I've been thinking of one cool thing for a while. A much bigger event, planned well enough in advance, where we could rent a civic space, like a church auditorium or if possible, a banquet table or two at a restaurant in a non busy time. But I personally think any church, could be willing to rent out their auditorium with 3 banquet tables and tons of chairs, and a small kitchen for some brewing gear for a reasonably low cost.

What I'd like to get a taste of from our lovely Californian neighbors, is what they'd like to see? This is going to be a different even than our normal meet ups. No big collection of every lever or home pump espresso machines! This meetup is going to be about coffee, and the finest coffees we can source and share, and how to roast them at home. That's it. There may or may not even be a roasting demo given, based on insurance, fire hazard concerns of the owners of the properties, but we'll see. There's still a good opportunity to learn about general tips and methods. This is basically in reaction to the cupping event that we all wanted to do, but never got off the ground.

I'm picturing three banquet tables shaped in a U pattern. On one end we'd have cupping gear lined up and various coffees to sample and chat about.

The other table can have one or two espresso machines set up, and room left for the folks preparing the coffee for others to cup, then later trade places so everyone gets to try something and share their opinions.

The head table could be for whomever is presenting or our keynote speaker, so they could be easily seen and heard.

I'm also thinking it might be an easy place for a gear swap sort of setup, where out of the way, we can have a gathering of coffee gear we no longer want, and either want to sell or trade, we'd announce it here to assess any interest before hauling it along. For me, I'd like to pass on my Gaggia Orione 1 group lever project that is in the way of where I'll eventually need to set up a larger roaster. I'll also bring a box filled with various brew devices. All this will be done in an out of the way spot so as to not distract from the main event. Heck, it could even be done in the trunks of cars in the parking lot for all I care.


Here's some specifics, that I hope most folks would agree on as well.

1) I'd love anyone who's willing to attend, bring with them a coffee they know, love and can give a brief discussion about it i.e.. here's a washed Salvadorian Bourbon. It's from a finca in La Libertad District of El Salvador where most if not all their coffees are wet processed, and most are at high altitudes.... etc...etc... Tell us what you like about it, etc. But it would benefit that individual to have put a bit of effort dialing in a pour over cup of it in the days or week beforehand, to offer tips.


2) I would like to have folks who post here, share with us what coffee they are thinking of using, so we dont end up with 9 Ethiopian DP's and one Sumatran, and a Guatemalan. Also, it would be nice if you can share a brief list of what cupping materials could you bring?

I have a large electric kettle. I think two more of these and we'd be all set. It would be nice to have a slightly more consistent standard for sampling, without having to resort to thin paper cups, but I'm open to options.

3) I'm going to approach many Bay Area coffee inner circle folks, and see if any would like to donate a bag of coffee for us to share and enjoy, and hopefully, if possible, that one of their roasters or cafe persons, could present a brief talk about the coffee.

4) My pipe dream would be to have Trish Rothgeb and or Thom Owens give a talk about anything roasting related, and the coffee processes that go into that effort on thru to the final cup. I'm going to work on my end to see if that can become a reality.


What I need from the HB crowd is a firm commitment of folks willing/wanting to attend, knowing that there will be a small to moderate cost involved to get in. This is going to be unlike our previous meet ups, where we get to crash Joel's or Gary's lovely home or my cramped apartment for free. Ideally we'd have about 20-30 seriously passionate coffee geeks, ( you're welcome to bring curious friends who show a good amount of interest). But we really need a big group to reduce the costs. It will be worth it.

This event will be held either on a Saturday or Sunday, whatever the general consensus is, and it will be located somewhere in a 25 mile radius of SF. Heck, maybe WreckingBall Roasters would still be interested in hosting something similar. I'll post details as I get them.


Fire away with feedback, comments, suggestions, and quantity of your party attending.

P.S.
The more people we get to come, the cheaper it will be. I dont think too many people would be able or willing to pay $50 for a meet up, but I bet all of us could put in $20 at the door to meet some good people and have plenty of amazing coffee.

I wrote way too long of a first post, but that's what I was saying, that we'd bring amazing coffees to share, wether we roasted them ourselves or not was up to the individual. I was just trying to describe what I pictured in my head. It can be setup however it happens to work. I just wanted there to be a simple way for a speaker to address a small crowd, if indeed we can get one of these amazing folks to attend. I know they are incredibly busy.

In a perfect scenario, we could find a place that would willingly host the event, and instead of paying to rent the place, we can put that money towards a coffee related charity, like Grounds for Change, or Coffee Kids. Folks like Tom Owen and Trish are very socially conscious individuals. I have a good feeling that if they knew the amount of people that would be there, and the fact that donations would go to a good coffee charity, we might be able to make it happen with them joining us.

I'll keep trying and will share what I find out.

Update:

Got a reply back from Sweet Maria's! Thomson is trying to work it into his schedule and is curious about dates. I basically told him any day any time that works in his schedule that he's able to make it, and we'd work it out on our end. Obviously they know from the previous email that a weekend day is preferable. I'll update when I know more.