PeterG Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 73 Location: Durham, North Carolina Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Faema E61 Grinder: Various Drip: Fetco Extractor Roaster: San Franciscan 1lb.
Posted Sat Jan 3, 2004, 10:35am Subject: Re: F9 on the way... Good beans around Raleigh, NC?
Hey guys!
It's Peter from Counter Culture. It is so hard to read that you people who are passionate about espresso have a difficult time finding great espresso shots/beans here! Especially while we at CCC lament that we have trouble finding an audience!
I got turned on to this thread when Dan dropped me an email. That made me think....what if we did an espresso blending event not unlike the one Intelligentsia did in Chicago? We would happily turn our cupping room (equipped with a LM Linea, Mazzer Robur, etc.) into a workshop for all who are interested to put our heads together for an espresso blending day. We would be thrilled to add the blend to our lineup and encourage our customers to sell it whole bean, or use it in their shops. We currently have a number of blends, my favorite of which is called Espresso Aficionado- it is my baby, a northern-Italian style blend, but I would be happy to make the blend we create the recipe for Espresso Aficionado- what better name for an espresso created by Aficionados?
Our other main espressos are: Espresso Forte, a dark espresso, in the Seattle/Naples style, and Espresso Toscano, inspired by the "Caffe Dolce" I had while in Siena. Also, a couple of our most passionate customers have gotten involved and created a custom espresso blend for their own shop. Muddy Waters, in Elizabeth City, NC (!) and Global Village, on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh fall into this category. Global Village's espresso blend is 100% Certified Organic as well.
I myself am a fan of Black Cat, I know and respect the Intelligentsia guys much and love their coffee. Wouldn't it be cool to have an espresso that reflected the preferences of the N.C. coffee community?
Thanks, David, for the kind words. Indeed, we have open cuppings every single Friday at 10:00 am at our plant at 4911 South Alston Avenue in Durham (very convenient to the RTP folks...) and we would love to see you there. There is a LM Linea always set up and ready to pull ristrettos....the phone number is 919.361.5282 if you need directions.
So what about the espresso blending event? We're ready to do it. I will be traveling for the next couple of weeks, and when I get back it is time for the first-ever Southeast Regional Barista Championship at Southern Season (Jan 24 and 25).
By the way, one of the major reasons we wanted to host the Barista Championship is that it is part of our strategy to develop more highly-skilled baristas in this area. The first step is to celebrate those who do a fantastic job, and make the transition from PBTC to Barista. We also teach day-long barista training classes every single month, and it is free to any barista who wants to attend, whether they are our customer or not. We do the same with coffee brewing classes. That is in addition to the other trainings we do. Please, you guys, continue to let the coffee vendors in the area know that you expect great coffee and can tell the difference. Feel free to let them know about our trainings. We will continue to pressure them to get better from our side, too.
ih8gates Senior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Raleigh, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Francis Francis! X3 Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Drip: Cuisinart + Eva Solo
Posted Wed Jan 7, 2004, 7:47pm Subject: Re: F9 on the way... Good beans around Raleigh, NC?
hmmm. Dan just drew this post to my attention. I'm a newbie, but really interested in getting local beans and trading info. Can't make it this week, but wanted to express thanks to Peter for clueing us in to the weekly cuppings.
Mark_C Senior Member Joined: 4 Jan 2004 Posts: 28 Location: Singapore Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Marzocco GS3 Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly
Posted Tue Apr 6, 2004, 9:10pm Subject: Moving to the Triangle...
Hey Trianglites (Trianglers?!),
I'll be moving to the Triangle in May and am looking forward to getting to know the coffee scene (such as it is) and CG crowd there. I've been an espresso-lover for about 10 years, though like lots of folks it was the Starbucks pseudo-espresso/latte that got me started (something to be said for Starbucks expanding the coffee-lover pool). I more recently improved my espresso skills with a Silvia/Rocky combo about 4 years ago, then the ubiquitous Tea/Mini combo in January. I'm happy with the results of the last upgrade, though my Tea seems to run hot (I posted a few months back on this, and even Jim Schulman is mystified). I'm nutty enough about all this that I may soon be PID'ing my Silvia, which I still have.
For what it's worth, I thought I'd add my two cents to the previous posts on decent coffee in the Triangle. I don't have much to add, but I did go to Helios a couple of times on a recent house-hunting visit and agree with those who spoke highly of the place, both for the place itself and the quality of the espresso. Since they use Counter Culture coffee, I'm really looking forward to visiting CC now.
Out of curiosity, I also visited a McCafe in RTP -- cappuccino was predictably awful (who told them to put cinnamon in it?!) -- bad espresso, unwanted cinnamon and milk was too hot and with little microfoaming. Decor was surprisingly nice for a McDonalds though.
Please keep the posts coming for any other decent places for coffee in the area, and I hope to see some of you maybe at a Counter Culture cupping!
(By the way, I'd also appreciate any input on "interesting/fun" areas for shopping, eating, hanging out...I'm familiar with Franklin St in Chapel Hill, South Glenwood area and 5 Points in Raleigh, and 9th St in Durham -- anywhere else?)
Posted Tue Apr 6, 2004, 10:10pm Subject: Re: Moving to the Triangle...
Welcome to the Triangle, Mark! Maybe it's coincidence, but I met a guy from CA who was househunting just a few weeks ago (our next door neighboor is moving back north). Drop me a line when you get closer to your move-in date; I'll be happy to introduce you to other local CGs, give you what-to-see-and-do suggestions, whatever. :-)
-- Dan
PS: You picked a good time of year to move, late April through early June is beautiful. Starts getting steamy around July. :-o
ih8gates Senior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Raleigh, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Francis Francis! X3 Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Drip: Cuisinart + Eva Solo
Posted Tue Apr 13, 2004, 5:46pm Subject: Re: F9 on the way... Good beans around Raleigh, NC?
For the past couple of months, I've been getting my Counter Culture beans within a day of roasting from a service called "Coffee A Go Go". CC directed me to them. They deliver CC beans (exclusively) in the triangle area (home or office). Price is about $11 a pound after taxes (delivery is included in the per-pound price) for the espresso beans I've been getting. I've been working my way through the espressos and have been really pleased, both with the beans and with the service.
Posted Tue Apr 13, 2004, 5:57pm Subject: Re: F9 on the way... Good beans around Raleigh, NC?
ih8gates Said:
I've been working my way through the espressos and have been really pleased, both with the beans and with the service.
I had heard about that service and have been meaning to give it a try (although their roasting facility is only 5 miles from my office, it's hard to ignore the convenience of at-home delivery). If you would sum up your impressions of the blends you've tried so far, I'd be interested. The selection on-shelf of CCC is pretty thin on espresso blends and their website isn't up yet; "Coffee A Go Go" might be the best option.
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