Well, the first ever Brewers Cup is over. Seventeen individuals competed in the first round, and six made it to the finals. While each finalist did a great job, especially considering that most had no notice of the event, one competitor stood above the rest in my mind. The winner of this event, Devin Chapman, was a fitting champion. And for the sake of the next regional competitions, I would like to elaborate on what I think set Devin's performance above the rest.

Without any doubt, the coffee that you serve is above all, the most important aspect of your overall score. In fact, the scoring of the coffee results in about 70% of the competitor's final score. But, the remaining 30% of the score is in my mind a very significant aspect of this newly birthed competition. As the specialty coffee industry is starting to see a shift towards the sale of more brewed coffee it is critically important that coffee establishments understand the importance of customer service. Don't get me wrong, not everyone who walks into Transcend Coffee wants to be educated about the coffee, or where it comes from, and least of all the flavour and aroma notes associated with it. It is the job of a barista to be able to read the customer, who simply requests a cup of joe, and clearly doesn't want to be bothered with any details. But this customer is in the minority. More and more customers want to understand the nature and constituting aspects of the quality beverage they are drinking. And as we ask our customers to pay more, this will become even more important.

Today, in my mind, and obviously the other two judges, Devin epitomized and embodied that exceptional customer service, and married it to the brewing of three individual great cups. He was not only enthusiastic, and well spoken, but he was discernibly passionate about the coffee he was serving. He was able to engage me, and by the end of the presentation, I wanted very much to drink the Santa Barbara Honduras coffee he was going to serve me. He communicated a tremendous amount of information about the coffee, the country, his passion, and the brewing method, all in less than ten minutes. And more importantly, he did it in a way that I thought was accessible, and engaging. In short, I told him that I would love to come to his cafe to drink coffee any day of the week.

So, if any of you reading this blog post are planning on competing in future Brewers Cup competitions, please remember that it is about more than just the coffee. Amazing coffee is just the start of a great experience for the customer. If you as a barista can couple an extraordinary cup with a passionate conversation which excites your patron, then, you have succeeded in creating a truly memorable coffee experience.

During the last two days, I have had the honour and pleasure of judging the first ever USBC Brewers Cup. This is a manual brewing competition, where in the first round, competitors brew have seven minutes to brew three separate servings of the same coffee, which are then evaluated by the judges. Every competitor is using the same coffee, but they are free to choose how they want to brew it. We we served by 17 competitors during the first round, and they used everything from the Aeropress, the Clever, Chemex, modified and unmodified french press, a new metal Kone, and the Hario v-60. Essentially, the judges job was to evaluate the end result of the brew more than the actual coffee being served. While the competition was going on, the spectators were free to try the same coffee which was being prepared on the Bunn Trifecta. Out of the 17 first round competitors, 6 made it through to the final round today.

Today, during the finals, the finalists will have 10 minutes to prepare and serve each judge, with a couple of added elements. The competitor must present the coffee to the judges and talk about it as they would a customer in a cafe. As well, each competitor will use a coffee of their own choosing. So judging today will be a bit more challenging. Not only will we be confronted with coffees that we haven't had a chance to calibrate on, but we will have to evaluate their presentation as well. As far as I know, the competitors will be slotted into the in-between spots of the barista competitors; which will give people something to watch as the judges deliberate on each barista performance. Tune in and watch the fun today at the USBC site to watch the events.

Yes. The rumours are true and we are delighted to announce that we're joining the vibrant and growing coffee culture in downtown Edmonton! Details in the news release below.

Transcend Coffee to Open New Café on Jasper Avenue and Expand Food and Beverage Options

Edmonton, AB – Thursday, January 27, 2011 – Transcend Coffee Corp.—an Edmonton based coffee importer, roaster, retailer and educator—today announced plans to open its third Edmonton café, located at Jasper Avenue and 104 street, in the space currently occupied by Axis Café. Transcend plans to have the new café open for business in March, 2011.

“We had planned to open a downtown café sometime this year,” says Poul Mark, owner and founder of Transcend Coffee, “but the opportunity to take over the Axis Café space was unexpected and has come together quickly.” Transcend Coffee will take over the assets and lease of Axis Café February 1st, make adjustments to the equipment and decor and open in a relatively short period of time. “We’re very happy with the location and confident we can bring the Transcend experience to the downtown crowd.” The new café will be staffed by existing, seasoned Transcend baristas—who have received more than 100 hours espresso and latte art training—as well as a some new hires.

New Food and Liquor program

The new Transcend Jasper café as well as the existing Transcend Garneau café (8708 – 109 St) will also be introducing an expanded hot food menu as well as a small selection of remarkable beer and wine in the spring of 2011.

New food items will all be made in-house by Chad Moss, Transcend’s head roaster, new culinary lead and Red Seal chef, while artisan breads will be baked by Transcend’s bread enthusiast, Jeff Johnson. The concept is to create a Central and South American ‘coffee-origin street food' menu that reflects some of the delicious foods that Transcend green coffee buyers experience during sourcing trips. Dishes like empenadas, pupusas, aprepas, pao de queijo, and the like will make up a flavourful and unique dining experience for Edmontonians. “Of course we will be focusing heavily on local ingredients in all of our food preparations, and we will approach food with the same dedication as our coffee,” says Chad Moss. Bread products will include a variety of naturally leavened sweet and savory artisan breads in a variety of forms. All of Transcend’s locations will be carrying Jeff Johnson’s complete line of artisan hearth breads for enjoyment at home as well.

Beer and wine will also be approached in the same manner as coffee, focusing on unique, exceptional, flavourful hard-to-find beverages that accentuate the new food items and have a story of their own.

Expanded Roasting Operations

Transcend Coffee has also recently leased a new 5,000 square-foot facility at 7724-69 Street to house its new, expanded roastery. A vintage 1950s Probat UG 22 roaster was received in January by Transcend which will allow it to triple its roasting capacity. “The new roaster will allow us to again raise the quality of our coffee,” says Poul Mark, “the cast iron manufactured in the ‘50s was more thermally stable, which allow for greater bean development and allow us to dial in our coffees even better than we do now.” The new roaster was completely retro-fitted with new burners and controls by Giesen in The Netherlands before being shipped to Edmonton. Moving roasting operations will allow for the original Argyll coffee bar to add more seating and reconfigure space to accommodate the expanded kitchen and bakery needed for the new food program.

–30–


Poul Mark is available for interviews concerning the new Jasper Ave café, food and liquor program, as well as coffee importing, roasting, fair and direct-trade coffee, and the new wave of specialty coffee.


Contact:
James Schutz - director of marketing
ph. 780.801.4891 | cell: 780.913.2451
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.twitter.com/jamesschutz

This is going to be a trip to remember. We've nailed down most of the details now, so you can officially peruse the itinerary – note some of the swank accommodations! I for one can't wait to meet Jaime from Sin Limites and soak up all the coffee knowledge I can – not to mention the general sunny awesomeness that is Costa Rica.

You can register online – there are still a few spots left, but they're going to fill up fast. Poul was on Global TV today talking about the trip.

Here's the itinerary!

Sunday, March 13 – travel and meet at the Marriott Residence in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Monday, March 14 – Visit Exclusive Coffee's boutique mill and cupping lab, presentation on Costa Rica's micromill revolution, cuppings. Visit Central Valley Brumas del Zurqui micromill. Accommodations at the Marriott Residence, San Jose.

Tuesday, March 15 – Visit West Valley Region farms and micro mills: Sin Limites, Terra Bella, and Genesis. Accommodations at the charming and comfortable Rancho Amalia.

Wednesday, March 16 – Visit Helsar micro mill, travel and tour the famous Arenal Volcano. Accommodations at the luxurious Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort.

Thursday, March 17 – Canopy tour in Arenal, hot springs, a second day and night to enjoy the Tabacon Resort.

Friday, March 18 – Travel to and enjoy the spectacular Los Suenos Marriott Ocean Resort.

Saturday, March 19 – A full day of fun and sun in Los Suenos.

Sunday, March 20 – Travel back to San Jose for another night at theMarriott Residence San Jose.

Monday, March 21 – Visit farms and micro mills in the Terrazu region. Accommodations at the Marriott Residence San Jose.

Tuesday, March 22 – depart for home or other destinations!

 

Register and secure your spot on this memorable trip.

Yes, it's true. We need a few more coffee-nerd-rockstars behind the bar at our Edmonton cafés. Here's a list of questions we ask to help find our ideal bean-geeks.

• Do you LOVE coffee? Can you prove it in your cover letter?
• Do you actually enjoy working hard? Yes, being a barista is fun, but it's also hard work.
• Are you very outgoing? Are you keen to ask and answer questions?
• Can you work some evenings and weekends?
• Do you have any professional barista experience (working a manual espresso machine)? This one is not a requirement, but a big bonus.

If you can truthfully answer yes to at least the first four, if not all five of the above questions, we'd like to hear from you. Please email a resume and cover letter to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

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