Aa Cafe Podcast

Mark and Brian reunite to taste and discuss the Hartmann Anaerobic Natural Gesha coffee. A phone call from archaeologist Paul Bowman gives some insight into 1950s Panama. And the episode concludes with 10 things that are not unhappy. You should make your own list.

Mark Brown returns to taste and talk about the Hartmann Gesha Zuto Natural. Aliss Hartmann tells a little about her family history and some about the coffee we're drinking. Mark and Brian struggle to put into words the experience of the Gesha with its food pairing, a fresh blueberry lemon bar. Find this coffee at www.DoubleShotCoffee.com

This is a special episode to talk all about our first holiday coffee of the year, Miramonte Sarchimor Natural. Guest-host, Huxley and I talk about the various aspects of this excellent coffee, and then I ring up Viviana Gurdian to have her tell us about growing up in coffee and what she and her father, Ricardo are doing now at Hacienda Miramonte. Buy this coffee while it lasts at DoubleShotCoffee.com

Paul Bowman returns to bring us from Paleolithic to Prehistoric in our search to understand man's early experience with caffeinated beverages. 

Paul Bowman is back, but this time he's not here to talk about the North American Wood Ape. Paul gives us an overview of archaeology and some important finds in Oklahoma.

This is a brief discussion about Brian's recent trip to Honduras, where he visited the Copan Ruins and cupped coffees in San Pedro Sula and Peña Blanca. 

The second half of the aacafe interview with Doug Zell. Doug is a great guy, very knowledgable, intelligent, and experienced. He is fun to chat with, and listening to him is insightful for those in the coffee industry as well as anyone interested in the life cycle of a successful business. His current projects include themeteorcafe.com and alliedcycleworks.com

The founder of Intelligentsia Coffee, Doug Zell came to town to race his bicycle in the Tulsa Tough crits. He was nice enough to sit down and tell Brian about his life and career. This is part one of two with Doug. Hear the story behind the founding and rise of Intelligentsia Coffee.

Mark and Brian sit down in the echo-chamber roastery that has been constructed on the Rookery site. Discussions about Philbrook Museum, the Specialty Coffee Association, and then an interview with Leslie Penrose, the founder of the Nicaraguan community development nonprofit, Just Hope.

DoubleShot Coffee Company is constructing a new building, and it's called The Rookery. Architect and Rookery designer, Joel Collins joins us in this episode to talk about the trials of putting up an old barn in the middle of the city, what this design means to the DoubleShot, and what the structure brings with it.

I just returned from Costa Rica, where I visited Ricardo Gurdian at Hacienda Miramonte, Minor at La Pastora, and my friends at La Minita. Jim tells us the state of the coffee at La Minita. Then I have a visit from my old friend, Tommy Wazelle. Tommy is an accomplished opera singer, and has returned to Tulsa for Tulsa Opera's performance of Strictly Gershwin. Tommy talks about his work and his experiences with DoubleShot Coffee. 

Happy holidays from Mark and Brian at AA Cafe, and everyone at the DoubleShot. This somewhat rambling episode never steers far from the course. Hear the top 8 holiday gifts from DoubleShot Coffee Company. Listen to very informative phone interviews with the producers of the Santa Clara Natural as well as the two Natural Geshas from Finca Hartmann in Panama. And the episode concludes with some introspection and a hopeful list of ten things.

What happens when you travel? When you step out of your comfort zone, where you have to turn off auto-pilot and figure out how to do everything? Brian talks about his latest trip to Colombia, scrambling to pick up the pieces when things don't go as planned. It's a discussion about people and bureaucracies and the quest to source great coffee.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled podcast to bring you a conversation with Paul Bowman, vice chairman of the North American Wood Ape Conservancy. Paul tells of his encounters with bigfoot while drinking DoubleShot Coffee. Mark and Brian explore literary and movie references to the mysterious beast. It's off the beaten path, but well worth exploring. Paul Bowman behind the mic wearing his shantung-style straw hat   Brian's pixelated iphone pic of Rocky Mountain sheep on the flanks of Mt. Shavano (14,229 feet)

Brian and Mark launch into a rambling conversation about things that are not as they seem. These are the questions that plague the honest coffee professional who has to try and debunk what people think they know about certain coffees. For more information about Kopi Luwak, read these: https://www.facebook.com/168827138418/photos/a.171652533418.120192.168827138418/171652538418/?type=3 http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/end-result-600-a-pound-coffee/ For more information about Bulletproof coffee, go here: http://gizmodo.com/bulletproof-coffee-debunking-the-hot-buttered-hype-1681321467

This episode is a departure from the usual coffee-centric banter. Brian interviews documentary filmmaker, Kyle Bell, a Creek Indian who grew up drinking coffee on the rez. Mark grew up in Tulsa, but didn't have any Indian friends until adulthood. Now, surrounded by the Native American people, Tulsa is developing a rich culture. Watch Kyle's films at vimeo.com/rayvisuals. Also in this episode, Brian announces that DoubleShot Coffee Company is moving. They are reconstructing an 1850's barn and creating a new coffee mecca in Tulsa. Stay up to date with construction progress and everything else going on at the DoubleShot at doubleshotcoffee.com.

Continuing the path to understand coffee brewing variables, Mark and Brian dig around the issue of pressure. Doctor Michael Royce explains the technical aspects of pressure and describes the importance of pressure in his occupation as an anesthesiologist. Relating that information back to coffee (and various other worldly matter), discussions ensue. Hints are dropped as to some big announcements.

Co-hosts Brian Franklin and Mark Brown continue their quest to understand each variable in coffee brewing. In this episode, they delve into the mysterious quality of freshness. Fresh-roasted coffee is what Brian built his business on. Dissecting the various nuances of freshness, the conversation takes many turns before defining freshness as it applies to coffee.

It's our special holiday episode. Mark and Brian talk about several new products at the DoubleShot, as well as the three special limited holiday coffees. And then launch into a long list of 10 things that give them contentment. Listen up. And make your own list. Happy holidays.

This episode of AA Cafe is a departure from our regular episodes. An employee and a customer of the DoubleShot tell stories about encounters with the paranormal. Hope you enjoy this fun little project. Happy Halloween.