Competitive barista Gray Kauffman joins us in the O.C. this week to drop some serious coffee science on our asses. Alongside being the new Coffee Education and Innovation Lead at Hitchcock Restaurant Group, Gray recently competed at the U.S. Coffee Championships, and they talk about how they did in the Olympics of Coffee, their background in food science, their previous gig in product development at Caffe Vita, and what it was like to travel to a coffee farm in the mountains of Colombia—the origin of the beans they used in the competition.
Plus Meg and Mark are always working for the weekend, but they’re not too weakened to tell you about what they ate on their lunch breaks! Dig in!
Mentioned in this episode:
Canlis
De La Soil
Lenox
Ananas Pizza
George’s Polish Deli
Rain Shadow Meats
Sankaku
Cafe Suliman
Narrative
Espresso Vivace
Slow Day
Cardoon
Chelsea Farms
Ginger & Scallion
Surreal
Devium Wine
Jude’s Old Town
The Shambles
Lenox
Taco Time
Ramie
Spice SPC Indian Grocery
DeLuxe Bar & Grill
Meyer Bar
00:00 Intro
4:26 How Gray Got Started
13:14 What’s the Barista Competition Like?
18:50 Milk Innovation and Coffee Mixology
22:51 Choosing Music and Beans for Competition
31:37 Meg’s Indian Bodega Treat
37:39 This Week’s Restaurant News
51:07 Evolution of Seattle Coffee Culture
59:52 Re-thinking Freshness
1:08:28 What’s Next for Seattle Coffee?
1:11:12 Mystery LaCroix Tasting
1:14:18 Thanks, I Ate It!
1:29:28 Coming Up Next
