Spreading jam on your bagel constitutes most of a barista's contact with the sticky substance, except for a couple of weekends each year when the Kaldi's staff gathers for a different type of jam. A little over a week ago, our staff of coffee enthusiasts congregated at our roasting & training facility for our semi-annual staff Barista Jam. A barista jam is an opportunity for coffee lovers to step out of the café and examine our favorite beverage through a more scientific or global lens.


This summer's jam, Let it Flow, centered on espresso and its complexity. Workshops addressed everything from the guts of espresso machines to the craft of roasting espresso blends. Baristas from all of our stores sipped their way through six different espressos in a class led by USBC Certified Judge Frank McGinty and Kaldi's Roaster Jeff Shafer that compared taste notes of espresso to a table full of dried fruit, molasses and nuts. To finish the jam in style, our baristas competed against each other in a die-hard latte art competition. After the last drop of milk had left the carton, Alex Frankel (Downtown Clayton @ the Crescent) claimed the top prize of dinner at Araka and a Chemex brewer.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the jam was announcing a new espresso blend. A few prototype batches were roasted and distributed to the cafes for sampling. Look for a brand new espresso blend (yet to be named) from Kaldi's in August!

The next barista jam, slated for late summer or early fall, will be open to all of our wholesale and retail customers, as well as any regional coffee lover or barista.


Above right, Alex Frankel pours his winning latte art.