[March 19th, 2008]

Three dollars may seem like a lot for some hot liquid, but any Portlander will tell you that coffee in this town is more Orient Express than Amtrak. Crisp espresso, sinewy foam, knowledgeable baristas and the comfort of a warm cafe—that’s luxury, and at three or four bucks, it’s pretty affordable. These are the cafes that do it best.

Extracto

The most exciting cafe in Portland right now, thanks to the looming launch of Cherry, a new small-batch roastery that will operate out of the space beginning this summer. In the meantime, Extracto offers beans from California’s excellent Barefoot Coffee Roasters, making it a must-visit for coffee enthusiasts. 2921 NE Killingsworth Ave., 281-1764. Open daily.

get over there!

CHRIS BACA from Ritual Coffee is the winner!!

Rock it Chris!

Kyle Glanville from Imtelligentsia Coffee took second

and Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch took third.

congrats all.

Team Barefoot did pretty well too!

Monica from Barefoot placed 8th
Ben from Temple Coffee took 9th
Jessica from Temple too 10th
and Marie from Barefoot took 11th
Adam from Caffe Med competed well and learned alot even though he went overtime too far.

a nice tight sweep!! Great job Barefoot team! Rock on! We are so proud of you all. You do the coffee proud!

The 4th Annual Western Regional Barista Competition comes to the Gaia Arts Center, Berkeley, CA, and raises the bar yet higher in the pursuit of espresso excellence and specialty coffee appreciation.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America presents the 2008 WRBC, showcasing the talents of the best baristas from across California and Hawaii. The winner will compete in the semifinal round at the 2008 U.S. Barista Championship in Minneapolis, MN; the winner of the U.S. competition will compete in the 2008 World Barista Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark.

All the usual WRBC favorites will return this year, as well as some exciting new additions:

The Fourth Machine & Clover Brewer: showcasing regional specialty coffee roasters with competition-level espresso and cappuccino & coffees brewed on the Clover single-cup brewer. Served free to the public!

Speakers and Seminars by Joseph Rivera, Kenneth Davids, Sarah Allen, Mike Perry & more.

The Painted & Photographed Bean: A Coffee Art Perspective featuring local artists.

Trophies for top three competitors by a local artist and New Awards: Best Espresso, Best Signature Drink, Most Promising Newcomer & The Barista’s Barista.

We invite any one who likes coffee and food to come out and enoy the festivities and watch some amazing Baristas compete. Team Barefoot is being represented by a total of six competitors this year. From Barefoot is the famous Monica R. Hill and Marie Holston. Monica and Marie competed out of region at the Southwest regional last month to get practice. Marie took third place in here first competition! Two first time Barista competitors from Temple Fine Coffee in Sacramento will be looking to kick a little coffee action. And two first time Barista competitors from Caffe Mediteraneum in Berkeley are also representing team Barefoot.

In addition four Baristas from Barefoot , Sean Komescher owner of Temple and Craig Becker owner of Caffe Mediteraneum will be judging the competition.

Barefoot will also have two slots on the 4th machine this year serving up beautiful single origin coffees on the espresso machine and the Clover machine. Friday 10 to 11 am and Sunday 1 to 2 pm. Come on by and taste some coffee!

If you come wear a Barefoot shirt to show your love for the whole team and cheer loudly when anyone from the team competes. Look for Barefootians wearing the team jacket.

Get yourself there!

Smalltown has been serving up sweet Barefoot Coffee love for two years of tasty bliss.

Rock it girl! we love the Smalltown!

www.smalltowncoffee.com

1. Temple Fine Coffee and Tea
1014 10th Street, (916) 443-4960
www.templecoffee.com

And it seems a first that we have ever heard of:

Best overall service (for ALL dining in Sacramento!!!)

1. Mulvaney’s Building & Loan
1215 19th Street, Suite 100; (916) 441-6022
www.culinaryspecialists.com/mulvaneyBL.htm

2. The Waterboy
2000 Capitol Avenue, (916) 498-9891
www.waterboyrestaurant.com

3. Temple Fine Coffee and Tea
1014 10th Street, (916) 443-4960
www.templecoffee.com

and check out the top two restaurants, high end dining and high end coffee? Oh Yeah!

Coffee tales

Sunday, August 05, 2007

It is a wonderful thing to live in an era that has both great coffee and the boundless range of the Internet.

Having a daughter who works as a barista in Sacramento nicely complements my coffee interest. When we get together, we visit the capital city’s better coffee houses.

On this particular afternoon, it was a toss-up: Naked Lounge in mid-town or Temple in downtown. Since we’d done Naked Lounge three visits running, I opted for Temple.

Napa has nothing like Temple. It is to coffee houses what Opus One is to wineries. Higher prices, a conveyed sense that here is served the nectar of the gods.

Temple is the creation of Sean Kohmescher, an intense young man with a passion for java perfection. Two years ago he converted a former bookstore on a seedy block near the capitol into a gathering spot for those who worship the bean.

Temple’s coffees are organic, fair trade, ground to order. There’s always fresh art on the walls. The music tends toward jazz and world beats. Kohmescher, who heads the California chapter of the Barista Guild of America, watches over things with an eagle eye.

Jenny ordered for the two of us. Two single shot cappuccinos, please.

Temple had added a wrinkle since our last visit. Cappuccinos no longer came a standard way. We had to pick from a list of exotic beans.

The barista rattled off four or five choices. None of them registered on my unprepared brain.

Jenny asked the barista for a recommendation. He suggested the Brazil Camocin Peaberry. A hint of hibiscus sweetness, strong acidity, the intense flavor of dried fruit.

Was he serious? This sounded like wine speak.

When the barista delivered our cappuccinos, they were drop-dead gorgeous. Abstract images had been woven into the perfectly foamed milk.

Drink in hand, I began walking to the condiment counter to douse my cappuccino with sugar. A single packet of Sugar in the Raw normally does the trick.

Seeing what I was up to, the alarmed barista called out to me. My cappuccino needed no adulteration. It was perfect the way it was, he said.

I turned around. Excuse me?

The owner joined in. At least taste it first, he said. The milk and the peaberry bean were chosen to deliver a delicate natural sweetness.

This was surreal. Two horrified coffee purists were imploring me not to crack open a Sugar in the Raw. Is this what our national obsession with gourmet coffees has come to?

Not wanting to needlessly displease, I lifted the cup to my lips and took the smallest of sips. The Brazil Camocin Peaberry had the strangest flavor of any espresso I’d ever tasted. On first blush, more peculiar than pleasing.

Meanwhile, the barista and the owner continued staring at me. They were waiting for me to see the error of my ways and step away from the sugar.

I sipped a second time. They were right. This cappuccino was special. All it lacked was Sugar in the Raw. I cracked open a packet and let the brown granules pour.

The owner and the barista now averted their gaze. I had become a pariah, a philistine who insisted on having his $3 cappuccino his way.

I huddled on a black leather couch with Jenny. What the heck just happened? Do Kohmescher and his barista do this to all their customers?

Jenny said she would never ambush a customer this way, but Temple is different. Coffee is a religion here, she said.

Recalling the Soup Nazi episode of “Seinfeld,” we agreed that Temple had become a nest of coffee Nazis.

The ironic thing, Jenny said, is that a lot of savvy coffee people would have rejected the barista’s recommendation of Brazil Camocin Peaberry. The roast was too light for a traditional cappuccino, she said.

A little later Kohmescher walked by. He was still stewing. Some Temple aficionados drive 60 miles to drink one of his celestially wonderful cappuccinos, he said.

Later, when I disappeared to the bathroom, he continued to process my sugar faux paux with Jenny. He compared Temple to a four-star restaurant. If the chef serves the main course with the expectation that it be consumed as is, it would be churlish to ask for a salt shaker, he said.

Who knew? My barista thinks of himself as Thomas Keller.

I’ve been asking myself if I will go back to Temple. Sure I will. The coffees are generally spectacular, the ambiance is the best.

And best of all, they don’t charge extra for the attitude.

Kevin can be reached at 256-2217 or Napa Valley Register, P.O. Box 150, Napa 94559 or kcourtney@napanews.com