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UPDATE: NERBC is just 1 week away!

April 11 - 12 in Ithaca, NY
Sponsored by the SCAA
Hosted by Gimme! Coffee
Held at the Historic State Theatre

EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS

Friday, 11am – State Theatre - It’s Broken – Fix it! Tomas Reyer, coffee equipment specialist

Friday, 1pm – State Theatre - Barista Competition Primer – Ellie Matuszak, GLRBC champ and 2 time USBC finalist

Friday, 3pm – State Theatre - Attack of the Killer Fines - Scott Rao, author of “The Professional Barista’s Handbook”

Saturday, 4pm - 3201 Krums Corners Road, Ithaca - Gimme! Roastery Tour

FABULOUS PRIZES

1st place finisher receives:
* airfare to the USBC and lodging in sunny Minneapolis MN
* a Scace device donated by Espresso Parts NW
* a KILLER trophy you’ll be wicked proud of
* a handsome bouquet of flowers resting in an antique brass railroad spittoon
* Reg Barber tamper

2nd place finisher receives:
* a pretty kick-ass trophy the third place finisher will lust after
* mini keg of beer
* Reg Barber Tamper

3rd place finisher receives:
* a functional third-rate trophy
* a coffee tree…
* Reg Barber Tamper

SOCIAL CALENDAR

Friday Night
Official Barista Exchange Meet Up and Dance Party
Sponsored by the American Barista and Coffee School
8pm at the Chanti Loft
Free beer and food

Saturday Night
Official NERBC After-Party sponsored by CoffeeGeek, 6pm
506 West State Street
Free beer and food

Contact erin.mccarthy(at)gimmecoffee.com for more details.

For those who haven’t had the pleasure, you can hear our impresario Kevin Cuddeback wax poetic on the origins of Gimme Coffee in podcast form here, at Eating Ithaca. It’s a bit lengthy, but it’s the most I’ve heard Kevin speak in the last year or so…

In other news, we have a brand new website! Check out the freshly brewed gimmecoffee.com for a deeper look at who we are as an organization. There’s tons of great content in there, Shopping, origin slideshows, sustainability info, and educational promotions. It’s an amazing web site (and I say that not just because it’s ours).

And filed under more “other news” is this buzz inspiring breaking news first seen on Steve’s blog; STARBUCKS BUYS CLOVER (not one, not two, the WHOLE COMPANY)! Let the blogosphere banter begin…

Last nights festivities included a cupping of various milk samples that are available here in NYC. I didn’t attend (I was already wearing pj’s when it started, plus I don’t drink milk) so I can’t tell you what the results were. I can point you towards Anne though, who likely knows exactly what the results were, and confirm that there were many surprises “in store” for me when I looked in the cooler this morning.

And did I mention the NERBC? Oh yeah, I did right here. Well the infrastructure for that has quietly been grinding itself out as well. With all these projects happening simultaneously it’s hard to imagine anything else going on, but rest assured, some additional developments will be unveiled shortly.

A ratio of 1:1 has in theory, the same value as 4:4, and 8:8, etc. When discussing brewing ratios as it relates to flavor profiles in espresso, this isn’t necessarily the case. It can be helpful to consider the weight in grams of the ground coffee being used, and the weight of resulting liquid. You can take 20 grams of espresso and extract 20 grams of liquid in 30 seconds. You can then take 40 grams of espresso and extract 40 grams of liquid in 30 seconds (or 30:30, 10:10, etc). In order to maintain consistent brew time you would of course have to compensate for variations by adjusting the grind size. Both procedures would result in identical brew ratios of 1:1, or 100%, but the flavor profiles would be very different. Differences would be caused in part by the effect of identical water temperatures on a different mass in the portafilter, as well as different reactions from the pump exerting the same amount of force on the different mass. Different flavor profiles would also be caused by extracting different percentages of dissolved solids, a factor that is probably also directly related to the particle size of the coffee (among other things).

What does this mean? I’m not sure except that it’s data that could be useful when tracking variations. Since I typically pull shots that result in less liquid (by weight) than the ground coffee I’ve used (usually in the neighborhood of 20:16), I typically pull ristretto shots. Sometimes though the shots taste better in the neighborhood of 23:16, or with even larger differentials. Sometimes with smaller differentials. But that’s all I’ve really discovered. That, and it can be helpful to talk to Andy late at night sometimes.

On the evening of March 9th, all are welcome to the 3rd Quarterly Barista Blowout. Baristas, friends of baristas, and PBTC’s will be gathering to commiserate about the winter, celebrate the Spring, drink drinks with no coffee in them, compare techniques, and gossip. The event will be held at Harefield Road on the Graham Ave stop of the L train in Williamsburg.

The last two events have been great, and we expect this one to be no different. Come drink with people who understand your calluses, tired feet, and sore wrists. Leave your affiliations at the door and celebrate the pure camaraderie of a tight knit community.

March 9th
9pm
Harefield Road.

If I had a Synesso, I’d experiment with dedicating one of the groups to straight shots. I’d knock the temperature way down, and start playing with 7, and 14 gram shots. I would of course use a dedicated grinder for the dedicated group, and I would continue to use the other group(s) to continue up dosing and pulling approximately 20 grams at 198 degrees for milk based drinks.

But I’d like to experiment more with 7 and 14 gram straight shots. If I had a Synesso.

The Gimme! Coffee website has been updated to include information about the Northeast Regional Barista Competition. If you’re looking for info on participation, sponsorship, dates, or directions, this is place to find it.

Below is a 4 minute documentary about the historic venue for the 2008 NERBC.