Michael

I'm working in Toronto at the moment and would love to come by.Will probably be working till 6am on friday,so I'll drop by later in the day.Wish I could bring my Speedster but it's sitting home alone in LA,waiting for me....

Lyndon - sent you another email. In any case, I am really excited that you'll be coming with your lever. I'm sure you'll represent well.

Rogier - great that you'll be coming. Good excuse for not bringing the Speedster You'll have to tell us how we're pulling the Belle from Klatch in the case that you're familiar with that home-state espresso.

As the event is nearing, excitement is building with a lot of people contributing a lot of different things to make the event even more interesting.

So here are some highlights:

1) Event hours have been generously extended by Social from 9AM to 5PM to accomodate the 50 or more people that have so far expressed interest in attending. There is still room.
2) Espresso coffee is on the way from all the different roasters generously donating coffee.
3) Funds raised by the event will be split between CoffeeKids and Pakistani Relief Fund through the Red Cross.
4) All the extra donated coffee will be available for purchase through auction system throughout the whole day. No matter when you come, you will have a chance to walk away with some coffee to try at home.
5) The espresso machines for pulling shots will include Della Corte Supermini and Mini, La Marzocco GS3, Rancillo Silvia, Rocket Giotto, and Slayer.
6) Grinders for comparison will include Anfim Super Camino, Baratza Vario, Mahlkonig K30 Vario, Mazzer Robur E, and Versalab M3.
7) At 3PM, we will have some home barista technical demos on my Rocket Giotto with E61 grouphead.

a)First by Eric Svendson, inventor of the thermocouple thermometer adapter. He will include explanation of principles, building and installation of thermometer, demo of two options (flush and go, flush and wait) of how to use it to achieve better temperature control, and demo of how to adjust your pressure stat. Eric said that he will bring some adapters in case anyone is interested to save on the shipping.

b) Second by Slawek Janicki from IDrinkCoffee.com who will show how to do a routine grouphead gasket replacement for those technically timid like myself.

Looking forward, keep the registrations coming.

I started the day with an email from EricS that he is on his way! What a road trip.

Secondly, I was glad that we'll be able to squeeze in Te Aro to our list of local roasters that will be attending and showcasing their coffees.

The enthusiasm that I've received from people who are planning on attending has been great, and I am looking forward to a really fun day.

If you are thinking of coming, it's not too late. This picture might be enticing ... http://twitpic.com/2p0lio

Can't wait Mike!

This is going to be great.

I sent you an e-mail. I'm still trying to figure out whether I can get there on Saturday

Nice url there, twitpic

Afraid I'm not going to be able to make it. My friends had an emergency and I am watching their children. The last thing I need to do is feed them espresso!

Sorry guys, I was hoping to meet a bunch of you and get in on serious coffee talk.

Great turn out today! Meeting new passionate coffee lovers and trying way too many (I guess it IS possible) different types of espressos was truly a great experience.

thanks to everyone who made this happen and also to those who turned out. Great stuff.

P.S. the burgers were great too!

Let's do this again sometime.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped organize this event, and to Social Coffee for hosting. It was a really unique experience trying coffees from so many different roasters side-by-side. It definitely opened my eyes to what a huge range of espresso blend styles are available. It was also really fun trying all the grinders and machines that were on-hand.

Unfortunately, it took me a little too long to figure out that you don't drink every shot you pull, so I didn't get to play around with the machines as much as I would have liked. I was pretty much forcing myself to at least sip shots at the end because I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to use the Slayer and GS/3 as much as I wanted. I still feel wired eight hours later

I had my K10 set up with the other grinders, and I'm a little annoyed I didn't do a better comparison. The K30 was amazingly quick and simple to use, and I really want one of my own. The Robur E is an absolute beast of a grinder that's completely unsuitable for home use. It was particularly interesting using the Versalab. I'm not sure I would buy one, but I can't think of a better grinder for a roaster to use for single dosing and quickly comparing blends. They really like it at Social.

I actually stayed behind after everyone else had left and had a really awesome conversation with Steve, the owner of Social. He is definitely passionate about coffee and being involved with the coffee community. I am sure I will be visiting again soon enough, because it is absolutely worth the drive.

I came home with a big bag of leftover coffee from a bunch of roasters to use at home. I predict a few late nights this week!

Heard a lot of emails about lots of over caffeination. Tried to avoid it myself, but didn't succeed. The event was amazing ... here's my recap ... http://blog.coffeestork.com/?p=563

Would love to hear more thoughts and suggestions for the next event.