Summer food fun and drink – Kopi Luwak at Coffee Fest 2008

This has been the first time I have been to the United States of America since 2002. And
it was good. Very good.

Last Friday we hopped on a morning Clipper to Seattle and were there in a smooth 2 hours or so. The Victoria Clipper is like riding in a jet plane… on the water. Moving along at 30 knots in a high speed jet powered catamaran is a pretty neat way of getting around. It works. In combination with a Clipper Vacation weekend, it makes for a great pre-paid get-away where you can pick your hotel… and go.

We have stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel before so this one was no surprise. I personally like quaint old boutique hotels – and the Roos never lets us down. The rooms are a tad small and rough around the edges, but the place is squeaky clean – and it has Von’s Restaurant and Bar – and dang, I love that place!

Anyway – smooth trip down. Only hitch was, there was a cruise ship in or going out and there was a dearth of Yellow Cabs. We called the number on my cell and we had 3 in about 10 minutes – which was great because we had a fan club shortly after docking.

The ride to the Roosevelt from the Clipper dock is about 7 minutes if it is 5. Check-in was courteous, pleasant and a breeze. We show our chit and we are in. Same for the taxi. It is paid for. You pull your wallet for tips – that is pretty much it.

After getting settled in the hotel, it was off to the convention to pick up our conference bag and credential holder. Another breeze.

Walking onto the coffee fest floor for the first time ever was a total knock in the socks for me. The air is filled with coffee, caffeine, chocolate and love. The Love was in the room. For 30 bucks one could spend 3 days drinking coffee and espresso, tasting chocolate and smoothies and rubbing shoulders with some of the brightest in the business. How fun is that?

The social side of this event is killer – next year I am going to plan more and get involved with more stuff. As it happened, I met up with numerous coffee friends and Seattle area buddies and turned it into a marathon. Andrea and I had a great time and will do it again next year.

Highlights? Tasting the free samples of farmed Kopi Luwak. For those folks who do not know what Kopi Luwak is… Wiki it.

For me, drinking it – even the 2 fluid ounce sample I was provided was like… ahem… kissing my sister on the lips. Yea. It was that yucky. Two sips and I was rushing for a mango smoothie. I have read all kinds of glowing reports about this coffee – my opinion: It tasted wierd and generally off… not something I would actually pay for. I did discover a neat drink made with taro that was awesome. I could go on and on about the particulars of Coffee Fest, but I think I will save that for my coffee website.

Our new motto: We drink the Kopi Luwak so you don`t have to!