Imaged Provided by Tim Morris (click image for link).
Welcome back.
Little bit of a mash-up of our Tuesday and Friday post this week to help me during finals as well as feature our first interview for the blog.
This week I was lucky enough to have a chance to sit down with Tim Morris, owner of Caffé Belleza, and discuss the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual “Event.”
Tim has been in coffee 10 years and holds a Barista Guild of America level 1 certification. Since Caffé Belleza’s opening in November, 2013, he has mobilized specialty coffee in the Triangle.
So we got a couple of Middle East Cold Brews from Cocoa Cinnamon (slow brewed iced coffee brewed with cardamom, rose petals and vanilla bean) and snagged a seat outside.
A couple weeks ago, Tim found his way to Seattle for SCAA’s “Event” where coffee professionals all over the world convened.
“Calling it “the Event,” is fair. For coffee professionals, there are so many dimensions of the industry and they’re all represented there,” said Tim. “For me, I just got to enjoy it.”
Farmers, roasters, baristas, CEOs, equipment retailers, and enthusiasts just cover the broad spectrum. It’s where innovation and learning come to the forefront of the industry. If there’s something new and exciting, it’s at the Event.
“It’s kind of this vibe where people are eager to see who’s got the next big thing, who’s got chops,” said Tim.
Tim and Bethany Kinch in the truck. Image provided by Tim Morris.
It was the buzz around Seattle. Greetings were warm but the weather has built them tough in the northwest. Everyone wants to see what you’re made of. Fortunately, the battle for excellence never tasted so good.
It wasn’t long until Tim had to turn coffee away though, saving his caffeine intake form the bombarding hoards. Yet, there was plenty else to get his hands on like this years newest equipment.
Tim found his way to the new La Marzocco Linea Mini, which did not disappoint. He also got a look at the new Acaia Lunar scale, one of his favorite new machines from the convention. It’s heat resistant, one of the problems with earlier models, as well as waterproof.
“They put the scale on the drip tray and they start pulling the espresso, but they don’t put a demitasse under it. You think, ‘wheres the cup?’ then they just let the espresso pour all over it,” said Tim.
“It hooks up to your iphone, it keeps track of the weight, how fast your espresso is pulling. It keeps track of everything.”
Panel at the lecture. (Image provided by Tim Morris, owner of Caffé Belleza).
He also got to head across the street to attend some lectures, part of the convention. His favorite, “Evolving the Model: Café Concepts from Forward Thinking Retailers,” was a panel include Charles Babinsky, Cofounder of G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger, Samuel Lewanton of Everyman Espresso, Chelsey Walker-Watson, Co-founder of Slate coffee Roasters, and other huge names in the industry.
“I loved seeing them interact with each other and, sometimes, directly contradict,” said Tim. “One will say, ‘give the customer what they want.’ Whereas, the other focused on training the customer on what ‘we’ want. Theres a little bit of a tug and pull”
Overall, the panel gave him insight into what he needed to bring home with him.
“The main take-away for me is being focused on quality and stay focused on being passionate about what you do,” said Tim. “If you’re not enjoying it anymore, try to find a new approach to it. Look ahead.”
This year was a little bigger as Seattle hosted the World’s Barista Championship. Babinsky, who was on the panel of that lecture, came in second. Next year the WBC will move on to the next country but the Event is held along with the national conventions in regular years.
There were around 10,500 attendants at this year’s event. Most of those, just under 50%, had under 5 years coffee experience. Its easy to see how this is a growing event and growing market.
As Tim reflects on the event, he praised the Triangle for its coffee scene.
“We have a really unique thing going on here,” he said. “We have 3 distinct cities that each have amazing coffee and work together. I really like the companies that have stopped viewing each other as competition.”
Its something I’ve noticed around too and has made our local interactions at Raleigh Coffee Company special as well.
If you’re not convinced to grab a SCAA membership yet, Tim was gifted his pass just for being a member for a couples years. He says the SCAA is always taking his shop, his team, his coffee to the next level.
“Challenging the assumptions you make about coffee and understanding more about what is taking place can open your eyes and open possibilities,” he said. “They take you where you’re at. If you’ve been a pro for years, they’re still going to introduce you to people who will challenge what you know, or think you know, and take you an extra step. It’s a great environment to learn.”
Photo from Pressed and Brewed Photos of Caffé Belleza. (click for link)
[Special thanks to Tim as well as Pressed and Brewed Photos for the images this week]