coffee cupping challenge. think nascar.

we cup tons of coffee each week. searching the globe for remarkable coffee beans - we thought it would be fun to launch a weekly cupping quiz - we name the characteristics and a few choice bits of information and you guess what region from which the coffee hails... 

wednesday may 14th. 

aroma: dark chocolate, praline, marshmallow, traces of smoke. 

body: medium-bodied  

acidity: low

flavors: dark chocolate, balanced with hints of smoke, layered with baking spice through-out.  sweet finish. 

hint: the current cultural ambassador of this country was jailed in the 70's for anti-governmental activity. 

Caffe Vita is on Flickr

Check out Vita's Flickr page for photos of Bosco espresso machines, Farm Direct trips and our raucous parties...

Epic Roasthouse

We visited Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco this past weekend. Chef Jan Birnbaum ( also of Sazerac here in Seattle ) teamed up with Pat Kuleto to open this fantastic restaurant, located on the water on the Embarcadero, right near the Bay Bridge. 

Check out the beautiful Bosco they have: 

Arts Corps' La Fest del Arte: last night at the Triple Door

Caffe Vita was excited to sponsor Arts Corps' La Festa del Arte, a benefit last night at the Triple Door. Arts Corps raised over $140,000, which will help continue their amazing work fostering creative habits in young people of Seattle. The hard-working Lisa Fitzhugh, who founded Arts Corps over six years, has stepped down as executive director, so the night was tribute to her as well.

The kids who performed were absolutely amazing! Unbelievable breakdancing and drumming, intense poetry, incredible singing, and a moving video dedicated to Lisa. Stone Gossard and the Hank Williams Choir closed out the night with an unreal show, including performances by Paul Rucker and Vince Mira (who has the most uncanny Johnny Cash voice).

Gorgeous

George Giannakos took this beautiful photo.

cleanhotdry

Vita rocked the Portland Indie Wine Fest this past weekend. Mason and Michael spoke at a very engaging symposium on Saturday about coffee and terroir (terroir is the environment, soil, climate, and other factors in which products like coffee and wine is produced). What ensued was a fascinating discussion that hit sociological, environmental, and scientific angles, and included a comparison tasting of Vita's Farm Direct Ethiopian Koke and a Panama that was cupped last week. Aubry from Cacao and Joe Whinney from Theo Chocolate (two of our customers) also participated. We'd have to say, though, that the Vita coffee and Mason's in-depth talk stole the show. The rest of the weekend was fun, too: we had a coffee cart--complete with the three-group Bosco--set up at the actual wine-and-food-tasting festival..

Vita employee ONE POT dinner

Last night we had our ONE POT dinner so everyone could hear about the new Farm Direct Coffee. Vita went to Ethiopia to find coffee, and found a great Yirgacheffe. Several amazing chefs from Hidmo cooked traditional lamb, spinach, potatoes and carrots, salad, and of course injera. It was an unbelievable meal, complete with a coffee ceremony and incense.

Hand Built Espresso

With all the coffee world chatter about $20,000 halogen siphon machines and the breaking news of Starbucks buying the exclusive rights to the technology-driven Clover brewing device. We thought it was a good time to let people know about a trip Caffé Vita took last month to visit the BOSCO plant in Naples, Italy. Below is a choppy little video from our trip to the quaint and rustic little workshop.

BOSCO has been meticulously crafting artisanal espresso machines by hand for the past 50 years - the machines are arguably the most carefully built machines on the planet. The BOSCO requires the care of a trained barista - no push button operation, each shot must be hand pulled, but with dedication the slender and towering levers are mastered and the machine extracts an incomparable shot.

There are less than a dozen BOSCO machines currently in the U.S. - one famously resided in Francis Ford Coppola’s office at American Zeotrope and now has migrated to his Bay Area café by the same name.

Hand Built Espresso in Naples. from hebberoy on Vimeo.

New machine arrives from Naples.

Here are some pics of the new 5 group monster we just had imported from Naples. Mike and Tom just got back from visiting the workshop and hanging with the founder Atillio - his machines are like intricate clocks - hand-made - carefully tuned - every detail is attended to and the espresso it pulls is remarkable. and imagine the sheer joy of grabbing a hold of one of those towering handles...

We have been bench testing it for a few weeks and it is headed to the Fremont location in a couple days...

starbucks buys clover?

i just heard that the leaning-giant snagged the indie-darling: clover.

(clover is a super fancy - super expensive - and pretty remarkable piece of brewing equipment - for more info go to clover)

is this true? does anyone have any info?

just back from ethiopia - a few pics.

a quick peek at the hundreds of photos we captured while in ethiopia during our recent sourcing trip - it was an intense amazing trip - much more to come - videos, essays, and of course coffee. the beans we found in sidamo and yirgacheffe will be available this week, here is the link: farm direct coffee

these photos were taken by brian wells the talented proprietor of the tougo coffeehouse in seattle (one of our most dedicated customers) who vita brought along to experience coffee at the source.

a quick video from ethiopia

vita founder mike mcconnell caught this footage while exploring the back streets of yirgacheffe.

kids dancing and singing in ethiopia from hebberoy on Vimeo.

coffee fest d.c.

vita hit coffee fest d.c. hard and fast - four days - much coffee - much indulgence...

brazil video number one

the first in a series of four videos taken while in brazil - sourcing coffee and cooking, eating, and talking at length with dozens of coffee farmers. for the long(ish) brazil essay and photos click here. in this video watch as the award winning coffee of carmo de minas is picked and sorted prior to processing. and as preparations for the feijoada one pot feast begin.

caffe vita + one pot on location: brazil I from hebberoy on Vimeo.

brazil video number two

watch as beans are delivered from the surrounding hills, processed through the washing station and dried on the expansive drying porches. the darker beans are what the brazilians call "naturals" and the golden beans are referred to as "washed" - see coffee glossary for more info.

caffe vita + one pot on location: brazil II from hebberoy on Vimeo.

brazil video number three

this video shows the different cuts of meat and sausage used in the traditional brazilian dish feijoada - a one pot preparation that is now considered the national dish of brazil but was first prepared on the coffee plantations of brazil - a humble dish prepared by the slaves with whatever scraps of meat that could be found. click here for a recipe.

caffe vita + one pot on location: brazil III from hebberoy on Vimeo.

brazil video number four

the feijoada feast. as soon as we hit the table the conversation began - we learned much about the farmers, their lives, and the hopeful/tragic drama that underlines coffee in brazil. click here to read the essay brazil: dark shadows in paradise.

caffe vita + one pot on location: brazil IIII from hebberoy on Vimeo.

guatemala video - source trip

our time in guatemala was intense, disorienting, and beautiful - a bit like the place itself. here is a video montage of our time in this coffee-rich war-torn land. for further reading and evocative images - guatemala: ak-47s and bitter water.

caffe vita + one pot on location: guatemala from hebberoy on Vimeo.

the presidents + vita

as many of you know the presidents of the united states just release their new album - here are some pics from our coffee fest party at the end of '07 - the presidents rocked the house - alongside mass sugar, shawn smith, and sunday night blackout.

we raised thousands for the Vera Project, The Service Board, and several other local organizations.

Vera Project Fundraiser

ONE POT and Vita collaborated with Sole Repair on December 12th to raise a bunch of cash for The Vera Project. The evening featured a bunch of glorious food by ONE POT (ropa vieja, dirty rice, avocado salad), a sparkling brand new event space (Sole Repair), and coffee we just brought back from a remarkable farm in Guatemala Finca Nuevo Vinas and performances by Dead Science Mass Sugar and Husbands Love Your Wives. Pics by Micah