The Bellingham Herald, Thursday October 14, 2004

Black Drop coffee shop not the usual grind

GETTING TO KNOW ALEXARC MASTEMA Michelle Nolan, For the Bellingham Herald

If you want to know how dedicated Alexarc Mastema is to the art and science of fine coffee, all you need to do is check out his wrists.

One large black drop is tattooed on each wrist of the arms that create some of the best coffee in Bellingham. Mastema has the credentials to back up that claim.

Mastema, 33, and co-owner Teri Bryant, 32, opened The Black Drop coffee shop at 300 W. Champion St. in downtown Bellingham nearly two years ago. They're excited that business is up 40 percent the past year.

Question: Alexarc, you seem to be about as passionate about coffee as a barista can be.

Answer: I am! I had actually wanted to open a coffee shop since I was 13 years old. I've always been a coffee shop guy, and my Teri and I make good partners, since she has the brains, business experience and the ability with numbers to run the business, and I have the hands to create the coffee. I absolutely love my work! I can walk around anywhere and people know me as that barista. It's great!

Q: Teri, you seem to have made a welcoming environment. How did you create that?

A: We've tried hard to make it open and inclusive, along with offering great coffee. We've seen goth punker kids talking with businesswomen in our shop, and we think that's cool!

Q: Alexarc, what are your goals as a barista?

A: I hope to become a master barista as certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. It's very challenging; you have to take a rigorous test. You need a solid scientific understanding of the nature of coffee.

Q: Teri, how did you and Alexarc meet and get the idea for your business?

A: I'm married and have been a stay-at-home mom with my 8-year-old son, Tristan, and I met Alexarc while blogging (creating a Web log on the Internet). There are about 800 bloggers in town and Alexarc and I threw a party for them. Now we get much of our customer base from all the bloggers.

Q: Alexarc, what was it like acting as a certified judge recently for the Canadian national barista championships and the Northwestern regional championships?

A: It was a wonderful opportunity. In the Northwestern regional, I was one of seven judges who evaluated how baristas had to create 12 aesthetically pleasing and delicious espresso drinks in 15 minutes. I found myself just soaked in sweat because I was so nervous. Being accepted as a judge was the culmination of 13 years of learning how to be a barista. It was like being accepted as an expert. But here I was, judging people I look up to, and judging alongside people who were my mentors, some of the gods in the field. It's very scientific and very artistic at the same time.

Q: Teri, you seem very proud of Alexarc's accomplishments.

A: I am proud. He put his 12 years of experience to the test as both a sensory and technical judge, and he hopes to judge the national and world competition next year in Seattle. These competitions are a growing trend to show the world that the days of coffee as a boring beverage are over. Baristas are increasingly being seen as craftsmen devoted to a career, instead of the way many consumers think of it as a transitional job for college students. The Barista Guild is a one-year-old organization that promotes sharing knowledge and advocacy.

Q: Teri, what goes into making a good barista?

A: Great baristas are not just button pushers. The Italians refer to espresso as the four M's: macinazione (the grind), miscela (the bean), macchina (the machine) and mano (the skilled hand). We're proud that at The Black Drop, we offer drip coffee from Bellingham's own Moka Joe coffee roasters and espresso from Seattle's Hines Public Market Coffee.

Q: Alexarc, how did you get your unique name?

A: I changed it myself about 10 years ago. It used to be Douglas, but I just never felt like a Douglas! I wanted to be unique, because I felt unique.