My First Sale, $35 for a School Silent Auction

In May I auctioned off a loaf of bread a week for 4 weeks at Frankie's school's silent auction and it sold for $35! 

Week 1: Baguettes.  Making a few loaves a day presents a huge statistical challenge.  Make a couple hundred loaves and you're cranking a well-oiled machine, one loaf sucks and it's no biggie, make 3 and one is bad, big problem.  This time, a good day.  All 3 nice specimens I was proud to give away.  Below is the image of the prize and my baking specifics below.  I hope the breads were acceptable.

"Coffee is produce." -Andy Luck (Luck Bros Coffee House)

In matters of food and drink, my expectations are high and rarely exceeded.  Last Saturday morning I attended Columbus Food Adventure's quarterly coffee tour.  The caffeine buzz almost dissipated, I remain excited having gained a wealth of coffee knowledge, and yes, my expectations were greatly exceeded.  I hope this brief post entices you to take this tour and learn for yourself.

our wicked cool baristas hustling our drinks

Our tour guide whisked us away in a behemoth Ford E-Series van to our first of 3 stops, Cafe Brioso, where we tasted our way through an expertly prepared full flight of coffee drinks (and warm milk, yum).  It was a thorough guide to what your barista should be doing for you when you lay down your hard earned cash.  I was biased when we were introduced to one of our presenters, JJ, I knew it would be good.  My last visit to Brioso was during Independents' Day.  On that visit I talked with JJ, he was drinking an espresso and gave me, a total stranger/coffee enthusiast, a sip from his own cup!  The staff are into it, they love coffee, they love to educate, they work hard, they know their drink.  I left there ashamed of what I didn't know just an hour earlier.

The van pulled away from Brioso, we were primed and dangerous.

Next stop, Stauf's roasting facility.  Those of us who could steady our hand received some treats, more coffee and a blend of organoleptic and analytical information related to tasting and roasting coffee.  I love the sensory aspects of coffee, but the analytical stuff is even better: roasting parameters, equipment, diagnostic measurements, &c.  Stauf's roasters understand their niche in the bigger industry setting, they know the industry they are a part of and all the necessary testing methods required to deliver good coffee and accommodate us - the customer.

Final stop, Luck Bros Coffee House  where Andy Luck, engaged us in a socratic discussion of brewing coffee and offered our extremely alert gang a sample of the famous bake.  He talked us through some simple, yet critical aspects of making coffee on our own - no judging.  The epiphany for me is embodied in the title of this post. Coffee shouldn't come from Kroger with a two year expiration date.   

If you're mindful of your coffee, you need this experience.