A new decade is arrived. Are you ready for it? Is the world of Specialty Coffee ready for it?
Just to help ease the transition I put together a little list of things to look forward to in coffee, along with some things I hope get left behind as artifacts, as we flip the pages of the calendar.
Things I hope become historical footnotes:
It's my first time in the Land of Oz. I'm quite happy to have come here, and it's not just because of the fuzzy koalas, the Jocko memorabilia, or the vegemite sandwiches. The Aussies have been making a lot of noise in recent years within the Specialty Coffee industry and the opportunity to have a first-hand look at what's going on was too hard to pass up.
While there is very little of the craft of coffee that we take lightly here at Intelligentsia, there are some things that on occasion we take a bit more seriously than some would imagine. The training of our shop staff is one of those things. We have long held high standards for how we prepare our drinks, what we ask our staff to know about coffee and the level of service we offer.
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.
We're close. Finally. Our new LA café is on the verge of opening after many months of construction delays, inspection hold-ups, red tape and the usual fine-tuning that is needed to mediate the transition from conceptual plans to physical reality. It has been a long time coming, but the excitement here has become more palpable as the new staff can now see the tunnel's end.
