A Morning at Intelligentsia Coffee Part 2
In today's episode, Mark Frauenfelder brings his own espresso machine to US Barista Champion, Kyle Glanville, to learn how to make the perfect espresso. Kyle also gives a hands-on demonstration of the "ultimate nerd's way to make coffee."
This weekend, Kyle will be competing against the best baristas from around the globe in the 2008 World Barista Championship. The final round and awards ceremony are on Sunday, June 22nd, and streaming video of the competition can be seen now and through the weekend at worldbaristachampionship.com.
Previous Boing Boing tv episodes featuring Kyle Glanville and Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea:
*A Morning at Intelligentsia Part 1
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Nicely done. I have the same machine as Mark, and these tips were useful. I've been an Intelligentsia loyalist for a year or so and have found no comparable readily available North American coffee. It's really impressive, you order today, they roast it tomorrow and ship it the same day. When I order, they still ship out of Chicago even though I'm in LA. I wonder if the LA roastery will be handling west coast customers any time soon.
I'm so glad I saw this! When I was vacationing in Brazil, I saw the vacuum pot used in quite a few restaurants and immediately wanted one but couldn't figure out what they were called. Guess I'm going shopping today :)
I have to have one of those Vacuum Pots! Does anybody know where to pick one up in Ottawa???
I've had my eye on vacuum pots for months. It's about time I got one.
I love coffee SO MUCH. Intelligentsia looks like my kind of place. Too bad it's something like 300 miles away.
Although, for coffee brewed by the CHAMPION OF THE WHOLE WORLD, 300 miles is probably a short trek.
He's not the champion of the world, only the USA. Intelligentsia is outrageously expensive for a cup of joe.. like $3.50 for a tiny ass cup. It's good stuff, but come on, 3.50 for 8 ounces? I can buy a pound of good coffee for about 10 bucks.. why am I paying 50000% markup for some wannabe actor to run some hot water over it? If they used those vacuum pots I might be more interested in that price.
#5, their coffee beans aren't expensive at all for the quality. 9-13 per pound, generally. At the cafe, I don't remember a cappuccino being especially expensive, maybe a little more than Starbucks. If their brewed coffee is expensive, it's likely because of their Clover machine, which is a good deal more sophisticated than just pouring hot water on coffee. They were one of the first to make the big investment in Clovers, but with Starbucks purchasing the manufacturer, I don't know how long it will stick around. In time, as the novelty fades, I'd guess they'll be charging less.
I have this machine http://img.hgtv.com/HGTV/2006/11/06/GiftGuide06_EspressoGiftSet_w609.jpg
Was wandering what can I do to improve the quality of my coffee.
@ commenter 5.
If you think Kyle's some wannabe actor, you've got that so wrong. He lives coffee. And I can say with confidence that pretty much all the top baristas in the PNW on down to California, in NYC, in Chicago and elsewhere (and there's hundreds of them) are in it for the coffee, and nothing else.
To put Kyle in the class of what we commonly refer to as PBTCs (persons behind the counter) is a sign of ignorance of what's really going on in the current culinary coffee revolution. There's thousands and thousands of PBTCs... but there's hundreds up on hundreds of true Baristas in the US pushing the limits on their craft and delivering a culinary coffee experience. You can stick with your $3.50 cup-o-crap you're probably used to, or actually step up and taste something singular - visit Intelly, or for that matter, use the Internet to find the top notch cafe in your area and find out what the difference really is.
#3: Check the bodum website for locations on buying a vacuum pot.
#4: While you might not have an Intelligentsia in your backyard, there's got to be something closer then 300 miles away. You can check my blog or numerous other resources for local coffeehouses.
#8: Amen.
Thanks a ton for this Mark. I have the same machine and I've made "really good" espresso for the past six months, but the last week since I watched this, the temperature has been perfect and I've been getting grade 'A' shots.