Bryant Simon: I do think that these days we are - in a social sense - what we drink. The coffee in our cups tells us a lot about who we are and how we want to be seen by others. Though for my co-guests, the coffee might be about taste.
C.L.: Todd, your columns in Esquire last year were controversial to say the least. You railed against "rock star baristas," pour-over bars, super-geek roasters, people who take pictures of their coffee with iPhones. Some were none too pleased, including Aaron Ultimo, who told me that he was hurt by those statements. Were they misinterpreted? Are coffee people just way too serious?
Todd Carmichael: The responses were completely unexpected and of two sorts, extraordinarily positive, or death threats or simple threats of violence. The first piece was about my observation of the similarities between some of the extreme baristas of the 1980s (which I was) and some of the baristas today (which I am). The second article was about "Extreme Hipster Cafes and Baristas," those people who take hipster to the furthest reaches of the Hipster universe-which Aaron does not do. Aaron and his wife, the folks at Bodhi or really any other Philly cafe, are simply not extreme hipster cafes, nor did I have them in mind while writing these pieces.
C.L.: Aaron, why were Todd's comments so distressing?
Aaron Ultimo: I think for a lot of folks in the coffee world Todd's articles were distressing because they seemed to take aim at something that we do take very seriously. . . . When it looks like someone comes along and says - to paraphrase - that what were doing isn't legitimate, especially from a coffee guy like Todd, it stings and confuses.
