Babychinos and the adorable kids who drink them-Your milk mustaches and giggle fits make our hearts melt, really. It has been so cute to watch these kids grow. 

Rana Market- Those guys are always there when you need them! Especially Rudy.  From the breakfast egg sandwich to the afternoon deli sandwich, chips, salad, hummus and carrots or whatever that get us through our shifts when we more often than not forget to pack a lunch. A barista can’t live on coffee and croissants alone.

The Philadelphia Coffee Community- There are too many of you to name but you know who you are. You keep us coming to the Thursday Night Throwdowns and scooting around to shops around the city every chance we get. Philadelphia has such an incredible and growing group of talented and invested baristas and coffee professionals. I can’t wait to see what is in store for us next!

Our Customers- Duh, you guys are really the best, not just because you help us keep the lights on with your financial support but also because you are as friendly as can be in ways that are above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you for letting us get to know you and your families and pet your dogs. When it is slow behind the counter it is always nice to have some folks around who are guaranteed to liven the place up with some conversation or a crazy story or two!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for your continued support!

His reasons are like any that those of us of the itchy footed variety would understand, sometimes living out of a suitcase and trying to build new friendships and routines in new cities so frequently can wear ya down….but we really know what happened, there was just no city like Philadelphia.

We are all very excited to benefit from all the knowledge that Seth has acquired by traveling to, working in and observing the best cafe’s in some of specialty coffee’s more exciting and unexpected hot spots and he isn’t too hard on the eyes either!

Here is a photo of the Winner Brian with Aaron Ultimo and Betty

Aida’s coffees are internationally renowned for their quality and her dedication to experimenting with new processing styles, taking queues from methods used around the world.  Sadly though, due to her high profile as a coffee producer she has had to take extra precautions recently to avoid theft of her coffee, which occurred last season.  This means her cost of farming isn’t just paying labor and for the land, but also for full time security on her remote farm.

Processing is the phase between the coffee cherry being picked and bagged, the milling and washing-if they are to occur, and the drying of the beans-raised beds or cement patio?  Full sun or a little shade?  These questions and their affects on the flavor of coffees have begun to be addressed significantly though the practice of direct trade which brings the producers and roasters closer than before to create the best possible product.  I will write about this more in the coming weeks.

The owner of Spruce Street Espresso Betty Ortiz, was recently home in her native country of El Salvador and was able to meet with and tour Aida’s farms.  As you can see this is naturally a coffee near and dear to our hearts.  Here is a photo of Betty, her husband Ray and Aida in El Salvador.

Most importantly what is the coffee like?  It smells like a sweet buttered pastry and though the Clever Coffee Dripper has a hint of fruit, almost like sweet raisins, you know, not the salty kind, and bittersweet chocolate to boot.  Come try a cup soon!

read more about Finca Mauritania here.

The apple tree first appeared in central Asia. Today, you can still find its wild ancestors in Kazakhstan, Krygystan, Tajikistan and Xinjang, China.

In 1625, colonial Bostonians planted the first apple orchard on American soil which became an important food source for early colonists. Globally, there are over 7,500 known cultivars of apples.

Our idea of the apple resembles most closely the varieties known as the “Desert Apple”. While Desert Apples are generally bred for raw consumption, the “Cider Apple” produces a tart flavor we demand from cider and hard cider.

Norse mythology associates the apple with a goddess named Idun; she symbolizes fertility. Greek mythology uses “apple” as a more general term for all types of foreign fruit, but not as a specific type. A peice of the forbidden fruit a day keeps the doctor away. If you don’t believe me, ask this fine fellow:

I found this research interesting because coffee plants and apple tress are both largely the result of generations of cross breeding and accidental mutations.  They are also both a commodity and a specialty food.  In the case of the Red Delicious and Granny Smith, their long shelf life creatures that they are similar to the large-scale farming of Robusta coffee beans, while the Burbon and Typica varieties of the Arabica plant have the cult status of a Braeburn or Honeycrisp in the hearts of their followers.

With these distinctions in mind, a variety of apples at a variety of prices so one may choose to pick their favorite, or what is on sale, or just blindly grab for the roundest fruit labelled apple…  Coffee can be a little like that, sometimes you just want something hot and dark; but sometimes a coffee will come along that makes all others a bland substitute, that hits your palate in a way that no others can.  I personally had this experience for the first time with a Guatemala Hueheutenango from Finca Vista Hermosa back in Seattle, Washington.  This coffee is grown by the family of Edwin Martinez, who is also the owner of Onyx Coffee Bar in Bellingham, Washington.

In closing, I both this blog makes you do one of two things, or both; One, come in and try our hot apple cider.  The second, as always, is to help illuminate the almost obsessive dedication we have to the varieties of coffees grown around the globe.

Fun fact: baristas Kendra and Amanda’s favorite apple is the Honeycrisp, which was developed by University of Minnesota in the 1930′s.

Betty, the owner of Spruce Street Espresso visited Aida on her farm in 2009.

“Bold” describes a type of life style. It does not describe the flavor of coffee. What does bold mean?

Bold: adj \’bōld\ 1) Fearless before danger. Daring. Adventurous. See ‘bold’ type.

In an article called “Boycott Bold” from the excellent blog, Dear Coffee I Love You, applauds coffee for “fearlessly takes on each morning like an undefeated champion and gives us the courage to face the day. But there are many other ways to describe this revelation—and the taste of your coffee—than with a hollow descriptor that Starbucks practically own the rights to.”

According to D.C.I.L.U. The Very Large Green Mermaid uses the term imprecisely; sometimes they use to refer to the strength of brewing; sometimes it refers to the strong, or dominant flavor of a specific coffee roast. It remains unclear whether “bold” describes the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee, or some particular aspect of its taste.

If you like bold, and you drink coffee the Very Large Green Mermaid describes as such, to which of Counter Culture’s coffees does that correspond?

This week, I suggest you start with the Santa Elena, a coffee with earthy notes plus hints of fruit, but not in an overwhelming sense. Santa Helena extends a friendly invitation into more complex coffees. You want to start your day out boldly? Boldly explore a coffee with toes of plum or something similar, or something otherwise outside of your comfort zone. Boldly eschew cream and sugar one day a week, or maybe forever.

Most importantly: Boldly ask me any question on your mind about our coffees. If you have a few minutes, I will provide an ear-full.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coffeegeek/sets/72157626389425601/

This is your friendly Spruce Street barista Amanda, I have made it back home to the Pacific Northwest.  I will be updating about local coffee things while I am here, in hopes to expand our horizons concerning our industry directly from its American roots.  Mind you I say roots and not epicenter, because the various regions have turned specialty coffee into a craft all their own in the subsequent years and have contributed their own ideas, personalities, coffees and energy into the brew we love.

Upon flying into Portland Oregon my first priorities was to get to Barista, a beloved cafe which is an easy walk from my favorite Portland couch to sleep on.   Sadly I instead walked up to a sooty shell with a neighboring outdoor cart.  A victim of a 4th of July fire, the owner and smiling workers are taking up post in a little cart in the courtyard of their shop while they rebuild.  Best of luck to all involved, and hope to be back to your indoor space soon!

Read more here- http://sprudge.com/rockets-red-glare-4th-of-july-fire-damages-baristapdx.html