Questions or comments podcast@coffeegeek.com or call the voicemail line at 1-206-965-8185, or Skype to Skype - search for the "CoffeeGeek" username.

Take your pick on how to listen:

RSS Feed link for subscribing, or

CG Podcast 034 MP3 File for straight downloading.

Apple iTunes (updated!) direct link.

Show Notes

Intro – Vancouver Coffee Scene Roundtable (1:31)
- Michael, Mark’s neighbor and coffee enthusiast, (email him if you have an opening for a barista)
- jakethecoffeelover, CGer and author of http://coffeaarabica.blogspot.com
- Sean Strugnell aka strugs – CGer
- Matt, barista at Elysian Room, 5th and Burrard, Vancouver
- Peter, barista at Wicked Café, 7th and Hemlock, Vancouver, and author of pullingshots.blogspot.com

Review of Aerobie Aeropress (2:57)
- Metal filter vs nylon filter vs paper filter (4:00)
- The engadget pvc do-it-yourself, the Depresso, and experimentation (5:36)
- Comparison with the Clover (8:42)

Review of the Clover (10:17)
- Discovery Coffee: newest Clover in Canada (10:30)
- The Clover’s effect on body and adjusting the Clover for optimal brew (11:00)
- Use of the Clover in the café (18:08)

Back to the Aerobie: Future experimentation, blind cupping, and bloom (19:50)

Review of the Vibiemme Domobar (21:43)
- HX machine with E61 group and 2 liter boiler
- Fast steaming machine, very stable

Home Machines (24:57)
- Sean’s Wega Lyra; Peter’s Krups Novo; Michael and Jake’s Gaggia Espressos

Fave Coffeehouses and the Café Scene (32:45)
- The group’s favorites include Prado, JJBean, Continental, Elysian Room, Wicked Café, Victrola, 2% jazz

Wrap-Up (42:27)
- Thoughts on Chris Tacy leaving the coffee scene
- Funny stories about Jake
- A few comments about portafilter.net podcast .

Again, thanks to Rock Star Cindy for doing these excellent show notes.

Questions or comments podcast@coffeegeek.com or call the voicemail line at 1-206-965-8185, or Skype to Skype - search for the "CoffeeGeek" username.

Take your pick on how to listen:

RSS Feed link for subscribing, or

CG Podcast 033 MP3 File  for straight downloading.
12.7mb, 37:39 mm:ss. 48 kbps bitrate, 44.1Hz sample rate, mono channel. MP3 file.

Also, please subscribe and leave comments in Apple iTunes (updated!) direct link.

Show Notes

Newbie Show: Today’s guests, Beata Siwinski and Julie! (1:52)
Beata and Julie ask Mark their coffee questions:

When did people first start drinking coffee? (3:29)
- A brief history of coffee: Mark describes the discovery of coffee and the rise of coffee’s popularity throughout Arabia and Western Europe (3:50)
- A very brief history of espresso: Mark describes the development of modern espresso and the first spring-loaded piston espresso machine in 1947 by Achilles Gaggia (9:08)

When were cappuccinos and lattes first created? (12:13)
- History of the cappuccino:  Mark traces the creation of the cappuccino from the French café au lait in the mid-1800s to the development of the steam wand in 1910. Some discussion about Caffe Reggio (NYC)'s claim to inventing the drink.

The Coffee Scene in Italy
- Espresso, cappuccino, lattes and cafe correcto: Julie’s coffee experiences in Italy (14:29)
- The Italian café scene: not so many laptops (16:31)
- Features that Mark, Julie and Beata would like to see in local cafes (18:11)

Why are some coffees stronger than others? Should you add salt to get rid of bitterness in coffee? (27:01)
- Different tastes reflect differences in coffees and differences in roasts

Will there be more newbie podcasts (perhaps about the importance of proper grind)? (31:30)
- Yes!

Once more, a huge thanks to Cindy for putting together these excellent show notes!

27.4mb, 79:54 mm:ss. 40 kbps bitrate, 44.1Hz sample rate, mono channel.

Questions or comments podcast@coffeegeek.com or call the voicemail line at 1-206-965-8185, or Skype to Skype - search for the "CoffeeGeek" username.

Take your pick on how to listen:

RSS Feed link for subscribing, or

CG Podcast 032 MP3 File  for straight downloading.

Apple iTunes (updated!) direct link.

Show Notes

Intro - Christa Couture, "day 4"

Changes (0:50)
- Beata and Mark shack up!
- CoffeeGeek says thanks and goodbye to Jeanette.

New Audio Equipment courtesy of Samson (3:43)
- An amazing MDR6 Mixing Board
- A C03 Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone to upgrade from the C01 - will make round tables easier to produce
- A Hardware Compressor - automatically evens out the audio as people move closer and farther away from the microphones
- Many thanks to Ira and the folks at Samson!

Cup of Excellence Brasil Auction, Part II (9:02)

Interview with Andrew Barnett of Ecco Caffè, Santa Rosa, California, international juror for Cup of Excellence (10:14)
- Andrew on what COE is all about and his involvement with it (11:42)
- The Brasil auction: what $50/lb may do for coffee; marketing to the consumer (15:48)
- Andrew's impressions of the winning coffee; how COE coffees are scored (19:49)
- Lot #1: Fazenda Santa Inês; farmer, Francisco Dias Pereira. Highest scoring coffee in any COE with a score of 95.85; received Andrew's top score of 97; received two scores of 100. Purchased by Michel's Espresso, Instaurator and Caffè Artigiano. Mark and Andrew discuss the price of the coffee from the consumer perspective (21:14)
- Lot #2: Fazenda São Benedito; farmer, Antônio José Junqueira Villela. Sold for $7.80 per pound; purchased by The Roasterie, Stumptown, Ecco Caffè, Kaffa, and Maruyama. (30:43)
- Lot #3: Sítio São José; farmer, Luiz Roberto Ribeiro. The farms that produced the top three coffees are neighbors. (33:02)
- Lot #23 purchased by Ecco Caffè, 49th Parallel Roasters, Intelligentsia, and Golden Coffee Box - Fazenda Santa Terezinha; farmer, Paulo Sérgio de Almeida. (37:01)
- coffeegeek.com will join COE at the benefactor level (41:01)
- Coming soon to Ecco Caffè: a coffee purchased with the Small Axe Alliance from the Bolivian COE (41:41)

Susie Spindler, Executive Director, Cup of Excellence (45:40)
- Susie on what COE is all about and her involvement with it (46:58)
- How consumers can find local COE coffees; how to get their roasters involved in COE (50:08)
- Benefits of standard COE membership include access to the auction system, priority on international juries, and access to a searchable database of winning farms (51:24)
- Building bridges between roasters, farmers and cultures (53:06)
- The Brasil auction: what $50/lb may do for coffee; scoring of the first place coffee and the stigma of coffee from Brasil among specialty coffee roasters (57:51)
- Marketing coffees to the consumer as a culinary treat: raising the expectations of the consumer (1:04:38)
- Disparity between scores and prices of the first and second place coffees (1:11:52)
- Visit the COE web site to learn more. (1:15:00)

Outro - Christa Couture, "day 4"