As I write this, I am on a quick train ride out of Manhattan. My travel schedule for today and the next eight days will have me in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Sonoma County, and San Francisco. It requires many meetings, being “on” frequently, and the inevitably late nights and early mornings.
As usual summer in Chicago seems to slip by so quickly that by the time you notice it is here, it is gone. I realize that we only have five weeks left, then school starts up, the seasons proceed, and another year passes. I guess there is something to be said for being immortal.
If you read this on Sunday June 7th, I am somewhere in the air heading toward Cali, Colombia to the 1st Annual Extraordinary Coffee Workshop. The event will be held in both Cali proper and at Finca Santuario in the Cauca Valley.
"On the brink" is a place I'm not much good at. I cannot stand limbo and would prefer to just get on with things. Most often this has served me well, but occasionally it can get me into trouble.
I am sitting under a cloudless sky, filled with stars, somewhere south of Cuba. It smells like the tropics. I can taste the tropics. (Rum anyone?) I can hear the gentle waves of the Caribbean and the whoosh of the palm trees. Earlier today, I dove into the bluest, clearest, warmest ocean I have ever felt or seen (and I’ve seen a lot).
Mike Phillips, the recently crowned 2009 United States Barista Champion, is the first to show up and the last to leave. His work ethic is admirable. Mike wasn't supposed to win. He embodies what it is to be an American in the best possible way. He does not feel entitled to anything, nor does he take anything for granted.
It's Thursday night and I am sitting at O'Hare waiting for my flight to Sao Paulo, which has been delayed for one and a half hours. I should take off at 10:40PM and will fly through the night to arrive in Brazil early in the afternoon... and in the middle of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
I am sitting in Machado, Brazil as a member of the international jury at the second to last day of the 2008 Brazil Cup of Excellence. It has been a number of years since I attended my first COE in Nicaragua. I remember thinking at the time, "hmm, this could go somewhere." And indeed it has.
It’s been awhile and I’ve decided that I will commit to posting at least once a week, even if it is brief.
Early morning flight today: 6:00 A.M. from Chicago to Los Angeles. That only means that I am already here at O’Hare at 4:30 A.M. Not much good about that. As you may or may not know, I am the founder and CEO of Intelligentsia Coffee.
I am sitting drinking a glass (ahem, bottle) of Torrontes (an Argentine varietal) from a wine maker named Susana Balbo. The label is Crios and the vintage is a young 2006. To me it smacks of summer in all of its Midwestern-thunderstorm lusciousness.
It’s hard to believe it is upon us… The World Barista Championship. I am heading out to Tokyo on Friday and will be there for a week. I am sure I will have some stories to tell.
