Holiday Hours

I wanted to wish everyone a happy Independence Day weekend and let you know our hours for this Saturday:

Haywood Mall 10-5:30
Forest Park 7-5:30

Have a great weekend!

Affogato it!

I just wanted to let you know that for the next couple of weeks we'll be offering drowned ice cream.

Drowned? Drowned in what?

Espresso of course. We have a bunch of extra-creamy vanilla ice cream waiting to make the ultimate sacrifice for your sweet, summer hamaughandy. This is another traditional way of enjoying hot espresso on hot days that can be really interesting when done right. By interesting I mean delicious and by done right I mean by us. So come on by and check it out. Once the ice cream's gone, so are the Affogatos. (This drink is only available at the Forest Park location, unfortunately.)

And, in case you were worried about missing out on our Shakerado, it's here too. For the moment.

LatteArtHoedown.com

As promised here is the Latte Art Hoedown page.

http://lattearthoedown.com

Here you will find pictures of previous Hoedowns as well as the prizes won. The site might get bigger and better as time goes on but everything looks elegant and pretty darned cool right now. There is even a twitter widget on the front page so that you can keep up with the Hoedowns as they take place.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

A First-Timer Takes the Prize!

This month's hoedown went down really well and I want to thank everyone for coming out. We had a couple of first time competitors and one of them managed to win! A pretty impressive debut, if you ask me. Congratulations to Trey Lancaster of Liquid Highway for taking the prize last night and showing everyone his burgeoning skills. He got to take home an Aeropress for his troubles while Connie Park, the second-place finisher, took home a bag of the Burundi Bwayi.

Because I was judging the event I didn't manage to take any pictures but take my word for it, every pour was epic. The designs were intricate and thought provoking. Emotional even. I'm pretty sure I heard someone crying at one point during the competition.

We're working on a webpage dedicated entirely to the Hoedowns and some pictures should be up there, as well as the previous competitions, in a day or two. Trey's winning pour should be posted there as well.

Congratulations again to Trey on his win and thanks to everyone who bought a competition drink and gave to Meals on Wheels. It may be only a dollar or two for you but it's a meal to someone else. Thanks too to all the other competitors, some of whom came from as far away as Atlanta. And of course Counter Culture for their donation of espresso.

Mark July 30th on your calendar for the next Hoedown. This one is a full five weeks away so you have plenty of time to get ready.

The June Hoedown

This is just a quick reminder that June's Latte Art Competition is this Thursday. Bring a friend and buy a competition drink to support Meals on Wheels. It's the best buck you'll spend all week.

The grand prize this time around is the Aeropress, a coffee brewer that has recently garnered a lot of attention (and rave reviews) from the coffee community. Coffee shops serving only aeropresses have popped up all over the country and some have suggested that it's only a matter of time before all other coffee brewers will go the way of the Dodo. (well, not exactly, since I don't expect the dogs of Dutch settlers to hunt to extinction other coffee brewers but you know what I mean.) The smart people want one. The cool people have one. The best barista will win one ...

In other news, there appears in the most recent issue of Barsita Magazine a little article about our grand opening at the Forest Park Shopping Center and April's Latte Art Hoedown. Check it out here. It's really a great piece and it's an honor to even be noticed.

See you guys Thursday night.

When Life Hands You a Lemon …

make a Shakerado!

Actually, life didn’t hand them to me, I had to go out and buy them. But that isn’t really important right now. What is important is that the only thing between you and the confounding heatumidity of the summer is this tasty little drink.

It isn’t much more than a little espresso, a little sweet, a little zest and a little pent up aggression – all in a martini shaker. It’s a great way to refresh and recharge on a hot afternoon. Our Shakerado will be available throughout the summer and is the first drink in a series of summer drenchers meant to keep the sweat off your brow and the dust from your throat. We’ll resuscitate some of the more popular drinks from the previous summer and introduce a couple of new ones too. Expect ingredients like: thyme, basil, ginger, citrus marmalade, hibiscus, Campobello honey and izu matcha to go with our usual espresso-based drinks, teas and smoothies.

To that end, tomorrow (Monday the 15th) we’ll be serving a very special single origin espresso Gerbicho Rogicha. It comes from the Sidamo region of Ethiopia and will be available at both shops for one day only. Expect it to make an exceptional Shakerado.

On a final note, don’t forget our Latte Art Hoedown is set for the 25th this month. That’s not far off so, if you’re competing, start thinking of what you want to pour, and if you’re just coming to watch, bring a few dollars to buy the competition drinks. All the money you put into the jar for the lattes goes to helping feed people that can’t do for themselves, via Meals on Wheels. Things kick off at 6 PM.

We’ll see you there!

Alternative Coffee Brewing Methods Workshop

The computer caught some sort of really nasty virus and I have spend the weekend getting my laptop back in order. It isn't quite there yet but good enough at least to post a brief announcement for this Thursday's Alternative Coffee Brewing Methods workshop in Charlotte. I'll be heading up to the Dilworth Roastery as a presenter for the siphon brewing method. Siphons use the magical forces of physics to brew coffee. There are two chambers, a lower one, which is heated and an upper one where the coffee grinds go. When heat is applied to the lower chamber steam pressure pushes the water through a tube into the upper chamber, where it circulates with the coffee. When the heat is removed the pressure in the lower chamber transforms (magically) into vacuum and sucks the water (now brewed coffee) back down.

If that all sounds a little intimidating, confusing or remotely alchemical then you have a reason to trek up to Charlotte for this class. I'll be demonstrating the method and answering whatever questions participants have. It should be a lot of fun!

Here are the details and contact information (in NC) for anyone interested in attending.

Cost: FREE!
Time: 7-9pm
Location: Dilworth Coffee Roastery
2400 Distribution St.
Charlotte, NC
p: (704) 340-3005

The Hoedown Wrap Up

Last night's Hoedown went over really well and I want to thank everyone that came out. There weren't quite as many competitors as last month's premier Hoedown but Josh and Melodie from Coffee Underground showed up and threw down some really beautiful art. Jason Dominy also came into town for the event, perhaps feeling an unnatural desire for unique and custom-made tampers, as well as Dustin Mattson from Liquid Highway. (I don't mean Jason has an unnatural desire for Dustin, just tampers.)The number of competitors worked out so that there was only one person given a wildcard last night and it proved to be Dustin that made the cut. He wasn't entirely happy about it though, muttering something about “the distinct pleasure of getting beat twice.” Still, he ended up pouring his way right to the finals. The pour for the final round was in five ounce cappuccino cups but the judges decided something bigger was called for, so out came the big cups.They were wide and flat and Dustin poured a beautiful rosetta but in the end the judges awarded the prize to my wreath and heart. I felt terrible but what can you do?

Either way, we managed to raise over $60 for Meals on Wheels and that's great. I also want to thank again Joe Buria for our grand prize custom made espresso tamper. He did a fantastic job and we're really grateful for the support.

Judges, you guys did great!

Thanks again to everyone that came out. We hope to see you next month!

May's Hoedown Prize

Your barista arsenal is complete:

This post is a day late but I thought it would be worth it. What you see above is the grand prize to this month's Latte Art Hoedown! The base is Reg Barber and the top is a custom crafted piece of bocote wood from a Greenville area wood worker.

Not only that but we'll have your name engraved onto the handle and get you whatever Reg Barber base you want for it. We figured you'd need to have your name engraved on it because everyone will want to steal it!

See you this Thursday!

Well?

I may not be a supermodel but here's the shirt! For anyone interested in getting one leave a comment about what size you'd like. The Memorial Day weekend is making it a close call but I have been assured they will be ready by the Hoedown this Thursday. For anyone buying a shirt that night the cost will be whatever the cost is to me.

Speaking of which, don't forget this Thursday, the 28th, is the Hoedown. Mark your calendar! Call in sick! Stay in your room all day so you won't injure your pouring wrist! I'm getting a prototype of the 1st place prize this weekend and if it looks good I'll make an announcement Monday. 

All competition drink sales go to charity, same as last time. If you want more information about the competition check out the Events page.

Things kick off at 6 PM. We'll see you there!