Kristen was born and raised in beautiful California and doesn't understand why she ever left to go to school at Amherst College, where she studies Art History and French. She enjoys golf, eating food, taking pictures of food, cooking food, singing, painting, hanging out with friends, and maintaining her food blog (shameless plug: http://lehungryotter.wordpress.com). Her favorite food is Korean, and she often goes by the name of Kleeball.
Kristen Lee, Joyride Coffee
Hometown?
Los Altos, CA.
Alma Mater/Degree:
Amherst College, 2014. Art & the History of Art, French.
What's your first coffee-related memory?
I remember walking to the nearest Starbucks by myself and feeling really old, when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I think I ordered a Tazo Wildberry Tea – not a coffee, unfortunately.
How did you find Joyride Coffee? Why did you decide to work here? Are/were you a coffee drinker?
I had worked at an investment company and a PR company, and I wanted to try something different this summer. Having grown up in Silicon Valley, I wanted to try my luck at a start-up. I also wanted to be in New York, so I looked up "Top Start-Ups in NYC" and came across Joyride. It was also perfect because I wanted to learn more about the food and beverage industry.
Are you the type to sit down at a café and slowly sip a cup of coffee or do you usually grab n go?
I love just sitting and people watching at cafés. I think it's the perfect setting for a good conversation with a good friend or two.
Do you consider coffee a trendy drink?
I used to only drink coffee purely as a strong source of caffeine, but I'm slowly learning all of the nuanced tastes that come with different cups of coffee, and the differences between a good cup and a bad cup. It's just as delicate as wine is, and the wider public, including myself, seem to be learning that. With that in mind, good coffee is becoming a much more interesting and trendy product.
Pet Peeves?
Rude people. Entitlement. Dirty surroundings.
Interests?
Golf. Painting. Singing. Music. Food. Photography. Blogging. People.
Best Feature?
My general love for people.
Bad Habits?
I'm sensitive in every way.
Ideal Date?
Good dinner, good conversation, good bar for drinks, karaoke in K-Town.
Celebrity Crush?
Celebrity Crush(es): John Krasinski, Darren Criss, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Favorite Color?
Shades of blue and bright pink.
Favorite Movie?
Finding Neverland. Pan's Labyrinth. The Great Gatsby. Inglourious Basterds.
Favorite Music?
Pretty eclectic mix.
Favorite Book?
Harry...Potter...among others – The Alchemist. Just too many. I feel bad for asking everybody else these questions because they are impossible to answer without over-analyzing what the choices will say about you.
Favorite Cup of Coffee?
Turkish or Vietnamese Coffee.
Favorite Alcoholic Beverage?
Red wine. Mojitos. Mango Beer from Delirium Café in Brussels.
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage?
Tiger Spice Chai from Coupa Café, tea and coffee – le duh.
Team Profile: Anna Quincy
Anna, our wonderful Business Development Intern, is from sunny Melbourne, Florida, where she spent her days going to Disney World, watching shuttle launches, and bothering her parents. After realizing the sun exposure would lead to premature aging, she decided to go to Barnard College, where she currently studies economics and history. She is on the Columbia sailing team where she constantly pushes the limits of hypothermia and spends the rest of her time avoiding the winter. Fifty percent of her daily nutrition comes from popcorn, and her favorite coffee is the Stumptown’s Ethiopian single origin.
Anna Quincy Joyride Coffee
Hometown?
Cocoa Beach, FL.
Alma Mater/Degree:
Barnard, 2015. Economics.
What's your first coffee-related memory?
My parents are both avid coffee drinkers, and they always had a cup with breakfast.
How did you find Joyride Coffee? Why did you decide to work here? Are/were you a coffee drinker?
I wanted to do an internship at a small business, so I googled "NYC start-ups" and found Joyride. I thought the concept was great. I've also been an adamant coffee drinker since high school, so Joyride is a perfect fit.
Are you the type to sit down at a café and slowly sip a cup of coffee or do you usually grab n go?
I generally love hanging out in cafés, and during the school year, I usually do work there. (Shout out to the Joe's on Columbia's campus.)
Do you consider coffee a trendy drink?
Any ol' cup of coffee isn't really that special, but artisanal coffee from places like Stumptown can be pretty trendy.
Pet Peeves?
Not having gum. To say I have an addiction would be an understatement.
Interests?
Sailing, tennis, and watching movie trailers. (They're the best part of the movie.)
Best Feature?
There are simply too many to possibly choose one.
Bad Habits?
I am really messy. No matter how hard I try, the clutter seems to follow me wherever I go.
Celebrity Crush?
James Franco.
Favorite Color?
Periwinkle.
Favorite Movie?
Good Will Hunting.
Favorite Music?
Depends on the day.
Favorite Book?
Lolita. Is that creepy?
Favorite Cup of Coffee?
Cold Brew.
Favorite Alcoholic Beverage?
G&T's forever.
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage?
Obviously coffee.
Team Profile: Adam Belanich
Triple C Action: Counter Culture Office Coffee
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We are proud to add a new roaster to our all-star lineup of office coffees: Counter Culture Coffees! Counter Culture delivers directly from the farmers to give coffee lovers handcrafted goodness and "the most delicious and exciting coffees in the world." It also happens to be one of the "Big 3" Third Wave Coffee Roasters along with Stumptown and Intelligentsia. It's basically a huge deal. :)
By agreement with Counter Culture, we can only offer these great beans in five-pound bags, unground.
Espresso Toscano: Sweet dark-chocolate and buttery caramel
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Honduras Finca El Puente: Called in 2005 the “Purple Princess” this coffee has an astounding cup of lavander, grape and plum
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And Number 46: a European-style blend and crowd pleaser
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Counter Culture office coffee is also awesome because of their coffee education program called Counter Intelligence (the name is a little Counter intuitive - ha!). They have training centers in NYC, North Carolina, Atlanta, and D.C. to educate those who are interested in how to craft the tastiest coffee!! And considering over 54% of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee every morning, it wouldn't hurt to know how to make it well.
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So there's Counter Culture office coffee for you and hopefully it ends up on your counter!
What do you call a cow who's just given birth?
...De-calf-inated!
Joyriding WalkAboutNYC : Tech Edition
This year's WalkAboutNYC: Tech Edition is happening on May 17th and we'll be there.
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The lovely Joyrider's at Harvest have put together this event to give New Yorkers a chance to see cool people doing cool things. The renaissance in tech in New York, If you did the whole tour, you'd be able to find our machines in fifteen of the offices, so keep out a weather eye for quality coffee.
If you can make the kickoff, we'll be brewing there, so if you want a chance to talk, or have some question you want answered about coffee, come on by and say hi.
Registration (click here) just opened for the event, but slots go quickly so register soon!
P.S. Fill out the survey at the end of the event, and you'll be getting a little (but delicious) thank you from us here at Joyride.
Cafe Review: Gasoline Alley Coffee
Joyride has found good coffee in a beautiful space.
Gasoline Alley Coffee (331 Lafayette St New York, NY 10012) is a serious cafe, serving Intelligentsia beans on a La Marzocco. On my visit, Daniel, one of the old Joyride Truck baristas was showing his skills at latte art. I got a chance to discuss beans, cafes and coffee culture in New York with the owner (a serious biking fiend). The space itself is consists of a slice of the building, with massive windows facing onto Lafayette as well as Mulberry. In the spring and summer, both sides are opened up and the space gets an invigorating cross breeze. Other than well pulled shots (and those are hard enough to find) they also prepare a Japanese style cold-coffee as well as selling Mast Bros. chocolate. If I were in the area for a meeting, this would be my first choice for an espresso and even if I weren't it is worth a trip to see the clean, but elegant design work that went into the space.
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Gasoline Alley Coffee (1 of 5)
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Gasoline Alley Coffee (3 of 5)
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Gasoline Alley Coffee (2 of 5)
Daniel, used to be a Joyride Barista back when we still had the truck.
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Gasoline Alley Coffee (4 of 5)
The Gasoline Alley La Marzocco
In Short: Clean, minimalist space with a clean, minimalist menu. Both are very well executed.
The Year of Sulawesi: A Renaissance in Indonesian Coffee
Indonesian coffees have long been considered earthy, and frequently flawed. Not anymore thanks to the Toarco Company.
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Toarco Coffee (1 of 4)
This year, for the first time, I've had an Indonesia that I liked enough to purchase it for personal consumption. Our roasters agree. Blue Bottle, Stumptown and Intelligentsia have all released coffees from the Island Sulawesi, sourced by the Toarco Company of Japan. These coffees are sweet and bright in a way that I have never seen in an Indonesian coffee. For a long time these lots were snatched up by the Japanese market. This year, however, they've made their way to America and I'm damn happy they have. These coffees differ from traditional Indonesians in a number of ways, and well take a look at those differences.
The Toarco Company
This company has been operating on the island since 1976 and has a business model very reminiscent of Third-wave roasters. Indonesia's coffee crops are largely grown by small holders, owning on average only 1,200 trees. Because of this dispersion of control, quality is difficult to monitor and education difficult to disseminate. The Toarco company has created a model plantation, where they educate farmers on proper husbandry, picking, and processing of coffee. Farmers are welcome to come and learn how to properly operate their own farms more professionally, leading to fewer flaws in the resultant cup. To reward better practices, the company uses a strict pay-for-performance model, rewarding the most successful farmers with the highest prices. All the coffees purchased by the Toarco company are cupped three times during their evolution from cherry to green bean and are judged based on quality of cup, size of beans and number of defects. They will purchase coffee only from farmers and collectors who agree to adhere to their uniquely strict sourcing, picking and processing requirements.
The Terroir and Varietals
Coffee was first brought to Indonesia via India by the Dutch East India company in the early 1700s. Coffee was, at that time, a new and popular drink among wealth bourgeoisie and royalty, with prices as high as $300/lb (adjusted for inflation). The plants brought to Indonesia were of the Typica varietal and were from East African stock. These early plants are considered a 'noble' varietal, that is to say, they are damn tasty. Over time, most of these trees were replaced by Robusto and and the arabic hybrid Catimor - both of which have higher yields and are less susceptible to leaf rust (such as the rust that is currently ravaging Colombia). Unfortunately, they are also not as tasty. Due to the rural nature of Sulawesi, those changes never took place and thus, you can still find the original Typica, as well as another great varietal, S-795, all throughout the region. To help maintain these varietals, the Toarco company gives away free seedlings grown on its model estate, Pedamaran. In doing so they are ensuring that these lower yielding, but better tasting varietals continue to thrive in the face of the pressures of globalization and access to alternative, hardier trees.
The Processing
Most Indonesia coffees are processed using the wet-hull method: while the beans are still not fully dried, they are bought to market, where they are purchased, damp, by a middle man. Due to the difficulty of transportation and storage in rural and humid Sulawesi, the typical transportation to well established facilities that we see in Africa and Latin America is damn near impossible for these small-holding farmers. The Toarco company has mitigated this difficulty and in doing so allowed for a better, if more expensive processing system, by setting up rural coffee purchasing stations where the farmers can bring their crops. These are then aggregated and dried fully in their parchment before shipping out. The result is that most of the fruit-like brightness and acidity survives the processing in way that it can't survive wet-hull processing. This difference alone has a drastic impact on the cup, yielding notes that I've never had before in Indonesian coffees.
With an understanding of the background, lets take a look at the specific offerings. They come from slightly different lots but they are all syrupy, fruity and absolutely worth buying if you can get your hands on them.
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Toarco Coffee (2 of 4)
Intelligentsia Toarco Jaya Sulawsi Region- Tana Toraja Varietal- S-795 Elevation- 1600-1800masl Processing- Wet Processing Cup- Apple and pear with maple syrup make for a round and rich body balanced by toasted almond and dried cherry in the finish. Retail Price- $20/12oz
Joyride Coffee Distributors- Toarco Coffee (3 of 4)
Stumptown Indonesia Sulawesi Toarco Toraja Region- Toraja, Sulawesi Varietal- S-795, Typica Elevation- 1400-1800masl Processing- Washed Process Cup- Sweet and juicy notes of red currant and plum coat your palate in a cup with the taste and texture of molasses. Retail Price-$16.50/12oz
Blue Bottle Sulawesi Toarco Jaya
Blue Bottle Sulawesi Toarco Jaya Region- Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia Varietal- S-795/Jember, Typica Processing- Wet-processed Elevation- 1450-1600masl Cup- Huge, sweet body with much more complexity than your typical Indonesian Retail Price- $13.89/12oz
Having tried all three of these coffees, it is immediately apparent that they aren't from the same lot. Those small differences in elevation and origin have lead to three different, yet good cups. The blue bottle is full-bodied and juicy without leaning toward a muddled cup, while, on the other end of the spectrum, the intelligentsia is surprisingly nuanced for such a chewy cup. The Stumptown falls somewhere in the middle, but maintains an attractive sweetness. These coffees bring to mind some of the sweeter Ethiopians I've had, although their body is significantly fuller. This style of coffee is unlike any I've had before. If this is the direction Indonesian coffees production is moving, then I for one welcome the change.
Preferred Brew Method: These coffees make a killer cup that comes out as even fuller and richer when prepared on the french press.
