Well, we have cupped 27 coffees so far today, and have another 18 or so to go.  The last round was a bit tough for me as I was distracted by my stomach and back.  OK we have to get back at it now.  A long day, and then rest before the final 10 tomorrow.

The day is done, it is midnight and I need to crash.  Having said that, after a long day of cupping 30 coffees and traveling to the Pacas farm and to a mill, we had a great conversation on the balcony this evening.  I am surrounded by legends in the coffee world, at least they are legends to me.  Tom Owen of Sweet Marias, Wendy De Jong, Anette Moldaver of Square Mile, the list goes on.  And what I am learning more and more is how much more I need to learn and experience.  My familiarity with El Salvador coffee is too weak, and I need more time with these great coffees.  As Tom said, it is a matter of trust that can't be bought or had over night.  It is a process of getting to know and trust certain origins and coffees.  All I know at this point is how much I don't know, and how much I need to learn.  The jury has been great, and people far more wiser than me, are so gracious and delightful.  I can't communicate enough how much I am drinking it all in.  Tomorrow we cup 42 coffees in 5 sessions.  It will be a long and in some ways a painful day.  But at the end of it all, I know I will be wiser in the ways of El Salvador coffee.  OK, I need sleep.  More later.

Well there is a first for everything I guess.  Fittingly for my first COE event, I get my first case of stomach troubles at origin.  I have never gotten sick before, but today I have been incapable of keeping anything down, whatsoever.  I am not sure what I ate last night, but something I ate is causing me grief.  I actually don't feel all that bad, I just can't keep anything down.  I am sipping on a coke again, no ice this time, to see if I can actually keep it down.  We shall see.  Nonetheless, it has kind of put a damper on my enjoyment level today.

We cupped thirty coffees today, the first half of the sixty in total, and will finish up round one tomorrow.  After cupping all of the coffees once, we will then re-cup any coffee receiving a score of 84 points or better, and we are estimating 45 coffees to achieve this score.  So on Thursday, we will be cupping all those coffees in the semi-finals.  After that, the top ten coffees get selected base on our scoring, and we cup those on Friday to declare a champion of for COE El Salvador 2009.  All in all, we are likely to cup 115 samples of coffee this week, which is pretty intense.  On the whole, the coffees have been well received.  I personally have been at the lower end of the scoring curve, and am not too sure what that means to be honest.  Perhaps I still need to find my sea legs here in El Salvador, as I am not used to cupping El Salvadorian coffee.  I am discovering about myself that I do like the Pacamara as a varietal, and enjoy the complex nature to these coffees, including a wide array of flavours.  What is interesting with the jury is the polarization surrounding the pacamara varietal.  People either love them or hate them, there is little in the way of a middle ground.

The international jury assembled in El Salvador for this event is pretty amazing.  It is easy to feel completely unqualified to cup, when in the presence of people who have been in the industry for a long time and who have cupped all over the world.  Having said that, no one wears their experience like a badge, and everyone is very professional and gracious.  So it is a delight to do this work, and it really is work.  Everything in El Salvador has been great, the Consejo is doing an awesome job, Maria Jose is an amazing director and she is so organized.  She is also recently engaged to another fellow Consejo guy, Luis, who is acting director of the Consejo at present.  In short, it has been a great trip so far, despite my recent affliction, which has sidelined me (hopefully only temporarily so) from the rest of the gang.  If you want to stay tuned on a more immediate basis to the jury's status, you can check my twitter stream, where I have been giving quick updates as we progress through the day.

I have a hard time coming to grips with the fact that I am in an airport again, typing on this computer, about the fact that I am in an airport again.  Why do any of you bother reading this stuff that I type?  Seriously?  The truth is that I am turning into a nervous flier.  I know that air travel is the safest form of transportation, I know that I have a much greater chance of dying while walking down the sidewalk, especially in Atlanta!  Today, I risked my life more by driving to Calgary, than I did by getting on the comfortable Air Canada jet.  Yet, my mind starts to play tricks on me way up in the air, in the hollow tube.  Actually the ridiculous turbulence that some folks experienced the other day on an Air Canada flight from Australia, gave me some comfort, as the plane even after bouncing around in the air like a rag doll was perfectly fine.  I guess it has to do with having a lot of things that I still want to do and accomplish on this little planet of ours called earth.

Traveling to countries like I do now with more frequency is exciting, and it is exhausting.  It is difficult as I leave behind my beautiful wife and my precious son each time.  Every time I go somewhere, I encounter so many amazing people, and I learn so much about this amazing planet that we live on.  I learn so much about the coffee that we care so much about.  So at the end of the day, the travel, the nerves, the exhaustion are worth it; so far anyway.  The truth is, that I will be sharing the duties of travel.  Chad will likely be the Brazil guy, and Josh is destined for Central America too.  It is also crazy to think that I somehow have the magic tongue, and that without me the company would cease to exist.  Chad has an amazing palate, and Josh is constantly surprising me as his unquenchable thirst for knowledge propels him along at breakneck speed.  So I have so much to be thankful for, an amazing team who stays behind (sometimes) and enables me to do this wild crazy stuff, like head to El Salvador and spend 5 days cupping coffee.  Thanks to all who have sent well wishes, and thanks to all the amazing folks back in Edmonton, who keep buying the coffee we care so much about.  Without you (our customers), I wouldn't be doing any of this.  OK, enough of the LA Airport blogging.  Stay tuned throughout the week, hopefully the hotel we are at will be equipped and allow me to post some thoughts and photos of our journey into the best that El Salvador has to offer.

Saludos

Poul flys to the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region of El Salvador tomorrow to judge the very best Salvadorian coffees for the 2009 Cup of Excellence competition. It's quite an honour, considering he was the only Canadian selected to sit on the 22-person international jury that includes judges from the UK, Japan, the United States, Guatemala, Norway, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.

I've become quite impressed with the The Cup of Excellence organization as I've learned more about it. Of course, it is chiefly about evaluating and awarding the top coffees in a particular country. During the week-long competition judges evaluate over 60 different coffees submitted by El Salvador farmers.  Once juried and scored, the coffees are ranked and samples are sent out to buyers throughout the coffee world.  An online auction is scheduled for June 4, where the coffee will be sold to the highest bidders.

That's the coffee business—or coffee geek—side of it. But there's also a great social responsibility spin off as a result of the competition.

Coffee farmers work extremely hard, and in some regions it is the only means of support for entire families.  Farmers that win the Cup of Excellence are acknowledged for their dedication to quality with the prestigious award given at a national ceremony. Plus, and this is the important part, the majority of the price of the coffee sold at auction goes back to the producers who deserve and greatly need it.

The prices at the Cup of Excellence online auction are usually record-breaking and can be 10 to 20 times higher than that of non-auction coffees. A winning farm and often the whole region can expect to receive future visits from roasters looking to buy more quality coffee for their companies. The positive impact on the quality of life for a winning farmer and his family is permanent as the auction money will often be spent on farm improvements or family education which can change their economic livelihood for the long term even if they do not win every year.

Organizations like this are just one of the reasons I'm so excited to be professionally involved in the world of specialty coffee.

I am flying back to Edmonton, after a week of hanging in Atlanta.  The trip started with the SCAA first (annual?) Symposium, which was a great event in my opinion.  The conversations were serious, and the topics were of significance to both me and most other attendees.  For me, one of the highlights (among many) was the lectures by Dr. Acree on human sensory abilities.  As any of you who know me already know, I am a bit taken with my tongue.  Dr. Acree helped me understand in even greater detail the science (neurology and biology) going on in my mouth and brain.

Then there was the talk on Rwanda, and the amazing research that is ongoing in that country by SPREAD and Tim Schilling and those who participate with that program.  I learned an amazing amount about the wet-hulling processing method in Sumatra, from Tony Marsh, which helped to elucidate for me the dynamics going on in terms of quality and flavours.  All the while that I was learning and growing, I was also meeting a ton of new and amazing people who graciously allowed me to throw questions and comments at them.  I was also fortunate to have had the opportunity to re-connect with some great friends in my growing coffee world, The Peterson's, the crew form Exclusive Coffee, Ryan and Eileen from Ritual, the Elysian boys, Brewed Behavior, Square Mile Coffee Roasters, and so many many more.  One of my favorite things about doing coffee traveling, is meeting and reconnecting with all of the amazing folks involved in the world of Specialty Coffee.  On the meeting side of things, it was great to finally meet Edwin Martinez from Finca Vista Hermosa, Kayd Neill, Leah Warren, Doug Zell, Steven Leighton, and so many other folks, that the list would go on and on.

After the Symposium, the SCAA show started, and the World Barista Championship got under way.  The competition and performance of the baristas during the WBC was awe inspiring.  Another fun aspect was that Chad and Josh got to rock the WBC bar on Saturday showcasing the Daterra Blend espresso that we crafted especially for the event.  We all three also gave a go at Cup Tasting, as the first ever Canadian Cup Tasting Championship was thrown together in an ad hoc fashion.  We all had a blast doing the cup tasting, which is huge event in Europe, and now a growing event in North America.  I surprising did fairly well with that event, and actually missed being the first Canadian champion by 22 seconds (congrats to Barrett Jones from 49th on winning).

Finally the WBC Championship yesterday was an amazing experience, and I won’t go into great detail, as I blogged about this last night.  Today, before jumping on another airplane, we were treated to a bus ride and a subsequent lake ride by Elan Organic Coffees.  Kayd Neill was our gracious host and we toured around a lake in Reynolds Atlanta and ate great food, drank a little wine and connected with more amazing people.

All in all it was a crazy busy trip, and I am both exhausted and over-stimulated.  It was all so much to process at one time, and in truth, it will take me months to get it all sorted out in my head.  We come home with a new sample roaster on the way, designed by Marty Curtis, and a much better understanding of competition and coffee.  I am looking forward to seeing my family, and soaking them up for a couple of days before I jump back on a plane and head to El Salvador on Saturday to participate in the Cup of Excellence Jury.  Some days I have to pinch myself to make sure this new world of coffee isn’t just some wild dream.

It was an amazing final round of the World Barista Championship, and at the end of 6 amazing performances, Gwilym from the UK, ended up on top.  He ran over time by 16 or so seconds, on purpose, as he thought he was out of the race, and wanted to say something to the judges before he finished.  Our own Canadian showed exemplary and placed 2nd (Congrats Sammy).  I actually filmed all of Sammy's and all of Gwilym's sets (albiet my vantage point wasn't the best) so it will be fun to watch number 1 and 2 later.  One we get the video edited, hopefully we can get it up on Vimeo.  My camera isn't talking to my computer right now, so I can't upload any photos.  In short, it has been a great week, Chad and Josh rocked the WBC bar yesterday and I think that our espresso showed well.  I have met so many people, and am litterally overwhelmed with the amazing community that I find myself apart of.  Stay tuned for more pics and such in the next couple of days.  Once again, congrats to Gwilym, Sammy, Michael, Colin Lee Jong and Attila, they all inspired us.  Oh and to James and Anette, you two are amazing.

Spent the day traveling to Atlanta, to partake in the 2 day coffee symposium, pre SCAA.  As usual the travel bit for me was not easy, blizzard in Edmonton, miss my flight in Minneapolis, but nonetheless, I am here.  Connected with Alistair from Elysian Coffee and did a $35 cab ride (both ways) to a slowfood place called Woodfired Grill.  We did the 3 course Chef's choice in honour of Chad and Thea, and had the wine pairing to go along.  The food was pretty good, although held to Montreal standards, it was just OK.  Talked a lot about Transcend and the direction and future, and at the end of the conversation, I feel even more proud and convinced of Transcend's current place and direction.  Nonetheless (I must like this word) it is always good to hash things out, with like minded folk.  Up early for the first day of Symposium, and waiting for Chad and Josh to arrive on Thursday to help me celebrate my birthday.  Perhaps a little Braves?  Can't belive I am 40 this year.  How time flies, and how I really don't care about my age at all.  Thanks to everyone who is making being 40 totally a blast.

For those of you who were excited about the news of Transcend's new Drive Thru, I am sorry to announce that it was all a product of April Fools Day.  One thing that Transcend will never do in the world of specialty coffee is open a drive through.  We have said it before, and now are saying it again, we want to see our customers, know them, and preferably, have them come in, sit down and stay a while.  If you were one of the readers who had a heart attack reading the last blog post, I am sorry, you can breath easy now, and it was Josh's idea, really.

After months (if not years) of customer requests, Transcend has finally made the move to opening another venue.  After long hours of planning and negotiations, Transcend has secured a venue (location yet to be disclosed) which will serve as its first Drive Thru espresso bar.  Josh Hockin, long-time barista and now member of the management team calls this a "bold move for Transcend, and a trend setting decision that will shape the coffee culture in Edmonton for years to come."  The new drive thru espresso bar will feature the Twitter menu, which will enable customers to tweet in their order before arriving at the window.  While it may reduce the contact time with the customers, "it will exponentially increase the flow-through capabilities of Transcend, without compromising the quality in any way, whatsoever", comments Chad Moss, roaster and competition barista for Transcend.  Details are still being worked out on the exact operational perameters of the new outlet, and as soon as the documents are signed, Transcend will announce the location of its exciting new Drive Thru espresso bar.