Double Rainbow Hairbender espresso from Stumptown is over. Don't fret, they'll be back on bar in the future! We are so excited to offer a brand new seasonal espresso from Ritual Coffee Roasters called, "Double Rainbow." If you think the name is cute, checkout the label below!
Here is the basic info about the blend straight from the horses mouth: "Double Rainbow is our newest Seasonal Espresso blend just in time for our late San Francisco summer. We've selected four lovely coffees from three origins for the blend this time around, all contributing something different and valuable to the flavor profile. Two coffees from Guatemala create the foundation of the blend, Juan Luis Barrios Ortega's Retiro de Quisaya and Luis Pedro Zelaya's Chuito. Retiro (Bourbon and Pache varieties, grown at 1600-1800 meters in the San Martin region) possess a beautifully balanced sweetness and brightness, while Chuito (Bourbon and Caturra varieties, grown at 1600 meters in Antigua) adds a full, lush body. The third and fourth coffees serve to accentuate the best qualities of Retiro and Chuito. Los Crestones from Costa Rica (grown by La Piedra de Rivas in the Chirripó region at 1600-1800 meters) adds to the silky mouthfeel and sweetness found in the Chuito, but also complements with soft fruits notes of melon and citrus. Lastly, the Rungeto Farmers Cooperative Society's Karimikui from Kenya (SL 28 and 34 varieties, 1650 meters and above) brings layered fruit and complexity." "In the cup, Double Rainbow espresso starts with breath taking aromas of marzipan as well as a cherry and peach compote leading to flavors of walnut butter, mandarin and a clean strawberry fruit, with a crisp shortbread cookie and aromatic pipe tobacco in the finish." "It's so intense, so bright and vivid, so full on, it will leave you saying, my God... What does this mean?" Here are Ritual's brewing parameters (if we make adjustments that we find preferable we will put an update here later): Dose: 18-19 grams in a double basket Temp: 198-200 degrees at the group Time: 24-28 seconds Total Volume: 1.5-2oz Brewing Ratio: 65% or 28-30g of liquid Pump Pressure: 8.5-9 Bar or ~105psi at the group In other news... Who could forget our beloved Chloe Langham? Well, she is really making waves in the coffee scene that is Chicago (Kickstand) and we could not be more proud of her! Here is Chloe featured in a video from Tamara's website, "Latteartthrowdown." The video should open by itself on the homepage of the website. I think this is only the beginning for Chloe. Next step, Regional Barista Competition, and we will be rooting her on every step of the way! We all love and miss you, Chloe!!! Nikolas Krankl, August 26, 2010 ************************************************************************************************************* THOUGHTS ON A HARIO V60-02 GLASS CONE
Been playing around a great deal with these bad boys. Lots of fun. I'm not convinced of the quality, consistency, sensibility and practicality of this manual brew method in shop versus some of the automatic drip equipment options (both home and commercial) i.e. Fetco, Technivorm, etc... However, they certainly are more attractive and cheaper (retail at $19) than just about any other coffee brewer out there. Plus, it is a heck of a lot more fun and challenging putting more control, power and responsibility in the hands of the barista with a capital 'B.' This is a double-edged sword and can be a very good thing or a very bad thing. As a consumer, I have experienced both and unfortunately, more often than not, the latter. But, I am not discouraged and have not counted this out as a great option to implement in shop. Here's the type of set-up that we would need on our bar in order to handle (time effectively) the high volume number of customers that frequent Taste regularly:
Hmmm... You never know folks, you just might see this kind of brew bar in shop sooner than you think. At bare minimum, there is a lot of movement in the direction towards a rotating drip coffee program with the spotlight on origin/farmer and tasting new things. After all, the point that we can all agree on is that variety is the spice of life, right? Said coffee would still be brewed using the Fetco which is ridiculously time efficient/repeatable and certainly produces a very high quality, tasty brew. The ExtractMoJo I use to maintain quality control in the shop is proof of that and can silence even the most cynical critic(s) out there by measuring the TDS Range % (total dissolved solids) and Extraction Yield % to meet the Gold Cup standards for achieving the sweetest possible cup. Due to technical difficulties the ExtractMoJo link is not working, so here's the web address: http://vstapps.com/mojotogo/espresso Interested in learning how to brew using a V60 at home? Here's a funny and yet informative video written, directed, produced, and filmed starring Nick Cho on how-to-brew with a Hario V60. If you want to order your own V60 Glass Cone, paper filters and Buono kettle at the most competitive pricing available in town click here. Nikolas Krankl, August 16, 2010 ************************************************************************************************************* TASTE WINS 1ST PLACE!
Have you heard of latteartthrowdown.com? It is a website and competition created by Tamara Muro that involves rating all of the best coffee bars on the east coast based on ambiance, passion, staffs friendliness, professionalism, quality and of course, who pours the best latte art! The field was stacked with heavy hitters and the best of the best like RBC NYC, CAFE GRUMPY, STUMPTOWN, PAVEMENT, NYC JOE, THIRD RAIL COFFEE, BARISMO, REDEYE ROASTERS, THE EDGE, CAFE 19, SIMON'S, etc...just to name a few... We are very proud to announce that we won first place!!! Given the size and skill of the field we feel extremely honored and grateful to have won. Above you can see a photo of a couple of lattes that we poured for Tamara that won the competition. A big congratulation is also in order for the runner up in this competition, Sip Cafe! Way to go Dylan and Jared! It says a lot about the blossoming talent that is only getting stronger and stronger in Boston. Fun fact: both accounts serve Terroir Coffee. Coincidence? I think not. Watch out NYC, Boston is not very far behind if you ask me! Below is a photograph of Dylan's second place pour from Sip Cafe. Correction: Below is a photograph of Dylan's pour that placed second in the latte art throwdown competition and won the "people's choice award." The photograph previously posted was actually poured by someone else. Our mistake! Congrats Dylan! Keep up the good work. My favorite part about Tamara's website is that she includes a short video of each shop that she visits. If you want to see the video about us, click here. I think that she does a really great job of capturing the essence of each cafe, and then edits her pieces down to the core and includes captivating music soundtracks. Very cool stuff and I definitely think that you should check it out if you haven't already. The next contest on latteartthrowndown is called the "People's Choice" award. This competition is voted on by the public. If you want to cast your vote check out the photographs by clicking here, and then email your top 3 choices to: latteartthrowdown@me.com. I checked out the gallery and I think that there is some great looking stuff and I highly encourage everyone to scope it out and email Tamara your votes. And now for the bit you have all been waiting for, "WHAT'S IN THE HOPPER?". Well, we have been pulling Hairbender from Stumptown for the past 2-3 weeks and we have had a really enjoyable ride. But, we are excited to announce that the next espresso that we will be serving comes all the way from California. Ladies and gentlemen starting on Thursday, July 15 we will be serving you an espresso from a roaster called, "Klatch Coffee." The espresso is called, "Belle Espresso," and it scored a phenomenal 94 points on Coffee Review. Here is what Coffee Review had to say: "Intense aroma: brandy, chocolate, caramel. In the small cup medium in body but smooth in mouthfeel, crisply pungent yet caramelly sweet, with a tightly knit, understated complexity: brandy, caramel, cedar and flowers, hints of which persist in the roundly rich finish. Masters milk with a gentle, brandied chocolate authority." Fun fact: the director of training and consulting for Klatch Coffee is Heather Perry. For those of you who do not know who she is, you should. She is a two-time U.S. Barista Champion and a real icon in the specialty coffee community. Klatch has also received the the 2009 Best Micro Roaster of the Year Award! Shockingly, we are the first wholesale account that Klatch Coffee has ever had in Massachusetts, which means that we are the first coffee bar in Boston to serve them. So chances are you have never tried their beans, but come Thursday the 15th we are going to change all that. I anticipate that retail bags are going to sell out almost immediately so do not wait to scoop a bag or two up. Don't miss out! "I'm so excited I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control and I think I like it." PS. We also have ordered a dozen bags of Cerise Espresso roasted by George Howell for those of you that keep coming in begging for more! Those will be on the retail rack Thursday afternoon. And not to worry, we will be revisiting this espresso very shortly due to popular demand! ATTENTION: THE LINKS ON THE WEBSITE ARE TEMPORARILY NOT WORKING. PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER AS WE ARE WORKING TO PROMPTLY RESOLVE THE ISSUE! SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!
Nikolas Krankl, July 07, 2010 ************************************************************************************************************* CERISE COFFEE REVIEW (92/100)
Cerise was recently reviewed by coffee review and was awarded a stunning 92 points. I am incredibly proud of everyone at GHCC that had a hand in developing this really special blend. We already knew it was delicious, and it also fared extremely well at competition this year, but a good review is always well received, too! Here's the review: Terroir Coffee Cerise Acton, Massachusetts Reviewed: May 2010 Price: $16.95/12 ounces Aroma 8 Body 8 Flavor 9 Aftertaste 9 With milk: 8 Roast (Agtron): (44/53) Origin: Kenya; Colombia; Brazil. OVERALL RATING: 92 Notes: The first offering in George Howell’s Barista Espresso Series, Cerise was developed in cooperation with Nik Krankl of Taste Coffee House in Newton Massachusetts. This espresso blend marks a new departure for Terroir, which has historically offered only elite single-origin coffees. Terroir is the creation of George Howell, one of the world's leading coffee visionaries. It is a pioneer in the revival of medium roast styles designed to foreground the character of the green coffee. Visit www.terroircoffee.com or call 866-444-5282 for more information. Blind assessment: Evaluated as espresso. High-toned aroma combining flowers and very ripe orange with a distant hint of fresh-cut grass. In the small cup smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a complex range of flavors that maintain the floral and ripe citrus theme with complications of black cherry and sweet nut. The flavors carry into a sweet short finish and linger delicately in the long. The flavor complex carries intact into two parts milk cushioned by a rich, caramel-like sweetness. Who should drink it: A competition quality espresso that resists simplification in milk. * * * * * * * * We just finished up a run with Cerise and you can be certain that before long we will crave it back on bar! But for now, we are serving Espresso Toscano by Counter Culture. We are pulling it like this: Short and sweet i.e. 19g coffee dose, 19g bev weight, 27-28 seconds, 201 degrees, yielding approximately 1.25 liquid ounces. As a straight shot and with milk this espresso really appeals to the masses. It has incredible body with tons of caramel, chocolate and orange zest. Not the most challenging but definitely a classic approach to what an espresso should look and taste like. Unlike what we typically serve, this coffee very low acidity. We will do 2 runs with Espresso Toscano so it will be in the hopper for the next 14 days. Plenty of retail bags available as usual.
Nikolas Krankl, June 03, 2010 ************************************************************************************************************* "LIKE FATHER LIKE SON"
Congratulations Dad on your Wine Spectator cover shoot! I'm so proud of you! Now I just need to figure out how to get my name on the infamous Sine Qua Non mailing list :-0
Nikolas Krankl, May 20, 2010 ************************************************************************************************************* Andrew David von Guerard
April 30, 1989 - May 17, 2010
He was beautiful inside and out, gone from us in the springtime of his years. May 17, 2010 Andy died as a result of injuries sustained during an accident with an SUV while riding his bicycle in Newton, Massachusetts. Since August 2009 Andy had been living in Waltham, Ma. During the past year, he was an online student at Mesa State College and worked in the Taste Coffee Shop in Newton, Ma. There he was a cook and eventually earned the title of barista. He had just turned 21, loved living in Boston, and was hitting his stride. Andy was passionate about life and bringing people together. He drew us close with a sense of humor and depth of knowledge beyond his years. Andy also had a passion for skiing, Oh did he ever love “Fresh POW”. "Life" he said, "would not be complete without skiing." Andy was a firm believer in natural rights and a champion of individual liberty. A critical thinker, Andy was ever skeptical of authority and always demanded concrete evidence and sound reasoning behind the positions he took. He had a strong interest in music, DJing a show for some time at Mesa State and later at the University of Puget Sound and expressed himself lyrically as a member of the parody rap group Beta Wolf. Always creative and spontaneous, he loved to drive and to go on adventures throughout the wilderness of Western Colorado. He was a hardcore hiker, climbing many mountains around the state. Andy was born in Pueblo, Colorado April 30, 1989 and was the Omega to his older sister Joy’s Alpha. In 1994, he moved with his family to Grand Junction, Colorado. A 2007 graduate of Fruita Monument High School (FMHS), as a junior in the fall of 2005, he led the FMHS Matchwits team to a state championship. He was also one of the founding members of the current FMHS Knowledge Bowl Team and invented an alternative form of wall ball which was played at numerous Knowledge Bowl Competitions around the state. Andy gave his heart to Jesus as a young boy and on May 17, 2010 Jesus received him into his eternal rest. Andy was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Dave and Dee Twiddy and paternal Grandfather Ralph von Guerard. He is survived by his grandmother Maryanne von Guerard, parents Paul and Tina von Guerard, Sister Joy von Guerard, niece Leila, Girlfriend Natalie Thomas, and Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and many friends from coast to coast. A service to celebrate Andy’s life will be held Thursday May 27 starting at 11am at Redlands Community Church 2327 Broadway in Grand Junction, Colorado. In lieu of flowers donations can be sent to the Buddy Werner Ski Program; Powderhorn Racing Club P.O. Box 532 Grand Junction, CO 81502. Nikolas Krankl, May 20, 2010 *********************************************************************************** USBC 2010 WRAP UP
Wow. Where do I even begin? First and foremost let's talk about my ranking. I made it into the semi-finals (top 25 in the USA), and from that select group of extremely qualified baristas, I ended up placing 12th... in the country! Very cool and I am honored/shocked. To view that info online click here. It's nice to know that all the hard work came across to the judges throughout the three sets of drinks. Most importantly, to me, the espresso tasted phenomenal! It is called, "Cerise," and will be available online at Terroir Coffee or on the retail shelves at Taste shortly. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying this blend, do yourself a favor and grab a bag-- your mouth will thank you for it! The past two years I have developed an espresso blend specifically for competition and it is an incredibly fun and rewarding experience (last year it was from Barismo called, "Poker Face," now referred to as, "Soma," and it has turned into one of their beloved espressos'). I anticipate 'Cerise' will gain similar popularity in due time. Each year I make more progress and push myself harder than before. Let me be the first one to say that next year will be no exception. There's already talk of trips to origin with George Howell and 1-on-1 training with one of the world's best competition barista, who will remain anonymous for the time being. The bottom line is that I'm hungry to get back on stage and see if I have what it takes. Rumor has it that Intelligentsia is not going to be sending any of their baristas to compete next year. Click here to read that press release. BUT, do not be fooled into thinking that their presence will be lacking from the future of competitions. Doug Zell has said publicly that they will be training accounts that use their coffee, and, will take an active role training their own barista to be judges in next year's event(s). Isn't this a conflict of interest? I hope that the SCAA monitors such plans mighty closely. Alas, only time will tell... I MUST give a great big shout out to Jennifer Howell, from GHCC, who placed second in the U.S. Cup Tasters Championship. She got 7 out of 8 right in an impressive 3:01 minutes! Bravo. I think it is pretty clear she got some of her fathers' coffee DNA and I'm sure you will see a lot more of her in the years to come. Last year's US champion and old friend from Boston, Ben Kaminsky, of Ritual Coffee Roasters, defended his title with a perfect score 8 of 8. Word on the street is that it was a nail biter until the last second when Ben changed one of his choices and got the perfect score for his timely decision. Well done, Ben!
Aside from competing, the SCAA 22nd Annual Exhibition was incredible. Coffee stuff galore! I even got to pull shots of Cerise on a Slayer. Now that's what I call a good time. 49th Parallel had a lovely booth set-up with syphon and an awesome custom espresso machine- fully manual. La Marzocco showcased their new "Strada" espresso machine...also awesome. Without going into too much detail, it was a carnival for the coffee-obsessed. I was like an ADHD kid unsupervised and without my Adderall. Splendid! While I was gone, the baristas at Taste were busy breaking record after record. In fact, our daily sales record was broken three consecutive weeks in a row! I want to thank my staff for working like crazy while I was away and I want to thank the local community from Newton and all the way to downtown Boston for showing us incredible support for over two years now. We promise to continue proudly serving you beautiful coffees from local roasters and abroad! Thank you! Finally, a quick update: our beloved Chloe Langham is moving to Chicago to further develop her career in theatre. She's looking into working for either Kickstand or Metropolis as a part-time barista gig while she pursues her studies. If you are reading this, Kickstand or Metropolis, hiring this girl will be the best decision you've made all year! She is flawless on bar and your customers are going to be begging for her to pull their shots and make their cappuccinos. When Chloe started here she knew nothing about being a barista. Oh how times have changed. I know that everyone here is going to miss having her work that 3-group Synesso like Carlos Santana plays the electric guitar-- flawlessly. Chloe was recently featured in an online piece for www.latteartthrowdown.com. Click on the link and view it in tribute to Chloe Langham. I salute you, lady! WHAT'S IN THE HOPPER? We just finished a run with a SOE Colombian espresso from Ritual. Sweet, clean and impressive. So good we blew through it. Next in line is Streetlevel espresso blend from Verve, a roaster based in Santa Cruz, CA. It will pass through the groupheads tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Don't worry, we will revisit our beloved Cerise soon enough. Simply put, we love tasting different coffee from different roasters. We have used GHCC exclusively for the past couple months during competition training and it is time to challenge our baristas and customers again with some different beans and roaster profiles.
Nikolas Krankl, April 27, 2010 *********************************************************************************** United States Barista Championship
Coming off a second place finish at the Northeast Regional Barista Championship, Nik will be competing in the US Barista Championship in Anaheim, CA. You can watch Nik compete live at www.usbaristachampionship.org April 16 at 10:30am west coast time (1:30pm on the east coast). Julia Krankl, April 08, 2010 *********************************************************************************** ROOM TO DREAM ~ GALA 2010 Truly a huge success! I will write a recap shortly hereafter with the details concerning the nitty-gritty stuff i.e. # of attendees, $$$ raised, etc... Big Big Big support from GHCC/TERROIR for providing the second GS3, a grinder, and the superb espresso blend that I developed in tandem with them for the NERBC and will be pulling at the USBC, too, called, "Cerise." Below is a sneak peak of the highly anticipated label that will hit shelves soon and make a large splash in the local espresso game. Also, gotta give it up to Hi Lawn for donating a ridiculously large amount of milk! I thank you and the chronically-ill children that this event benefitted thanks you too! It's too late to review the event right now, but here are a few pics of the night to tide you over until then!
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Nikolas Krankl, April 03, 2010 *********************************************************************************** USBC @ ANAHEIM, CA. APRIL 15-18 ![]() ![]() ![]() So there have been some technical problems with Taste's website which explains the long overdue post. So here's the highly anticipated NERBC recap: First and foremost congratulations to each and every competitor, sponsor, volunteer, friend and family member that made this event such a great success! And a large shout out is in order for the incredible support provided to me by the entire staff from Terroir Coffee/GHCC- you guys are incredibly passionate, generous and most importantly fun to work with! So here's the deal. Compared to last year, this years event had a much larger field (according the the SCAA we had the largest number of competitors out of any region in the country), and a much tougher field than last year (minus the fact that the infamous Amber Sather did not defend her title as back-to-back NERBC champ). The best of the best gathered to strut their stuff on stage from most every notable shop/roaster around and the top 3 "best" in the region are: 1st place: Danielle Glasky, Stumptown Coffee--> NYC 2nd place: Nikolas Krankl, Taste Coffeehouse / GHCC--> BOSTON 3rd place: Jordan Barber, Cafe Grumpy--> NYC ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It was a ridiculously close competition. I do not know what Jordan Barber scored, but I was told that Danielle Glasky scored a 627 out of 870 points versus my 625 out of 870 points. 2 freakin' points... excuse my awful math but that is like .02%!!! You know what though, she really deserves it because frankly I had a mishap day one and she was polished throughout both rounds. Plus, she seems really nice and even teared up when announced as the winner, which made for a much better show than if I won and just blushed/smiled. So what does this all mean? Well, I get to move on to the Nationals on April 15th-18th and compete against all of the best barista finalists from all over the country, all of whom are vying for 1 spot to represent the USA in the World Barista Competition. Sounds easy, right? Just getting to perform on that type of stage for the second year in a row and meet such passionate barista is a true honor. This is the 2nd year that I've competed, and both times I've gotten second place which is very neat. Not long after I received a message from Sammy Piccolo. For those of you that don't know Sammy, he is from Canada and is considered to be one of the best barista in the world. Sammy is an unprecedented four-time World Barista Finalist achieving three consecutive 2nd and 3rd place finishes between 2004 and 2006. What he told me is that he's happy I didn't win because it is only going to make me hungrier to win. Plus, he thinks that the first round by (the winner of each region automatically qualifies to the semi-finals) really sucks! I thought it was so cool to have someone that I respect enormously in the industry reach out to me like that. This is a big reason why I compete. I want to immerse myself amongst the industries most competitive, qualified, a top-notch barista and learn from them ( and hopefully beat them someday, too :-0 ). There is a lot of good reporting about the competition, so if you're interested, click these links to see what The Boston Globe , The Boston Globe sidebar, CNN i-report & Wicked Local had to say about the NERBC! Nice to see the local press and beyond show such great enthusiasm in regards to Boston's blossoming coffee scene. Here are some of the photos from the competition with plenty more to come soon so check back! ![]()
It is not easy running a successful cafe & training for competition simultaneously, but my staff has been incredibly hard working and supportive of me during this journey. With nationals coming up so soon, I have got to train harder than ever and push my limits. So I thank my staff, again, for holding down the home-base while I head to Anaheim.
An equally important update with an even greater cause: Taste will be setting up a booth this coming Thursday, April 1st at the Cyclorama to support the, "Room To Dream Foundation," to benefit chronically-ill children. Click here to get more information if you want to attend, it's for a great cause!!! All of the top-chefs will be there and it is a great honor to be asked to serve our coffee next to culinary icons like Lydia Shire of Scampo and many, many others! We will have two GS-3 La Marzocco's at the event along with a brew bar. Should be incredible and I want to give a great big shout out to GHCC and Hi Lawn for donating in conjunction with us to make this possible! There's so much more to talk about, but that's all for now folks! Nikolas Krankl, March 29, 2010 *********************************************************************************** "The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule." ![]() The big competition is just around the corner! For those of you interested in seeing what all the hype is about, come check it out. Here's the necessary information on time/date/place: CLICK HERE. There are 36 competitors registered which should make for a truly epic show. I'll be on stage Saturday, March 20th at noon if you want to come root me on! I've been very fortunate to have been provided with outstanding support from local roasters the past two years. Last year, Kaminsky and VanSchyndel of Barismo introduced me to competition and helped me acquire a solid foundation as a first-time competitor. Thank you! This year, I am competing with an espresso from the George Howell Coffee Company (GHCC), and they have been really incredible to work with. Unlimited coffee and supplies to name a few, but the greatest resource they provided was the competition machine, a Nuova Simonelli! Espresso is so finicky, and knowing the machine and how the coffee behaves on it is invaluable. Furthermore, they're award winning product, "ExtractMojo," has been an invaluable tool in fine-tuning my shots. If you can afford one of these bad boys, I'd highly recommend purchasing said instrument-- your palate & patrons will thank you. Some of the other people that I want to thank for helping me prepare for this year's event are: My lovely wife, Julia! Thank you for your enthusiasm, understanding, and great efforts in organizing practice sessions, keeping me focused, and for all of terrific your input. You're incredible! I love you. Nuff said :-0 David, Ryan, Melissa, Mike, Jenny, Scott, Vince, George, Janet, Gio, Chloe, Sheryl, Anna, Andy, Paul Westerkamp, Jackie, Lucy, Mintz, Jess, Leo, James (yeah you, triple-shot :-0), and whomever else may accidentally be forgetting-- THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH! As competition nears closer let us remember...., "Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is." See you there! Nikolas Krankl, March 14, 2010 *********************************************************************************** PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Hairbender Espresso Blend by Stumptown is next in line for the jaws of the Robur E. It's a big-bodied, chocolate fruity classic, sure to delight most. From my experience this is a blend that home users have great success using. We recommend it in milk, preferably as a traditional cappuccino (2 ounces espresso, 3 ounces steamed milk). Speaking about, "What's in the Hopper?," Taste is now using Twitter! This means quick updates about our ever-changing espresso program. If you want to add us and receive said information about coffee, events and coupons, our Twitter account name is: TasteNewton. As you all know the Regional Barista Competition is just a little more than a month away! So much time, energy and money goes into preparing for these. As a second-year competitor, I have so much respect for the barista that undergo such a large commitment. From what I've heard, the attendance this year is going to be larger than last, which speaks highly about Boston's growing specialty coffee community. My hope is that regardless of who wins and who loses we all keep in mind who the real heroes are-- the farmers. I intend on doing my part to represent them to their fullest and make their hard work shine in the small cup. I hope all of our die hard fans out there come to check out the scene and show support. We have 100% Cotton American Apparel t-shirts for sale for anyone interested in rocking some Taste gear at the event (they look a million times better in person than the crappy images below). Come to the shop and see for yourself-- we're wearing them! ![]() ![]() A lot of people are wondering what I will be serving as my signature drink this year. I can't say because I do not want to ruin the surprise element. But, what I can say is that this year I've been more fortunate than ever in regards to the kind of help I've received in developing the sig drink. Renowned pastry chefs, restauranteurs, wine sommeliers, my lovely wife and soon-to-be doctor, bartenders and microbiologists, too, have all had a hand in creating a distinct, delicious and all around wonderful creation sure to please the sensory judges. Now it's just time to practice, practice, practice. Nikolas Krankl, February 07, 2010 *********************************************************************************** WHAT'S IN THE HOPPER? PT's Coffee Roasting Co. will be making their first appearance before the weeks end. These guys have a great reputation in the industry and their espresso/barista competitors score quite well in regional/national competitions. I'm really looking forward to pulling shots of this stuff. The blend we are trying out first is called, 'La Bella Vita." The 3 components are Brazil, El Salvado and Ethiopia. The roast = northern Italian style. We ordered up an especially large amount of retail bags because as of lately our shelves do not seem to be able to supply enough to meet demands. Come pick up your bag and try a shot.We are just finishing up with Ecco Espresso, a Brazil + Ethiopia blend. In my humble opinion, this coffee is more complete, rich and balanced than the Ecco Reserve that we had served the week beforehand. If you haven't been in and tried it, don't procrastinate, because its a beautiful coffee that is almost all gone. Training on the GS3 has been surprisingly more popular than I had originally anticipated. In just 2 weeks we've already done 3 sessions and booked 2 more. Most sessions range from 2-4 hours and people are leaving with a really solid skill-set that they can take home or back to their shop and refine. If you are interested in booking a private 1-on-1 lesson, hiring a barista for a party, catering or other event, checkout the "BARISTA-4-HIRE" tab on the upper left hand side of the page for additional information. Lastly, this years Northeast Regional Barista Competitions (NERBC) will be held in Boston. The dates are locked in - March 19-21, but the location is still TBD. I'm really excited that this years event is on our home-field, and I am feeling a lot more confident and prepared than last year. This time around I have a really nice foundation to build on and a much better idea of what to expect. I'm in the process of making the finishing touches to my routine/signature drink, but from here on out it is just a matter of polishing (and I've got 2 months to do so, so I'm feeling really on top of it!). Really the only thing left to figure out is which roaster to use. The fact is, we've tried so many great coffees from skilled roasters that the decision has become very challenging. Check in with us for updates on the location of the event if you are thinking about attending and/or competing. You can also check in with Barismo, this years, "host sponsor." They are playing a big role keeping the competition held locally this time around. Nice job! Nikolas Krankl, January 19, 2010 *********************************************************************************** WHAT'S IN THE HOPPER? We are serving a blend called, "Espresso Classico," from Paradise Roasters until Thursday. It is a 5-bean-blend with components from Brazil, Ethiopia, Hawaii, India and El Salvador. This shot offers rich complexity as a straight shot, medium body, medium/light acidity and a delicate roast. It was designed with the straight espresso in mind and in regards to that mission was accomplished. In milk it does struggle a little bit more and can lose a lot of its edge, so think about trying it in smaller drink sizes or by adding a couple extra shots to your normal drink of choice. Last week we were running "Espresso Nuevo" by Paradise and this blend was the polar opposite. It's ability to cut through milk and show its true character was brilliant. Decadent and sweet, this blend was a real crowd pleaser for the latte/cappuccino audience. The components to the Nuevo blend included Brazil, Colombia and Sumatra. Both coffees from Paradise are fun and I am so pleased to have had the pleasure to serve them. Their 90+ scores on coffee review are well deserved and you can be certain that they have secured a spot on our overwhelmingly popular and crowded rotating espresso program. I really want to thank the community for embracing my love of trying new beans and blends from specialty roasters from all over the country. It is something very unique and different that we do, and it takes an open-minded clientele to be willing to mix it up with us, frequently, in order to expand our coffee-knowledge. Hopefully it has been as fun and interesting to you as it has been for us, and we look forward to continuing to offer you new and exciting experiences for years to come!
There is also a photo-shoot happening at Taste in the next few days that will appear in the online espresso blog, "Food Thinkers." But more on that later... Two final important notes (sorry, but I haven't posted recently due to holiday traveling and there is a lot to catch you up with). The Hario Cold-Brew Tower arrived and is being fine tuned. Seeing as the instructions are all in Japanese we really have to work at it through trial and error. Two good friends of mine and regulars at the shop, Ryan Moses and David Singer, have scanned in the manual and are getting it translated by a Japanese native. As soon as we can perfect it we will start offering up the cold-brew coffees on the regular. And last but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, the highly-anticipated La Marzocco GS3 espresso machine has arrived!!! Let me tell you, believe the hype. This machine is a masterpiece. A work of art. And we will be unveiling it within the next week with a day full of free espresso. You heard it here, free espresso! As I had mentioned in the previous post, with the arrival of the GS3 we are know offering our services for personal barista training sessions, and for events like catering, weddings, birthdays, Bar/Bat Mitzvah's, etc. For more information like pricing and scheduling you can contact me directly at the shop (617) 332-6886 or online at Nikolaskrankl@gmail.com. I will also be publishing those rates/services here on the website over the next few days. That's all folks, for now. Happy New Year! Nikolas Krankl, January 05, 2010 *********************************************************************************** HOLIDAY HOURS Christmas Eve (12/24/09)---------> 6:30a.m. to 5:00p.m. Christmas (12/25/09)----------------> CLOSED New Years Eve (12/31/09)---------> 6:30a.m. to 5:00p.m. New Years Day (01/01/10)---------> 9:00a.m. to 8:00p.m. I will repost our Holiday Hours on the website again as the dates near closer, but in case you wanted to plan YOUR schedule around OUR schedule, here you go! On a different note, here's a couple of updates on in shop happenings. For one, I just got word that the GS3 tentative export date from Florence is Monday. That's not the only new piece of coffee hardware on the way. We have a "Hario Cold Brew Tower" that is arriving before the end of next week. Here's what it looks like:
The method used by this all glass contraption is called Cold Brewing, and its advantages in cup quality are significant and unrivaled. The cup produced (after 24 hours from start to finish) is low in acidity, smooth, heavily caffeinated and full-bodied. The fruit notes, while not acidic/sour, show up strong, sweet and clean. Whether you take milk/cream/sugar with your coffee, or not, this superior brew method is going to improve your iced coffee experience tenfold. The cold brew stays good for at least a week if kept sealed in the refrigerator, so we will be able to showcase several different coffees from dozens of different renowned roasters at a time- essentially reproducing an iced coffee experience that is as deliciously progressive as our espresso program! Are you getting excited? You should be. Speaking about our espresso program. WHAT'S IN THE HOPPER, you ask? We are currently serving a blend from Terroir Coffee called, "Gingerbread espresso." It is a 5-bean-blend that consists of 2 Brazil coffees, 1 Ethiopian, 1 Kenyan and 1 Sumatran. This particular blend just received a 93pt. rating out of 100 from Coffee Review. George and the rest of the team from Terroir constantly send us samples of new blends to try out (almost as often as Ritual). This particular blend really stood out to me, and when you come into the shop you'll see why. I will certainly post our pulling notes for those of you that pickup some retail bags and want to calibrate your at-home-experience against what you are being served here. We are going to do 2 runs with this coffee so it will be on bar for at least 14 days. Subsequently we are going to unveil an espresso & retail bags from a Minnesota based company called, "Paradise Roasters." More on that later... Nikolas Krankl, December 04, 2009 *********************************************************************************** BARISTA - 4 - HIRE
As soon as the stainless-steel beauty arrives, I'll do an updated post with some information about rates and services offered. We will also be offering free espresso and hosting a pour-over booth (roaster TBD), gratis, to mark the arrival of the highly-anticipated GS-3! Definitely, stay tuned. Nikolas Krankl, November 27, 2009 *********************************************************************************** THANKSGIVING HOURS We will be OPEN THANKSGIVING DAY from 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Stop by and have a coffee pre/post grocery shopping. Or, if you just need a reason to sneak away from the relatives for a few, we're here for you! Quick update: Epic Espresso from 49th Parallel is getting loaded into the hopper midday tomorrow. It is a 3 bean blend of Brazil, Ethiopia, and El Salvador. The owners, Sammy and Vince Piccolo are really good people. They love coffee and take a lot of pride in what they do, without being pretentious or pompous. It's the kind of people that we are proud to do business with. Come in for a taste! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! PS. Keep your eyes out for a mention of Taste in the not-yet-released issue of, "Imbibe Magazine." Nikolas Krankl, November 24, 2009 *********************************************************************************** ERC BARISTA JAM! Espresso Royale, now known as ERC, hosted a Barista Jam on Friday the 13th. It was really nice to see coffee lovers of all ages, shapes and sizes in attendance. The shop is huge, and yet, filled to the brim. What excited me the most was how enthusiastic my staff was to be there and to throwdown in the "latte art" competition. It is a sign that they care and take interest in the blossoming coffee culture. Big thanks to everyone for organizing the event (Jake, Larry, Mark, Jaime, Jamie, Logan, Chris, Atomic Cafe Coffee Roaster guys whose name I don't know, and everyone else that I'm surely forgetting.... Job well done boys and girls! The event was comprised of 3 events to stimulate friendly competition. There was a latte art competition, a coffee triangulation, and an espresso throwdown. The way it worked is for the latte art everyone had the opportunity to pour one drink in any cup of there choosing. Then the drinks were judged and scored based on things like symmetry, contrast, difficulty, creativity, etc.. The coffee triangulation involved tasting 3 different coffees, 2 of which were the same. Competitors were expected to pick out the odd coffee out, and they were timed to make it more difficult. The espresso throwdown was also a judged event where competitors had 5 minutes and to serve the judges 1 espresso. They could pull up to 3 shots but only serve 1. Barista were scored on taste, smell, appearance, and overall bar cleanliness. Here are the results from the 3 different competitions: Latte Art Pour organized by ERC/MEMteas: Coffee Triangulation organized by Atomic (Beverly, MA): So, I ended up winning the latte art competition which was really exciting! But the big news is that Mike Mitchell (yes, Clare's dad, won the coffee triangulation!!!!). He is a friend and also a regular at Taste and we talk coffee religiously (beer, too). Gotta give it up to him for an awesome performance! We will post an audio of his acceptance speech here later. Enough about that, what's in the hopper you ask? We are featuring Redeye Roasters, "Who's yer daddy." It's a classic Brasil/Ethiopia blend that I'm favoring as a macchiato or 5oz cappuccino. This is the 2nd run with the blend roasted by Bob Weeks and we are revisiting it due to popular demand. The following week is set up for the "Epic Espresso" from 49th Parallel coffee roasters. Stay tuned for what follows next! Nikolas Krankl, November 18, 2009 *********************************************************************************** These baristas stay true to the bean |
Open Mic Night
Featuring-
Craig Sonnenfeld,
Wall-Man
and many more of the usual suspects
Saturday March 28th 2009
Starts @ 5pm Sign ups @ 4:30pm
Contact Logan via email at loganhudson@yahoo.com to sign up early or request an extended time slot.
More info on www.tastecoffeehouse.com
Drink Specials! $2 Simpler Times Lager,
$3 Heineken, $6 La Fin Du Monde
Nikolas Krankl, March 25, 2009
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HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
We will be experimenting with green food coloring tomorrow. Yeah that's right, green latte art, green eggs and ham, green crepe batter, etc... Should be interesting, and if the results are cool, I'll post pics tomorrow.
On another note, Taste's birthday party was a smash hit. Thanks to everyone who came out and celebrated with us. It seems with every event we host, the turnout gets larger and larger and more fun, too! We really need to expand... But, the cramped space full of hipsters adds to the Taste charm. We will host another open mic night in the near future, but more importantly, my goal is to host a barista jam. This is something my old pal Jaime has been wanting to take place for awhile. Well Mr. VanSchyndel, let's just say it's in the works. I'll be going around town to all of the "best" coffee shops and inviting barista's to come out and compete in a friendly latte art throw down at Taste in the near future. Stay tuned for updates on that, folks!
Lastly, I am pretty close to making a pricey purchase that I hope will improve our speed, cleanliness, and consistency in regards to dosing. Enter Mazzer Robur E. Here is what Kyle Glanville, 2008 United States Barista Champion has to say about this grinder:
"This machine marks a significant advance in espresso preparation equipment. For the last several years, grinder manufacturers have been climbing all over themselves to successfully create a doserless model that doesn’t clump and is fast enough to handle high volume environments.
In my opinion, all such machines before this have been failures. The Mazzer Robur E is special. Does it solve all the issues plaguing modern day espresso grinders? Certainly not. But it does a few things very well :
- Grind quality is superior to even other roburs, as there is an auger driving the beans through the burr chamber at an even rate and a “finger guard” breaking up clumps exiting the chute.
- Distribution is great. Angle the portafilter up towards the grinder body as it is grinding and the coffee piles up evenly in the center of the basket. I have seen absolutely no channeling in any of my pucks with this machine, even when I have tried to create it.
- Super accurate timer to control dosing. This is really important. The timer is programmable to 5/100ths of a second and dosing is accurate and consistent, cutting down on waste and ensuring shot to shot consistency.
- The Mazzer Robur-E is fast as hell. Tired of spending all your time working the doser lever or standing with the portafilter in your hand? This thing will grind 20g in less than 3 seconds!
- The machine stays cool. Thanks to an added computer fan mounted at the back of the grinder body, this machine stays cool under pressure no matter what volume you are serving.
Espresso grinders still have a very long way to go, but for now the Mazzer Robur-E is the biggest-baddest-bestest on the block."
Keep your eyes peeled for one of these making their opening debut on the bar within the next few weeks, hopefully banging out some wonderful spro shots!
Be well, Boston, and have a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
Nikolas Krankl, March 17, 2009
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TASTE!
Friday, March 13, 2009:
1-Year-Anniversary Celebration!!!! Come to drink, eat, and listen to live music to celebrate Taste's one year birthday party. We will be partying from 5 pm to 8 pm and we will serve free espresso all day long as well as free small drip coffee's from 5-8 pm as a thank you to the community for showing us such amazing support!!! Nik will also be preparing his 2009 Barista Competition signature drink for a lucky few, so make sure to get there early if you want to try one.
Nikolas Krankl, March 10, 2009
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NEW TO THE SCENE
A lot has happened in the past few weeks. Taste is busier than ever, and I've been caught up in the day-to-day and haven't had much time to reflect and put down some thoughts on paper about everything leading up to competition, the time on stage, and all of my afterthoughts. I will revisit that later. More important news is introducing the newest member of the family, Jamie! She made the trip to the regional competition (10+ hour drive) as a volunteer, along with her boyfriend, Lex.
Nikolas Krankl, February 24, 2009
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"The Coffee Economy"
The Associated Press recently released a piece called, "The Coffee Economy." Newswoman Ramit Plushnick-Masti interviewed several shop owners and competitors during the Northeast Regional Barista Competition for a closer look into how small coffee shops are doing in these tough economical times. I managed to put my two cents in!
To view the slideshow that went out on the AP wire, click here.
To view the story written by AP newswoman, Ramit, click here.
By the way, see ya'll tomorrow at our open mic night, starting at 6 p.m.!!! Come listen to great eclectic musicians and artists alike while enjoying our great beer and wine selection. Also, I wanted to point out that we have some new photographs on display/for sale at the shop by a talented local artist, friend, and blogger, Chuck Tanowitz. I think they're terrific!
Nikolas Krankl, February 19, 2009
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* * * Open Mic Night * * *
Friday, February 20 we are hosting another open mic night! This is definitely back by popular demand, and I'm expecting an unbelievably full house. For that very reason, I'd encourage early arrival if you expect a seat, because they go quickly! The event will begin promptly at 6 p.m. I do not need to say much, other than expect a kick a$#* time!
Below is a copy of the flyer floating around Newton:
Open Mic Night
Featuring-
Bassist, Louis An”Dre” Ochoa &
Pianist, Aman Mahajan
Friday February 20th 2009
Sign ups begin at 5pm
Music begins at 6pm till ?
Contact Logan via email at loganhudson@yahoo.com to sign up early or request an extended time slot.
Special Menu Items and Pricings will be available in limited quantities the night of only so do not miss out!
Nikolas Krankl, February 16, 2009
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Taste Coffee House 311 Walnut St. Newtonville, MA 02460 617-332-6886














































































































