DoubleShot Coffee Company

Monday, March 08, 2010

Isaiah's Empty Bucket

Last week, after I had begun teaching Isaiah about sorting through coffees and explaining what to pull out and what can be left in, he decided he wanted to do an experiment. All last week, we kept a bucket alongside the roaster in which we threw "empties" or "shells." By the end of the week, we had enough in the "empty" bucket for him to pull three doubles.

We have done this experiment in the past, in order to see what these deformed beans taste like, but we brewed them in a presspot. Isaiah decided to brew them with the espresso machine, which amplifies tastes and really can make slightly irritating tastes into an undrinkable mess. Which is what happened with the empties.

Two problems. First, we took empties from all the coffees we roasted and put them all together. He initially wanted to only use ones from our espresso coffees, but those coffees are super-clean and don't have many defects. So in order to get enough to pull shots, he had to use them all. So the blend, even if we had used clean, good coffee, probably wouldn't have tasted good in espresso. Random blend. Second, even though empties aren't a terrible lot, they tend to not add anything to the cup. And in an espresso, I can imagine they are pretty bad.

The first shots were ground too coarse (these defects are significantly less dense than regular coffee). The second shots pulled better, but tasted terrible. The third double, he made into an americano. I'm sure someone would've liked it. But that someone isn't me.

Another experiment we did recently combined beer and coffee. I took a can of Young's Double Chocolate Stout and heated it up to 200 degrees. I ground 28 grams of Costa Rica La Minita for a presspot. Poured the hot beer into the coffee and did my usual presspot routine. Also terrible. Though this time we shared it with one of our seemingly less discerning customers, and he loved it. So we gave him the whole thing. This afternoon I'm going to try pouring a bit of cold-brewed coffee into a cold Young's. Should be better. Hard to say.

We're working on finding all the things that DON'T work. That way it narrows down the things that might work. Plus, we'll do just about anything for a laugh.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Birthday Party!

March 5, six years ago, in 2004, the DoubleShot officially opened her doors and began selling coffee. Pretty exciting, life-changing day for me. And I suspect for a lot of people, to various extents.

We are celebrating the 6th birthday of the DoubleShot on Friday, March 5 and I want to invite you to join us.

All day we'll have free cupcakes to go with your coffee purchases. And starting at 7p, the party will begin. Come hang out, listen to music, socialize and meet people who hang out at a different time of day than you. We'll have beer, whiskey, cigars, and the best coffee we can get our mouths around.

Put it on your calendar:

Friday March 5

Thanks for supporting us through 6 years of coffee-making and drama.

Friday, February 19, 2010

I was wrong

Ok ok, now I admit it. I was wrong about these barista competitions. They are awesome.

Wait... how do you spell Isiaha? Isah? Ishiaah? Iasiahaha?

Sunday, February 14, 2010

There's no such thing as TOO fresh (your coffee is stale)

Generally I write in my blog for my customers, but every once in a while something I write will spark controversy and spread through the international coffee-verse. I know locally there is a lot of urban legend and misinformation about me, and I'm pretty sure no one in the larger community has paid any attention* or knows anything about me. So I'm going to tell you a little, make a clarification, AND a confession.

But first, if I have anyone's attention in the specialty coffee world, I want to pose a question. Do you think it's possible to create a long-range plan in Haiti to do what has been done in Rwanda? I wonder if Tim Schilling would lend Haiti some of his successful expertise and help them create small lots of high-end coffees for people like us. Anyone?

Now, some back story on me. I played college football and then became a personal trainer for 7 years. During that time I was working my way up the coffee ladder at home. Changing coffees, brewing methods, grinders... you know the drill. One day, I think in '98, I discovered home roasting. I scoured the internet looking for a roaster and some info. I bought a Fresh Roast and Ken Davids' book from The Coffee Project. I also bought probably 20 different coffees. I read the book and roasted my first coffee, a Colombia Supremo or something. That's when this whole thing really started. Upon my first taste of that coffee (which couldn't have been very good), I discovered that I had never, until that moment, tasted coffee that wasn't stale. It was truly life-altering. I proceeded to get up and roast coffee at 430a every morning and I became addicted to the fresh taste of extremely fresh-roasted coffee. At some point, I decided to share this happy discovery with others. That's why the DoubleShot Coffee Company was born. My obsession with coffee turned into a thirst for information that is never sated. Since that day in '99, most of my waking moments have been spent playing with or learning about coffee. And I developed a sensitivity and dislike for the characteristics of old coffee (even a few days out of the roaster)- loss of aroma, minty taste and smell, and rancid aftertaste.

In my opinion, there's nothing like FRESH coffee. And I know my customers taste that too. I purposely sell coffee at a discount the day after I roast coffee (on Monday night) because I know that when people get used to drinking it that fresh, they can't get coffee anywhere else. The effects of staling coffee become very apparent when you haven't tasted them in a long time.

So eventually, after doing my best to open this thing in Colorado or Moab Utah (helluva dream), I ended up back in Tulsa. I came back because it's cheaper to open a store here and my investors were here. And I like Tulsa.

And if you think I don't love coffee, think again. I'm not just some rich kid who decided it would be fun to have a coffeeshop. I've suffered for this thing. A great deal. And I've given up my personal fitness, which is one of the most important things to me. I lived in a shitty apartment for 3.5 years without gas or electricity so this business would survive. I worked this whole operation- cafe and roastery- by myself for a 10-month stretch. You gotta do what you gotta do. If you love it.

So yes, we're a little shop in Tulsa. And we're the smallest player in Colombian coffee politics. Well, we're a non-issue in Colombian coffee politics really. Ha. But let me tell you something. People often (out of ignorance) put down the midwest. Oklahoma. Tulsa? Where is Tulsa? True, we're no Chicago. But we don't want to be Chicago. This is a unique town with unique people. I get sick of hearing people say rude things about us simply because there is not an ocean near by. I'm not sure why the ocean makes everyone think they're the shit. And to talk like there's no coffee culture here or there's no good coffee here... You're just showing your ass. You have no idea if you've never been here. So don't be such assholes about where you're located in the United States. We live here on purpose, just like you. As for coffee, where does coffee come from? Not the west coast. It's grown in the tropics. What about roasting? Well, my roaster was manufactured in Italy. Was yours manufactured in Seattle? I didn't think so. How about espresso machines? Nope. Still Italy. Well, mine at least. I am envious of some of the beautiful works of art coming out of the newer shops in the U.S., no doubt. My point is, we have every opportunity to make great coffee that any other shop anywhere in the U.S. has.

Speaking of roasters in the midwest, I think people are starting to get the wrong idea about my thoughts on Intelligentsia. It's because I keep referencing them in a negative light. That's my own fault. So let me clarify.

I think what Intelligentsia has done is amazing. What an awesome company. I really mean that. I wish I could do some of the things they do. When I look at Intelli, I see a company that does it's best and the systems they have developed are great for what they do. They're a big company. How many millions of pounds did they roast last year? They do a great job for being so big. The thing I dislike, and the reason I keep referring to Intelli, is the way it seems that everyone else in the industry tries to emulate every facet of what Intelli does. There seems to be very little thought or creativity. There is no consideration of what would work best at your shop or with your coffee. It seems to be a lock-step march behind the Intelli Juggernaut. I know that some of the methods and systems they have are not the best thing for my company. I don't think the way they make coffee is the best way. I think it's the best way for them. And I can respect the fact that they figured that out and have implemented it efficiently. But other people striving to do what Intelli does, to me, just seems lame. So my Intelli comments aren't even really a commentary on them so much as a commentary on everyone else. Hell, to me you're ALL Intelli. But that's just my opinion. And it may be unfair. Because of what I'm about to tell you.

Confession time.

Everywhere I go, I taste the coffee. I usually have a cup of drip (or whatever brewing method they use) and an americano. And most of the time I don't like the coffee. I dislike it. I don't like it at all. To the point where I can't really drink it. Most of the time. Most places. I always HOPE I'm going to like the coffee, no matter where we are. And every once in a while I have something that is really good and I get really excited and tell everyone about it. Because it's exciting. I love getting coffee that I enjoy somewhere besides my shop and my house. I go to the big-name shops around the country and I taste their coffee. Or someone brings it to me. And... yuck.

I hate that.

I wonder WHY that is... Why don't I like most coffee? I want to know why. Hell, sometimes I don't even like my own coffee. Sometimes I taste something and I know I should've roasted it differently or we need to brew it differently or maybe it's just a coffee I don't prefer. I'm not saying everything I do is good and everything you do is bad. But there is something about most coffee out there, outside my store, that I just don't like. I'm a finicky bastard. (And to be honest, I think a majority of it is that your coffee is STALE.)

I sincerely wish that weren't the case. But I've also noticed that the more often a customer comes here and drinks coffee, the more likely they are to develop this same problem. Devotees to the DoubleShot take coffee with us when we travel. Even to Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. Maybe that's the way it is with you too. Maybe it's that way at every shop. You get used to whatever style of coffee your shop serves and everything else tastes bad. I don't know.

So I want to like your coffee. I just can't. Usually. Sometimes you guys hit a home run.

Well, that post didn't really go where I wanted it to. I was just trying to tell you guys that I'm in it for the coffee. I work hard for great coffee. I'm not a conformist and I'm skeptical. I know I come off too harsh sometimes. But I want people to think for themselves and figure out something new. And tell me about it so I can try it too.

But I'm not going to pretend I think it's good if I don't think it is.

Some questions: What's the average age of the coffee you're serving at your shop? Do you even know? Do you let the coffee sit and "de-gas" before you serve it? How long? Do you have a time limit in which you won't serve coffee any more? Do tell.

* Except possibly Doug Zell, who told me in person that he pays attention. And for the record, I like Doug Zell.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

New Hours of Coffee

If you've been around since the early days, you'll remember we used to be open LONG hours. I think it was 7a-9p every day. Monday through Sunday. All day every day. What an exhausting schedule that can become. At some point, about three and a half years ago, I decided to take this thing on by myself. Without employees, I worked open-to-close every day, tried to keep up with the administrative things that needed to be done in order to stay in operation, roasted coffee a couple times per week, and even visited Hacienda La Minita in Costa Rica during that span. I was a zombie. It was shortly after that began when I decided to abbreviate our hours of operation.

Three years ago this July, I hired Isaiah and together we worked our asses off catching up from 10 months of ridiculously hard work. It probably took me a year or more to catch up from that, physically. In November 2008 I hired Garth, who has been a solid barista for us. He makes me laugh. Jason left again in November 2009 as soon as I returned from Colombia. Isaiah, Garth, and I killed ourselves through the holidays, all the while they were training for the barista competition.

A couple of weeks ago I hired Michael Feamster. He's the Newguy. Michael has been a barista for a long time and wants to work in the coffee industry long-term. That's what we're looking for. We love coffee and it's our career. Michael is from Tulsa, but moved out to one of the Carolinas (I forget now) for a couple years, and just moved back when I offered him a job here. I think he's going to be a great addition to the small crew we have.

So we are adding a few hours to the DoubleShot Hours of Coffee.

Here are the new hours.

M-F 7a-530p

Sa 8a-3p

Su 8a-NOON

That's right. Starting this Sunday, 8a-noon. Come get some.

Monday, January 18, 2010

More Espresso Arguments

I know I rail on this a lot, but I think it's important.

Isaiah and Garth went to the regional barista competition (SCRBC) the weekend before last, and they experienced the same thing as usual. They really went this year trying to play the game. They changed almost everything about the way we make coffee in order to follow the strict and unbending rules laid out by the... whoever. I'm not sure who came up with these rules. Intelligentsia?

One of the many reasons I dislike the barista competitions is that I see them quelling the creativity and individuality in the industry. It SHOULD be that things are done slightly different at every shop you walk into. Heck, each of my employees have creative freedom to put their own spin on the way we make coffee. And occasionally we change the way we do things because one of them found a better way. This doesn't happen at the barista comps. If someone does something even SLIGHTLY different, they are penalized and berated by the "judges." And we see people who do things we love, change those things because they are told they are doing it wrong. But, as Isaiah always says, it should be in the cup. If it's good in the cup, you did it right.

One of the things looked down upon in the specialty coffee industry is the way we tamp. We tamp as hard as we can. Who taught me that? No one taught me that. I started noticing years ago that the harder I tamped, the sweeter the coffee tasted. And I like that. Hard tamp = sweet espresso. I promise you that's true. I'm not exactly sure why.

At the comp, my boys always get marked down for crema that's not the color the judges are looking for and the crema doesn't persist as long as they want it to. They always say our coffee is "too fresh." I'm not kidding about that. As soon as we get the score sheets, I'll post them so you can see it for yourself. The coffee is too fresh? Yeah yeah, we've been through this. Well, I have a couple theories about all this. And I think as time goes on, you're going to see that I'm right. Because I learned it, not from Intelli, but from experience and experiments.

So listen to this.

Basically crema is a bunch of small oil bubbles with carbon dioxide inside them. The carbon dioxide exists in the coffee bean after roasting and preserves the oil, protecting it from oxygen which causes the oils to go rancid. The carbon dioxide contains the fresh coffee smell that we all love. So when the coffee is fresh, before it has "degassed," espresso will have crema composed of fresh coffee oils containing carbon dioxide and that beautiful aroma. Because ambient air around the fresh crema contains a lot of different elements and the crema contains mostly co2, it would make sense to me that there is a pressure difference and the crema won't persist as long. When the coffee degasses, the co2 is replaced by ambient air. The oxygen in the ambient air reacts with the coffee oils causing them to go rancid. When you make espresso with degassed coffee, the crema should be rancid oil with ambient air inside. At this point there will be no pressure difference and no reason the crema should dissipate from an air pressure standpoint. So if coffee freshness (and deliciousness) causes crema to dissipate faster, I say crema persistence should be considered a negative.

Secondly, I was reading David Schomer's blog the other day. We often wonder around here where David Schomer has disappeared to. He was one of the original influences on the technique I developed in making espresso. I really respect him for consistently testing and making discoveries about espresso and coffee. He's definitely a smart guy. I don't agree with everything he says and does, but I respect his opinions because I feel that they are based on testing and sound judgments.

In Schomer's blog entry he was saying that they took a monsooned robusta out of their espresso blend, and in doing so the espresso became much sweeter. Another thing that happened was the crema began to dissipate much faster. He called a friend of his who is a food scientist and they guy told him that the increased sugar content in the espresso would have a negative effect on crema life. The sugars break the long-chain surfactant molecules responsible for stable crema. That's what Schomer says. Again, if sweetness in espresso causes crema to dissipate faster, it seems that crema persistence should at least be irrelevant and at most be considered a bad thing.

Another thing he talked about in his blog is the flow rate. When he took the monsooned coffee out of their blend, the overall moisture content of the blend went up and they had to increase the grind size to account for this. When the grind size was smaller, micro-particles would migrate downward during the brew cycle and eventually choke the shot. He says by using a larger grind size, there are less of these micro-particles and they don't have the choking problem. Thus, they have a much greater control over flow rate and when to end the shot. And Schomer says that is a "truly dominant factor in a perfect cup."

I harken back. Harder tamp, coarser grind, less micro-particles, more control over shots, sweeter espresso.

Sweeter espresso, fresh coffee, less crema persistence.

Should we really concern ourselves so much with crema persistence?

Just drink it when I give it to you.

(Schomer's blog: http://www.espressovivace.com/schomerblog/)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Philbrook Museum of Coffee

This Thursday I'll be speaking at an event called Tulsa Green Drinks at Philbrook Museum. The group meets once a month over drinks and someone addresses them concerning local, sustainable practices.

I'm going to talk about the link between consumers and coffee farmers through the DoubleShot. I plan to talk about a farm connection we made that I haven't talked about on the public stage. I'll also run down some of the amazing work they're doing at La Minta; San Rafael and our link to Alfredo through Cristina Garces; and how things can be dangerous, like they were in Guatemala. I'm only supposed to talk for 20 minutes or so. You know that can be difficult for me, so I'll have to be brief.

There will be a cash bar and socializing. It's open to anyone, so I hope a lot of you will come out and show your support for the DoubleShot.

Thursday 1/14

530-7p

Philbrook Museum of Art

Me!