I know it’s a bit last minute, however I will be making an appearance at De La Paz account, The Stable Cafe Saturday, September 12th from 9:00am- 2:00pm for a guest barista shift. The occasion which has beckoned me in- The Stable will be one of many venues for this years American Institute of Achritechture’s San Francisco home tour. I’m absolutely thrilled to work with the staff at The Stable, as they do so many things right- not a detail is ever over looked. Plus it’s always nice to get behind the bar and make drinks for a change. Dwell magazine has also written up a fine little article explaining a bit of the history and background regarding the building as well as it’s current operation which can be found here. Be sure to stop in and say hi!

Shark

No matter how busy our small three person operation may get, we always find time to constantly cup and stay on top of our roasts. Yesterday we received a shipment of a few more bags of the Brazil Fazenda Esperanca, though two different lots from the last round. We’ll roast the new batch Monday and cup on Tuesday.

Earlier this week we received a few new Brazils and of those we have roasted the Fazenda Esperanca Lot #475, which has been both brewing and cupping rather well. We are still working on our suggested brewing specs, though right now I’m still thinking the amount of solids being withheld in a paper Chemex filter yields a clarity in the cup that a press pot seems to mask. So far in this cup we have been finding: A sweet tobacco, Flowers, and Cinnamon bun fragrance and aroma, heavy, silky body which coats the tongue evenly. Subtle, yet noticeably present acidity which leads to notes ranging from dried fruit (apricot) to butter popcorn to chocolate. This cup also tends to have a short almost muted finish that begins with sweet cocoa and approaches savory hints towards the end.

As of right now, this coffee can only be purchased here, and here tomorrow. We’ll keep you posted as our cafes begin to offer the Esperanca.

Tomorrow’s market menu:

The last delivery of the week. Be sure to say hi if you see one of us pedaling around town on our cargo bike.

For tomorrow’s market I will be brewing from the first batch of our new unwashed Sidamo. As per usual, this Sidamo has a crisp, bright upfront acidity and full of berries. Though it is naturally processed, the final cup is rather clean and lacks the muffled earthiness which tends to follow these coffees.

A big thank you is in line for those who bought up all of the Panama Carmen Estate I had with me last week. Sure, it was a bit more expensive, but if the smiles from the folks who came early enough to purchace a cup or bag are any indicator, I’d say it was more than well worth it. Unfortunately, we have temporarily ran out; however I hope to bring it back next week. Also, through Mojo, we are selling these conical bur grinders which are perfect for home use and highly recommended.

09.02.09
10:00am- 2:00pm
Divisadero & Grove

Today was certainly one of the busiest I’ve seen at the warehouse thus far. Jason spent most of the day in front of the roaster, Greg was on the road and in the east bay, while I had a couple of training sessions with some folks at Pirate Cat cafe and Matthew from Mojo. I must also add he did great and I’m eager to stop in for a cappuccino next time I’m in the Western Edition. We also had a giant wholesale order to prepare, which needless to say, sadly put a damper on this morning’s cupping. Friday we will be back on schedule and cupping some new arrivals, though I’m not too sure which ones. The Panama Carmen Estate should be in the mix as well as a brand new washed Sidamo. Regardless, we are all very excited about the new crops.

Greg is all loaded up and off to make a Haus run.

I began making a Friday afternoon mix for the warehouse, loosely based around lo-fi pop songs, but it went a bit rouge.

We should have an idea by tomorrow of what I will be brewing for this Sunday’s market so be sure to check back for a heads up. If you’d like to join us for the cupping on Friday at 9:30, send an email and let us know you will be here. Also, if you’d like to just check out the warehouse and/or stop in for a cup of coffee, someone is normally here from 9:30- 4:00.

Shark

For tomorrow’s market I will be pressing the majority of the coffee as usual; however I’m bringing a very limited bag of our newest coffee which is from Carlos Aguilera’s Carmen Estate (Panama). Frankly, I haven’t been too excited about centrals in quite a while now, but this brilliant coffee has certainly won me over. I will have 2 pounds tomorrow which will get the Chemex treatment and out of that I will sell 8oz bags on request while it lasts. See you tomorrow!

With every Sunday that we make it out to the Divisadero Farmers Market to set up our stand, more and more people seem to be coming back regularly for their weekly bag of coffee- or morning cup. This is great because it gives us a platform to meet the people who drink our coffee and geek out about everything coffee related. Also, the past two markets I’ve found myself worry about running out of retail bags and bulk for brewing.

Each week I’ve been trying out new things and attempting to offer as much as I can within the limits of serving coffee out of a garage. This week’s new addition was cold brewed iced coffee, which turned out to be a great seller. That will most likely become somewhat of a permanent offering. We’re very pleased with the way things have been going so far. If you have any suggestions or would like to request we make an addition of something we are not currently offering feel free to send us an email. Check back later in the week for a head’s up on what we’ll be brewing on Sunday.

Divisadero Farmers Market
Grove St. at Divisadero
Every Sunday
10:00am-2:00pm

We have a bunch of new and exciting coffees for the summer. All our Centrals are finally rolling in and we cant wait to finally get them in and start roasting. A few of our current favorites are Costa Rica Las Lajas (honey processed and thick), El Salvador San Emilio (100% Bourbon Pulped Natural), Guatemala El Injerto (this farm just keeps winning coe after coe), and our Kenya AA Gatina (92 point coffee that is perfect in every way).

In the next few weeks expect to see new coffee from Costa Rica , Panama, Nicaragua, Kenya, and a bunch of new Brazil micro lots.

Cupping at the warehouse is going great and getting more popular every week.

Send us an email to reserve a spot. They are still on MWF at 9:30am. If that time doesn’t work, maybe we can schedule something special.

There has been a lot of big changes this month. Jeff went back to Clifbar in Berkeley. He is now Clifbar Jeff once again. We hired Sharky as the main warehouse person and in charge of all things coffee. He knows more about coffee than I expected. I guess that Intelli training paid off. He has already read the roaster manual cover to cover and is ready to learn. We also had to hire someone just to run deliveries all day. Greg is the new bike delivery guy. You will see him pedaling all over town.

On the cafe side.. Haus is open and doing well. They are on 24th & Folsom St. They do an excellent job at rotating our coffees on their french press. We now have an account in Texas. Sharky is heading out in a few weeks for a training and grand opening.

We are now cupping every MWF at 9:30am. Send an email if you are interested in joining.

Espresso has being ever changing and improving. We are playing around with different single origins. We have two new additions this month.
Brazil Fazenda Pedra Grande de Monte Santo de Minas 100% bourbon– Remarkably full-bodied, unbelievably sweet, rich and chocolaty. Full natural, dried on raised African beds.
El Salvador San Emilio 100% Bourbon Pulped Natural– Super sweet and full bodied. This coffee has an incredibly smooth finish.

We currently have two new job openings. Take a look and email us your resume if interested.
Warehouse Person
35-40 hrs per week
General Summary:
We are looking for a motivated person to join us. We want someone who is interested in learning about the specialty coffee industry from a roaster’s perspective.
Essential Job Functions:
Responsible for packaging coffee. Deliver coffee throughout the Bay Area in a timely manner. Desire to learn the roasting trade and become an assistant roaster.
Physical Requirements:
Stand for extended periods of time. Lift 75lbs or more. Deliver 100 lbs or more on cargo bike (provided). Participate in coffee cuppings daily.
Compensation:
Depending on experience

Farmer’s Markets Sales Person
20-30 hrs per week
Car and driver’s license needed
General Summary:
We are looking for someone who is punctual, trustworthy and enthusiastic. Someone who enjoys interacting with people and who is passionate about coffee.
Essential Job Functions:
Responsible for set up, working and clean up of farmer’s markets. Ability to handle money transactions and sales.

Physical Requirements:
Stand for extended periods of time. Lift 50 lbs or more. Multitasking.
Compensation:
Depending on experience

Everyone is always amazed that we manage to deliver all our coffee in San Francisco by bicycle. Depending on the weather, it can really be a lot of fun for the person running all the coffee. Jeff is back from his art adventure, and with that comes new buckets mounted on his Feeney rack to deliver more coffee.

This past Sunday was our first farmers market in San Francisco. We are teaming up with Mojo Bike Cafe (one of our accounts) to serve fresh drip coffee at the Divisadero Farmers Market. It was really inspiring to see the local community so excited about our drip coffee and fresh beans. Hope to have some photos of our setup soon.

I have been lagging about adding all the new cafes in the area that now serve our esspresso and coffee. I’m not sure if it’s lagging or actually too busy to mess with the website. To give a quick rundown, you can now find our coffee at:
The Stabe Cafe
Trouble Coffee
Mojo Bike Cafe
Pirate Cat Cafe
Mercury Cafe (new and doing great..they are located in Hayes Valley on Octavia and Page)
AHA Cafe

There are also a few on the horizon that will be great. Fairfax will be getting a regular dose of De La Paz Coffee very soon.

Lots of new coffees coming in right now. Brazil is having a great year. We have been roasting our Moreninha Formosa and Poco Fundo to perfection for the past few months. For the first time we brought in a really nice FTO Bolivia CIAPEC. This was quick to become a favorite for many of our accounts. Super spicy.

Colombia Micro Lots— Our first micro lot is from San Jose de Isnos. San Jose de Isnos is a municipality located on the eastern slope of the Central Cordillera in south Huila. The terrain and landscape in this region are optimal for coffee: high altitude, volcanic soils, abundant water resources and good climate.
Coffee is grown between 1700 and 2000 meters, very high considering the proximity to the Equator.

I have also been working on a story about coffee bean density. Remember, it’s all about the Altitude. For now I will leave everyone with my morning “Cortado” from Mark at The Stable. Beautiful.

These two coffees received the highest scores of the month at the De La Paz cupping table. We had been waiting and waiting for the new crop of Brazil to arrive and as they say… “The best things come to those who wait.” Out of over 70 different coffees at the Brazil FT Cupping Competition held in October ‘08, this years Brazil Poco Fundo received the highest rating.

Another new coffee we really like is our Colombia Huila Valencia. This wet processed, 100% sun dried coffee comes from the South Huila region of Colombia. The Valencia family grows some of the best coffee in the region and this years crop is top notch. Classic Colombia acidity with hints of fruit, vanilla, and cinnamon.

This winter has been good. Lots of exciting stuff going on at the moment. We just got back from CX Nationals in Kansas City and that was a lot of fun. Super cold means lots of hot coffee to sell. It was great to hear so many people say that they remembered us from Providence with just our little wooden drip stand. I still can not believe we did that.
In San Francisco we seem to be focusing on our cafe business at the moment. Last month we picked up two new cafes in SF and it has been a lot of work dialing in their espresso and training staff. You can now find our espresso in Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero St. and in Trouble Coffee on Judah. The Stable is also doing very well.

On the coffee side of things, we are now out of our Brazil Rodomunho. It was a great coffee. Hopefully their new crop is just as good or better. We also just received a new crop of Brazil Poco Fundo. This years crop is very nice. Right now it is one of our best coffees.