October 2024. Road Trip Notes.
I just returned home to Japan from a whirlwind trip, starting in San Francisco and finishing at our new WW warehouse and tech facility in beautiful Golden, Colorado. While in SF I was lucky to connect with the great folks at Kaizen and Coffee, The Coffee Movement SF, and Four Barrel to chat about grinders, BIRDs, Unibaskets, Moonrakers, shakers, and coffee life in general in the city that I called home for so many years.
Fast forward one week, and the Sprinter van was loaded with old project motorcycles and 10-year-old EG-1 prototypes, headed for a stopover visit with grandpa and a swim in frigid Lake Tahoe waters. Driving from Tahoe to SLC in a day with an antsy 7yo boy may be ambitious, but the look on his face when we entered the Bonneville salt flats made it all worth it. “Dad, I can lick the ground!”
Next I found myself at an unlikely Mecca of coffee and good vibes in SLC at Holy Water SLC. What a place! The café buildout, the incredibly friendly and knowledgable owners and staff, and the great community of coffee-loving people that they have helped create. Thank you!
One must not travel from SLC to the Denver area without stopping in Moab, so stop in Moab we did. And if your travels ever take you betwixt these two cities, make sure you take the scenic highway 128. Next time we’re packing a tent and staying the night at one of the campsites right alongside the Colorado river. Breathtaking scenery like this is one of the things I miss most about life in the USA.
After arriving in Golden, we hosted our first get together for the Denver coffee community. We were lucky to time the event such that a few noteworthy producers could also join. With such a knowledgable and enthusiastic coffee community in the immediate surroundings, our choice of making Golden CO our USA base was clearly the right one. Big thanks to Mob Coffee Denver, Odyssey Espresso, XBloom Coffee, Prodigal Coffee, Project Hachi, Matheus Antonaci, and everyone else we missed for joining us. There will be many more to come! Just be careful- our warehouse is fantastic not just for stocking and repairing WW products, but it makes for a wicked nerf gun battle venue. If anyone gets a nerf dart delivered with their EG-1, you now know why!
The trip to Golden also fortuitously coincided with a concert by our good friends The Airborne Toxic Event. Steven, the lead guitarist, has been my closest friend for over 30 years. Who would’ve guessed that the two middle schoolers at tennis camp would end up as a coffee machine inventor and a rock star? Airborne always puts on a great show — if you’re not familiar with the music, look them up on Spotify and you won’t be disappointed. Pairs well with a washed Ethiopian pink bourbon, drunken black straight from the BIRD pot, no cup.
While on the topic of Denver, another shoutout and thanks to the great gentlemen at Servant Coffee Roasters in Denver. Turned out to be a win-win trade of an EG-1 for an electric forklift. Their internal coffee game, together with the pallets going in and out of our warehouse, all elevated together. Getting that thing into the back of a U-haul trailer behind Andrew's pickup was an engineering feat of its own, and a job well done.
With a timely return to Japan, we got to stop by in Tokyo for the end of the SCAJ Barista Competition, where we were the proud Gold Sponsor for coffee accessories. Big congrats to @hiroki_ito_ of @sarutahikocoffee for becoming the 2024 Japan champ — in addition to the huge trophy, he also bagged a BIRD brewer as a prize!
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably in need of a coffee break. I sure am. I’m lucky enough to have a stash of Pepe's @fincasoledadintag roasted by none other than master Ben himself Manhattan Coffee Roasters arriving today, just in time to drink together with Pepe himself. What could be better?
Cheers,
Douglas
