RJ Joseph

The Knockbox

See what's brewing.

Barista Stops to Dial in Espresso at Latte Art Throwdown, Pours Badly and Gets Eliminated

A barista uses their finger to groom an espresso shot before brewing.

PHILADELPHIA, PA—At a latte art throwdown this past weekend, local barista Blake Johnson stopped to make sure the espresso was dialed in, then proceeded to overpour his drink and get eliminated. “I just wanted to make sure the spro was on point,” said Johnson, who has been working in coffee for four months at a local multi-roaster. “I…

Roasting

Grassy Flavors Just Part of Terroir, Assures Local Roaster on His Company’s Facebook Page

Specialty Coffee Association's Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel is a colorful guide to the various flavors one might find when tasting coffee

OAKLAND, CA—When a customer took to Yelp this morning to decry a local roaster’s coffees as “grassy and underdeveloped,” the roaster decided to head to his company’s Facebook page and educate his customer base about terroir. “We had a customer post on Yelp that our coffees were grassy and underdeveloped and I just wanted to take the time…