Saturday, August 05, 2017

Friday, August 04, 2017

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Wow! caffe d'bolla is thirteen


This month marks caffe d'bolla's 13th anniversary. 


It's hard to capture what thirteen years has been in a short post. It's been a family business from the start, both Yiching and I worked the day to day from opening day - making drinks, cleaning, baking, roasting and everything else that comes with owning a business for more than ten years. And once Alex was walking, Yiching moved behind the scenes, still handling baking, a lot of our social media, and coordinating our international shipping. While she does that, she's a full time mom teaching a brilliant and energetic young boy the important things in life.

So now, I'm just a husband and a father who happens to be passionate about coffee. Every day I come home, Alex says, “Did you work hard for us at caffe d'bolla today?” Then he asks, “Who was your favorite customer today?” Maybe it's YOU. If it's sometimes you, or if it's been you, you'd probably know it. Some days there are several “favorites”. Other days, it's a blur. And, if it's not you today... maybe tomorrow.

Caffe d'bolla is an embodiment of our family's guiding principles. Work hard, have unshakeable standards, and strive to be the best in whatever you do. The business has always been family and continues to be a vehicle for teaching our son about the “joys” of hundred hour work weeks and the rewards that come with setting the minimum bar at “excellent” and learning and improving daily. There's a determination and a fire in him I know he has because of what both of us have done and what each of us continues to do.

I have roasted our coffee and espresso for nearly twelve of our thirteen years. And I'm good at what I do. Every day I come in, I taste and adjust our current espresso until it's pulling just right. And I do it throughout the day. I've done it thousands of times because your first sip matters. So every time you come in to have an espresso, macchiato, a latte or maybe take the time to sit down for a siphon coffee know that what you are tasting took thousands of hours of roasting and an equal number of hours making drinks at what's proven to be world class standards, and there's a reason for that. Love of craft and love of coffee is best as a shared experience. So, thank you for coming and letting us share what we do best with you. I'll see you tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Colombia Urrao Valle de Penderisco

Colombia Urrao Valle de Penderisco

Fresh out of the roaster! Colombia Urrao Valle de Penderisco. So good. Come and get it!

Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Panama Boquete Camiseta Estate

Panama Boquete Camiseta Estate

More Single Origin coffees just roasted and bagged for you to pick up and delivery via Coffee Subscription (caffedbolla.com). In the photo: Panama Boquete Camiseta Estate. Come and get yours!

best espresso

espresso

Come and have an espresso at caffe d'bolla today. It's YUM!

Monday, July 31, 2017

sharing the love

good coffee and treats

Spending time and sharing good coffee and treats with a loved one is a wonderful thing.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Friday, July 28, 2017

a cortado

cortado

Come and have a cortado today. Center of Attention is On Tap here at caffe d'bolla, and it's so gooood!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

El Salvador Finca Matalapa - Bourbon

El Salvador Finca Matalapa - Bourbon

Another batch of El Salvador Finca Matalapa - Bourbon just came out of the roaster. Come and get some of this amazing coffee today!

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

fresh roasted single origin coffee beans

coffee roaster

More coffee roasting at the shop right now! Come pick some up, or have them delivered to your door (via Coffee Subscription on caffedbolla.com)

KVDW Spirit at caffe d'bolla

kvdw spirit at caffe d'bolla

Come and have John pull you a delicious double shot of espresso!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

an afternoon iced latte

an afternoon iced latte

An afternoon iced latte makes everyone super happy!

a beautiful day

latte art

It's a beautiful day for a delicious latte at caffe d'bolla. "Center of Attention" is our current espresso On Tap!

Friday, July 21, 2017

for your weekend brewing happiness

for your weekend brewing happiness

John's been roasting coffee all day for your weekend brewing happiness. Come and get your favorites now!

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Best of State awards 2017

Best of State awards 2017

We are continuously inspired to achieve excellence in our craft by the people we love.

*Best of State 2017 Specialty Beverages (Siphon Coffee)
*Best of State 2017 Artisan Foods (Roasted Whole Bean Coffee)

Siphon Syphon

TOKIO siphon coffee brewer

Come, relax, and have a wonderful Single Origin coffee On Siphon.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Burundi Kibumbu Kayokwe Lot 1

Burundi Kibumbu Kayokwe Lot 1

Fresh out of the roaster: Burundi Kibumbu Kayokwe Lot 1. Ready to be bagged for you to pick up!

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Friday, July 14, 2017

iced latte

iced latte

Have you had your iced latte today? Center of Attention is our espresso On Tap here at caffe d'bolla.

manual brew only

manual brew only

Have a great weekend and drink delicious coffee!

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Understand the Process

John says...

Process is important. “Understand the process,” I say. But what does that entail? Is “process” simply a set of steps you follow to accomplish a task correctly – In this case brewing coffee?

Yes.

So, we're done then?

No, we're not. Because as straightforward as it should be, to everyone's dismay (not really) there are few professionals who get it right. What are they not doing right and WHY are they not doing it right?


Let's start with: What is the process?

In a nutshell: Start with properly roasted, quality, fresh, (whole) coffee beans. Understand correct dosing (coffee:water ratio) and particle size. Use correct dosing for chosen brewing method. Grind fresh with a good, adjustable burr grinder. Use water within (generally) specific TDS parameters. And brew! Then taste and adjust until it's just right. All of these steps are taken in order to produce a specific result – excellent coffee.

Now let's work through these “simple” things and see where the problems are.

Quality coffee – Now there are cupping scores and tasting notes in respect to the green coffee. So, as a coffee roaster it's simple to get your hands on quality beans. And I would suppose that most coffee shops who are making a claim of craft, artisanal, or “Third Wave” coffee are, in fact, sourcing quality green.

Properly roasted – Here is where we need to take a closer look. Because as I have often said, the higher the quality of your green, the more complexity within that specific lot, the more skill it takes to roast it.


So, what does “highly skilled” as a roaster mean? Is it about experience and dedication? Is it about talent?

I think if I had to list these factors it would be: talent, dedication, and experience. And when I talk about dedication, I think you can use the word “dedication” as a more serious sounding replacement for the word “passion”. You can't be dedicated to a thing without loving or enjoying that thing. And the dedication isn't simply to the craft. It's a dedication to the result of the craft, which is excellent coffee. With dedication and experience, you can always be above average to really, really good. But in my experience, without some inherent skill, aptitude or talent for the craft, you will never be exceptional.

So the first weakening of the process is with the roasting? What is the talent level of your roaster? How many hours of work have they put in? How many varietals from how many regions have they roasted? And how many years have they been doing it? Whether YOU are the roaster or your shop does the roasting, or you bring in your beans from somewhere – in which case you have to ask all these questions about their roaster – the likelihood is perhaps your coffee program isn't on as solid a ground as you were led to believe or that you are leading others to believe.

Now, I could really stop there, because the roasting of the coffee is probably the most important step in the coffee making process.

But let's assume the roasting is spot on.

Correct dosing is a known thing, so there's really no excuse for getting that wrong Look up “Gold Cup” standards or SCA brewing standards. Coffee science doesn't change.


Grind size is a generally known thing that you specifically tune to your coffee and your taste.

The same can be said for water chemistry.

Brewing technique? That takes a bit of skill. It takes some practice. And of course the goal again... excellent coffee.

So the reasons for not executing excellent coffee?

Either you don't know how. Or you don't care to know how. Often it's both.


If you care about the prestige of sourcing excellent coffees, but don't take the time to make sure you have a highly experienced roaster who can create sweetness and dynamic complexity and balance and mouthfeel in your coffee – then what?

Well, what happens is if the fundamentals of your coffee program are not rock solid, the smaller details, like brewing parameters or water chemistry are going to be an afterthought as well.

Or do you try to unknowingly take short cuts? You have a refractometer of some sort, you measure TDS to perfection... you dial in temperatures precisely, and what you do is end up chasing numbers instead of following flavor.

Great coffee, excellent coffee, exceptional coffee is not the result of following a set of numbers.
Exceptional coffee is the result of understanding the process with the end goal of a delicious cup of coffee. This means fundamentals of brewing and this means following the flavor.


It's really simple. Everyone should be able to do it.

You should be able to do it. So why aren't you?

NEW ESPRESSO - Center of Attention

kvdw spirit naked espresso shot

NEW ESPRESSO! Center of Attention - juicy apple, toffee sweetness, dark berry center. Only at caffe d'bolla.

drink a latte

latte art

Come, relax, and sip on a delicious latte at caffe d'bolla today.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

bubble tea buddies

bubble tea friends

For you and your bubble tea buddies.

roasting

lots of coffee roasting going on

Lots of coffee roasting going on at the shop. Come pick up your favorite and talk coffee!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Tanzania Tarime Town Peaberry

Tanzania Tarime Town Peaberry

Tanzania Tarime Town Peaberry. Just roasted and bagged. Come and get yours!

siphon syphon

siphon syphon coffee

Three delicious Single Origin coffees On Siphon here at caffe d'bolla. Relax and have one today!

Monday, July 10, 2017

Fresh Beans

fresh roasted beans

John has been roasting coffee non-stop today. More beans just came out of the roaster. Come get your favorite!

Rwanda Kivu Kanzu - Lot 2

Rwanda Kivu Kanzu - Lot 2

Just roasted and bagged: Rwanda Kivu Kanzu - Lot 2. Come and get yours today!

Saturday, July 08, 2017

fresh brewed iced tea

fresh brewed iced tea

Come and get a fresh brewed iced tea at caffe d'bolla. It's refreshing and oh so yummy!

custard bubble milk tea with coffee cubes

custard bubble milk tea with coffee jellies

Oh! A custard bubble milk tea with coffee jellies! Nom nom nom.

Friday, July 07, 2017

El Salvador Finca Matalapa

El Salvador Finca Matalapa

El Salvador FInca Matalapa. Amazing coffee. Just roasted and bagged for you!

Thursday, July 06, 2017

cappuccino

cappuccino

Relax and sip on a yummy cappuccino at caffe d'bolla today!

Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Monday, July 03, 2017

come and get your beans

coffee beans

Don't forget to pick up d'bolla beans for your holiday coffee brewing happiness!

iced

iced

caffe d'bolla is OPEN today! (Closed on the 4th.) Come and grab a refreshing drink and get ready for your 4th of July celebration!

Saturday, July 01, 2017

Okinawa Black Sugar Custard bubble milk tea

okinawa black sugar custard bubble milk tea

Okinawa Black Sugar Custard (沖縄黒糖プリン)bubble milk tea in the making. Yum!

siphon coffee date

siphon coffee date

Saturday is perfect for a Siphon coffee date.

Friday, June 30, 2017

NEW ESPRESSO - popsicles and chocolate

NEW ESPRESSO - popsicles and chocolate

NEW ESPRESSO! popsicles and chocolate - berries, cherries, and purple grape with a lingering almond and chocolate finish.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Fresh Roasted Single Origin Coffee Beans

cooling in the roaster

More Single Origin coffees just roasted and bagged. Ready for you to pick up or have them delivered (details on caffedbolla.com).

Monday, June 26, 2017

Sunday, June 25, 2017

iced

iced

Utah Arts Festival is in full swing! Check out its full coverage on The Utah Review by Les Roka, and grab a fresh brewed iced tea at caffe d'bolla before you head in to the festivities!