Thursday, February 22, 2007

Capitol Hill's Espresso Vivace made it into Business Week

David Schomer had spent 16 years working toward this moment. It was February, 2001, and Schomer, owner of Espresso Vivace Roasteria in Seattle, was demonstrating an espresso machine he had fitted with a device that solved one of the biggest problems in espresso-making: water temperature fluctuations that can make coffee taste burned or sour. A half-dozen industry veterans waited eagerly as Schomer pulled the first shots from the rejiggered machine.The espresso flowed smooth and thick as honey. "I had tears in my eyes," recalls the wiry, blunt-speaking 50-year-old. "I just could not believe it."

Conquering the temperature problem was the coup de grĂ¢ce in Schomer's long struggle to create the perfect cup of espresso. The former Boeing engineer and musician had rethought every aspect of brewing espresso, from the freshness of the beans to the patterns baristas make in the espresso's crema, the foam topping created during brewing. Along the way, Schomer documented his discoveries in trade journals and eventually a book and videos that were the first to promulgate standards for espresso making.

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