The one where Aaron gets a title and is quoted

Followers of Live and Active Cultures have gotten pretty accustomed to Emma's colossal presence on the LA blogosphere as one of Squid Ink's finest, but this time, it's yours truly who's making his own tiny-but-mighty foray into internet stardom. Yup, I just got one of my photos featured in LA Times' food and culture mag, Brand X, in an article about non-alcoholic summer drinks. The cafe where I work, Espresso Cielo, was featured because we serve some of the best iced coffee around and happen to use one of the coolest-looking ways to make it, Kyoto-style cold brew drip tower. Anyway, Brand X emailed the shop and asked us for pictures of it, which is, naturally, where I came in. And to boot, the piece also included a little something I said about what coffees make good cold brew coffee.

If there's one thing I've learned working in coffee, it's that coffee people are obsessed with two things: great tasting coffee (duh) and gadgets they use to make it. For me, the Kyoto process is both of these things, the perfect marriage of amazing taste and crazy-awesome-doohickeydom. Room temperature water drips through coarse coffee grounds over about ten hours. Every coffee, of course, tastes different, but the process tends to yield a really smooth, sweet, and bright cup. The best ones taste almost like fruit teas or pure cocoa. Plus, since there's no heat or pressure to break down caffeine molecules, it's a real kick in the pants. Really, it's the perfect drink for those long summer days of grab-ass at the beach. 

Also: weird to be referred to as "Barista Aaron Stein-Chester." Like, who is that guy?