Always with our ears to the ground...
- From the rumor mill... Word has "on the street" in Capitol Hill that the old "Antiques on the Hill" space a couple of blocks north on 7th St SE from murky capitol hill will be occupied by a coffeehouse chain that's looking to expand in the area. No, not Starbucks, Caribou, Cosi, or any of the 'usual suspects.' Stay tuned.
FYI... our take on it: "The more the merrier!"- From "
Washington Business Journal," July 15, 2005: "... The new Navy League building is introducing four restaurants to Arlington's Courthouse neighborhood. Coming soon: Five Guys, Sala Thai, Robeks smoothie and juice bar and Fire Cree, a casual eatery.
Oh crap... Five Guys? There goes my girlish figure!- The
U.S. Barista Championship committee has approved the first ever
Mid Atlantic Regional Barista Competition for 2006, and murky coffee has the honor of being named the host. It will take place during late February 2006 in Washington, DC at a location to be announced. For your information, the 2006 US Barista Championship will take place at the SCAA Conference in Charlotte, NC in April 2006, and the
World Barista Championship will be in Bern, Switzerland a month or two later. Many of the murky coffee crew have had the privilege of participating in these competitions as competitors, judges, and volunteers. So though DC might not be getting the Olympics any time soon, we can look forward to what many are calling 'The Olympics of coffee!'
- Speaking of competitions, we're putting together our 2005-2006 barista competition team together as we speak, and in a couple of weeks, we will have our in-house barista competition, with baristas from both shops vying for a chance to compete in the
South East Regional Barista Competition, hosted by Counter Culture Coffee, to take place in Chapel Hill, NC in September. We'll be sending a team of two. Talk to your barista and ask them if they're competing. Our in-house will take place at murky coffee capitol hill, and yes, we will welcome spectators. Saturday, July 30th, at 7:00pm.
- It's intended for coffee professionals, but feel free to check out
portafilter.net. It's a group-blog from an 'all-star team' of coffee professionals from around the country, and includes a weekly-ish podcast.
- In case there are any folks who are reading this who are thinking about, or planning to, or already have opened a coffee shop, ESPECIALLY in the DC area, feel free to send us an
email or give us a call! murky coffee is all about improving coffee quality anywhere it can, but we're about community first. We'd love to get to know our colleagues around the area better!
- If you haven't RSVP'ed yet, there are still some spots open for our "
D.C. GeekFest IV - Espresso Tasting XXtravaganzza Part Deux" event, taking place this Sunday (the 17th) at 7:30 PM at murky arlington. Scroll down to the
July 8 post to read more!
- Finally, please vote for us on
WashingtonPost.com's Best Bets 2005! Especially if you're a guest who
uses our wi-fi, what better way to show how much you appreciate what we provide you than to go over there and cast your vote for us? Even if you don't use the wi-fi, we have a really good shot at winning this year, but only if we have your support. Thanks!!!
