Archives for October 2013

Cafe Review: One Line Coffee in Columbus, Ohio

October 30, 2013 By Michael 2 Comments

One Line Coffee on High Street

Over the past several years specialty coffee has moved from the back streets to the high street. In Columbus, OH this has happened quite literally. High Street is the Short North neighborhood’s main thoroughfare. Nested between downtown and OSU’s massive campus, the Short North is home to Columbus’s most modish bars, fashionable boutiques, and advant-garde galleries. With such cosmopolitan surroundings, One Line Coffee is a fitting showcase for specialty coffee.

A Gallery of Coffee

One Line Coffee is a Columbus-based roaster that was founded in 2009. Their mission statement shares a similar ethos with other craft coffee companies around the world:

Better coffee means a lot of different things to different people. To us it means flavor and quality, sustainability, and traceability. It means doing everything we can to ensure farmers and workers are treated well, and earn a livable wage.

Exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, and Edison light bulbs all lend One Line Coffee a gallery-like atmosphere, only here the coffee is on center stage. One of my favorite design details is the custom pour-over rack which lines the front counter. It’s made from …

Travels of a Barista Dirt Bag – Part III

October 23, 2013 By Guest 4 Comments

Editor’s note: Travels of a Barista Dirt Bag is an ongoing series of dispatches from barista/ guest blogger Zach Hester. The search for a delicious cup of coffee is taking Zach from his native Kentucky bluegrass, down the Mississippi Delta, across the Southwest to the shining Pacific Ocean. In Part III Zach reflects on what it means to be a barista while getting in touch with nature. Get caught up on his previous travels here: Part I and Part II.

The Two Rules of Coffee

There are two rules with coffee— or, at least, two rules that have stuck with me, rules that I try to be mindful of on each shift, each time walking into work. Rules that were embedded into my conscious through various teachers and rules that, apparently, translate beyond coffee’s ideal extraction, as I came to realize one morning in west Texas. In fact, rules that, those who have worked with me, particularly my friend and fellow Sunday morning cohort, Richard Blackwell—soon to be married— hear me mutter …

3 Coffee Books Every Barista Needs to Read

October 21, 2013 By Michael 7 Comments

Although baristas at craft coffee shops tend to be inordinately educated for a service industry job, last time we checked there’s no Coffee Preparation and Extraction Theory major at your local state university. Which means if you want to be a competent barista or home brewer, you need to do your own research. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of coffee books to supplement your coffee education.

Espresso Extraction: Measurement and Mastery

Scott Rao

Scott Rao’s latest book builds on the foundation laid in his classic books The Professional Barista’s Handbook and Everything But Espresso. Whether it be extraction percentages, pressure profiling, or portafilter design, Rao leaves no stone unturned in this concise but weighty volume. Perhaps James Hoffmann’s endorsement says it best….

Cafe Review: Madcap Coffee in Grand Rapids, MI

October 15, 2013 By Darren 1 Comment

Coffee City USA

Grand Rapids, Michigan is home to some of the greatest brews in the country. “Beer City USA” may be its reigning title, but Madcap Coffee gives the city another brew to take pride in. Madcap Coffee Company, established only five years ago, has produced nationally-acclaimed barista competitors, a cavalier coffee series, and truly proven they are madcap about coffee….

Travels of a Barista Dirt Bag, Part II – New Orleans

October 14, 2013 By Guest 5 Comments

Editor’s note: Travels of a Barista Dirt Bag is an ongoing series of dispatches from barista/ guest blogger Zach Hester. The search for a delicious cup of coffee is taking Zach from his native Kentucky bluegrass, down the Mississippi Delta, across the Southwest to the shining Pacific Ocean. In Part II Zach searches for the best Coffee in New Orleans. Get caught up on his previous travels here.

The Big Easy

I blinked and must have missed it. Sure, I’m a bit rough around the edges this morning, the two bottles of wine at dinner last night from our gracious hosts down here in New Orleans didn’t exactly set the mood for an early and productive morning in the Big Easy, but still, my nose is usually better than this. I find coffee shops. There it goes again, another strafe down the sidewalk, another miss. I see beautiful Live Oak and Weeping Willow, a Whole Foods, a parking lot set off the road a bit and tons of New Orleans character, but no coffee. Where is this Velvet Espresso Bar that serves up Stumptown and why can’t I find the shop?

Trying to sift through the groggy early morning cobwebs and sitting on the sidewalk, I hum along to Bob Dylan’s …

On the Road: Travels of a Barista Dirt Bag, Part I – Barista Parlor

October 11, 2013 By Guest 3 Comments

Day 1: 10/6/ 2013

On The Road

We took off a day and several hours past what we had originally planned. By “we,” I mean myself and long time friend and vagabond, Ian Herrick, who has just made his way back stateside from a long stay over in Costa Rica as a hired hand on a sustainable farm. His latest addendum to his diverse CV: planting a banana orchard. It’s no wonder we’ve left Louisville with something to be desired in the department of punctuality, although I am mainly to blame for this. It’s October 6^th and sometime around three in the afternoon. We’re driving south on 65 and still some miles north of Nashville. Tropical Storm Karen’s rains are very much present in the atmosphere. Everything has cooled over the last 24 hours and our field of view comes in and out with the rhythms of windshield wipers. We’re listening to the Beta Band, loudly. …

From Ship to Cup: A Stunning New Video From TAP Coffee

October 7, 2013 By Michael 3 Comments

TAP Coffee is one of our favorite cafes in London. From the souvenir spoons that grace each cappuccino and espresso to the carefully sourced and roasted coffees, TAP understands the importance of nuance and craft.

A new wave of coffee short films has shown us the world of coffee production, but From Ship to Cup, made by Juriaan Booij, highlights the last stage of the process. This stunning video reveals the meticulous work that goes into making your cup of coffee, including transport, roasting, cupping, and brewing. The observant viewer will notice one of TAP’s roasters, Hugh Duffie, hard at work both behind an espresso machine and at the helm of their vintage Probat roaster! In all, TAP has us wondering when we’ll get to make it across the pond again!

From Ship to Shelf from Tap Coffee on Vimeo.

Photos by Ben Willis.