For the last month, coffee enthusiasts of all stripes have been submitting writing, drawings, videos, pictures, and songs to Linea Love, a La Marzocco USA campaign to celebrate the La Marzocco Linea. Since 1990, the Linea has been the heart of so many cafes around the world, pumping and pumping, day in and day out, while shaping generations of quality-focused baristas.

Your Sprudge Editors were tapped by our partners at LM USA to produce a series of video interviews with leading folks in the industry who’ve developed a special bond with the La Marzocco Linea. These interviews feature some of the brightest coffee minds we know: Stephen Vick of Blue Bottle Coffee, 2004 USBC Champion Bronwen Serna, Mindy Farley of the North Portland’s own The Red E Cafe (a Sprudge.com editorial favorite), Skip Colombo of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Devin Chapman of Coava Coffee Roasters, Andrew Barnett of Caffe Linea, Alex Powar of Four Barrel Coffee, and Nick Cho of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters.

Here they are, in all of their steaming glory.

Stephen Vick, of Blue Bottle Coffee, talks about his memories with the La Marzocco Linea, including the legendary 5-Group Linea from Seattle’s Hines Public Market Coffee (closed in 2005). Learn more about dear departed Hines Public Market in this adorable Mark Prince feature from 2003.

Bronwen Serna, 2004 USBC Champion, also worked for Hines Public Market in Seattle with Stephen Vick. Read her full essay here!

Mindy Farley, co-owner and manager at The Red E Cafe in Portland, Oregon has worked on the Linea for over a decade – first at the Albina Press (another landmark cafe in North Portland) and now at her own cafe up the road.

We spoke with Skip Colombo, Senior Account Manager at Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Skip has worked on a Linea since his days at the Fresh Pot sixteen years ago.

Two-time consecutive Northwest Regional Barista Champion Devin Chapman of Coava Coffee Roasters works on a custom black Linea. Clearly he is stoked about it.

Andrew Barnett, the legendary green coffee buyer, roaster, and now owner of Caffe Linea in San Francisco, first set his eyes on a La Marzocco Linea at CoffeeFest in 1993. David Schomer of Espresso Vivace was pulling shots, and the cosmos shifted ever so slightly. Read Mr. Barnett’s full essay here!

Young buck Alex Powar works on a La Marzocco Linea at Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco, where he’s an educator for both staff and wholesale clients.

Nick Cho, of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, had Lineas at his murky coffee locations in Washington, DC. An impressive and diverse array of coffee professionals worked on these murky machines, including 2012 USBC Champion Katie Carguilo, Ultimo Coffee owner Aaron Ultimo, noted NYC hair stylist Janet Konz, Ryan Goodrow of Four Barrel, Peregrine Espresso owner Ryan Jensen, David Nigel Flynn of Frog Fight fame, and Sprudge.com co-founder Zachary Carlsen.

In need of some more Linea Lovin’? Check out these other great submissions from the last few weeks:

Michael Phillips
Chris Baca
Conrad Altman, Sr
Ryan Willbur
Cabin Coffee
Joe Monaghan
John Blackwell
Matt Brown
Roast Coffee Company
Ilya Schnaydman
Taylor Threatt
Mike Chapman
Just David
Jimmy The Chop
Phil Goodlaxon
Sandy Hughes
Lars Kolstad Huse
Chelsea Thoumsin
Pete Milne
Henry Foote
Daniel Read
Blake McKinney

“There’s nothing else like it. It’s beautiful, simple, approachable, reliable, and, surprisingly, affordable. The Linea has made it possible for coffee-loving dreamers to start their own shops without settling for lousy equipment or breaking the bank.” -  Chris Elliott

“The coffee culture of cafes, drive-thrus, stands, stalls, and carts from that era captured my boyhood imagination. Above all espresso carts – many of whom were equipped with a Linea. There was something magical about the lone barista serving up hot coffee to a long line of appreciative customers on the sidewalk.” – Chris Phelps

“Years later, working now in training and education, the Linea still remains my number one recommendation for coffee bars to consider when pricing out equipment. Minor tweaks here and there to the machine (PID! Vacuum breakers!) have given polite finesse to this non-stop workhorse, still at an incredible value.” – Jesse Raub

“Walking up to a Linea, a barista feels empowered. There is no confusion about it. On, off, rinse, repeat. All day. Break it down, clean it, and start over. It is ready to handle more than you can give it. You will wear out before it does.” - Tony Querio

Check out the rest of the drawings, photos, essays, and more at LineaLove.com. La Marzocco’s next-generation Linea PB will be unveiled at the grand SCAA Event in Boston in just a few short weeks.

The post La Marzocco Linea Love Campaign – A Look Back At All The Lovin’ appeared first on Sprudge.com.

Imagine waking up each morning in Costa Rica to the sounds and smells of hand-ground coffee, brewed via Aeropress by a certified barista champion. This was our reality on the Cafe Imports Origin trip, and it came courtesy of Cuvee Coffee‘s own Lorenzo Perkins.

Throughout the trip, it was dubbed Cafe Lorenzo, and each day the cafe was situated in a different hotel, lodge, or beach-front. Every service felt a little different. Some days featured a soundtrack of Leonard Cohen, on others, the Cure. On days the pop-up opened at Jaco Beach, Mr. Perkins was spinning Bob Marley.

Cafe Lorezo Day Three featured a walk-up window and a soundtrack by Rhianna.

The pop-up cafe also set up shop at the Aguilera Brother’s El Toño farm in the West Valley, as well as the Riojorco mill and a grand Riojorco dinner meeting in Tarrazu. Guests were treated to a wide assortment of coffees from the champion’s cafes and roasteries, and folks from Costa Rica were particularly interested in the Kenyan and Ethiopian offerings.

We sat down with Mr. Perkins for this exclusive interview as he finished his last shift, before packing up his brewing supplies and heading home to Austin, Texas.

How do you feel your project went?

Lorenzo Perkins: I feel like it was really successful, you know. I was a little worried about being an Aeropress only cafe – because it’s kind of a divisive brew method. But it seems like people really took to it. We had some really beautiful coffees and I think we showcased them spectacularly.

What coffees were used during the week?

Lorenzo Perkins: Oh man, so, we had a washed Yirg and a Kenya from Verve. We were rocking a Guat and some El Sals from Coava and a really rad Burundi from Counter Culture, a naturally processed Guatemala from Raul Rodas’ Paradigma and the Colombia San Sebastian from MadCap.

Tell us more about your guest barista program.

Lorenzo Perkins: Yeah, our first guest barista was [2012 US Champion] Katie Carguilo. The awesome thing about running a guest barista program is they’re always going to bring something new or different to the cafe. She actually brewed iced Aeropresses, which was appropriate for how hot it’s been.

Today, actually, we had the NW Brewers Cup champion Devin Chapman from Coava who expanded our menu again and brought some sweet V-60s to the program.

Devin Chapman: It was a dream, you know? Just make it work. Grip it and rip it. Step up to the plate. Grab the bull by the horns.

What did you brew while you were on bar?

DC: I brewed a V-City with the Santa Sofia Peaberry. Like I said, grip it and rip it. I was pouring out of the orange Bodum kettle into the V60 that was drained into poured over into a Hario Buono kettle that we used as a brewer. Cowboy’d up a little bit, which is what I tend to do in these circumstances and tend to love. So you know, when in doubt. When you don’t have the stuff? Just cowboy up.

LP: I think that’s kind of been the theme for Cafe Lorenzo: pulling all the resources that we have available and really making it work. It’s been kind of a boot-strap kind of cafe but, like I said, the coffee has been delicious, the response from all our guests have been spectacular. I’m looking forward to maybe doing this again. So just keep an eye out for Cafe Lorenzo.

We sure as heck will.

Additional photography provided by Katie Carguilo and Noah Namowicz.

The post SCBRC Champion Opens “Cafe Lorenzo” Pop-Up In Costa Rica appeared first on Sprudge.com.

While the NWRBC ended last week, we’ve been working like busy little beavers to get these video interviews ready. Sprudge.com sat down with all 6 NWRBC finalists, talented baristas who were generous enough with their time to answer our questions. These videos are snapshots of a moment in time; the interviews were a joy to conduct, and we’re very proud to be able to present them to you today.

Sprudge.com is your official SCAA Digital Media Sponsor for the 2013 USBC cycle. Our work at NWRBC was made possible by direct support from Nuova Simonelli and Dillanos Coffee Roasters.

Lauren Lathrop, Public Domain Coffee, PDX

Timothy Graham, Slate Coffee Roasters, Seattle

Brett Felchner, BARISTA, PDX

Collin Schneider, Sterling Coffee Roasters, PDX

Cole McBride, Visions Espresso / Velton’s Coffee Roasters, Seattle

Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee Roasters, PDX – 2013 NWRBC Champion!

The post Your Six NWRBC Finalist Interviews – A Video Treasury appeared first on Sprudge.com.

In our third issue we’re celebrating Devin Chapman, your 2013 Northwest Regional Barista Champion. This is Mr. Chapman’s second consecutive NWRBC victory for Coava Coffee, and we’ll see him compete again at the 2013 United States Barista Championship in Boston. Look back at some of our favorite Devin Chapman features in the links below.

Ooh, Devin Is A Place On Earth: Coava Coffee Wunderkind Is Your 2013 NWRBC Champ! (February 3rd, 2013)

USBC Finalists: An Interview With Devin Chapman (April 27th, 2012)

Exit Interview: Devin Chapman, Super Champ (January 30th, 2012)

USBC Day Three: Your 2012 Semi-Finalists (April 24th, 2012 – Mr. Chapman is competitor #5)

The post Sprudge Sunday Magazine – Issue #3 (Coava Coffee’s Devin Chapman) appeared first on Sprudge.com.

We had a chance to sit down digitally with Devin Chapman, of Portland’s Coava Coffee Roasters, one of 6 finalists in the 2012 United States Barista Championship. Mr. Chapman was the 2012 NW Regional champ; be prepared to deal with Devin as a competition threat for years to come.

Did you have an overarching theme for your presentation?

“Yes, I focused on the barista’s role in translating knowledge into a sensory experience.”

Did you have a name for your signature drink? Can you give us the recipe?

“Err…. no name. Here’s the recipe.”

HELP CARDS

What coffees did you use for your competition?

“Reinelio Lopez from the Monserrate community in Huila, Colombia.”

Can you tell us a bit about your competition history? How many total competitions, appearances at USBC, etc.

“2 NW Regionals and 2 USBCs to date. Finished 10th and 18th my first year; 1st and 4th my second.”

Share with us a favorite moment at USBC 2012 – doesn’t have to be competition based, but certainly can be. What stands out in your memory?

“Spent some really good quality time with Kevin Bohlin & Jared Truby in the back before both rounds just getting focused and settled. Precious!”

What do you do to get pumped before competition?

“Watch cheesy underdog movies, listen to hip-hop during my practice time, walk and talk, drop it like it’s hot, hide-out, listen to Dashboard Confessional (it could be worse…), focus really hard on things, write lists, pretend I’m Rocky Balboa, pretend I’m Eminem in 8 Mile, pretend I’m Icebox from Little Giants, pray, pee a bunch, smash bananas, potassium pills, pushups for the camera… I could go on, it’s different every time.”

Whom would you like to thank? Use this last question for essential shout-outs, and thanks so much for sharing this info with us.

“All the judges for giving their time and sanity to let competitions happen; the SCAA for putting it on; my wife for all her hours of hard work and support and for putting up with way too much; Matty O’Higgins for supporting me financially and keeping me around; Matt, Sam and Keith for teaching me everything I know about making and serving coffee; Clive Coffee and Mark Hellweg for basically sponsoring my wares (I’ll pimp you for life!); Amber Penn for being the yin to my managerial yang and connecting the dots in my absence; Sarah P. for her hours of listening, feedback, backflushing and dish washing; all the crew at the shop for rolling hard through a really busy weekend and for working with dignity and pride; all my friends that showed up to support me this past weekend; and all our loyal customers for being proud to drink Coava’s coffees. Here’s to next year!”

The post USBC Finalists: An Interview With Chapman appeared first on Sprudge.com.

The post Exit Interview: Devin Chapman, Super Champ appeared first on Sprudge.com.

For the first time ever, the same competitor has won a Regional Barista and Brewers Cup event. It’s Devin Chapman of Coava Coffee Roasters, in Portland, Oregon.

Devin repeats his Brewers Cup win from 2011. This is his first #NWRBC win. Devin will represent Portland on his home turf this April, when the SCAA brings the United States Barista Championship to the City of Roses.

Here’s the full results from the final announcements here at the Northwest Regional Barista Competition:

NWRBC:

1st Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee, PDX – Total score of 630.5

2nd Laila Ghambari, Stumptown Coffee, PDX – Total score of 616

3rd Tyler Stevens, Barista, PDX – Total score of 607

Brewers Cup:

1st Devin Chapman, Coava Coffee, PDX

2nd Sam Schroeder, Olympia Coffee Roasting, Olympia, WA

3rd Oliver Stormshak, Olympia Coffee Roasting, Olympia, WA

4th Will Frith, Olympia Coffee Roasting, Olympia, WA

5th Honor Forte, Olympia Coffee Roasting, Olympia, WA

6th Chad Bledsoe, Seven Virtues Coffee, PDX

It’s been our pleasure to serve you this weekend – Sprudge event coverage continues in Atlanta for SERBC starting Friday, February 10th!

The post Coava’s Chapman Is NWRBC Champ, Man appeared first on Sprudge.com.