tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-240090642009-06-14T13:32:20.342-04:00coffee coffee gimme! coffee gimme gimme! coffee coffee coffee gimme! coffee coffee gimme! coffee gimme gimme! coffee gimme! coffee gimme gimme!Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1163739159090259422006-11-16T23:46:00.000-05:002006-11-16T23:52:39.110-05:00

So tonight I got a little trigger happy and ended up recreating our entire blog over here. This means that the page you're currently looking at will no longer be updated. Yikes. You'll have to update your bookmarks and blog readers accordingly. Sorry about that. All our archives still exist, but they're no longer categorized by date. We also seem to have lost access to most of our pictures

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1163717933453937612006-11-16T17:48:00.000-05:002006-11-16T18:05:44.606-05:00

I took the time to wander over to West 20th Street today to say hello to the staff of Cafe Grumpy on their inaugural day of soft opening sales. While still completing some minor construction on the space (standing bar, art rail, etc) the store is definitely ready to rock. Chelsea is now home to one of the best espresso bars in the city. These guys have worked hard bringing this to fruition and

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1163480544470484402006-11-13T23:17:00.000-05:002006-11-14T00:02:24.600-05:00

It would be a slight understatement to say that there are big changes happening very soon. I'm nervous, a little sad, but over all very very excited.You see, I'm moving. Not to a new apartment, in a new neighborhood. Nope. To a whole new city. In a whole new state. Atlanta, GA.I'm sad because this means my time with Gimme! Coffee is coming to an end. Gimme!, in many ways, has been my salvation.

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1163369656527243602006-11-12T16:38:00.000-05:002006-11-12T18:26:26.856-05:00

Cafe Grumpy has kept us busy this week hosting two separate cuppings with industry titans Andrew Barnett and Peter Guliano respectively. Excited about the imminent grand opening of their new space Grumpy has flooded the west side of Manhattan with coffee buzz. Crowding the new space coffee fanatics from near and far gathered around to sniff slurp and spit with each other, listening in awe to

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1162946542861145672006-11-07T18:52:00.000-05:002006-11-07T20:11:41.903-05:00

So, Mike and I have been a little weak with the posting lately. Sorry about that.Mike is sick and I'm tired.Mike has had some sort of super flu and has been all but completely out of commission for weeks.The store has been crazy busy as of late. We had been on a pretty rapid upward trajectory anyway and then the NYT article hit. Boom. It has been crazy ever since. We have set the company wide

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1161609776278046972006-10-23T08:56:00.000-04:002006-10-23T09:24:14.060-04:00

As reported on the latest podcast from portafilter.net, the WBC Board of Directors converged on NYC for a couple days of meetings followed by a NY cafe crawl. Doug came by early to scope the scene, slyly ordering a shot before his brand new t-shirt gave him away. We chatted briefly before I called him a car to visit Grumpy up the street, where Owens happened to be. Meanwhile Tim Wendelboe

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1160949363646797952006-10-15T16:26:00.000-04:002006-10-15T18:17:01.346-04:00

After the Nordic Barista Cup, M'Lissa and I stayed in Copenhagen for a little vacation. Monday we decided to take a little day trip to Malmö, Sweden. It is just a 20 train ride over The Øresund Bridge.We spent the day wondering this quaint little town (although I think it's Sweden's third largest). Of course we had to visit some coffee bars. First stop was Caffe Nesta. This is the home of Dan

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1159708562567988342006-10-01T09:13:00.000-04:002006-10-01T09:50:31.390-04:00

NBC day 1After collecting our bags and hitting the hostel, M'Lissa and I made our way to the Nordic Barista Cup location at 4pm. Just in time to catch the champagne boat tour of Copenhagen. But, we missed the registration. We had no badges. Sarah Allen (Barista Magazine) spots me and we explain the situation and she takes charge and finds Bjorg Brend (Europa) for us. We are well taken care of.The

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1159386850589774792006-09-27T15:48:00.000-04:002006-09-27T15:54:10.603-04:00

Mike called me out so here they are. I only took a couple and they aren't very exciting really but, if you want to seem them look here.In other news, I leave for the Nordic Barista Cup tonight. I'll do my best to blog while there. Also, unlike Philly there will be MANY photos. I promise.

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1159222950136001672006-09-25T17:52:00.000-04:002006-09-25T18:22:30.243-04:00

We ended up rallying for the day trip to Philly yesterday, hitting up Chestnut Hill Coffee Co and Milkboy. Both shops were impressive in terms of design and execution, and it was fun tracking down John Hornall. Unfortunately Hornall was in the Pacific Northwest at the time, but it was still cool to check out the new digs. The space is really beautiful, with two floors of spacious hardwood and

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158963536596510002006-09-22T17:45:00.000-04:002006-09-22T18:22:04.286-04:00

Shoutouts today are in order to our new buddy Scott Lucey over at Alterra Coffee Roasters in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Scott was kind enough to send along a few of their "Barista Throwdown" t-shirts in a package that included a pound of their pride and joy Espresso Blend. While we haven't played with the coffee yet (probably tomorrow night) I gotta say, the t-shirts rock! I was excited to receive

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158780057516034792006-09-20T15:14:00.000-04:002006-09-20T15:20:57.590-04:00

Why?Why not?

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158701733946912702006-09-19T17:21:00.000-04:002006-09-19T17:35:33.986-04:00

Big shoutout to Gabe today for sending along a couple choice items from the PNW. Included in the box were two half pounds of their Ethiopian Wild Forest Limu, and the COE Guatemala Finca El Injerto. We cupped and pressed them both, enjoying the differences in the two. I picked up notes of apricot in the Limu, with a nice body a bit heavier than typical of Ethiopians. The Guatemalan scored

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158632963142843912006-09-18T21:57:00.000-04:002006-09-18T22:29:23.163-04:00

Just before the tornado that is the New York Times hit, I met up with Jaime during his quick visit to NYC. We talked coffee for a good hour. Maybe more. Which I was very happy to do.To get right to the point, Jaime brought me a gift of a couple of Terroir coffees for me to cup.A couple of days later, Mike and I cupped the Yirgacheffe.Dry aroma: Black tea and peppercornsWet aroma: Black tea all

Chris Owensnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158542962072150862006-09-17T21:16:00.000-04:002006-09-17T21:57:22.933-04:00

That NY Times article blew up our spot yesterday and today. All hands were on deck for a powerhouse of hard-earned weekend sales records. I felt like we were in San Francisco working at Ritual. Show me "paint the fence" Daniel-san, it was back to basics for us. And you better believe all those extra lattes we made looked "just like the picture". The award for Longest Distance Traveled goes

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158363769917109912006-09-15T19:22:00.000-04:002006-09-15T19:42:49.933-04:00

Though I previously made allusions to our next featured guest in the "guest espresso" program, an old friend has stopped me in my tracks with a text message promising me a surprise Monday delivery. He and I started this coffee journey together more than a few years ago and he's since moved westward and northward, working his way through some of the finest coffeeshops in North America. When I

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158113184284855882006-09-12T22:06:00.000-04:002006-09-12T22:06:27.470-04:00

Hot off the presses...check it out...(and don't forget the multimedia...)Espresso’s New Wave Hits Town - New York Times

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1158109222878152122006-09-12T20:26:00.000-04:002006-09-18T15:04:57.153-04:00

We were lucky enough to have the company of Scott Lucey tonight, who is visiting from Alterra in Wisconsin. He joined us for our last in depth look at the roaster that's commonly agreed to be wildly different from our own. Scott showed up with his friend Elicia to take part in our experiment, hopping on the bar and pulling standard sized 30 second, 2 ounce shots at 194 degrees. We also passed

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157941765631451972006-09-10T22:29:00.000-04:002006-09-11T00:40:35.866-04:00

You probably think I'm crazy but hear me out. It may just be because I happen to be watching him play right now, and I'm from NY, but I think Tiki Barber is a good role model for baristas. He's a superstar in the football world but you'd never know it from his attitude. He goes out there as a team player and never trys to steal the spotlight. Not only that but when Tiki is running down the

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157932817095029982006-09-10T19:41:00.000-04:002006-09-10T20:00:17.126-04:00

For all you naysayers out there that thought the Terroir might rock our minds here at Gimme Coffee in Brooklyn, um, you were right. Its been hard for us to wrap our portafilters around. But after a decent amount of huffing and puffing on a live bar, we're ready to open up our experiences to the general public. Does this mean I'm going to spout prolific on what's hot or not about Georges baby?

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157850707801535532006-09-09T20:41:00.000-04:002006-09-09T21:16:19.693-04:00

Nick Brown of Artigiano and Dwell Time fame came by our shop today. He sent Chris and I an e-mail a couple days ago alerting us of his upcoming presence here south of the Canadian border, and requesting a small get together to alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms he's experienced since moving to the coffee-culture lacking city of Toronto. Since we had the pleasure of meeting him during his

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157651125835778282006-09-07T13:45:00.000-04:002006-09-07T13:45:25.836-04:00

An Obsessive's Guide to Coffee | Food & Wine

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157604210915648122006-09-07T00:14:00.000-04:002006-09-07T00:43:30.933-04:00

I'm happy to report that my new friend in Massachusetts Jerry O'Hare has packed a 10lb bag of George's finest in a box with my name on it. We discussed their brewing specifications and I've ordered baskets that will help us dial in the shots. With our GB5, setting the boiler to the desired temp will be a piece of cake. Now all we have to do is wait for it. If you're in town this weekend and

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157417283708196902006-09-04T20:38:00.000-04:002006-09-04T20:48:03.720-04:00

My first jet-lagged day home and we broke our sales record on this holiday morning. Not only that but we were a barista short during the busy morning shift. Chris actually stopped by to drink some coffee I brought back from John Sanders but we never had a chance. We were dead in the water this morning and Chris spent a good hour of his day off lending a hand. So...congrats to our staff on

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24009064.post-1157329152145103802006-09-03T18:51:00.000-04:002006-09-07T14:09:54.990-04:00

Wow what a trip. My head is still spinning. Thankfully I have to get up at o'dark thirty tomorrow to force me back into reality here in NYC. I managed to take 253 pictures in six days plus three videos. Here's a few shots...The waterfront in downtown Vancouver...Wicked Cafe in South Granville. There's Brad talking shop on his phone...The Elysian Room, also in South Granville. We found a lot of

Mike Whitenoreply@blogger.com2