COFFEE | Archive by category 'DOGWOOD ESPRESSO'
The I-IV-V progression in music forms a basis for the blues. One can play the progression, even create some variations, and call it the blues. The progression, or one’s use of it, does not make that person a blues player. I should know – I have spent the past 25 years working blues progressions, notes, and riffs into my own guitar playing and still have yet to feel adequate enough to perform. As much as I admire and listen to, study, and try and emulate the greats, I certainly am no bluesman. A bluesman knows who he or she is musically.
This is somewhat how I feel about espresso. At Bull Run, we spent a number of years offering a couple of different blends with the label ‘espresso’. The coffee was run through an espresso grinder, dosed, pulled, and offered as a beverage that is commonly referred to as espresso. As much as we admired tasting and reading about espresso, we certainly were not an espresso company. A roaster who is an espresso company knows who they are.
Sometime during the summer of 2009 we set out to go beyond our own inadequacies and create awesome espresso. Like Robert Johnson leaving the plantation in Rural Mississippi with a burning desire to master the blues, Bull Run arrived at an espresso crossroads. It was at this crossroads that Dogwood was born. Stephanie had a name for our journey of awesomeness, which was inspired in large part by native Minnesota red-twig Dogwood. Its hardiness and crimson beauty during our winters speak to who we are and where we live and work. We found our path beyond the label ‘espresso’. We stripped everything down, seeking the bluesmen of espresso, and started anew. Dogwood Espresso exists in a manner similar to how a bluesman exists. They are one of many, created and honed over time, with a bit of regional influence and style. They are humble but confident, with respect always offered the masters who have gone before. They are not compelled by what everyone else is doing or saying. Their beauty and significance resides in part to contradiction and paradox. There is simplicity in I-IV-V like there is simplicity in a demitasse and a couple of ounces of coffee. The feel, depth, and longing conveyed from a place of simplicity emanates from a very personal place of unrivaled complexity.
I look forward to the next 25 years and hope to find myself musically along the way. I am certain Bull Run is further along the way of knowing who we are.
Author: Greg
The past few weeks have been really crazy at Bull Run. With two months of training behind us, I think everyone is really itching to get in the space. There’s only so much you can do to organize your flow when the place you’ll be working doesn’t exist yet. We’re shoulder to shoulder dialing in coffee on the Clover and steaming milk. Speaking of milk, every couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to deal with what I refer to as “the milk crisis”. Perhaps it is only a crisis in my own mind, but thankfully, we were able to drop some of the milk off at the walk in fridge at the space in my jeep… which was weighed down more than it ever has been before, and now makes new noises:
This isn’t even close to the amount of milk we have right now. Other than that, a number of the baristas all have large quantities of milk in their apartment refrigerators.
I’m really excited about the milk we’ll be using at the shop, which is from Sassy Cow Creamery . We tried a lot of different types of milk in order to arrive at our decision. The farm is located just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, and is operated by brothers James and Robert Baerwolf, the third generation to farm on the land purchased by their grandfather in 1946. They take great care of their herds, and offer both the organic and traditional cows the same attention. The steamed milk is unbelievably sweet, and as Keith says “It tastes like ice cream!” Considering the fact that milk is most of what any latte or other espresso beverage consists of, it’s a pretty important ingredient. I think that everyone will be excited about Sassy Cow. We also get these awesome cow trading cards on each gallon:
I’ll trade you my Martha for your Bessie.
cheers! -stephanie
Training is underway at the Bull Run roasting space. It took a little time to find them, but we’ve got some very talented baristas on staff, and I’m really excited about everyone we’ve hired—with experience or not. Minneapolis is on its way to becoming a third wave city for sure. My employee search has definitely proven that there is interest and curiosity among citizens here, and I think that in time, coffee will gain the respect and attention to detail it deserves. Everyone is picking up on all the aspects of espresso quickly, and I’m looking forward to moving on to our various brew methods as our new offerings show up at our door (er, loading dock).
A couple of other baristas and I have been playing around with the Dogwood espresso blend on the Hydra and Robur E, which is incredibly fun. We’ve been switching up dose, basket sizes, pressure, temp, grind… anything we can to find that sweet spot I know the Dogwood has. Right now we’ve got it tasting pretty fantastic—sweet tangy at the first sip, then once you get past the crema it finishes with a deep fruity syrup on the bottom of the cup. I’ve drank a lot of espresso in my young life, and this ranks among my top picks.
Why is our espresso blend named “Dogwood”? The Dogwood is a type of plant, depending on where it is grown it can be found in all shapes and sizes; it is often a small to medium sized shrub, or can be found in a larger form as an elegant, ornamental tree. The Dogwood is native to North America, and many varieties specifically to Minnesota. The dogwood shrub produces creamy, white flowers during it’s flowering season. They are all deciduous, and their bark is made of fine textured, heavy wood. Though they do not reach the thickness that other trees may, their wood is strong, well structured and winter hearty. The bark is a deep, dark brownish red– like we would like our espresso to look as it is pulling. All of the homegrown, aesthetic and structural characteristics of the Dogwood plant reflect how we feel our espresso shows itself.
Everyone in training is on to steaming milk and crafting drinks, and starting to figure out latte art techniques. Here’s an awesome attempt that we turned into a sad ghost:
I love it.
Cheers! -stephanie
 8.13.09
Our Synesso Hydra arrived today for the new coffee bar. We have been eagerly awaiting our dream machine and can’t wait to get started with it….
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