Buena Vista Roastery
Coffee and the MountainsThe ‘Localness’ in Local Coffee
I know Localness is not a real word. But local coffee may be just as real a concept. It depends heavily on the boundaries that we the consumer define as acceptable and okay. Consumers will define ‘local’ upteen ways, and then the retailer or wholesaler has to decide which definitions fit his or her business plan, or create their business model based on what’s important to them and let the chips fall where they may.
Nothing but Lungos and Ristrettos
There are times when I fancy a lungo and times when I favor the bitterness of a ristretto. Using our own machine, I’ll experiment with our High Country Espresso to explore the nuances of the long pull and the short pull. Of course I prefer the smooth character that we get with proper tamp and a proper grind – 25 seconds and one heck of a crema.
But why is it that I go into some coffee shops nearby, order an espresso, and am given only a ristretto or a lungo? There is no option. The barista has not played with the grinder settings, adjusted their tamp, nor allowed more or less water to pass through depending on the shot length. In most cases the barista doesn’t even know what a lungo or ristretto are, or so it seems. In one coffee shop that I have frequented, I have been given a nine second shot in the morning and a two minute shot in the afternoon. This happens regularly in this shop. I know the barista is aware of the length of pull, for I have seen them reject a ten second shot only to replace it with a 12 second shot.
The issues, as I see them:
- improper grind
- improper tamp
- improper barista training and follow up/accountability
- a non-discerning public who have grown accustomed to the Starbucks machiatto culture
The solution: Don’t order straight espresso, or move to Europe.
Buena Vista to see some new faces for coffee
Rumor has it that we in Buena Vista will be seeing some new places to buy coffee. The 15 year old Bongo Billy’s Buena Vista Cafe has been the only place in town for more than a decade, located in the perfect spot to capture the rafters and high schoolers at break time. It has been a classic place to stop for many. Mother’s opened a year and a half ago, with a more refined atmosphere that caters to a different audience. Both of these are great hang outs, each with its own style, depending on what you’re looking for.
Now we hear the rumors of a couple additional places. First is the Global Cafe, across from K’s. This should be a good alternative for travelers wanting a cup of coffee or an espresso. Also, they will offer a dining component, picnics, shopping at the Global Garage Market next door, and the park across the street. The second is a cart or a drive through of some sort. There are couple of different places this may be put up, but should give the pedestrian on Main Street or the driver passing through town a reason to pull over for the quick, line-free latte. Both the Global Cafe and the coffee cart – name unknown at this time – are scheduled to open in June of this year. Next year, the brewery at South Main will open with coffee, and the Evergreen Cafe has recently started serving single origin Fair Trade Organic coffee that we roast. Many changes in our town of 2500. Keep your eyes peeled.
Organic is not holistic
I read the following quote yesterday. It comes from a very respectable company that roasts coffee and sells it over the Internet and perhaps through some cafes and restaurants local to them,
Organic farming is the art of holistically utilizing the systems and resources at hand to produce a crop that is the true, natural creation of the land and soil on which it was grown.
And I am compelled to write about its inaccuracy. Today’s organic farming is entirely non-holistic. It is as far from being ‘holistic’ as any conventional farming. By definition these are mutually exclusive elements, as organic/conventional is a fabrication of linear thinking, the other requires the ability to process enormous amounts of information and complexity found in both natural and soft systems.
Espresso at Adam’s Mountain Cafe
My friend Chris graduated from college yesterday, Colorado College. At the college, there are a few students working on a new coffee roastery led by similar values as we have at the Buena Vista Roastery. I was searching for a taste of their product while at the graduation in the heart of Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, all I could find was bad drip coffee from the caterer and a questionably legal ramshackle booth selling sample bags on behalf of a Honduran cooperative.
On to a new source of coffee. In Manitou Springs west of the Springs and on my way back to Buena Vista, we all went for lunch at Adam’s Mountain Cafe in their newly remodeled building. Here I tried Pikes Perk espresso for the second time. The first was in a small high-volume coffee house, the second here, in thisSlow Food restaurant. As I have experienced in other places, it is best not to judge a coffee bean merely by one cup. If I had only held onto my first experience, I probably would not have tried the espresso at this cafe. The espresso here was smooth, balanced and had a berry finish. Evidently Adam’s does take the time to ensure the shot pours appropriately, and ensured a pretty good crema. Since the barista can make all the difference, chalk this up to a good barista.
The Under-appreciated El Savadoran
Recently, we had a question about our El Salvador coffee. This congenial woman asked whether we had it and said it was an undervalued, under-appreciated coffee, which I have to agree with. She’ll be traveling through Buena Vista later today and will stop by the Roastery to try it out. We source our El Salvador through Vournas out of Los Angeles, and they in turn source it from the Batres family. Check out the description of the Batres’ farm in the Smithsonian. This Bourbon coffee has all the bells and whistles, being Bird Friendly, Shade Grown, Rainforest Alliance, Organic, Save the Whales, Vegan, and Stop ANWR. Of course it cups well too.
Chicory Coffee
A couple of us from the roastery traveled to New Orleans for some recon on coffee and music festivals. We spent a couple days at Jazz Fest to prep for our humble music fest in Buena Vista, and a day touring the French Quarter – the FEMA enhanced section of town following Katrina. It was here we stumbled upon the Cafe du Monde’s chicory coffee and beignets (bin-yeahs)
Exploring Options
Our staff met yesterday to discuss the direction of the roastery and whether to move forward pursuing a new enterprise. We played around with understanding our desired business, as captured in our holistic-goal, and how to gain a comprehensive understanding of what the addition of a new venture would do to both the Buena Vista Roastery and to Bongo Billy’s Coffees. Consensus: find out some info on the potential gross profit and information on the potential sources of money that would be used to invest in equipment but that generally let’s move forward. All of this fits with our environmental initiatives, as posted on ChannelBV.
