March 28, 2018

Coffee Fest Baltimore: A Field Report

I represented Flight at Coffee Fest Baltimore (March 16 - 18), both as an attendant and a competitor. Here are a few highlights from the show!

The Baltimore Convention Center.

The trade show.

America's Best Cold Brew

We placed second in the America’s Best Cold Brew Competition with our nitrogen-infused Ethiopia Amaro Gayo! A natural-process coffee with wonderful berry notes, nitrogenation added a creaminess that turned the cold brew into something reminiscent of ice-cream!

The competition was fierce and we're honored to have received second. Congratulations to the other winners and a big thanks to all who supported us! I was amazed at the variety of flavors present. Fruity, spicy, liquor-esque -- all products of terroir and processing!

The final results.

More on processing.

Our silver trophy.

Tea Galore

Specialty tea had a large presence. In that vein, you should try Cascara! “Husk" in Spanish, it’s the dried skin of coffee cherries. Cascara brews wonderfully as a tea and is a great way to make use of what is normally a waste-product of green coffee production. It contains caffeine, too (though only a quarter of what is found in coffee, at most).

Colombia Finca La Vega Cascara from Sweet Maria's.

Growth Through Diversity

The amount of diversity in method and approach in coffee is staggering. I sampled barrel-aged coffees with flavors imparted from the container’s original use. Fruity, floral, and tea-like, I drank cold brew “air infused” with tea. I sat in on a presentation in which the speaker argued emphatically that espresso is an intrinsically superior beverage to drip coffee. All-in-all, there’s a seemingly infinite world to explore.

We're fortunate to work in such a diverse and collaborative industry -- it makes us strong!

A busy weekend in Baltimore.

...

Jacob Ryder

Coffee Fest Baltimore: A Field Report

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