How to Drink Coffee Like a Man

That's right, gentlemen...drop that axe, come inside, and drink some coffee the manly way. Here's a guide to getting the most of your morning cup of gentleman's brown:

1. Abandon what is referred to in the middle school community as "flavored drinks". There should be no other explanation needed.

2. Black only, tiger. Yeah, it may be a change for that teddy bear of a stomach, but you can take it. Its the only way to truly taste those wonderfully rich complexities that are present in good coffee.

3. Drink coffee that is actually good. Good coffee can be relative to taste, but here's what's measurable: There are two types of unroasted (green) coffee beans that get imported: Commercial/commodity grade, and Specialty grade. Specialty must be rated by professional tasters at 80 points or higher. Warning: Specialty grade coffee is much harder to find. Right now the Specialty coffee industry is a baby. There are usually between 1-6 Specialty coffee shops in major US cities. This means you'll have to do some research. TIP: see google map to the right of this post! Most specialty shops have a passion for roasting the bean much lighter, in order to bring out the natural terroir flavors in the bean.

4. No Americanos. The term Americano originated by Italians who noticed that US soldiers couldn't handle the strength of straight espresso. They had to add water to make it weaker. So I ask you, my fellow Americans, do we really want to be known as a bunch of lightweight namby-pambies? I think not. Ron Swanson agrees.

5. Find a barista who knows more than you do about coffee. There's nothing less manly than faking it, and you don't want to go into a shop thinking that a "carmel macchiato" is a manly drink. Ask them what is featuring well right now, and get home-brewing advice. NOTE: if your barista can't tell you how to properly brew, find another shop. Here's a great question to gauge the knowledge of your barista: "What beans are present in your espresso blend?" If they answer, "dark ones" move on.

6. Don't take shortcuts in your home coffee brewing. Here's what you need to brew a proper cup: a Burr Grinder (nope, a blade grinder just won't 'cut' it. ha), a fresh bag of beans roasted within 3 weeks, a scale, a manual coffee brewing device (french press counts, but there are wayyy better options to get better flavor, as in a pour over cone, or an Aeropress), a coffee:water ratio of 1:15. Check out www.brewmethods.com for techniques.

7. Don't overcompensate. Getting a large drink doesn't usually mean more coffee..on the contrary, it means more milk...oh how manly. Yes, the espresso/macchiato/cortado triumvirate are served in semi-dainty glassware...but they also usually contain a double-shot, which is the same amount of espresso as your buddy's large queen-of-the-hill latte. Think about it.

Raul Rodas's routine was largely about bringing out the sweetness of his coffee from La Soledad, using a unique (to Guatemala) processing technique of pulping the coffee, then letting it ferment for 14 hours dry (with no water), then placing it on raised drying beds for 15 days (instead of the standard patios, common in Guatemala). The result is a sweet yet clean cup. He created an interesting beverage (two, actually, shared among the judges) featuring cascara (the dried remains of the coffee bean's outer layer), and mucilage (what's under the outer layer), and then brewing coffee with an extremely lightly-roasted bean. This part is interesting to me. Raul implied that because of the processing, the coffee would be sweet, so what this part of the signature drink highlights was how sweet the coffee was, even before it was roasted to bring out the sugars of the bean (see maillard reaction). Also interesting was Raul's duel drink components. He pulled his first espressos using 17 grams, and his second set at 18 grams, featuring different taste components that make up his two beverages. Hmmmm. complex, eh? I admire the experimentation that went on with the farmer's processing, as well as the experimentation with brewing/tasting. It seems that 2012 is definitely the year of processing, and using different fermentation/processing methods to bring out unique tastes. Neato.

Congrats to this year's US Barista Champion, Katie Carguilo, from Counter Culture, NY, NY. Amongst a strong, well-known field of competitors like Intelligentsia's Charles Babinski, Verve's Chris Baca, and Jared Truby, and many more, Katie pulled out the victory swimingly. Looks like that origin trip to Aida Batlle's farm paid off! She used two coffees, both from the Yergacheffe region of Ethiopia, one washed, one natural. Her signature drink consisted of a representation of fermentation water Ethiopian-style, adding a mash of nectarine, lemon, sugar, and jasmine green tea, and vinegar. She'll compete in Vienna June 12-15 for the title of World Barista Champion. I'm sure her winning routine will be posted online soon. Check it out when it does! Good luck, Katie. Win the world, girl!

Coffee Map Updates: New cafes in Cental and S. America

There are finally some great coffee shops popping up in Central and South America. Here are the new additions, as can be seen by visiting the google map to the right: Caffe Lucca (Curitiba, Brazil), Cafe Suplicy (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Coopedota Cafe (Santa Maria, Costa Rica), Viva Espresso (San Salvador, El Salvador). Viva Espresso is home to Alejandro Mendez, the Current World Barista Champion, and first barista from a coffee producing country to win the competition. Click on the link below the map, to open it up!!


View Coffee Shops in a larger map">