In the coffee world, there exists the single most important "creature" per say, that has helped us ride each wave of coffee's progress. A machine that is made up of many tiny moving parts in order to calibrate water pressure, dial in espresso flavors, and steam perfectly-textured milk. I'm speaking of the oh-hallowed espresso machine.
Engineering their first machine based on commission, it was in 1927 that the Bambi brothers of Florence would go on to create the La Marzocco legacy. Flash forward to 90 years later, La Marzocco is the leader of hand-built, high-end, commercial espresso machines for specialty shops. The company's headquarters are still chugging along in Florence, and have offices in major world cities such as Sydney, Seoul and Seattle. And that, my friends leads me to the best part about this post! Nerding out about the La Marzocco cafe is one of my favorite conversations.
As the machines have become the sought-after component in the past 50 years for a new shop, there's never actually been a chance to obtain actual coffee beans from La Marzocco. This is where roasters come to play. The appeal to work with their own coffee on a La Marzocco (let's abbreviate it as LMZ) is a combination like bread and butter: specialty coffee, aimed at espresso drinks is expected to be almost like that of magic when dialing in on the machine. The techinicality of its handcrafted mechanisms are the best platform to test the flavor profile of well-roasted, and loved coffee. So when the guys at LMZ brought up the idea of opening a cafe where various roasters whom use LMZ machines can come in to make their coffee for others to experience a well-designed and very special cup of coffee, it was set into motion. With this, it brings the whole point of this post as well as explanations for future posts...
Here in Seattle, Washington, in April of 2016, the first-ever Cafe and Showroom was opened to feature the machines and what they are capable of. Nowhere else in the world does this cafe exist...except a mile and a half away from my house. On a month-to-month basis, the cafe brings in a new roaster with their own set menu as to how they do it in their cafe, and in turn, teach the LMZ baristas all whom have history working in coffee how to serve the featured coffee. Since April of 2016, various specialty coffee shops have funneled in such as Intelligensia from San Francisco and Chicago, Stumptown and Heart, both of Portland, Oregon, Tim Wendelboe of Oslo, Norway, and Madcap from Detroit, Michigan, as well as over 20 others. Select menu items, various espresso drinks and pouring formats bring the coffee to light for consumers to delight in, all in a space second to none when it comes to coffee shops.
The other interesting component of the cafe is the overall space it occupies. In the shadow of the famous Space Needle and sharing a courtyard with the Key Arena Venue, an industrially-designed and comfortably furnished warehouse lays the ground for those who are keen on good tunes as well. KEXP, a world-class radio station as well as broadcasting studio for live music shares its headquarters with the coffee shop. KEXP has been Seattle's primary radio station for over 40 years, continually putting on various campaigns for local charities, as well as sponsoring local music festivals and competitions, the company station is a well-respected aspect of the Seattle community. So when the combination of an alternative and new-age radio station meets ever-rotating coffee preperation, the duo makes for an unstoppably enticing space. I must say, I go there just so I can hear new music to add to my KEXP Spotify playlist. But also to say add more first-rate coffee to my repertoire.
Each month, as the residencies rotate, I will be visiting, tasting, experiencing and then documenting said experience. It's something for this community to hopefully look forward to and learn about. The coffee industry is on the ground running as fast as it can. Here, with my words, I hope to offer a tiny bit more insight into this world. So, stay tuned, as I make my next post about the current roaster, Onyx Coffee, and in a few weeks, one about George Howell, the April resident.
Also, I would love to bring my friend and co-worker Sarah into my blog post each week. She is new to Steemit, just like me. She and I share a love for coffee, especially dabbling in the LMZ residency. She's one hell of a photographer, which is a main focus of her blog. We have hopes to tag team our blogs: she will have the photographs and I will provide the written accounts. Thanks so much for keeping up! We're going to aim high for quality of content and be supportive of everyone in this community.
-Kiersten :)