Some coffee shops are cozy places, and some are not. This guy I know called Jay uses the phrase laboratory coffee and that term fits the Olympia Coffee Roasting Companies storefront on Cherry St, Olympia to a tee. Now please don’t get me wrong here. It’s a beautiful space; It’s open, well lit, exceptionally clean, with very pleasing architectural lines. To use an overused phrase… it’s very ‘Zen like’. Maybe too Zen like for comfort. Personally I think you can achieve that aesthetic, without being so sterile and ascetic.
But let’s talk a bit about the coffee itself. I wouldn’t say genius… but it’s pretty darn good. Unlike some establishments you can pretty much only get traditional coffees here. Espresso, Cappuccino, and pour-over. No carafe drip, or frou frou. So be prepared to wait for your coffee. There is though, something they have which is pretty neat but a bit disconcerting at the same time. That something is a robot pour-over stand. I suppose it makes sense from a time viewpoint, and it’s really interesting from a technology perspective, but it sort of detracts from the ‘hand-crafted’ aspect of traditional pour-over.
The Poursteady
Maybe offsetting that is the fact that they grind your beans on a per cup basis, so it’s always fresh ground seconds before the water hits it. Typically there are four or five daily offerings. One very nice thing is that they roast on site. I believe they currently use a Diedrich IR-12, and are in the process of setting up a vintage Gothot. They roast on a daily basis so you are always going to be getting stuff that is only a day or two removed from the roaster.
The finished product
They really get deep into the science of the roast, concentrating on sugar. They very slowly build up to the initial crack allowing the sugar molecules to stretch throughout the entire bean; and once there they rapidly build to their target temperature. The result is very acidic with a lot of sweetness, while retaining as much of the inherent notes of that particular coffee as possible.
They also pay meticulous and almost fanatical attention to the sources of the coffee. So to this end they source at the origin. Dealing with the farmers directly. Ensuring that only beans that are perfectly ripe are picked, and that they are dried fully before shipment are just two of the things they work on with their farmers. Roughly 70% of their offerings are also certified organic. There of course is a cost associated with all of this so they are willing to pay over fair-trade prices for their coffee. Which of course you must be willing to accept as well, if you want to partake of some of this amazing brew.
Poursteady Information
The robot controls the volume of water in each pour with a feedback loop from a flow meter to ensure highly consistent cups of coffee. Water is maintained at an optimal temperature (approximately 202 degrees Fahrenheit) in an under-counter tank via a PID controller. The motions of the two motors is coordinated through software allowing for both the translation of the nozzle between the various filter locations and the assignment of arbitrary pouring patterns at each of those locations–including spirals, zig-zags, hearts, and stars. Statistical data on timing and number of cups of coffee made is collected, stored on board, and uploaded to the cloud.
In the future, Poursteady will integrate Bluetooth Low-Energy protocols for point-to-point wireless communications between operators, customers, and the machine. They also plan to develop iPhone- and Android- native apps for both users and operators to take advantage of these technologies, enhance user experiences, and limit the need for Wi-Fi connectivity. Holy Jetsons Batman…