Our coffee roaster Intelligentsia has been turning out some great coffees for us to enjoy during the two years we’ve been open, and we were really pleased to see them move away from so many blends and really put the focus on single origin (SO) coffees.
During that time, however, our primary espresso blend has been the Black Cat. Sure we occasionally had the Kid-O Organic espresso blend, but Black Cat has always been our favorite. Now Intelli is apparently going to be roasting some of these wonderful SO’s for espresso.
The Black Cat Project is something new and exciting that Intelli has announced, and we’re pumped about what it will mean for our espresso program. If you check out the website, you’ll see in the mission that “espresso brewing is still coffee brewing and that only the best coffees can make the best espressos”. Kyle Glanville won the USBC with an espresso based on the Finca Matalapa coffee (which we will have soon), so there is definitely something to that!
Anyway, first up is the Black Cat Anjilanaka- this is such a great coffee brewed the traditional way that we can’t wait to see what it’s like as espresso. We hope to have it on the bar by next weekend after we get it in and have a chance to play around with it. This should be a regular feature and perhaps someday we’ll be able to offer a daily SO espresso. NICE!
Preventative Maintenance (PM) is a term to describe why I tear our equipment apart every now and then, on purpose, to ensure that it is in top condition when we’re open for business. A little PM now can help avoid a major blowup and the resulting downtime that would essentially cripple our business. I had tinkered around with our espresso machines on occasion, but I wanted to learn more. After all, a new machine will set you back somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 large. I can’t really fix my own car, but I do have a mechanical engineering degree… I should be able to do this.
When I traveled to Seattle last month, I was able to visit my heroes at Synesso- makers of the bad ass espresso machines we use in both of our shops (the Cyncra). I’ve written about their temperature stability and the ability to adjust brew water temps to within half a degree Fahrenheit. I’ve also written about how barista-friendly these machines are. They’re just so well designed. After visiting their manufacturing facility a few weeks ago, I can also tell you that these things are built like tanks. It’s rare that so much thought goes into designing a piece of equipment to make it easier to service, but that’s exactly what they’ve done. Jeremy walked me through the systems and explained how to go about servicing the machines. He also made me a damn fine macchiato with some of 49th Parallel’s Epic Espresso. So Jeremy’s walkthrough basically filled in some of the blanks for me and gave me the knowledge and confidence to tackle some of this PM stuff on my own.
This is what I was doing after hours…
I did some general cleaning, drained the steam boiler, replaced the steam tank’s low water level probe, greased the brew group switches, cleaned the drain system, greased the steam wand actuators, and adjusted the steam level probe. Took me about two hours- no down time and I made it home with plenty of time to watch the Pens throttle the Flyers and take a 3-0 lead in the East Finals.
When I do get in over my head… Mark, Sandy, Elizabeth, and Scott have all been there on the phone to talk me through the tough spots. That’s why I like working with Synesso… great machines, great people.
So we got the Belgian waffle iron back from the repair shop… finally. This means that starting tomorrow morning we will again be baking up those lovely liege waffles to order. Judging by how many customers have called or stopped in to check on its status, I was beginning to wonder if we should have called ourselves “21st Street Coffee, Tea and Wafflerie” (it does rhyme). We can make two at a time so bring a friend, (please) order them together (otherwise you may have to wait longer), and I suggest just a little powdered sugar on top. Oh and we have coffee, too.
A few weeks back I spent a day at the Coffee Equipment Company (the place that makes the Clover) in Seattle. That’s Clover HQ over on the right. Need proof I was there? Check out the reflection of that spiffy blue Chrysler Sebring convertible -my rental car from Budget. Finally got to meet Zander and Randy (founders), catch up with David and Anastasia, and learn a lot about our little machine from Deli our instructor extraordinaire. Great people all around and I wish them a lot of continued success in their new venture.
Before I go off on a tangent, I wanted to mention that if you are one of those nervous Clover owners and were worried about service/support/etc. fear no more…
wait for it… waaaaiiit…
I’m now a certified Clover Technician!
Mainly I’m going to take care of our machine, but if Starbucks calls in the middle of the night with a jammed piston or something and they need some help I’ll make time in my busy schedule and help out a fellow business (for an exorbitant fee).
I. LIKE. ICED. TEA.
In the Strip we’ll be rotating through three different feature teas this summer- Tropicalia (a black tea with hints of passion fruit and raspberry), Moroccan Mint (a mint green tea with a hint of lemon), and our herbal/decaf option King Crimson (best described as an unsweetened berry Kool-Aid- you have to try it). Downtown we’ll stick with the Tropicalia as the pre-brewed tea (no rotation, sorry).
In addition to the above choices that we’ll have pre-brewed each day, you can also try any tea off of the menu brewed fresh and poured over ice, as long as you’re willing to wait about 5 minutes or so.
And no… we don’t do the “sweet tea” thing, but if you want it sweetened let us know and we can melt up some honey or sugar in the bottom of your cup before we pour it.