Tips brewing at Coffee Fest: Baristas talk about what to buy and how to make it

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - Coffee Fest Chicago chugged into town last month, showcasing the latest in coffee trends and cafe wares at Navy Pier.

The aisles were packed with the latest roasters, espresso machines, fancy teas, chocolates, urns, smoothie mixes and pastries.

Baristas, salespeople and coffee buyers from around the country gathered to check out the latest.

ABOUT THE BEANS

Some of the nation's top baristas, there to compete in the Latte Art Championship, shared their picks for great beans and roasts available on the Internet:

"Any of the Brazilians from Ecco (eccocaffe.com)," said Charlie Burt of Kansas City, Mo.

"The Black Cat Maravilla espresso from Guatemala through Intelligentsia (intelligentsiacoffee.com)," said Ian Tobin of Kansas City, Mo.

"The Misty Valley from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia (roastmasters.com)," said Justin Teisl of Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco.

CONTINUING DEBATE

The experts still disagree on the best method for brewing coffee.

Some say it's the Clover machine, which Chicago-based Intelligentsia now uses as its default brew method. Others swear by the pressure siphon method (which uses a glass ball with water that is heated and pushed to a top chamber with the coffee, then is pulled back through a filter into the glass ball). Some love the ceramic pour-over funnels (ceramic funnels are lined with paper filters that hold ground coffee; hot water is manually poured over them, allowing the brewed coffee to filter down to a single cup or pitcher).

Others like the body you get from sediment and oils in French press-made coffee and others like the glass Chemex pitcher. Although the automatic drip method is still most widely used for commercial coffee in the U.S., few at Coffee Fest said it makes the best coffee.

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

As in many areas of the food industry, the coffee industry continues to incorporate more green and sustainable items into its specialty markets.

Ce Organics was just one of those at the fest displaying a full line of organic and direct-trade syrups.

"I see people really caring about the environment, and we see more and more organic shade-grown coffee here at the show," said Jaquie Wilkie, co-owner of the Canadian company.

ADDING A SWEET EDGE

While agave syrup has taken off as the hot sweetener for some, PureVia reps were also out in force at the show, promoting the stevia-based no-calorie sweetener.

If you go by taste, it's hard to argue that it doesn't belong with those other (Splenda, Sweet 'N Low and Equal) sweeteners. Because the aftertaste is just as unpleasant.

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