Alex Payson
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Alex Payson's Friends

  • Simon Ouderkirk
  • Espresso Supply
  • Drew Ruben
  • Chris Apap
  • Seth Price
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  • Rik Kleinfeldt
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Blue State Coffee

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Profile Information

What is your position in the coffee industry?
barista, manager
Where are you located? ( City and Country )
Providence, RI
How many years have you been in the industry?
2
If you are a barista or shop, are you interested in a barista exchange with another coffee shop/barista?
maybe
About Me:
The science of coffee is my passion.
About My Company:
Blue State Coffee's Mission:
To offer organic, fairly traded coffee, roasted to perfection.
To donate 10% of sales to causes that reflect our Democratic values.
To unite a community of people who care about what's happening in this country.
Website:
http://www.bluestatecoffee.com

Comment Wall (6 comments)

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At 5:32am on October 10, 2010, angela said…
My name is miss angela desmond i saw your profile today and became interested in
you,i will also like to know you more,and i want you to send an email to my
email address so i can give you my picture, for you to know whom i am.
Here is my email address( angela5000desmond@yahoo.fr)
I believe we can move from here!
I am waiting for your mail to my email address above.
(Remeber the distance or colour does not matter but love matters alot in life)
( angela5000desmond@yahoo.fr)
At 10:51am on May 21, 2008, Tim Noble said…
Hey Alex, I wanted to point out that it's hard to change the assumptions, misguided as they may be, of people who just refuse to hear fact.
When someone like Hugh says that Liberals hate capitalism and want handouts in the face of the fact that the most wealthy and prosperous population centers are in the northeast, northern midwest and West coast, all liberal strongholds, and that welfare and tax dollars flow south and east to the red states, where drop-out rates, divorce rates and public assistance rates are the highest in the country, I want to shake my fist. It boggles the rational mind. It says a lot about him, and bully on you for trying to change his mind.
Of course, Don Quixote was a bit of the optimist, too!
At 5:54pm on April 22, 2008, Seth Price said…
Hey Alex, I live not far from your shop and am so happy that it's there. I do have to say that I don't often get a latte there because the baristas aren't consistent. The drip coffee is great though. Check out ProvidencePalate.com, a local foodie site that I started with a friend. See you at Blue State. Best, Seth
At 7:27pm on March 21, 2008, Hugh Mooney said…
Alex;
I realize my post was mostly usless. I should have known better. If for no other reason than the name of the "group", but more for the name of your company.

1) After 10 years, please point to major programs that Mr. Obama has brought to the world.

2) You can bash President Bush all you want. I'm not happy with many things he's done. However, he has served our Country well in what is unquestionably the most difficult presidency in the last 25 years. To take issue with Vice President Cheney is just typical of "blue."

3) Your values are not radical. Although you like to present them as such to add a level of credence. But they do have worth.
-Most everyone wants to protect the environment - within reasonable guidelines - Al Gore not included
-Who wouldn't support children education? But, why do you want me to pay to educate your children? Shouldn't that be the parents responsibility?
-Liberals have not respect for the capitalistic system - they want to limit individual success
-If you truly want to dictate your own life then you've choosen the wrong color
4) I applaud you for your efforts in donations. But, please, global warming? What a joke. Even Start, I have no knowledge of and cannot comment on. Disabled American Veterans - You have my respect - I served in the United States Army from 1963 to 1969 as a medical corpsman.
5) No, we do not all have the same core beliefs. Some of us believe you should have to "earn" it, others believe it should be "given" to them. Blue = give me. All other colors = earn it.

Your cat? I'm sure he's the greatest (we have three cats, five dogs and seven Arabian horses). Just not sure why you choose him as your image and not yourself.
At 2:37pm on March 21, 2008, Alex Payson said…
Hello Hugh,
Thanks for taking the time to speak your thoughts, I created the group "Baristas for Obama" in hopes of sparking discussions just such as this.
I have five points I would like to make in response to your words.

1) On a factual note- Senator Obama has been in the Illinois and U.S. senate for over 10 years now (which is actually 5 times as long as I have been in the coffee business).

2) As for what it takes to run the U.S:
-Experience brought us George Bush and Dick Cheney.
-To extend the lovely analogy you provided about experience- Prior to my involvement in the coffee world I was a chef, a biochemist, a baker, and a fisheries biologist. Despite (or as a result of perhaps?) this varied background I have been able to cobble together what is a pretty great little coffee company. We have our problems, but overall we do a bang-up job from day to day. Having a solid head on ones shoulders, a willingness to face new challenges, and most importantly the ability to surround yourself with fantastic people who you can rely on 24/7 are the most important qualities I believe for running a coffee shop- or the greatest nation on earth.

3) The values that we believe in are pretty radical, but may have a little worth (you might even agree with some of them!):
-Protecting our environment
-Supporting childhood education
-Respecting our capitalist system(we are a business after all), but also strongly believing in providing for all people to have a fighting chance to succeed in it.
-The right to dictate our own lives(within reason) as long as our actions do not harm others.

4) Thanks to the amazing support of our customers we have been able to donate over $30,000 back to the causes we believe in- including Stop Global Warming, Even Start, and Disabled American Veterans. And yes we can prove it :).

5) My goal in working with Blue State Coffee truly is to do my little bit in uniting our country. I think that almost all of us have the same core beliefs- we just sometimes have a hard time getting over our labels and getting to know each other. I am glad you like my cat- he is quite curious indeed.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Alex Payson
At 12:49pm on March 21, 2008, Hugh Mooney said…
Alex;
My comment is in regard to, "Baristas for Obama." From your profile I see you have a couple years experience in the coffee business, only slightly less than Mr. Obama has in the political business.

Allow me a question if you will? - With your experience in the industry, do you feel you would be qualified to run the world's largest coffee producing coffee country in the world?

May I assume the honest answer is probably not?

Then, please, how could you ever believe that an individual with as little experience as Mr. Obama is even remotely equipped to deal with the challenges of running the greatest country in the world?

You state in your 'Mission Statement' on your website that you donate 10% of sales to, "causes that reflect our Democratic values." Just what are those values you're referring to? I doubt they reflect mine. And, are you in a position to provide a level of evidence of your donations?

I would believe the only people you want to "unite" are those that believe as you do. Heaven forbid if you were to embrace concepts that somehow lead to another level of enlightenment.

"Blue is blue and I'm sorry for you." It's not my fault that the, "Right" is right, it's just a fact of life. Oh, and I must say, the cat hidding behind the quilt is perfect.
 
 
 

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