Nothing says bachelorhood like the open road: The freedom to eat very poorly and cheaply, the freedom to bathe or not, the freedom to continue to drive in the wrong direction with no question of whether or not to stop and ask the correct route. Ah, the single life.

Well, all good things must come to an end. Like peering into the bottomof a licked-out demitasse, so were two young men facing the end of their single life. For Ryan Jensen, September 17 was coming faster than he was prepared for, with a cake left to order and an apartment to clean so that his new bride wouldn’t fuss when carried across the threshold on the wedding night. For Aaron Ultimo, the beginning stages of planning had him stressed, having just secured a reception site while still trying to decide on a caterer. Of course, marriage was desirable, but who knew it could be so much work?

We claimed publicly that it was research, networking and spreading the gospel of the Barista Guild of America. But, privately, we needed to hit the road. Not to run away from our loved ones, just to breathe some fresh air, get out of the city, and drink some coffee. It was a simple idea, really, a coffee road trip. It would be a trip which by its very definition demanded we operate without a set itinerary and without any invitations, gift registries, seating charts, or directions but nevertheless we had a mission: to find and taste the best coffee that the Mid-Atlantic region had to offer and connect with the people who are serving it.

Thursday, July 28

Washington, D.C.—Maryland

Since we’re based in the Washington, D.C., area, the state of Maryland seemed a logical choice for the first leg of our trip. Ryan did his graduate studies in Annapolis and knew a number of local coffeehouses there, and since Baltimore is the home of our great friend and rabble-rouser Jay Caragay of Jay’s Shave Ice, no proper road trip would be complete without paying him a visit.

Meeting early in the morning at murky coffee’s Capitol Hill shop, we enjoyed espresso and bagels before filling a mug with Counter Culture Coffee’s Organic Mexico Pluma La Trinidad for the 40-minute scenic drive to the storybook town of Annapolis. The sun shone down upon us, and we looked forward to a great day.

Our first stop is Caffe Pronto on West Street, where Bradley, the manager, is manning the gorgeous threegroup Astoria Sibilla (in red!) and serving customers on their way to their offices on this sunny Thursday morning. We had met Bradley at the Southeast Regional Barista Jam, and were excited to see the new shop that had just opened.

From there, we travel to Caffe Pronto’s roastery, only a few blocks away. When we drop in, Vincent Iatesta gives us a tour of facilities, and he allows us to cup the Panama Esmeralda much to our delight. It wows us with its sweetness and complexity, and we throw around descriptors such as cumin, jasmine, pine, and chicken noodle soup with peppercorns as we try to capture exactly what we’re tasting. As we cup, Vincent tells us about his journey into roasting after having spent a number of years in the business world. It seems that there are a number of stories out there about disillusioned businesspeople who turned to the local café as the answer to what they had been longing for. Unfortunately, not all of them have done the sort of research that Vincent has in learning how deep this culinary art really is.

Next, we head downtown to Hard Bean Booksellers to spend some time with Andy Juskelis and the crew there. We get to meet a number of the baristas, and we encourage them in their craft. Having brought a stack of Barista Magazine’s June/July 2005 issue with us, we show them pictures of World Barista Champion Troels Overdal Poulsen and tell them about the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition (at Coffee Fest D.C., Feb. 24–26).

After sandwiches and coffee at Hard Bean, we walk down the block to City Dock, the flagship location of a small family of shops in the Annapolis area. We offer a copy of Barista Magazine to the girl working the bar, and ask her if she knows anything about the upcoming competition. Her eyes light up at the word, and she demands that we tell her more. She says that she has been working in coffee for five years and would jump at the chance to be a part of a competition. We hope to see her there.

We swing by the St. John’s College campus for old time’s sake then make our way up to Baltimore to see Jay Caragay at Jay’s Shave Ice. Before having any more coffee, we can’t resist trying some of the new creations being served up at the Ono Grill, Jay’s newest venture. We indulge in the beef brisket with au jus made with Hines Public Market Coffee espresso. It’s fantastic!

To make it even better, we then enjoy what we consider to be the finest espresso in Baltimore. We retire to Jay’s office to share some delectable port wine, as well, and talk about the state of the coffee industry in our fair region. It may be slow going in a lot of respects, but our section of the country is making great strides, both in terms of shop owners and baristas striving for excellence and also consumer demand for great coffee.

To read the rest of this article order this back issue of Barista Magazine!