We are proud to announce that our Caturra offering from Finca Villa Loyola has received a 94 point review from Ken Davids of CoffeeReview.com.  When we visited Finca Villa Loyola during the harvest of 2011, we could clearly see the potential in the farm. With its high elevation of 1,800 meters (or 6,000 ft.) and Caturra variety coffee, it seemed a clear winning combination.

We would like to extend our Congratulations to the people of Finca Villa Loyola for producing such an amazing coffee!

Ken Davids of Coffee Review had this to say about the 94 point review:

“Blind Assessment: Finely poised and balanced. Ripe lemon, cocoa, peach, night flowers in aroma and cup. Rich, sweetly pungent acidity; plush, deep mouthfeel. Lemon notes in particular linger in the sweet-toned trajectory of a very long finish.”

“Who Should Drink It: Complete coffee in the classic Colombia mode.”

AROMA: 8
ACIDITY: 9
BODY: 9
FLAVOR: 9
AFTERTASTE: 9
AGTRON: 60/72

This article was republished with the permission of Dan Dean, Staff Writer for Observer & Eccentric Newspapers.

Jeff Taylor’s journey to find exceptional coffee has taken him across the globe and along the way he has met some exceptional people, none more so than his wife, Maritza.

“I met Maritza at a coffee competition in Ecuador in 2008. We were both on the jury to judge coffees. We married two years ago and she emigrated from Colombia to the USA,” Taylor said.

From the couple’s hotel room in Antigua, Guatemala, Jeff Taylor spoke recently about his quest to find great coffee. The couple were on the final leg of a 17-day coffee sipping journey through Central America. Jeff is co-owner along with Fred Polzin of PT’s Coffee in Topeka, Kan., and Maritza is director of quality assurance. Their Central America trip followed a 12-day trip to Kenya in January.

The couple find exceptional coffee in what is considered the newest approach, Direct Trade, the basis for which is, in its simplicity, quite old-fashioned. A former award-winning photojournalist, Taylor has an adventurous spirit that has served him well during his coffee travels that began in 1997, four years after he and Polzin opened a small coffee shop in Topeka. PT’s Coffee Co. has since grown into one of the leading roasters in the country and was named 2009 Roaster of the Year.

The coffee that Taylor cherishes is grown at a high altitude. When the Taylors set out on their business trips, there is no staying at swanky resorts, rather climbing mountains and traveling backroad two-tracks are the norm. Their adventures take them to many of the 35 or so countries in a tropical band around the equator between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn regarded as the primary coffee producing nations.

Taylor is searching for coffee that he explains as having a clean cup with no off-flavors, high acidity or a bright mouth feel and, most importantly, sweetness.

“Fruit has sweetness, that is were coffee comes from — it is the seed of a cherry,” he said. When it is picked, processed and roasted correctly, it has a natural sweetness, he added.

And when Taylor finds a farmer producing the sweet coffee he is looking for, he pays a premium price. A minimum of 25-percent over any other price farmers can garner through available markets, including Fair Trade. “Most (Direct Trade partners) are paid quite a bit more, in fact I believe we only have one right now that we are paying the minimum 25 percent,” he said.

Establishing an ongoing relationship is one of the goals of Direct Trade.

Direct Trade
“We started the Direct Trade concept as a way to work closely with farmers … I want to be able to call a farmer during the year and ask about the crop and how things are going,” he said. “We are looking for farmers who have high expectations, are willing to push boundaries, have good conservation practices using little fertilizer and no pesticides, a willingness to institute social programs and most importantly strict guidelines for processing.”

On Taylor’s Facebook page, his past profession as a photojournalist is well-represented as he documents his travels. One amazing photo in his collection shows the one-lane “highway of death,” El Camino de la Muerte, in the Bolivian mountains. It is just one an example of the risk and adventure of reaching the best coffee.

“The sweetness in coffee comes from growing in high altitude. The higher the coffee is grown, the sweeter it is,” he said. And above 6,000 feet is where he finds all his Direct Trade coffee.

It may not be work for the feint of heart, but for Jeff and Maritza Taylor and their customers, it is an adventure and risk worth taking to find exceptional coffee.

For more about PT’s Coffee, its Direct Trade program and to order coffee, visit ptscoffee.com.

We are happy to announce our newest Direct Trade partnership with Juan Yurja in Bolivia.  When we were first introduced to this farm in 2011, it was an interesting coincedence. There was a micro-lot that had been originally prepared for the Bolivia Cup of Excellence, and the competition had been cancelled last year.  We were in the right place, at the right time to buy it in 2011.  We haven’t had many coffees from Bolivia in the past, but the quality of that micro-lot stood out.

We visited Bolivia in Septmeber, to meet Juan and evaluate their harvest.  Over the course of the year, we had been developing a closer relationship with this farm. In all, we will have four different lots from Bolivia.  Two of these lots will be available in the next couple of weeks.

Guatemala Finca El Socorro Bourbon Micro-lot
Finca El Socorro, owned by Juan Diego de la Cerda and his family, has proven itself to be one of the best coffee farms in Guatemala. In 2011, the Maracaturra variety from El Socorro won 1st place in the 2011 Guatemala Cup of Excellence. It took 1st place in the same competition in 2007.  In 2011, Juan Diego was rewarded again, finishing in the top 5 of the Coffee of the Year competition. Such consistent results made us jump at the chance to try this great coffee.

On our recent visit, we watched as Juan Diego coached the pickers on proper cherry selection and constantly tweaked things in the mill to make sure the pulpers were running at peak efficiency and fermentation times were accurate. Drying at this altitude requires a non-stop attention to detail as the process is slow and even a small rain can damage the already processed parchment. Each night the parchment is swept up and covered to protect it from any rains that may occur. Quality is the highest priority for everyone at Finca El Socorro and thats why we love working with Juan Diego, his family and the staff, at Finca El Socorro.

Their Bourbon Micro-lot opens up with a rich, sweet aroma of caramel and maple syrup. The cup features a creamy body with notes of honey, vanilla and bakers chocolate. A high-toned citrus sweetness comes out in the cup, hinting at notes of apricot as the cup cools.

Finca Las Mercedes - El Rubi Honey SOE

March was an exciting month at Finca Las Mercedes.   A separate lot on their farm, La Avila, has won the “El Salvador” 2012 Coffee of the Year competition.  This is the exact coffee that PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. will be offering later this year.

As we await the arrival of La Avila, we have a couple of micro-lots from Finca Las Mercedes that will be available in the coming months.  The first of which, is the El Rubi Honey.  El Rubi  is a very bright and juicy espresso featuring notes of bing cherry and a deep cocoa finish. As a starting point for extraction, we use a 21 gram dose with a 29 second extraction time, to yield two one ounce shots.

Finca La Valentina Aristar Agrario

The Aristar Agrario Geisha from Finca La Valentina won the 2011 SCAP Best of Panama Competition.  We will have our final roast of this coffee on April 9th.  We are offering Finca La Valentina Aristar Agrario at a special price for a limited time.

Our two most recent Direct Trade arrivals feature the Peaberry of a Caturra Variety, grown around 2000 meters .  The first roast date for these micro-lots will be on Monday, March 5th.

Colombia Finca Villa Loyola Caturra Peaberry has a very complex and full bodied profile. Peaberries have a more concentrated flavor, making this coffee more expressive and aromatic than the other Caturra variety from this farm, which we also have available. Notes of honey, caramel, and roasted almond abound in this deep and intensely sweet cup.

This particular micro-lot was sorted meticulously, making it one of the most pure peaberry lots we have seen.  Finca Villa Loyola is our most recent Direct Trade partner. It was our good fortune that Mauricio Rosero, Finca Villa Loyola’s new farm consultant, was a friend of PT’s Director of Quality Control, Maritza Taylor. So with Mauricio’s invitation, Maritza and I (Jeff) visited Finca Villa Loyolla during the harvest of 2011. We could clearly see the potential in the farm with it’s high elevation of 1,800 meters (or 6,000 ft.) and Caturra variety coffee, it seemed a clear winning combination.

Over the course of the last six years, we have maintained a very close relationship with Sergio & Isabel Ticas, owners of Finca Los Planes.  Our relationship has developed into a standard setting model for our Direct Trade coffee program.

Many of you may be familiar with the Pacamara variety of coffee from this farm.  Unfortunately, we recently ran out of the Pacamara lot from 2011, and are awaiting the arrival of the 2012 harvest, sometime in the early summer.

Our Peaberry micro-lot from Los Planes is also of the Pacamara variety. The flavor profile is similar, however the peaberry was more balanced and well rounded. Notes of roasted almond, dark chocolate and a floral element of honey come out with a subtle sweetness rounding out the cup, hinting at mild peach notes.

We recently arrived back in the United States after almost Two Months visiting origin and sourcing new coffees in Africa and Central America.  During the trip, we were able to evaluate harvests from our Direct Trade partners, and even find a couple of new farms along the way.  We have a lot of new coffees to look forward to in 2012.  We will have more information about our visits in the next couple of weeks.

As the year comes to a close, we want to look back at the highlights that made 2011 great!  2011 brought much success in our sourcing efforts, and we were able to get our hands on many Award Winning coffees. Whether it be the Best of Panama, Cup of Excellence, or even something from the States, we have had a little bit of everything this year.

GUATEMALA FINCA EL VALLE
As we look back, one coffee stands out for the relationship we were able to develop, and the story behind the coffee.  We introduced Finca El Valle early this year, a farm in Guatemala.  Finca El Valle is a family farm Cristina Gonzalez inherited from her grandmother.  She is continuing the tradition handed down from past generations.  One thing that was apparent when we visited the farm, was their initiatives involving social and environmental responsibility.  Walking around the farm, they have signs showing the diverse species living in the forests surrounding the area.  It seems as if they have an intimate relationship with the environment.  They reuse the pulped cherries, and make compost to fertilize and replant.  The water from the wet mill is also reused, and functions as an organic fertilizer.

In addition to their initiatives and the environmental responsibility of her family,  they have a philosophy that places a high value on relationships.

“I feel that it could be very simple for us: I send you coffee, you send me money, and the story ends. But the fact that I know your family is very beautiful, because that is more than business, it is affection. And that is more important. The money is indispensable, but the relationship is priceless.” - Cristina Gonzalez

We couldn’t agree more, and Finca El Valle is now our newest Direct Trade partner! We are proud to be working with Cristina and are looking forward to visiting her and her family in the years to come.

BEST OF PANAMA
We were very excited to have four offerings from the 2011 Specialty Coffee Association of Panama - Best of Panama Competition this year.  Finca La Valentina took first place in the competition.  We were in attendance when Benjamin Osorio accepted the award.  We introduced ourselves, and were able to meet later that week and talk coffee.   The Aristar Agrario is the first coffee, of what we hope will be a long relationship with the Osorio Brothers.

Hacienda La Esmeralda took second place in the competition this year.  Yet again their coffee went to auction for what would be another successful and extremely competitive auction.  We were able to land our hands on the Hacienda La Esmeralda Montaña lot.  This was the first year the Montaña lot was available, and it represents the highest grown micro-lot at Hacienda La Esmeralda.

We also had a small amount of Don Pachi Geisha Natural.  Unfortunately, we only had this coffee available for about two weeks!  It was the first place winner of the Natural division in Panama.

With all this talk about Geisha, it is hard to remember that there are other great coffees in Panama.  Panama Kotowa Don K, Micro-lot Reserve, is located in the Boquete region, that produces some of the most sought after coffees.  Kotowa Don K took fifth place in the Best of Panama competition, and represents the highest ranking, non-geisha varietal, in all of Panama.

FINCA EL SOCORRO
Juan Diego de la Cerda and his family, have proven to be one of the best coffee farms in Guatemala.  In 2011, their Maracaturra variety won 1st place in the Guatemala Cup of Excellence Competition. Unfortunately, we only had a limited amount of the Maracaturra micro-lot.  A separate lot on their farm, was the Bourbon.  We took this coffee, and found a good roast profile that made it ideal for use as a Single Origin Espresso. Finca El Socorro Bourbon Espresso is one of the most balanced Single Origin Espresso’s we have ever encountered.

EL SALVADOR
It is no secret that we have been working closely with farms in El Salvador.  We have very close relationships with three farms there, and this year they all produced another great harvest.

Finca Los Planes took 6th place in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence competition with their Lote la Lagunita micro-lot.  This micro-lot has shown steady improvement over the past couple of years.   Their Pacamara variety is one of our personal favorites which produces a creamy and juicy cup with hints of brown sugar and caramel.

Finca Las Mercedes had a particularly good year as they have benefited from extraordinary weather patterns that have helped the crop obtain an exceptional quality. The El Pepinal 1 is also one of our personal favorites.  This is the second year that Finca Las Mercedes has produced a special lot, or we should say 3 lots, for us, that we have blended to create the Don Roberto Seasonal Espresso blend. The blend consists of two honey and one washed processed coffee from different lots on their farm.

Finca El Molino and Jose Antonio Salaveria produced another great crop of Orange Bourbon this year.   Las Ranas Estate, also operated by Jose Antonio, generously donated the first 150 lbs of Bourbon to help kick start a joint effort between the Prodigy Youth Soccer Association and PT’s Coffee for a scholarship fund for Topeka area youth.   Flor Del Sol was created in honor of our former Barista and friend, Jonathan Kaspar.  We will be donating $1, for every 8 oz. bag sold, directly to this association in support of youth soccer in our community. We hope to raise $1500 in this effort for the PYSA.

FLYING MONKEY CAFE OPENS
Flying Monkey has been a work in progress all year, and finally opened its doors in November.  The Flying Monkey is an eclectic cafe featuring a diverse menu with Direct Trade coffee and espresso.  Chef  Jamie, has created a unique food menu, with a variety of Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Quiche, and Baked Goods.  We are also serving a variety of micro-brewed beers, including options from the Blind Tiger, here in Topeka, Kansas.

Local Artists display their collections in the cafe, providing a fun ambiance and atmosphere to just kick back, relax, and enjoy a great cup of coffee with a friend.

THE GOTHOT
In August of 2010, a mammoth arrived at our loading dock.  This wasn’t a prehistoric beast, however, it was our newest coffee roaster.  The Gothot is a 90 kilo roaster!  This is perfect for our espresso, and other coffees that are roasted in large batches.  After a team of mechanical engineers coordinated the installation, it was finally set to roast in February of 2011.  The Gothot is unique in many ways, and one is the fact that it utilizes a roasting software, to ensure consistent results.  The roast profiles are 100% customized by our head Coffee Roaster, Adam Ross.  The software on the Gothot is not fool proof though, and Adam has to monitor every aspect of the roast to ensure we are getting the results we set out for.  Our other two roasters, the Diedrich IR-12 and Diedrich IR-24, are still used everyday, for those smaller micro-lots.  Roasting coffee is an art form and science.  Our roasters have to monitor everything during the roasting process on the Diedrichs, and they are operated by brain power, ingenuity, and experience, and not by computer software.

MARITZA TAYLOR
One of the newest additions to the PT’s Team, is Maritza Taylor.  Maritza and Jeff met at origin, and were married in 2010.  Brazil Doce Boda is in part a celebration of our trip to the farm that followed Jeff and Maritza’s wedding in August of 2010. After a long wait, Maritza and Jeff could finally be together in the United States.  Maritza is the head of our quality control, and brings a multitude of expertise and experience from her past career in coffee in Colombia.   She is constantly monitoring our coffee profiles, and evaluating every roast for consistency and quality.  She is also in charge of roast development, and before we release any coffee, she is testing roast temperature, time, and taste.  Maritza has proven to be an invaluable member of our team, and will be helping Jeff source coffees at Origin in 2012.

EPILOGUE
Needless to say, 2011 was packed full of memorable events.  It isn’t until the end of the year, when we look back and reflect on all of the great accomplishments we had.  A few coffees that weren’t mentioned above were great surprises this year.  We had a small micro-lot of Rusty’s Hawaiian in July, and sold out of it the same week we got it.  Although it was disappointing, only having it for a week, it is the kind of coffee we dream about, and are looking forward to their next Harvest Season.  Finca Kilimanjaro was also a pleasant and short lived surprise this year, extremely well balanced with a nice juicy sweetness.

2012 will bring more surprises.  A few things to look forward to are the 2012 harvests from our Direct Trade partners.  Many people have been asking about Panama Elida Natural, and it will be coming back!  We are getting to the point where some of our Central American coffees will start running low on inventory in the next few months.  We typically see the arrival of those Harvests between April and August.

A new Colombian coffee is coming soon.  Pending its arrival and approval, we have sourced a great coffee from the Nariño Department of Colombia, high in the Andean Mountains.  This new coffee will be a Direct Trade partner, and we will keep you posted on the full story in the next couple of weeks!

Happy New Year, and may 2012 be the best one yet!

Written By Martha Piland - MB Piland

A new partnership between the Prodigy Soccer Club and PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. will benefit Topeka-area youth soccer players in need of funding to offset their annual dues. The funding will come from the Jon Kaspar Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is provided for through sales of Flor del Sol, a special single estate blend.

The Prodigy Soccer Club created the fund in memory of Jonathan Kaspar, a member of the Club and employee of PT’s Coffee, who was killed in a car accident in the summer of 2010 at age 20. The Club established the fund shortly after Kaspar’s death to help in-need youth continue to play the game he had loved.

“We couldn’t pass up the chance to honor one of our outstanding baristas and friends,” said Jeff Taylor, owner of PT’s Coffee. “Jon would talk about the soccer games he’d played for Prodigy Blitz—how much his time at Prodigy had shaped him. He’d love the idea that we’re helping more kids hit the field and have the same experiences.”

The first 150 pounds of the Flor del Sol single estate blend was donated by Jose Antonio Salaverria, owner of Las Ranas Estate in El Salvador. Flor del Sol is a micro-lot of specifically selected and processed coffees from Las Ranas Estate, chosen for its excellence and quality.

For each 8 oz bag of the Flor del Sol single estate blend sold, PT’s Coffee will donate $1 to the Scholarship Fund. Prodigy Soccer and PT’s Coffee hope to raise $1,500, which will help as many as 10 youth play in 2012. The Flor del Sol blend is available at both of PT’s Coffee Topeka locations, as well as on their website,  www.ptscoffee.com.

“We’re a nonprofit club, so the fees we have all go to benefit the kids and the game,” said Jeff Gabriel, president and administrator for the Prodigy Soccer Club’s board. “We try to save as much as we can for scholarships, but struggle to pay the fees associated with playing competitive soccer. That’s why we’re so appreciative when we have the opportunity to partner with local businesses—especially when it also helps remember one of our own. Jon was one of our best.”

The not-for-profit Prodigy Soccer Club was established in 1998 by Colby Williams, an experienced professional soccer player, and provides area youth with the opportunity to play at a competitive level under positive, professional instruction.

Since its beginning, professional trainers have provided high-quality training for Club members through regular practices and games. Today, 348 young athletes play on 29 Prodigy teams during the regular season, summer camp, academy program and winter indoor league.

The Prodigy Soccer Club operates using dues collected from players rostered with the Club. These funds pay for trainers, uniforms and other administrative costs. Part of the budget is reserved for scholarships. Each year, the Club receives 15 to 18 scholarship applications. Next fall, the Club will need to find new funding sources for scholarships not covered by the operating budget and the Jon Kaspar Memorial Scholarship Fund.

PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. began in 1993 as a single cafe. In 1997, PT’s Coffee began roasting its own specially-chosen single estate coffees under the brand of PT’s Direct Trade. Today, the company roasts more than 100 tons of specialty coffee each year for cafes and restaurants nationwide, and celebrates its Direct Trade relationships with producers worldwide.

Among the many local and national honors PT’s Coffee has won for excellence are Roast Magazine’s “2009 Roaster of the Year,”  Fortune Magazine’s “17 Top Small Roasters in the Country,” Topeka Chamber’s “Small Business of the Year” and the Coffee Review’s highest-ever rating of 97 points out of 100.

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and we have a few shipping updates to pass on to you for sharing great coffee with your family and friends. Thanksgiving is a time to feast, enjoy the gift of family and give thanks for all that we are grateful for. We are thankful for the time and effort poured into each and every harvest, and the farmers who dedicate their lives to producing great coffee year after year. We are thankful for the barista’s, roasters, staff, and the families who make what we do possible!  Most of all, we are thankful for you, our customers and friends who have followed and supported us through the years.

Unfortunately, Thursday holidays are not ideal for shipping, and if you want to share great coffee with your family, without expediting your order, then you may want to check our transit times to ensure its arrival before the holiday.

If you are located in a four day transit zone, your coffee will need to ship on Friday, Nov. 18th, in order to arrive before Thanksgiving. If you select our Flat Rate, we will choose the best option for you, to get it there on time. FedEx Express also offers extremely competitive rates, and if you order a little late, and your coffee ships next week, choosing the 2-Day or Overnight option will not cost you an arm and a leg! As a reminder, UPS, USPS, and FedEx are all closed during the 4 day holiday weekend from Nov 24-Nov 27. If your order doesn’t arrive on Wednesday, it will not arrive until Monday due to the holiday.

PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. will be closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving, and our schedule will return to normal on Monday, Nov. 28th. Orders placed after 8 AM on Wednesday morning, will roast and ship on Monday, Nov. 28th. Our retail location at Barrington Village will be open on Thanksgiving from 8 am - 12 pm, and will return to regular hours on Friday Nov. 25th. If you have any questions about our schedule, feel free to contact info@ptscoffee.com.

If you would like to order one of our three Geisha coffees for Thanksgiving, we will be having a special holiday roast on Monday, Nov. 21st for all of them, Panama Don Pachi Geisha Natural, Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Montaña, and Panama Finca La Valentina Aristar Agrario.

In other news, we recently released a variety of new custom designed logo wares to enhance your coffee experience.  The Vacuum Sealed AirScape coffee containers are perfect for storing whole bean coffee at home. Coffee begins to lose its flavor after about 12 days of storage, and this process is accelerated when the coffee is ground, especially when it is exposed to open air. The Airscape containers are the perfect for extending your fresh roasted coffee for a longer period of time, and preventing exposure to open air.

The OFFERO VESSELS® coffee mug is a new addition to our signature line of coffee mugs. The Offero Mug design placed in the Top 3 of Best New Products at Coffee Fest in San Diego in June, during the official launch of the cups. Much of the taste sensation is driven by the sense of smell, and this design brings out the best in a cup of coffee. Due to the unique shape of the cups (the belly, taper and extended back) these can’t be mass produced by machines. Each cup is hand poured into its mold, fired and hand finished. Each cup will show some irregularities, light mold lines, some uneven finishes, even minute size differences, but the integrity of the design and the Offero cups’ beauty and function will always be maintained.

Everyone at PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. wants to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

I got one of “those” emails a few weeks back that seemed a little strange at first . It was a “last chance offer” to respond to an opportunity from Google. Apparently a representative of Google had tried unsuccessfully the prior week to reach me via email only I didn’t respond.  I hate it when that happens. The only explanation I have is the dreaded - Junk Mail Folder.

But this time, I had just settled in at home for the evening and scanned my phone for emails as this one arrived. It just didn’t look like a typical junk mail. So I opened it and began reading.

It seemed strange at first because the initial paragraph was devoted to “this is your last opportunity” type of message from Google. I didn’t remember getting any previous messages from google so I was a bit confused. But as I read further I realized, this was not a “robot” email, it was from a person - Sophia - representing Google. The offer was for a film crew to produce a video on our business at NO CHARGE.

No Charge? Thats what I said!

Sure enough, Google had launched a campaign to get small businesses online in a state by state campaign. So at 7pm that evening I jumped out of my chair and made the return call. I didn’t want to risk my email getting stuck in her Junk Folder. As I spoke with Sophia on the phone, it turns out she’s a coffee lover and wanted to include us in their project. KANSASGETONLINE.com We’re under the Success Stories tab.

The example shared with me was a business from Austin, Texas and the TEXASGETONLINE.com website. It was really well put together and seemed very professional. But it still seemed too good to be true. So I pushed, even acted uninterested, just waiting for the other shoe to fall and her to tell me the real cost was thousands of dollars.

But the more I quizzed, the more it became apparent there were no strings. Only that we have representation at the Launch party in Kansas City. Seemed fair enough to me. So I agreed to proceed and meet with the film crew.

One week later, and a very long day spending time with the film crew, we sat back and waited for the results. I must admit to being a little nervous. For those that know me, I’m prone to OMIFS (also known as “Open Mouth Insert Foot Syndrome.”) So for the next week I recounted everything I said, over and over in my head, and said a silent prayer for good editors.

Well now the video has launched and you get to be the judge of my chronic OMIFS. I hope you enjoy it - it’s not always been easy, but it is…OUR STORY.

Jeff

“This article was republished with the permission of Barista Magazine.  The article appeared in the August + September 2011 issue and you can view the full article in its original form by viewing pages 48-51 on Barista Magazines I-Mag or in the original publication.  Holly Bastin is the Director of Retail Operations for PT’s Coffee Roasting Co.  She has been with us for 11 years and her roles have included Lead Coffee Trainer, Espresso Quality Control, Espresso Research and Development, and Retail Store Manager, as well as providing assistance whenever needed.  Holly recently traveled to Bogota to assist and coach her longtime friend, United States Barista Champion, Pete Licata, on his route to a second place finish in the World Barista Championship.”

ESPRESSO EVALUATION

When I started in this industry in 2000, the specialty coffee movement was known by the off-beat neighborhood cafes that worked tirelessly to show coffee consumers that there is an art to the beverage they enjoy every day.  We threw around terms like “latte art” and “ristretto” to feel out the coffee shops we visited.  We watched to see if they would toss their shots directly on ice while making a latte on the rocks.  What it took to be superior at the craft of coffee was judged almost solely in the arena of espresso making.  Brewed coffee was always there, but we had yet to truly understand just what kind of vehicle it had potential to be.

Most roasters hadn’t visited a whole lot of farms yet, so naturally we turned our attention to places where we could manipulate the coffee without dealing with the agricultural implications.  We churned all of our creative energies towards the only controls we thought we had: improving our equipment, our roasting and our skills.  For me, I stood conflicted the day I was introduced to the newest grinder technology on the market - the “Swift”.  I stared at that grinder realizing that, at the time, it probably was indeed more consistent than I was at something I so enjoyed doing.  As others looked excited by this new gadgetry, I could only think one thing.

I had to beat it.

Now, after a whirlwind of experiences 10 years later, I barely remember that promise to myself.  As the industry is in a boom of brew methods, single origins and direct trade relationships, we’ve been distracted from our old adversary: espresso.  With baristas even having opportunities to meet farmers and visit countries of origin, a lot of focus has been shifted into the regular old cup of joe.  Even I couldn’t resist it.  As a beverage, I have really come to appreciate the flavor profiles that can be enjoyed drip style, experiencing the influence and range that processing, elevation, varietal, and myriad other factors give to coffees.  But when it comes to coffee as a part of what I do and dissect, I still have only ever had eyes for espresso.  It is beautiful to create and difficult to tame, and I have always been determined to figure it out, whatever that means.

In the years that I have worked for PT’s Coffee Roasting Co., I’ve had a number of roles, but espresso has always been a non-negotiable part of each position I agree to take on.  When I started managing some of the cafes, I also took on the role of staff trainer, wanting to ensure that each barista had a good and continuous grasp on their craft.  As I began coaching our competitive baristas, I found a forum for discussing the refinement of technical skills and a playground for experimentation.  In the last five years that I have been our wholesale coffee trainer, I slowly took over the role of espresso blending and espresso development, giving me hours and hours to try and understand how I can manipulate extraction and get varying effects.  I’ve had exposure to a number of different tools and machines, and I constantly try to live up to our old mantra of “any barista, any coffee, any equipment, any time.”  I sought out new media and experiences, whether competing (yes I did), judging, going on jams, or helping with Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) classes.

The Development Begins
But in 2008 I started to struggle to find new and valid resources, hoping to further discover more in-depth ways that I could understand espresso.  I had gotten into cupping and found an appreciation (as well as a jealousy) that there was a standardized system for tasting and evaluating “regular coffees” already in place, and that was so diametrically opposed to our communal approach to trying new espressos: throw it in the hopper and use your senses to dial it in.  I started to wish that someone would have come up with a similar system for espresso, because even for the most adept barista, it requires a fair bit of consumption throughout the process.

My role in blending was increasing to help maintain our mainline espressos, as well as identifying potential single origin espresso offerings, which was fun and exciting.  But it also meant many days of over-caffienation and espresso highs. I needed a structure to work within, and after expressing my wish for a version of cupping for espresso to Jeff Taylor, he challenged me to create my own using our resources.

I accepted whole-heartedly.

The very moment I started to think about what made systems like the Cup of Excellence (CoE) or SCAA cupping forms work, I realized exactly why no one had really done anything for espresso yet.  The fundamental elements that make those systems viable is a standardization of dose, particle size, water volume, and water contact time.  The very nature of espresso - at least as we have so far collectively approached it - defies those kinds of specific parameters, varying in style, preference, and profile the whole world over.  I’m not saying the same can’t be said of all brew methods, but espresso takes the phrase “margin of error” to a whole new level.

While it was almost an overwhelming impasse, I tried to think around the issue, attempting to figure out if there were some variables that could be proportionately set, like a sliding scale for parameters depending on the style of blend you were working with.  The closest I came to an answer was roast profile possibly relating to an optimal dose, the lightest and darkest requiring a lower dose and finer grind, while a more mid-ranged profile tended to be in the 18-20 gram range for a double.  In many cases I did find this to be true, but never totally definitive.

Over the next two-and-a-half years I continued to seek out patterns and answers, constantly adding new data to track so I could find a central point to start building a system.  All the while we constantly used it in whatever current incarnation we were in as a tool for evaluating our espressos, as well as having group double-blind tastings from multiple roasters.

The Result and Implementation

When I try to define what exactly this form is, I find the simplest description for it is the “Espresso Evaluation and Tracking Form.”  At it’s most functional, that is what it is designed to be:  for people who want a way to understand what led to the flavors they are tasting and whether or not it’s a viable option for their purposes and tastes.  It’s not about a hard and fast judgement or score on a coffee, but has built-in versatility, it can be used in creative ways to suit other ends, whether in part or as a whole.

For roasting companies, this form can be massively helpful for the arduous  task of espresso blend management.  Whether building or maintaining a blend, it gives a road map to the many ways that you potentially could achieve the flavor profile you are trying to accomplish.  The Coffee Info Capture section isolates the fundamentals of what comes with the preparation of the coffee before use for consumption.  The Extraction Info Capture section throughout consistent use shows the barisata’s influence on the flavor, shot to shot and day to day.  It also bridges the communication between the roaster and the blender, giving them a common language and format to both have and to share information within.  In full use in a roasting environment, it creates accountability and can help see potential for innovation in research and development of coffee or equipment.

For cafe owners and managers, this form provides a great way to gather information about the coffees you serve and track their peaks and fades.  It can be used in part as a barista dial-in training tool, or for checking grind adjustments during a staff change.  You can use it to track the overall consistency of the shots you serve and the coffee you buy.  It’s a quality control form as much as it is a tracking tool.

With repeated use, it can really pay off for the home barista, as well, who often pays $20 for a pound of coffee.  You can dial in your favorites and basically have a reference for a good ballpark start point for next time, or switch from coffee to coffee without worrying about wasting precious coffee by dialing in the grind again.  It can help you remember old favorites when it’s time to buy again.

And for us barista folk, this form is a tool to use while learning to hone your craft.  It forces us to consider and identify all of your variables simultaneously, and through consistent use creates reflexive habits.  If espresso were music, this would be like an etude or technical piece, designed to make you more comfortable with a particular move or speed of playing.  This trains thought, spurs refinement of action and encourages experimentation, giving a data pool from which to create new theories or confirm them to fact.  It can also rapidly point out weakness on your part, so you know where to focus your technique and quickly improve.  It’s great for training for barista competitions.  It instantly gives you homework while you quickly get to know your coffee and where its absolute peak is.  It’s a bit intense to use on your own, but it is manageable.  Don’t get beat by technology.

The best and worst part?  You get to taste the fruits of your labor to understand how your actions changed it.  After all, the point of coffee is to taste good.

Shipping costs have been on the rise recently due to an increase in gas prices and inflation in our economy.  FedEx has been a competitive outlet for us, and we want to extend their shipping options to you.

FedEx 2-Day and FedEx Overnight Rates are very competitive.  The FedEx Ground option has an added benefit for Residential Customers.  FedEx Home Delivery will deliver on Saturdays.  However, by adding Saturday delivery, they have offset their weekly schedule, and do not deliver on Mondays.  Orders still ship on Mondays, but are delivered to residential addresses Tuesday-Saturday.

Here are some examples of how the transit times compare between UPS and FedEx from Topeka.  The East Coast Metropolitan Area extending from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. are all 3-day transits with FedEx, one day faster than UPS.  The West Coast of the United States is also a 3-day ship with FedEx, one day faster than UPS.  The Indianapolis Metro, Ohio, Alabama, the Atlanta Metro and a large portion of Georgia are a 2-day ship with UPS, one day faster than FedEx.  The transit times to the Central Coridoor, Upper Northeast, and a few other Major Metropolitan areas, such as Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston are competitive, and transit times are the same between FedEx and UPS.  For information about the various shipping times to your specific location, you can view our Transit Maps by following this link.

For those of you who prefer our other shipping methods, USPS and UPS, we will continue to provide their service.  We are looking for more ways to provide you with more alternatives when it comes to shipping.

FedEx and UPS rates do not apply to International Orders.  All International Orders are shipped via USPS Priority Mail International due to customs fees and other surcharges.  If you are an international customer, an additional charge must be applied to accomodate the international rate.