Erin “You can call me Meister” Meister
meister [at] biynyc.com
Meister lives up to her name when it comes to talking about (and making) coffee, thanks to her eight years of experience behind an espresso machine. She is an educator, trainer, consultant and barista who most recently could be seen honing her skills (and lip-synching to Donna Summer songs) at Joe, one of New York City’s premier coffeeshops. For the past few years, she has taken her show on the road, traveling to cafés, exchanging ideas with other coffee professionals, introducing neophytes to the joys of cupping and tasting all kinds of brews, interviewing and being interviewed about coffee, and performing house calls. She is on the editorial advisory board for Barista magazine and maintains the coffee-related blog Meet the Press Pot.

Amanda Byron
amanda [at] biynyc.com
Born and raised in the Seattle area, Amanda Byron has been steeped (or brewed, as you prefer) in the specialty-coffee industry since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. She has worked at some of the top coffee bars on the East Coast (Lenox Coffee, Joe), and learned more tricks of the trade with the master roasters at Barrington Coffee Roasting Company. She has been featured in print, on TV and on the Web, discussing brewing, extraction and drink-building techniques; you may have seen her rubbing (cashmere) elbows with Martha Stewart on Martha’s popular morning show (click the link to see a clip!). That’s a good thing!

Together, Amanda and Meister aim to spread the knowledge and appreciation of good coffee as far as their MetroCards and rental cars can take them. They have developed training programs, gone to barista jams, made video podcasts and taught scores of classes for groups of all sizes. They have even helped (de)caffeinate the staff of Late Show with David Letterman—and then took the liberty of sitting in his chair. As the BIY team, they might not lounge on your furniture, but they will enrich your life with the freshest, highest-quality and best-tasting coffee you’ll ever…brew yourself!