The Filter.

independentcafes:

The coffee industry is full of creative people. Something about drinking coffee seems to inspire great work in all fields of design, artwork and literature and to cultivate new ideas and innovation. Whether it is the fact that the industry is constantly developing or whether coffee shops provide perfect venues for solitary creative work is up for debate. What is certain is that in the last few months, since publishing our book about London’s coffee scene, we have had the great pleasure of being reviewed and acknowledged by some of those at the forefront of this creative outpouring.

One such coffee lover and self-proclaimed “doodler” is Ben Blake, aka Draw Coffee. Having been rarely without a pen in his hand since childhood and having more recently discovered a love of coffee, Ben began embarking upon the natural convergence of these two interests in January this year. Every day over his morning coffee in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Ben doodles about the particular coffee he is drinking onto a filter paper, incorporating brewing methods and logos into an elaborate and ornate series of designs. Ben’s caffeinated compositions have already attracted collaborations with specialty coffee roasters and stellar industry names. As you can see, he was also kind enough to do a doodle for us too.

Ben was inspired to begin his coffee exploration in no small part by Brian W. Jones, the multi-talented creator of Dear Coffee, I Love You. For the past few years, DCILY has been relentlessly promoting cutting edge design and great coffee to a wide audience, becoming in the process one of the leading voices and sources of information for coffee lovers the world over. As a design driven resource, DCILY combines discerning reviews and beautiful artwork to promote great coffee and creativity. Draw Coffee is just one example that the DCILY mission statement is most definitely being fulfilled.

Brian is currently entered into a competition to earn a trip to the World Barista Championships 2012 in Vienna this summer. As a former barista, one of Coffee Common’s founder members and tireless campaigner for coffee, please show your support by giving him your vote at http://www.sendmetovienna.com/86-Brian-W.-Jones.html

You can also see what DCILY had to say about our book here.

Big thanks to both Draw Coffee and DCILY. Long may the creative cross-pollination continue.