stay tuned for 2007 date for the next sweet jam…

untill then check out the coffee maniacs

coffee is good

I don’t have many photos as Andy, the chief photographer was a little to shakey from all the coffee to focus well… but here’s a few of the good ones from the jam! Also check out Pacific Bay’s pictures from the event… Kerry Laird got some beautiful “shots.”

A huge thank you. Thank you. Thank You. Thank You.

All of the great sponsors that made this event possible. You are true friends of the Barista.

All of the great roasters that sponsored the fuel (coffee) that let us all play like coffee roadies.

Thank you to the amazing volunteers who made the whole event seem effortless and sweet.

Thanks to all of the coffee kicking Baristas and cafe owners who made the journey to work towards great coffee.

And most of all the hugest thanks of all goes to the amazing, talented, coffee passionate, Barista friendly, super Jam manager and all around ass kicker:

Coffee is 98.5% water. How much do you know about the water you put in your coffee? Creepy huh? David Beeman of Cirqua Customized Water will be at the Jam to teach you a little more about the quality of your water and how it changes the flavors of your brew. Exciting stuff! Come down to the Jam and check it out…

Brewed Awakenings: New Coffee Book Launches
The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop
By Nina Lutinger and Gregory Dicum

San Francisco, CA—Authors Nina Luttinger and Gregory Dicum have just launched their new book on coffee, “The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop” (New Press; 2006). They will be signing books at the Western Guild Barista Jam on Sunday, June 4.

Their book explores the coffee trade from bean to cup, including production, the history of café society, dramatic tales of high-stakes international trade, health aspects, the industry’s major players, and the specialty coffee revolution—including the very latest developments. Finally, the book considers the labor and environmental issues behind mass cultivation, and explores the growing sustainable coffee market.

“Most people who enjoy coffee know very little about where it comes from or how it’s grown,” says co-author Gregory Dicum. “Our book lays it all out in an accessible, fun way that makes you appreciate that your daily ritual is so much more than just a simple pick-me-up. It’s an unassuming tropical plant that’s evolved from the highlands of Ethiopia into a global commodity that makes and breaks national economies and provides the livelihood for up to 20 million people—most of them struggling farmers who make about 3 cents from every $3 latte we enjoy up here.”

“There is no shortage of books on coffee,” says the SCAA’s Chief of Staff, Mike Ferguson, “but none provide the academic depth of The Coffee Book while remaining highly accessible to all levels of interest, making it a ready-reference for both coffee lovers and coffee professionals.” The book is also reviewed in this month’s Tea and Coffee Trade Journal.

Come visit the authors and check out the book at the Western Barista Guild Jam
SUNDAY, JUNE 4
Professional Culinary Institute
700 West Hamilton Ave
Campbell, CA

in all of it’s shiny, studly glorious La mana-ness.

come play.

Brought to you by the Espresso miracle workers at Nuovo Simonelli. Nuovo Makes some darned fine espresso machines and grinders. Also gracing our coffee playground will be the sweet Aurelia from Nuovo Simonelli. This is the machine that was the ONLY other heat exchange machine to almost match LaMarzocco for temperature stability. This is a bitchin machine coffee friends.

And the Barefoot has been pulling espresso sweetness on the Victoria Arduino Lever machine for the last month and loving it. Come play. Come extract. Drink great espresso.

By Sal Pizarro

Mercury News

First it was wine. Then it was specialty beers. Now coffee is the latest beverage to rise above its proletarian origins and develop its own elitist culture.

“The Bay Area is really experiencing an espresso renaissance,” said Andy Newbom, owner of Barefoot Coffee Roasters in Santa Clara.

Coffee, Newbom said, has entered a third wave of popularity. The first was your standard Folgers drip, the second was the espresso revolution started by Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee & Tea. And now, discriminating coffee lovers are going beyond chain coffee shops and are willing to pay a premium for higher quality and more variety.

“It’s very similar to the wine industry,” says Newbom, 33, who prefers the very Silicon Valley title of “chief espresso officer.” “It’s just beginning, so it’s not as developed. But in the last five years, it’s really begun to take off.”

This weekend, Barefoot Coffee Roasters will host the Western Barista Guild Jam at the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell. The two-day event is primarily for professionals — cafe owners, chefs and baristas — but there are a couple of components for the home brewer.

If you want to elevate your morning cup of coffee, the event’s Home Espresso Festival on Sunday will feature the latest espresso machines for your kitchen. Also Sunday at the Iron Barista Competition, teams will compete to make four drinks and a food item using coffee and a secret ingredient. Go to www.westernbaristaguildjam.com for details.

“If we want to get anything out of this,” Newbom said, “it will be to get people to treat coffee as culinary art rather than a caffeinated drug.”