Daily Archive for March 6th, 2008

Our Latte’s in the Paper

So the Trib PM had a write up today on latte art.  They interviewed the fine folks at Aldo Coffee and they also stopped in to interview me.  Here’s an excerpt:

latteartstory Self-taught latte artist Luke Shaffer, 31, owner of 21st Coffee and Tea in the Strip District, said he’s been doing latte art for a year and a half.

“One day, I figured out what I was doing wrong, kind of the light bulb moment, and all of a sudden it’s working,” Shaffer said. “Then you start showing off and doing stuff for customers because it’s fun.”

Some 21st Coffee regulars have come to expect it.

“We gave him a hard time one time when he didn’t do it,” joked Kalman Pelhos, 39, of Squirrel Hill. “It’s much like going to a French restaurant — you have a certain appreciation for the presentation and not just the taste of the food.”

“People ask, ‘Did you do that on purpose?’ and sometimes we joke around and tell them it was an accident,” Shaffer said.

Click here for the PDF version

How the Clover is changing the way we think about coffee

Found another Clover article online today- here’s my favorite part…

The immediate consequence of the Clover and its precision isn’t necessarily better coffee, but more attention to coffee. By creating this rigorous laboratorylike brewing environment, it encourages cafes to explore the nuances of different beans, where and how they’re grown and dried and sorted and roasted. And the attention to nuance gets passed along to the customers: Grumpy’s clientele can choose from a coffee menu listing several brews, including the Cruz del Sur, “punchy and bright with pear and green apple,” and the San José El Yalú, “complex and crisp with butterscotch, grape, chocolate and plum.”

The Clover, and the precision control it provides the barista, has given us the ability to continually tweak our coffee “recipes” and increase our own understanding of the coffees we serve.  Slight changes in grind, water temperature, dwell times, and even stirring methods lead to subtle differences in the cup.

Read the entire article on Slate.com