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Got Raw Milk?

Let me start this post by saying: We are not carrying raw milk at either of our shops. DHEC won't allow it.

BUT we have recently been approached by a local farmer who wants us to carry raw milk at our shop, to use in lattes or sell by the gallon, or bathe in, whatever. Raw milk, for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, is milk that has not been processed in any manner - neither via homogenization nor pasteurization. It's milk that your grandparents might have drunk and was drunk throughout most of the world for millenia until pasteurization was applied to milk in the last decade of the 19th century. It was a pretty good idea back then since it prevented illnesses like diphtheria, salmonellosis, scarlet fever, listeriosis, brucellosis and typhoid fever, all of which were much more common than they are now. (Homogenization has to do with suspensions of fat in milk and doesn't really factor into this discussion.)

The world of today is generally regarded to be cleaner and safer than it was a 125 years ago. We also have standards and regualtions as to how a business such as our must be run. The environment that made pasteurization a necessity still exists in the broader sense - we likely don't have outbreaks of listeria and typhoid fever precisely because we do have in place standards on how milk should be processed - but at the same time is it necessary to keep them in place where they might not be warranted?

The reason I bring this question up at all is because of the taste and not some sense of the homeopathic efficacy of 'real milk' in our diet. I do believe that the less processed and altered a food is the more likely it is to be good but for the moment I'm focusing on the culinary advantage of raw milk over normal milk. It's creamier and sweeter and acts as like as a compliment to milk-based drinks and not solely as a transport medium for the espresso. At least this is my experience of the past couple of days. I have spent a lot of time tasting cappuccinos made with raw milk and though it can be a trick getting the froth where you want it the flavor was never a problem.



I don't know. Are the risks, in this day and age justified? Would it be plain irresponsible to offer raw milk to customers? I certainly don't want to make anyone sick but I also want to make the best cappuccino possible.

It's all a moot point of course, because you know what DHEC said. I just wanted to bring the issue up. We all talk about extraction parameters for espresso, their blends and roast times but we rarely talk about the milk in any meaningful way.

NB: The farmer offering this milk is local and is inspected weekly by DHEC. The price he wants to charge is actually pretty reasonable.

On a nearly non sequitur note: Don't forget next week's Latte Art Hoedown. We're giving away a Mypressi TWIST to the winner! And for those of you who'd rather just purchase one, we are taking pre-orders as well!

Hoedown With a TWIST

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that the grand prize for this month's Latte Art Hoedown is the Mypressi TWIST!

You've heard the hyperbole, exclamations and rumors. Now come by and find out for yourself what the TWIST can do.

In it's price range nothing else even comes close to this level of quality. I hope to experiment a little and post results here but from what I've already tasted it's good enough to offer at the shop.

To that end, we are now taking pre-orders for the TWIST. If you come in and put your money down before the day of the Hoedown you'll pay only $149.99. After that the price goes up.

Or you can just win it ...

Thursday March 25th. Let's try 7 p.m. this time.

Latte Art Hoedown Heart to Heart

Congratulations to Charlotte, February's latte art champion! She won her first competition with an immaculate heart! Absolutely gorgeous. Her winnings were over $300 from the pot (OK, I didn't count but it looked pretty hefty), coffee from Counter Culture and a gift card from JP Collections. Russ (whose last name I don't remember) poured himself into a gift certificate for Mars Hill Christian Bookstore.

Next month's Latte Art Hoedown will be March 25th - the last Thursday of the month - and this one will have an extra-special grand prize ...

... but more on that in the next post!

Congratulations again Charlotte!

SERBC 2010 Wrapup

The SERBC is finally over and I can take a minute or two to recollect (and then I have to get back to work 'cause there aint no rest for dashing erstwhile-young entrepreneurs of the modern era).

First, I should congratulate Lem Butler, Dale Donchey and Chandler Rentz for their performances this year. They all did a great job of bringing up expectations for coffee here in the southeast. Hats off especially to Lem, who seems nigh unbeatable. He is as professional and engaging as any barista could (and should) hope to be.

Next let me say that this pool of baristas was the best it's ever been. No one walked off stage in tears or gave up in frustration and though several people went over-time they still had the presence of mind to finish their routines. It was an impressive competition.

Having said that, it makes Coffee & Crema's success there all the more wonderful. I can't begin to tell you well Alex and Caleb did. They both brought superb performances to the judges and walked away with very respectable scores. It is worth noting that neither of them went over time, which seemed to be a real problem the first day.

Alex's run came in the middle of the first day, sandwiched in between seventeen other competitors. His espresso was a blend of Sumatra & Colombia and was one of the more distinctive espressos of the competition, with two distinct flavor profiles - cocoa in the front and after 30 seconds nothing but red fruit. It was delicious.

Caleb perfomed at the tail end of the second day. He had the most time to worry but he had brought his wing man, Jim Croce, for backup and pulled off his routine with aplomb. He brought a Burundi espresso and served his judges a dirty hippie with avocado. How's that for moxy?

I was the ultimate competitor (never say last!) on the first day, perfoming a couple spots after Lem. I was really nervous and it certainly showed but I didn't break anything, go over time (though I scared everyone a little by going up to 14.59.57), vomit on or kill anyone. Still, it was not what I had hoped to get up and do. Here at the shop I feel at home and alway think I can carry the spontenaity I have here (as moronic as it might be, at times) to other venues, like the SERBC. Apparently that is not the case. So by Saturday afternoon I had already packed my gear and equipment and was ready to go home. I was utterly certain I wasn't going on to the finals. My plan was to stand with a smile in the lineup for the announcements and not look disappointed.

They called Lem, Dale, Chandler, Dustin Mattson and Dave DelChamps and I was even more sure by that point that I wasn't going to the next round. There were so many better performances! Then they called me and I couldn't believe it. I kept that smile in place and took my spot.

Oh if it had only ended there!

The next day I performed again and thought I was doing OK. Then, I noticed that I hadn't served the judges their water a second time. More importantly I didn't tell them to stir their signature drink. What a stupid thing to forget. "Stir, please." Geez. Anyway, I'm sure everyone has a reason why they didn't place better.

So in short, Coffee & Crema did great! I'm really proud to be a part of what's happening to coffee in the Southeast and I really hope it vitalizes coffee in the Greenville area. Congrats to everyone that got up to compete this past weekend and super-congrats to Alex & Caleb.

On a quick final note: Tonight is the Latte Art Hoedown here at the Forest Park shop. Things kick off at 7:30 p.m. and we hope to see you here!

SERBC Live video link

Go here for a live feed of the Southeast Regional Barista Competition:

http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/

OK, now I gotta get ready for my performance.

Alex will perform between 3-4.

I will go on around 4:30 thereabouts.

Wish us luck!

It's SERBC Time!

It's already time for the Southeast Regional Barista Competition! For those of you not familiar with barista competitions, let me just say that they are one of the few times in a year when a barista wears a shirt with buttons. In a nutshell, each competitor has fifteen minutes to make 12 drinks, all the while acting professionally passionate about the drinks he's serving. Like NASCAR there is always a wreck of some sort to look forward to and, of course, there can be only one winner.

Having said that, it's also a lot of fun.

This year we have potentially three people heading to competition this year. Alex Medina, who you might otherwise known by his gang name, The Swan and Caleb Sherer, know simply as Um. If they make it in and there is still room later for me, then I will also go.

Otherwise the roster is already looking respectable with competitors from Volta, Octane and a few others I won't name because I don't know for a fact they're competing. But I do know that the superhero Lem Butler is on the sign-up sheet and that makes this perhaps the best SERBC ever.

You should try to make it out if possible but even if you can't there should be a live webcast of it somewhere. We'll post details as soon as we know them. Either way, show Alex and Caleb some encouragement when you see them.

February 19th-21st in the King Plow Arts Center is where all the fun will be taking place. You can find out more information here.

 

The Hoedown is Back!

Art For January

Emily Clarke is coming to our walls in 2010 (is that 20-10 or two-thousand ten?) and the image above gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. We're really looking forward to having some of her work on the walls in January.

There will be an opening reception on Friday the 8th from 6-9 PM. Everyone is invited and there will even be music.

We look forward to you guys coming out and supporting local artists.

New Year's Hours

Happy New Year, nearly!

I just wanted to let everyone know that both shops will be closing at 6 PM New Year's Eve. Also, hours will return to normal on January 1st and beyond.