Own a Cafe? Integrate the Coffee Catcher Without Changing Workflow..

I (Nate) had the opportunity to attend the Barista Round Table on cup brewing today, led by Sarah Dooley and Jared Mockli. The session included a free experimentation time, and I took the chance to brew a few French presses of delicious Kenya coffee from Water Ave.

I also got the opportunity to clean a press with a Coffee Catcher using Visions' faucet and rinse basket, which is very similar to cafe cleaning setups I've observed around Seattle. It turns out that the water jet from the open faucet did a great job pushing all the fines and grit that had been trapped under the Catcher back out of the press in the rinse water. The result was a sparkling clean carafe - even under the Coffee Catcher (see pictures below).

I think this discovery has significant implications from a production perspective. Now, it seems, the Coffee Catcher can perform a filtering function without being removed from the press from brew to brew. This makes the Coffee Catcher very easy to integrate into traditional cafe workflows. It seems to me like a cafe can brew with the Coffee Catcher exactly as normal, but serve a cleaner cup to customers.

Quality improvements can also be fine-tuned to a particular cafe's trade-off between labor efficiency and quality. At one end of the labor spectrum, a cafe could go the whole way and train baristas to remove the Coffee Catcher and clean it after every brew. At the other end, a cafe could simply leave the Coffee Catcher in all day and simply add Puro Caff at the end of the day. I suspect a lot of cafes will want to fall in the middle, giving a thorough rinse when the roast changes, but otherwise leaving the Coffee Catcher in from brew to brew.

For the record, here are pictures of a Coffee Catcher after brewing and rinsing and swishing just as normal with the press. This was three rinses.

Side View

Bottom View

Top View

Of course, most home users do not use filter baskets in their sinks, and so I expect most home coffee lovers will continue to find that hooking the Coffee Catcher is the easiest way for them to remove grounds from the press. That said, this discovery does allow those who do swish out their coffee to continue to do so while enjoying a cleaner tasting cup.

Returning to the cafe, there are plenty of other ways to integrate the Coffee Catcher into the production environment. I've been thinking a lot about different ways to add unique value to the customer in terms of menu items that go beyond a commodity ("cup of drip") to a value-added experience for the customer. A lot of new drinks territory to explore here, I think.

Multiple Brew Beds in a Single French Press?

This post is really a question, with some initial answers coming soon. After getting the idea from Josh of Seattle Coffee Works, I've been thinking about the possibilities of brewing multiple coffees simultaneously in a single press.

It's always been possible to mix beans or grinds from different coffees and throw them in the press. The Coffee Catcher may make it possible to layer and adjust that brewing process to bring out the best in both coffees. Blending is not tried often, and for good reason. There are many ways that this could go horribly wrong from a flavor perspective. That said, the possibilities of brew layering are fascinating, including tweaking temperature profiles down the press, incorporating a pour over effect involving multiple coffees, adjusting grind size for different brewing conditions, and even adjusting brew times separately.

I don't know if this would work. I'm still looking for a pair of interesting coffees that I want to combine in the press using two Coffee Catchers. Any suggestions?

Bonus Question: What would we taste if the separate components of an espresso blend were brewed this way?

Caffe Culture & WB

Nate just boarded a flight from Seattle to London for Caffe Culture, 2010 & the World Barista Championship.  Catch him - and the Coffee Catcher - in booth P8, where he'll be demonstrating hte product and dishing out oodles of information.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Track Nate's progress on Facebook or Twitter

The Coffee Catcher Launch Event

The Coffee Catcher Launch last Friday was not only an amazing event in the fact that it brought together some of the biggest names in Seattle coffee, but also the Coffee Catcher-sponsored "French Press Throwdown" was a huge success.

In addition to launching the widely-anticipated Coffee Catcher, we also unveiled the new logo for Kaffeologie, the company behind the Coffee Catcher and the upcoming Kaffeologie French Press.

The Coffee Catcher launch featured amazing local sips & fare, including crepes from Mobatta Crepes, beer from Mack & Jacks's, 25 paintings by artist Charity Jones (who painted portraits of locals from coffee-growing countries from around the world), and locally roasted coffee from several outstanding roasters including Kuma Coffee.

The event was thrown in partnership with Agros International, who has been helping families in Central America and Mexico build self-sustaining communities since 1982.  We were very pleased to pair with such a hard-working organization whose approach encourages sustainability and includes land-loans, micro-loans, and training.

Visit our Facebook Page to view more photos from the event.

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Thanks to everyone who came out on Friday, and to all of our gracious sponsors for their support.

French Press Throwdown Details

For those readers interested in competing in the Kaffeologie French Press Throwdown on June 18th (which coincides with the Coffee Catcher Launch Event), here are the competition details: *

1. Coffee: bring your own, but we will have some of our personal favorites if you forget yours.
2. Equipment: Grinders, timers, cups and water provided. Bring your own press and any technique-specific equipment. We will have extra presses if you forget yours.
3. Start: A little after 7 PM (party starts at 6).
4. Prizes: If it's ready, 1st prize receives the very first Kaffeologie French press! Otherwise, a set of Coffee Catchers (medium and large). Prizes will also include coffee and swag from sponsors. Second and third prizes will be awarded.
5. Time: 15 minutes to dial in, brew and serve your coffee. To keep things moving, you'll warm up as the person ahead of you is brewing and serving.
6. Structure: high score over the evening wins.
7. Cup Criteria: each factor to be assessed on a 1-5 scale, giving 20 points per judge, or 60 points overall.
      A. Clarity - a coffee's ability to hold multiple distinct flavors
      B. Roundness - the opposite of a sharp flavor
      C. Mouth feel - a coffee's feel in the mouth apart from flavor
      D. Audacity - points for bravery in technique or coffee choice
   

* Thanks to Throwdown Judge, Sam Lewontin (@coffeeandbikes) for helping lay out the competition criteria. The rest of the judging panel to be announced shortly.

notes on a Victrola cupping

Nate Jones, co-inventor of the Coffee Catcher, at a recent cupping with Austin Bustad of Victrola Coffee (Seattle, WA):

I enjoyed tasting the Coffee Catcher difference on Victrola's production line equipment at the 15th Ave. location, using a metal press and a thermos. Austin and tasted an El Salvador that was fairly well-balanced.  Austin enjoyed the clean Coffee Catcher taste and was really surprised at how the coffee held up over time in a thermos. At 1 hour, he observed "this is exactly the same cup." After two hours, the coffee had decayed some, but not to the point where coffee would traditionally be at 1 hour, if that makes sense.  He's eager to try the Coffee Catcher again to explore coffee lifetime more specifically.

Also, we talked for a long time about coffee producers and the different trade arrangements made with them from country to country. Some countries, particularly in central America, have laws that make it easy for coffee farmers to work directly with outsiders. Others make it much more difficult. We both enjoy Indonesian coffees a lot, so perhaps we'll try Victrola's Sulawesi next time!

Caffe Culture, 2010 & the World Barista Championship

We're excited to confirm that the Coffee Catcher will be in booth P8 at Caffe Culture, 2010 and the World Barista Championship in June.  As per the Caffe Culture website:

Dates: 23rd - 25th June 2010Venue: Olympia, London
Caffè Culture is the leading trade exhibition exclusively catering for Europe's growing cafè bar market. Now in its fifth year, this highly targeted event not only provides a unique opportunity to generate new business and network, but also to gain a valuable insight into this fast moving sector.

Working very closely with the Speciality Association of Europe (SCAE), Caffè Culture is very proud to announce we will be hosting the prestigious World Coffee Championships (WBC) and SCAE's annual event, including four SCAE world championships.

Taking place over three days and with more than 50 countries competing for the coveted titles of World Barista Champion, over 10,000 visitors from the global coffee community will be descending upon London's Olympia to be part of the largest European coffee event in 2010.

Coffee Catcher Tasting at SCAA, 2010

In addition to exhibiting at SCAA, 2010 Coffee Catcher will also be conducting daily tastings in the main exhibition level cupping room.

We're pleased to be offering a variety of coffees from Herkimer Coffee and possibly some Water Ave. Coffee as well.  Also, we'll be bringing in coffees from our friends at SCAA to taste with the Coffee Catcher. nWe will compare the flavor and cup-life of traditional press coffee with coffee brewed with the Coffee Catcher, offering tasters a chance to experience the drink consistency we've gotten so excited about.

All three sizes of the Coffee Catcher will be on display in the Coffee Catcher booth (#2731), and booth visitors can enjoy tastings and lively conversation on the flavor and function improvements that the Coffee Catcher brings to the table.

notes on a Visions Espresso cupping

From Nate Jones, co-inventor of the Coffee Catcher, regarding a recently attended cupping at Visions Espresso (Seattle, WA):

I had a great time tasting a naturally processed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee with Klif and Natasha at Visions. Natural Ethiopias tend to have very bright bursting fruit flavors, and this one was full of blueberry flavor. The Coffee Catcher really gave a clean taste to the coffee, allowing the natural flavors to come through, unobstructed by sediments.  Klif really got excited about the coffee as it aged. He told a colleague to "come taste the best 35 minute old coffee I think I've ever had."

gearing up for SCAA

So we're headed to SCAA in a matter of days. It's exciting and it's crazy.

Sometimes we think we're going to explode with all that's going on - here are a few of the fish we've got frying: Another batch of samples is en route for use at the booth (booth # 2731, be sure to stop by!) and posters are at the printers for a local Seattle coffee shop that's been using the Coffee Catcher for their clients.  On top of that, we're in this midst of a round of pre-SCAA meet-ups, introducing ourselves so people know to look for us at the show.

And the most exciting news of all is that we're adding two new team members to the Coffee Catcher crew, as well as having some excellent follow up conversations with our Coffee Catcher testers and tasters to see how our baby is performing in real life.

We're thrilled with how things are unfolding and also excited to keep things rolling into next month as production fires up.  People are excited to try the Coffee Catcher and we know they won't be disappointed!

check out our new ad for Roast Magazine

See it in the May/June issue, available at SCAA next month

siphon coffee making

Siphon brewing is one of the two big fads sweeping the specialty coffee world right now, along with pour-over coffee. Check out this New York Times slideshow where it's pretty clear that siphon brewing makes a massive mess (slide 6, for example). The traditional brewer uses a cotton hanky filter that must be carefully rinsed (after all the gunk is removed) and then steeped in hot water and then stored in the fridge in clean water until you use it again. Otherwise it grows mold.

We just learned recently from Alex Negranza (www.whynotcoffee.com) that the Coffee Catcher fits the new siphons from Yama.  Here's what he posted, via his Twitter feed:

"Oh snap! A @CoffeeCatcher works with my Yama Syphon! Easy Clean Up! Best thing for cleaning glass coffee apparatus since microfiber towels!"

Great news, we love to learn new places we can help!

coffee without gimmicks

One of the things we feel pretty strongly about at the Coffee Catcher is keeping a clean filtration system.  And by "clean" we mean both literally (not a lot of mess) and also figuratively (easy for the average coffee drinker to use on a daily basis).  New coffee filtration toys are coming out almost daily and we keep trying them and hoping - really hoping - for something clean, easy, and satisfying.  But underneath it all, it seems that the new toys are still just...well...toys.

Siphon brewing is a mess to clean and requires you to keep a cotton filter immersed in water in a refrigerator so it won't mold....and it still gets brown.  Cold brew uses a cotton filter and takes 24 hours with a chemistry kit to brew.  Paper filters are, well, paper and that's chemex and aeropress, which we aren't thrilled to put in our coffee.  We can't help feeling that each of these hits on part of the solution, but doesn't get it exactly right.

Basically, each of these methods creates waste (cotton, paper) and also doesn't offer a very user-friendly brewer experience.  In fact, in a certain way they ostracizes the user by requiring an unreasonable amount of expertise and maintenance to use.  What happened to the relationship between drinker and brew?

We want to see people reconnect with their coffee.  It's time to really enjoy coffee's clean taste, and clean ritual without unreasonably high maintenance.  This is why we're joining the search with our coffee brethren, and developing equipment that will offer clean flavor and a clean experience, while reconnecting the drinker with their brew.  Check out the equipment we're developing, we hope it can help remind you why you first loved coffee.

coffee: the ageless obsession

We've been getting a kick out of this two-part film on coffee made by CBI (Coffee Brewing Institute) in 1961.  It is a combination of gorgeous coffee equipment and questionable coffee brewing advice.

The Coffee Catcher vs. The Old Fashioned Way

Here's a little video of Nate and John demonstrating the Coffee Catcher way vs. the Old Fashioned Way of cleaning the carafe with a spoon.  We sure had a lot of coffee fun while shooting the footage.

Coffee Catcher product samples put to good use

We've had so many baristas, cafe owners, and coffee enthusiasts borrowing the Coffee Catcher product samples to demonstrate for their clients and friends that all of the samples are now spoken for!

Thank goodness the Coffee Catcher's first order is moving along!

Coffee Catcher "How To" Sighting!

The Coffee Catcher "How To" Video is being spread around the blogosphere.  We've noticed it being posted in a couple of places.  Seems to us that French Press users are becoming curious on how exactly the little device works.  Well, check it out for yourself:

Coffee Catcher and grounds

So, the question was recently asked of us: "Will the Coffee Catcher hook work if I use a lot of grounds in my French Press?"

The answer is yes!  We recommend aligning the catches of the Catcher Disk so that they line up with the handle and spout of your French Press.  That way, it's easy to hook into the catches on the Catcher Disk even if they are hidden beneath a heavy batch of coffee grounds!  We've designed the hook and catch precisely so that the two will connect solidly, yet be easy to find by feel.

Plus, lining up your Catcher Disk with the handle and spout of the French Press maximizes the disk's ability to capture and retain the bitter, over-brewed coffee tail at the bottom of the press. The bitterness stays trapped in the carafe and only delicous coffee goes in your cup.

no one is safe...

Our founder John Custer is currently wishing he was in Seattle where the Coffee Catcher samples are being produced and distributed.  While Seattle-based founder Nate Jones is enjoying the Coffee Catcher on a daily basis, John is still struggling with cleaning his French Press the old fashioned way.  At least he only has to endure until the Coffee Catcher ships in April.  But in the meantime, check out John's latest cry of agony, received in the Seattle office via email this weekend:

"DADFREAKINBLASTIT!!!  I BROKE MY FRENCH PRESS THIS MORNING, AND I JUST BROUGHT BACK A LOAD OF BEANS FROM INDONESIA!   I CAN'T WAIT TILL OUR PRESS COMES OUT TO REPLACE IT.    GRRR.....:-("

 Hang in there, John!  Help is on the way.

Coffee Catcher 2010 appearances

2010 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Coffee Catcher.  After making its debut in the Seattle coffee scene and attending Coffee Fest, New York it will be taking the show on the road over the next few months.

Don't miss The Coffee Catcher at one of its upcoming appearances:

SCAA Expo (April 15 - 18, 2010)
Hilton Anaheim
777 Convention Way
Anaheim, CA

Caffe Culture (June 23-25, 2010)
This is also where they'll be hosting the World Barista Championships, 2010
Olympia, London

Coffee Fest, Seattle (October 29 - 31, 2010)
Washington State Convention & Trade Center
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA