#kickapoo coffee

Probat Tribute (more photos)

Here is my tribute post to Probat coffee roasting machines, on which some of the best coffee I have ever had has been roasted. From the many coffee roasters in Central Europe I saw using them, to some of my favorites in the Southwest and Wisconsin. From the to the oldest vintage Probat I have ever seen at Kickapoo Coffee, to the newest machines at Luna Coffee Roasters and Coffeeville, and the in-between Probats at Ritual Coffee Roasters, Ruby Colorful Coffee, and JBC Coffee. I also offer this post as a tribute to the Probat roasters I have yet to see as I explore the 3rd-Wave of coffee, like the one at Kin Kin Coffee in Madison.

In coffee specialty coffee industry, I have often heard Probats referred to as a fine piece of German engineering, the Mercedes-Benz of coffee roasting machines.

Public Cupping @ Kickapoo Coffee Roastery (more photos)

Was able to attend the 01/19/17 public cupping at Kickapoo Coffee Roastery in Viroque, Wisconsin. The event started out with a nice introduction to coffee, which included emphasis on Kickapoo’s core values of sourcing high quality fair trade and organic coffee. This presentation was followed by a tour of the roasting area which houses their vintage 1930s Probat coffee roasting machine, as well as their green coffee climate controlled storage area and innovative silo system. The event ended with an introduction to cupping, where nice samples of Kickapoo’s coffees were presented.

Over 30 people turned out, from as far away as Minneapolis and Milwaukee, all of which seemed highly interested in learning more about coffee and had a great love for Kickapoo Coffee.

Although I have been to a number of similar public cupping and educational events, I was impressed with the breath of information shared, as well as the passion for coffee of the presenters. It seemed to me that these are people who are more than just good at their job, but actually love coffee and care about their craft. I was also impressed with the number of questions asked by those attending, as well as the depth of their questions.

What was most exciting to hear about at this public cupping, was Kickapoo’s plans to install a second vintage Probat roaster and the progress on opening their coffeehouse in Viraqua. Hope to be able to make another trip up in April to blog about both of these major developments for Kickapoo.

SO-Espressos and SO-Americanos in Wisconsin

No other brewing method draws out more of the nuanced flavor from high quality Single Origins than the SO-Espresso and single and double shot 8oz Americanos (see Espresso Types). When properly temperature and pressure profiled on a quality espresso machine like a LM Strada MP or EP, Slayer, Synesso, or Modbar the flavor extraction an SO-Espresso is simply amazing.

Espresso can be a strong venue to present a great single-origin coffee, because the concentrated extraction highlights its attributes, emphasizing the lemon acidity and salty tomato notes of a Kenyan or highlighting the balance and chocolate of a good Guatemalan. - Fresh Cup

Yet in Wisconsin they are still a rarity on the coffeehouse drink menus, as most only offer traditional darker roasted espresso blends. To make things even worse, the Espresso and Americano are often obscured on the coffeehouse drink menus, hidden behind the overwhelming among of batch brewed,milk and flavor drinks. Rather than having true espresso bars, its seems like there are more dessert drink bars.

Never the less there are a few places that are breaking out of the chain coffeehouse model and offering some amazing SO-Espressos and SO-Americanos. They are either using their own Omni Roasted single origins or pulling their shots with Kickapoo Coffee, Ruby Colorful Coffee, or coffee roasted out of state. My hope is that in time we start to see more coffeehouses like these, as well as more than one option for SO-Espresso on the drink menus.

Known places in Wisconsin offering lighter and brighter SO-Espresso and SO-Americano:

Milwaukee

Kickapoo Coffeehouse in the 3rd-Ward neighborhood

Alderaan Coffee in the Lower Eastside neighborhood

Madison

5th Element Coffee in the Regent neighborhood

Sí Café in the Capital neighborhood

Bradbury‘s Coffee in the Capital neighborhood

Johnson’s Public House in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood

Kin Kin Coffee Stand in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood 

Appleton and Green Bay Area

TImshel Cafe in Neenah

Kickapoo Cafe - Viroqua (more photos)

Tostador Organico Hoody - Kickapoo Coffee Roaster

Kickapoo Coffee - Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Coffee Festival 2016 - Urban Ecology Center (more photos)

Was able to attend for the first time the Milwaukee Coffee Festival this year. It was held at the Urban Ecology Center, which was packed out for this event in terms of the floor space for the vendors and in terms of the people attending. 

It was good to see some of the bigger names the Wisconsin specialty coffee market there, like Kickapoo Coffee, Colectivo Coffee, Anodyne Coffee, and Fiddleheads Coffee, as well as relative new comers like Valentine Coffee, Kin Kin Coffee, and Just Coffee. There were also two coffee roasters at the coffee fest that have just recently opened, Coffeeville Company from Jackson and Pilcrow Coffee Roasters from Milwaukee.

There were three classes offered during the event and each of them seemed to be well attended. I was able to step in on Elements for Brewing Coffee that TJ from Pendulum Coffee was teaching and could feel a high level of interest in those attending, based on the questions they were asking. It was clear that TJ is passionate and knowledgeable about coffee, so good to see him in action finally.

The best of show, in my opinion, was Kin Kin Coffee from Madison, who brought with them a single group Slayer Espresso machine, offering some amazing espresso bar drinks. Kickapoo Coffee offered the best coffee education at their booth and Pilcrow and Torke were representing the cutting edge by offering offering nitro infused coffee at their booths.

Multi-Roaster Coffeehouses

Although common in other parts of the country, the practice of coffeehouses brewing roasts and selling whole-beans from multiple coffee roasters is still rarely practiced in Wisconsin. The advantage is that the coffeehouse is able to offer the best of the best from their area or from around the country. many choice a primary roaster to work with and rotate in beans from other roasters.

Most multi-roaster coffeehouses also practice hosting “guest-roasters”, which is a limit time feature on a roaster that is not normally offers. Some multi-roaster coffeehouses also roast a percentage of their menu from their own roasting  company. 

While doing my Southwest Coffee-Culture Project we saw many 3rd-Wave coffeehouse engaging in multi-roaster practices. As a customer, this gave me the change to try a wide range of coffees from different area roasters in one setting. This allowed to better compare and contrast what we were tasting.

Here is my SHOUT-OUT to the Wisconsin coffeehouses, that I know, that are engaging in offering coffee from multiple coffee roasters.

Alderaan Coffee - Milwaukee

5th Element Coffee - Madison

Johnson Public House - Madison

Bradburys Coffee - Madison