Another one for the record books. And I was there… sort of. Experientially, I was at home with family and familiar spro; virtually, I was a part of the action.

Intelligentsia extends its wings of coffee excellence and Kyle shows us all what it means to be champ. Congrats, Kyle.

As previously stated, it’s tough to predict the results from the sidelines. I guess I owe the world champ 5lbs of coffee… but imagine how much greater Kyle’s score would have been if he would have employed the simultaneous espresso technique!

Congrats USBC finalists:

Nick Griffith, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
Pete Licata, PT’s Coffee Roasting Company
Chris Baca, Ritual Coffee Roasters
Heather Perry, Coffee Klatch
Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
Drew Catlin, Ritual Coffee Roasters

With an increasingly deep pool in this national event, making it to the final six deserves much adulation. It seems telling that three of these baristas were in the finals last year and perhaps that two pairs are from the same company. I don’t know what it means that five of the six are from California.

I learned long ago that there is no way to predict, simply by watching the competition, who will advance. The judges alone taste and evaluate the drinks and there are details they perceive that we simply cannot. So while I root for all and wish the best for my friends, I can’t pretend to predict a winner. However this year, as a spectator, I am making one bold prediction: that the winner will have used the ’simultaneous spro’ technique (being called simulspro and the dually on the live feed chat). When I made this claim, I was met with an instant counter by the world barista champion, James Hoffmann. In the heat of live feed and fast chat, a wager was made: loser owes the winner 5lbs of coffee.

You know where I’ll be tomorrow at 12 noon central.

I guess I really don’t have to post about the USBC live feed. It captured as much attention as I could give it today and that’s where you’ll find me for most of the weekend. If you want to communicate with me, you can find me in the little chat window next to the feed. While there will likely be a contrast in content between those that are there and those that aren’t, all of this coverage must be for someone… who is it for?

I guess I could keep posting baby pictures (or maybe a baby live feed?), but I’d rather spend time gleaning ‘espresso truth’ from the barista confessionals.

All eyes are turning to the SCAA conference in Minneapolis and to this year’s USBC.

It will be interesting to see how the official coverage plays out; how blogging, both by those in attendance and those at home, can engage in the commentary; and how the broader audience might get a taste of the conference and competition drama.

Me… I’ll be glued to the ‘tube’ but all while marveling at this little beauty.

Readers of this blog will know that I blur the line between personal and professional life - between family and coffee-as-business. It might not be the best way to run a business or to run a family, but you aren’t coming here for technical information… this is a story… it is coffee-as-life: a medium for relationship and distilled community.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the birth of our second daughter into this world - Wednesday night - April 23rd - 10.03pm - at home - into water. As with Aya, the event was surrounded with wonder and a fragile confidence - once our hearts were settled, things happened fast. Kendall possesses a strength that I will never understand but will always respect and honor - the result: 9 pounds and 22 inches of new life - a welcomed addition to our little family.

Her name is Evangeline Heartsong Lewis.

We deeply appreciate all of the prayers, words and meals our community, local and extended, have shared. This little one is born into great love. She is also born into the messiness of our lives - these ducks, imminent business decisions, the struggle to carve out a way of living worth passing on to her. But it is the delight and spontaneous celebrating such an event creates that gives us so much meaning and hope.

Long Story Short Coffee is officially a year old as I am revisiting the events where I first set up last year. One such is our town’s Earth Day celebration - under the big trees next to the little electric cars.

I continue to find it ironic and a little unsettling that I was asked to set up. I’m not sure that my current modus operandi fits the theme - I burn fossil fuels, I sell conventional coffees in to-go cups, I feel I am more a part of the problem than the solution. There are some good questions and suggestions on how to green up espresso service. Awareness of products and practices is important, but it seems that love for Nature flows more freely from the human heart than by the market economy.

This morning, I respect her. She’s still snowing.

“How far would you drive for good coffee?” I asked myself as I brushed my teeth at 3.30am. I knew it was a trick question - I don’t have to drive at all - good coffee is close to home. Still, there’s a form of goodness that stimulated a spontaneous trip to Portland, Oregon for coffee and friendship… I picked up Malcolm at 4am. We drove through sleet-like slush, we sped across the palouse, we followed the Columbia. The sun rose, the conversation flowed and before we knew it, we were pulling up to the newly-opened Albina Press.

While there was compounding purpose for this trip, the catalyst was a desire to surprise Billy Wilson, who surprised me by showing up at the Sunrise Jam last August. Fortunately, Billy was on bar… I stepped up… and the moment of recognition was worth the price of gasoline. It was great to not just see, but inhabit this new space. We communed with coffee and I got to hop on bar to help plow through a morning line uncharacteristic for a shop that’s been open two weeks. The place is beautiful.

After filling our bellies with taco truck tacos, Malcolm and I commenced on a tour - knowing we were going to turn around and drive home later in the evening. We tasted Stumptown’s Hairbender at Division, at Crema, at the Ace and at Coffeehouse NW. This was no highly-critical tasting tour - it became so much more an observation of and participation in true coffee community. While at the Press, Shea from Portland Roasting, David from Stumptown and Julie from Fresh Cup all came in for coffee. I got to pull another surprise visit on my friend Sera who was working the line at Division. Checked in with Grady at Crema. And we connected with Daniel and Ray, Idaho’s favorite sons living the coffee dream in the (not-so-)big city. Our last sip of coffee occurred at Stumptown’s daily annex cupping, where I met Silas of barismo repute. Later on, we ran into Brett Hanson taking a more sane and family-friendly trip than our own - it’s a small subculture we’re in - in shouldn’t be surprising to cross paths.

Although we were crashing from an early start and too much caffeine, we met up with Malcolm’s cousin in Sellwood for more Mexican and then with Billy and Sarah Allen for a beer. The insights, inspirations, ideas, and relationships were fuel for our journey home. Twenty-two hours (12 of that driving), a healthy dose of Stumptown coffee, and an unforgettable experience with Portland’s coffee community… take a coffee-inspired road trip - you will and you won’t regret it.

I’ll spare you the public lamentation about snow in April (but can’t you hear the backhanded rant against nature?). Instead I’ll share this very real analogy for new life brooding and cheeping in our living room. What began as an idea for something as simple as eggs became a Christmas present and arrived in the mail in a much smaller-than-expected box. Ten Khaki Campbells are splashing, dabbling, pooping, cheeping and keeping us happy as we imagine the eggs they’ll provide us… provided we brood them, feed them and keep them from harm.

We just unloaded half the brood to our midwife (who also loves the delicious analogy). The heat lamp makes for strange photography, but you’ll see these fuzzy gals in the background of our spring coffee story and, of course, as we continuously celebrate new life.