435181 Sun Aug 26 13:58:10 -0700 2007 0 2 Los Angeles Area 0 2883268 Intelligentsia is hosting Home Brewing Seminars every Sunday morning at 10:00 A.M. in their Silver Lake coffee house. The seminar today was run by Kyle, who is the manager or coffee guru or something special - it was hard for me to catch it as the Intelligentsia store is the Mozza of coffee houses (i.e., the most spectacularly deafeningly loud interior). The cost of the seminar is five dollars and requires a reservation; the class was fully booked today, but only four people showed up. The seminar was over an hour long and covered the proper grinding and brewing methods for Chemex, Eva Solo, French press, and drip coffee makers, with tips on coffee freshness, water purity and temperature, and filtering. There is tasting of each method to demonstrate the qualities of each method, each of which has its own unique character. We had the opportunity to ask lots of great questions and learned about Intelligentsia's roasting aesthetic (almost all light and medium roasts to showcase the beans' qualities - "We have a dark roast for people who want it, but you won't find anyone here who'll recommend it.") and why the Clover coffee at Intelligentsia is so different than at Groundworks. They will also be hosting cuppings and will try to bring producers (like the grower of their Los Immortales from El Salvador) up to the store, but Sunday mornings are dedicated to the Home Brewing Seminars for now. Attendees also get a 10% discount on purchases after the seminar ends. Sun Aug 26 13:58:10 -0700 2007 100515 Woolsey