Just a reminder to everyone in the Portland area that tonight is the Celbration of Dr. Illy's life at the American Barista & Coffee School. The party will start at 6pm with wine and Italian appetizers. Also, espresso will be flowing for sure! 7pm we will be watching the full Dr. Illy Milan interviews. Feel free to invite anyone who is interested in learning more from a true luminary and mentor to us all. See you tonight!



6pm - 9pm

ABC… Continue

I didn't get to watch all of the finalists today as I was in the booth, but did try to follow the comp as much as I could. A big congratulations to all who competed, and instead of trying to re-post everything here, for now, check out the sweet blog put on by Octane at www.coffeerevelation.com

Also congrats to Ben from Octane for winning the Millrock Latte Art Competition, along with Justin… Continue

Happy Valentines Day everybody! Hope you all like the new color scheme of the home page of the site. ;)

At Bellissimo’s January 2008 staff retreat, we discussed if it was possible to re-release the complete Dr. Illy Milan Interview, which we originally released on video a few years ago. We all agreed that the time was right for the latest generation of coffee people to see this 75-minute interview and be exposed to the insight and amazing perspective offered by Dr. Illy.



Last week as we got the sad news of Dr. Illy's passing, and at the end of the week the DVDs arrived in our… Continue

ok .. so if I don't finish my blog about our trip it will never happen! :) I think I left off having just had a great espresso at Elysian Room after chatting with Alistair.



Right as we are leaving Mark Price calls and invites us over. It's now about noon and we both need a break from touring cafes. We found our way over to Mark's and hang out with him and Beata for a while, catching up and Mark and I talk about industry news and stuff, and what our favorite games for the Wii are ...… Continue

Ok all barista exchange members. Thanks to a generous offer from Nick Cho we will be throwing the first ever baristaexchange.com meet up, Friday the 15th of February during Coffee Fest in D.C.



Barista Exchange and Murky Coffee present a night of beer, coffee and mingling starting at 7pm at:… Continue

Ernesto Illy

July 18th 1925 - February 3rd 2008

It is a very sad day for the specialty coffee industry as Dr. Illy, honorary Chairman of Illycaffè, died on February 3rd 2008 at the age of 82. Dr. Illy was one of the greatest minds in the coffee industry and dedicated his life to educating and breaking new grounds in specialty… Continue

This is a bit off the topic of coffee but is interesting. In the coffee industry we have seen this model thrive, and connection between the coffee farmers, the roasters and the consumers is growing quickly. I am a huge fan of education and transparency ... maybe the American Barista & Coffee School needs a "farm liason"? :)



"The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, NY has become the first college known to have a farm liaison. Paul Wigsten, the… Continue