Lots of changes.
By "changes," I mean life changes. I've been listening to some old Portafilter.net Podcast episodes lately and I'm both horrified and nostalgic, embarrassed and proud. More than anything, nostalgic.
As I've shared many times, the pf.net podcast was born out of a simple idea: I was learning so much from the many conversations I was having with more experienced coffee professionals, I thought that "for the greater good," it would be helpful and compelling to take those conversations public. Add a jolly co-host, a healthy dose of naivete, and at least a couple scoops of irreverence (arrogance?) and you had the makings of a hundred or so hours of audio. The value of that audio varies from person to person, but for me, it was a lot of fun.
Today, I listen to that podcast and I miss the circumstance that produced it, and I can't help but reflect on its demise. The jolly became much less jolly. The irreverence felt more stale. The naivete, while not gone completely, felt more and more overshadowed by experience. We're talking about about 4.5 years since the first episode after all. I certainly still have so much to learn, but I'm different now.
Everything's different.
It's been almost 10 months since I closed murky coffee, and almost 10 months since I put my 3-group La Marzocco Linea into storage. I literally dusted it off last week and hooked it all back up, giving it a few new parts like long-overdue group-boiler gaskets. Damn. That machine has made thousands upon thousands of espresso shots since it was built back in 2003, and the last four, pulled just this week, tasted as sweet and glorious as any one of those thousands.
When I first bought the domain name "portafilter.net" in 2004, I had a dream for an independent community of coffee professionals... just like Coffeed.com. I was happy to see Alistair's project fill that need though, and I instead decided that the website would be a group-blog and podcast. The former didn't happen quite the way I had hoped, but the podcast, to date, has had over a staggering quarter-million total episode downloads.
I'm happy to have the Linea back up and running. Not just happy, but I'm excited to know that it has a purpose, testing, training, and learning as Trish and I are building our new roasting company.
So for a whole different set of reasons, I'm dusting off the podcast. I'm dusting off the portafilter.net blog.
I can't make any promises right now, but it will be necessarily different from the old podcast, while hopefully retaining some of what people seemed to love so much about it. Interviews. Discussion of current issues. Introductions to coffee people you might not know. I've had the idea of a more NPR-style produced-segment program, rather than the rambling free-for-all that the old podcast was. I dunno. We'll see.
I'll try to start blogging again as well, as well as providing the opportunity for others to guest-blog on here. I'm continually inspired these days by the compelling content from James on jimseven.com and by the freshness of sprudge.com, and I could only hope to have something worthy of similar attention.
Hopefully it's truly the right time. Only time will tell. Check your iTunes podcast feeds in a few weeks, and expect a redesign of the blog soon.
Here's to a fruitful and prosperous 2010!
Nick
Great news indeed! Looking forward immensely to tuning in again.
ReplyDeleteBest News I've heard in an age long live the PF podcast. Probably your biggest fan boy I promise to resume the fanboy status.
ReplyDeleteDont let me down nick :)
I'm wistful for the days of portafilter.net. And also for how you were able to drag and prod other groups in the industry (ex/ when was the last coffeegeek podcast Mark?) into action.
ReplyDeleteC'mon Nick and gang- bring that beat back.
I know you can make unparalleled coffee content. I think of you every time I load up another podcast from twit.tv. With the crossover between these two worlds (see @coffeegeek's missives to @ryan and @patricknorton), I don't see why there couldn't be a TWiC.
I loved the PF podcasts! I think I had every episode from #14 on. I still have #48 through #74. I even have the "Director's Cut" of #69! Here's to new directions!
ReplyDeleteGreat news. Can't wait to see what is to come.
ReplyDeleteYou go, guy!
ReplyDeleteAwesome news Nick. can't wait.
ReplyDeleteNIIIIICE!
ReplyDeleteAs I read this post, I really can say I'm impressed and encouraged.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, last year during the SCAA I met Jay at Octane in the ATL. We went out to eat with Phuong and some friends from OK. The first thing I said to Jay when I met him was "Thanks for the pf podcast!" and it was "a community college education in coffee."
Second, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "...I'm different now" and then said, "Everything's different." It is and we all are different. I'm very different that I was 12 months ago and I am a totally different person than I was 24 months ago; and I am referring not only to the personal and business parts of my life, but also to the coffee part of my life.
When I first heard about and listened to the first pf podcast, I was real young in coffee (relatively speaking). I don't even know when I started, but I don't think I had even had anything more than Starbucks espresso and Intelli coffee, with which I ground and made regular drip coffee. Now, I have a 2 group Faema, a Mazzer, and French press and vac pots, and I gave my Saeco drip to a friend. I started a blog, which was relatively popular, at times, amongst the armatures.
When you guys stopped the podcast, I lost the desire to blog and I stopped messing around the coffee geek and home-barista forums. I just lost interest, really. All the other podcasts out there just weren't fulfilling, either.
Now, I am going to the SCAA, again, and I volunteer at the SERBC. Some of the pros out there are some of my best friends, primarily Jason Dominy, but there are other fantastic people who call me or I call them and we hash over what is going on in the business or talk about the tools of the trade. When Amber Sather and I were talking at the SERBC about the schedule and the work that had to be done, I felt like I already knew her. I know the feeling wasn't mutual, but it was because of the podcast. It's almost like my cell phone has turned into the podcast.
To get a little mushy, the podcast has left a whole in my heart that just hasn't been filled, I guess.
I have been wanting to write this for a while, maybe on my blog or heck, who knows where.
So, thanks Nick.
NIck- I have missed the free-style ramblings of you and Jay. I learned a lot about coffee, but was inspired to learn even more. I took a couple of the workshops at Counter Culture- even saw you win the SE Regional at UNC. I am still an avid coffee person and look forward to hearing what's been up with the Cho-man. While my business plan for my own foray into coffee business has been on hold, I am always interested to live vicariously...keep us informed.
ReplyDeletePhil in ChapelHill