Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Ristretto: Specialty Coffee Drinks: Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend

Really liking this stuff.  It also happens to cup really well.

Specialty Coffee Drinks: The Mastrena Has Landed

Starbucks' Whitefish Bay store has been outfitted with the new superautomatic Mastrena espresso machines.  As far as I know, they're the only local location to have it.  I'll try to make it up there in the next couple days to try the espresso.

Specialty Coffee Drinks: Habla Espanol?

I hear the Juan Valdez Cafes are in some major American cities, with expansion plans over the next two years.

Specialty Coffee Drinks: Alterra Don Zacharias Padilla

As of 1 o'clock this afternoon or so, Alterra still had at least one pound of this otherwise sold-out coffee available at their Grafton location.  In fact, they were running it as one of the coffees of the day, which should mean that they have a bin of bulk beans from which they could fill bags if need be.  Act quickly, since even if the coffee hadn't been flying off shelves anyway, tomorrow is the last day for the weekly special.

Snapshot: A Tale of Two Espressos (Part 2)

Last time, several months back, I compared Alterra on Humboldt and Caribou, the latter being an outfit that sells really good beans, but in terms of their cafes. . .well, the most notable thing about them is that you can get any of several varieties of chocolate or candy sprinkles on your drink.  It's kind of the coffee version of I Can't Believe It's Yogurt (or was it The Country's Best Yogurt?), which used to be on the other side of Silver Spring Dr.  This time around, we square Glendale's Alterra off with a somewhat more substantial competitor, Stone Creek Coffee's location a half-mile or so north.

As I've written before, Alterra pulls triple ristretto espresso shots, and Stone Creek does not.  There's nothing inherently wrong with Stone Creek's approach, but I found this afternoon's example to be completely lackluster.  I'd ordered a "brew and a shot" (in good Milwaukee form) and after taking just a sip of my Stone Creek espresso, dumped it into my drip coffee.  The whole was definitely more than the sum of the parts in this instance.  Poor Stone Creek is shorthanded and moving employees around from store to store (I just overheard the barista here saying she worked a double shift today, one at each of two stores).  I notice that Stone Creek's machines are programmed to 27 seconds, which is too long in my opinion.

Earlier this afternoon, my favorite barista was working at Alterra Bayshore, so there was no choice for me but to order a double.  Interestingly, most Alterras seem to serve doppios in single demitasses (perhaps to highlight the triple ristretto approach), but this particular one came in a larger cup.  Still, it had all the flavor hallmarks of Alterra triple espresso: intense flavor rather like a piece of hard candy and, most remarkable, incredible natural sweetness.  As is my wont, I poured a little half-and-half into the last ounce or so to get all the flavor out of the cup.  (Does that count as a ghetto latte?)

Photo Essay: Il Espresso

Ireland's Stephen Morrissey Takes 2008 Barista Crown

The World Barista Championship wrapped up yesterday, with Stephen Morrissey of Ireland taking top honors. Through my maternal great-great-grandmother, my ancestry includes the Irish clan of Morrissey, so there's really only one thing to say: Eireann go Brach!

The WBC website had been live streaming the competition all weekend, but, because of the 7 hour difference between Milwaukee and Copenhagen, I was not insane enough to rouse myself in the wee hours of the morn to watch the finals live, especially after having a bit too much fun the night before. However I did watch every single one of the video archived performances and was mightily impressed, not to mention filled with a mad craving for a good cappuccino.

The competition has become evermore sophisticated and intense since its inauguration in Monte Carlo in 2000. The best baristas are expected to not only pull fantastic espresso shots and create interesting and pleasing signature drinks, but know their coffee inside and out by working with producers and roasters. All competitors must choose and provide music for their presentations, bring their own equipment--with the exception of the espresso bar--and find a way to finance their own travel through sponsorship, making it a huge investment.

The six finalists of 2008 strutted their stuff for the judges, presenting the same well-practiced performances from the previous days of competition and finishing under 15 minutes. In the end, it was the soft-spoken Irishman who was crowned King of the Baristas, followed closely by Australia's David Makin. The only woman to make the finals, Liesbeth Sleijster of Netherlands, came in third, with Sweden's Daniel Remheden, Michael Yung of Canada and host country favorite Soren Stiller Markussen rounding out the top six.

A word regarding Canada's Michael Yung: In an an excellent show of professionalism under the stress of finals competition, Yung very calmly explained to the judges that he would be using pulled espresso shots for his signature drink when an unexpected snafu with a butane burner rendered his siphon inoperative. Well done, sir.

You can watch all of the competition presentations from over the weekend, including all six final presentations and the overly wordy winners announcement, here. For some unfortunate reason, Stephen Morrissey's and Liesbeth Sleijster's performances got split up, so be sure to watch both videos for each.

On a side note, I suggest you take a gander at the presentation by Uganda's Peter Musana. As the first barista to represent Uganda at the WBC, his performance was truly inspiring--and he sported an awesome monkey apron!

World Barista Championship Live

Espresso fools from 'round the world have gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark for the World Barista Championship, which kicked-off yesterday. The WBC site is live streaming the competition but the real draw is the ongoing chitchat below--hilarious!

With just 15 minutes to impress the judges, the baristas are pulling out all the stops.

Link (For the live stream, mind the time delay--Copenhagen is 7 hours ahead of US CT.)

Coffee with a Kick

Yesterday it was announced that two Italian beverage giants, Illy and Campari, have teamed up to create a product we've all been dreaming of: a coffee that's 56 proof. Called Illyquore, the drink combines Illy's Arabica coffee with Campari liquor and rings in at 28% alcohol strength per unit volume. Whoa doggies!

For those of you into marrying caffeine with alcohol, Illyquore will be available worldwide in early 2009.

On a side note, if you venture over the Campari site and answer yes to the are-you-old-enough-to-be-here question, you'll be greeted with a trailer type video for its "Campari Tales" marketing campaign. Ya know, it's so nice to see that the strategy of hot chicks + hard alcohol = sex is still very much alive and kicking--am I right, ladies?

Or you can go straight to the site and click on the Enjoy Campari link, where you'll be treated to a very hip, not at all sexiest video interface. The opening shot follows a fancily dressed woman as she heads toward a table of two good looking men, but on her way she passes another fancily dressed woman and they give each other the obligatory wary eye of judgment--'cause all women are jealous bitches looking for a cat fight. Huzzah for progress!

Link (via Coffee Talk)

Specialty Coffee Drinks: Caribou Coffee Ethiopian Sidamo

Caribou Coffee has a really good Ethiopian Sidamo. It's good that they brew their more expensive Roastmaster's Reserve coffees as everyday (though not necessarily every day drip coffee.