What am I doing?! I closed this store 50 minutes ago and I'm still sitting here fooling around. I can't shut the espresso machine down. I can't stop drinking espresso. It tastes too good.
Things happen. Coffee (especially espresso) is a volatile thing, and it changes from roast to roast, crop to crop, cup to cup. There have been days in the past when I just couldn't get enough of it because it was "perfect." But it's been a while. It's been ok lately, but nothing has really blown my socks off. This started to concern me. I started feeling like I was losing that little bit of control that I fool myself into thinking I have. The control over the coffee- I can make minute changes in the way I roast each individual coffee and the amount I blend into the espresso, and cause it to taste however I want it to at that moment. But lately it has escaped me, and I've been changing and changing trying to get it back. And alas, today... it is great.
I spent some time in an apartment with mold problems, and it eventually clogged up my senses where I couldn't taste correctly. Then one of the beans I use in the espresso blend ran out. The supply dried up. So I made a substitution. But it wasn't quite right. And now I've purchased another coffee to put in the blend, and it is good. I guess. It was actually really good earlier this morning, before we blended in the new bean. It was just a great day to pull shots of espresso. The conditions were just right and the shots were pulling long and beautifully. Some days are like that. The espresso just keeps charging out of the portafilter, non-stop goodness, not a faltering bit of off-colored crema. And then, this afternoon I blended it. And after closing time, I started drinking it.
It's so good and chocolatey. Not a hint of sourness or bitterness in the finish. Even now, 15 minutes after my last double, I have a pleasant sweetness on my palate. A slight (rasp?)berry tone with a creamy body and juicy, yummy, spine-tingling, almost tear-jerking, dirty chocolate heart.
Ok, enough rambling. I've got to have one more. If you've never had a straight espresso, you should have one. Tomorrow. Here.

AA Cafe podcast #47 is up.
Isaiah is my cohost again and we talk mostly about coffee education. You can also learn about the new offering at DoubleShot, a 10-year old Aged Java, and a new coffee education program called Coffee Illuminati.

Don't miss it. Listen on iTunes or go to the AA Cafe blog.

New art is up at the DoubleShot. Photographs by Cody Lee Dopps- some black and white, some color, all of them are very nice. They'll be up for the next six weeks, so come take a look while you're enjoying an americano (just seems like that kind of show to me).

Check out his flickr site to see more of Cody's photography.

Here's something you may or may not know, depending on how much time you spend (conversing) at the DoubleShot. You can say pretty much anything you want in my store...
AS LONG AS IT'S HONEST.

The problem I have is when people come in and say things that aren't true (bullshitting or whatever) or they put up a front and act like someone they aren't (salesmen, politicians, etc.). (Tom Adelson may be the only exception to this rule- the only politician who doesn't bullshit me.) But as long as you're being true, at least to yourself, you can say whatever is on your mind. It's a coffeehouse. Have you read the history of coffeehouses throughout the world? They're centers of controversy, political debate, revolutions, finance, insurance, education, etc etc etc.

This is an open forum. Another good thing about me is that I am amazingly understanding of crazy talk. I know that people say things when they are emotional that they may not necessarily mean. Or maybe they do, but it comes out a little harshly. I get that. I do the same thing. I try not to, but damned if I don't get riled up and fly off the handle now and then. It's ok. And usually my memory is short, so a week or two after you say it, I may forget.

But be careful what you say. Your true colors might be revealed when you speak out of anger. It's still ok with me. But you're the one who might make an ass out of yourself.

Anyway, yell if you want. Cry, laugh, shout for joy, scream in anger, just be yourself. And don't be surprised when the people around you are too. Because if this isn't the place for honest, open, even passionate debate, we're not going to have it anywhere.

(BTW, DoubleShot Coffee Company, LLC is an organization and has no political affiliation or opinions, but Brian Franklin, WCD is a person, US citizen, and registered voter and has a lot of opinions and ideas and is not shy about expressing them in this forum.)

(And I reserve the right to kick you out at will.)

I know you thought we were phasing syrups out for good. We were all the way down to French Vanilla and (single-origin) Chocolate (from Pennsylvania). And now this.

Out with the vanilla. In with...

Sugar-Free Anchovy

Flame Broiled Brussel Sprout

Artichoke

Ask for them at your local coffeehouse and enjoy a latte like never before.
Yum!

It's another damn DoubleShot miracle.
I don't drink lattes because (I like coffee, and) I'm intolerant to whey protein (and soy milk isn't really milk) (and I like coffee). So I was feeling a little left out with the whole latte art thing and me only drinking americanos, espresso, drip coffee, and the occasional iced tea. (That's right, occasionally I drink iced tea.)
So Isaiah and I came up with this new form of barista art: Americano Art!
Isaiah is quite the talented barista, and he whipped out this rosetta on his first try, using nothing but espresso and water. Perfectly drinkable for a non-milk-drinker like myself. And pretty too.

What will we come up with next in the DoubleShot Laboratories?
You saw it here first, folks. As usual.

Bravo, Isaiah. Bravo.

WCD (OTW)!

In Ethiopia, there is a coffee plantation called Gemadro. It's unusual because almost all of the coffee in Ethiopia is grown by small farmers who harvest wild coffee or grow on very small plots of land that doesn't even (technically) belong to them. Gemadro estate is a different story.

I talked about this on AA Cafe podcast #39 with Candice. At the time, I called Starbucks a liar.

I stand by that statement. Here's why. When I first heard of this, it didn't sound right. Several things about it made me question the honesty of Starbucks. So I did some research. And I found an article about Starbucks and the Gemadro estate. It seems that the farm is owned by the Ethio-Coffee and Tea Plantation and Marketing, PLC, a division of MIDROC Ethiopia, a MIDROC International Group company. MIDROC is a conglomerate that owns gold mines, hotels, construction and real estate companies, multiple oil companies, cement factories, and other interests. MIDROC is owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi Sheik Mohammed Hussien Al-Amoudi, whose net worth is $6.9 billion. Here are a few articles from the Boston Herald, New York Times, etc that talk about Mohammed Hussien Al-Amoudi possibly being involved with funding Osama Bin Laden and terrorist activities. I don't know anything about that stuff, but it looks shady.

There's an entire article on the Coffee & Conservation website that disputes Starbucks claims that Gemadro estate is an eco-friendly place. You should read it. It's interesting.

And just yesterday, I ran across another article from The Oakland Tribune that also talks about this Gemadro coffee and the estate in which it's grown. It's a longish article, but well worth the read. Part of the b.s. Starbucks is spewing is their own certification program, called Coffee and Farmer Equity practices (CAFE), which rewards farmers for meeting social and environmental goals. They certify their own coffee. In this case, they didn't even do that. They hired another company who hired another company who sent an inspector to the plantation. That inspector was later fired for doing a poor job. But Starbucks still claims the estate is environmentally- and people-friendly. You probably won't be surprised to read the truth. But do it anyway. Information is our ally.

Besides being liars about the estate where the coffee is harvested, there's no way in hell this coffee is fresh. Or properly roasted. Even if they happened upon a great-tasting bean, Starbucks couldn't turn it into a tasty cup. But good coffee isn't really the appeal of Starbucks, is it?