Espresso madness and Panamania

Just got back from a nice little vacation with Jenni full of nothing but relaxation and now I’m geting back into the swing of things at Ritual.  Total insanity (in a good way). 

Lots of things going on right now!  This was my first week as the official Ritual barista trainer…holly shit it’s going to be a fun but extremely challenging job!  One day or so a week on bar and three days in the dungeon and I’m a slave driver for sure.  I mean, I’m not an asshole but I expect people to work hard.  Gabe and Ryan are working on espressos now and are working on what is to be the first of our seasonal blends as well as a year round blend.  Soon we will always have two spros in the mix:  waffle cone, for milk based drinks, and a rotating seasonal espresso, for straight shots and americanos.  This is exciting because we are in total control of this stuff – any ideas we have we can totally run with.  Full frontal barista/roaster control!  What What?!  We can get all the lab time we need and play with coffee as much as we want…this my friends is a party. 

We also secured the #4 coffee in the Best of Panama auction!  We buddied up with local Bay Area powerhouse Barefoot as well as Victrola and Paradise Roasters to capture this jem.  Our first very own auction coffee.  Nice. 

 On the Mo-town tip my good friend Tony just opened the doors of his magical coffee bar:  Wanderlust.  Supplied by a mash up of roasters including ourselves and Barefoot this is the only place to spro down in the Central Valley.  I had my first Wander-spro yesterday before I hit the City and just got done sippin’ on some natural Yirg Adado Moje right now.  It’s so nice to have a legit option for the magical elixir in my hometown.  This pic is a few weeks befor opening time:

  That’s all pimps…see you soon!