I want to take a moment to thank the staff I had during my time at TampTamp – Dan Griffin, Anne Boatner, Eric Grimm, Sarah Leslie, Seth Lester, Wiggles Peters and Neil Oney. I learned so much from them and continue to be extremely proud of their professional growth over those short few years! I am truly grateful that they chose to work with us.

I’m now enjoying a new position working with Nordstrom in their specialty coffee division. It has been an absolute pleasure to join a team so committed to customer service and I am looking forward to a long tenure with the company.

Of course I still continue to be extremely passionate about specialty coffee training and coffee professionals’ commitment to customer service, so this will certainly not be the last you’ll see of me! I look forward to working with many of you at future SCAA events and events around the world.

If you have favorite TampTamp memories to share in the comments, it would be lovely to hear them.

Sincerely,

Anne Nylander

President

In 2006, I started working in coffee. When I started, as lowly cashier in a busy New York cafe, I decided I would plunge head first into a coffee career. I had already worked for two years in coffee, back in high school at JavaBean espresso in Seattle Washington and in college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but this time I was going to take the coffee business more seriously.

I had learned how to make espresso before, and in 2002, when I returned to Seattle after dropping out of college, I thought I had the barista craft down pat. I mean, I could pour latte art! I was nice to customers. What more could Cafes want from me? So, after a dozen or so attempts at Seattle’s great cafes, I gave up. No way was I going to barback, or just cashier if I already had been trained. I would go on to forget it and get a “real” job in corporate retail.

When I came back to coffee in 2006, I had changed. My mind was open and I was ready to learn. I cupped coffee for the first time (it was terrifying!), and got my first formal training from a coffee educator. The training was really where I got excited, because it was time dedicated to my craft and a constant state of improvement.

Still, in our cafe and in the cafes I’ve worked at since then, it’s been hard to measure what a “good” barista is. One way we measure baristas is by evaluating their performance at competitions. So I competed, in 2008. I was more terrified than when I cupped coffee, and my showing, in my mind, showed my limitations as a barista (really, I placed 10th which is not bad at all considering the myriad obstacles in my way. Competitors, you know what I’m talking about). I had lots of friends in the industry by that time, and they helped me drown my sorrows at the abject failure I considered myself to be.

Another way the industry measures a successful barista is by time on the job, or commitment. The challenge with this barista culture, though, is that baristas (like myself before I founded TampTamp) who are serious and passionate are going to blast through a lot of places before they find the right fit. Maybe they are entrepreneurs dying to open their own shops or baristas who want to become the One True Barista to a money-backed outside investor (a tempting prey to which all serious baristas, at one point or another, will fall victim to.). Whatever their lot in life, a huge desire to become the best, to eat sleep live breathe coffee has overcome them. But how do you put that on a resume without looking totally crazy?

The answer lies in a professional certification like the BGA exam. Something that is nationally recognized, transferrable, and not dependent on whether or not you like to compete. Something else that says, “I’m not just crazy and obsessed with phenolic acid. I have actually learned something and know my craft. Not only that, but I can also use this experience to speak the same language with other baristas about my craft.”

The exam in its current state is by no means perfect, and it certainly isn’t cool. But is the actual process of getting a drivers license really cool? Just go there, in your mind, to the DMV. Visualize what it was like to take the written, and then the practical. Not very cool, probably actually very uncomfortable.

But when you were 16, you were brave, and you did it. Then what? You got to drive. You got to share a common experience with your friends who were liscenced, and prepare those who weren’t. Except for those of you who went in to racing, no competition measured your skills as a driver. Sure, some of you were and are better drivers, but you never used that as measuring stick against your friends.

That’s why I believe in the BGA exam, and why I give it as often as people ask if they can take it. The certification can become a far superior measurement of professional development than competition, in which we must determine where the arbitrary line exists that says “you are a barista of quality.” is it the top 10 (whew, 2008 me made it)? What about top 6 (uh-oh)? What about good baristas that have bad days? Or ones that never feel the need to compete at all?

To be sure, the USBC has it’s rightful place at the top of tracks for professional development. Those baristas that compete at the highest level deserve every ounce of credit they receive – they work their asses off and make huge investments to get there. That is noble, and the industry has benefitted greatly from the program’s success, most notably by pushing the boundaries of industry standards and causing an exciting feedback loop within the advancing industry.

But you don’t start driving NASCAR without getting your drivers license, and now it’s time for all of us to line up at the DMV. Because if we truly believe we are putting our best possible products (this means, for example, pulling shots to an agreed to industry standard) out for customers, with a smile and with a willingness to share, getting through level 1 certification should be easy.

If it’s not, it’s important to remember that I was once in your place, adamant I knew everything about espresso, when in fact I had barely scratched the surface. Coffee can be a lifelong pursuit of knowledge if you choose that path, but it’s so important to remember that you will never learn it all. The BGA certification will help you check your rear-view mirrors, parallel park, and back around a corner. That will set you on a path for success in specialty coffee, and help you understand the yardstick by which specialty coffee is measured.

The first thing I wanted to note about the Brewer’s Cup is that it’s a lot of fun! I think it’s an event with so much less complexity than the barista competition that I believe can be an incredible asset to the coffee community in terms of constructive brewing feedback. For round one, you get some coffee, practice with it, make the best you can, and then serve it to the judges. This is not to say, don’t read the rules – whenever you play any game, you should read the rules first, right?

During the first round of practice, I joked with Dallis Brothers consultant Teresa Von Fuchs that it reminded me of the brewed-to-order events we did together of the course of the past few years. I’ve made many a coffee recipe on the spot with her and other baristas. I’ve kept an open mind and tried to always keep tasting, looking for the best attributes of any given coffee.

Finals round: setting up the mic.

The second round, while slightly more challenging, is still pretty straightforward. Find a coffee you are passionate about and that tastes good (especially in accordance with what the rules are looking for – in this case, balance!), and explain it to people trained to listen to what you have to say. If it’s something your grandmother can understand as well, that’s good too. I tried my best to convey a message that was both knowledgeable and straightforward, as always with a focus on taste.

I chose to work with Silas Moulton from Barismo to help me source my coffee, although there are dozens of great roasters I could have worked with. My confidence with Silas came from our shared experience taking the Q last year, and I knew I could trust him to find me some great coffees to work with for the challenge. He and Barismo owner Jamie Van Schyndel were just as supportive of a team to me as I hoped they would be, so a big thank you goes out to them. Finally, I was glad to support a coffee that was roasted locally to the NERBC event, although there are many great coffees I could have worked with from all around the world!

The Barismo folks sent me 3 Colombian Microlots to choose from, and I decided to work with the coffee from Einar Ortiz’s estate. The coffee was sourced in conjunction with, Virmax a fascinating Colombian exporter, known for bringing coffee eduction to small Colombian Farmers. This coffee, as I said from the presentation, was wonderful in its approachability – one of the reasons I chose it was because a non-coffee friend I experimented on said she didn’t need to put her usual milk quota into it. Still, it had a pleasant complexity coffee to it, one of those that makes you think, “Hm, wow, this just tastes like a great cup of coffee.”

Finals round table setup.

I chose to work with the Clever coffee dripper for these main reasons: 1. The Clever, once you’ve practiced a few times, can be surprisingly fool-proof. Perfect for nerves and eliminating unnecessary variables. 2. In my bi-coastal state, lugging around my 3 favorite brewers, Chemexes, would have been a bit of a chore. 3. The Clever really can bring out additional balance of flavor, due to its two-part brew strategy (immersion and draw-down). This lets the coffee be both full bodied and clean. It really is a pretty neat new contraption on the coffee market.

And now, here’s the recipe: I dialed in by tasting the coffee that morning, first brewed two sample batches using 15g and 20g of coffee, prepared using the recipe listed below. After that I narrowed it down to a final dose weight – I believe it was 18g. As with any coffee, I recommend re-calibrating for taste frequently, daily if possible.

Clever Coffee Dripper

#6 grind setting on Mahlkonig Tanzania

Rinse Filters and pre-heat brewers.
Initial bloom pour: 85g
45 second bloom, no stirs
additional water: 215g (300g water total)
2:30 draw down, 3:30 finished extraction.

Was my extraction at service technically perfect? Probably not. In the world of coffee, I think that is a dream we chase in preparation, and perfection will always remain just around the corner. But am I confident that the coffee tasted good and created a good experience for the judges? Absolutely. Were there lots of variables I reduced or eliminated – like paper taste, incorrect extraction due to cold tools, over agitation? Yes. Again, the manual brewing process is still new and young in our industry and still has much more experimentation to go with what we’ve done; without forgetting that some great resources are already out there when it comes to brewing coffee.

I am very satisfied with my 2nd place finish at the NERBCC, and I don’t plan to compete in Houston at the national brewer’s cup, but I hope that those of you who do can find this useful and continue to experiment and grow with your coffee performance. I am incredibly proud of Erin McCarthy from Gimme and was honored to compete against so many strong brewers in the region. And don’t worry – I or some great competitor from TampTamp will certainly be back next year! You can also root for former TampTampers Neil Oney and Seth Lester as they throw down this year.

*A lot of people have been asking me, wait, isn’t TampTamp in Seattle now? The answer is yes and no. I am doing work nationally, much of which still happens in NYC. So that is the way I still “work in the region.” I am in Seattle a few weeks out of every month and definitely look forward to working with some great coffee folks out here as time goes by!

Someone at TampTamp has been studying up on service...

Well, hello, blogosphere. I’m back from being in my bunker writing curriculum and taking a (gasp!) vacation. But now I’m here and I want to chat about something – customer service.

So I’ve been studying up to offer a beta test of the BGA’s Level 1 customer service class on Friday (if you are in Seattle, please join me! I would love your feedback.), which I’ve been working on since the fall as a volunteer for the SCAA. It’s been an interesting process, and one in which I’ve learned that many folks in the industry have widely varying opinion about service, and what it means, and what role baristas play within that in our industry.

It seems to me that we’re reaching a critical point – with prices rising, preparation getting more challenging, and access to great coffees getting more and more elusive – where service is going to become a critical component of the specialty coffee experience. And on top of that, it will be critical to not just achieve basic success in customer service, but to really rise to the challenge of exceeding expectations for our consumers (without being snobby).

I think this is an area within our industry in which we struggle quite a bit, often as a by-product of the newness of what we do. As we stop-and-start through new ideas, new brewers, new espresso machines, and new preparation techniques, how do we discuss them in a way that is useful to consumers? Or do consumers even want to know at all? Where is the balance point? How do we continue to make valuable connections with the people that are the lifeblood of any business – our customers?

I feel like these questions always seem so basic, and yet when you sit down to really think about them, they get complex real fast. One fascinating relationship I am always curious about is the role between the cafe owner and their baristas, and how much the act of elevating the customer experience needs to be a shared goal, usually with specific measurable steps, that the barista is empowered to achieve by the owner. I’ve seen this go both ways – with owners who have extremely high standards, which make it challenging if not impossible to hit all the steps. Other times, baristas grumble while working under owners who don’t exert an effort to improve the service experience, or not as well as the barista would like. Baristas make their best efforts, but there’s only so much that can be done without clean bar towels and a working cash register!

The best cafes appear to have a mutual understanding of what they are trying to achieve and how they plan to do it. Owners and baristas work in tandem to create experiences that differentiate them and allow them to stand out in their market – something lucrative for baristas and owners alike. I think the very best are the ones that continue to discover new ways to improve that experience – be it in the product itself, the atmosphere, the steps of the service interaction, or the professionalism of folks behind the counter.

This is turning into a questions more than answers post – but I am really curious. Are there ways you have met this challenge in your cafe? How were you successful? Do you have advice for other shops? If you need to get the juices flowing before a comment thread begins, I’d recommend listening to the first portion of Portafilter Podcast 102, which discusses the future of the professional barista. Definitely thought provoking! Then come back and tell me what you think.

A section of Hacienda La Minita.

The farm itself is about 1200 acres of varying elevations between 1200 and 1500 meters, and grows about 1.7 million trees per year on 600 of the acres (the difference includes a nature reserve, housing for workers, roads, and their mill). The La Minita estate grows 4 varieties of coffee to use in its coffees: Yellow & Red Catuai, Typica, and Typica Hibrido. So ripe coffees from the farm are both yellow and red – something interesting to note when looking at the photos of coffee at the receiving stations.

On the first day of the visit, we toured the farm and learned about La Minita’s geography, terrior, working conditions and the farm cycle. For those of you playing along at home, you can read the full report on La Minita’s website.

Anne visiting baby coffee plants.

My favorite part of the first day was visiting the nursery, home to over 200,000 coffee trees that await introduction to the farm. These coffees are meticulously cared for so that they will begin producing enough fruit to harvest in 2012, and will grow and reach their best output in 2017, where they will trimmed back to their roots and allowed to re-flourish in 5 year cycles. In 2027, these coffee trees will be removed and replaced with new baby trees – anecdotal evidence contends that coffee trees aged 10-15 years produce the best flavors, and after 15 years cup quality deteriorates.

Coffee farmers delivering coffee at the end of the day's picking.

And then just to sucker us into offering some free labor, Jim (our host) let us pick some coffee ourselves. While of course this was fun, it helped cement the idea that this was just the final step in a years-long, laborious cycle for coffee agronomy. And that’s before coffee gets processed!

The small cement patio where Sundried La Minita has a very limited production.

Air Dryers

The second day we visited La Minita’s Mill, an impressive operation that washes, dries, and sorts thousands of pounds of coffee per day, not just from La Minita’s estate but also from coffee throughout the Terrazu region. I was surprised to learn that the majority of the coffees at the Mill were air-dried, and was humbled by the scope of production involved in drying the farm.

Hand sorting coffees for defects and irregularities.

As always my respect for coffee always lies in the sorting room, where women (almost always) hand sort defects out from specialty grade coffees. This work is incredibly meticulous and time consuming, and these women always make it look easy. When we were there, the ladies were sorting out peaberries from the La Minita stock, which only includes flat seeds.

Then we had a chance to taste some decidedly not specialty coffees – coffees produced from the farm’s harvest remnants and used to meet Costa Rica’s law requiring a percentage of a coffee farm’s production to be used for internal production. This coffee, called, “Verde” had a thick, oily body and an unpleasant, woody aftertaste. It’s funny at this point that I am becoming more and more interested in the flavors of lower quality coffees, since it’s definitely shaping and reframing my respect for great specialty coffees. The Verde tasting experience was no exception!

And in case you are worried that there was not TampTamp funjoyment mixed in with all this coffee agronomy – fear not! In the midst of all the touring, picking, and tasting, there was sapo – an activity akin to beer pong – plenty of top 40 pop, and this bumper sticker:

Plus, I was hanging out with some great folks from Oren’s Daily Roast, Back Porch Coffee, Coffee Enterprises and Mocha Joe’s coffee. We were a great group from a range of businesses, and there were great conversations ranging from certifications to customer service and competition.

This was our posse, and we made some memories!

I had a great time and I hope this is the start of many more visits to coffee farms in the years to come!

The advice? Nobody cares. What does it taste like?

This will be my 4th year really involved with barista competition, which is an exciting, chaotic, and inspiring season in our nerdy specialty coffee world. I’ve been a competitor, worked with competitors, coached competitors, and judged competitors. And the biggest mistake I see time and again is remembering that this competition is all about the sensory experience for the four judges sitting at your table.

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of a routine, of the details – like what colors the cups should be or how to make the signature drink blow someone’s mind. An idea comes from a favorite fruit, or there’s a whole theme to consider. All that thinking often ultimately takes away from what the score sheets are talking about – which is, “Did you make the drinks you said you were going to make, and did they taste like what you said it was going to taste like (and, was that a good thing?).” Worst case scenario, it derails the search for the right espresso, and when the purpose of the competition is to showcase wonderful espressos, that’s when a competitor gets into real trouble.

Often a competition routine is also an indicator of a sick and passionate love affair between a competitor and their coffee. The competitor is so obsessed they clearly want to share everything they can about their coffee, gushing on and on about its every nuanced detail. After the weeks and months spent building to that moment working with that coffee, it’s really no wonder.

The same way a great chef only has the meal itself to impress their guests, a barista competitor only has that 15 minutes. And if you think back to the best meals you’ve ever had, probably one thing will stick out in your mind more than anything else: the taste of the food itself.

Maybe the waiters recommended a bottle of wine. Do you remember the name? Maybe you learned about where your produce or proteins were sourced. Do you remember where?

Most likely you will remember the experience of the bites you took, and whether or not those tastes met, exceeded, or failed to meet your expectations. You took in the experience and evaluated it, whether you were happy or not, and didn’t think about the details, hopefully because they had been thought of for you (obviously, if you were missing your fork, details had been neglected).

So when baristas shape their performances, I always stress that the most important thing to convey is the taste experience for the judges. What are you, as the barista, trying to achieve on their behalf that day? Why did you try to make your coffee taste that way? How can you convey that information objectively, quickly, and with just enough emphasis that judges hear and understand it while still giving the coffees time to speak for themselves?

I’m going to leave this by ending with Colin Harmon’s WBC routine from last year. It’s been my go-to performance this year (last year was Sammy Piccolo’s 2009 Atlanta performance) because it shows that a simple routine can be beautiful, and very intimate for the sensory judges. Look it over and then compare it to some other WBC performances last year, and see if you can see how Colin stuck to the mantra, “Nobody cares. What does it taste like?”

This year, we opened our ranking to our readers and friends, who provided us with a top ten I am happy to endorse. Below, you’ll find each shop’s information and a review of why I think they made the list. Congratulations again to the winners. To those planning to use the list – please enjoy the coffee, and tell them TampTamp sent you!

- Anne

The short list:

1.3rd Rail. Score: 12.65
240 Sullivan Street, Manhattan btw W. 3rd St and Bleecker St.

2. Abraco: Score: 12.47
86 East 7th Street, Manhattan. btw. 1st and 2nd Aves

3. Oslo. Score: 12.38
2 locations: 133-B Roebling Brooklyn & 328 Bedford Ave Brooklyn, and S. 2nd St.

4. Grumpy. Score: 12.05
3 locations (4th coming soon): 193 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn (Greenpoint); 224 West 20th Street, Manhattan; 383 7th Avenue, Brooklyn. btw 11th and 12th St.

5. Joe. Score: 11.23
5 locations (all Manhattan): 514 Columbus Avenue; 141 Waverly Place; 9 East 13th Street; 44 Grand Central Terminal; 405 West 23rd street

6. Stumptown. Score: 11
2 locations: 18 W 29th St, Manhattan. btw Broadway and 5th Ave., Manhattan; Brew-bar 219 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn (open weekends only).

7. Blue Bottle. Score: 9.81
1 NYC location, several more in San Francisco: 160 Berry Street, Brooklyn.

8. Everyman. Score: 8.76
136 East 13th Street, Manhattan btw. 3rd and 4th Aves.

9. Gimme. Score: 8.72
2 locations (3rd coming soon): 228 Mott St, Manhattan; 495 Lorimer St, Brooklyn.

10. Bluebird. Score: 8.38
72 East 1st Street, Manhattan

The full descriptions:

1.3rd Rail. Score: 12.65
240 Sullivan Street, Manhattan btw W. 3rd St and Bleecker St.

Humberto at Third Rail.

Third Rail has had so many reviews this year, maybe they’d like a haiku from TampTamp.

Third Rail Coffee bar
You are so nice and tasty
Everyone loves you

If you can only visit one shop in NYC, this is the one in 2011.

2. Abraco: Score: 12.47
86 East 7th Street, Manhattan. btw. 1st and 2nd Aves

Abraco Espresso

Abraco is a notable number 2 on this list – and in the Food category, Abraco rightly took the prize from the rest of the coffee shop pack. I don’t have too much to say about Abraco since we wrote about it last year, except that it keeps providing an amazing culinary and coffee experience to New Yorkers and visitors alike, and the prix-fixe lunch is still one of the best deals around NYC. And – this is the third time I’m telling you now – do not miss the cured olive cookie!

3. Oslo. Score: 12.38
2 locations: 133-B Roebling Brooklyn & 328 Bedford Ave Brooklyn, and S. 2nd St.

Oslo Coffee

Oslo Coffee. I personally am very glad Oslo made it back onto the list in 2010 (they were on the original Brooklyn list in 2008) – they probably only were knocked off due to Neil & Anne’s inability to visit Williamsburg on a regular basis. However, Oslo continues to produce some delicious espresso, particularly at their Bedford Avenue location, and have begun roasting their own coffee. A strong, steady, and hardworking cafe. Living up to its Norwegian heritage (I can say that because I’m a Norwegian, right?). Skål!

4. Grumpy. Score: 12.05
3 locations (4th coming soon): 193 Meserole Avenue, Brooklyn (Greenpoint); 224 West 20th Street, Manhattan; 383 7th Avenue, Brooklyn. btw 11th and 12th St.

Clover Coffee Brewers at Cafe Grumpy Chelsea

Cafe Grumpy: The infamous $12 cup of coffee. 5 years in business. And these adorable plush coffee beans – any coffee lover’s new best friend. Yeah, Grumpy rightly remains in the ranks of the top 10 – for the 3rd year in a row. Last year, we’d mentioned that Grumpy was home to the 2009 barista champion, and indeed, in 2010 they scooped up the 2010 NERBC champ Danielle Glasky as well (Jordan Barber competed for Grumpy and ended with a 3rd place finish – a feat in and of itself). Grumpy also celebrated its 5th anniversary this year, and owners Chris and Caroline seem content to keep chugging along on the quality train by opening their 4th retail location on the Lower East Side next year. Keep it comin’, Grumpy!

5. Joe. Score: 11.23
5 locations (all Manhattan): 514 Columbus Avenue; 141 Waverly Place; 9 East 13th Street; 44 Grand Central Terminal; 405 West 23rd street

Joe on 23rd St in Chelsea.

Joe. Joe! My Alma Mater! 7-year-old Joe! It speaks to me that Joe is another 3-year member of this list, despite the tendency of coffee professionals to make it out to be an underdog. But here it stands, year after year, making great coffee for thousands of customers every day in 5 extremely busy locations (maybe does the new coffee-only bar at grand central count as the sixth?). Maybe that means some of us professionals should stop, revisit and learn a thing or two from Joe (my instincts tell me to look particularly at Joe’s hospitality training). And I’ve even heard a rumor that 2011 will be the first year a barista from joe will be entering the NERBC… Something I will be very excited to see! So keep it up Joe, and I’ll be back for a seasonal v60 the next time I’m in NYC.

6. Stumptown. Score: 11
2 locations: 18 W 29th St, Manhattan. btw Broadway and 5th Ave., Manhattan; Brew-bar 219 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn (open weekends only).

Our lone TampTamp photo of the Ace Stumptown.

Stumptown certainly made a splash when they hit the NYC retail coffee scene in late 2009, and their location at the Ace Hotel on 29th street continues to be one of the most sought-after cups of coffee in town. In addition, their collaboration with the Ace makes their lobby space perhaps one of the most hospitable “coffices” in Manhattan. A notable new feature this year include the addition of Brooklyn-local Mast Brother’s chocolate for mochas (and for eating!), which is now available in all their stores (I still think it’s kind of weird to see it here in Seattle!). Their whole bean offerings still stand out as some of the very best in the world, so when you want to treat yourself to an amazing coffee at home, visiting Stumptown (and I’d even encourage you to head down to their new spot, the brew bar at their Red Hook Roastery) to get some expert advice is highly recommended.

7. Blue Bottle. Score: 9.81
1 NYC location, several more in San Francisco: 160 Berry Street, Brooklyn.

Blue Bottle's signature coffee bags. Photo by Man Seeking Coffee.

It seems hard to believe that it was only this summer that Blue Bottle opened in Williamsburg. With its reputation preceding Blue Bottle’s move east, they had a lot to live up to in NYC. I think there have been some notable adjustments since they opened (I know I talk a lot about public restrooms, but I think any New Yorker understands how critical they are – Blue Bottle, thanks for sharing yours!), and have continued to serve some of the most consistently delicious single origin espresso offerings I’ve had anywhere this year. Seating is minimal, and owner James Freeman is pretty famously anti wi-fi (I just looked for a link to an article using a quote from him about it, but I found one of his tweets that was even better: “the worst thing about wifi on planes is that knowing if there’s a crash, you died writing email.”), so leave your computer on the desk at home and come in with a friend prepared to have an animated conversation. And let us not forget the New-Orleans style iced coffee. It will change your life.

8. Everyman. Score: 8.76
136 East 13th Street, Manhattan btw. 3rd and 4th Aves.

Well, Everyman. The secret is getting out about you. Now when I visit, the shops is usually filled and bustling with regulars happy to enjoy the encounter with the folks behind the counter. This shop is filled with some dedicated espresso all-stars, and is even home to the NY Times’ famous “I Coffee NY” knuckles. 2010 was a big year for Everyman, from remodeling the customer seating areas, to being one of Counter Culture Coffee’s first accounts to serve espresso apollo, and even seeing the return of beloved TampTamp alumni Eric Jesus Grimm to the barista lineup. Despite all these developments, you can still hunker down and get your work done, and use the (very clean!) public restroom. Hooray for Everyman!

9. Gimme. Score: 8.72
2 locations (3rd coming soon): 228 Mott St, Manhattan; 495 Lorimer St, Brooklyn.

This photo is from the first cupping I hosted at Gimme in 2008!

Gimme Coffee is perhaps an anchor for what people think of when “New York” and “Specialty Coffee” are on their minds. In fact, I remember a time when Lorimer Gimme was perfectly situated between two destinations I frequented regularly, and so it was the place where I stopped and got my vanilla lattes and buy my whole bean coffee to use at home. I think Gimme may be one of the very best places in the city to buy whole bean coffee – the staff is knowledgeable and balances that with discovering your preferences and making recommendations based on those preferences. Gimme coffee is where I first learned about Cup of Excellence, where I co-hosted my first cupping, and where I found some of the first real-serious coffee people in NYC. And while this review has turned ridiculously autobiographical, it’s definitely worth stopping by and making some coffee memories of your own.

10. Bluebird. Score: 8.38
72 East 1st Street, Manhattan

Photo by Man Seeking Coffee.

Bluebird is a great new addition to the coffee scene in 2010.The shop opened right at the tail end of 2009, and shortly thereafter got on everybody’s favorite shop list. Another gem for Counter Culture Coffee, this spot caters to an artisanal but speedy crowd – the quick macchiato and a chat at a miniature table. It’s a perfect place for the afternoon pick-me-up, or, if you’re like me, the last stop on your NYC coffee tour. The baristas there are sweet and friendly, and hail from all over the world. And on some days when you are really lucky, you may run into champion baristas just hanging out, wanting to talk coffee.

Want to see a full breakdown of the survey and its results? Click here to view the pdf.

Attention Seattle Baristas planning to compete in the 2011 North West Regional Barista Competition. I’m working with my fellow BGA Executive Councilmember Sarah Dooley and NW Chapter Rep Joshua Boyt to get you up to speed on participating in the 2011 Regional competition, which is taking place in Tacoma on January 28th-30th (all the info is available here). Come to gather information if you plan to compete, or want to learn how to judge or volunteer at the event. We’re here to answer any questions you may have about the event. There have been some pretty big changes, both in the rules and the registration process from 2010 to 2011. So come find out about them from three people who will love to talk to you about the event!

Also, for those of you in Tacoma & Olympia… meetings are being scheduled as we speak! So look for those to be posted on the BGA blog soon.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 22nd from 6-8pm at Visions CEL, 2737 1st Ave S. The meeting is free and open to all!

James Hoffman on Customer Service and Penny University. from Safehouse Coffee on Vimeo.

“The easiest win specialty coffee can have right now is service.” – James Hoffmann.

Look out Seattle, here we come.

During our move and transition, TampTamp will be closed for one week to get everything set up for the new incarnation. Please feel free to give us a call (we are keeping our number) and leave a message, or send an email to info@tamptamp.com. We will return your correspondences on Monday the 28th. We so look forward to spending more time with our Seattle friends and making lots of new ones!