There goes the neighborhood (thank goodness)!

This past Thursday, I was lucky enough to attend a special cupping event at Cafe Grumpy's soon-to-be-opened location in Chelsea (W 20th St between 7th & 8th Aves). Grumpy's director of coffee, the ever-charming and gracious host Daniel Humphries, talked a bit about the store and its vision, and introduced Ecco Caffe's master and commander, Andrew Barnett, who talked about the three beautiful Ecco coffees we were about to enjoy.


Daniel (right) gets things rolling during the cupping.

The samples were the most wonderful Ethiopian Yirgacheffe I've ever had, and two lovely coffees from the Americas -- a Brazil (2005 COE, Fazenda São Benedito) and a Nicuraguan (2005 COE, Luis Alberto Vasquez). The cupping went smoothly and was an absolute hit, which is very difficult with such a sizable group. Let that be a testament to Daniel's grace as a host and Andrew's gift as a roaster and all around coffee maverick.


Andrew Barnett chats with Grumpy barista Nick & Murky Coffee's Zach.

Daniel also gave demonstrations on Grumpy's beautiful new Clover and handed out coffees to some pretty eager beavers.


There were no literal beavers in the shop at the time. But there were plenty of happy baristi.

The shop is really coming along and will be an incredibly welcome addition to the neighborhood -- which happens to be my neighborhood, so I should know! Can't wait to get my first Clover cuppa Ethiopian!

Best of luck to the shop's owners (Chris & Caroline), to Daniel, and to a great new group of New York coffee professionals. See you soon!