Friday mornings at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC - Page 6

Talk about your favorite cafes, local barista events, or plan your own get-together.
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HB (original poster)
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#51: Post by HB (original poster) »

HB wrote:The local PBS station was at Counter Culture yesterday interviewing attendees about the coffee scene. They had already filmed baristas at the monthly latte art contest sponsored by Counter Culture and local cafes last week...
North Carolina Coffee Culture on UNC-TV's North Carolina Now links the programs produced from these interviews.

Catching up on local events, this weekend several of Counter Culture's employees will be at the Southeast Region Barista Competition in Atlanta, including three-time state champ Lem Butler. GO LEM! This morning Brett Smith shared plans for the new roastery/training center planned for 2013 in downtown Durham. He promised the training center will be the "best on the planet". Look forward to it! :D
Dan Kehn

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erics
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#52: Post by erics »

Results of the SERBC - congratulations to Lem Butler & Jonathan Bonchak and the competitors.

SERBC

1. Lem Butler, Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC
2. Colin Whitcomb, Madcap Coffee, Washington, DC
3. Michael Harwood, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Carrboro, NC
4. Trevor Corlett, Madcap Coffee, Washington, DC
5. Camila Ramos, Panther Coffee, Miami, FL
6. Travis Beckett, Peregrine Espresso, Washington, DC

Brewer's Cup

1. Jonathan Bonchak, Counter Culture Coffee, Raleigh, NC
2. Michael Harwood, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Carrboro, NC
3. Wade Preston, Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters, Atlanta, GA
4. Ryan Hall, Panther Coffee, Miami, FL
5. Andrew Cash, Jubala Village Coffee, Raleigh, NC
6. Judith Mandel, Peregrine Espresso, Washington, DC
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com

Nuprin
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#53: Post by Nuprin »

Tomorrow's Friday Morning Meet-Up will be held at New World Coffee House. 4112 Pleasant Valley Rd Suite 124 in Raleigh. We'll start at 8am but the shop opens at 7am so see you there!

SOE Thiriku and Toscano will be the available.

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HB (original poster)
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#54: Post by HB (original poster) »

This is actually from last week, not today:


Marc Curry, Mike Zhu

Due to the late announcements, the turnout was smaller than usual. No matter, we drank good espresso and sampled the latest baked goods:



Mike demonstrated his makeshift demitasse shield; the idea is to avoid potential splatter on the rim of the cup should the extraction be less than perfect:



It wasn't necessary in this case, but you get the idea.
Dan Kehn

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HB (original poster)
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#55: Post by HB (original poster) »

This morning I arrived bright and early at 7:20 AM. Imagine my horror :shock: when I discovered the espresso equipment was turned off (not on timer)! Alas, Nathan and I decided to make the best of it:



The handle on the left is a newfangled pourover device that dispenses brew temperature water as a narrow stream (sorry, I neglected to take a wide angle shot; it looks sort of like a sink rinse wand). Not too long thereafter, the rest of the equipment was hot and ready, much to the delight of Brett Smith:



Lem, also known as "Mr. Sexy Foam", arrived later in the session and once again demonstrated his latte art chops:



Before leaving, I pounced on one of these bags of Apollo:

Dan Kehn

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Peli
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#56: Post by Peli »

Dan, do you stay for the 10AM cuppings as well?

Speaking of Lem, I was hanging out with him and others last night at Cafe Helios where Hillary of Scratch Bakery won the barista throwdown. He was emceeing, and it was exciting to both compete and meet him for the first time!
~Lowly Barista at Joe Van Gogh's of North Carolina~

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HB (original poster)
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#57: Post by HB (original poster) »

No, I very rarely make it to the 10AM cupping since it's a workday. I leave between 8:30 and 9:15AM. Hope to see you at the next morning espresso session. :)
Dan Kehn

BTD1986
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#58: Post by BTD1986 »

Are there ever any weekend get togethers? I really want to go to a Friday morning cupping but just can't make the timing work.

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HB (original poster)
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#59: Post by HB (original poster) »

Sorry, no, but sometimes they link to coffee events in the Triangle on their Facebook page: Counter Culture Coffee. Once I get started on equipment reviews next month, I may have an "open house" on the weekend at my place. You can also organize your own get-together at your place or a local cafe. There's finally options worth visiting nowadays.
Dan Kehn

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#60: Post by Nuprin »

Been chatting with Lem at Counter Culture about new espressos as I've been complaining ever since Apollo 9.0 and SOE Thiriku have gone away. Lem said he's been working with Tim on some new espressos and will have some roasted for this Friday morning. If you guys can make it, I'll see you there tomorrow morning!

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