Pacific Bay Coffee Co.

Our July featured artists are photographers Michael Robinson and Verna Dow.

“It all started with a simple question, “Would you take a hike with me?” and the adventure began resulting in a memorable photographic collection of the East Bay Regional Trails depicting the beauty and spirit of the outdoors. Images were acquired while hiking the Regional Trails unknown to many residents.

For Michael the challenge is to always have an image in mind before capturing it, to always have an idea of the message that the image should convey. This is particularly difficult with landscape photography, making the hikes all the more enjoyable. Michael has a strong background in photography with degrees from University of the Witwatersrand – Johannesburg South Africa, the University of Colorado – Boulder Colorado, experiencing freelance Wedding & Travel Photography and is currently a resident of Concord, CA.

Verna is self taught with support of local park and recreational programs. Through her photography, she has captured the spirit of the earth using natural light to enhance the image. The excitement for her is the challenge of being in the right place, having the right light, and capturing the image. Verna is a resident of San Ramon, CA.

Michael uses both a Canon 10D & 5D digital SLR camera while Verna captures her images with a Sony Cyber – Shot DSC-F717. Michael and Verna have recently presented at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery of San Ramon.”

Some of you may have noticed a small sign that sits at our register these days. It says: “To help us get your order correctly, Please finish phone calls before ordering.” The comments we have gotten on this sign have been surprising to me- people seem to love it.

The sign was created on a day where on three separate occasions we got drinks wrong because the person ordering them was on a cell phone. One woman said “ I’ d like a coffee. ” She was pretty engrossed in her conversation, so I held up two different cup sizes and she pointed to the smaller one . We got it for her and rung it up , but then she tasted it, put her phone down and said “ This isn’t a latte! ” I understand where the disconnect happened - I say to my roommate all the time “ I’m going to get a cup of coffee ” , but really mean a latte, mocha, or my favorite - a tiny breve. Now, if all you’re ordering is a small coffee, we can probably figure that out with hand gestures and miming - ( although I have seen staff get creative with the charades for “ room for cream? ” milking a cow, anyone?) but if it’s more complicated than that, we need a little bit of interaction to make sure you get the drink you want- what size, what milk preference, hot or cold, which kind of chai, and if you ’ d like whip cream to top it all off. If you’ve ever seen someone try to mouth the words “Large-decaf-soy-vanilla-latte-with-no-foam” you can begin to understand where this all falls apart . My lip reading skills are even worse than my mind reading skills.

But, I think people like the sign for a simpler reason. It reminds us all that, yes, you may just be running an errand or getting a cup of coffee, but more than that, we’re all people interacting. That taking a moment to stop and just do one thing might be a more relaxing way to enjoy your coffee. It’s too easy to get caught up and whisked away by the important things in our lives that grab at us , through our cell phones especially, and miss what’s happening right now, right in front of us.

Here at Pacific Bay, we really do want you to walk out the door with the exact delicious drink that you desired , but without your help, it might just end up being a small coffee. (which is pretty great too! But not if you were hoping for a latte.)

What a weekend! I truly hope that all who attended had a good time. We sure did.

Ben Perkins, our barista and first time competitor did a great job and came in at a very respectable 13th place out of 38. Well done Ben! We are proud. Check out photos of Ben here and the entire weekend (including our own Barista Stephanie fire dancing) here.

Some of the non-competition part highlights include:

• The Gaia Art Center was packed, we estimate over 1000 came during the weekend & Friday, March 28 was declared Specialty Coffee Day in Berkeley by Mayor Tom Bates.

• 38 competitors, 27 judges, 55 sponsors, and more than 100 volunteers made this event happen (it was completely sponsor and volunteer driven. Thank you to all those that helped make it all work!)

• Over 1000 cups of Clover brewed coffee (the company recently acquired by Starbucks) and many more espressos and cappuccinos were served free to attendees at the “4th Machine” (3 espresso machines are used in the competition, the 4th one is for the attendees to enjoy)

• $513 in tips from the 4th Machine was raised for Coffee Kids

• Baristas for Bikes/Bikes to Rwanda raised just under $3,187!

“The 2008 WRBC was a fantastic event not only for total funds raised for the organization but more importantly for building key relationships with cafes, roasters, and industry individuals that believe in our programs and want to help us to reach our goals.

The farmers in Rwanda are looking to us to bring transportation resources that will improve their coffee and in the end help in economic development.

We look forward to furthering the connections we made and completing the circle from consumer to roaster to producing farmer.

Thanks to everyone who helped us achieve such a success.”

Clara Seasholtz, Executive Director, Bikes to Rwanda

The weekend got great press too! Click on the links to read, hear and see the coverage.

Berkeley’s Specialty Coffee Day Declaration

KCBS Newstalk 740AM Radio (About the Bay with Mike Sugarman featuring John Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee / Jer Swigart, Open Door / Kerry Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee / Chris Baca, Ritual Coffee / Brent Fortune, Crema Cafe + Bakery / Ellie Matuzak, Coffee Solutions / Sarah Allen, Barista Magazine)

NPR KQED / California Report Radio (with Lisa Morehouse featuring David Latourell, Clover / Lisa Suela / John Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee / Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia / Chris Baca, Ritual Roasters

ABC Channel 7 News (with Lyanne Melendez featuring Giovanni Sacco, Coffee Creek / Ellie Matuzak, Coffee Solutions / Keith Gerhke, Flying Goat / Kerry Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee / John Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee / Noe Castro, Guatemala 2006 Barista Champ)

Oakland Tribune /San Jose Mercury Newspapers (featuring Jared Truby, Verve Coffee Roasters / Kerry & John Laird, Pacific Bay Coffee

We still have a few event t-shirts and other collectibles - look for them in our Walnut Creek cafe while supplies last!

1st Place: Chris Baca “you are beautiful”

2nd Place: Kyle Glaneville

3rd Place: Heather Perry

The Queen leaves her pedistal.  And Ryan Brown is crying with tears of happiness for Christopher Baca.

4, 5, and 6 will be announced next week by Michelle Campbell and the SCAA

Join the Barista Guild of America at www.baristaguildofamerica.org and work on your barista skills with others just like you.

Donate to “Bikes to Rwanda” at www.bikestorwanda.org and help make coffee growers lives easier.

Thank you to John and Kerry for putting on an amazing event.

Thank you to Michelle Campbell for all her hard work.  Without her, none of this would happen.

We will see you next year!

Ryan Wilbur from Intelligentsia. He starts preparation on his signature drink.  Demands them to turn up the music while he prepares his capps.  The room is thumping.   He uses the dosorless mazzer. The espresso drips out and he throws them out.  He begins again.  He show the tech judges his good shots and resumes by steaming milk.  He pours and caramel heart.  The crema floats to the surface. 4 hearts served with pleasure and butterscotch sweetness.  Hip hop plays. He refills sparkling water for the judges to cleans there pallots. 

Espresso.  Lime, toasted almonds, and butterscotch. 

He is using a long cylindrical flute, which bells out at the lip.  He pours a cream on top of the espresso.  The crowd chatters and we can’t hear a word he is saying.  Shhhhhhh!  He uses a shaker and adds hibiscus flower and chocolate notes.  45 seconds remain.  He scurries to clean his station.  He calls time with 2 seconds remaining.  The crowd cheers.

Drew describes his passion to make coffee for coffee lover.  He will be using a Brazil and Ethiopian Blend.  He starts out with a capp, by dosing out all the coffee that may be trapped in the grinder. He tamps with incredible precision. Drew is a first time competitor and has come far within his knowledge.  He is incredibly humble and crazy guy.  He has learned from the best: Gabe, Ryan, and Chris at Ritual Coffee.  He serves his capp with shaky hands, but the rest of his body in incredibly relaxed.  He starts his espresso.

Orange, caramel, with a dark chocolate finish.  5 minutes remain.  The music picks up and Drew is on the final finish.  He moves diligently preparing his signature beverage.  His tamp is incredible.

Signature Drink. He has infused an orange zest, vanilla bean, which is inspired by his coffee and and ice cream that he had in Dolores Park in San Francisco. He makes the beverage with ice.  Sweat is dripping from his forhead.  He is shaking.  The crowd cheers him on.  He calls time with 1 second remaining. What a great job.  Go Drew.

Heather is from Coffee Klatch, which is in San Dimas.  Heather rubs her hands. Her blend is comprised of coffee from the Americas, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.  She describes her signature drink with smiles and stories of its creation. 

She begins with a capp made of organic milk, which adds a sweet butteriness.  Jana dives to eye level of her tamp, inspecting to see if it is off.  She instructs the judges of what she wants them to do.  She controls them, she is trying to own them.  She pours nearly perfect rosettas.  She says that she loves the sensuality of the capp.  The crowd cheers.  She clears all un-needed pitchers and begins the espresso.  7 minutes remaining.

Espresso.  Body with hints of berry.  The crema looks incredible: caramel and golden brown with flecking.  Jazz is her music of choice. She uses a Mazzer Major doser grinder, but is still able to have nearly no waste.  It is incredibly difficult to do. 

Signature drink.  Comprised of an almond cream that had heated and cookes for 24 hours.  The cream floats on top of the espresso and the back of the glass is spritzed with lemon rine.  The crowd cheers and she called time at 14:59.

Hello again!  This is Sean from Temple Coffee in Sacramento, Ca.

The Gaia Art Center is starting to fill up with chatter boxes.  Nick Griffith from Intelligentsia is scrutinizing the clean machine.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with this process, the details are what separate first place from second.  Nick is amazingly come and collect during competition.  His hands are like the stealth bomber: quick and incredibly smooth.  It looks easy to him.

Sarah Allen runs through all the sponsors: clap, clap, clap.

 There is a big round of applause.

Sarah explains the details of judging: sensory, technical, and head judges.  Brent and Lana will be the head judges.  Brent looks intense and stressed, but looks good in black.

Nick has 4 1/2 minutes set-up time left.  The audience is very quiet.  Chris Baca from Ritual Coffee Roasters inspects his station.  Move grinders to exact placement.  His personality in public is loose and inviting, but on stage he is calm, collect, and methodical.  He knows how important the details are if he is going to take down the forever reigning champion-Heather Perry.

Are judges are:

Brent:head judge

Lana and Jana Oppenheimer: technical judges

Andrew Barnett: sensory judge

Nick Griffith: 1st competitor

Begins his time. He uses a Rwanda, Brazil two bean blend.  He starts toasting almonds for his signature drink.  He pulls his espresso with a dosorless Mazzer grinder.  While waiting for his second round of shots-he cleans.

Vibrant acidity, beautiful mouth feel.  The crowd claps. He has 12 minutes left.

He starts his espresso for the capps.  The judges do a visual look at his just with intent.  They are looking for perfection.  The steam milk foam.  He pours a heart, and then another.  All hearts.  The crowd claps.  A little hip-hop, his music of choice.

He stirs almonds and they are toasty.  The smell fills the room.  I hope that this does not heart Baca’s presentaion.  Everyone with be tasting almonds.  Nick fills the waters. He shows the judges his shots of espresso for his signature drink.  He wanted to create a drink that could be enjoyed for a long period of time. Smell the aroma, “take a sip and enjoy.” 1 1/2 minutes left and he begins to clean his station.  The crowd cheers.  He calls time at 14:04.  He is satisfied with the cleanliness of his station. Next up, Chris Baca from Ritual Coffee Roasters.

Chris Baca: 2nd competitor

He is a big single-origin fan.  He will start out with capps.

Are you ready to see Chris Baca.  He pushes the red star.  The best thing he finds about training at Ritual is watching people fall in love with coffee.

 He will be starting out with a single-origin capp.  He preps his signature cheesecake drink and begins his capps.  He grinds out any stale coffee in the grinder.  He sets the portafilter on the counter for aromatics and to save the crema for the judges. He steams milk silky and very quietly.  The tech judges peer over his shoulders.  The espresso is golden brown.  He asks the judges to smell the coffee before he pours milk into the capps.  He pours them table side.  The judges will love this.  He speaks of the way the coffee was grown, expressing his ethusiasm for the bean.  He throws out some coffee and begins again.  He pours the espresso.

Espresso course.  Caramel notes with a lime finish.  The crowd cheers.  He doses shots for his signature beverage.  A cherry lime reduction.  Cream cheese, powdered sugar, for the meat and potatoes of the drink.  He floats the cream on top.  He rushes to clean up the station.  Calls time at 14:58. Next up, Kyle Glanville.

Kyle Glanville: 3rd competitor

Kyle is from Intelligentsia Coffee Roaster in Los Angeles.  The cowd claps.  He will be serving an espresso made up of 3 different Brazils: chocolate, winey, syrupy.  He speaks about his signature beverage just prior to starting the espresso.  His signature drink is actually warming in front of the judges, which is uncommon but a great attribute to the beverage experience.

Espresso is served, instucting them to swirl the cup to pick up the sweetness in the cup.

He adds more beverages to the signature drink. and then starts on the capps. He uses a dosorless Mazzer grinder.  I think, being a tech judge, that it gives the competitors a huge advantage on waste.  Next year, they will have to use the grinder supplied by the sponsors.  He pours rosettas with his shaking hands.  The crowd claps.  Brent, the head judge sips on them all and makes an assesment.  Kyle continues to modulate his signatured drink preparation.  He has 5 minutes left.  He fills the waters.

The signature drink.  He pours his espresso into long cylindrical flutes.  He uses cardomon and macadamia nuts, which are strained and added to the espresso and topped with ice cream. He serves them and the crowd claps and screams. 20 seconds remaining.  He call “time” at 15:00.  Next up, Heather Perry with her new hair cut.  I give it a 5 out of 6.  She means business.

Sean from Temple Coffee is here to announce the Finalist for the 2008 WRBC.

Clap for the wonderful host Pacific Bay and all the sponsors (i’m sorry, but there is too much love to list).

Awards for “Bikes to Rwanda.” Barista for Bikes is a non profit organization, which takes donations to provide bikes and maintenance For Rwandans. 

Thank you to the head judge Brent and Lana.

Lots of clapping for all the wonderful judges who sacrifice their time for all the baristas!

A thank you for all the baristi who participated.

Applause for the Laird family for putting on the best event.

Not in any particular order, the Top 6 who move to the finals. The official ranking of the Top 6 will be announced tomorrow.

1.Kyle Glanville from Intelligentsia

2.Ryan Wilbur from Intelligentsia

3.Drew Cattlin from Ritual Coffee

4.Heather Perry from Coffee Klatch

5.Chris Baca from Ritual Coffee

6.Nick Griffith from Intelligentsia

Best Espresso: Heather Perry from Coffee Klatch

Best Signature Drink: Heather Perry from Coffee Klatch

Most Promising Newcomer: Drew Cattlin from Ritual Coffee Roasters (I love you man)

Congratulations to all the finalist and newcomers.

I am taking a nap in preparation for the Ritual Coffee Party tonight.  See you there!

is a good thing.  Raising money for Rwandan coffee farmers to buy bikes, so they can transport their own coffee to market, cutting down the middlemen and increasing profits to those who work for coffee.  find out more here: http://bikestorwanda.com/

thanks to Pac. Bay for organizing this competition: i’ve had a good time.