Though we don’t have icees, slurpies, or frappacinos, we do of course have those other drinks that people go a little crazy for: cold presses, iced mochas and, a personal favorite, the iced hot chocolate. Full disclosure: I’ve never really been a fan of iced coffee. It seems a little counterintuitive. Like drinking a piping hot beer. It just doesn’t seem like a phenomenon that was meant to be. It doesn’t help that all the traditional iced drinks tend to mask the nuances of coffees rather than accent them.

All this said, I want to find an iced coffee that I like. Sometimes it’s just too hard to get through a hot cup of coffee (no matter how tasty) on a muggy 90-something degree day. In the attempt to find a great iced coffee, I started fooling around with the iced chemex. In theory, it’s simple. Split the water weight in half, and throw that much ice in the bottom of the Chemex after prewetting the filter (so, if you normally use 16 oz of hot water for a Chemex, put 8 oz of ice in the bottom). Then add the grounds and pour hot water (the remaining 8 oz if you’re making a 16 oz cup) as you would for a hot Chemex.

A lot of the ice melts and (if all goes well) the result is a clean, syrupy cup of coffee (with notes & notes!) that barely resembles the thick cold presses we’ve all become accustomed to. If all does not go well, however, the result is often popcorny or bitter. Now that it’s summery weather I’m starting to work out the kinks with this year’s coffees, so if you want to try something besides cold press, feel free to bug me ’til I make you a cup.

“Latte Art? Throwdown? What does that even mean?” tends to be the general first response. Well, you know those pretty little things that show up at the top of your milk drinks, at least most of the time? Well it takes a lot of practice (the worst thing to hear when you hand someone their latte is: “oh that looks like a flower, did you do that on purpose?”), and sometimes baristas just need an excuse to show off, be appreciated, drink some drank and maybe earn a little extra money. The competitors each toss in five dollars to enter the competition, and the winner takes the pot. It’s a bracket contest, slowly narrowed down over the course of hours of coffee and booze.

It is, of course, a bit hubristic in nature, and fundamentally wasteful. Hundreds of shots are pulled and gallons of milk steamed to create beautiful (and sometimes not so beautiful) lattes, most of which get tossed down the sink, unless a brave soul ventures to the judges counter and asks for a free latte (which is totally kosher, by the way). It speaks to a greater issue of waste in the coffee industry, briefly touched on in the latest Coffee Guild Post, and begging to be addressed more formally.

Jesse, Coffee Educator at Intelligentsia (with whom George and I trained down in Chicago last summer), was in town so we figured we’d throw another one of these shindigs. There was beer, there were hot dogs, there were coffee-lovers galore and there were 22 competitors. All the usual suspects were there, those specialty coffee staples that are at all events, and a bunch of new faces, the biggest contingent of which were the baristas from the new World Bean (good coffee at the airport? what the what!). Even our friends from The Farewell Circuit decided to pour their first lattes tonight.

After hours of tough decisions and agonized pours (its hard when you’re not on your own turf, espresso machine/milk/espresso/pitchers/cups all play an important part of a well-executed latte, even one that’s only being judged aesthetically) the judges narrowed it down to three contestants, then two. It came down to Stephanie (Dogwood) and Amanda (Bull Run), with Amanda (of #AmandaQuotes fame) taking home the schwag–a $150 pot, gift cards and paraphernalia from Intelligentsia, and a pretty baller coffee trophy. Angry Catfish introduced this trophy last throwdown, and we’ll be passing it from winner to winner, adding signatures and shop stickers along the way.

So, the big question is, who’s hosting the next shindig?

No, I thought. There’s only one place stickers go in this shop. We walked into the back room, Otto trotting beside us as if he had a significant role to play in what was going to happen next. The sticker was going on something that works very hard. Everyday this tool gets used without being seen. Sometimes you’ll hear it if you listen close and The Current cuts out, or there’s a lull in the coffee shop bustle. Cycling on, pushing and pumping.

You see, as much as we may like other brands’ designs and decals, we have a “no sticker rule.” You’ll find shops all over the city, and the rest of the country with stickers on their doors, windows, toolboxes, repair stands, floors, ceilings, filing cabinets…well, you get the idea. But we wanted Angry Catfish to be different. We wanted it to be clean. Not just mop the floors, scrub the bathrooms clean, but CLEAN. Clear of the typical clutter that can find its way into bicycle shops. We wanted an open shop where people could see their bikes being professionally repaired. No offices for me to hide away from reps and customers. Friends working together to create beautiful bikes that would inspire all those that see them. A gathering place that attracted people of a like mind to enjoy two of life’s simplest and most rewarding pleasures.

And here we are.

A big huge thank you is in order to Aaron Melander for designing the new Angry Catfish mark and style guide and to Dan Knudson and Matthew Amundson for translating that look into a handsome new website.

Now we’re ready to put this story out into the world. We’re ready to put these tools in your hands and ask you to share the things you find worth passing along.

Thanks for supporting us along the way and helping us spread the word. We certainly couldn’t do it without ya!

Agua Preta BRAZIL

Nyarusiza ZIRIKANA, RWANDA

Very positive first ride (and second, third and fourth rides at this point). I managed to get out on snow twice with the tires. Admittedly both times were about as perfect as winter riding can be; temps in the mid 20s and nicely packed snow on the trail face. All tires were gripping well both days. However, once you did exceed the limits of traction or got off line just enough to get in to the deeper, looser snow at the edge of the trail face, that’s when differences started to appear between the Husker Du and the competitors. It was very easy to pull the tire back from the brink with some body english and judicious brake application. After spending lots of time on the original fat-bike tires, it’s been my experience that once you start to lose it, it’s way to late. The larger margin of error provided by the Husker Du is a nice change. Fresh and/or deep snow conditions have unfortunately not presented themselves yet, but given the performance so far; I can’t wait to try them.

Two more longer rides were done after the recent snow melt. One included about 16 miles of pavement to get to the trailhead and the other included some significant ice mixed in with patches of bare dirt and some packed snow. On pavement the low rolling resistance provided by the fairly continuous center rib was much appreciated. A low pressure fat-bike tire is always going to be a lot of work to keep rolling, but the Husker Du is up there with the best of them. Riding some of the competitive tires on pavement can create a real buzz or vibration through the bike; the HDs also create some vibes, as any MTB tire will, but it’s much less prevalent. “Portage” on pavement between sections of dirt or snow is much nicer on the ‘Du. Ice was also a factor in Minneapolis’ December. The ‘Dus aren’t studded, but the additional molded sipes in the tread provide many more biting edges to grabs as much traction from the ice as can be had. When the tires do start to slip, the breakaway is communicated effectively, allowing you plenty of time to get a foot down as needed.

Overall, my experience with the Husker Du has been positive. I found increased overall grip compared to the original fat-bike tire designs in all areas: acceleration, cornering and braking. When cornering during low traction situations it was easier to get the tire back on line if grip was lost. And, for the all-arounders out there, riding this tire on the pavement to get to the groomed trails won’t wear you out before the fun even starts.