Happy New Year... so about the blend price increase...

Hi all. I guess I haven’t done a blog entry in a long time. I’ve been thinking about blogging more in the last few months. I think Instagram doesn’t like my posts and I’d love to engage in a more meaningful way than… well.. whatever it is that I do there. If I’m being honest, while I love the utility of it, like being able to say “I’m open today” or “this week’s special is…”, my business doesn’t really need to do that aaaaaaaand maybe there’s something gross happening on that thing all the time? Like whatever I used to find fun about it isn’t there and there’s maybe less space to engage meaningfully there, or at least that isn’t compressed into the rules of what is expected with a tik-tok video or something? And I’m not really good at that stuff anyway… Or I don’t want to work at getting good at it because there’s a lot of work to do in a day and then I have to walk my crazy dogs and make dinner and go to sleep. And be present for my wife, who is fantastic and talented and worth engaging with in real time.

So, I’ve been thinking maybe the new thing is long format blogs, lol… he says into the vacuum of the internet. Anyway, I guess this is a start, albeit it’s like my least favorite topic.

Long time supporters of btc might have noticed that I increased prices … today, January 1st 2025. While the thought has always been there- that maybe it was time to charge a little more for bags- I’ve mostly been able to manage on without doing so. You don’t know this, because you’re not a wholesale customer of mine, but I historically (and even now) charge less than what I would if I had a proper brick and mortar, because it’s mail order, and shipping anything is really expensive. And in a world of greater or bigger roasters than yours truly (yes, I will admit that from the jump and even now, I dabble with imposter syndrome), I’ve often discounted things a bit where I could to “be competitive.” Plus, btc started as a reaction against former enterprises I worked for on the West Coast that exclusively catered to folks with significant wealth. I don’t think coffee should be a classist thing because you don’t need a trust fund to enjoy a good or great coffee. And it’s totally weird to take something from a farmer who is at best maybe just scraping by and then hand it off to someone that is on the opposite side of the spectrum, exclusively. I’m not into it. I like mixing it up with joe (and jane) schmo. I insist, the party is more fun with everyone.

But, for those who haven’t been keeping track of the “C Market" (which moooooost importers and coffee professionals base the cost of coffee off of), the price at which coffee is being traded has been on an upward trajectory and has rocketed the price of coffee for roasters way, way up. I’ve worked in the US’s Specialty Coffee sector since 2009 and I’ve never seen prices this high. I’ve also never seen them increase at this clip. There’s a lot to it and I feel a little out of my area of expertise; there are better folks out there to really break this situation down. But a lot of it has to do with speculation on the price going up. And it’s hard to know where/when it stops. So, I like a lot of smaller roasters, have to raise my prices. There’s no getting around it.

The last 6 years specifically have been a wild journey. Supply shocks, inflation, covid… running a business has been nuts. There are all these buzz words like transparency, supply chain, and sustainability that I’ve used but never really considered the fullest implications of until now. But they’re important concepts. I yearn to operate a business that creates sustainability throughout the supply chain and transparently in a meaningful way. Can a small roaster (I’m the only one here (and sheesh sometimes I really feel it when I talk to myself or engage with the podcast I’m listening to, hahaha)) ever actually do this? It feels like you need to scale up to make these things happen and that’s not really on my radar. Frankly, I’m hoping to just maintain (and record songs no one could like but me). It’s on my mind.

Lastly, the coffee party and making sure everyone’s invited. The answer isn’t cheaper coffee. That was naive of me. And ya know, naive happens. Sometimes its fun. Ah, the salad days. Cheaper coffee isn’t sustainable for the folks growing coffee. Cheaper coffee is a literal pain in the ass to roast and make taste good. You likely have no idea how much work goes into sifting out quakers* by hand after a roast (and that’s not considering what it takes to sift them out at origin… by hand too…) to ensure a coffee tastes good. Ask any roaster; it’s the fucking worst and it will drive you nuts. I know that some of it is inevitable, the gig is the gig. I’ve been doing that for soooooo looooong just to keep costs down. But, I’ve been lying to myself about the affordability of my product. My pricing has always been out of reach for some folks. Sure, I have volume-based discounts (by the way, check out those volume-based discounts!). But a $90 5lbs bag, while a good value in my opinion for what it is, is not necessarily affordable to those who are in precarious financial zones.

To me, the only way to getting folks into the ethical food party (the larger party that the coffee party falls under) involves divesting from things like Amazon, spending money on local business that feed back into a micro economy, demanding that government do more to lower the cost of housing, supporting unions and fair labor practices, and making sure that wages reflect what cost of living in an area, not just scraping by. The idea, by the way, that the US’s minimum wage is still $7.50 is nuts. I’d be really surprised if you could live anywhere on that. That’s completely out of whack with my very rural community in Penobscot County, Maine, where the cost of housing and etc is for sure lower than a lot of the country. Ya know, not to go all Bernie on us, but it doesn’t need to be this way and the US has no shortage of wealth. I’d love to see that disseminated more equitably, so we can all freely enjoy the coffee party, the ethical food party, and our lives in our communities.

So, anyway, the prices on blends went up… ugh.

And in closing, thank you all for the support. I mean it. I love sorta e-meeting you via yer purchases and hearing about what you’re up to, learning about your coffee journeys, or your family’s coffee journey. I really do. Point blank, btc exists because of your support. It could easily not exist. I’m wishing you and yours the best in this new year. There’s so much to do! I hope coffee helps. I’ll do my best to hold up my end of the bargain.

<3
cb/btc
*Not the “friends” but a type of coffee seed that didn’t develop correctly. Quakers don’t roast correctly per say, they can’t caramelize, look pale, and taste like wood or cardboard... they happen. they’re annoying, that’s about it, though.

WE MOVED TO MAINE. PHILLY + PA WE LOVE YOU. AND WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT GABE???

"Hold onto your butts." - Ray Arnold, Jurassic Park.

We've got a lot of ground to cover and we're going to try to keep this concise despite our wordier tendencies.

We moved to Bangor, Maine. More specifically, BTC will be roasting coffee in Old Town, Maine pretty soon... you know, famous Old Town of "Old Town Canoes!" This might seem random. …It kind of is. What's the deal? A lot of things.


I, Charlie, could yammer on and on about a lot of things. But the easiest thing to point to is that my wife got a super cool job offer to work at UMA's library in Bangor. It's exactly the type of work that she went to school for, the exact opportunity she's been waiting a good chunk of time for, and an incredible team to be a part of. I’m proud of her and what she’s achieved. We should all be so lucky to do the things we want to do in life. I think librarianship is a noble profession and I'm so excited for her to begin this chapter. I met Cory when I was nearing the end of my stint working for roasters on the West Coast and making plans to move back to Philly to begin BTC. Cory was brave enough to leave her hometown so that I could get this company started and I’m forever indebted to her for that. Beyond that, she’s been an incredibly supportive partner in my/BTC’s pursuits, which has cut into our personal lives more often than not (“what’s free time?” said any business owner, anywhere, ever). I wanted to be able to properly support her with her goals in Bangor.

It’s also a home coming of sorts: While neither of us had ever been to Bangor before, Cory’s great, great grandparents moved from Lebanon (when it was still part of Syria) to Bangor in the 1880’s and her family lived there for about 100 years. Pretty neat me thinks…

(BTW, I’m excited to do the BTC thing up here, too!)

But Philly and PA: Know that we love you and you're in our hearts, like the fat from so many roast pork sandwiches that have surely begun to mess with our blood circulation by this point. There's a certain vivid green that is so powerful and unique that we'll be missing about spring and summer in PA (I know that it's green up here in a great way... but it's a different thing in PA). I will be sure to "boo" every Santa that I see, and God willing, climb any/many street posts if/when applicable. I will also never call a hoagie a “sub” because that's simply not correct, duh. Further, we are over the moon to still be featured at Rally, Riverwards Produce, and some up-coming brews from Brewery Ars! We will attempt to live in Philly vicariously through their delicious vibes. Also, I'm going to miss seeing so many friends and colleagues around! EEEEEK!

Lastly, let's talk about Gabe Boscana and Maquina Coffee. Because I’m not sure if BTC would even exist without his help.

“ORIGIN STORIES!”

Gabe is an old buddy of mine. Gabe's career and influence in/on Specialty Coffee in the US go pretty far back. Honestly, he's kind of been a crucial figure at most of the original good coffee spots on both coasts. I met Gabe in 2009 when I was working at Philly's first specialty shop, Spruce Street Espresso and he happened to wander down a street and see a La Marzocco machine in the window (this was basically how you navigated coffee back then). As chance had it, a few years later, we both worked together at a roasting space in the Bay Area in the early 2010's. I've said it before and I'll say it again, most things that I know about coffee sourcing and roasting were brought to my attention in those years working with Gabe. Fast forward to 2018, we both moved from Oakland to the Philadelphia area.

”PANDEMIC TIME CURVE BALLS!”

At best, the pandemic has been a rocky time for everyone! Due to circumstances that were out of our hands, we were forced to relocate our operation during the middle of the pandemic. Finding a place to roast coffee isn't easy during normal times. Typically you need an abundance of natural gas, three phase power, and a safe means of venting super hot coffee exhaust. It's no small task and learning this news was :-(

”HERO OF THE DAY, BY METALLICA BUT ACTUALLY BY GABE”
When I clued Gabe in over the phone about my situation, he offered his space as a stop gap measure... for free... and with no restrictions on when I needed to be out by. Why? Because he's a genuinely thoughtful, generous, and caring person.


I love Gabe. He's essentially my big brother and there's absolutely no way, now more than ever, that this company could have ever existed or continued to exist without his help and guidance. I’m serious. Every step of the way, he’s been there for me. How do you repay someone like this??? I don't know. But I and BTC are forever indebted to him. I'm grateful to have him in my life. I'm going to truly miss seeing Gabe around, cutting it up with him, and drinking coffee with him. But I'm looking forward to future visits to PA with him + teaching him how to hunt landlobster when he visits us up here.

Okay, that's the deal. Sorry I've been so distant. Just busy. Love ya.
-cb/btc

Thoughts on "Discontinuing Philadelphia Deliveries" and that "14th Street Special"

Oh hey there, frenz. So, we have terminated the Philadelphia Delivery Option. There are some major changes in the works for this company (and in my life) and I (Charlie) am just running out of dang time! Also, let’s say that delivering in Philly for a few hours each day is a liiiiiiiiittle maddening. Props to the delivery lifers.

When I started doing deliveries, there was kind of a confluence of things going down that made this a no-brainer (maybe). 1) The Pandemic. Our business felt precarious, having just bought a butt ton of coffee for the future that hadn’t included Covid until it did, and frankly we were worried about other how other people’s financial security was looking. If there was a way to cut down costs for customers in town that wasn’t going to wreck our most bottom of bottom line or a farmer’s bottom line, and help us get through 100’s of lbs of coffee, we wanted to hack it and do that. 2) We were already driving down to Fishtown, CC, and South Philly, plus we lived in NW Philly and have a many a bud in West Philly. It felt like if I was already delivering to those shops or traveling those routes, why not make a few stops in-between? I guess it worked, though, because a lot of you took us up on that. Which was really amazing.

Here’s the thing: I think despite surges in Omicron across the board, barring any unforeseen “shit,” we miiiiiiiiiiight be out of the super wild phase of the pandemic and maybe just maybe moving into the “endemic” phase. Which, ps, bums me out, because I wish we, as a country and maybe as a world, could’ve actually addressed this thing and did the thing that needed to be done the first time around. But that’s another post and I’m not a public health expert. Ultimately, I think this is a great time to stand by your markets and cafes, throw money to them for their services, and buy some beans from them if you haven’t already been doing so. And there are some twists and turns for this company up ahead that need my FULL mouse-in-a-wheel brain tuned into. I’ll let ya know more soon.

And while the mere thought of figuring out which 1,000 streets are blocked off in Fishtown or Kensington or whether I should park illegally to walk a coffee to a house that seems to be at a corner of a MC Esher-style one way street that has no actual entrance, is making me want to hide under my covers and cry, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN’T CONSIDER ALL OF THE POSITIVE HUMAN CONNECTIONS I HAD WHILE DRIVING YOU’S COFFEE. I don’t take sales for granted. This company doesn’t exist without you; it would be me, some coffee, and a few bags with really weird thoughts scribbled on them. But the opportunity to meet everyone in Philly, wave hello, and chew the fat all this time has been amazing. Honestly, I had the luxury of not feeling isolated during the darkest days of the pandemic because I got to talk with so many awesome people regularly. I have you and the deliveries to thank for that, too, and it meant/means a lot to me.

SOOOOOO, TO YOU, MY SILLYZ FROM PHILLY (as my aunt Vi used to call me and my brothers), in lieu of driving you coffee, I’d love to offer you THE 14TH STREET SPECIAL: a shipping discount. TYPE “215DOOD” INTO THE DISCOUNT AREA TO GET $2.15 OFF OF SHIPPING. It’s good until 2/15 and ONLY FOR PHILADELPHIA ADDRESSES (there has to be some benefit to living in this wild ass place, lol).

Much love and a decent amount of coffee,
charlie
btc

Thoughts on Colombia, right now.

The majority of the coffee BTC sources and serves is from Colombia. They grow excellent coffees that span the flavor spectrum, at a fairly approachable price, and can do so multiple times a year which is basically unique to Colombia*. This has not been an easy year for most coffee growing regions: Covid, natural disasters, and/or civil conflicts have all created a lot of uncertainty.

There’s been a lot of problems with class-inequity in Colombia and a lot of its citizens have taken to the streets in the last month to protest the government’s blatant disregard for class equity and safety. Some protests have taken the form of worker strikes. Many protests have been met by heavy-handed confrontations from the Colombian National Police force, with truly horrifying results.

To that end, we don’t know how, when, or by what means this situation will be resolved. But we do hope that it does come to a real, substantial, ethical, and long-lasting resolution. Not because or only because it very well will affect our menu and the menu of a lot of shops and roasters, but rather because we believe in the sanctity of civil rights and fairness/equity among all people. We recognize that our world only works because of workers. And we believe that when everyone is safe and secure, the world is better; the goods we create are better; the food we feed ourselves is better; the relationships that we make are more meaningful and long-lasting; and we are prone being better when we’re not afraid of how we will make ends meet- that we not divide into warring factions that fear an other. This can only happen when a government and its laws reflect and respect its people and promote equity as a virtue to live by.

Colombia- we see you. We’re grateful of your many labors. You and your community deserve dignity, economic security, and actual safety.
<3
BTC

* yes, Kenya has multiple harvests… but for the sake of this post, which is about Colombia…

Gone Seattle'in! May 26- June 2nd NO DELIVERIES :-)

Seattle, bb. ever heard of it? It’s a little past Pittsburgh from what we understand.

Hi, friends. We’re vaxxed, relaxed, and ready to cut back. or something like that. But yeah, we’re going to visit our old stomping grounds and relatives in the NW next week. VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

And maybe it’s none of your beeswax, but maybe it’s important to note this and say, “hey, no deliveries next week cuz your favorite delivery jerk will be away.”

What are your options then for coffee?
1) Get yee to one or many of our fantastic wholesale accounts like Rally, Riverwards, The Chandlery, Brewery ARS, and/or Art in the Age.

2) Come by the Germantown Kitchen Garden Farmer’s Market this Saturday… many beans.

3) Swing through Lost Bread in Kensington and check out our honor code bean stand (no jerks, please).

4) Pay us to ship it to you with USPS. Shipping local isn’t that bad and it’s a flat rate envelope for 2-4 bags, plus those sweet deals if you get a Kenzo Blenzo or Singles Goin’ Steady… save some money people!

Furthermore!, deliveries will return the first week of June but they will be on Thursday, not Wednesday, that week.

We hope you have a lovely week. Stay hydrated, keep cool. We’ll drink a Rainier/drape a flannel around our waste for you.

Toss Salads and Scrambled Eggs,
BTC

Spring cleaning

Happy 20Twentyfun.

We’re doing some spring cleaning at the old roasting space (1313 N Howard) and trying to find good homes for some items that might be of value to you including our old production coffee roaster! Everything is pick up only. If you are interested in any of these items, email us (blindtigercoffee@gmail.com) and we’ll set up a time to hand these off.

We’ll keep this list updated…

They include:

OUR BEAUTIFUL 1950’s Barth Novo Cito Coffee Roaster: $25,000 ;-)
NSF approved handwash sink: $75
NSF approved wire racking systems (various sizes, some with wheels): $40-50
Brand new box of unglazed terracotta tiles (DIY bread/pizza oven stuff/gardening): $20
The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee Book: $5
A Set of Black Nova Point Capp Cups (approximately 6 oz, Tulip) and Saucers: $5
A set of White Capp Cups (approximately 6 oz, Tulip) and Saucers: $3
Older Diner Mugs from a Verve, Olympia, Intelligentsia, and Counter Culture Coffee Roasters: $1 each
Stovetop Bonavita Kettle: $10

9 Surf Green Latte Cups (10 oz, Tulip shaped) and Saucers: SOLD
6 Orange Cappuccino Cups (6 oz, bowl shaped) and Saucers: SOLD
8 White Espresso Demitasses (approximately 50 g, bowl shaped) and Saucers: SOLD
SCA guides to Water Quality, Coffee Cupping, and Coffee Brewing: SOLD
Electric Bonavita Kettle (turns off once at boiling): Sold
2 “COAVA” Kone coffee filters (Coava used to makes these and then Able split off from them…history): SOLD
A plastic Hario V60: SOLD
A Clever Dripper: SOLD
3 Butcher Block Carts: SOLD
A Canada Dry-Branded Light-UP Pizza/Diner menu: SOLD
An original Glow-in the Dark BTC splatter T-shirt from 2012: SOLD
Anfim Cody Espresso Grinder: SOLD
Huky Coffee Roaster: SOLD
Anvil Convection Oven (with steam! for all the bread heads): SOLD

BTC discussion on aesthetics and coffee and aesthetics and coffee

Hi. We’re gonna talk about coffee and aesthetics… how aesthetics affect our perception of coffee and how we might be able to use aesthetic form to better understand the experience of coffee.
Among other things, we’ll be drinking coffee and looking at experimental cinema.
Wanna get in on the action? Meet us at this link at Noon Saturday April 3rd 2021. Brew some coffee in advance and get ready to draw those blinds, turn your computer screen to “11”, and taste the sights/see what you’re tasting…maybe.

https://drexel.zoom.us/j/86921024995

coffee + donuts + plants that grow in the ground that you can buy and that's obviously very good.

What’s up, people?
It’s been a second since the last post. Here are some things that have happened:

1) We moved into Lost Bread’s Howard St location and plugged in a super old, German, cast iron roaster.
2) We’ve been eating great bread and treats for extended hours on the weekends with Lost Bread. Oh and serving coffee for the folks coming through.
3) We’ve been buying more and more coffee from some truly awesome folks… and haven’t gone out of business yet. Cool.
4) We were featured at snazzy little shop called Fellow Products who make really wild coffee brewing equipment.
5) We were subsequently featured on Food and Wine’s Top Roasters (by state) and that was a little unexpected (remember folks: we’re a secret… shhhh).


And alas, brand-spanking-new news: We’re going to be at Greensgrow in Fishtown every Saturday this summer from 10-2PM with Okie Dokie Donuts!

We’re so stoked. We love Greensgrow and have been getting veggies from their farm stand and CSA for a very long time now! We are also avid gardeners and truly believe in the potential of, oh-say, everyone putting more green stuff in and around their houses in Philadelphia and all the cool stuff that comes of it..

And so we’re happy to lend our coffee services to the cause. We want you to be there, buy some plants, plant those plants, reap those sweet benefits. So, if you need some espresso or cool/cold coffee to push your stoked-ness into overdrive, we’re happy to help. Oh, and did we mention there would be donuts? Okie. Dokie. Donuts. They’re GF and occasionally vegan so you “might-should” be covered. Why are you even still reading this? Get over there!
<3
BTC

BTC+ OKIE DOKIE DONUTS+ GREENSGROW
10AM-2PM
Every Saturday starting in July
2501 E. Cumberland St., Philadelphia, PA 19125

May Flower pop-ups and Park Coffee events

Hello there one and all. 

Here in Philadelphia, it feels like we finally made it to the finish line. The long winter is over! First there were pink and white blossoms accenting our lonely streets and now green is popping out everywhere! Sweet relief. 
 

Well, as the saying goes April Showers bring May Flowers (I know, it's raining now and it's May...). But what, pray tell, do May Flowers bring? The answer is simple, really: BTC POP-UP COFFEE SERVICES. Our friends at La Marzocco USA have graciously let us borrow one of their more portable espresso machines and we (have) and will be offering some delicious coffee at some seriously tasty establishments this month and next. 

Our service this month was held at Machine Shop Boulangerie. This mostly-wholesale bakery conducts its business on the 4th floor of the fabled Bok Building in South Philly. We were stoked and honored to hang with these incredible bakers and offer coffee with their outrageously delicious/carefully crafted laminated dough and naturally leavened treats and bread. On top of all of that, the event also fell on their 1 year anniversary slinging amazing food for the masses in the Bok Building. It was a great time! 

Stay tuned for our next pop-up!

<3
BTC

We're moving West...

...to West Philly! So stoked! Dreams do come true. Our time has been real nice in Grays Ferry, but it's time to move into an even better facility that accommodates our needs way more. Look forward to more updates on that soon enough. 

In looking forward to a crucial year in all of our lives, for a lot of reasons, we've lined up quite a few super tasty coffees. The first four are up right now in our "olde webstore." They're all limited runs. Check them out! Should you not act quickly enough in nabbing these coffees, fear not, there are some truly great coffees lined up to take their place afterwards. 

Also, bread... we love it. We eat it everyday. We think you should, too. If you live in Philadelphia and have a hankering for the gluttony stuff, consider checking out a loaf. They're called L'iberty L'oafs. They're shaped like a bell... And the name is sure to truly bother the lover of correct spelling/Latin-based words. 

Now, we're sure some of you out there may be wondering, "this is all fine and good, but what about me, a person who suffers from chronic coffee thirst?" It's a great point. We have decided to  bite the bullet (not bullet coffee) and offer a 6 month subscription program. The default is two 8 oz bags a month, but for those who drink coffee "slowly," you may enter a code to only be billed for 1 coffee a month. 

Lastly, we know that the days are getting longer. It's been proven and we won't get into the details. That means better weather ... probably. Accordingly, we're starting to iron our some details for pop-ups and perhaps some "Philly Park Coffee" (much like our old "OLC") events. Rumors are even circulating that we may stopping by our old stomping grounds in Seattle in April. Be sure to check in with us to see when and where the events will be going down.

Okay, bye bye.
BTC
 

COFFEE IS IN> ROASTER IS SET UP> DO YOU WANT TO DRINK SOME COFFEE? Also, Bread...

Hi hi hi,

Hear ye, hear ye: Since moving to Philadelphia from the West Coast, we've been in roasting facility limbo. But with a bit of patience and the help of a wonderful friend, who sources and roasts the BEST COFFEE (sigh, why aren't we he???) (>>>>> Maquina Coffee <<<<), we are back online. After long last, some really nice Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees are FINALLY in and the first few batches have gone out. We believe you should get them while you can. And if you can't, don't worry; there will be more nice coffees on the way very soon.

Secondly, we are very proud to finally begin offering loaves of our naturally leavened bread to the people of Philadelphia. We're calling'em Liberty L'oaf's. They're shaped like a bell. Kind of. It's a pilot program. Testing the water. Get a bread! 

And while Charlie has enjoyed mailing bread out to friends and loved ones before, we think this is better kept within the 215 area code. It's available for old-timey bicycle person delivery for folks within a 4 mile radius of the intersection of Christian and Grays Ferry Ave (in the city of Brotherly Love) or pickup for anyone outside of that. Here's the deal: You need to place an order by 5PM, we will bring it to you 2 days later. Crazy, we know. They're made to order for you and only you. Want us to put like a cool design on the top? Sure. Let us know what. 

Umm, more stuff to come but in the meantime, that's it. Now go out there and be a good person/member of your local community! 

<3
BTC

PRESALE ORDERS for some FINE AFRICAN COFFEES

Hey hey hey! We're doing a limited run of some fun African coffees that we are as pleased as a peach(es) to present to you all; perhaps peach being an optimal word. These coffees were a-okay on the cupping table and have tons of stone-fruity depth (and floral sweetness too). Anyway, it's going to be a super limited run. 7 bags available of each coffee.

But fear not! If you miss out, don't worry, we're going to be releasing some more goodies in the weeks to come ('looking forward to some delicious coffees from South of the Equator). 

Cheers, 
BTC

We're home: Philadelphia

It's like walking through a dream.

I left Philadelphia 6 years ago to further develop my understanding of coffee. The plan was to spend 3-5 years out West learning everything that I could from companies that I admired. And while that happened to a certain extent, I found, that time and time again, actual development and nurturing always came from the kindness and openness of individuals.  Beyond all of that, and minor points aside, there were no real secrets in coffee(... or anything). If you want to understand something, do it, be there and observant, and be patient. 

What I did learn from many of my former employers (save a few special ones), was exactly what a company shouldn't do or perhaps more so what I am not interested in doing. And rather than focus on those here, I will state what I am interested in doing: Offering an inclusive safe space to nurture a community (or individuals) via a service that seems uncomplicated and genuine. Creating a business that doubles-down on it's employees' happiness and intellects and draws from it when they are comfortable and ready for it. Creating an aesthetic experience that can't be out-sourced by other startups, publications, or corporations, but is rather developed from within, organically. And working with all participating communities to better our local and global landscapes: Farmers in the Tri-State Area, farmers in coffee growing regions, the people and families who already live in the area that our business exists within, and perhaps a more responsible government and bridge culture-political divides.

And so you need to know: I'm so extremely excited to be home and get to work. It's my hope that you might feel similarly and might want to hang out over some coffee, some music, and maybe even bread? 

<3
CB/BTC

Meet Luigi Savino

Luigi Savino and I have known each other for only about a year. But it's been an extremely active year and we've somehow gotten to know each other very well in that small amount of time. Perhaps working 40hrs a week with someone will do that. We honestly clicked from the second we met. After all, we're both East Coast natives living in the Bay and we both went to art schools in major Northeast cities. For some reason, though, if I may level with you, I initially felt worried about anyone named Savino. This might have been because I was deep into "The Wire" for the 9th time in my life, and there is/was a bad dude named Savino in that show. And I just thought, "I don't know about anyone named Savino." haha. Needless to say, I was immediately struck by how genuinely nice Luigi is.

 

Anyway, Luigi, besides being a great friend and a killer barista, is an incredible artist. Outside of my roasting and bagging the coffee for BTC, Luigi has had a major role in all things BTC. The BTCC&CQ is very much a real thing because of Luigi and he rallied me into realizing that art and coffee doesn't need to be something that only happens in a brick and mortar space; that one can do the things one want in big ways and small ways. That creativity and philosophy can be fractalized and applied in many ways and with many different methods. I think that his convictions in this realm obviously stem from his time spent with both Street Art and school. 

BTC: Have you ever tagged a wall?
LS: Yeah definitely.
BTC: Which one?
LS: (mumbles something) For a while I thought street art was a great concept or a great idea. I loved this- and this is my whole concept- my whole idea was just like walking around a city, and like, everything that encompasses that experience was my art's impetus, from the walls to the people to the environment around you.
If you look at a city wall, you can almost chart the movement of the people on it from the graffiti to the people buffing out the graffiti to the people who are out of their minds on meth scratching things into the wall. It's a visual history. That artist Mark Bradford is somebody who totally gets that. So yeah, I thought that street art was this cool, really revelutionary idea that created this dialogue with this little inclusive group. But after a while, I was like getting tired of tagging up people's personal property or that an idea was getting lost in a million other people's tags, which is fine, I mean I love all the build up, but it wasn't for me. But I still love the concept of it and I totally love graffiti artists. They do work that... There's something to be said about an artist that goes out and does work that nobody else likes and no one else gets. I love the rules, the unspoken rules, and the history.

We kicked it over some hot dogs and beers in Oakland. He got the Mission Street: a bacon wrapped hot dog. A lil' more protein balanced and tempered by a little more cholesterol. Pleasure, and pain, if you will. 

Born to two Italian immigrants, who first moved to NYC; my dear homie is from Orlando, Florida. Frankly, this makes Luigi a unique cat, already... you know, Orlando being a weird place and all. I was tempted to end this write-up right here and there- ya know, drop the mic, but let's dig a little further.

LS: My parent's immigrated to New York- straight off the boat- there was still a boat at the time- and then strangely decided to move Florida before they retired. It was strange. I guess at the time there weren't too many Italian restaurants in Orlando, Florida. So they moved to Florida.
I guess Florida's a weird place, looking back, I can chart my influences by like the urge to get out of Florida. I became interested in anything and everything outside of my surroundings. At the same time, a lot of things that influenced me were environmental factors: It's vast and flat, swampy; a good percentage of it is wet lands. It's a strange mix of people, too, heavily Hispanic, Southerners, New Englanders, and New Yorkers. It's a weird place. I definitely don't consider it the South. But there are Southern tendencies...
BTC: You're gonna hear a Southern accent every once in a while.
LS: Definitely.
BTC: But not all the time... Florida is like the United States, inside of the United States.
LS: It's a microcosm of the entire United States, for sure.
BTC: People don't realize that, sometimes. ...The American Dream and Nightmare are both in Florida.
LS:  (Laughing) In Florida! That's great. Yeah, that's awesome info for sure. So yeah, I guess my parents were chasing the American Dream in Florida.
BTC: Have you ever hung out with a Seminal Indian?
LS: (Laughing)...No. But it seems like every school mascot is an American Indian in Florida.
BTC: Sure, that's true everywhere. Have you ever hung out with a manatee? Have you ever touched one?
LS: No, never. 'Never even touched one before.
BTC: Have you ever run over a manatee in a power boat?
LS: (Laughing) In a pontoon boat! 'Killed many a manatee in pontoon boats.
BTC: It's not funny/ save the manatees dot org. (EDITOR'S NOTE: We joke... but BTC & LS do not condone animal cruelty and we both love wildlife conservation...)
LS: Yeah, no.... alligator attacks are a frequent thing that happen. There's something to be said about a place where prehistoric creatures wreak havoc every summer and like rip a 12 year old boy in half.
BTC: Why in the summer? Are they not available in the winter time?
LS: ...People aren't swimming.
BTC: It does get cold.
LS: It gets hot, man. You gotta cool off some how. ...The next thing you know...
BTC: But that's just in ponds, right?
LS: It's like a lake, or a creek, or a spring thing. Any of those. 
BTC: That's the funny thing about swimming on the East Coast; rivers and lakes are dangerous. The ocean, at most, you're probably just gonna stung by a jelly fish. In California, it's the opposite. Nothing exists in a lake. But a shark will just kill you in the ocean out here.
LS: Yeah, that's true if you can find a lake that's not dried up. I guess Florida is just full of natural predators.
BTC: Yeah, it's like Australia. 
LS: It's the Outback of the US.

 

Later we discussed art and art school. 

LS: "I got a degree from art school. It was a communication design degree- which kind of sounds like bullshit... It kind of is.
I took a class in the fine arts department and it literally went down like this: We were standing in a circle and the professor was like, "Okay, everyone pick a spot on the floor, what do you see?"
"There's some hard wood, some dirt, some squiggles..."
"Okay that's your assignment."
And I knew that wasn't for me. 

I decided to not be a fine artist, very consciously. I couldn't deal with going to school and having assignments that were completely for artists, for art, and for nothing else. A professor at my school once put it like this: the difference between a fine artist and an illustrator is that an illustrator always has something to say."

BTC: So, who would you say is the finest illustrator... wait no, 'not even  gonna go there. Who is the number one artist of all time? After Luigi... ;-) ... who is a close runner up?
LS: Wait, like, alive? working?
BTC: Sure.
LS: There's a lot of artist I like, but I guess artists I could pair my influences down to.. Let's say Barry McGee, who's an artist a aspire to. And Mark Bradford. Barry McGee is an artist I aspire to: a San Francisco street artist, sort of a legend of the Bay Area, Street Art World, gained popularity with all these other people; the Mission Street School. I don't know, his work is very direct. His simple colors, his brush works, a lot of characters...
BTC: Nice, fair enough. Alright, who's the number one artist who ever lived and is now dead?
(Pauses for 30 seconds)
LS: Stanley Kubrick.
BTC: STANLEY KUBRICK! I like it! You're crossing medium right there! I like it!
LS: Yeah, because Stanley Kubrick has the eye of a painter, he's got the sensibilities of a photographer, he's got the stories of a novelist... He pretty much encompasses every creative field or endeavor.
BTC: Kind of like how people used to believe opera was the highest form of art or expression. Because if you wrote a good opera, your music was on point, your story's on point, your choreography was on point...
LS:  Your set design.
BTC: Yeah, all of that. It's like you're saying Kubrick was the modern day Verdi or something.
LS: Without a doubt.
BTC: Or maybe even Wagner. Without the anti-semetism. ...Well, with Kubrick, we don't know, right?
LS: No, we definitely know.
BTC: Hahaha
LS: He was making the Holocaust movie before Schindler's List and then abandoned it.  But there's almost no one else with that sense of details. You could even say some of Kubrick's best details are completely unnoticed because they're that good, like they totally blend in, you don't think twice about it. That's the mark of a totally brilliant director. Things are so fluid that I forget that it's a staged event. 
BTC: I think that's really awesome to be influenced by things that are outside of your specific concentration, like outside of your chosen medium.
LS: I mean, to be honest, I'm definitely always looking at visual art and I'm always inspired by it. But unfortunately I'm always viewing it in relation to my work and that doesn't really let me fully appreciate it as much as a film or an album or a book. And those things inspire me as much as an illustration, sometimes.
BTC: I hear that. Sometimes I think the things that influence me the most with coffee service come from experimental films these days. Seriously. I've been thinking a lot about competing again.The things I always want to do in competition are things I realize through avant-garde cinema.  Checking out things outside of your medium can afford you some fresh new perspectives and let yourself be open to new ideas that you might not have considered otherwise. 
LS: For sure. 

To end our interview, we decided to put Luigi on the hottest seat known to the human race: F/M/K

BTC: Alright, the Lightning Round. F/M/K: San Francisco, Orlando, New York?
LS:  (Laughing)
(Long Pause)
BTC: They're all pretty bad, right?
LS: Well, I mean, I would definitely kill Orlando.
BTC: Ooooo buuuuurn.
LS: ...And put it out of it's misery. Ummm... (Pauses) ...I would probably F New York, probably because it doesn't  care anyway. I mean New York will just get on with it's life. Probably marry the Bay Area. It's progressive. 
BTC: Yeah, you might hurt it's feelings otherwise. Okay. Last question. NYC, Orlando, Bay Area: Where are you eating?
LS: Definitely my mom's house in Orlando. In New York.... (pause) This is gonna be very Italian-centric. Probably gonna get a prosciutto mozzarella* sub from some deli. And from here I'm getting a burrito from El Matate, off of Bryant. 
(*He effortlessly executed the accurate pronunciation of prosciutto and mozzarella.)

Dear reader, were I you, I would make sure you stalk Luigi online: www.illsart.com and @illsavino on instagram. The man keeps himself busy.

Tour of the Northwest!

Greetings one and all.
We caught a ride with Shaggy Sample to the Northwest and it was awesome. In particular, we spent some time in Arcata (CA), Eugene (OR), Seattle (WA), Bellingham (WA), Olympia (WA), and Portland (OR). Coffee was had, sights were seen, sounds were happily heard, and friends new and old were hung with. 

Things that were great:

1) Weather. I was very impressed by the presence and variety of weather up North. It was different than ye olde Bay Area weather. (Bay Area weather, boo hoo, right?)
2) Plenty of water. Not only in rivers, but literally falling from the sky. Haven't experienced that in a while...
3) No shortage of beautiful mountain ranges to take in. Sure, at any moment one of those Volcanos might blow, but, whatever.
4) Music. There's so much awesome and great DIY stuff happening up North. And while, there's no shortage of it down here in Oakland, it was refreshing to check in some different stuff. I have a lot to listen to on a variety of mediums. 'Can't wait.

Top 3 coffee picks of the trip:
A ton of coffee was taken in. Truthfully, I really didn't have a terrible coffee anywhere. Honestly, there was so much more to have than what I had. But with 12+hr drives in the mix and sharing rides with folks who also want to take in diverse and cool experiences, you have to settle for just a few coffees per city. 
1) Olympia Coffee Roasting Co were offering two different processes of the Costa Rica La Pastora Micro Mill as espressos. They were fan-fucking-tastic. One was super sweet like a candy bar, the other a Kenya Process (featuring long fermentation times) was balanced between toffee and nut sweetness with plum and tangerine acidity. Great clarity. Nice one, folks.
2) I had an aeropress of a Honduran coffee at Milstead and Co in Seattle. 'Just super pleasant. Violet candy and turbinado sugar. Great vibes in there, too. And that outdoor seating within spitting distance of the Fremont troll!? Anyway, aeropress is my jam and very few shops use it. I think the "consumer," and frankly a lot of shop owners, spend too much money and time on brewing methods like Chemex and the gear one needs for it. When it's like, "Baby, just press it. Aeropress it." Nice one.
3) A fetco of Guatemala Santa Isabel at Heart Roasters' first location. Not wild or sparkling... but super sweet. To me it's sweetness was less roast-induced and more so a quality of green. It reminded me of candied pralines, Wether's Original, and ripe plum. Fetco... into it. 5 years ago I would have gotten all high and mighty about pour over. But now, I'm loving that consistency and efficiency. Plus, I truly believe quality of green and roasted coffee trumps brewing method... maybe even extraction to a certain extant. 

I could have not capped the list at 3, but that's a much larger entry than I care to put out there right now. I truly had a good time at every shop I visited and many thanks to the kind folks at Wandering Goat, Dancing Goat, Case Study Coffee, the Red E, Good Coffee, and Ritual (who are not in the NW, but I stopped by there on my trip up). 

Top 3 coolest surprises:
1) After 7 years of looking through the "M" section of record shops, I finally found a copy of Meringue's Music from the Mint Green Nest, a fantastic record, full of weird, awkward, wondering, and grooving tuneful music. Merengue existed once upon a time in Gainesville, FL in the early 90s. I actually wasn't even really looking for anything in this one random record pile in the basement of an antique store, but Lo and Behold, there it was. It found me. So cool. Dreams come true?
2) Eugene and Bellingham: Never been either before in all of my traveling. Eugene might be cooler than Portland? Ouch. I want to spend more time there. But, happy to check out their incredibly cool and strange gas-station/rest-stop with kombucha on tap SeQuential BioFuel. And Bellingham is a fucking hidden gem in my opinion. Fun food, angry karaoke, and super cheap great thrifting. Don't tell anyone! The latter is all but extinct in the Bay. 
3) Zach from Iji singing It's a Family Affair (so smooth...)

Least favorite thing: Crashing in someone's grow room, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

Anyway, muchas gracias to the State of Washington (you are the best and full of some of the best people ever), friends in Portland and Arcata, Mandarin Dynasty, Mommy Long Legs, Spencer Sult, Cole and Des, and Ruth and Jeff for the great times and hospitality. 

We have two copies of the zine and tape left. Ya best step to it if you want one of these. 
<3, 
BTC

Good music: the good cup of coffee for the mind and its ear

I have no studies to point to on this one... Just a gut a feeling.

Anyway, some fine fine artists featured on the BTCCC&Q vol 1 tape are on tour right now, or in certain cases, have been on tour. If you're wise, you'll do yourself the courtesy of seeing them and hearing them.

GET YE TO A CONCERT HALL if they be in ye town.

STEPHEN STEINBRINK is in EUROPE!!! with Julie Byrne
Sept 15th LONDON ENGLAND @ SCALA
Sept 16th PARIS, FRANCE @ POINT EPHEMERE
Sept 17th ANTWERP, BELGIUM @ VILLANELLA
Sept 18th KOLN, GERMANY @ KING GEORG
Sept 19th MAINZ, GERMANY @ WOHNZIMMER
Sept 20th DRESDEN, GERMANY @ GROOVESTATION
Sept 21st BERLIN, GERMANY @ MONARCH
Sept 22nd DUISBURG, GERMANY @ STEINBRUCH
Sept 23rd HAMBURG, GERMANY @ REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL

GENERIFUS is OUT WEST!!!
Sept 15th LOS ANGELES @ THE SMELL
Sept 16th SANTA BARBARA @ THE ATRIUM
Sept 17th OAKLAND @ THE BADGER CLAW CASTLE
Sept 18th DAVIS @ THIRD SPACE
Sept 19th ARCATA @ THE MINIPLEX

SHAGGY SAMPLE is heading up Northwest/ the java of America... w/*Mandarin Dynasty and Mommy Long Legs*
Sept 17th OAKLAND @ The BADGER CLAW CASTLE
Sept 18th ARCATA @ THE ARCATA PLAYHOUSE
Sept 19th SEATTLE @ WEREWOLF VACATION* w/Iji
Sept 20th BELLINGHAM @MAKE SHIFT*
Sept 21st OLYMPIA @ LA VOYEUR*
Sept 22nd PORTLAND @ CHURCH w/Brumes and Cole Baby

FWWWW! Just thinking about all that traveling and great live music has us parched and feeling a little tired. Maybe it's time for a La Primavera Aeropress or a Guji Cold Brew. 

Cheers.

BTC Coffee and Culture Quarterly

So, this started off as a joke when my band went on tour a year ago. We had just recorded our album, put it on cassette and CD, silkscreened a some shirts, totes, and sweat pants, and created a variety of pins. It's a lot of stuff. And I had just recently hooked up my sample roaster. We thought it would be funny to sell coffee with download codes in a jar. If you hated tapes and CDs and you already have too many sweat pants, pins, etc, you could still at least enjoy a cup with the band. Hopefully the codes would come out of the jar before you tossed the coffee in the grinder. 

The reason to create the BTC CCQ is complicated. I think there are three major reasons at the end of the end of the day that all deserve delving into and unraveling: 1) I am wildly interested in the idea of creating an experience and environment, 2) Besides coffee, I believe in the importance of music, art, and critical creative thought and sharing it, 3) That this might resonate with other people, maybe inspire someone to do something creative in their community (coffee, city, whatever).

The first point has been something I've been chasing, (slowly, perhaps, seemingly motionlessly at times especially while binge watching The Daily Show) for a while in one way or another. A moment of no return occurred when my friend Courtney took me the Castro Theater to see Jodorowski's The Holy Mountain. Jodorowski's use of color, patterns, time, and music just leveled me. I wanted to do that with coffee somehow. But how? Blue Bottle's uniform policy doesn't explicitly mention a ban of loin cloths during service... 

Barista Competitions always seemed like an interesting means of exploring ideas, if you have them. And so I tried this a few times, admittedly self-sabtaging my routines. And it's hard to create a carefree, timeless, environment in 15 minutes while frantically serving up several rounds of drinks. I commend all that can. 

But other than that, most shops don't really afford one the opportunity to do something like this, especially if you're just a barista. (It's not really economical and maybe weird?) It's a shame, because a healthy chunk of the employees are artists or folks who have dabbled in the humanities.

So, while talking with my coworker and partner in-crime, Luigi, we thought, well, what's to stop us from releasing a tape of music, like that last tour I did? Or a zine? Or why not both? You could experience this at home with others or solo. 
Beyond the experience one might have with this, why couldn't we cram it with the really awesome works of our friends that we thought were worth checking out? 

All of a sudden, this was a real thing. 

It's real! It's here. And it's really exciting. 

A lot of hands have helped shape this release and I want to take a moment to thank them.

Dear Luigi Savino, Julian Birchman, David Jaberi, Evan Hashi, Courtney Fellion, Colleen Johnson, Harmon Butcher, Taryn Jones, Andrew Keller, Stephen Steinbrink, Matt Fisher, Kelly Gemmill, Spencer Carrow, Spencer Sult, David Brant, Steve Poponi, Rebecca Redman, Paul Benson, Jacob Jaffe, Jason Henn, Memory Boys, Scott Churchman, Holly Bobisuthi....THANK YOU!

Stay tuned. Next issue is due out in a few months. 
And if you haven't gotten a copy yet, I encourage you to go to our store and pick one up. I think they're really good! 

Baking. Not Baked/OAKLAND LAKE COFFEE

Greetings to all, 

I'm so very stoked to inform you fine people that we're attending YET ANOTHER INSTALLMENT of OAKLAND-LAKE-C.O.F.F.E.E.  !!!!
For those weirdly out of the loop, we've been hanging out a few times a month with some very ENTHUSIASTIC people at Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA to make coffee, eat donuts, and take in general and not-so-general merry-making.

"Say what? Where? How does this work? What can I do to make a positive impact?"

Okay, settle down.  Here's the deal.  There are some picnic tables behind Fairyland... no streets signs, no address... Be resourceful, use those legs, and find it.  It's west of the band stand.  Look for some lunatics making coffee. 
You should at the very least bring a cup/mug/bowl/water-tight shoe.
But, you are encouraged to throw down, if you should be so bold, with a camp stove, grinder, coffee brewer of YOUR CAREFULLY CURATED selection, some coffee (although, we'll have some available), and water to boil and for brewing.  
AND despite the name, we definitely encourage folks to NOT USE LAKE MERRITT WATER.  Sheesh.

Now, what am I getting on about with this "Baking. Not Baked" title?  As it turns out, food can be as good, if not, at select times, better than really nice coffee.  Years spent serving coffee have seen me grow hungrier and hungrier during shifts.  As a result, I'm resolved to make food for myself and for the people that I care about.  

Time spent out in the Bay has sparked an interest in sourdough-leavened treats.  In keeping with that spirit and flavor, we will be offering some sweet and savory sourdough treats.  
Can you deal with that?

Now, contrary to them snacky-pooz, I can assure, the coffee will not be baked.  Baked is a term we attribute to some less-than-desirable qualities found in poorly roasted coffee. It tends to render very dull flavors. (Look at me, acting all snooty!)
Yeeees, much like the sourdough levain, the coffee should taste very active.  

Although not fermented. hmmmmmm

SEE YA SUNDAY at 10AM SHARP!!!

Oakland Lake Coffee

Greetings one and all.  

We're heading to Lake Merritt tomorrow morning to hangout and make aeropresses with some Excellent people.  

"Hey, tell me more"

Fine, we will.  

Inspired by fellow cyclists and creativez brewing coffee in diverse outdoor settings around LA, local smarty*, Megan O'Connor decided, "[I] gotsta get me one'a'deez".**

And so, it was.  

Rain, Snow, Hail, or Shine***, we'll be out there taking in coffee and donuts with friends.  

Now, true to word, we will be there brewing up some tasty aeropressses of coffee. 
But everyone is encouraged to bring coffee, a grinder, brewing apperatus, and a recepticle to hold said bevie. Bonus points if you bring a camping stove and water.  
We can mix and match, tradesies, or coffee hang.  Whatever your style is, is the right way to enjoy Oakland Lake Coffee this morning. 
Sound okay?  We think so.  

WHERE and WHEN
Lake Merritt, behind Fairyland, under the band stand.  Ya gotta walk or bike along the trail, you'll find it, trust us. 10AM SHARP!!! Tomorrow (SUN 05.03.15)

See ya soon, 
BTC

*Can you say Berkeley PHD in the making?
** Capt Steven Hiller, Indepence Day.
***As things go in the Bay Area, probably not going to snow or rain or show any form of precipitation. It did rain QUITE HARD for our inaugural Oakland Lake Coffee event.