Kopi Luwak
Tuesday, 07. 27. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
Things are a little a fluster here at TampTamp HQ thanks to today’s NY Daily News story about civet coffee. We’re always grateful for the press, and today’s story is no exception. I did want to take a bit of time to discuss what civet coffee is and why this story comes up so often.
Civet coffee, otherwise known as Kopi Luwak, is frequently cited as the most expensive coffee in the world. And why is it so expensive? There are two main reasons:
The first is that it is extremely expensive to produce. Cat-like animals called civets are raised and fed ripe coffee cherries, with then pass through their digestive systems and are then cleaned, dried, [...]
Our Principles
Wednesday, 07. 21. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
One of the biggest things to come out of our recent company retreat were our company principles. These are the guidelines we live by, and constantly look back at, to make sure we’re providing the best service we can.
To ensure quality, we must fully understand the challenges we face before we can successfully address them.
We deliver the highest quality possible from a cup of coffee to TampCamp training to Coffee Planners consulting services.
“If you want a vanilla latte, we will make every effort to make the best vanilla latte you have ever had.”
We respect and sustain the relationships we have within our industry, our community, and within TampTamp.
We create an [...]
Cupping coffee on Lake Champlain
Thursday, 07. 15. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
While it was definitely iced coffee weather in New York City last week, team TampTamp took some time out of the office to retreat on beautiful Lake Champlain in upstate New York. One of the things we took some time to do was cup and taste coffee and we got to taste some really good coffees. Here’s some tasting notes:
On Barista Voodoo- What I Learned at TampCamp
Wednesday, 06. 30. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
By: Wiggles
After spending two killer days at TampCamp Bar Ready, I learned a great deal of information, both audibly, and hands on: about milk taste, texture, and chemistry- about cupping for beginning cuppers, and how to get beautifully textured milk, consistently.
But mostly I learned one cold hard fact: I’ve been a voodoo barista. I’ve been a barista who made drinks inconsistently, and with lots of wasted steps. If you’ve spent any time in coffeeshops, you’ve probably seen barista voodo: excessive and inconsistent dosing by repeatedly knocking the portafilter on the grinder fork. Lots of un-repeateble grooming moves, unnecessary tamping methods, and the portafilter flip, which looks kinda cool, until you lose your puck and try [...]
Coffee as a Culinary Medium – June 24, 2010
Wednesday, 06. 23. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
Join us as Neil and 4 other barista cmpetitors show off their signature beverages at RBC in Tribeca tomorrow at 7pm.
Artisan Roasting with Plowshares Coffee
Monday, 06. 21. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
By Wiggles:
Anthony Kurutz was kind enough to let Sarah Leslie and I from TampTamp spend some time with him today, checking out a day in the life of a coffee roaster. Anthony is the proprietor and roaster at Plowshares Coffee, where he roasts delicious clean and sweet coffees in Hillburn, New York.
Anthony was dropping some coffee off at a hot dog restaraunt in park slope called Bark (did I mention that he sells his awesome coffee to a hot dog restaurant? I told you this dude was cool), and picked us up from TampTamp world headquarters. Part one of the field trip was a visit to the super-rad Continental coffee warehouse in New Jersey, [...]
The Strada and Espresso Fundamentals
Thursday, 06. 17. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
Wednesday saw La Marzocco’s Out of the Box event here in NYC, and the local community was lucky enough to get to play with these new machines. We had two Stradas to try out, and a brewing “deathmatch” run by Counter Culture’s tech guru Brian Ludviksen and MoJo Maestro Vince Fedele. Winner was decided by taste and TDS, losers were thrown to the lions.
The Strada is really cool. Very cool. It’s ergonomic, it has a fly-by-wire steam valve, big displays, and independent internal pumps, PID, boilers, and pressure gauges. It has a wider drip tray which will prevent many of the drips associated with the GB-5 and FB-80 [...]
BGA Exam Providence Edition – June 17th
Monday, 06. 14. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
Anne Nylander and Neil Oney will be offering the BGA Level 1 Exam at New Harvest Coffee in Providence RI.
Why should you take the BGA Level 1 Exam:
-resume builder
-good review of skills
-pre-requisite for Bar Ready TampCamp classes
The exam is free to members and $45 for non members.
To sign up for the exam, visit http://www.tamptamp.com/?page_id=482 and under the field “How did you hear about TampTamp” write “New Harvest”. You can also register by emailing Sarah Leslie at sarah@tamptamp.com or by phone to 347-338-TAMP(8267).
Check out the BGA’s website to learn more about certification and membership or feel free to ask us!
The event will be held at New Harvest Roasters, 1005 Main St. #108, Pawtucket, RI.
Move Your Grinder!
Sunday, 06. 6. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
At TampTamp, the most valuable piece of information we give away is a simple one: 9 times out of 10, the biggest issue effecting workflow and customer wait times is grinder placement. So nearly every time we walk into a cafe, we say “Move your grinder!”
Generally, an espresso bar is set up to make best use of space, or the grinder is on the same side it was when being trained because it’s most comfortable there. However, it is often the wrong place. Moving the grinder helps with flow by making the drinks move in only one direction. Place the grinder on the opposite side from where the drink pickup location is and it will [...]
Being a Regular
Monday, 05. 31. 2010 – Category: Uncategorized
By Sarah Leslie
It has now officially been one month since I left my job at Think Coffee to come work for TampTamp as Director of Office Relations. I went from working five shifts a weeks behind an espresso bar making drinks for the customers at Think to working five days a week in an office setting at TampTamp Headquarters. My love of all things organizational and office related brings joy to my work at TampTamp, but I do miss the process of making and serving espresso based drinks in a retail setting.
What I miss more than making drinks behind the counter is the feeling of being a regular at a cafe. Because I was [...]
