In this episode first we hear from La Colombe Torrefaction co-founder Todd Carmichael as he explains why he views coffee as a culinary experience and that he considers his lead roaster, Chris Miller, to be the head chef or 'the guy who cooks the coffee'. Then Chris shows me around their Philadelphia plant where millions of pounds of beans are roasted every year. We also hear co-founder Jean-Philippe Iberti as he tells me about their 15 kilo Vittoria roaster which they first started using back in 1993 when they were only producing 12 kilos of coffee a week. (Duration 10:24) Right click here to download this podcast.

It has been over a year since I spent an afternoon with Sharon and Ron Vacarello and a few of their baristi at Crescent Moon Coffee and Tea, when I recorded this episode of the starbarista podcast. They do a fantastic job runnning an independent coffee shop and roastery in rural South Jersey in the USA. Have a listen as they tell us how they decided to roast beans themselves in order to ensure the highest quality, that local farmers stop in for espressos, and how they have taught young people the skills to go on and work for highly regarded coffee companies like Intelligentsia and Stumptown. Click here to download this podcast. Here are some more photos from my visit to Crescent Moon.

Congratulations to Gwilym Davies who has just been crowned the 2009 UK Barista Champion. I've just thrown this post up for people who want to know more about this great barista. (click here for full post with embedded media.) Gwilym works outdoor coffee carts at two busy London markets. He uses coffee from East London's Square Mile Roasters. Gwilym's winning espresso was a 50/50 blend made up of Finca San Jose Pulped Natural Red Catuaí from Erwin Mierisch and family in Nicaragua, and an El Molino de Santa Rita Washed Orange Bourbon from Jose Antonio Salaverria’s farm in El Salvador. During the the final Gwilym's espresso and signature drink attained the highest scores. The idea behind his signature drink was to enhance flavours that were already in the espresso he was working with. He created an infusion of butter, cinamon, orange peel, muscovado syrup, and dark chocolate that he added to the espresso. Here is Gwilym's semi-final performance: Here's Gwilym's championship-winning final performance: Here are all the videos from the UKBC Finals. Here is a video of the results and an interview with Gwilym: Here's a podcast about Gwilym. (Note: At the time of recording Gwilym was using beans from a different London roastery.) Click here to download this podcast. Here are some photos of Gwilym at work on Whitecross Market Below is a map showing the locations of Gwilym's coffee carts. View Larger Map Here's Gwilym on Google Street View: View Larger Map Articles about Gwilym in the media: Gwilym is the odds on favourite to win WBC from Newsdesk. It's the third wave of coffee in the Guardian on 16 March 2009 Evening Standard 10 March 2009 All hail Gwilym, the coffee king! from the Islington Gazette 18 March 2009 Hospitality Magazine 11 March 2009 CatererSearch 13 MArch 2009 Blog posts about the man: Square Mile Coffee Blog Gwilym Davies Barista Eccezionali from Belaphon Twitchy interview with Gwilym

starbarista catches up with Gilda Doganiero of Gilda's Biscotti. She has been dedicated to the art of baking traditional biscotti for the last 13 years since leaving her job as a pastry chef at Philadelphia's Four Seasons Hotel. In this podcast Gilda tells us about the origins of this noble Italian cookie as well as the story of how she started her company. (In the photo to the left Gilda is holding a tray of her lemon fig biscotti.) I would love to hear what you think of this podcast - so please leave your comments below. Click here to download this podcast.

In this episode we go beyond coffee to explore a bit of the history of the venue in which this drink is served: the cafe. Starbarista recently caught up with author Scott Haine, an expert on Parisian cafe society. We spoke about the prominent role cafes and their owners played in the lives of 19th century workers, and how coffee was often more about alcohol than caffeine. We also touched on the cafe's place in Nazi-occupied Paris during the Second World War. This podcast is a bit longer than the previous ones (17 mins), so you might want to download it onto your iPod for easier listening. Please feel free to leave your comments below. I would love to get some feedback on what I am doing so I can make these things as good as they can be. Click here to download this podcast.

Starbarista recently caught up with Gimme! Coffee's Jenni Bryant at their recently-opened espresso bar in NYC's NoLiTa neighbourhood. Gimme! started up in 2000 with a single espresso bar in Ithaca, upstate New York. They now have four shops in the Ithaca area as well as a roastery. In 2003 Gimme! made their first foray into NYC when they opened a location in Brooklyn's trendy Williamsburg neighbourhood. In this podcast, Jenni talks about coffee and how it brings people together. Click here to download this podcast.

Starbarista recently caught up with Doug Wolfe, a prominent barista who works at the La Colombe cafe in New York City's Tribeca, a place where you might see a Hollywood star rubbing shoulders with Senagalese street vendors. This podcast also features the voice of Todd Carmichael, who founded La Colombe along with his business partner Jean-Philippe Iberti in 1993 in Philadelphia. Click here to download this podcast.