The man accused of throwing hot coffee on a Donut shop worker turned himself in on Monday.

Tuesday morning, David Timbers was out of custody after posting 10 percent of $25,000 bail. The 52-year-old covered his head with a hoodie and held an umbrella as he left police headquarters around 10 a.m.

He wasn’t happy to see NBC10 cameras waiting for him as he walked out with another man.

“You all harassing me like this? Go and find yourselves some real stories,” Timbers said to NBC10′s Byron Scott.

Someone needs to break it to you, Mr. Timbers: your horrendous coffee assault is TOTALLY news. We already chose a schmuck for this week, but that doesn’t make you any less of a schmo. Stay classy, Philadelphia.

The first three drinks are each a representation of one of the major acids. The Old Fashioned will serve as the introduction to understanding citric acid, the Green Apple Highball to malic acid, and the Tamarind to tartaric. A sample of whichever acid the drink represents will be presented along with the drink, so the customer can hopefully gain a deeper understanding of what acidity is.

The Old Fashioned will be a spin on the whiskey cocktail. So I’m going to be using a citrus infusion and am working on making nonalcoholic bitters for it. The Green Apple Highball is one I’m working out some kinks with, but it’s going to have either green apple juice, or a green apple infusion cooked up in a siphon. It’s going to be cut with white cranberry juice, shaken, and served in a chilled glass. The Tamarind Highball will be espresso, tamarind paste, and simple syrup shaken and served in a chilled glass. The Sour will be lemon juice/simple syrup, and espresso shaken with egg whites, served in a chilled glass, with a citrus peel lit on fire and snapped over it for added zest. And the Black Flag is a sweet shaken beverage with molasses, honey, and espresso.

Sounds like one a them froofroo barista competitions y’all been hitching yer donkey cart to as of late. The grizzled old prospector in all of us wants to know, how much for three fingers of something brown? And does this saloon rent rooms? I ain’t had a bath since Tucson.

Sprudge contributor and longtime Counter Culture Coffee customer relations representative Erin Meister asked her followers on Facebook, “Remember that time I went to Italy? Well, I wrote a little ditty about it. If you want to read it, you know, you could click here or whatever. Only if you want to. No pressure.”

That “little ditty” is a riveting print feature for the Washington Post Travel section, an epic that takes the reader to four distinct cities, and within those cities several cafes, each with their own individual take on the espresso experience. Meister’s take on the Italian espresso culture is both honest and humble, and it’s enormously exciting to see this kind of coffee travel writing in print, from one of our industry’s most talented journalists. There’s even a supplemental cafe and travel guide to Italy.

Juciy bits:

Sacred spots are scattered across Italy: Each major city has its own coffee tradition, and limiting myself to one or two would feel as incomplete as sticking to decaf. As a barbecue fanatic must bounce not only between the Carolinas but also through Missouri, Tennessee and Texas for meaty enlightenment, I won’t fulfill my pilgrimage simply by slugging a few espresso shots in Rome.

On espresso in Sant’Eustachio il Caffe:

Signs around the cafe proclaim, “Il caffee senza zucchero va richiesto all’ordine,” or “Coffee without sugar must be requested when ordering.” Asking for a shot amaro, or bitter, might earn coffee cred back home, but you’d be missing out here: Whatever alchemy takes place behind the curtain yields delicious results, and it’s best to trust the master at the machine. The frothy, almost meringuelike crema on this espresso is unlike any other I’ve tasted, and while there’s a noticeable kiss of sweetness, it neither overpowers nor distracts from the coffee’s deep roasted-chestnut flavor.

Washington Post: In Italy, a spiritual search for the essence of espresso.

Seattle cafes, like the walking tours of patriotic Boston or a visit to a National Park lodge, offer a kind of living history of place and time. They are to be cherished, but also to be enjoyed, utilized, dirtied and cleaned; historic cafes are alive in the best possible sense. When you’re talking about Seattle’s historic cafes, there are so many to choose from, but to me, the big three are Cafe Allegro (opened in 1975), Espresso Vivace (in 1987) and Bauhaus, which opened in 1993. These each played a major role in the progressive elaboration of what it means to be an American independent cafe. They each have their strengths and fans, and while I spent my formative years mainly in Vivace, where I worked as a barista, I recognize Bauhaus’ incredible historical influence, and have been disheartened to follow the news that it is being threatened, first with closure, and now with extensive “retrofitting” and modification. This is, in some ways, a proper eulogy for what Bauhaus means right now, in its current state, an epitaph this cafe assuredly deserves.

Bauhaus’ most obvious significance is its aesthetic. It is the quintessential Northwest cafe—rustic industrial meets cozy 1950s Modern nostalgia in a beautiful, double-height corner space. It manages to feel warm, inviting, and communal all at once, even when the acres of windows are filled with oppressively gray Seattle skies. The component parts seem obvious now: warm, worn wood; steel and iron detailing; retro-modern, vaguely industrial fixtures and furniture; built-in glass display case under the register counter; ample and varied seating arrangements suited to a wide variety of social uses. But it was not always so obvious. Its design translated the aesthetic and social tropes of European cafes for American design and service sensibilities, with an effortless cohesion and appeal. These design concepts have become an indelible part of the standard approach to designing a specialty cafe in America.

Bauhaus’ strong functional and aesthetic choices became integral to the design language of the independent cafe—an influence explored in the gallery of images above. I strongly urge you to visit Bauhaus in its current form, before changes are made, and marvel at the fact that these design choices still stand after 20 years, with the only alteration being a ban on smoking in the upstairs library loft.

But Bauhaus’ cultural impact is as important as their design influence. Bauhaus, Espresso Vivace, and B&O Espresso were part of a vanguard of “alternative” culture that originated in Seattle, and made waves across the United States and the world. Tying these generational and social movements to coffee is logical and non-discursive, and one need only spend an afternoon whiling away the hours at Bauhaus to see why. In particular, Bauhaus’ corner location boasts ample seating and a highly transparent interface with the street, making it an extremely popular community spot for weekend hang-outs, rendezvouses for musicians and artists, gay cruising, and all myriad forms of urban socializing. This was as true in 1993 as it is today.

Bauhaus was co-founded by Michael Klebeck and Joel Radin, and the empire they created with Mike’s brother Mark did much to cement Bauhaus’ influence on the Northwest cafe. The brothers went on to open Zeitgeist Coffee and Top Pot Donuts, as well as being involved in other projects like Elliot Bay Cafe, Sun Liquor, and Mod Pizza. These businesses established the brothers’ industrial-rustic meets retro-modern slick aesthetic as a defining force in the Northwest service landscape.

Despite its impact on the look and feel of the specialty cafes we create today, I feel it needs to be said: the coffee at Bauhaus has never been very good, and the stereotype of the snooty, aloof barista may owe a small part of its origin story to Bauhaus. I’ve heard it jokingly said that Bauhaus is where Vivace baristas go to retire—the tips are nearly as good, the quality standards and pace are more relaxed, and the regular clientele substantially overlaps. I mean no disrespect though. Bauhaus and Vivace are clear icons of cafe culture, and by extension, the history of a larger alternative culture in Seattle. It is a subtle but significant thing that a barista could maintain their strong relationships with regulars while “retiring” to a different cafe. These cafes are the fabric of their regular’s lives, with different reasons to visit each one often.

It is in some ways depressingly fitting that Bauhaus is being threatened. Bauhaus and the other cafes on the Hill helped “pioneer” the now classic cycle of gentrification that has happened in many American cities: white “artistic types” and LGBT folk move into a run-down center-city neighborhood, displacing minorities in the process; independent cafes, then bars and venues, then restaurants open to serve the newcomers’ tastes; the neighborhood becomes “cool” and a wider swath of young people move in; and one by one. the old buildings that gave the neighborhood its character get torn down or condo-fied or otherwise wrecked asunder.

Suddenly you turn around and everything is hideous. Mid-rise condos with terrible, raw street-level retail caverns full of exposed HVAC, featuring retail spaces that small, independent businesses can neither afford to lease nor build-out in. The result is a neighborhood without small businesses that can even begin to approach the beautiful style of Bauhaus.

So which is worse? Seattle letting a bunch of developers from Bellevue tear down a cultural landmark? Or allowing them to extensively modify said landmark, turning yet-another block of what was once that city’s cultural heart into something unrecognizably bland? Both options are a direct threat to the living history of American cafe culture, something the city of Seattle, with its supposedly progressive mayor, ought to know well enough to protect. If you want to help prevent this damage from being done, or if this article inspires you to make your voice heard, I encourage you to sign a petition dedicated to preserving Bauhaus. Like cafe culture itself, and the people who dwell and toil within them, this cafe matters.

Sources:

Capitol Hill Seattle Blog (extensive coverage)

Seattle Weekly Online

Melrose Building Testimonials

SeaPort Magazine – background information on the Klebeck brothers, owners of Top Pot and Zeitgeist.

UK notable John Gordon has published Sarah Dooley’s USBC score sheets on the growing Score Sheet Library, a collaborative Google Doc that features current UKBC scores, WBC scores from past years, and now the first set of USBC scores from Mrs. Dooley. You can read Sarah’s USBC scores by clicking here.

Sarah is the Seattle-based Coffee Education Community Coordinator for La Marzocco USA, and has both competed and served as a judge in the USBC circuit. She joins a growing list of baristas who’ve added their scores for the benefit of any and all who compete in the future, including WBC Finals score sheets from luminaries such as Gwilym Davies, Colin Harmon, and Javier Garcia, among others.

Score sheets provide an intimate look at the current judging process, complete with penciled in notes, doodles, and varying scores between judges. They can also be intensely private pieces of paper, which is why this sort of voluntary posting is exactly how competition score sheets should be disseminated publicly in the current competition format. We don’t think it should be mandatory, but we do applaud those who submit their scores for public scrutiny and education, and we’ll continue to cover Mr. Gordon’s international Score Sheet Library as more scores are posted.

Then some yutz from Huffington Post gets paid $25 to post it, having been tipped off by the PR firm responsible for this abomination in the first place. Because that, friends, is the current state of American journalism.

An enterprising young New Jersey coffee entrepreneur has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal’s blog. Mona Pryor is a bit of a legend in the city of Camden, just across the river from Philadelphia, where her bustling (if uncreatively named) City Coffee cafe is a one-stop-shop for drinks, tax preparation, paternity tests, and a great place to rub shoulders with the judge you might be seeing in Community Court for your traffic infraction.

“I just came in for the green tea but I stayed for the financial planning,” said Joseph Tull, a local fire inspector and regular customer at City Coffee.

‘I do the DNA swabs and the drug testings,’ said City Coffee’s Mona Pryor. ‘But I also make a perfect latte.’

If you’re a native of Camden, or live in the South Jersey / Philly metroplex, you may be running out of time to order a coffee from Mona Pryor herself:

As of last week, City Coffee had brought in a new manager to oversee the coffee operations so Pryor can focus on launching the shop’s latest venture: Hoarders Express.

Her plan is to send teams of cleaners into distressed homes to clear the mess and sell the stuff. Pryor said she would tap City Coffee’s customers for referrals.

“The lawyers all know people being evicted from their homes that need the cleaning and their clients all need some extra cash,” Pryor said. “This is going to be a good one.”

Mona Pryor. On a good one in the Wall Street Journal.

He celebrated by drinking Moet out of his trophy. Mr. Simon took home the win using coffee from Finca El Manzano, in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. El Manzano was picked on Feb 27 and processed using both natural and washed methods, all of which was overseen by the folks at Cuatro M , purveyors of fine Salvadoran coffees.

Mr. Simon is a longtime competitor whose day job is as a roaster at Veneziano’s location in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne. He traveled to El Salvador in 2011 and personally selected his winning lot of coffee, with help from Emilio Lopez and Cuatro M. His competition coffee is on sale today at Veneziano’s flagship cafe in Melbourne, First Pour, and is now available for purchase via Veneziano’s web store. Be sure to check out Veneziano on Twitter – @VenezCoffeeRstr – for links to archived video, pics, and insight from last weekend’s Australian Barista Championship. Congratulations, Craig Simon, and we’ll see you in Vienna!

(Some facts for this feature sourced via Bean Scene Magazine)

What isn’t often discussed is Tharpe’s role in popularizing latte art design, a trend that didn’t take hold in the mainstream public until thirty years after her death. The term “rosetta” bears Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s namesake, and is still used today to describe the classic latte art design seen in high end cafes worldwide. Sister Rosetta’s love of coffee was only matched by her love of gospel, and the two would often fuse, as in this classic collection of mid-60s singles:

John Gordon writes:

Over the last 3 years, competing in barista competitions has helped me grow as a person and accelerate my learning.

One thing that I believe has helped me so much has been reviewing score sheets, evaluating feedback and learning from my mistakes.

This year Judging in Ireland and coaching one of the most talented baristas in the country I believe I was able to learn more about score sheets and feel there is an abundant amount of information that can be dissected, dismantled and evaluated and the important information used to push forward and help improve what we do best.I think by sharing score sheets we can also learn from each other and as a few have done before by making score sheets available to view online it can only help baristas learn the do’s and don’ts.

If you feel as I do I would love your help in compiling a list of score sheets for everyone to view, good or bad we can learn from everything we do in life, triumphant or failure we are all winners because we got up there and did what we believed in.

Score sheets provide an interesting perspective and will prove to be an incredible resource for those competing in the future.

Linked in this feature:

Barista Competition Score Sheets

Contribute your score sheets here.

Further Reading:

A Few Quick Thoughts On Barista Competition, James Hoffmann, Published May 2, 2012