Same old portafilter - new barista
You have probably seen the shows where they bring in the celebrity guest chef to the little restaurant that is trying to make it and he tries to take what they are doing and make it work.
Well, I just brought in a guest barista to my own little “café.” Now there are some major differences here. First of all on T.V., the guest chef usually comes in and tells the locals that they are doing everything all wrong and there are big fights making high drama and instead we mostly had agreement on espresso preparation, and a total lack of drama – just fun instead.
Usually the shop is not making any money at all, and that fits here, too, but then again since I do not make coffee for paying customers it would be very odd if I did make money on my coffee!
You may wonder how I am rubbing shoulders with the stuff of legends and the answer is obvious – I met this barista through Roaste, where his legend was made, at least that is where I first read of him and where I first exchanged greetings!
Now you may guess who the barista is – I will leave it open for a day or so. I confess that like myself this barista is a home barista, not one from a coffee shop. I can also pretty much guarantee that you have heard of him. (Alas I am afraid that you will all guess correctly from the start but I thought it would be fun to leave it open for a day or so.)
Another take on this is my wife’s perspective. She as the mother of two small children filters things through those glasses, so instead of the glamour that I paint it with of celebrity guest stars coming in as if it were Hollywood, she tells me I am having a “coffee playdate.” Truth be told she is exactly right. We got together so we could play around with some coffee and coffee makers – the Elektra T1 in specific. It is fun for me to get other perspectives on it and learn from how others would use it, and it is a cool enough machine that it is fun for most coffee enthusiasts to walk up to it and get the chance to pull shots on it. I know I still get a thrill when I pull a shot and I hope that I always do.
Fit for the Emmys or simply a playdate, either way it was great fun to talk and drink coffee – the web has been a great palce to learn about coffee, but because of it I have also met a number of people from around the state who were as passionate about coffee as I am and share coffee with them and learn in person and that is truly always a treat.
Well, I just brought in a guest barista to my own little “café.” Now there are some major differences here. First of all on T.V., the guest chef usually comes in and tells the locals that they are doing everything all wrong and there are big fights making high drama and instead we mostly had agreement on espresso preparation, and a total lack of drama – just fun instead.
Usually the shop is not making any money at all, and that fits here, too, but then again since I do not make coffee for paying customers it would be very odd if I did make money on my coffee!
You may wonder how I am rubbing shoulders with the stuff of legends and the answer is obvious – I met this barista through Roaste, where his legend was made, at least that is where I first read of him and where I first exchanged greetings!
Now you may guess who the barista is – I will leave it open for a day or so. I confess that like myself this barista is a home barista, not one from a coffee shop. I can also pretty much guarantee that you have heard of him. (Alas I am afraid that you will all guess correctly from the start but I thought it would be fun to leave it open for a day or so.)
Another take on this is my wife’s perspective. She as the mother of two small children filters things through those glasses, so instead of the glamour that I paint it with of celebrity guest stars coming in as if it were Hollywood, she tells me I am having a “coffee playdate.” Truth be told she is exactly right. We got together so we could play around with some coffee and coffee makers – the Elektra T1 in specific. It is fun for me to get other perspectives on it and learn from how others would use it, and it is a cool enough machine that it is fun for most coffee enthusiasts to walk up to it and get the chance to pull shots on it. I know I still get a thrill when I pull a shot and I hope that I always do.
Fit for the Emmys or simply a playdate, either way it was great fun to talk and drink coffee – the web has been a great palce to learn about coffee, but because of it I have also met a number of people from around the state who were as passionate about coffee as I am and share coffee with them and learn in person and that is truly always a treat.
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