This past Wednesday, I got the opportunity to sit under the wise instruction of our roaster and their own in-house coffee trainer to, quote-unquote, refine my style
This was a big excursion. We had to drive from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan all the way down to Muncie, Indiana. Throw in the fact that my husband started out this trip “on tour” with a band, stopping off at JPUSA, in Chicago, add in a 3-day conference for good measure, and to top off this beautiful situation, my crazy brain actually attempted creating an 8-page newsletter. Perhaps you didn’t hear me right, I said an 8 STINKIN’ PAGE newsletter. And I had to make sure the websites were at least close to up-to-date for anyone interested in what He-Brews Coffee and Music might be offering these days. That just about sums up the craziness I drank this last week. I tried my hardest to remember to tweet about it, but someone really needs to inform rural Indiana that cell phone reception is a must these days. Hey, if Michigan can do it, there are no excuses, not even for Indiana.
I could go into great detail about the joys, the drama, the excitement of this trip, perhaps later, but lets talk coffee instead, shall we?
Our roaster, Alliance World Coffees, in Muncie, Indiana pretty much rules the world of coffee one small roasted batch at a time. These folks define the term “coffee snob,” keeping afore mentioned “Brown hot” far from their presence. They work hard at bringing as many folks into their coffee cult as possible.
Hello, my name is Grace, and as you should know, I happily admit that yes, I am a part of that cult; and this time around, I brought friends. A group of about 10 of us huddled around that beloved whirring espresso machine, watching and practicing each step along the way.
Much of our group had never had the door of intense coffee snobbery opened to them in the past…this was a totally new experience. So, in our training we got to cover everything from the bean grind, to pulling the shots, to tips such as, “keep the frothing pitcher in the fridge.”
Are you catching on that this is my excuse for not posting? Because it is. If we are all going to learn to order coffee drinks because we are smart from a coffee shop/bar/house/kiosk/what-have-you, someone has got to learn it somewhere, and it might as well be me–okay, okay, I happily take on that task.
You just get yourself ready for some great tips coming your way, as we continue on our cafe education series. Yeah baby, it’s still coming…better then ever. But for now, this mamma’s got a diaper to change.
I was wondering where you were!
I, for one, am waiting in great anticipation to glean from your new-found coffee wisdom!
i just wanted to say that I like reading your blog! I’m Meggan’s sister-in-law. and my husband chris likes reading the blogs about how to make good coffee, because down here we’re kind of coffee snobs, too. once you’ve had really good coffee you can’t go back!
I went to that seminar too! Very insightful! and helpfull!