Thanks to all who came out to watch or participate in the 1st San Antonio Latte Art Smackdown. It was a HUGE success with Local Coffee’s Jordan Grace taking #2 in his first latte art competition; we are so proud!! First place went to Ryan from Caffe Medici in Austin, Texas. We had some special guests from Brown Coffee, Wildfire Coffee Roasters and Cultivar Coffee – thank you for the prize goodies.

There was great live music, awesome latte art, lots of wheel spinning and an overload of espresso drinking!  Next location is TBD, but we will will spread the word as soon as we know where.

Stay tuned to a video of the entire event to post soon!!

Cool article from NY Times!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/dining/10coffee.html

It was a great day, great weather and a fun event Local Coffee supported with Auden’s Kitchen on behalf of the new and upcoming Parman Library in Stone Oak.

Lots of mingling and networking.  Great music by Johnson High School students.  Lots of fun for kids – reading activities on behalf of Scholastic and gaming on behalf of Games 2 U.

We are very excited about this local branch coming to our area; it is state of the art construction with lots of bells and whistles inside.  There will be a walking trail and lots of outdoor space.

Today’s cupping with friends at Cuvee Coffee in Austin (the original owner of the former and infamous Quack and Bush Coffee was there!)

Peru’s Chachuda AAA and Chachuda micro lot next week..another step closer to the relentless pursuit of the best coffee in the world!!

I had the chance to cup the new coffee’s that Mike has been raving about from Peru today in Austin at Cuvee Coffee and…….

First off before I get to in to the results let me say I was a little worried, you know like when you go see a new movie that everybody says “OMG it was the best movie ever” and you set these huge expectations and inevitably leave the theater a little disappointed. I can honestly say that was no the case today!

We started off with the AAA the aroma was very chocolaty and sweet, first taste was medium bodied and like all of Cuvee’s coffee it ended with a smooth velvety finish…excellent!

Next up the coveted Micro-Lot (very, very, limited) it had a similar aroma to the AAA but it cupped distinctly different..lighter in body but FULL in flavor first word that comes to mind is orange or tangerine minus the brightness (acidity) that is usually associated with citrus and once again that awesome Cuvee velvety finish….FANTASTIC!

It was less than two weeks ago I was cupping some Orange Bourbon and Pacamara from El Sal that blew me away and left me a little anxious having to wait until this summer before having those to share with my LOCAL friends/customers. But after today “I’m Pumped” that we are going to have this Peru by next weekend!!

BTW- I am working hard to have the Chemex dialed in and the pour over bar complete by Friday. More details later.

Price increases are a fact of life. From our end, we are paying more for specialty coffee than ever before, but we are securing our long term supply of quality while having a positive impact on the people we do business with, from the coffee farmer to the consumer.

This article is not all that interesting, but I love the very end where it shows the price of a triple grande, soy, vanilla latte is $6.25. No offense to my friends that drink Starbucks, but if people will pay $6+ for a crappy cup of coffee, what would they pay for an amazing cup?

Don’t be afraid to charge what your coffee is worth and be proud of it!

Mike McKim – Cuvee COffee

Wow! I returned Sunday from a 5 day trip to the coffee farms in El Salavador. I was asked to go from my roaster Cuvee Coffee’s Mike Mckim. We stayed at Jasal Farms mill about an hour from San Salvador hosted by Jose Antonio.

I have to say it was a very enlightening, educational, and humbling experience.

My passion for a excellent cup of coffee started in the late 80’s in Boulder’s and Denver’s coffee houses which led me to a job in Texas where I spent a month in California cupping and learning about roasting mostly single origin coffees from all over the world. With my previous knowledge and my immersion over the last year in putting together Local Coffee I felt I knew a little about what it took from “farm to cup”. But like so many times in my life when I thought I knew something….I was humbled with a whole new learning experience.

Mike really did a good job educating me about the lengths he was willing to go in pursuit of the perfect cup (relentless scientific roasting, cupping, traveling to all his farms origins to cup and evaluate their standards, etc.) but experiencing the farm and mill process brought it all together. I experienced what “others” find acceptable and what makes Cuvee and a handful of other roasters so unique.

Here are a few examples of what sets Cuvee apart –

1. A real Direct Trade relationship with the farm and mill.  I experienced the farmers respect for Mike opinion and experienced palate during cupping . I also experienced some experimental types of picking and drying that  Jose Antonio implemented for Mike during his last visit. We where able to cup and WOW…just wait until June you’ll see for yourself at Local.
2. Selective Picking- No Machines folks just VERY hard working folks individual picking only ripe cherries. This is rare!
3. Selective Sorting-not only did they selectively pick they then take those 135-150lb bags down the mountain (on their backs!) to a flatbed truck and then to the sorting tables at the mill where there are about 10 ladies sorting the best cherries for Cuvee!!

There is much more so I will follow up soon with more about the pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee!!

Title: Local Sodas Have Arrived!!
Location: Local Coffee
Description: Come try one in 16 or 20oz – orange, cherry, strawberry, mango, blackberry, raspberry or SF raspberry. Even make it a Local Cream Soda!!

Our Baristas will prepare it just for you!
Date: 2010-01-29

Title: Art Opening
Location: Local Coffee
Description: Local Artists to be featured tonight will be returning artist Joshua Noah who was a sell out last month. New artists Ruth Mulligan and Jeanna Goodrich. Come support them by viewing their pieces at this meet and greet. All pieces are available for sale.
Start Time: 05:30
Date: 2010-02-13
End Time: 07:30

Title: Girl Scout Brownie Troop 3094 Cookie Sales
Location: Local Coffee
Description: A portion of the proceeds collected will not only go to directly supporting the Brownie Troop but the girls will be putting together donations for the local Women’s Battered Shelter. Come support our little troop girls!”
Start Time: 08:00
Date: 2010-02-20
End Time: 12:00

Local Artists please submit pictures of art (portfolio) for consideration of upcoming months.  Submit info. via contact page.