A number of local shops are serving Organic Barista Milk as part of their lineup. Have you tried it? What do you think? Some shops are charging a premium since it is a little bit more expensive.
Liberty Market has said it will begin serving Barista Milk in early September and eliminate whole milk. It looks like they’re having it sourced locally, according to Joe Johnston.
Sola Coffee Bar seems to swear by it. It is served as a choice there, with usually a markup (but it’s worth it).
Giant Coffee serves Barista Milk (they said they were the first in AZ to serve it, but as far as I know that’s incorrect).
Seth Mills, who is a coffee roaster at Cartel Coffee Lab says “We ran into some issues with Strauss barista milk. We initially loved it, but its difficult to steam and can taste chalky…”
One of the first sources of Organic Barista Milk was the Strauss Family Creamery.
So, have you tried it? What do you think? Which shops are serving it?
Lola Coffee
4700 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 265-5652
Apparently Conspire Coffee is moving across the street and being renamed Jōbot. The move is planned for mid-September. More over at the The Phoenix New Times.
Elevate Coffee in north Phoenix has just recently opened its doors. Patrick Lagreid wrote in to let me know about the new shop.
Patrick describes it like this:
It’s located opposite the Harkins Theaters on the north side of that building, 2530 West Happy Valley Road. They’re having a grand opening on Friday but are open all this week and have been doing soft opens last week.
Their website is: http://www.elevatecoffee.com
Seems like a nice place, gets their coffee from a place in Seattle, has free wi-fi, good seating options, etc. They’re still fine-tuning their coffee and baristas, but the cappucino I’m having right now isn’t half bad.
Update: It appears they have a video showcasing their shop, so here you go:
Elevate Coffee
2530 West Happy Valley Road
Phoenix, AZ 85085
Phone: (602) 341-5480
@ElevateCoffeeCo
Sean from Ground Control emailed me to let us know about their recent purchase:
Ground Control recently purchased the Guatemalan Coffee of the Year as judged by the Pacific Coast Coffee Association’s 10th Annual Pete McLaughlin Single Origin Cupping Competition. 50 Cuppers scored this coffee as the best from Guatemala for the year. It Q Scored at 89.75.
The coffee has a nutty caramel aroma. Hot it has tastes of dark cherries, as it cools a caramel nuttiness hits the mid palate and ends in rich cocoa powder. It’s a superbly balanced mouthful of sweetness, flavor and acidity, easily showcasing why this was the judged the coffee of the year. On tap as our single Origin Espresso.
3800 pounds of coffee purchased. For sale by the pound $15. It will go in our coffee of the day rotation and French press by request. It’s also our espresso.
Ground Control
14140 W. Indian School
Suite B1
Goodyear, AZ 85395
Phone: (623) 935-2604
There is an upcoming event that every serious barista should consider attending.
It is the 1st Annual Arizona Latte Art Competition.
When: September 4, 2010 from 9 am to 3 pm
Location: The JW Marriot (Desert Ridge) during the Phoenix Cooks event.
16 competitors ONLY!
Format:
- Free Form
- Baristas can bring their own pitchers
- 2 drinks 10oz cup (cups to be provided)
- Bracket Format
- Brackets will be chosen from a hat from a neutral party
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded!
- Competitors will be competing in front of hundreds of people
- Competitors to receive free DJ, food, drink and beer (id required)
To Compete: Send an email to AZlatteart@gmail.com
Entry Fee: $30 fee includes 2 tickets to Phoenix Cooks.
Barista Jam to follow at Press Coffee Roasters.
There will be a Barista Jam and Latte Art Competition at Echo Coffee on August 21st. The event is being co-sponsored by Echo Coffee and Cortez Coffee.
Sounds like a really nice competition, and Echo Coffee has a wonderful bar for observing.
Quick facts:
- $5 Entry Fee (the event is free to observe)
- 5 Minutes to make 2 drinks
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes
- When: August 21, 2010 from 7-10pm
- Latte Art Competition begins at 7:30 pm
I recommend calling Steve Belt at Echo Coffee to RSVP.
Echo Coffee
2902 N 68th St
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: (480) 215-9490
Twitter: @EchoCoffeeAZ and @CafeCortez
While visiting Cartel Coffee Lab’s downtown location this morning, Jason Silberschlag mentioned to me that the USBC has redrawn the regional map used for competitions.
Now, instead of the “southwest” being defined as Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico it expands to include Hawaii, California, Utah, and Colorado!
This is great news, but also means those who choose to compete will have intense competition! If you’re interested, the announcement PDF is available here.
Oh, and the 2010 World Barista Champion is Michael Phillips.
Victor posted a link to this Live Science article about the “mysterious” benefits of coffee, and I thought I’d post a summary.
- Lowered cancer risk
- Sharper memory
- 39% decreased risk of head and neck cancer
- Fewer cancers of the mouth and throat than non-coffee drinkers
- Drinking coffee can help prevent the neural degeneration associated with brain disorders
- Good for the cardiovascular system
- Lowers the risk of stroke by 19% among women
- A 60% cut in risk of aggressive prostate cancer in men
- Reduce the risk of developing liver cancer by 41%
- Protective against certain brain tumors, endometrial cancer, and advanced prostate cancer
- Source of antioxidants that prevent cellular damage
Your results may vary.
Joe Johnston just published a terrific post outlining his guidelines for how to rate an espresso bar.
Flagstaff residents have another coffee shop to visit. Kickstand Kafe has just opened and is on Humphfreys St.
They get their coffee roasted by Firecreek Coffee Company of Cave Creek, AZ. Thanks to Jon over there for letting me know.
Kickstand Kafe
719 N. Humphreys
Flagstaff, AZ, 86001
Phone: (928) 779-5393
Coming from the “strange but true” department is Weasel Coffee. Available for purchase from ThinkGeek, of all places (currently sold out).
Hat tip: Steve Kraus
Steve Kraus over at Press Coffee sent me a link to an article about a New York coffee chain that is charging that much.
From this video, it looks like they’re roasting and creating a special Ethiopian blend and doing a media stunt to see what happens. I guess it’s working.
What’s the most you would pay for a cup of coffee?
A new coffee shop is opening in Scottsdale this weekend, and it sounds like a winner. Steve Belt is opening the shop and it is called Echo Coffee.
According to Steve, they are doing a soft opening on Friday, April 23rd with full opening this weekend. Echo Coffee’s “grand opening” will be the weekend of May 7th.
This coffee shop will be serving food and also roasting their own coffee… so it sounds really great. Congratulations to them on opening.
Echo Coffee
2902 N 68th St
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phone: (480) 215-9490
I’ve heard from two people recently who wanted me to know about That Coffee Place, in Sierra Vista. I’ve also heard from the owner, David Cromwell, and he has expressed interest in learning more about the coffee scene in Arizona.
Chris Babbie (also known as Psyd on this site) sent in these photos of the shop, thanks to to him for taking the photos.
Another reader, Amanda, described the espresso as “awesome” and “the best espresso.”
That Coffee Place
2200 El Mercado Loop
Space #5549
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635