A bunch of things happened today, to make my observation of early morning more poignant.  As I was driving to work this morning (and keep in mind it was a cold morning for May in Edmonton) I witnessed a couple of guys who work for a car dealership attaching balloons on cars.  I couldn't help but think as I drove past, that this was a pretty pathetic method at trying to increase car sales.  Think about it!  If you were in the market to buy a new car today, would the fact that it had a balloon attached to the windshield wiper make you want it more?  I sincerely doubt it!  While this wasn't a GM dealership, that mentality made me think that maybe it isn't a bad thing after all that 300 dealerships in Canada are going to be shut down.  Seriously, if innovation and cutting edge marketing is reduced to putting a balloon on a car, then we are all doomed.

I spent an hour with a company who does high end events, talking about the Prairie Regional Barista Championships, to see if they might want to help us this year.  At the end of the meeting, it was clear that this wasn't the year, but we left with ideas for 2010, and how we might engage some of the fine folk of Edmonton, into a taste extravaganza which might work next year.  Innovation is more than a balloon on a car!  Innovation is what has me contemplating throwing $2000 on a whirlwind trip for Chad, Josh and Me to fly to LA on Friday to join the party and launch of Intelli's Venice Beach location.  Why would we do this, you might ask?  Not just to join the party, but to acknowledge the "REAL" innovation and passion that Intelli is demonstrating in North America not just in terms of cafe design, but in terms of leadership in the specialty coffee industy.  I am not sure that we will actually go, but I want to.  I want to be part of the wedge, the anti balloons on car movement, which offers radical new ideas in the world of specialty coffee to all who will listen.  So on the eve of a refurbished or fully serviced Synesso at Transcend, and the evening of the day where I witnessed balloons being tied on cars, I want to challenge all in the specialty coffee industry to do more.  Be more, serve more, learn more, grow more, work more, so that those that watch, drink and listen, might be more too.  OK, time for bed.  To Nick, Kyle, Doug, Geoff, and the crew down in LA, if we don't make it, know that we really wanted to be there.

I was emailed notice on Friday of a package en route to Edmonton, via DHL, which I am excited about.  You can check out the status of this package by clicking on this link.  The excitement I am referring to is the El Salvador COE samples which Luis has sent to us via DHL.  It will be fun to have these samples roasted again, in our shop, and on our table.  I feel like I know these coffees fairly well now, having cupped at least 42 of them twice, and the top 10 three times.  The COE El Salvador auction is scheduled for June 4th.  We will definitely be part of a buying group, to bring is some of the best coffee from El Salvador this year.

I'm still getting used to the flow and dynamics here at transcend headquarters. But, I get the feeling that the days when the Technivorm's make it from their home in the Netherlands, through various airports, clear customs, and finally arrive here in our shop—are very happy and hectic days indeed.

The Technivorm's have indeed arrived. If you've been contemplating when to pull the trigger on one of these brewing bad boys, now just might be the time. Once these are gone, it might be a little while before we get more stock. It's hard to know what kind of travel adventures will be in store for the next round.

If you want to learn a little more about these machines and why—even though there are sometimes little bumps along the way—we're delighted to import and offer these amazing brewers to our customers, you can watch the Cooks Illustrated video review, or read the in-depth CoffeeCrew.com review.

Actually, I was really talking about El Salvador, hopefully got it all right, if not the Consejo will definitely correct me.  Started a little coffee vs. wine smack down in the city of Edmonton too, maybe?  Hopefully some fun and educational results will stem from this interview.

Edmonton AM Interview link.

Luis posted the top 33 El Salvador COE Finalist coffees, and their corresponding scores today.  I have inserted a screen shot of the scores, which is linked to the official website.

As I fly home from El Salvador today, I find myself very tired.  It has been a long couple of weeks, with Atlanta happening just prior to this trip.  I need a stint of time at home just to regroup and get my feet again.  Having said that, this trip was amazing in so many ways.  As always, the people that you meet when traveling to origin are one of the highlights of any trip.  As I focus on people first, I have to talk about the crew at the Consejo, and the amazing job that they do.  It was great to visit these folks again, and just like last time I was in El Salvador, the Consejo staff put on an amazing program.  Maria Jose, spearheaded the organizational front of the COE event, and was absolutely fabulous.  She is not only a delight to be around, with her bubbly personality, but she is also so very on top of things.  Everything was looked after, no detail overlooked.

The Consejo is a jewel of Central America in my opinion with a dedicated and passionate staff, they have equipped themselves to be leaders in terms of training the various communities within the world of coffee.  Ricardo, who was present at this COE, suffered a massive stroke earlier in the year, and despite his difficulties, the staff around him continue to do an amazing job.  I talked to a number of producers at the award ceremonies, and tried my very best to communicate with clarity the unique resource that they have at there disposal in San Salvador.  Whether it is education focused on production, roasting, preparation, or even barista training, the Consejo has invested in both the staff and the equipment to deliver some of the best training available, probably in all Central America.  They have equipped their facility with numerous sample roasters, espresso machines, a Clover, and have the staff available that can use all of it in a professional manner.  They brought their Probatino to Hotel Alicante to do all of the COE roasting, and I was so impressed with the level of quality and consistency of the roasted samples.

As we fly over what must be Mexico, I am struck by the dryness I see below us.  This is in stark contrast to the lush green that I have just left behind.  All I know for sure, is that we have been flying over dry dessert for a couple of hours.

While the week was long, and made longer by my uncooperative stomach during most of the trip, I learned so much.  In truth, judging the Best of Panama last year, didn’t really prepare me for the work that we had to do in El Salvador.  I know, cupping is cupping, but what I didn’t know was how much harder cupping is, when the coffees are both great, and unfamiliar.  What became painfully (at times) obvious to me as we worked through the coffees, is how little I knew about the classic El Salvador taste profile.  It was humbling and difficult work this week to cup so many coffees that I knew were good, if not great, and not really be able (at least at the beginning) to pin down the characteristics which make El Salvador coffees so delicious.  So to wrap this post up, I will admit that I have really just started my journey into the huge world of El Salvador coffee.  I am pretty sure that this journey will take me many years to complete.

Today we made our way back to the Santa Ana region of El Salvador (Jason and Christian) to visit the farms Alaska, La Illusion, La Suisa, and Ernesto's new farm Dos Andes.  We started our day off with a little cupping of the new crops.  The cupping was quite informative and enjoyable too.  The day was spent bumping around on rough roads, checking out small high quality farms.  The state of the farms were in great shape, with recently completed agoveo pruning techniques.  I am pretty worn out, as the week has been taxing both physically and mentally.  To start, we cupped over 115 coffees this week, which required a huge amount of mental effort.  Further complicating this for me was my ridiculous stomach, which has been anything but cooperative.  I guess a bunch of us are going out tonight to get something to eat, and celebrate our last night together.  Tomorrow will be a resting day, and then it is the big trip home on Monday, and then back at it with a pile of stuff surely waiting for me on my desk.

1. Pacamara, Finca El Topacio, 91.68 points - Sonsonate


2. Bourbon, Finca Jocotillo Lote A 89.86 points - Santa Ana


3. Bourbon, Finca Fatima 89.86 points - Santa Ana


4. Pacamara, Finca Buenos Aires 89.61 points - Santa Ana


5. Bourbon, Finca La Batala 89.50 points - Santa Ana


6. Bourbon, Finca La Avila 89.43 points - Usulutan


7. Bourbon, Finca La Nueva 89.43 points - Santa Ana


8. Pacamara, Finca Santa Teresa I 89.34 points - Ahuachapan


9. Pacamara, Finca Nicholas Mountain 88.94, Ahuachapan


10. Bourbon, Finca San Isidro 88.70 points, Usulutan

Ok, thats it for now, I am going out to have a little fun as we have not cut loose all week.