The Globe

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Iva Provias Tazza D'Oro, located on 1125 N. Highland Ave. in Highland Park has coffee 'cuppings' every Thursday. The cuppings are very similar to wine tasting; the staff drinks and then evaluates specific coffees for quality.

Zach Selekman carefully prepares milk underneath the latte machine, knowing that too much heat will make the milk bitter, and too little heat will make it sour.
"If you have any questions, just ask," he said, offering his knowledge about the subtleties of the coffee drinks he prepares.
He is certainly an expert. There is a framed certificate hanging on the wall that identifies him and seven others as certified baristas. Their qualifications include a year and a half of training, a strict certification process "and even a written test," Selekman adds.
As he pours the milk in fern-like patterns into the espresso, he stands behind the bar in an unassuming coffee shop named Tazza D'Oro that is tucked away on Highland Avenue. As much as it seems out of the way, its "better is more" practice makes Tazza D'Oro well worth the trip to Highland Park.
"Our vision is about our customers having the experience of the coffee," Amy Enrico, the hands-on owner of Tazza D'Oro said. "The one thing that's hard about the espresso is that the equipment provides a barrier for customers. It almost becomes mystical and magical. If we can take a french press and and sit down with a group of people and talk about the coffee... so people are able to take it home and brew it themselves, that is what it's about."
To put this vision into practice, coffee cuppings are held every Thursday afternoon. Coffee cuppings are sessions when select coffees are brewed and then evaluated on their unique characteristics, similar to wine tasting.
"They were designed to train the staff about all of our coffees," Enrico said. "The characteristics of each coffee, how they're sourced, and where they're grown; all the specifics of it."
After the cuppings, the staff is able to interact one-on-one with the customers about each coffee. Customers will develop palates as they learn with the baristas, Enrico said.
"We form very close relationships with our customers," Rachel Walter, a certified barista and manager there said. "I'd say that 75 to 80 percent of our customers are regulars. They come in once a day. We know their kids, we know what they do for a living. We come in here and spend time during our time off."

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