The powers-that-be at Handsome Coffee wanted to chronicle my journey as a new barista, but the imminent opening of our coffee bar has them busy roasting coffee, pulling permits, and traveling the world on global coffee odysseys. 

So I suppose I can try to introduce myself…

My start in coffee has been unusually lucky; my first cupping was with Chris Owens, I learned pour over from Tyler Wells, and pulled my first shots with Michael Phillips. Within a few weeks, I had gotten to play with tons of amazing coffee on equipment that I had only dreamed of using. I’ve had the opportunity to make coffee with the 2011 World Barista Champion Alejandro Mendez, pour with Nicely (the 2011 Coffee Fest Latte Art champ), and meet a number of the trade’s most prominent professionals.

My beginnings may not seem humble, but they’ve certainly been humbling. The amount of talent, knowledge, and experience within the Handsome walls is both exciting and intimidating. I am truly fortunate and humbled to start my career with such an incredible group of coffee professionals, and glad to call the Handsome guys my friends.

I’ll be posting more as my journey in coffee continues so feel free to follow along and ask questions.  You can also follow my short form rantings on twitter at @twofistedangelo

Preheated Mug: A sign of good things to come

CHICAGO — A couple months back, a man named Steve Kim, of 8th Light, reached out to us about buying our coffee. Being in our test group wasn’t enough, though. He wanted coffee to share for his entire office. So we sent 5 lbs. And they drank it. And they loved it. And they ordered 5 lbs. more. And again.

Our craft of coffee roasting is helping them with their craft of software design. And frankly, we were inspired by 8th Light’s support and energy. The company has an open door policy on Fridays, so you can even stop by if you’d like. What a great place. We’ve since adopted a similar policy. So stop by our shop anytime during a weekday morning and we’ll chat about what we’re up to over a cup.

Steve was good enough to write up a blog post about our coffee an its importance to what they do in the office. Read up when you can: http://blog.8thlight.com/steve-kim/2011/09/12/crafting-coffee.html 

—HCR

LOS ANGELES — Howdy, folks. The day has come to offer our coffees to the big, wide world. Thanks in no small part to our First Forty and Second Fifty of the Handsome Wager, we know our coffees are tasting great. That helped us win friends and led to our first wholesale partners. So now we’ve got the wind at our backs and a roasting operation underway. Time to let the public inside…but thanks to all this support, we can do it proudly and with confidence in what we’re offering.

You can’t just launch something like this alone, so, again…to those who believed in us early, you helped us get to this point. Lots more exciting stuff coming in the next few weeks, but HandsomeCoffee.com is a big milestone for us all. Thanks for helping us reach it.

Onto the nuts and bolts of the site. A few points of interest:

+We are offering a “Featured Coffee” at all times. We’ll pick whatever is tasting great and get it your way pronto. Just click the brown box in the bottom left of the homepage and tell us how much you want.

+Coffees are categorized into “Comfort” and “Adventure”. We put a lot of thought into how to help customers pick a coffee they like. Generally, we think these two words capture a nice line of delineation for our offerings. Take a minute and read the explanations at the top of the shop page and let us know what you think!

+Shipping is $4 total, no matter how much you buy. Whether you buy 1 bag or 100, we will only charge you $4. Makes it simpler for everyone, really. And you and a pal can team up, buy two at once and exchange at the office. We haven’t worked out international shipping we like yet. Any suggestions welcome.

+Our philosophy is to make exceptional coffee and be nice. This is the stuff we talk about at lunch. We really want people to drink great coffee. And we’ll do anything to help that happen. We are always open to feedback, insights and friendliness, so please don’t be strangers. Hit us up on any of our social channels, email (handsome@handsomecoffee.com) or on the phone. Our contact info is on the site for all to enjoy.

Buy a bag, brew it up, let us know what you think. Thanks again for everything!

—Tyler, Michael and Chris