Tag: Tacoma

March forward!

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The last couple of months have been full of ups and downs. I’m single again. I saw T-Pain at The Royal and it was actually good. We celebrated the two year anniversary of Matt & Melissa taking over EP. The #TNTNW at Valhalla Coffee was awesome. Make sure to hit up Marrow the next time you’re in Tacoma. Work has been super busy but extremely awesome at the same time. I feel like I’m constantly learning at Espresso Parts. It feels good. I’ll be getting the internets this week which may or may not translate to more posts. My goal these days is to do at least one post a month. Bike time is here so if you wanna take a ride with me sometime let me know!

Some of my favorite things right now:

Method Coffee Bar They offer multiple roasters and food options. A+
Spotify I love every John Mayer album…I love him.
SPRING!
Paper for Facebook So much nicer to look at than the original app. I like the functionality of the original over Paper.
Sacramento Public Latte Art Tournament SPLAT

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Sorry…I kinda forgot I had a blog

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We are a little over two weeks into the year and I haven’t posted anything.  My bad.  I will post more often…starting now.

I’ve been getting ready for NWRBC coming up next Friday in Tacoma.  This will be my second time competing and I’m pretty stoked about it.  I think Baristas should try it at least once.  Regionals are a great opportunity to be in front of your peers, share awesome coffee and create an amazing experience for the judges.

I chose to use Bluebeard Coffee out of Tacoma this year.  Kevin Roaster/Owner from Bluebeard visited EP in August and dropped off some of his espresso The Narrows blend.  I threw it in the hopper and magic came out.  The shot tasted like marzipan and sunshine.  From tasting that shot I knew I wanted to use his coffee for competition.  I’m so lucky to have them as a coffee sponsor and be able to rep a Tacoma roaster.

Espresso Parts is once again supporting me by covering my entry fees and helping with small-wares costs.  I’m fortunate to work for a company that is completely committed to the Barista community and coffee industry.

I know that competing is spendy but there are a few things you can do to cut down on costs.  Ask the roaster if they will sponsor you, this can be by selling the coffee to you at a discount or even covering the cost completely.  See if your employer will cover any costs you might have be that entry fees or small-wares.  Don’t forget BGA members are a great source of knowledge when it comes to competing and anything coffee.  There are a lot of people that want to help all you have to do is ask.

Alright, I gotta go play in the snow with my doggy.

Metronome made my heart beat.

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It took me too long to get to Metronome Coffee.  I first heard of Metronome when competing at regionals in Tacoma.  For some reason I never made it to the cafe.  Seven months later on a sleepy Sunday I decided it was time.  My friend Chad came along for the ride.  He had tweeted earlier in the morning that he wanted some coffee so I invited him to join me.  It’s a 40 minute drive from Oly to Tacoma, not bad.

There is no lack of natural lighting at Metronome.  Windows line the street and make the cafe feel more open.  Two large mainly glass garage doors face S. Union Ave. further opening up the space.  I love the layout of this cafe.  There is a variety of seating options, you could pull up to the bar and order a coffee or beer, sit outside, chill next to the fire or study on the stage.  Metronome is also set up to be a quality venue for musicians.  Something to mention is the series of blown up Polaroid pictures that spell out Tacoma.  Another nice touch is access to the iTunes library that’s hooked up to WiFi, download the Remote app from iTunes and you can request a song to play on the system.  It’s like a digital jukebox. OK let’s talk coffee.

First I ordered a macchiato that was made on a beautiful Victoria Arduino Adonis.  Seriously hot machine.  Seriously awesome macchiato.  Josh showed up and invited us up to the bar.  He made two siphons of some really tasty Peruvian coffee, one with a metal filter and the other with glass.  Josh has come up with some non coffee drinks too.  A splash in the pond was next, its double strength early grey tea poured over ice and charged with CO2 add that to a cup with ice top with half & half  and a little vanilla bean simple syrup.  This was one of the best drinks I’ve ever had…ever.  Next the elderflower lemonade, refreshing.  The sake it to me: a frosted mint iced mocha with 4oz fortified double barrel sake blew my mind it was so tasty.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Metronome.  The service was great, the coffee was delicious and it feels like home.  I recommend to anyone in the area that hasn’t been to Metronome MAKE IT HAPPEN!  You will not be disappointed!

P.S. Metronome will be hosting a TNT August 25th…so there’s a good reason!

 

Here is a link to my Metronome Flickr set: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvvQXyK

Official TNT NW Blog:  http://tntnorthwest.wordpress.com/