TOTALLY BURNT: Chicago Roasts Seattle In Coffee Competition

The only real question in a report like this is: how many times can I use a super cheesy play on words to bring you the story?

Hmm... 2 times in the headline is probably enough.

Ok, here's what happened...

Just to show you that we do read the "tips" section of the Labs, then do some research into the subject, Roast Magazine, a bi-monthly trade magazine "dedicated to the success and growth of the specialty coffee roaster", recently awarded their 2007 "Roaster of the Year" Awards to two local institutions.

Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea was named Roast's best in the "large roaster" category (for companies that roast more than 100,000 pounds per year), while the Rogers Park-based Metropolis Coffee Company won "roaster of the year" in the "micro roaster" category (less than 100,000 pounds roasted per year).

Participating coffee companies were graded on six criteria:

• Company Mission
• Company’s Commitment to Sustainable Practices
• Commitment to Employees and Educational Practices
• Quality of Coffee
• Commitment to and involvement in the industry
• Innovations in roasting, marketing and business practices

The winners won't be formally announced until Roast's November/December issue, but that hasn't stopped either Intelligentsia or Metropolis from giving themselves well-earned, modest pats on the back. Intelligentsia and Metropolis will each recieve a $500 cash award, a full-length feature in the aforementioned end-of-year issue of Roast, and a webpage on the Roast website for all of 2007.

Now if only the Bears can beat the Seahawks Sunday night, we can hoist a giant cup of home-roasted coffee in the direction of our sister site in the Pacific Northwest and taunt them mercilessly.

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