The CoffeeGeek Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Intro - Tom’s Diner, Suzanne Vega (0:06)

If you’re in town this weekend, be sure to visit the Canadian Coffee and Tea Expo and Canadian National Barista Competition, September 24 – 25. (1:25)

Interviews (2:03)
Tom Owen, Sweet Maria’s (3:08)
Tom is profiled in the September/October issue of Imbibe Magazine.
- Sweet Maria’s web site: unpretentious and all about what’s in the cup, where thousands of home roasters got their start (3:23)
- Exotic coffees: the story of St. Helena coffee, the perception of coffee as culinary, and the growing demand for specialty coffee (5:50)
- Sweet Maria’s purchase of Best of Panama 2006 coffees, including the Hacienda la Esmeralda Gesha at the record-breaking price of $50.25/lb (12:56)
- Sweet Maria’s home roaster mailing list and the development of coffee communities (18:21)
- Coming soon to Sweet Maria’s: Late harvest Esmeralda Gesha to be offered at about $16/lb and a fantastic dry processed Yirgacheffe Idido Misty Valley (28:22)

Karen Foley, publisher of Imbibe Magazine (43:39)
- The Tom Owen profile (44:34)
- Imbibe’s coverage of coffee and readers' response to Mark’s article on french press coffee (48:00)
- Mark’s espresso article in the September/October issue and a contest for future articles (see entry rules below) (51:49)
- Coming up in the next issue: holiday drinks and gift guides; an article on Prague; coffee origins by Richard Reynolds (1:01:11)
- The response to the magazine from the coffee communities and other beverage-related communities (1:03:03)
- Comment on Imbibe at their new blog or order a subscription through their web site (1:08:14)

Mystery Guest Interview! (1:12:26)
- Cafés and coffeehouses in the ‘50s and ‘60s (1:13:45)
- Milk (1:19:25)
- Mark’s secret shame exposed: Maxwell House instant, pre-ground Folger’s, and blade grinders (1:23:23)
- “If I want blueberries in my coffee, I’ll put blueberries in my coffee!” (1:32:22)
- The 20 oz cup (1:33:56)

Outro – Tom’s Diner, Michigan and Smiley (1:46:02)

Show Notes

Black Gold, Superautos and More with Mark and Beata
This episode brought to you by 1stincoffee.com, your one-stop shop for anything and everything espresso or coffee related!

Intro - Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega (0:11)

New coffees we’ve tried lately  
- West Coast Roasting’s Espresso Torro (4:04)
- Intelligentsia’s Kid O is back! (7:21)
- Ecco Caffè’s Bolivian 2005 Cup of Excellence and Daterra Espresso (7:57)
- Novo Coffee’s wild forest coffees (9:53)

Black Gold – Mark and Beata’s review (11:07)
- Starbucks’ portrayal in the movie (12:27)
- The rise in the New York “C” price  (14:04)
- Tadesse Meskela of the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Coop and building schools in Ethiopia (16:53)
- A few criticisms (19:18)

New espresso machine news!
- La Marzocco GS3 – delivery dates have gone out (23:04)
- Krups’ new superauto coming out this fall (26:34)

Contest results!  (37:18)
- Haiku contest winner: Jeremey Barrett of Sugar Land, Texas (37:43)
- Zoka DVD contest winner: Travis from Bellingham, Washington (email us by 9/12!) (39:31)

News about CoffeeGeek (40:16)
- A fix to the forum search functionality is in the works (40:22)
- The Marketplace, a place for advertisers to announce their latest products, is coming (41:19)
- The annual Holiday Gift List is returning (hopefully) in mid-November (43:05)

Mark’s latest magazine articles
- City Food, Restaurant coffee and Mark’s challenge (45:15)
- Imbibe Magazine, Espresso 101 (51:43)

Wrap up (53:53)
- Next podcast: the Imbibe Magazine episode

Outro  – Tom’s? by Michael Stipe

Show Notes

Coffee on Television: Black Coffee
- Three-episode documentary series on coffee, produced in Canada, rated "best ever watched" by Mark and Beata (2:56)
- More about Franciszek Jerzy Kulczycki, who opened the first café in Vienna and contributed so much to coffee culture (4:13)

Brasil Cup of Excellence Cupping
- Brief recap of the cupping - $175 raised for Coffee Kids! (10:42)
- Susie Spindler will try to provide extra samples of the COE coffees to Mark so that more COE cuppings to benefit Coffee Kids can be held in the near future. Watch the Western Canada forum on CoffeeGeek for invitations near the end of April for the Colombian CoE cupping. (11:57)
- Four more cuppings planned for June/July (14:39)

Mark Answers Email! (15:48)
- Jeffrey, a Kansas CoffeeGeek-in-Training, asks for Mark’s opinion on fluid-bed and drum roasters. Mark discusses home roasting technologies and how different types of roasters affect coffee. (15:58)
- Mike from San Francisco asks for Mark’s thoughts on Starbucks’ Black Apron coffees. Mark talks a little about Starbucks vs Doubleshot Café, then explains why Starbucks doesn’t currently use CoE quality coffees for their Black Apron program. (22:56)
- Alexandra in Montreal asks about having a CG podcast episode devoted to a discussion of fair trade practices and related changes in the coffee industry. Mark suggests ways that consumers can help support farmers. (28:37)

Preview of the 2006 SCAA Conference (35:12)
- Cool things: More Italian equipment manufacturers; the topic, Quality Tools for the Specialty Trade, focusing on tools to make coffee profitable for retailers; and the Culinary Track, including pairing foods with coffee and french press brewing/coffee variety in restaurants (35:31)
- Huge show floor, lots of parties, discounts at restaurants in Charlotte, on-location recordings, and a dual podcast with the portafilter.net crew! (40:26)

Intro – Vancouver Coffee Scene Roundtable (1:31)
- Michael, Mark’s neighbor and coffee enthusiast, (email him if you have an opening for a barista)
- jakethecoffeelover, CGer and author of http://coffeaarabica.blogspot.com
- Sean Strugnell aka strugs – CGer
- Matt, barista at Elysian Room, 5th and Burrard, Vancouver
- Peter, barista at Wicked Café, 7th and Hemlock, Vancouver, and author of pullingshots.blogspot.com

Review of Aerobie Aeropress (2:57)
- Metal filter vs nylon filter vs paper filter (4:00)
- The engadget pvc do-it-yourself, the Depresso, and experimentation (5:36)
- Comparison with the Clover (8:42)

Review of the Clover (10:17)
- Discovery Coffee: newest Clover in Canada (10:30)
- The Clover’s effect on body and adjusting the Clover for optimal brew (11:00)
- Use of the Clover in the café (18:08)

Back to the Aerobie: Future experimentation, blind cupping, and bloom (19:50)

Review of the Vibiemme Domobar (21:43)
- HX machine with E61 group and 2 liter boiler
- Fast steaming machine, very stable

Home Machines (24:57)
- Sean’s Wega Lyra; Peter’s Krups Novo; Michael and Jake’s Gaggia Espressos

Fave Coffeehouses and the Café Scene (32:45)
- The group’s favorites include Prado, JJBean, Continental, Elysian Room, Wicked Café, Victrola, 2% jazz

Wrap-Up (42:27)
- Thoughts on Chris Tacy leaving the coffee scene
- Funny stories about Jake
- A few comments about portafilter.net podcast

Show Notes

Newbie Show: Today’s guests, Beata Siwinski and Julie! (1:52)
Beata and Julie ask Mark their coffee questions:

When did people first start drinking coffee? (3:29)
- A brief history of coffee: Mark describes the discovery of coffee and the rise of coffee’s popularity throughout Arabia and Western Europe (3:50)
- A very brief history of espresso: Mark describes the development of modern espresso and the first spring-loaded piston espresso machine in 1947 by Achilles Gaggia (9:08)

When were cappuccinos and lattes first created? (12:13)
- History of the cappuccino:  Mark traces the creation of the cappuccino from the French café au lait in the mid-1800s to the development of the steam wand in 1910. Some discussion about Caffe Reggio (NYC)'s claim to inventing the drink.

The Coffee Scene in Italy
- Espresso, cappuccino, lattes and cafe correcto: Julie’s coffee experiences in Italy (14:29)
- The Italian café scene: not so many laptops (16:31)
- Features that Mark, Julie and Beata would like to see in local cafes (18:11)

Why are some coffees stronger than others? Should you add salt to get rid of bitterness in coffee? (27:01)
- Different tastes reflect differences in coffees and differences in roasts

Will there be more newbie podcasts (perhaps about the importance of proper grind)? (31:30)
- Yes!

Show Notes

Cup of Excellence Brasil Auction, Part II (9:02)

Interview with Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffè, Santa Rosa, California, international juror for Cup of Excellence (10:14)

• Andrew on what COE is all about and his involvement with it (11:42)
• The Brasil auction: what $50/lb may do for coffee; marketing to the consumer (15:48)
• Andrew's impressions of the winning coffee; how COE coffees are scored (19:49)
• Lot #1: Fazenda Santa Inês; farmer, Francisco Dias Pereira. Highest scoring coffee in any COE with a score of 95.85; received Andrew's top score of 97; received two scores of 100. Purchased by Michel's Espresso, Instaurator and Caffè Artigiano. Mark and Andrew discuss the price of the coffee from the consumer perspective (21:14)
• Lot #2: Fazenda São Benedito; farmer, Antônio José Junqueira Villela. Sold for $7.80 per pound; purchased by The Roasterie, Stumptown, Ecco Caffè, Kaffa, and Maruyama. (30:43)
• Lot #3: Sítio São José; farmer, Luiz Roberto Ribeiro. The farms that produced the top three coffees are neighbors. (33:02)
• Lot #23 purchased by Ecco Caffè, 49th Parallel Roasters, Intelligentsia, and Golden Coffee Box - Fazenda Santa Terezinha; farmer, Paulo Sérgio de Almeida. (37:01)
• coffeegeek.com will join COE at the benefactor level (41:01)
• Coming soon to Ecco Caffè: a coffee purchased with the Small Axe Alliance from the Bolivian COE (41:41)

Susie Spindler, Executive Director, Cup of Excellence (45:40)

• Susie on what COE is all about and her involvement with it (46:58)
• How consumers can find local COE coffees; how to get their roasters involved in COE (50:08)
• Benefits of standard COE membership include access to the auction system, priority on international juries, and access to a searchable database of winning farms (51:24)
• Building bridges between roasters, farmers and cultures (53:06)
• The Brasil auction: what $50/lb may do for coffee; scoring of the first place coffee and the stigma of coffee from Brasil among specialty coffee roasters (57:51)
• Marketing coffees to the consumer as a culinary treat: raising the expectations of the consumer (1:04:38)
• Disparity between scores and prices of the first and second place coffees (1:11:52)
• Visit the COE web site to learn more. (1:15:00)

Show Notes

A Barista in Ethiopia: Angie Lof, Head Trainer at JJBean (2:03)
- Ethiopia Trip: the Harrari; women in Ethiopia (2:37)
- Cultural highlights (5:13)
- Chat use in Ethiopia and coffee farming (8:37)
- Coffee: Ethiopian coffee ceremony (12:46); visit to coffee plantation in Harrar (21:51); coffee cherries (24:34)
- Kenya Trip and coffee (30:43)
- Results of the Cup of Excellence Brasil Auction and coffee prices (32:18)

New York Times Article on Grinders (42:11)

Guardian Article mentioning the CG Podcast (45:02)

Cup of Excellence Brasil Auction, Part I
- Interview with Instaurator, who in association with Michel’s Espresso and Caffe Artigiano, paid a record-breaking price ($49.75 US) for a Cup of Excellence coffee (45:21)
- Breaking down the cost per cup (49:00)
- The price of coffee and the wine analogy (52:53)
- Interview postscript – Cup of Excellence (56:47)

The News with Jeanette Chan (1:52)
- Kenyan coffee farmers in debt (2:00)
- New Orleans-based PJ’s coffee reopening locations closed by Katrina (2:38)
- Coffee lowers risk of breast cancer in certain women (3:10)
- Starbucks wins trademark infringement suit in China (4:32)
- Lakewood, WA couple charged with forcing their niece to work as a slave at their espresso stand (5:25)
- Culprit in string of espresso stand robberies in Washington state apprehended (8:24)

Phuong Tran, 2005 US Barista Champion (9:29)
- Phuong’s café: Lava Java, Ridgefield, Washington (10:05)
- Phuong’s road to the USBC (10:43)
- What the competition consists of (14:47)
- What barista competitions are all about (19:21)
- How to improve barista competitions (22:03)
- Rumors of a competing body to the World Barista Championship (WBC) (26:59)
- Phuong’s experience at the Nordic Cup: cow milking; triangle tests; milk tasting tests; signature drink team competition; coffee brewing test (27:32)
- The 2005 WBC (34:50):  Mark’s view on Phuong’s finish (36:02); the finalists (congrats to Sammy Piccolo on his new baby boy!)  (37:31); a behind the scenes look (38:42); Phuong’s training (43:53); Phuong’s signature drink, the Crimson Sage (47:23)
- Judging and the sensory skills test (54:38)
- The Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition (58:39)
- Vancouver café crawl: Caffe Artigiano, JJBean, Prado, Wicked Café, Elysian Room (59:31)
- Mark and Phuong compare shots and discuss flair vs consistency (1:02:26)
- Phuong’s thoughts on what could be done differently at the USBC (1:07:57)

Show Notes

Introduction (0:00)
- Hoops and Yoyo from Hallmark, Merry Christmas (to the tune of “Finiculi, Finicula”)

Beata and Mark recorded this podcast from the beautiful Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, where they spent the Christmas holiday. (1:04)

Coffee on Holiday (2:27)
- Newbie Segment: Beata shares her real-world experience with making press pot coffee during the trip, demonstrating the importance of grind (3:41)
- Mark and Beata discuss the reasons that most coffees do not include “roasted on” dates on their packaging. Mark’s tip for this podcast: demand coffees with roast dates! (5:33)

Podcasts Past and Future (13:35)
A quick look back at this year’s podcasts and a glimpse of the future:
- Videos: possibly product walk-throughs and/or how-tos (but not video podcasts at this point). Anyone in Vancouver have good video editing skills and equipment? (14:16)
- Improved podcast audio quality (thanks to the incredible generosity of Ira at Samson) (20:09)
- More podcasts with Beata! Potential topics include press pot coffee, Vietnamese coffee and Viennese coffee how-tos; summer drink recipes; etching; trade show reports (23:28)
- If you received any really unusual coffee-based holiday gifts, Mark wants to hear about it – send him an email, and he may read it on the podcast. (29:08)

CG Podcast Giveaways! (29:35)
- Please send suggestions for contests that will be super easy and not time consuming for Mark to administer, but at least a little difficult for listeners. Prizes include Grindenstein knockboxes, an Aerobie Aeropress, and possibly a Baratza Virtuoso grinder!

Outro (31:58)
Thanks to everyone for listening! We hope everyone had a great Christmas/holiday -- happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa, happy Festivus, and joy, happiness and prosperity in the New Year!

Show Notes: 

This is the first of two pre-Christmas shows. In this podcast, Mark lists his top recommendations in all things coffee and espresso for the folks on your gift-giving list!

Information on the following products and more can be found in the Coffeegeek review and consumer review sections of the web site. If you’d like to support the Coffeegeek web site, please use Coffeegeek’s amazon.com affiliate link.

Introduction

Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby, Alexkid Remix - from the Merry Mixmas - Christmas Classics Remixed CD (0:13)

Coffee Makers (3:53)

• Krups Moka Brew: A hybrid between a drip coffee maker and a moka pot. Unfortunately discontinued, but that means it can be found at a good price. Available at: amazon.com, ~$60; and  zaccardis.com, $50. (4:12)
• Capresso Drip Coffee Machines: The best series out there. (5:26)
• The Capresso MT500 is beautiful. Nice filtration system, efficient thermal carafe. Brews at the proper temperature. $170-180. (6:04) The Capresso CoffeeTEC is essentially the MT500 with an auto-frothing system. $200. (6:43) The Capresso CoffeeTEAM is the only grind and brew system Mark recommends due to its conical burr grinder. All available at 1stincoffee.com. (7:09)

Grinders - The Central Core of Good Coffee (8:11)

• Bodum Antigua: Decent grinder, the lowest priced one that Mark recommends. Available at: amazon.com; zaccardis.com; 1stincoffee.com. $50-$70. (9:22)
• Solis Maestro Classic/Solis Maestro Plus: Well designed; the Plus has better features. Grinds into a bin or portafilter. Classic, $100-$110; Plus, $150. (9:59)
• Baratza Virtuoso: Just released 12/15. Beefy burr group design; no float in burrs. Powerful DC motor. $200. (10:32)
• KitchenAid Proline: Extremely even grind; perfect as cupping grinder for this price range. Looks great, although Beata thinks it’s a bit industrial. $150 (on sale) to $200 at amazon.com. (12:03)
• Rancilio Rocky: Fantastic grinder. Well built, very quiet, doserless model also available. $270 (black or white) to $300 (stainless steel). (12:59)
• Mazzer Mini: Full-blown (albeit slow) commercial grinder, fantastic build quality, infinite adjustable grind, the ultimate grinder for the home espresso enthusiast. $400. (13:27)