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. 

All this action meant that a lot of great coffee was brewed at the Slayer booth.  The espresso blends we sampled were excellent.  These blends were universally called out by their constituents, and these constituents were often great single origin coffees in their own right.  Amazing. 

The straight single origin varietals we experienced were also excellent, as well as varied.  Sometimes we even experienced a coffee that was totally new to us.  For example I drank a washed Indian with a wild orangey character that I had never even heard of before (unfortunately the name escapes me right now).   

There was an added bonus too.  Because the WBC was in progress at the same time as SCAA this year, we enjoyed the company of some of the world’s top baristas. Most of the top contenders found opportunity to put Slayer through its paces and experience the functionality we have been describing for some time.  

I will probably wait until I get back to Seattle to post again.  

Best regards, 

Eric in Atlanta

Note:  The picture above is Greg Scace holding one of Slayer’s hand-painted promotional shirts.  This picture courtesy of Liz Clayton (see more at Flickr, confusedbee)