The DoubleShot will be serving coffee from:

9a-3p

Well, if you didn't come by last night, you missed quite a show. Twelve baristas came out to show off their latte-pouring skills. And the crowd was awesome. We rigged a camera with a monitor so spectators could watch every pour, every shake, every spill. It got pretty lively.

We really enjoyed the camaraderie amongst local baristas from several different coffeehouses. And the owners of Topeca and the Coffeehouse on Cherry Street threw in money to sweeten the pot, so the top five places took home medals and a share of $385. Not a bad day's work.

Judging was done by John from Topeca, Danny from Jude's Health & Java House in Bartlesville, and our favorite local artist, James Andrew Smith. Once the scores were tallied, here were the final results:

1. Amy Sawyer (Shades of Brown)
2. Geordan Taylor (Shades of Brown?)
3. Isaiah Sheese (DoubleShot)
4. Jason Westenburg (Doubleshot)
5. Jenny Hironaga (Carrello's)

You can see each of the competitors' lattes on the DoubleShot Flickr page.

Thanks to everyone for competing, watching, supporting, helping, and special thanks to Isaiah for organizing the event.

Isaiah was accepted into the Latte Art Competition in Seattle at CoffeeFest on September 12-14. It's kind of a big deal in the industry, so keep your fingers crossed and wish him well.

This answers a lot of questions.

So does this.

This isn't supposed to be an advertisement, and it has nothing to do with coffee, but I just have to write it.

If you eat steak, you have to go to Harvard Meat Market on the corner of 15th and Harvard.

Isaiah bought a huge ribeye for me from there on my birthday and since then I've bought steak there a half-dozen times. But now I'm a devoted fan. I won't buy steak anywhere else. I mean it. Not even in a pinch. Their steak is so good that eating anything else is out of the question. If I can't have GREAT steak, I won't eat steak at all. I haven't had a bad piece of meat there yet. These cuts of meat are thick and beautiful. They are grass-fed beef, until the last month before slaughter when they try to fatten them up. And it has just the right amount of fat on it. So tender.
I grilled a huge ribeye yesterday- medium rare- and it just confirmed to me that there is no other meat I'd rather eat.

I don't even know these guys. I just know that they know what they're doing. I go in, ask for their recommendation, and buy it.

The Harvard Meat Market is like the DoubleShot of steak. Amazing. You have to try it.

Most of you probably don't even know what a latte art competition is.

But we're having one.

You know all those fancy designs your barista pours on top of your latte? The competition is to see who can do it the best. Here's how it works:
Each barista will be given 5 minutes prep time on the espresso machine. If the barista doesn't want to pull their own shots, there will be a designated shot puller. After the 5 minute prep time, the barista will be given 5 minutes to produce up to 3 different free-pour lattes. Each will be photographed immediately upon completion. At the end of 5 minutes or after 3 lattes have been poured, the barista will choose one as their contest submission. Three judges will score each submission based on aesthetic beauty and balance, color infusion, definition, and creativity.

Top 5 places will walk away with a share of $185 in prize money. It should be a lot of fun, and we're hoping to get a lot of local baristas down here to build a more friendly community.

If you are a barista and want to compete, we welcome you. Contact Isaiah@DoubleShotCoffee.com to let him know and he'll send you more information.

We want lots of people to come watch. It's open to the public. We're setting up a video camera and monitor so the comp will be spectator-friendly. So come down and check it out. We'll have complimentary coffee, and I think you'll enjoy this side of professional coffee.

The competition is Thursday August 28 at 7p.

In honor of my running in the Leadville 100 (and because Jason is my crew chief and Isaiah will be working by himself), the DoubleShot will be open holiday hours:
Thursday 8/14 7a-130p
Friday 8/15 7a-130p
Saturday 8/16 9a-130p
Sunday SHUT as usual
Monday 8/18 7a-130p
Tuesday 8/19 Resume regular hours

Sorry for the inconvenience. But hey, at least we're still open.

If you've been to the store this week, I'm sure the first thing you noticed was the art has changed. This show will only be up for 3 weeks, so if you haven't been in to see it, go soon. Carousel animals! My dad restores antique carousel animals, and he's been good enough to display them in the store for a bit. The most unique, a lion from the early 1900s, is sitting in the front window. Looks so good, I wish we could keep it. Three horses are displayed along the north wall, and tomorrow they will install two unfinished horses along the south brick wall. You can see more info about the carousel animals on their website: www.carousellion.com

The new podcast episode is up. Check it out on iTunes or at aacafepodcast.blogspot.com. Jason and I talk about a lot of crap, but part of the podcast focuses on Leadville and our efforts to raise money for Coffee Kids.

The Leadville 100 starts this Saturday at 4a mountain time. If you want to keep up with the details during the race, check out the illuminati blog: coffeeilluminati.blogspot.com