BEAN TOWN SHOWDOWN
After the 18th mochaccino, all sense of perspective is pretty much gone. We’re speaking, of course, of Seattle’s annual excursion into the badlands of caffeine beverages: Coffee Fest, where the big swingers of the java industry unveil huge, shiny, intimidating cappuccino makers from Germany and tempt innocent journalists with promises of bigger, better chai latte shakes for two whole days in November. This year, Seattle maintained its coffee clout among the international participants. In the Latte Art Competition, five of the 10 finalists were Washington state baristas. In addition, local joe merchants like Zoka, Espresso Vivace, and Caffe Vita made their presence known amid the deafening din and general sensory overload that is Coffee Fest. Employees from Dillanos Coffee Roasters spread the joy by treating passersby to free games of Skee-Ball. Needless to say, the Dillanos Skee-Ball lanes quickly became the hangout for chatty coffee impresarios.
The famous jumpin’ bean and its usual companions (biscotti, etc.) dominated the show, but there was plenty of room for other trendy drinks to claim some floor space. Non-java attractions included: Kombucha Wonder Drink, a naturally fermented soda with a vinegary flavor; Guayak�erba Mat鬠that life-giving rain-forest brew revered by hippies the world over; bubble tea, the tapioca-powered wonder punch whose newest taste sensation, taro, resembles a smoky French vanilla; and eggnog, which is threatening to become the inescapable flavor of the new millennium.
Of course, no coffee trade show would be complete without radical inventions designed to make your java-slurping experience more Zen. To this end, a company from California has designed cup clamps that can be attached to the standard to-go cup, thus saving customers from superfluous hand heat. Walking from aisle to aisle to the faintly melodic strains of “Sippin’ Tunes,” a compilation of light jazz designed to meet the serenity needs of jittery coffeehouse regulars, one felt positively aglow with new appreciation for the untamed world of hot and cold beverages. Try it yourself: The next time you sidle into your local java establishment, take a little time to contemplate the amount of graphic design and marketing that went into the menu that hovers, like a watchful deity, above the counter. And ask yourself this question: Would I have a life without coffee? Would that life be anything at all?
THE ICE WAS RIGHT
Those frigid October nights were good for something.The mercury dipped below 14 degrees in Eastern Washington on Halloween night, making conditions right for prized ice wine. The crew at Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Horse Heaven Vineyard worked through the night to pick the frozen riesling grapes and spent another 18 hours pressing the freeze-sweetened juice out of them. This is only the third time (1995 and 1978 were one and two) that conditions have allowed Chateau Ste. Michelle to produce ice wine, a treat that’s much more common in colder Canada, Germany, and Austria. Also look for ice wines from other Eastern Washington makers who were watching the thermometer.
Food and/or beverage news? E-mail Hot Dish at food@seattleweekly.com
