Tamp This

Sorry, one more traveling post and then I can move on. Leaving New Orleans was sad but we felt energized for the days to come. Following I-10 across Louisiana, crossing the longest bridge over swamp/marsh lands and half way through Texas to stop at Chris’ mom’s house in Bandera. No joke, Bandera is the cowboy capital of the world. The next day we made a small day trip with his mom to Austin, TX. Although we didn’t see much of the city, Austin was pretty rad. Of course, we visited Caffe Medici, home of the 1st and 2nd place South Central Regional Barista Champions, . They proudly serve coffees roasted by Cuvee Coffee. I was feeling a little bad for the baristas there though, it was already so hot and humid, I’m sure they were struggling to keep the shots consistent, but they did a stellar job!

Before we could get out of Texas we were stopped by the State Patrol and given a ticket for speeding. As my dad would say, “Damn, the bad luck.” Our drive continued west through New Mexico and into Arizona, where we stayed with Chris’ grandparents in Tucson.

We visited the Safehouse. They brew coffee roasted by Roaster X. Their espresso blends were called Dada and Firecracker, and pulled through a 3 group Astoria lever machine. Next up was a new shop in Tucson, Crave. It’s comfortable with an alternative, retro edge. And they have an amazing bar to sit at. We spoke with the owner, Kim and barista, Logan, for quite a while. Kim really wants to push coffee quality in AZ, she’s going to start leading cuppings and tastings there soon. Plus, they make all of their pastries in house, and they were great!

We took a day trip down to Tombstone and Bisbee. Mostly because I really wanted to see the shoot-out at the OK Corral, but also there’s some great coffee down in Bisbee. After seeing the dramatic reenactment of the gunfight betweent the Earps and Doc Holliday vs. the cowboys, we headed to Bisbee, another small mining town. Bisbee Coffe Co. has a small shop in the historic streets. They’re rockin a Linea/ Super Jolly set-up, and served us one of the best shots we’d had in days, the baristas even knew what their blend consisted of and was pleased to share with us. The roaster is upstairs so we went up and chatted with Justin, who’d just finished roasting all the wholesale coffees for the day. Justin was pretty stoked, he had just returned from his first SCAA conference in Minneapolis and ready to get down to business on the company’s 12 kilo Diedrich roaster.

We continued our travels along the US/Mexico border into California. We stopped in San Diego for fish tacos, but continued on to Los Angeles. Visiting many friends and shops that weren’t opened the year before when we were in town. Thanks again to Tonx and his lovely lady for being our excellent hosts! Of course we visited Intelli.l.a., Choke, and LA Mill. We had fantastic meals with many friends. Basically, everyone should visit.

shot at Choke, pulled by new friend Jules

this is Lilly, the cutest chic in LA, daughter of Nick & Shar Griffith

From L.A. we headed north on the 101. We took a couple of detours to visit the new shop, Verve, in Santa Cruz. It’s a cool beach city and a super cool shop. Placed on the extremely low cement counter is their GB5 that’s pulling super tight ristrettos of both their Street Level and Sermon Espresso blends that they roast right next door. Verve put a big smile on my face, and they gave us plenty of coffee to take with us. Thanks guys!

As we neared San Francisco, we headed to Barefoot Coffee Roasters. They shop was dimly lit and crowded, as it was a Sunday afternoon. They have barista profiles and pictures hanging on the wall so all the customers can know the people behind the bar. They pulled us shots of their Big Foot Espresso blend as well as a single origin shot from El Salvador, the CoE #10, San José.

We arrived in San Francisco just in time for our first staff meeting, at RITUAL COFFEE ROASTERS!! We are stoked to be a part of this team, and excited to continue our coffee education.

Thanks for reading, everyone!