12.10.12

Coffee Chemistry

Note: These are my thoughts & notes from a coffee event. Facts stated do not have linkable sources, but were talked about in the lab. If I made any errors, I apologize. Please let me know what they are.

I’ve been attending a lot of coffee events lately and forgetting to write up my thoughts on them. Last Wednesday, Counter Culture Chicago hosted 20 coffee professionals for an organic acid lab. The event was free and open to the public. I guess only coffee pros attended, because the phrase “organic acids” might scare off.. pretty much everyone. The lab was put together by Lydia Iannetti from the Durham training center. The first part consisted of simple, easy-to-grasp slides while the second part was all about tasting the acids.Read More

11.19.12

Chicago Coffee Ladies

This post is long overdue. By about ten days…

It’s not usually until I’m half an hour into a coffee event that I notice how I’m one of ten women standing in a sea of men. Half an hour.

After attending a number of male-dominated throwdowns and coffee-related events, I’ve come to the anecdotal conclusion that there are a number of women in coffee, but not as present as the men. I think coffee ladies in general need to up their competition confidence level. And sometimes, it’s much, much easier to test out waters when you’re surrounded by only women.Read More

05.20.10

Throw it

I attended my first latte art throwdown the other day at Brothers K in Evanston. Since it was my first one, it’s obvious I’d have preconceived notions about how the baristas go about throwing the lattes around. Here are the major points that I converted on:

Prediction: Lots of baristas geeking out on espresso parameters and scrutinizing rosettas.
Reality:  Some discussion on coffee, not a lot of close attention on the art. More time was spent with the snack table (obviously food trumps coffee).Read More