In the deepest darkest depths of Norway, lies a cafe owned by a half man half dragon.

No, it’s not Trogdor. He goes by the name of Wendelboe, Tim Wendelboe. I may have lied about the half dragon part as well… But he is the World Barista Champion of ‘04!

I had only had Tim Wendelboe’s coffee once at Seattle CoffeeFest ‘09. It was a Kenyan coffee (I can’t remember the farm) it was one of the best Kenyan’s I’ve had to date. Visiting Norway for the first time, I got the chance to visit the Tim Wendelboe cafe.

Meet Tim Varney, Wendelboe’s Head Roaster. He gave us a quick tour of the cafe, the 12k Probat, and the cupping lab.

The Probat is right in the middle of the cafe, where they roast 3 days per week.

The cupping lab has 2 single group espresso machines: a GS3 and a FB-70 (the only FB-70 single group ever made).

He gave us a taste of their new crop Esmeralda – need I say more?

It’s very low-key surrounded by some very interesting architecture.

Time for  Wendelspro.

One of the baristas at the TW cafe, Chris Kolbu (Norwegian Barista Champion of 2008) served up a delicious shot of a SOE Honduras and some weird drink I have never had. It was a double espresso and a double espresso blended with a tiny bit of cream, really nice texture.

…He had a little misfire…

The space was a lot smaller than I imagined with very comfortable, but limited seating.

Brent says it’s BA. You figure it out.

Blue Bottle.  66 Mint St.

Blue Bottle. Ferry Building.

Ritual Coffee Roasters. 1026 Valencia St.

Four Barrel Coffee. 375 Valencia St.

Tartine. 600 Guerrero St.

The Bus. Mission & 7th.

Donut World.

Vega. 1246 Folsom St.

Sightglass.  270 7th St.

Farm Table. 754 Post St.

Much has been written about the recent WBC in Atlanta.  What we offer here is a compiled profile of the top six coffees … and the unknown story behind one competitor’s coffee.  New contributor to CHD and WBC head judge Brent Fortune takes an exclusive peek behind the hoppers at the WBC.

There are so many things to share about this years WBC’s, I could write lots and lots of posts, about things like:

Each topic could be its own post!  But what I really wanted to focus on is some of the coffee used in this year’s WBC, and in particular, the coffee of one special competitor. So thus begins a CHD post as long as the LOTR triology. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the Great Tampers. Three were given to the Baristas, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. One ring to rule them all. (j/k)

First, lets review the beans of the WBC top six…

Colin – Champion of Ireland  & WBC 4th place

Colin was using a coffee from Boliva called Machaca Marca.  It was a fully washed and sun dried coffee, 80% typica and 20% caturra. Toffee and malt with a sharp acidity at the end.  I tasted these shots and they were just as he described – and completely delicious! I ordered two bags of the coffee from his roaster in Ireland and they just arrived. The farm is a former COE winner. Here’s a picture of those beans:

Colin's Bolivia - Photo by Twitchy.org

Michael – Champion of USA & WBC 3rd Place

Michael used a coffee from Rwanda called Maraba – different from the coffee he used in the USBC. He served the coffee “5 ways” (Eva Solo, espresso, cappuccinos, and split into first and second part of the extraction, one served hot & the other cold, for his signature drink).  He played with the dose and grind during his presentation.  As an espresso, he described the Rwanda as red fruit taste, sour tamarind with a baking spice finish. I had a shot of it at the Intelly booth and it was THE best shot I had all WBC/SCAA weekend.  It is one of Intelly’s Reserve coffees (and there’s not much left) which they only roast on Mondays. Some bags of this are en route to me right now and my mouth is already watering for it. http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/store/product/id/3100

Sammy – Champion of Canada & WBC 2nd Place

Sammy's beans - Photo by Twitchy.org

Sammy was using a 2-bean blend of Costa Rica Herbazu and a Yirgacheffe Aricha microlot.  He described his coffee in two words: grapefruit and caramel.  Judges reported that it tasted exactly of those descriptors, which explains the 2nd place finish. http://www.49thparallelroasters.com/coffeelistEspresso.html

Gwilym – Champion of UK and 2009 World Champion

The winning coffee in the WBC was a single origin Del Obispo Huila Colombian (espresso & capps), roasted by Anette of Square Mile who is now 3 for 3 (surprise). It was 10 days post roast, and His espresso is described as tasting of hot buttered toast smothered in blackberry jam, along with black current and a toffee end.  In milk it has a “jammy sweetness” which may remind some of a certain WBC Tokyo performance

His signature drink involves envelopes listing possible ingredients (there were 4 in each envelope, and each judge selected one from the four). His coffee here was a Colonia San Juan 8 Estrellas, Bolivia. James says “It is a very lovely coffee, and suited the sig drink because it was balanced but not aggresively characterful. Sweet and caramelly but as espresso not too much more.  What is a positive trait could easily seem a negative one, it was just very versatile when paired with other flavours.”  It was 10 days out and dosed similarly to the first coffee, maybe a touch less.

http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/del-obispo

http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/colonia-san-juan

Champ's beans - Photo by Twitchy.org

Attila – Champion of Hungary & WBC 6th Place

Atilla, a first for Hungary in WBC finals, used a Yirgacheffe Beloya SO for each of his coffee courses roasted by Estate Coffee in Copenhagen.

http://www.estatecoffee.dk/english/about-estate-coffee/

Atilla's cap - Photo by Twitchy.org

Twitchy didn’t have a good pic of his beans, but here is a nice one of his capps for your eyes only.

Lee Jong – Champion of South Korea & WBC 5th Place

The champion of South Korea was the first of his country to make WBC finals.  His two coffee approach showcased an El Salvador COE selection of a washed sundried bourbon (espresso).  For his cappuccino, he used a Costa Rica La Planada mechanically washed coffee.

Koreas beanz - Photo by Twitchy.org

Lee Jong of South Korea and his El Salvador COE beans.

A Team Effort

One of the most interesting, and possibly most untold stories of WBC coffees, is of the top scoring barista from Central America.  Raul Rodas is 22 years old, and the two-time barista Champion of Guatemala.  Raul’s WBC performance put him in 7th place in the WORLD, with a beautiful coffee that several people helped to get to the WBC. (Last year in Copenhagen, he took 25th place.)  This was the first time ANY barista from Central America has ever placed in the top 10 in the WBC’s. (In this historic year there were TWO, Flor de Maria from El Salvador placed 9th.)

Raul was using a single origin, new crop coffee from Huehuetenango called La Maravilla.  He discovered this coffee when he saw it being used by Ryan Wilbur and Nick Griffith in the US Western Regional Barista Comp in Los Angeles back in January.  Nick & Ryan both work at Intelly and became fast friends with Raul.  Realizing that a single orgin Guat could put you in 1st & 3rd place in the toughest region in the USA, Raul wanted to know more about this coffee.

Upon returning to Guatemala, he contacted the producer of that coffee, Mauricio Rosales, who offered to send Raul some green samples of his new 2009 crop.  Raul received several samples of the fresh green beans.  Two bags of this green were secretly carried across the US border inside a suitcase, then quickly shipped by FedEx to Deaton, the head roaster for Intelly in LA. Deaton roasted the two lots 3 different ways, then cupped them and had them evaluated by other coffee tasters.  It was agreed that one of the lots was complex and delicious enough to be worthy of a WBC espresso.

Next, Geoff Watts of Intelly and Mauricio (the producer) managed to meet with Raul for dinner in Guatemala City.  Mauricio was happy to hear or Raul’s interest in his coffee and offered to work with Geoff to get some of that green to Chicago in time for WBC roasting.  Because the coffee was so new and recently harvested, it would have to be air shipped to arrive in time.  Enter Edwin Martinez, another producer from Huehuetenango who owns a farm called Finca Vista Hermosa (a neighbor of Mauricio, but no connection). Edwin offered to import the coffee to Seattle (air shipment) and then ship the coffee to Chicago.  All of this happened just 10 days before the start of the WBC.  The green coffee finally arrived in Chicago, and was roasted by Geoff Watts and his team, then driven to Atlanta along with the Intelligentsia booth, Doug Zell, Mike Phillips, and WBC Champion Stephen Morrissey (who will soon be working for Intelly). Once the coffee arrived in Atlanta, it was delivered to Raul.

Raulito - Photo by Twitchy.org

Raul Roadas – Champion of Guatemala. Highest placing Central American barista in history.

There was still one problem.  Raul works for a roaster and retailer in Guatemala called & Cafe.  Raul’s bosses believed that he would be using one of & Cafe coffees in the WBC.  Raul had to use the special lot of La Maravilla, roasted by Intelly, being very careful not to disclose the true story behind these beans.  Several members of the Anacafe (Guatemala coffee association) were in on the secret, as were a few or Raul’s co-workers. So, although this coffee was just on the drying patios in Guatemala less than 3 weeks before the WBC, Raul wasn’t able to tell his judges the story of how his remarkable coffee came to be in his possession, or about the people who helped to get the coffee imported, roasted, and transported to Atlanta.

As if that wasn’t enough drama for one performance, the music that Raul was using had just been burned onto a CD a few minutes before he started his presentatio.  The mix, made in Silverlake, CA by Ryan of Intelligentsia, had been emailed to Atlanta that morning, and some of Raul’s friends had to scramble around the convention center to come up with a blank CD. The disc was popped into a Mac, the secret WiFi connection was borrowed to access the email, and the disc was burned and walked over to the A/V all while Raul was in his 15 minute prep time.  He was hearing the music mix for the FIRST TIME as he was presenting.

Watching Raul’s performance from the front row, I found tears welling up in my eyes, knowing the story – and the stress involved – in getting this coffee to the WBC.  It was remarkable to see how all these people – Deaton, Geoff, Mauricio, Edwin, Doug Zell and the Chicago roasting team – were all willing to help get the coffee for Raul without expecting anything in return except Raul’s success in the competition.  They all incurred time and/or expense, sometimes out of their own pockets, to help make this happen.

So the moral of the story: specialty coffee is full of everyday heroes who are willing to lend their time and support to a good cause, and together they can create champions.

Here’s a picture of me judging and looking a bit too serious…. errr… intense?  … maybe focused? tasted so many espressos I no longer have proper brain function?

br33zy - Photo by Twitchy.org

Thanks to Liz Clayton/Twitchy for sharing her great photos.  Thanks to Raul Rodas for his bravery and for taking risks in the name of good coffee.  And thanks to all the WBC competitors for putting themselves out there and making the 10th Annual WBC the best so far!

And thanks for reading this epic.

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend; legend became myth.

Brent “Breezy” Fortune serves on the Judge Certification Committee of the WBC and wrangles judges around the globe. He is the owner of Crema Coffee & Bakery, Portland, Oregon making him a member of the Crema International, Inc. His hobbies include figuring out how to make a syphon go, a mild obsession with cats, and exploring coffee at his homeboy’s cafe – Barista.

omg, new coffee !!!1!!

Starting on Monday, we will be carrying JJ’s new special reserves at crema.

Get excited.  They rock our world.

In addition to the Kenyan and Ethiopian, there is a Colombian as well, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Here are the descriptions as per JJ’s website:

Kenya Gatomboya Barichu Co-operative -
Wine-like & full-bodied.
Blackcurrant.
Undertones of coconut and pepper.

Organic Sidamo Birbissa Co-operative (Natural Processed) -
Flavour of strawberry compote.
Undertones of watermelon and florals.

Colombia Huila La Plata -
Classic cup.
Lots of body & refined acidity.
Notes of walnuts & cocoa.

Come in for a press, then take home a 1/2 pound.

There are a few things on my mind right now, and most of them have something to do with coffee.

First, as the barista competition creeps up (slowly but surely) I am getting more into it day by day.  I’ve decided that I am going to try to make my own blend – which is really exciting but something that I have zero experience in so I need some help here and there.

Some of it is obvious (or is it) – pick beans you like, with the certain basic elements of an espresso blend in mind (acidity, body, taste profile etc.) and mix them in proper proportions.  The problem for me was how do you know what will taste good mixed, and how do you even go about figuring that out?  My answer would be given to me during a stop at Ethical Bean’s Headquarters.  While sitting in the cafe, typing away on my laptop, Jeff happened to come out and make himself an espresso.  After a little chatting I asked if Aaron was in, and to my luck, he was.  

When he came out we talked for a bit and I told him my situation (trying to make a blend for the first time). He patiently explained the basics, and what I would have to do. I took his advice and put into action the first few steps he suggested, and of course they worked perfectly.  Thanks again Aaron.

“Pull each coffee individually (as an espresso), and you will know what it’s role in the blend will be”

I have found since found the coffees I plan to use (with the exception of possibly one more addition) and will start to try to find the proper proportions for the blend this week.  I have a pretty good idea already of what they will be, but of course won’t know until I try it.  It could just completely turn out to be a bogus blend but I have a pretty good feeling about it.  It’s amazing how much the differences from coffee to coffee shine through when you pull them in their barest state.  I don’t plan on revealing what the coffees are, yet, but I may in the future when I know if I will be using it or not.

After writing some notes on the coffees I called up Spencer from JJ and told him what I was trying to do.  He said we should get together and try playing around with the roasting of the coffees – we plan to do this week or the next, and I can’t wait.

I’ve also narrowed it down to 2 sets of cups to use for the display of my signature drink.  I will test it out in both of them this week and see which does the job best and decide from there.  Training is most certainly coming along, and thanks to a timeline that Johnny made with me, it seems to be in order and right on schedule.

And lastly in regards to competition – much congratulations to Anthony Benda for coming 2nd in the Montreal Regionals.  We have been talking every few days via email and he is helping a lot on some competition things I would have no idea about had he not shared his insight.  Thanks. 

Something I am very curious about, but that has nothing to do with the competition, is single baskets.  I was at EMC this week picking up a couple to test out but unfortunately when I got back to crema and tried to put them into the portafilter they were too big.  I have a feeling that we (North America) may be using too much coffee for no reason other than with the mentality that bigger is better.  But we’ll see, perhaps it will turn out just too weak and over watered to really taste the coffee.  All I know is that after having a few sample shots at EMC I could drink a single basket espresso all day.

In terms of crema’s grinder situation, we have narrowed it down to either an Anfim or the Mahlkonig.  I highly prefer the Mahlkonig, which is chamber less and has a digital timer with the ability to save 2 different dosage times.  The only thing bad to say about it (and it’s not a big deal) is that the coffee tends to come out in little lumps.  They are very soft however, (they break with a soft finger touch) and some kind of wired grate at the bottom of the shoot should work fine to de-clump the coffee.  My brother Chris likes the Anfim more, and while it has grown on me the last few days, it’s no Mahlkonig.

Last but not least, I had an interesting little coffee crawl today.  Starting at great family friends place in Kitsilano, I had my first greek coffee.  I’d had some years ago, but had no appreciation for coffee at the time.  It was quite interesting – sweet and an almost velvety like texture, similar to micro foamed milk..  It certainly has a distinct taste, but it’s nice.  It even had a fair amount of crema on top.  When I was asked what I would like in it, I responded that I would take it black.  I was then told that no one takes it black, even if they say they do.  With that, a small amount of sugar was added.

Next I moved on over to 49th and had a macchiato and an Ethiopian Yirgacheff on the clover.  I was only charged 1.73 for the clover and told the guy at the cash I think that’s wrong, but he insisted.  He obviously hit the 12oz brew price instead of the clover button.  I just started “God in a Cup” and read a bit while I was there.  The title picture showcases my 49th experience.

Next I headed on to my last destination, Elysian, even though I really didn’t feel like any more coffee.  I had just had 3 cups and it was really hot out.  When I walked in and said out loud to Matthew I was unsure of whether I should get a clover or an espresso, he suggested an iced clover.  I wasn’t sure if he was serious, but after a few more seconds of conversing, he was – so I went with it, and am very glad I did.  It reminded me a lot of iced tea, probably because of how it looked.  Because of the way Matthew prepared it, you could still taste and appreciate the coffee perfectly fine.  I will be trying this out with the French Press at crema very soon – that is, if Vancouver decides to keep the sun around for a bit.

We’ve been doing a lot of late night testing at crema lately.  This usually leads to an even later night back at home, as sleep is nearly impossible after experimenting with coffee.  I’ve noticed that I, and a few others, have been crossing that fine line between espresso bliss and caffeine overdose more and more the last little bit.

The main thing in testing right now is grinders.  We have 2 new ones in shop right now that we are trying out – An Anfim and the Nuovo Simonelli Mythos. While we’ve only had the Anfim for a few days, I haven’t really warmed up to it yet.  I feel a bit too unincluded in the process when using it- sort of like I’m standing on the outside of a bunch of old friends talking in a circle.  I also feel like the dosing handle is going to break every time I use it.  This is a commercial machine, I don’t know why it doesn’t have that tough mazzer feel to it.

With the Mythos, while it’s also timed like the Anfim, it’s so fast that you don’t feel like you are wasting time waiting.  The thing with the Mythos is that it doesn’t dose into the middle of the portafilter.  This could probably be fixed with a few little mods.  It’s also just about double the price of an Anfim – that doesn’t exactly help anyone.

I wonder if coffees taste better through certain grinders… One would think the best machine and burrs would produce the grind, not matter what the coffee, but then coffee – especially espresso – doesn’t make sense a whole lot.

Today during the lines at crema some of the other baristas and I were alternating through using the Anfim, the Mythos, and the Mini Mazzer we have.  Shot of the day goes to the Mazzer.  The best option would be to have all 3 all the time.

Decisions decisions… 

On Monday night JJ Bean held part 1 of their in house competitions to see who will be representing them in the competitions.  My brother John and I were asked to be technical judges, an offer we of course accepted.

We arrived an hour early at Yaletown to get the low-down on how the judging works and what to look for.  Aaron DeLazzer from ethical bean was the honorary head judge as well as a sensory judge, with John Neate, Peter, and Murray as the other 3 sensory judges.  Angie, my brother and myself were the technicals.  I would judge this week, and John the next, as only 2 technical judges are needed at a time.  While Aaron gave us the lowdown on everything, all the competitors started practicing and spectators galore piled into the cafe.

As a judge, and seeing as there is still another night of competing to go on, I can’t talk about the actual performances, but it was definitely fun to watch.  I couldn’t believe how fast things happened at first – Hence the need for 2 judges.

One thing that I thought was most interesting to watch was how each barista handled being in the spotlight with the pressure on them.  Some didn’t seem too affected by it, making jokes the whole way through.  Others went through their routine in silence, nervously pouring art in the capps.  For some, the pressure was a bit too much in the end.  Either way – you really don’t know how you’re going to perform until you actually get up there and do it – bravo to those who did.

I am interested to see how next weeks competitors react to the night.  I’m sure at least a few of them will revamp their presentation, as they have the advantageous knowledge of what they need to do to make it through.  

Round 2 draws near…  you’ll know it went when we do.

Last week I had the chance to go to the ethical bean roastery and cafe with my dad and a friend and, lucky for us, the first person we saw when we walked in was Jeff Linton, the Foodservice Manager for ethical and our coffee rep at crema while he was still with JJ not too long ago. Needless to say, we were greeted with open arms and the “25 cent tour”, as Jeff called it, began.

The first thing you notice about ethical bean is the less-is-more design and bright colours. Neon greens and pinks are sprayed throughout the cafe and roastery, usually contrasted nicely with silvers a la stainless steel and metallic espresso bags.

In case you can’t tell by the name, ethical bean is a certified fair trade organic coffee roaster that is highly involved in the green movement and a number of charities and overseas donations, which you can find more about on their website (as always, link will open in a new window).

When we walked into the roastery (which, ps – wordpress seems to think is a typo. is roastery not a word?) we were shown the actual roaster, which I believe Jeff said roasted 100 lbs. of goodness at a time. The mouth watering title picture captures it in action.

After that, we walked a few steps over and saw some of the staff packaging what must have been a few hundred pounds worth, all getting ready to be shipped over to Costco. Sweet.

Next we saw the testing room, where beans from all around the world and competing companies are tried and tested, and were shown the reception area and meeting rooms. Pictures of kids they have helped or are otherwise connected to adorn the walls.

We finally went back out to the bar where the journey began and had some espresso and macchiatos, courtesy of Jeff, and on top of all that we were given 2 lbs. of coffee to play around with back at the shop.

I love coffee. culture.

We’re taking Starbucks beans back to their roots. No fully automatic machines, it’s time to get down and dirty.We’re going to load up the Mazzer. Grind and dose into a portafilter. Tamp it, and run it through a Synesso.

The Long Forgotten Tamp.

To give you a bit of a prelude – one of my best friends works at Starbucks as of a few months ago and gets a pound of espresso free every week. I’ve been dropping by a few times a week since he started and learning lots about the Starbucks philosophy and how all the drinks are prepared, so that’s how this whole idea came about. I’ve long been wondering what the beans would taste like if handled properly. After all, it’s not fair to judge them when they are ground, tamped, and pulled all from the same machine with the touch of a button. Why not pull some shots the right way, and then see what happens?

3 free pounds of espresso and a free Thursday night later…

The first thing I noticed was that the beans didn’t have a roast date on them, only a “best before September 27th, 2008″ stamp. I’ll let you guys decide what exactly that means, I’m still not really sure. I was assured by my friend that these beans were indeed the very ones they used in store, so it was fair game.

The actual beans were much darker and oily than any of the beans I was used to handling. We use JJ Bean at Crema so that is all I had on hand to compare it with. On the far left is Espresso JJ, which is more of a light/medium espresso, followed by Nero Profundo, a much darker espresso, and capped off with the Starbucks. You can see even next to the dark Nero in the middle just how dark the Starbucks bean really was.

My first few attempts at pulling shots with it failed gloriously. It was really blonde and thin, and coming out way to fast. After about 10 minutes and a couple degree heat change (up to 204.5) it was looking as good as I was going to get it without drastic changes. It actually doesn’t look that bad when you are pulling it, but it really is thin and rather uncharismatic when it comes down to it.

I was pulling the shots pretty short (just over an ounce to an ounce and a half) and there was actually a surprising amount of crema in the shot glasses.

2oz to the top.

To be fair, I didn’t want to let anyone try the espresso until it at least had some decent color or aroma. After a short bit of decent improvements, I plateaued and decided it was time. The espresso was light honey in color, and I actually managed to get a bit of flecking, but you had to look close. (Like, lean in an inch-away-from-your-computer-screen close.)

Flecking! (well...sort of)

The taste, despite the color, was not that of honey. At first contact with your taste buds it is rather inoffensive, but then all of a sudden a tar like after taste hits you and stays, lingering in the back of your throat like a shot of Buckleys. Fair enough, no surprise here. Let’s see what happens when we add some milk to it in a sweet black cup.

Voila! I dare you to tell me you don’t want to at least take a sip of that. Now, don’t get me wrong, it didn’t rock my world, but it wasn’t that bad. Almost drinkable, to say the least. Almost anyway. It was still exponentially better than the straight up espresso though.

No serious surprises here, and you can’t blame them. It would be near impossible to roast the mass amount of beans a company like Starbucks would require and keep the quality at the same time.

All excuses aside though, in the end it doesn’t really matter, the beans just aren’t good enough.

Oh and by the way, we only ended up using 2lbs, so anyone who wants the last pound is welcome to grab it for their own testing. You have until September 27th of 2008, so timing shouldn’t be an issue.