The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„Notes: In the few years since its founding in 1996 by Jeff Babcock and coffee legend Tim McCormack (early Starbucks, Caravali Coffee), Zoka has developed into an influential quality leader in small-batch espresso roasting and espresso education. Zoka has taken the lead in preparing American competitors for success in the new world of national and international barista championships. Zoka master barista Dismas Smith recently won the North American barista championship using a Zoka blend. For more information, visit www.zokacoffee.com , call 206-545-4313, or shop online at www.greatcoffee.com .“

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Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„Roasting in-store also has its challenges. “In a busy space like Zoka, it’s easy for an apprentice to become distracted with all the other things they need to do in the first 10 minutes of a roast—weighing, bagging, etc.—and not be as focused on those final moments with the beans as they should.” While burning the occasional batch is just part of the learning curve in a roastery, the same mistake on an in-store roaster can be a smoky and some might say bad-smelling detriment to your customers’ enjoyment of their morning coffee. As a result, some roastmasters devote their training time with apprentices to a less busy part of the day.“

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The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„At any rate, once the crema had settled and the ratings were matched with the coffees, there were only a couple of surprises. The blends that, in general, scored best were blends produced by smaller Seattle roasters already celebrated for their espresso production: Zoka, Espresso Vivace, Caffe Vita, Caffe D'arte. (Admirers of these companies should keep in mind that we arbitrarily selected one blend from each roasting company for testing. It well could be that other espresso blends from the same roaster might attract higher - or lower - ratings than the specific blends we chose to test.)“

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It's All About Coffee (#)

„"These contestants are with out question the cream of the crop." While top prize is $1,000, this contest has gone beyond the money and has become a competition for bragging rights. Just seeing Caffe Artigiano, Cafe D'Arte, Zoka Coffee Roasters and Starbucks in the same competition is unprecedented. Add Hines Public Market, Bon Appetit and all the others and it is clear that while one Barista will walk away with the top prize, the retail company that they represent will be able to say that they create the world's best Latte.“

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Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„JOLT boasted an impressive roster of heavy hitters not surprisingly, as Starbucks, the major financial shark in Seattle’s murky java waters, stood to suffer the most. Jeff Babcock of Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Co. took matters into his own hands, rallying endlessly against the tax to national media and organizing anti-tax marches around the city. Given the overwhelming number of protesters who turned out for the events, and the countless news stories pertaining to the tax nationwide, the tactic obviously worked.“

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CafeTalk Comments (#)

„Not only was it a beautiful city (with splendid weather the last few weeks) but the dedication towards great coffee was amazing (quite a difference from San Antonio, as you might imagine). Two places really stood out from the several establishments I went to: Zoka and Herkimer (sp?). I really like Zoka's operation....and the barista there was so concerned with pouring me a perfect shot he actually tried a few times until it was the way he thought it should be.“

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CoffeeKid - Goin' to Seattle, Francis! Francis! and Etching (#)

„The evening was going to be dinner with Chris D. and Adam from Zoka Coffee (with Bronwen, Aaron and I), but we ran late and missed out. We rounded out our trip to Seattle with a visit to Vivace (the place was dead in the evening, and while my cappa was good, the Barista was quite interested in maintain a convo with a friend during my order time :)), then a drive over to Zoka coffee to spend an hour or so relaxing before heading back.“

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It's All About Coffee (#)

„About 200 people - coffee roasters, espresso bar owners and ordinary caffeine lovers - staged a protest against a proposed espresso tax in Seattle last Sunday. "I'm here on behalf of my wholesale customers who cannot afford this unfair tax," said Neal Brown, wholesale director for Zoka Coffee House in the city's Green Lake neighborhood. Initiative 77 would add a 10-cent tax to espresso drinks, raising money for preschool and day-care programs. The measure is up for a vote on Sept.“

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It's All About Coffee (#)

„The big story of the first Latte Competition was not so much who won but who did not. “If this was Vegas, the odds on favorite would have definitely been one of the competitors from any of the Seattle powerhouses.” Said Heilbrunn referring to, Espresso Vivace, Caffe Vita, Café D’Arte or Zoka Coffee Roasters and Tea Company. Of the 23 competitors, ten represented the previous Kings of Latte Art. Of those ten only four made it to the finals and none finished in the top three.“

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Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„“I ran across a Piña Colada recipe that my mother had given to me. It included Cream of Coconut, which I found had a sweetness that complemented Zoka's Espresso Paladino blend quite well. I originally thought my drink would include chocolate and cinnamon, but I found that the more ingredients I took out of the drink, the better the espresso taste came through. The toasted coconut flakes were a last minute addition.“

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CoffeeKid - November Zooms By So Fast... (#)

„Which did I like best? I actually had a slight nod to the Supreme Bean blend, but I base it on tastes - Zoka goes for a slightly more bright coffee blend for their espresso drinks, and I'm more into deeper body and muted brightness in my espresso. However, I sampled out the Zoka to a few local espresso heads, and it was an absolute hit. Coffee drinking is so subjective!“

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Tea & Coffee 05/01 - Life in a Vacuum (#)

„Tim McCormack, co-owner of Zoka Coffee Roaster, summarizes the way Zoka straddles the packaging/freshness dialectic this way: “We did not set out to wholesale coffee beyond this region - we want to remain an unpretentious, but very good, local roaster. We use polypropylene lined, tin tie five-pound bags for our wholesale accounts. We make no apologies for this.“

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The SCAE Awards for Coffee Excellence (#)

„Proprietor of Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Co., in Seattle, Washington. As a long-time volunteer for the Specialty Coffee Association of America's committees and board, Jeff has also been very active in the proliferation of barista competitions in the United States. He sponsored and hosted the first SCAA sanctioned Barista Jam in Seattle in February, 2003, and plans to host another in the coming months.“

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CoffeeGeek - Regional: United States West, Q about Seattle cafe locations and other recommendation (#)

„I did a coffeeshop hopping in Seattle, one weekend last April, all of the cafés mentioned above are worth of visiting.  I didn’t make it to Hine’s nor Zoka, because, for one, I was not familiar with the city, and two, they were far from where I stayed in downtown.  I made it as far north as Vivace’s both locations, I remember they are just a block away from one another.“

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CoffeeGeek - Espresso: Questions and Answers, What is Italian espresso like? (#)

„They told me that a typical Italian espresso tastes like a good double espresso from the Torrefazione coffee house chain in the USA. To me that means that Italian espressos are not good because the best espresso from Torrefazione is bad compared to the best of Barefoot, Stumptown, Vivace, Zoka, Hines, Vita etc. (Note: these folks were taking about the 2004 Torrefazione).“

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Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„   Attracting espresso artisans all the way from Alaska on down to Southern California, the Western Regional included seasoned baristi like Stephen Vick of Seattle’s Zoka Coffee Roaster and Tea Co., newcomers such as Heritage Coffee’s Shane Sewell, and at least one come-from-behind kid to write home about: Billy Wilson of Lava Java.“

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Tea & Coffee 02/03 - Espressing Their Opinions: Choosing an Espresso Machine (#)

„Jeff Babcock, proprietor at Zoka Coffee Roasters & Tea Co. uses a La Marzocco espresso machine, which he describes as a “workhorse,” to churn out hundreds of espressos each day at his Seattle, Washington location. “It’s gotta be a machine that’s very durable and tough because your staff beats the hell out of them,” Babcock adds.“

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CoffeeKid - Rants and Raves (#)

„All were espresso blends. I had Hair Bender from Stumptown Coffee Roasters; Dancing Goats from Batdorf and Bronson, two different blends (Paladino "Competition Blend" and a new experimental organic blend) from Zoka Coffee, Vito's Blend from Doma Coffee, and another blend from a roaster I can't recall at the moment.“

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Café Forum | Oregon Coffee Companies (#)

„Located in Eugene's historic Smeede Hotel building. Cafe Perugino features coffees roasted by Seattle's Cafe Zoka. It's baristas are truely interested in proper coffee preparation, and take their work seriously. Cafe Perugino is open until midnight on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and opens at 6:00 AM each morning.“

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View topic - Need a recommendation on training DVD? - Coffee Forum (#)

„I don't know which one is the best but just chatted with someone who paid $59.95 for a training video from oka and thought it sucked. Zoka is a great company and very reputable but apparently the video is short (one hour in total) and lacks much in the way of good detail. I have not seen it - this is what I'm told.“

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Tea & Coffee 01/04 - People News (#)

„In 1997, McCormack launched Zoka Coffee house in Seattle where he helped design and build the shop, trained and managed staff and purchased commodities and merchandise for the company. He left Zoka in 2002 and has been consulting in the coffee and tea fields.“

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CoffeeKid - Getting Caught Up, Pt. 1: Iron Barista, Barista Champs and more (#)

„On this past Sunday, Jeanette and I hosted about 20+ folks at our house for an outdoor barbeque. About a dozen coffee industry folks showed up, and around 6 or 7 pro Baristi, including Dismas Smith (Zoka Coffee), the North American Barista champ in 2002.“

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Tea & Coffee 11/03 - World News (#)

„But coffee shop owners, including Seattle-based Starbucks, fought the tax. In fact, Jeff Babcock, owner of Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company, staged a Boston Tea Party-style protest in early September, throwing coffee sacks into Seattle’s Green Lake.“

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Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„For many, it’s a side of the business where they find artistic release. And it gives them, according to Dismas Smith, master roaster for Zoka Coffee Roasters and Tea Company in Seattle, “a complete connection to the product you’re selling.”“

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CoffeeGeek - Regional: United States Central, 3 Great shots in Austin in as many days (#)

„ JPs. Zoka beans, Zoka trained Baristas. They actually empty and rinse the portafilters after each shot! Never saw the tamp, since they're using an LM Swift grinder, but what a sweet shot.“

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It's All About Coffee (#)

„When she took a break Tuesday at her neighborhood coffee shop, Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea, she turned to a cooler form of refreshment: a double-short iced Americano.“

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CoffeeGeek - Articles: CoffeeGeek Columnist Feedback, Interview: North American Barista Champion by Mark Prince (#)

„Mark Prince interviews Dismas Smith of Zoka's of Seattle, the N. American Barista champion, and N. American entry into this year's Worlds.“

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Coffee Kids | Business Members (#)

„Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company“

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