– by Steve Sheppard –
Spring and summer are the time of year when things change and become alive once again. The same can be said for the coffee industry at the largest annual Specialty Coffee Association of America show in Seattle this past April. The SCAA show brings companies from all over to the world to talk, show, taste, compare, and unveil new inventions from different sectors of the coffee industry. This year was particularly interesting as coffee is being pushed to new heights, specifically in terms of brewing. A few years ago ‘pour-over’ coffee became fashionable once again, using an invention that was brought to market over 100 years ago by Melitta Bentz. The variations on this well-known theme has some shops offering multiple choices every day.
This years’ show had three significant inventions that I personally think will revolutionize the coffee industry: 1) The Little Guy Stove Top coffee maker 2) BKON Brew, vacuum infusion 3) Cold Brew Coffee.
1) The Little Guy Stove-Top espresso machine takes the age old Italian stove-top espresso maker to a whole new level. This little unit makes incredible foam, which is usually the weakness in most home espresso units, unless of course you’re spending over $1500.
https://www.thelittleguy.info/.
2) BKON Brew was a real eye-opener at the show as this device is the reverse idea of a French Press in how it brews and extracts coffee. BKON Brew will change the way coffee bars brew coffee and Tea in the future. Brewing under vacuum brings a lot to the loose leaf tea aspect of the coffee house, which is currently under-served in most cafés that I go to.
http://bkonbrew.com/coffee/
3) Cold Brew Coffee – This is going to be a ‘MASSIVE’ place for new innovation over the next few years. Coffee is such a celebrated beverage and some of the companies in the U.S. are looking to treat it like beer. One very worthy invention produced coffee that looked ‘exactly’ like Guinness, and in my humble opinion, tasted even better. The coffee was like a creamy cold glass of coffee and chocolate wrapped up in one experience.
http://joetap.com/home/
Many of the inventions will take years to make it to Canada, which is a reality none the less. I did see a few of the local roasters from Victoria down there, so perhaps there’s hope that some of the cool concepts, like the creamy cold brew, makes it here sooner than later … Steve out.
