Pics

The first jam was a success as Stephen mentioned. I really enjoyed tasting some of the other espressos. I personally hadn't ever tried Novo before so that was a great part of it for me. Here are some of the pictures I took during the jam, I will keep bringing my camera to the jams and continue to upload photos so we all have them.


Here is one of Luke's b-e-a-utiful shots



Here's eveyone with all that extra space we had


Stephen tasting a shot



A little preparation technique from the masters

Well the first ever Third Thursday Jam happened at Calder's Coffee and it was a great success. We had plenty of sweet shots thanks to all the participating baristas and some nice coffee from Novo Coffee, conscious Coffee and Classico Coffee. My buzz lasted until noon on Friday!

Personally I was introduced to the wonders of so called "over dosing" shots. I'm used to using about 15g per shot and find that the complexity and fruit is awesome in my current blend, but when I tried to get something sweet out of the Tawar Rouge I couldn't get it. Nolan stared playing with it, using way more coffee than I'm use to and damn that was good!

I guess what I took from this was to look at each blend differently. It seems all too easy to use one method for all coffees, but truthfully every coffee has something different to offer. So play around with your coffee and see what you can do differently. Who knows maybe you'll make a better shot.

Welcome to the new space for the Third Thursday Barista Jams. Each month baristas from across the front range will convene upon a coffee shop to build community and improve skills.

The first Jam is Thursday July 20, 6 p.m. at Calder's Coffee in Littleton.


The Agenda:
6:00 - 6:45 Open session, socialize, play on the bar.
6:45 - 8:00 Workshop: Quality in Preference, A hands on look at various techniques.

This workshop will compare multiple espresso blends and techniques of espresso extraction with the purpose of recognizing quality while maintaining individual preference. Discussion will seek to define what is quality. (No we don't plan on creating an absolute answer.)

This workshop is open for you to bring your own blend (or single origin), and to demonstrate your preferred methods. The more the merrier!



Calling all baristas
Not only do we want you to show up, but bring some other baristas too. Help us promote the Third Thursday Jams by telling all of your favorite (and not so favorite) baristas to show up. Add a bit on your web site, or a link to us at:

http://thirdthursdaybaristajams.blogspot.com

Soon you'll be able to download a flyer so check back.

If you want to get involved in the planning and hosting of the jams, get in touch with Steve @ Calders Coffee.

Calling all coffee shops
if you want to host one of the jams at your shop, get in touch with Steve @ Calder's Coffee. We want the jams to rotate every month.

The August jam will be at Fluid Coffee Bar in Uptown.