Did you know that the SCAA sponsors a poetry contest each year? It’s true. I only learned this fact on the last day of SCAA Atlanta, when I happened to overhear an announcement over the din, “Best Poem of 2009 to be awarded in 15 minutes.” [Note: Turns out the winner is only announced at SCAA, but the contest is sponsored by Roast Magazine.]

Read the rest of this entry »

Prior to SCAA, I had anticipated that we would be somewhat busy with everyone wanting to actually see & play with this machine that they’ve read about. However there is no way that I could have dreamt that things would be as insane as they were. We arrived at 10:00 each moring to set up and would immedieatly have people coming by and when the show floor opend at noon things went mental until well after 6:00.

To say that I was overwhelmed with the number of people who took me up on the offer to bring their coffee is an understatement. I had such a great time pulling shots with all you guys – and tasted some of the best espressos in my life! I can’t imagine that there will be another espresso ‘perfect storm’ with the SCAA & the WBC & the launching of a cool new barista espresso machine all happening at the same time. This resulted in our 10×20 foot booth being packed with easily 50 people. Several people said that they had to come back 3 or 4 times just to get close enough to the machine to take pictures & pull shots…and this was the first time (since 1993) that I have not walked the SCAA floor, I just didn’t have time.

Thank you everyone, who came to hang out at our booth!!  If you didn’t make it to SCAA, check out the video that Chris took with his little camera. It was shot opening day between 12:00 and 2:30.

Cheers

Jason

Day 2 at the SCAA was a busy one for Slayer. (Click here to see what the official WBC blogger has to say about this.) Prior to the show we invited roasters to bring their own coffee to Atlanta to test out the new machine.  More roasters took us up on this offer than we thought actually would.  This was great.  We were also overwhelmed with the response from the barista community which took to the new machine with ease.  Some people played for hours with the enhanced functionality of Slayer, experimenting and testing new ideas. 

Read the rest of this entry »

As I write this post, I am in a happy state of extreme caffenation!

Slayer’s debut and hearty reception at SCAA has taken us completely by surprise.  And I must say happily so.

Day one revealed what our Slayer team has suspected for a while.  Our industry has been waiting and watching quite carefully for the unleashing of new pressure control functionality for practical use in real life cafe situations.  Waiting for functionality like this in a machine configured for artisanal brewing in a barista-style machine.

Read the rest of this entry »

Coming to terms–finding the right words!

Espresso machine manufacturers like to lay claim to a tradition of hand-made espresso machine manufacturing.  Maybe you’ve noticed this too.

Read the rest of this entry »

When I go to a show and see a new machine, I would love to actually play on it – specifically with MY coffee. I know what its supposed to taste like and it would be great to see how my coffee tastes on their machine. 

So, at the SCAA, we’re going to have two machines up & running. One will be manned by John & Joel who’ll be pulling shots for everyone who just needs a coffee.

The second machine is being set up for roasters & baristas to play with. We’ll have a 2gp Slayer plus two grinders: Anfim Super Caimano & Mazzer Kony (both with digital timer mods). Here’s your invitation to play! Bring a bag of your espresso to SCAA (probably 2lbs or more).

Start by choosing your preferred grinder (flat or conical burr set), set grind, dose & brew temp using the machine at a straight 9 bar shot – establishing a baseline. Next adjust the grind finer (generally I go 2 to 3 settings finer) and play with low pressure preinfusion and various brew geometries on the Slayer.

Who knows, you may experience your coffee for the first time ;-)

Cheers

Jason