Daniel Suh of Petite Pour is coordinating a latte art throwdown and just sent me details about the event. Here are the specifics:
Lola Coffee will be hosting a latte throwdown on Saturday, December 11th at 6 pm. The competition will consist of two rounds with the best scores moving on to the next round. During the break in rounds, we will be featuring a coffee education presentation covering 5 popular manual brewing methods. Throughout the night, samples will be brewed by volunteer baristas using the manual brewing methods for everyone to sample. The coffee education presentation and coffee sample tastings will be free to the public and the latte competition will be free to watch. The competition fee for baristas is $3 for early registration and $5 at the door. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 competitors. Anyone interested in registering to compete along with any questions should send an e-mail to info@petitepour.com. Special thanks to our sponsors and host: Lola Coffee, Echo Coffee, Cortez Coffee, Cartel Coffee Lab, and Petite Pour.
The newest coffee shop on the block is Press Coffee Roasters. It is the second store by the team at Press Coffee, who opened their first shop just 2 years ago at CityNorth. It opened on Friday, November 19.
Grand Opening celebrations are planned for Black Friday, November 26, but until then the shop is open and has a limited supply of food items (full coffee bar is open).
Equipment:Synesso espresso machine (3 group) with new digital timers and some sweet calibration equipment. They have a Trifecta in the store, too!
Steve Kraus, Jason Calhoon, Tram Mai, and Brian Clemens discussing the new shop.
The bar and espresso machine.
The shop is easy to find. Just park in the south parking garage and as you exit the parking area turn north and it will be across the street on your right hand side. It’s about 200 ft from the Apple store.
My enthusiasm is high for this shop, for a number of reasons:
It’s five minutes from my house! I have waited years to have a coffee shop within spitting distance. I’ve envied friends who lived next door to a great coffee shop, and now it’s my turn! I’ll probably be over here frequently.
It’s Press Coffee — and they’ve been both an advocate for coffee culture in the valley, and proven that a coffee shop can be successful in the north valley.
They roast their own coffee — and it’s delicious and consistent.
Yeah, I probably sound like a walking advertisement, but it’s warranted. Because they serve excellent coffee, and understand the craft.
There’s a coffee shop in New York City called The Pulp & The Bean that is selling a 10-shot espresso drink. It’s really just a marketing stunt, if you want my opinion, but hey… it’s an interesting idea! You can see a photo of the shop owner, and read about it in the NY Daily News. My favorite quote from the owner is his comment that he won’t serve it to anyone over 40! “I won’t sell it to anybody in their 40s and up,” Fisher said. “I’ll just tell them I can offer an alternative.”
The coffee shop in Cave Creek formally known as Scooters Cofffeehouse has been sold and is under new ownership. The new shop is named Roots Coffeehouse.
Roots Coffeehouse
30855 N. Cave Creek Rd.
Suite 142
Cave Creek, AZ, 85331
Phone: (480) 502-1166
Facebook: facebook.com/RootsCoffeehouse1
Over 40 coffee shops in Arizona use Twitter to promote their shops. For a complete list please click here. Lately, I’ve been finding it is a really great medium to hear about news from coffee shops.
Press Coffee at CityNorth opened two years ago today, on November 13, 2008. The shop has since then garnered praise around the state. They’ve even opened an independent roasting operation and roast their own coffee.
Now, they’re preparing to open a second location with a soft-launch planned for Sunday, November 14th. They made a general announcement (Facebook sign in required) about the opening on Facebook, saying that their official “grand opening will be announced very soon!”
The new location is at Scottsdale Quarter, near shops like the Apple Store, Nike, and True Foods.
Update: The soft-opening has apparently been postponed until Wednesday.
Press Coffee Roasters at Scottsdale Quarter
15279 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
About two months ago the Phoenix Cooks Latte Art Competition was held, and despite not being able to attend, I was able to find quite a few photos online showing the excellent latte art.
As Big Island coffee farmers harvest their berries from trees, they are finding a new foreign beetle — the coffee berry borer — that at best threatens their bottom line.
An estimated 600 to 700 coffee farms occupy a 22-mile stretch along the rocky, volcanic slopes of Kona, where dry winters and wet summers contribute to producing a premium coffee bean.
The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, is native to Central Africa and found in scores of coffee-producing countries, including South America.
I just learned about this new shop in the downtown Phoenix area. Beyond their Twitter profile, not much is known. According to their Yelp profile, the hours are Mon-Fri 7 am – 3 pm and they serve muffins and coffee only by French Press. Thanks to Sean Sweat for breaking the news.
Gideon’s Coffee
209 W Jackson St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Twitter: @GideonsCoffee
Brian Clemens, a valley barista, writes a post about the valley espresso scene where he reflects on the quality of local espresso. Definitely an interesting read.
As Big Island coffee farmers harvest their berries from trees, they are finding a new foreign beetle — the coffee berry borer — that at best threatens their bottom line.
I just learned about this new shop in the downtown Phoenix area. Beyond their 
