t o n x . o r g

Congratulations are in order for Stephen Morrissey who captured the crown in Copenhagen and became the new World Barista Champion, adding another trophy to the crowded mantle at the U.K.’s nascent Square Mile Coffee Roasters.
The time and resources dedicated to these competitions by the folks who finish on top is as much awe-inspiring […]

Pushing the limits of my camera’s battery and memory card, I shot over 900 photos during the three days of the Western Regional Barista Competition this weekend in Berkeley. Mercifully, I have edited them down to a reasonable 93 non-sucky images now up on flickr. Big congrats go to Ritual’s Chris Baca who […]

Flew in yesterday afternoon… couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. Many moments of sun and the peak of fall colors. Its good to be here.

The next few days will hopefully be filled with some successful mushroom hunting and long hikes in the mountains punctuated by pilgrimages to the many espresso […]

I don’t get Facebook.
I did the Friendster thing back in the day, played with Orkut when invites to the site were a hot commodity for bored screen-dwellers, and by the time myspace appeared (and single-handedly revived the once deprecated web aesthetic of the blink tag) I lost all interest. I really don’t grasp what […]

My favorite place to get espresso in Los Angeles might now have to be Jeff Johnsen’s Choke in East Hollywood.

Intelli barista Ryan dragged me there for the first time yesterday as I’m long overdue in making the pilgrimage. The place is absolutely beautiful and if you have any desire towards scooters, mopeds, or […]

My pal James Hoffmann, who recently won the title of World Barista Champion, has thrown down the gauntlet for some equally silly barista shenanigans. His absurd latte art challenge is attracting some interesting entries, the best of which will be up for voting very soon. The exact prize is unclear, but the glory […]

Good article on superstar coffee buyers in today’s New York Times by Peter Meehan (who also wrote a great piece last December on the NYC espresso scene). In To Burundi and Beyond for Coffee’s Holy Grail we get a glimpse at the coffee hunting ways of Stumptown’s Duane Sorenson, Counter Culture’s Peter Giuliano, […]

Emily and I survived our brief trip into the chaos of Burning Man, mind and bodies mostly intact. I’ve attended 7 of the last 10 years but still find compelling reasons to endure it all over again, old friends being at the top of the list.

I took more drugs than photos (just kidding) but […]

Last week I had the pleasure of spending a few days with Jon Ferguson of recently minted microroaster Cultiva Coffee. “Nebraska isn’t quite HELL…” he told me during our email exchange about the possibility of my coming to Lincoln for a meeting of the minds and some roast profiling jujitsu. From the favorably […]

Intelligentsia’s Sunset Junction coffeebar (finally) opened its doors to the public today at noon. More about the place later, but you can check out some pics here.
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