotspot. But we typed part of this post live and it was thrilling. We were standing *that* close to 2004 U.S. Barista Champion Bronwen Serna, who was helping judge this year.)
The competition was held in the former temporary Seattle Public Library space, which is apparently owned by MOHAI. Who knew? Three barista stations were set up, and barista competitors had 10 minutes of miked fame to prepare their signature drinks. Baristas from Seattle were well represented: there was bean-tamping talent from Hotwire Online Coffee, Zoka Coffee, Essential Baking Co., Victrola Coffee, Trabant Chai Lounge, and Jakelight.
Friday's seventeen competitors were winnowed to six finalists, who competed Saturday from 11am to 1:30pm. Results will be posted, presumably, here. But Seattlest might as well tell you right now that Jennifer Prince from Zoka won first place. Mark Pfaff from Jaspers Coffee in Des Moines came in second, with Billy Wilson from Albina Press in Portland, in third.
We bet you'll see pictures of the whole thing here fairly soon.
In other breaking local/coffee news, at a top-secret location Seattlest got a sneak peek at a bright, shiny invention that is going to break the drip coffee industry industry wide open! Maybe. We're not experts. But if you like bright, shiny things, follow the jump!
We actually tried this out, so we can speak with authority. Nestled away in Ballard (that's near Fremont, yo) is the Coffee Equipment Company. They have invented a by-the-cup coffee brewing machine that is worth the price of admission just to watch function. It seriously is bright and shiny, and it has a piston that, you know, operates in piston-fashion.
Their fiendish scheme is to replace that pot of hours-old, cooked drip coffee that eats through your stomach lining with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee that's ready in about 1 minute. Seattlest saw them perform this feat with our very eyes, from grinding the beans to steaming cup. We tried a few tastings, which could account for some of the enthusiasm with which we're typing this post! It's a damn fine cup of coffee! We had them make a coffee from Brazilian beans, we had them go Bolivian! They had about fifteen varieties. Seattlest is sensitive to caffeine so we stopped after just two!
We're inclined to applaud this move toward just-in-time coffee production. They're launching the machine for commercial use, so keep your eyes peeled for its appearance in local cafes.
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