Thanks to the Trib and writer Jodi Weigand for doing a great article in today’s paper about Tazza D’Oro and our caffeinated cycling fans. Perfect day for the article to appear too because this is the last day in the Alps for the Tour de France and the famed L’ Alpe d’Huez is up. At least a million fans will be lining the course today and the pandemonium is absolutely crazy as the riders race up an excruciating climb through a tunnel of screaming fans! Check out the article here.

This is the Batdorf and Bronson roastery in Olympia. This is our Panama Esmeralda coffee! Yeah, it’s really here! Learn more »

So a few months back our really rad TV took a spill right in front of the espresso bar and Learn more »

This is a picture of Tone breaking Commandment 10a - Dude, you can’t covet our new crop coffees! Learn more »

Ok, for all those who have emailed us about the Tour de France - yes, we are watching the Tour and yes, Tazza D’Oro and Amy are glued to the TV watching the daily races. We prefer the 8pm coverage, but the live coverage usually occurs around 8 -8:30 am. We have the Tour running at all coverage times at Tazza D’Oro and if you click on this link you too can have the coverage times. You can also go to the Tour de France web site and check it out when you are “working” - click here .

If the TV ain’t on when you come into Tazza D’Oro, hit the power button on the TV and our channel is set for the Tour. Oh, and Maillot Jaune = Yellow Jersey, overall leader of the Tour de France. Although, I prefer the (maillot a’ pois rouges) polka dot jersey = King of the Mountains. Vie le Tour -the greatest sporting event EVER! Check it out.

Tazza D’Oro will be closed on July 4th and open again at 8 am Saturday, July 5th.

This is also the week that Bike Fest is in full swing. Several Bike Fest rides and events will be happening at Tazza D’Oro this week too. (Click here to check out all the Bike Fest events.) Tazza D’Oro’s own Emily Jackson has organized the 2nd Annual Cream-Cycle Alley Cat Race which will take place on July 4th from 2:00p to 5:00p. The Cream Cycle is a ice cream themed scavenger hunt/race with checkpoints located through many city neighborhoods with a huge ice cream buffet at the end of the race (more info - cremcycle2.pdf).

And beginning on Saturday morning, Tazza D’Oro will be kicking off the Tour de France. You can come and watch the Tour daily and sample some of our French Press brewed coffees.

I’m sorry to say that I will be missing all the great bike events, races and parties this week cause here is what I’m doing…
See you Sunday!

Yep, we did it tonight - a latte art throwdown. Five great baristas, 3 keen judges, 1 timekeeper, a $50 pot and a full house of spectators all waiting to see which barista would produce the best looking latte art of the evening.

First place winner, Braden Walter and second place went to Antonio Nesbeth. Congrats guys!

Many thanks to Eric and Kevin - judges, Matt from La Prima Espresso, awesome barista and an even awesomer guy, the really rad competitors, Megan - timekeeper and runner, Emily - awesome throwdown organizer, all you spectators for cheering on our competitors, eating all our pizza and drinking all the beer and the couple from Seattle for taking all the pictures (great to have you visit Tazza D’Oro). What a great night. I love this coffee business stuff.

I have to admit I did shout “YEAH” when seeing a picture of Tazza D’Oro on Batdorf and Bronson’s blog. Thanks B&B. Check out their blog and read it often or else all our coffee will be shut off (click here)!

And to one of our great customers, Dr. Jim B., who thinks I am not only obsessed with espresso and coffee but also with Batdorf and Bronson - all I have to say is sorry the intervention will not help at this point.

On Monday, June 23rd Tazza D’Oro will celebrate NINE YEARS of being in business, making great coffee and hanging out with our people. In many ways it feels like it was just the other day that we opened and when I think back to all the experiences and memories then nine years is about right.

I was telling Amelia about the first day of business - I was so nervous the night before that I asked Stephan and Kara to show up the next morning at 5 am even though we didn’t open for business until 7am. We had practiced and trained for 2 weeks before we opened so on the first morning we got everything done in a half hour. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves for the next hour and half so we re-cleaned and rearranged the whole dinning room for the hundreth time. Kara and Stephan were awesome - totally organized and confident. Then, finally our first customer - a large coffee and cinnamon roll, we rang them up and realized I forgot to put any money or change in the register. YIKES. BTW, our first day was one of the best days of my life and I will never, ever forget it.

Thank you to all the current and past Tazza D’Oro staff, Batdorf and Bronson, our coffee roaster, the Highland Park community, the Highland Park CDC, the great Senator Ferlo, ELDI, my family, friends and to all you great coffee lovin’ customers. I am reminded everyday how lucky I am to have Tazza D’Oro and to be surrounded by such awesome staff and customers. Mille grazie!

One of our great customers and coffee aficionado, Eric, sent us this link tonight on an article about the Chemex Coffee Maker and it’s inventor, Dr. Peter Schlumbohm (click here). The article quotes Schumbohm in a Time Magazine article written back in 1946 - “with a Chemex, even a moron can make good coffee.” Ok, we’ll give credit to Dr Schumbohm for wearing a really rad suit in the classic picture shown above and for inventing one of the greatest coffee brewing systems.

Along with a French Press menu, we serve Chemex brewed coffee daily and it’s awesome. If Dr. Schumbohm were still around I would say to him - yes, you have invented a great brewing system but garbage in = garbage out. At the end of the day it’s all about the quality of the coffee, quality and temperature of the water, grind and true passion for the coffee.