#Corvus Coffee Roasters

[coffeeken-me]

Corvus Coffee Roasters Englewood’s flagship coffee spot.

Corvus Coffee Roasters Englewood’s flagship coffee spot.

Corvus Coffee Roasters Englewood’s flagship coffee spot.

Corvus Coffee Roasters in Englewood, CO, is the flagship coffee spot for every type of coffee enthusiast. Corvus offers fresh roasted coffee daily, a place to sit down and enjoy your coffee with friends at a small table, or coffee bar where you can just hangout and chill with your drink.

Curvus cup of coffee

What impressed me most about…

[floydscoffee]

Beer, Coffee and Community Overlap at Vennture Brew Co. in Milwaukee

The passions for quality and for experimentation, propensities to liven up any social situation and geek-caliber quests for intricate flavors and aromas are all ties that bind the craft beer...

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2018/08/16/beer-coffee-and-community-overlap-at-vennture-brew-co-in-milwaukee/

[nwbeerguide]

Oskar Blues announces the first in the BA21 series, Volume 5, and it's a doozy.

image courtesy Oskar Blues Brewery

Press Release

Longmont, Colo. (April 14, 2021) Oskar Blues Brewery’s barrel-aged series returns in 2021 with BA21 Volume 5 (13.3% ABV). This gigantic bourbon barrel-aged stout, infused with a custom coffee roast and premium vanilla, is now available for a limited time in select markets on draft and in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans. In 2020, Oskar Blues introduced BA20, a series of limited release barrel-aged beers infused with ultra premium ingredients. Brewers experimented with innovative flavor and barrel combinations with Volumes 1-4 from bourbon, almonds and vanilla to rum and pistachios. BA21 carries the project into 2021 with Volume 5 leading the charge and additional entries to follow in the fall. For Volume 5, the Oskar Blues team worked alongside Corvus Coffee Roasters in Denver to hand select a custom coffee blend featuring three distinct roasts to supercharge the massive bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Then they went all-in adding premium vanilla beans to enhance the chocolate and vanilla notes found in the coffee. The result is a supremely well-rounded barrel-aged imperial stout with toasty oak, roasty coffee and smooth vanilla.  “This is the most well-rounded barrel-aged beer we have ever produced,” said Sara Laurenti, Director of Brewery Operations for Oskar Blues Brewery. “The charred oak bourbon barrels we used naturally infused the imperial stout with vanilla and roasty flavors over a nine month rest time. We selected a coffee roast to amp those flavors up and vanilla beans to take it over the top.” Continuing the tradition established with BA20, Oskar Blues collaborated with an independent artist to create unique can designs for BA21 Volumes 5-7. Roman Rusinov (romanrusinov.com) lives in Brevard, NC, just a few miles from Oskar Blues’ easternmost brewery.  His designs feature eccentric vehicles combining McGyver-like backwoods engineering with the outdoor sports Oskar Blues is obsessed with. BA21 Vol. 5 shows a mountain-ready, bike-packing unicycle tricked out with a telescoping fishing rod and plenty of space for beer. “The task for me behind BA21 was to highlight beer ingredients using my so-called scrap-tech style of illustration,” said Rusinov. “These sketches show some odd piece of machinery or transportation that is sprinkled with some crazy add-ons like snow tracks on a moped. There is nothing like getting your art on a beer can.” BA21 Volume 5 is now available in select markets for a limited time in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans. It will be available in cans and on draft at Oskar Blues taprooms in Colorado and North Carolina. More information on BA21 Volumes 6 and 7 will be released in the fall of 2021.

…

About Oskar Blues Brewery Founded by Dale Katechis in 1997 in Lyons, Colorado, Oskar Blues Brewery launched the craft-beer-in-a-can apocalypse with their hand-canned flagship brew, Dale’s Pale Ale. Today, Oskar Blues operates breweries in Colorado, North Carolina and Texas featuring Dale’s Pale Ale as the nation’s #3 top-selling craft can six-pack at U.S. supermarkets. Oskar Blues is available nationwide in the US and in over 20 countries. Oskar Blues Brewery is a proud member of CANarchy, a disruptive collective of like-minded craft brewers dedicated to bringing high-quality, innovative flavors to drinkers in the name of independent craft beer.

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/2QuZ1vO

[rafaelthompson]

Denver’s Corvus Coffee Goes Big In Littleton with Bakery and Roaster Club

Denver-based Corvus Coffee has opened its third and most ambitions location to date, not in the heart of the city where specialty coffee is entrenched, but in the Denver suburb... Denver’s Corvus Coffee Goes Big In Littleton with Bakery and Roaster Club published first on https://espressoexpertsite.tumblr.com/

[coffeeken-me]

Check out my review of @corvuscoffee on Coffeeken.com #coffeeken #coffee #roasters #coffeeshops #smallbusiness #coloradocoffeeculture (at Corvus Coffee)

[floydscoffee]

Coffee Now Pouring Down from the Downpours Coffee Roastery in Denver

The forecast in Denver calls for a steady deluge of fresh-roasted coffee beans, tumbling out from the 15-kilo-capacity Ambex drum now turning at the heart of Colorado-based Downpours Coffee. The...

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2018/08/07/coffee-now-pouring-down-from-the-downpours-coffee-roastery-in-denver/

[natachavcerda]

Denver’s Corvus Coffee Goes Big In Littleton with Bakery and Roaster Club

Denver-based Corvus Coffee has opened its third and most ambitions location to date, not in the heart of the city where specialty coffee is entrenched, but in the Denver suburb... Article Source Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine https://dailycoffeenews.com September 15, 2020 at 11:40AM

[askpory]

via Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

[honeyandrosescoffee]

Corvus Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster in Denver, Colorado. They pride themselves on working with single estate and privately owned farms. They believe farmers can provide themselves with better livelihoods through better coffee instead of fair trade, organic, or other for-profit certifications. They firmly believe the best way to impact farmers is to encourage them to sustainably produce higher quality coffee. Corvus coffee works closely with each producer to ensure they understand how to improve processing and sorting to continually improve their product. They are proud to have direct trade relationships in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Kenya, Ethiopia, and others places. Corvus coffee roasters specialize in very sweet, vibrant, and exceptionally balanced coffees with a wide variety of flavor profiles. They are a small-batch roaster, which means they roast to order two to three times per week. When you purchase from them, your coffee will arrive within 48 hours of being roasted. They use a fully manual roaster that allows us to create unique profiles for each coffee, resulting in sweet and flavorful coffee which has no bitterness. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTtHrChdte/?igshid=1rnq8dy46zj92

[michaelfallcon]

In Colorado Springs, Loyal Coffee Is Small In Focus But Grand In Execution

When you think of Colorado coffee, Denver is undoubtedly the first place to come to mind. With companies like Amethyst, Corvus, Commonwealth, Huckleberry, and Sweet Bloom, all of whom have made names for themselves nationally through competition, community work, and widespread presence in quality coffee bars, it’s natural to see the city as Colorado’s coffee epicenter. But if you let your mind wander about 70 miles south on I-25 to Colorado Springs, you’ll find another city making an argument.

Growing at a rapid clip, thanks in no small part to Denver’s own exponential expansion, The Springs is experiencing a coffee renaissance. With exciting new cafes recently opened and a homegrown finalist in the 2018 US Barista Championship, Colorado Springs is putting its name on the map. In the middle of all this is Loyal Coffee, a coffee shop and roaster that stays small in focus but grand in execution.

The product of six barista/co-owners—Eric Nicol (CEO), Abigail Baum (General Manager), Christopher Mueller (Operations Director), Bevan Cammell (Head Roaster), Seth Fuller (Head of Education), and Tyler Hill (Director of Guest Experience)—Loyal is one of those rare shops where a thoughtful, composed build-out is matched step-for-step by the quality of everything that comes out of it. Walking into Loyal, blue-grey tiles direct you through a sea of warm wood tones, clean whites, and mid-century-modern-esque gold accents towards the coffee bar—it, too, full of warm wood tones, clean whites, and mid-century-modern-esque gold accents. Lengths of rope stretch wrap decoratively overhead and behind the bar, adding to the natural palette in a way that feels rustic but still somehow very modern.

Atop the bar you’ll find a custom-finished white La Marzocco Strada and white Nuova Simonelli Mythos One Clima Pro grinders anchor the espresso station, serving both their own offerings as well as Madcap, originally Loyal’s roaster before they began roasting their own coffee. “We had always planned on having some other coffee alongside ours even when we knew we’d be roasting and wholesaling coffee,” Loyal’s Tyler Hill says. “To us it gives a great standard to shoot for. By serving Madcap in our cafe, it serves as inspiration and accountability to serve a similar product.”

Moving left, Modbar pour-over modules and a Mahlkönig EK43 make up a slow bar, for guests willing to wait a bit for their brew. Further still, separated from the coffee area, Loyal’s small, open-air kitchen churns out a variety of toasts, porridges, and other breakfast-leaning dishes. Think ingredients like pear and ricotta, soft-boiled eggs, and even Andouille sausage served open-faced on rustic French breads from local bakery La Baguette.

Follow the pathway left again and you’ll find all of Loyal’s seating—a mix of wooden tables and booths, concrete, and tree stump chairs—overlooks garage windows, open that day to let in some crisp morning air before Colorado’s dry summer heat takes over.

As is hinted at by that blue-grey line subconsciously guiding customers through the order of operations, everything at Loyal is intended to make the experience feel intuitive and relaxed, to take what could be overwhelming for some and uncomplicate it. This doesn’t mean sacrificing quality for expedience, but finding ways to meet customers where they are. For Loyal, this means being both modern specialty cafe and all-day hang out. It means good coffee quickly, like their incredible washed Mexico Jaltenango on batch brew during my visit that had me questioning my own preconceptions about what coffee from that origin can taste like. It means staying open late and shifting the focus to include cocktails, pre-made and on tap. High quality at high speeds; all splendor, no pomp.

“Our purpose is Community by way of Coffee,” Hill tells me. “We strive to use coffee as a means to engage, encourage, and elevate every community we interact with.”

And it’s working. Hill remembers the first time he really felt like Loyal was the community space they had envisioned it being, and it came under inauspicious circumstances. “The vibe at Loyal is usually pretty loud and upbeat with lots of people and lots of conversations. But after the election it was very different,” Hill recounts. “While we serve and welcome guests who are all over the political spectrum, we serve a great deal of folks who didn’t wake up with joy in their hearts that day. It was very special to me that people who felt scared, nervous, or confused knew that they could grieve, chat, and find some sense of normality at Loyal.” Hill goes on to mention how much of the coffee served that day was gratis, a small way of being there for the community that knows Loyal is there for them.

With plans for a second location already in the works, it’s clear that Loyal has struck a chord their city, and they have done so in a way that feels true to who they are and where they are from. It’s not a shop that is trying to be a Portland cafe, or Los Angeles or Denver even, though they could make a name for themselves in these cities just as easily; Loyal is a shop that keeps its focus on its community and serving coffee within the framework that works specifically for the people of Colorado Springs. And somewhat ironically, they are making a name for themselves nationally because of it.

Loyal Coffee is located at 408 S. Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

The post In Colorado Springs, Loyal Coffee Is Small In Focus But Grand In Execution appeared first on Sprudge.

In Colorado Springs, Loyal Coffee Is Small In Focus But Grand In Execution published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

[floydscoffee]

The Biggest US Coffee Shop Openings of 2017: No Coast/Third Coast

In 2017, Daily Coffee News has shared stories of more than 100 coffee shop openings in the United States alone. These stories have followed the hard-earned sweat of independent owners scratching...

https://dailycoffeenews.com/2017/12/22/the-biggest-us-coffee-shop-openings-of-2017-no-coastthird-coast/

[sherrygorugh]

RTD Rising: Single-Origin Cold Coffees Elevate the Game

Four Barrel Coffee canned ready-to-drink black coffees.  Photo courtesy of Four Barrel Coffee.

It was only two years ago that Coffee Review last explored the landscape of cold black coffees offered in ready-to-drink (RTD) format. In the 2018 report, we celebrated some excellent samples, but the majority of the submissions were produced from blends of various anonymous green coffees, as opposed to single-origin coffees from identifiable farms, mills or cooperatives, the kinds of coffees that, on average, offer more refined and individualized sensory experiences than blends.

Editor Kenneth Davids’ takeaway for the 2018 report was that “Cold brewing generally produces a somewhat different beverage than hot brewing does. The long, slow extraction tends to encourage a cup that is delicate and lightly syrupy in mouthfeel with a softer structure than produced by conventional hot brewing. Both acidity and bitterness tend to be muted. Flavor notes may be subtler in impact and often influenced by a caramelly sweetness.” Although I was impressed by the complexity of the handful of top-scoring cold coffees we tested in 2018, I found myself wondering if the RTD trend was just a passing fancy. After all, it takes considerable effort and investment to bottle or can a cold coffee for retail sale.

And going back to 2014, our first systematic foray into cold black coffee, almost all the submissions were not only blends, but they were also blends of mostly unnamed components and, frankly, generic.

Enjoying ready-to-drink black coffee over ice …

So, why did we dip into this category again in 2020, despite a lack of overall enthusiasm about the genre? Well, even a casual peruser of supermarket shelves can witness the growth of the cold brew segment, and might even recognize the increase in single-origin coffee names. The trend is obviously much more than a passing fancy — RTD black coffee is here to stay. And based on the overall quality of the 37 RTDs we tested this month, this is a welcome development.

Better Green Coffee, Better RTD

Of the 37 samples we tested for this month’s report — all unadulterated cold black coffees with no additives (save nitrogen gas in a few cases), we identified 11 samples that rated 92-94, seven of which are single-origin coffees. And the four blends included here are consciously crafted, thoughtful compositions of green coffees of distinctive character. In fact, two of these four blends are coffees we have tested on earlier occasions by cupping for brewed applications or as espresso.

You probably know where this is headed: It’s clear that the greater the care and attention put into sourcing the green coffee, the more likely it is that a roaster has a decent shot at crafting a successful RTD cold coffee. We found no muted flavors or flat acidity with these 11 top-rated coffees. They are the equal of their hot-brewed equivalents in nuance, depth, elegance and complexity.

Let’s take a look at what makes a good RTD cold coffee. We spoke with most of the submitters of the 11 top-scoring coffees we review here, asking them about their specific choices and processes as well as their thoughts on RTDs’ position in the specialty coffee industry more generally.

Our Testing Protocol

Instead of testing these RTDs over ice, which we’ve done in previous years, we simply chilled all the samples to refrigerator temperature, roughly 36 degrees Fahrenheit. This eliminates the risk of inadvertently diluting the coffees. We evaluated each coffee in four of our usual categories: Structure/Acidity, Body, Flavor and Aftertaste, but dropped Aroma, adding in its place a With Milk category. (Our ratio of coffee to cold whole milk was 5:1.)

The Top-Scorers

Scores for the 37 samples ranged from 76-94. Despite the wide range (one sample scored below 80 points, the cutoff for specialty coffee, because of an obvious mold defect), a full 20 coffees, i.e., more than half, scored 90 or above, and nine more scored 86 or higher.

Of the 11 coffees we review here, nine were cold-brewed, meaning they are made by steeping ground coffee for long periods in cold or room-temperature water. Beyond this basic methodology, the roasters we talked with reported many variations in the details of their procedures, from water temperature to length of brew time to brew vessel. Needless to say, we didn’t find the overall tendency to muted uniformity suggested by our previous two RTD reports. Rather, we found range, depth, multi-faceted profiles, and nuanced sensory experiences from traditional to innovative — in short, we found cold coffee experiences every bit as impressive as we might find among a range of whole-bean coffees designed for hot brewing.

Seven of the top-scoring 11 coffees, going from 93-94, are single-origin RTD cold coffees. The four at the top, which all scored 94, include two Ethiopias, a Kenya and a Brazil.

The Bonfire Ethiopia Nano Challa Cold Brew, which I found deliciously reminiscent of sipping a fine, naturally sweet but unsugared iced tea with lemon on a summer afternoon, was brewed at 36-40 degrees in the refrigerator for 24 hours using the full-immersion method and a 30-gallon Cold Brew Avenue brewer.  Owner of Carbondale, Colorado-based Bonfire Charlie Chacos chose this coffee for its bright, citrusy character, and he sells it in 50-ounce pouches.

San Francisco-based Four Barrel Coffee sent us four single-origin samples that offered a broad range of compelling sensory pleasure. The Kenya Kamoini, in particular, grabbed us with its classic sweet-savory Kenya profile with notes of tart pie cherry and spice-toned freesia-like florals.

This is one of just two coffees reviewed here that is brewed hot, then flash-chilled in an oxygen-free environment before being moved into aesthetically pleasing little cans. Four Barrel co-owner Jodi Geren says this method allows “a proper extraction that showcases clarity and florality.” She adds that brewing hot “really lays bare the essence of a coffee, so it requires that we use our very best single origins — those coffees that are the cornerstones of our sourcing program in the first place.”

Freshly poured nitro cold brew

We got a sneak preview of Denver-based Corvus Coffee’s new cold brew lineup, which will debut later this month. The Guji Oraga Nitro Cold Brew, a natural-processed coffee brewed cold over 12 hours, shows deep notes of sweet peach and tart pomegranate, with an attractive, rum-barrel-like fermenty sweetness. Nitrogen gas is added at the end of the process to further vivify the body and create a head when pouring.

One stellar cold brew came all the way from Taiwan. GK Coffee, based in the small city of Yilan, chose an Ipanema Brazil for its cold brew base. Although it’s a washed-process coffee, because of experimental processing moves (see review), this Black Edition A-41 Red Cherry displays a subtle ferment-related note suggesting cherry liqueur. Owner Gary Liao brews this coffee for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator at a ratio of 1:15 before bottling. He says that, while cold brew is popular in Taiwan because summers are so hot, most people drink darker-roasted blends rather than light-roasted single-origins such as this one.

Brazil Ipanema Black Edition A41 Red Cherry ready-to-drink coffee by GK Coffee in Taiwan.

Three at 93

Another single-origin cold brew that impressed us is Collage Coffee’s Asfaw Maru Ethiopia Natural. The Grove City-based roastery and art gallery bottles its cold brew in pretty glass jars. Owner Joe Funte describes the process: “We use a Yama cold drip tower, brewing the coffee (with a Chemex grind) for approximately 11 hours at a 1:13 ration of coffee to water.” The end result is a lovely winy, cocoa-toned and floral RTD.

Yet another single-origin Ethiopia, Klatch Coffee’s Washed Guji Anasora Cold Brew came in at 93. Roaster Jenn Hwang finds that “using the BrewBomb drip method keeps a constant flow for consistent results and enhances the flavor, and we flush with nitrogen for freshness.” Of this particular coffee, she says, “We chose this Ethiopian Washed Guji Anasora because it reminded us of the Ethiopia Gedeb that won America’s Best Cold Brew a few years back. When we cupped and bought this Ethiopia, we knew we had to try it as a cold brew. We really love it both hot and cold!”

Klatch’s CEO, Heather Perry, adds, “Cold brew and RTD are here to stay. I think what we are seeing now is the second evolution of RTD coffee. I think of drinks like Starbucks’ frapp as the first version. Then, you have cold brew and nitro as the second evolution.  And while these are nice, they are like when everyone was drinking light-roasted bland coffee and then came Peet’s and Starbucks with their dark-roasted and it tasted so different and people loved it. Now, we are entering the third evolution. We want more than just chocolate out of our coffee — we want those same delicious flavors that are in our hot Kenyas and Ethiopias. What we previously had to experience by doing a hot brew over ice, or something like that, is now ready to enjoy out of a tap or in a bottle. I imagine someone will be introducing a Geisha (if you didn’t already test one in this sampling). And I think Geisha would be delicious and refreshing in this format, like drinking a tropical tea. Many people like to add cream and sweetener to more traditional cold brew, but I think as we move to fruitier coffees we actually open up the product to an entirely new consumer.”

States Coffee Cold Brew is one of the four top-ranking blends featured here. States is based in the small northern California town of Martinez. One of owner/roaster Keith Gehrke’s cold brews appeared in our 2018 report as well. This year, his entry is a blend of Colombia and Guatemala coffees that harmonize around attractive bittersweet flavors like dark chocolate and candied tangerine.

States Coffee ready-to-drink coffee on ice. Photo courtesy of States Coffee & Mercantile.

Of this coffee Gehrke says, “We use five-gallon stainless steel brewing buckets with toddy paper and mesh filters. We steep overnight using warm water and a drip grind. Others use cold water and a coarse grind but, after multiple tests, we found that our coffee and ratio taste better with warm water and a finer grind. The coffee is the same blend we use for all of our in-house espresso drinks. We make sure that the coffee has one week of age on it before we brew it for cold brew. Coffee that’s too fresh was not yielding the best tasting brew, either. It’s been a fun labor of love experimenting with the process and dialing in the process.”

And Two More at 93

Perhaps the most recognizable name on this list is Stumptown Coffee Roasters, the Portland, Oregon-based company that was a cornerstone of the third-wave coffee scene when it sold to investment firm TSG Partners in 2011; JAB Holdings now owns a majority stake. Nonetheless, Stumptown’s excellent coffee program skips merrily along, only at larger scale. Stumptown sells a number of cold-brewed RTDs. Its Ethiopia Guji impressed us with its lively acidity juxtaposed with deep notes of dark caramel and vanilla bean.

Head brewer Brent Wolczynski describes Stumptown’s process: “We brew the Guji with filtered and UV-treated cold water for 16 hours. It is then filtered through a stainless screen, and then filtered once again through a paper filter to polish it off for a really clean and refreshing cup. We use nitrogen all throughout the process to make sure it is not in contact with oxygen at any time, but [the nitrogen] is not dissolved into the solution for a creamy mouthfeel [as in] our Nitro Cold Brew. We want our Guji cold brew to be light, tea-like, fruit-forward, and refreshing. Dissolving nitrogen into solution adds creaminess and a heavy mouthfeel that would take it in a different direction.”

Rounding out the 93-scoring RTDs is Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Topéca Coffee’s Crushable Nitro Cold Brew, whose 8.4-ounce cans pack the punch of a 20-ounce cup of coffee due to a very high coffee-to-water ratio. The coffee is Topéca’s tried and true Porch Session, a blend of a natural-processed coffee from a farm the brand co-owns in El Salvador, Finca El Manzano, and a pulped natural Brazil Fazenda Santana. Head of Cold Brew Tyler Duncan says, “We hit 250 pounds of our Porch Session Blend with about 150 gallons of hot water, then make sure the slurry is all wetted. Once we’re sure it’s good to go, we hit it with room-temperature water to crash the temperature. We pass the coffee through a filter train to make sure it’s super clean and then can it from our brite tank. We dose liquid nitrogen into each can so that it holds pressure and gives it a velvety texture. Then, voila! Crushable Nitro Cold Brew.”

About cold brews’ staying power and the shift toward single-origin coffees in this segment, Duncan says, “I think the trend is definitely here to stay. The demographic that used to consume the most coffee has shifted; now the millennial generation purchases more, and their purchasing habits are different from the generation before them. With the globalization of information, more people have more access to the injustices that have long gone unchecked in coffee history, and coffee’s history is replete with colonization and slave labor. People can see more of what happens in the supply chain and generally care more about what happens in the supply chain. At the very least, people want to feel good about their purchases. Single-origins are a way to feel better about purchasing — they have more traceability.”

Two Solid Blends at 92

Rounding out the top 11 RTDs are two blends: Equator Coffee’s Cold Coffee, not a cold brew but a coffee that has been brewed hot and then flash-chilled, and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Magnolia Coffee Roasters’ Jade Espresso Blend Nitro Cold Brew.

Jade Espresso nitro cold brew on tap at Magnolia Coffee. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Coffee.

The Magnolia RTD blend is based on Magnolia’s bestselling espresso blend, which owner Jay Gestwicki says combines a pre-roast blend of a semi-washed Brazil, a washed Uganda and Colombia, and an El Salvador natural, with a natural Ethiopia Yirgacheffe added post-roast.

The Equator Blend is the Bay Area brand’s most popular coffee, combining a low-toned Lintong Sumatra Lintong and brighter Kenya and Colombia coffees. Director of Coffee Ted Stachura says, “It is designed to be a crowd-pleaser, roasted just dark enough to satisfy those who prefer dark chocolate-like flavors in coffee, while retaining enough sweetness and complexity for those who like a lighter-roasted touch.”

Stachura agrees that RTD is more than just a trend: “We have seen a gradual movement away from very sweet and milky versions of canned and bottled coffees that emerged over a decade ago and are now seeing a great deal of product diversity (alternative milk options, flavorings, carbonation, etc.) with new players constantly entering the market. Distribution continues to be the major hurdle for smaller roasting companies since refrigerated vehicles are often required and shelf space in grocery stores is highly competitive. Specialty coffee roasters love seeing microlots and other single-origin offerings in RTD format, but it adds complication and cost to the production and distribution process. Since many roasters have educated consumers that look for information on coffee labels about farm and producer, that same level of detail is now expected on RTD cans. As more exclusive coffees are made available in RTD format, we will see what the market is willing to bear.”

There’s no doubt he’s right. We will certainly stick around to see what’s next in the rapidly evolving realm of RTD cold black coffee.

The post RTD Rising: Single-Origin Cold Coffees Elevate the Game appeared first on Coffee Review.

RTD Rising: Single-Origin Cold Coffees Elevate the Game published first on https://linlincoffeeequipment.tumblr.com/

[epchapman89]

The 2018 US Coffee Championships Prelims: Weekend Three

Over one action-packed weekend in Greenville, Denver, and Washington, DC, brewers and baristas preliminarily competed in competitions, the third such weekend this season. These competitors are on the journey to the much-anticipated US Coffee Championship Qualifiers rounds, happening either this year or early next. From there, the national competition, where only two will be crowned US Brewers Cup and US Barista Champion. We had folks on the ground taking glorious photos of the three events and here they are in full color.

Washington, DC Photographer: Farrah Skeiky

Participants in Washington, DC crowded Dolcezza Gelato. Absolutely *crowded* it—with over 2,400 tickets registered on EventBrite, this was by far the most attended preliminary in its short history. The coffee community in DC and surrounding areas poured in to witness this spectacle, made possible by the folks at Coffee District. Alexander Gable of Coffee District told Sprudge “[they] just to love to host people and throw parties. When Victor [Vasquez] and I first discovered that the SCA was taking applications from members to host the preliminaries, we signed up immediately because we knew it was going to be rad getting to do this in our hometown. D.C. often gets stigmatized by its obvious political conundrum, gentrification, and downtown tourist attractions, but this place can be magical if you stay out of the way of all that sour milk.”

Sponsors of the event also included Stumptown, Dolcezza, Small Planes, Vigilante, La Marzocco, Modbar, Five Acres Farms, Swiss Water Decaf, Pacific Foods, Curtis Wilbur, and Dim Sum DC Media (who took photos for us during the event!) The preliminary took place during Coffee District’s Coffee Fest, with events across the city. A post-competition feast was provided by Madeline Lewsen of The Dabney and the folks at Tail Up Goat, providing BBQ for the participants, with a case of Susucaru natural wine to wash it all down.

When we asked what made this event special, Alexander Gable said, “I think the space and the people involved made it special. We made a ton of amazing new friends, and all comments about how the event went were geared towards everyone having an exceptionally good time and it being very inclusive, and I think that’s all we could have asked for.”

Cara Nakagawa of Toby’s Estate competes in the Barista Competition.

Jenna Gothelf of Everyman Espresso, the top ranking barista reacts to the announcement in Washington, DC.

Washington, DC Preliminary Barista Competition Results:

Washington, DC Preliminary Brewers Cup Results:

Greenville, South Carolina Photographer: Lem Butler

Ally Coffee hosted the Greenville “Southern” Preliminaries. A wedding venue was converted into a full-fledged competition arena. Nearly 140 people showed up with over seventy participants. “We chose to host this event because we believe in the power of competitions to advance the coffee industry,” said Ally Coffee US Sales Manager James Tooill. Ally’s support of the competitions goes further than hosting, as they sponsor origin travel prizes at the US Nationals and World level, sponsor green coffee for the US Roasters Competition and World Cup Tasters. When the opportunity to organize a preliminary event presented itself, “it made perfect sense for us to host because we have already been doing so much to support competitions globally that we also wanted to support locally!”

“We had originally planned to host this event as a grand opening party for our new office which is going to be 7,000 sq ft of coffee lab awesomeness,” Tooill explained, “Unfortunately, permitting delays prevented this. It was a lot of work for our team to host this offsite and I’m very proud of Team Ally for pulling it off. Of course, what really made it special was every single person that took the time and energy to build coffee community!”

You can’t host a preliminary on your own, and sponsors Ancap, Mahlkonig, Nuova Simonelli, Due South Coffee, Counter Culture Coffee, 1000 Faces, and Spirit Tea all helped make this event an action-packed, coffee/tea-fueled professional development rager.

Here are the Southern Prelim rankings:

Greenville Preliminary Barista Competition Results:

Greenville Preliminary Brewers Cup Results:

Denver, Colorado Photographer: Daniel Mendoza

Participants from California, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas took part in the preliminary programming in Denver, Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Craft Coffee Alliance threw the shindig, with the support of Novo Coffee and about twenty coffee companies across the country.

When asked why the RMCCA decided to host, Josh Taves (RMCCA Vice Chair and Quality Control and Business Development Manager at Novo Coffee) told us, “The Rocky Mountain Craft Coffee Alliance’s mission statement is that we are a group focused on developing community among coffee enthusiasts, both consumer and professional, through education, collaboration events, and networking all along the Rocky Mountain region. We felt like we had the ideal vision and reach to be able to host a great event through collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Craft Coffee community and that the USCC Preliminaries would be a great way to showcase the hard work and community spirit of our members.

It wasn’t just competitions—oh, no—beverages were flowing for all with a pour-over booth from Spur Coffee, Nitro Cold Brew from Novo Coffee, and a tea service from Spirit Tea. “Fleet Coffee sponsored a cool party also at a board game bar,” Taves added.

Hosts teamed up with Toddy, Novo Coffee, Huckleberry Coffee Roasters, and Sweetbloom Coffee, Logan House Coffee, Moru Coffee, Loyal Coffee, Morning Fresh Farms. Prizes were furnished by Synesso, Rhino Coffee Gear, AeroPress, Amethyst Coffee, Cherry Roast, Middlestate Coffee, La Marzocco, and Corvus Coffee. Rocky Mountain Craft Coffee Alliance.

For Josh Taves, “the comradery and teamwork spirit of the event brought together a huge array of people, companies, and ideas under one roof for a united purpose and it was so cool to be a part of that.”

Denver Preliminary Barista Competition Results:

Denver Preliminary Brewers Cup Results:

The fourth and last weekend of preliminary events take place this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky. Follow us on Instagram for the latest from these events!

The post The 2018 US Coffee Championships Prelims: Weekend Three appeared first on Sprudge.

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