We love David Schomer. His is such a remarkable brain in the specialty coffee industry, but even with all those smarts, he is kind and humble, and generous with his praise for baristas just starting out. I used to judge with him at the Coffee Fest latte art championships, and he would be so nice to each competitor, so appreciative of their efforts and and supportive of their courage. Even though David has been a great barista for who knows how many years, he’s still quite aware of the strength of character and determination it takes to be a great barista. To aspire to be great is even harder.
So we do well to learn from David. He emailed me a few days ago to let me know that the third version of his seminal tome Espresso Coffee had just been published. He sent me a copy and I’m glued to it. He also sent a copy to be used as a Humpday Giveaway prize ” holla! ” so look for that in coming weeks.
“The reason for writing revision three of my book is twofold,” David told me when I asked. “First, I have not covered theory and technique [for] using bottomless portafilters, and secondly the perfection of milk texture made possible with Shojiro’s steam tip, the Foam Knife1. It is a revolution in milk texturing and once again I get to eat my words as I previously recommended a four-holes traditional Italian steam tip.”
Still have his VHS somewhere in my office… I should break it out, rewind the tape, and watch and celebrate
Definitely getting my hands on this book. Should be interesting reading. Another book for the library!