It appears that the 2008 version of Coffee Fest was a success ... I run into Larry with his ATM machines at sundry trade shows around the region and he gave it a 5-star rating for crowds on Saturday ... and I heard the same thing from Carrie at InstantWhip who said it was so busy Saturday that I wouldn't have been able to stop and chat like I was doing on Sunday. I figure if the auxiliary companies were happy -- then it had to be good for the coffee-centric concerns.
I met M.E. Swing Co. owner Mark Warmuth and the roaster Carl Dodge -- I had recently seen their name pop up with love in Melissa McCart's Counter Intelligence. They were still feeling the glow from that and a few other recent mentions that have made them a rising coffee with a bullet in the top tens of local brands in Whole Foods (you have to look in yours because the locals aren't in every WFM). They let on there may be an upcoming coffee story in Express -- at least they have it on their daily radar.
The most surprising cup came from a push button machine at Kiari's ... the machine did the grinding and the brewing behind a convenience store counter facade ... turning out a fine shot with a smooth crema and without any bitter faults. And that was overcoming my predisposition not to like it. I saw the people from Caffe Pronto ... I had written about them recently and Robert DiPasquale. I need to go visit him. Finding four potential stories (plus one on the street outside the Convention Center) made it a good use of Sunday daylight hours.
The pictures of people mentioned are in my FOTO GALLERY.
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