Did you know that Pacific Natural Foods has just released its almond milk? The folks at Pacific ”including the wonderful Debra Kaminski ”worked for many, many months perfecting the formula for the almond milk, with the help of some experts, among them baristas Nathanael May of Portland Roasting, and Devin Chapman, formerly of Coava Coffee in Portland and now located in L.A. working on a special project for Verve. It is SO SMART when companies with a product associated with coffee retailing looks to the baristas for input ”they handle those products more than anyone, and their feedback is invaluable.
So when Nathanael, who runs Portland Roasting’s Cupping Room (one of Portland’s prettiest new cafes, located at 340 SE 7th), was planning the TNT that took place on Thursday, December 19, he thought it would be awesome to have the throwdown participants use Pacific’s almond milk for their drinks!
And seriously, this event opened some eyes. Baristas were thrilled with how well the almond milk held up to heat and steam, and how nicely it worked for latte art. Makes sense, since it was formulated for baristas ”it’s part of Pacific’s Barista Series of products, after all.
The throwdown was seriously great ”Nathanael used a throwback theme, and stocked the party tables with old time favorites like Capri Sun, Fun Dips, Handisnacks, and more. One whole room was dedicated to a MarioKart 64 tournament, with the players’ screens channeled to the big screen in the center of the cafe (which, during business hours, shows gorgeous footage from producing countries).
Loads of Northwest baristas showed up for this, the last of the TNT Northwest series of the year. It was great to get hugs and love from the coffee community as we end what’s been a wonderful year. Can’t wait to see what 2014 brings!
