Our own managing partner and lead barista, Dave Forman, has been selected to compete in the Millrock Latte Art Competition scheduled for February 20-22 at the Coffee Fest Event in Chicago. Dave was selected as one of 40 participants based on his barista experience, coffeehouse ownership and pictures of his latte art.

The competition is sponsored by Nuova Simonelli, Barista Magazine and Dillanos Coffee Roasters and is recognized as the “richest barista competition in the world.” Cream of the crop barista from around the world compete to strut their artistic and advanced espresso-pulling skills, in front of spectators and most importantly, three judges, curtained off and sheltered by headphones, so only the cup is judged and counts. To be able to create these beautiful patterns requires an advanced level of expertise and a rich, effervescent display of coffee creativity. The result? A drink with the prettiest crema, decked out with the finest detail and distinct design, that tastes nearly as good as fresh, ground coffee smells.

Dave is co-owner of the River Road Coffeehouse locations in Granville and Newark, Ohio and regularly serves customers at the Granville location. He also provides mentoring and training to all baristas at both stores. He is recognized as one of the premier baristas in our area and has gained quite a following with the “traditional cappuccino” that he recently introduced at both locations.

Contestants at the competition are given five minutes to prepare the work area, adjust grind, etc. Following the five minute preparation time, contestants are then given five minutes to produce as many as three different free-pour lattes. At the completion of the five minutes or three free-pour lattes, the drinks are judged on esthetic beauty and balance, color infusion, definition and creativity. No additives other than the espresso and milk may be used in the competition.

Several months ago, we introduced an alternative option for our Newark location customers who enjoy brewed coffee.  Using press pots or what some call  “french presses” to prepare coffee is a process already used at home or at work by many folks.  Since this coffee preparation process is a bit more labor-intensive than drip-brewed coffee, there are not many coffeehouses which provide this option (and, no, it is definitely not an option at Speedway or Tim Horton’s!)  Now…we are offering this option at the River Road Coffeehouse Granville location.

Let us provide some pros and cons for the press pot option…

The positives:

• your coffee is fresh ground and fresh brewed just for you!;
• you have a wider choice of origin coffees and blends as well as roast levels from which to choose. We typically have at least 5-6 options which always include at least one dark roast, one fair-trade and 3-4 origin coffees and blends;
• you can leave the coffee in the press pot and pour smaller quantities as you drink; and
  
• since the press pot does not use a paper filter, you savor the taste of all of the beans’ flavors and oils.

The negatives:

• the coffee preparation process takes about four minutes…so it’s not conducive to the drive-thru customer or the customer who is running late for work; and
  
• since the press pot does not use a paper filter, you savor the taste of all of the beans’ flavors and oils (hey…you may not like the taste of some of those oils!).

Granville customers may want to find the special 2009 Community Calendar recently mailed to all residents courtesy of the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce. There’s a special coupon on the January calendar which allows you the opportunity to try a press pot of coffee “on the house!”

Stop in and check out the new stuff at both our stores!

At Granville, we recently installed a new, larger espresso machine to keep up with our demand. Our new machine matches the machine at our Newark store, a Nuova Simonelli Aurelia 3 group. This machine has recently been chosen as the competition machine for the next three World Barista Championships. In fact, it has been argued that this is the most temperature-stable heat exchanger machine currently manufactured. Ask for a traditional cappuccino or macchiato to really give it a go!

At Newark, we have decided to branch out into the bagels that have become so popular at our Granville location. We are serving a limited selection with cream cheese, butter, and hummus. These are available both inside and through the drive-through.