Jacob Grier

With my imminent departure from DC comes a couple of job openings. First, from Cato, a newly defined position:

The Cato Institute seeks a Manager of New Media to promote Cato research products and scholars via social networking sites, blogs, and other Internet-based outlets. The position will also be responsible for increasing The Cato Institute’s presence on YouTube and other video/audio sharing websites, in coordination with the Multimedia Producer, and will maintain outreach lists of top blogs and Internet-based news outlets and assist with the development of web-based research and briefing products. The Manager of New Media will be expected to organize briefings and other events specifically targeted to web-based media as appropriate. The position requires 2 – 5 years work experience at a nonprofit, government or association marketing or public relations office, a comprehensive understanding of how the U.S news media operates, and a proven ability to promote policy issues and experts to blog and other online media outlets.

That would actually be a more interesting job for me than what I’ve been doing, though not so interesting that I’d stay in DC for it. The new vice president of communications has been a pleasure to work with and it’s a great time to join the press department here. If this kind of job appeals to you or someone you know, apply soon.

Grape and Bean is also looking for a coffee lover to take my place working the Clover on Saturday mornings. It’s a fun shop with very nice owners and great perks for people into coffee, wine, beer, chocolate, and other goodies. Contact information is on the site, or feel free to get in touch with me directly.

I stopped by Boccato, the new gelato shop in Clarendon, last night for some refreshing dessert. The really exciting thing was lurking in the corner though: a not yet hooked up two group Synesso espresso machine, two espresso grinders, and a pour-over coffee bar. At the Yelp page the owner says, “Get ready for our coffee and loose leaf tea service coming July..!!! Mindblowing!!!” Sounds like there could finally be a great new coffee shop in the neighborhood, just in time for me to move a couple thousand miles away.

Check it out at 2719 Wison Blvd. Arlington, VA 22201, just across the street from the Whole Foods.

Oliver Schwaner-Albright of The New York Times asks if milk is coffee pollutant number 1:

Is pouring any kind of cream in your coffee a categorical mistake?

Coffee purists would never, ever add dairy to their coffee, and they would sooner drink General Foods International’s instant Hazelnut Belgian Café than add soy milk. After all, we’re now in the age of microlot coffee, when beans are harvested and handled with the same care that goes into making wine, and the flavors of an exceptional cup of coffee can be as layered and complex as a glass of pinot noir. Cream would just ruin it.

If it sounds snobby, consider this: would you dab a Peter Luger porterhouse with ketchup? A slab of well-aged beef needs nothing more than salt, pepper and a good char. There’s nothing arrogant about leaving the Heinz out of it.

I’ve always been a half-and-half partisan. (I grew up on the West Coast where cream is the standard; I still don’t understood why New York is such a milk town.) But in the last few years I’ve tasted some outstanding coffees from roasters like Blue Bottle, Gimme, Intelligentsia , Stumptown and Terroir, and I’ve been converted to the cult of black coffee. With exceptions made for cappuccinos, dairy is no longer an option.

I give in sometimes, mainly when I’m desperate for caffeine on an airplane with inevitable weakened brews. And I’ll occasionally go for Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Otherwise, molesting the bean with cream and sugar is completely off the table.

This photo almost makes me want to vote for John McCain. Almost.

Forget Slutbucks. Cowgirls Espresso, the Washington chain of coffee shacks that features attractive young female baristas in skimpy clothing (previously mentioned here), is *ahem* under scrutiny of the Bonney Lake City Council:

The City Council has set aside 30 minutes at a workshop tonight to discuss concerns that the employees at the coffee stands “offend the public decency.”

At the council’s May 13 meeting, 18 citizens complained about the display of skin at the two coffee stands.

“This Saturday I was pumping gas across the street when my children looked over and said, ‘Mom, I see a naked girl,’” said Tawnya McLavey. “Here we have it right in our city and our community people barely wearing clothes that are serving coffee. I was so disturbed by that.”

Councilman Mark Hamilton said the council has asked the city attorney to review the law to see if anything can be done, but he’s not sure whether the city can regulate coffee stands. That’s what the council will be discussing tonight.

“It seems to be the crux of the problem, that these ladies can be viewed from a public street,” Hamilton said. “We know we can’t regulate the establishment or what the girls are wearing, but we’re hoping something can be done about them being visible from the drive thru. We know it’s a stretch.”

I don’t have a strong opinion on this, but with me likely going back on the job market soon I hate to see any work possibilities closed off…

Today Counter Culture Coffee unveiled it’s new Direct Trade program, which they say is the first third-party certified direct trade seal. Counter Culture will partner with Quality Certification Services to guarantee that the company’s selected coffees meet the following standards:

1. Personal & Direct Communiction:
Counter Culture has visited grower partners on a biennial basis, at minimum.

2. Fair & Sustainable Prices:
Counter Culture has paid at least $1.60/lb. for green coffee. This exceeds the Fair Trade Certified floor price by at least 19%, not including quality-based financial incentives paid to growers.

3. Exceptional Quality:
Coffees have scored at least 85 on a 100-pt. cup quality scale.

4. 100% Transparency:
We take a transparent approach to everything we do and are committed to sharing our financial information with everyone from growers to consumers. Counter Culture maintains direct communication between buyers, sellers, and any intermediaries. All relevant financial information is available to all parties, always.

As Fair Trade certification, while well-intentioned, is limited by lack of incentives for quality and its requirement that participating farmers work in co-ops. CCC’s Direct Trade is more flexible, rewards quality, builds long-term relationships, and pays higher prices. CCC and other top roasters have been working along these lines for a while, but without outside certification. Hopefully this step will help promote the direct trade model to consumers and other roasters.

Great news for DC coffee lovers: the former Eastern Market location of Murky Coffee is going to be filled by Ryan Jensen, former Murky manager and the current DC representative for Counter Culture. Ryan and his wife Jill plan to open Peregrine Espresso there this summer. They’re a wonderfully nice couple with a deep love for coffee, so this is sure to be an excellent addition to the neighborhood.

In other DC coffee news, Baked and Wired has shut down the Buzz Zap Graphics portion of its business to make room for more cafe seating. Also, Grape and Bean, my current shop, got a nice write-up at the Washingtonian blog.

[Story via Metrocurean.]

About halfway through my commute this morning I realized that I’d left my fresh bag of Counter Culture’s Kuta coffee sitting in my kitchen. I was tempted to turn back, but not wanting to be too late for work and knowing that Starbucks’ new Pike Place Blend is at least drinkable, I decided to be a good employee and pick up coffee at the Evil Empire instead.

Normally when I go to a Starbucks I’ll only get brewed coffee, since the bags of beans aren’t marked with a roast date and there’s no telling how old they are. But waiting in line today I saw that they had half-pound bags of Pike Place for sale, and with a roast date hand-written right on the package. “Freshly roasted on: 5-12-08,” it said.

“Wow, that’s fresh,” I thought. “Way to go, Starbucks.” But wait a second. Isn’t today the 12th? I’m no roasting expert, but I really doubt these beans were roasted in the middle of the night, cooled, packaged without resting, delivered to a store in DC, and placed out for sale by 9:30 am.

So what’s going on here? Isolated mistake or pervasive skullduggery? Anyone else notice impossible roasting dates on Starbucks coffee?

[Thanks to Caleb for photographing with his pricey Apple impulse purchase.]

Update 5/13/08: Former barista Baylen says in the comments: “The date on the bag is the date they scoop the beans in the store, not the roast date. Not sure why it says roast, but it’s disingenuous.”

Second update: Mystery definitively solved. Thanks, StarbucksGossip. The label applied to my bag was made for the 5 lbs. bags. The smaller bags are supposed to have “scooped on” labels instead. I’m glad to know this was an innocent mistake, but as Jim points out, who the hell cares when a coffee was scooped? If they have the roast date available, they should just put that on the label.

L20 is an inventive, soon-to-open restaurant in Chicago, and the chef has been documenting the opening process on a weblog. It’s fascinating stuff, with photos that are sure to make you hungry. In the newest post, the staff shows that they’re paying attention to the coffee, too:

Our coffee undertaking began over six months ago. Our desire was to achieve the highest level of quality and consistency that we could, in order to provide the best cup of coffee to our guests. We started first with the beans.

After several cuppings of coffees from various roasters across the country, representing beans from across the globe, we finally made a decision—Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. Their coffees were consistently better than all of the rest. It was very clear that their commitment to coffee mirrored our commitment to our guests’ experience.The passion and service displayed by their team assured us that we had made the right decision.

We will focus on direct trade coffees and source micro-lots whenever they are available to us. We will change the selections as new crops become available on the market.

I’ve written before about “restaurant coffee” and how chefs that pay attention to every little detail settle for really poor coffee, so it’s great to see another high-end place taking coffee seriously. They also adapted the coffee cupping process for vanilla beans, which sounds like an interesting experiment.

[Thanks to David for the link.]

It’s true! The dearth of good coffee shops downtown is one reason my desk is cluttered with a grinder, gram scale, kettle, three brewers, and lots of coffee beans. But finally, Counter Culture Coffee has latched its tentacles into the city center.

Bolla Coffee and Tea, now under new ownership, is a small commuter shop offering sandwiches, tea, and coffee. They’re still working on the espresso program, but on the right track with a La Marzocco and serving only traditionally sized cappuccinos. The brewed coffee is all Counter Culture, which is a very welcome addition to the area. Check them out on G St. NW, between 14th and 15th.

[Via Ryan on CoffeeGeek.]

Came across this today:

Thoughts:

1) The “mountain grown” arm pyramid is fantastic. This should become standard practice in all the best coffee shops.

2) Husbands were expected to be complete dicks in the early 1960s.

3) I feel much better off with smart women and single origin coffees than with housewives and Folgers.

Previously: Me in the future

I’m interviewed today in the Lincoln Journal Star about tipping norms in coffee shops.

Previously:
The point of tipping
Tipping revisited

Starbucks’ headline-making brand recreation is a bit tarnished today by an adverse court ruling. As decided in California, the company owes baristas about a hundred million dollars in tips that were distributed to shift supervisors and managers. The coverage makes it look like corporate was stealing from their workers. The L. A. Times, for example, leads by saying that “Starbucks got caught with its hand in the tip jar.”

The practice might have been illegal under California law, but it wasn’t stealing. If baristas (oops, I mean “partners”) didn’t like the practice they were free to work elsewhere or renegotiate terms. It’s also a sensible way to do business: if supervisors spend most of their time doing the work of baristas and cashiers, there’s no reason for them not to get tipped out with the other workers. Restaurants with on-the-floor managers who serve tables do exactly the same thing.

Assuming Starbucks’ compensation model is effective, this ruling won’t change much. It’s a one-time bonus for baristas who get to take advantage of a stupid law and a one-time hit for the corporation that’s getting nailed by it. It could lead to raises for supervisors to compensate for lost tips and will likely slow down pay increases for non-management positions. It doesn’t do much of anything to change incentives, except perhaps to make managers less invested in running fast, friendly stores. This isn’t a victory for workers’ rights; it’s a forced replacement of a business model that was working well to another, possibly less efficient one demanded by court decree.

How fast and how far will Starbucks rollout its newly acquired Clovers? Answer: real fast and real far. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

Many stores will be getting a Clover, but probably not those with low foot traffic or short hours, Gass said. Very busy stores may get two. About 30 percent of U.S. stores will get Clovers by year-end, Schultz said.

In another article — does any other newspaper devote so much space to coffee coverage? — a discouraging sign about the future of Clover sales to indie shops:

[Clover founder Zander Nosler says,] “When I first wrote a business plan, it did have the idea of Starbucks in it. And I was told early on, ‘You’d better not write a business plan that has one customer, because you won’t raise much money with that.’ So we made a plan that involved going out to the world, to everybody.”

That’s precisely what Schultz didn’t want — so he bought the company.

I can’t fault the guys for selling. They got a dream offer, and they certainly deserve it for all their hard work, vision, and ingenuity. But still, looking at all the potential the Clover holds for changing the way people think about coffee, it would be a shame to see Starbucks get it exclusively. Unfortunately, I suspect Starbucks Corp. sees more advantage in keeping Clover brewers to itself and to the few early adopters that already have them. Let’s hope I’m wrong…

Whoa! Starbucks Corp. just bought Clover. Not only the machines, but the entire damn company! They’re going to be the exclusive provider of Clover brewers from now on.

Not many details available yet. I’m sure this is great news for the guys at Clover, who probably just made a fortune. The interesting question is how open Starbucks will be to continuing sales to indie shops. I suspect Starbucks plans on finding ways to make production faster and easier, which could bring prices down. That would be good news. But if they’re not keen on outside sales, well, that would really suck.

[Via Pasteboard.]

Update 3/19/08: The Clover Equipment homepage says, among other things, “We will continue to proudly support all of the deployed Clovers with parts and service.” Doesn’t say anything about sales to future customers. I hope that doesn’t mean there won’t be any, though that’d make a nice DC area monopoly for Grape and Bean.

Related:
A libertarian goes to Starbucks

Sometime last year David Schomer, famous barista trainer, wrote an article in Barista Magazine predicting that automated machines will eventually be able to perfectly extract espresso more consistently than trained humans, leaving latte art the last province of artisinal baristi. Could machines someday surpass us in that, too?

Oleksiy Pikalo has engineered a printer with edible ink to put intricate designs onto the top of his latte. Check it out here, with video of it printing the Starbucks logo, tongue firmly in cheek.

It’s slow, and it’s no comparison to a free pour rosetta, but it sure is neat!

[Via Pasteboard.]

Previously:
Absurd latte art

Slate takes a look at the Clover today:

The immediate consequence of the Clover and its precision isn’t necessarily better coffee, but more attention to coffee. By creating this rigorous laboratorylike brewing environment, it encourages cafes to explore the nuances of different beans, where and how they’re grown and dried and sorted and roasted. And the attention to nuance gets passed along to the customers: Grumpy’s clientele can choose from a coffee menu listing several brews, including the Cruz del Sur, “punchy and bright with pear and green apple,” and the San José El Yahí, “complex and crisp with butterscotch, grape, chocolate and plum.”

[…]

Is owning a Clover worth $11,000? Not for the individual—don’t be silly. But even a smattering of Clovers in the right hands promises to broaden the way we think about coffee. The very fact that an $11,000 coffee machine is receiving such excited media attention seems like a clear sign that we’re headed toward a “third wave” of coffee, an age of terroir, aided by technology that can give different beans the different careful treatments they deserve. In the foretold era, popular dark roasts, which obscure those subtleties, are scorned, and enlightened customers gladly pay exorbitantly for rare brews.

If you’re in DC, we’ve got the only local Clover at Grape and Bean in Alexandria. If you’re anywhere else, find the nearest one on the Clover Google map.

[Thanks to D. White for the link.]