http://tonx.org Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:35:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/140 I finished posting photos from my amazing April trip to Guatemala where I met facilitators and producers from a project working on quality improvement for small coffee farmers in Huehuetenango, funded by Slow Food. Starbucks buying Clover is becoming a publicity boon to “third wave” coffee. ... http://tonx.org/archives/139 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/138 Yesterday, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz took the stage at their annual meeting announcing five new initiatives and -aping an Apple stevenote- a surprise “one more thing”… Starbucks has purchased Seattle's Coffee Equipment Company, maker of the Clover. While the event (broadcast live on SBUX website) lacked the polish of ... http://tonx.org/archives/137 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/136 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. ... http://tonx.org/archives/135 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/133 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/132 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/131 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 ... http://tonx.org/archives/128