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PULL JOURNAL OF JAMS, COMPETITIONS, AND BARISTA EVENTS TALKING COFFEE AT THE NEW YORKER FESTIVAL COFFEE PROFESSIONALS CAN TALK for hours about the minutia of our industry: the effects of processing on flavor, the challenges of proper extraction, the worldwide hunt for exquisite coffees, and the arduous trip to get them from origin to the roaster. But what happens when you take this tale of hardship and woe, craft and craftsmanship, profit and loss, and turn it into a discussion and sell seats to the public at $60 a pop? They sell out in 10 minutes—at least that was the case in October at this year's New Yorker Festival. Lineups at the New Yorker Festival frequently feature people profiled or featured in the namesake magazine over the prior year. This year was no exception with guests like Salman Rushdie, Lucinda Williams, René Redzepi, Sarah Silverman, and Carrie Brownstein all on the agenda at venues throughout Manhattan. Over the course of three days, individually ticketed events which are individual, open-to-the-public ticketed events—if you're lucky enough to snag a reservation—host numerous culturally significant people to discuss or present on myriad topics such as the history of presidential campaigns, utopia and dystopia in fiction, and the future of the sitcom, among many others. The session I was lucky enough to attend was called simply "Coffee Talk." It was an outgrowth of an excellent article entitled "Sacred Grounds," written by The New Yorker staff writer Kelefa Sannah that appeared in the November 21, 2011 issue. His story profiled award-winning coffee producer Aida Batlle from El Salvador. But the article encompassed more than just Aida's unique history. Kelefa not only told the tale of Aida's return Coffee and the people who bring it to us were celebrated at The New Yorker to El Salvador from a life in the United States to take over her family's Festival in October, thanks to the widespread popularity of The New Yorker staff coffee farms, but he also used it to explain to a wider audience what has writer Kelefa Sannah, who wrote about El Salvador's most famous coffee produchappened to specialty coffee over the last couple of decades, including the er, Aida Batlle, in late 2011. Kelefa and Aida (pictured at top right) were joined on rise of cutting-edge coffee companies like Stumptown, and what is going stage at the sold-out Manha an event by Stumptown Coffee's green buyer, Darrin Daniel, along with 2012 United States Barista Champion Katie Carguilo (at top on in specialty coffee today. To that end, Kelefa and Aida weren't the only ones on stage. They le ), who pulled shots of Aida's renowned family coffee at the close of the event. were joined by Darrin Daniel, green coffee buyer from Stumptown Coffee cupped our coffees. The first time I tasted [my own coffee] was at the Cup of Roasters, and Katie Carguilo, 2012 United States Barista Champion and trainer Excellence"—which, of course, she ended up winning. for Counter Culture Coffee in New York City. The 50 attendees were given Darrin said the world of coffee has changed tremendously over the last samples of four different coffees, all grown by Aida—two roasted by Counter decade, which his fellow panelists nicely illustrated. "There's been amazing Culture and two by Stumptown. The coffees were presented to the audience progress," he says. "The fact that a producer, a green buyer, and a barista as the discussion continued on stage, so that as panelists were explaining could be together [here or] at source" is something he wouldn't have thought the difference between a natural processed coffee and a washed coffee, for possible when he first started working in coffee. example, the samples would highlight the differences. The four coffees were: The difference in attitude toward specialty coffee, Katie explains, is a traditional washed-process Finca Mauritania roasted by Counter Culture; also evident on her end of the chain. "I interact with a lot of people who a Kenya-processed Finca Kilimanjaro roasted by Stumptown; an Ethiopian- really want to understand coffee, who wonder why two coffees could taste so style washed Finca Los Alpes roasted by Counter Culture; and Aida's Grand different from each other." Reserve, a combination process of all peaberry from Aida's three farms, roasted Kelefa speculates that the change in specialty coffee seems to have by Stumptown. After the presentation, Katie and Aida also pulled shots of a happened really quickly from his perspective. But Darrin countered that Counter Culture–roasted Aida's Grand Reserve espresso. in his experience it's actually been quite a slow progression since Peet's Kelefa spoke about his work writing the article, and how he grew and Starbucks first came on the scene. But he conceded that it's definitely a more and more interested in coffee until he was "down the rabbit hole." He different world now. In her experience, Katie says, "Baristas have gotten a lot explains, "I spent far more time than I thought I would in the world of coffee" more professional. The barista really has to know how prepare coffee. You just have to love it, and there's a lot to love about coffee." chronicling what was "a changing of the guard," he says. Kelefa brought up an interesting point from the consumer perspective, Kelefa also says that Aida was the perfect person to introduce the readers of The New Yorker to the world of specialty coffee because she when he said that it seemed like as soon as the consumer learned one angle embodies so many of the qualities that have made an impact on the industry: on coffee, it was already outdated." The coffee world keeps revising what a willingness to take a chance and try something new, an interest in following people need to know," he explains. Katie agreed to a degree and said Counter Culture was making some coffee from source to cup, and also the situation Aida found herself in when changes of its own with a line of coffees that used to be farm specific but now first returning to manage her family's farms. Aida admitted as much, saying, "I don't think I knew what I was getting will be identified by variety. "There really isn't one element that matters," into," when she decided to move back to El Salvador and take over her Carguilo says. "The trouble is that all of them matter." —Kenneth R. Olson family's farms. "I imagined the coffee was great," she said, "but I hadn't ever 24 barista magazine