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“Cup cup cup cup cup cup cup…”

Does anyone remember that line from the Sleeping Beauty? The fairy godmothers, or whatever they are, were making a cake in full on human form. The cake turned into a horrific mess, and they all squabbled with their magic wands.

Trevor, Knapp, and I cupped samples the other night- searching for the foundational offerings of MadCap.
Ryan was stoked to play on one of our new grinders, and Trevor adoringly surveyed a recently arrived knock box. I was clutching the naked portafilter- anticipating the unified crema to come. In short, we all need to get behind a bar pronto.

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Coffee Field Trip to Chi’ Town

Naomi needed to get back from Bourbonnais, IL and the MadCap team needed to check out some great shops for inspiration in their pursuit to find a perfect shop layout/design. The result: A field trip to Chicago to “pick Naomi up” (honestly, an excuse to do research and get great espresso for the first time in weeks). Here’s a quick review of our coffee shop visits.

Intelligentsia — Randolph
We started the day at the Randolph Intelli where we got what ended up ranking as the best capps of the day, thanks to Deanna. We then passed a cup of Edelweiss Finagro Estate Tanzania brewed on Clover, which was a beautiful cup. Very clean with a nice sweet tart-like cherry flavor at the end. We all agree Randolph location is too sterile and commercial looking for our taste. It almost feels like a cool Starbucks with better colors. However we understand and respect that it is a fitting atmosphere for the surrounding area.

Before leaving, we bumped into the owner, Doug Zell. We talked a bit and he convinced us we needed to stick around as he was being interviewed by Fox local news. Intelligentsia recently decided to nix all 20oz drinks and only offer the “true” cappuccinos (6.5oz). Although this news excites us, evidently it pisses off a great number of Chicagoans so much that it made the Tribune and is going to be on Fox. After a short interview with the cameramen and encouragement from Doug we were on our way.

Coffee Studio
After lunch, the Coffee Studio was our next stop. The shop recently opened on the north side where the owner Lee greeted us kindly. Out of all coffee bars I’ve seen in Chicago, I am most impressed with the Studio’s design inside and out…all around, it’s beautiful. The bar’s finest touch is the 3-group Synesso, a rare machine here in the Midwest, yet quite the looker. All of our drinks were good (they’re serving Intelligentsia), as we were able to draw ideas from the space.

Metropolis
Metropolis welcomed us with the lovely fragerance of coffee being roasted on site. We got espressos, which was definitely Trevor’s favorite beverage of the day. The Redline espresso captured strong berry notes, with sweetness throughout, and a presentation of reddish dark crema. As the ‘spro was great and it was fun to peak in at Tony roasting on the Diedrich, we didn’t care too much for the atmosphere. The space was very eclectic, crammed and sporting different colored walls with random furniture. As this is comfort for some, especially if you dig the Bohemian feel, it didn’t seem to hit home for us.

Intelligentsia – Broadway

Broadway Street was our last stop of the day. Trevor and Naomi got caps that were just ok and I finished off with an espresso that I was quite pleased with. We enjoyed the feel, which seemed comfortable; It wasn’t too sterile looking like Randolph, yet not too messy/eclectic like Metropolis. On our way back to the vehicle we randomly bumped into reigning GLBC champ Mike Phillips. We chatted for a bit and called it a day.

Final Thoughts
Each shop had something great to teach us as we take things forward on our layout and design. It’s exciting compiling all the great things we’ve seen while adding our peronal touches for a shop we can call our own. We are close to closing on a location…I think. When it’s finalized we’ll report. Also, the Diedrich IR-12 is being built…ah yeah!

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Location?

Who needs a location when you have good coffee. Ok, I guess we need somewhere to put the roaster.

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El Salvador COE

El Salvador Cup of Excellence Lot #18 El Porvenir will be available early August. Delicate aroma, very clean, floral notes, sweet and elegant. Full list of coffees coming soon.

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Turtle Necks…Yeah!

We’ve decided to post a MadCap family photo in the shop sporting turtle necks. Look out.

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Keeping up with the Joneses

As we work on things for the shop, it is obvious that we need a work space to accomplish as much. Coffee shops present themselves the most natural of options, yet we’ve found a fair amount of discomfort in this. It isn’t their fault by any means, but rather the nature of our activity. After about a week or so of being here, we have begun the coffee shop rotation schedule; frequenting any given shop without ample rest will only incur poor sentiments from the owners. We don’t heckle or judge….really. As we sit and converse on our shops’ standards, equipment, and intentions, we unfortunately highlight the inadequacies of the shops we’ve visited. Were you to remark on our pretension, I would only direct your attention to the milk encrusted steam wands, watery espresso shots, and 20 oz. cappuccinos that hail from the local shops. We chose to live, and then learn, though. We speak in hushed tones now, and we compliment the ambience and communal function of the shops.

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Dork

I feel great about being called a dork because of my obsession with coffee. No seriously, it feels great!

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Memory of a Goldfish

Most apparently, I am not the best at maintaining this blog, but I shall commit to frequent updates now that things are being set into motion. A fair share of the excitement may not yet be disclosed, but I’ll share whenever possible. For fear of being an abhorrent apologist, I’ll get on with it.
Knapp and I arrived in Grand Rapids about five o’clock in the morning on Saturday, and we’ve been busy since then. We were invited by Imagerie Gallery and Rowster Coffee to set up an espresso bar at the LocalFirst block party on Saturday night. [LocalFirst is a bit of coalition, really. It encourages local sustainability and consumption. In short, a brilliant population of foodies] It was wonderful to begin our acquaintance with the Grand Rapids community. We were pleased to introduce Third Wave coffee to the city as we attempted to explain the presented latte art.
Grand Rapids is really a great place for us to be right now. The city is intentionally committed to developing itself culturally and economically, and it is most apparent. Specialty shops, eclectic restaurants, community centers, and arenas of every sort are popping up throughout the varying neighborhoods, and we have no qualms in joining them.
We have a few meetings tomorrow, bits and pieces to sort out, and, of course, machines to play around on. I’m ecstatically relieved that my skills don’t blow after the two month absence. Not to say that development isn’t welcomed, but I can still hold my own.
Things are still quite organic at this point, but I do promise to account when I am able. Friends, comrades, foes, if you need us, we shall be tottering around Grand Rapids sorting out this/these shops.

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The End of the Beginning…

[ Cue “Show Me What You Got” Single] It is my sincere pleasure to introduce you to our endeavor. Considering our lack of acquaintance, we will need to run through a lot, so bear with me. We’ll hit up the personalities of this effort soon enough, but I’ll lay down the primary details first. We have loved our Moon Monkey Coffee Shop. She has served us well as she fostered the development of our skills. What can we say, though? It’s time to grow up. We are growing up and out. Ladies and Gentlemen, competition, and downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, we are packing up our passion, skills, and sarcasm to bring you an exceptional coffee experience in the form of MadCap Coffee Company [ and Bad Ass Roastery]. With confidence akin to that of our friend, Jay Z, I may say that we will own it. Opening day lattes and capps will be marked with tulips and triples, as will be the standard everyday thereon out. We want you to vicariously live through us as we build this shop from the ground up. We are fusing our life into coffee for the sake of its perfection. We believe in the personal, communal, and global purpose of coffee; our joy comes from sharing it with others.

Without any further deliberation, I’d love to introduce you to the [soon to be] faces of MadCap Coffee Company.
-We will obviously begin with Trevor Corlett. Owner, barista, and Godfather- this man is why we are all here. With eight years of coffee industry experience, our boi has the coffee and entrepreneurial skills to show. He taught himself everything about the business from roasting to machine maintenance. His managerial skills have been compared to those of Empire Records [needless note: Trevor possesses an nonsensical amount of 1990‘s movie trivia in his skull] , nonetheless his commitment to coffee and its application have guided us down the caffeine trodden path of coffee culture. A.k.a. If our lives flop, we are holding him liable. This weekend, he will be competing in National’s with Ryan Knapp. You can identify him by the seemingly impenetrable watch he always wears. Titanium alloy, perhaps…
-Ryan Knapp is the right hand man. His job description encompasses roasting, training, and dominating the bar. Ryan has only had this love affair for about a year and a half, but his potential is unrivaled. Trevor passed off roasting to Ryan last year, and he has thrown his heart into every roast since. Ryan is serious about coffee, and to his credit, he won’t let us forget it. He is always reading, researching, and blogging about how he may further the quality of our product. He will be competing along with Trevor this weekend at National’s, and he may be spotted by his illustriously authoritative beard.
-Laura Feldman has, up to this point, been the secret shift leader. A promotion is underway, so I will update you with her official function. Off the record, Laura is quite the mediating factor in this whole equation. She is calm and cool like no other, and she holds more than her own (could that be an expression?) behind the bar. She has been, and will continue to be, proactive in addressing environmental and sustainability issues within the community. Laura has a unique contribution to MadCap’s story. Through credit manipulation and hard work, this girl is graduating a year early to move to Grand Rapids and start the shop. Laura may be found if you follow an incessant complaint about the weather. Our Cali girl isn’t too fond of snow, wind, or drizzles. It’s a good thing she’s moving to Michigan.
-As for myself, self-description is never any fun. I will cordially introduce myself as Naomi, and leave it at that for now. I have the authority to do that. I am the one writing.

Please, stay in touch, friends. This is going to be a brilliant chain of events, and we want you there from beginning to end. Speak soon!
Naomi

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CAFE HOURS

Mon – Fri: 7am – 7pm

Saturday: 8am – 7pm

Sunday: Closed

Contact

98 Monroe Ctr NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

info at madcapcoffee.com

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