A huge congrats to all who were involved in this past weekends Western Regional Barista Competition. I have already heard from many people in attendance that it was one of the best barista events to date!

A big round of applause for all of the competitors, and for the top three:



1st Place, Chris Baca, Ritual Coffee Roasters

2nd Place, Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters

3rd Place, Heather Perry, Coffee… Continue

Taken from an article from todays New York Times ... Zander Nosler writes:



“Our decision to become part of Starbucks wasn’t easy but I’m happy with how things have turned out on every level. I truly believe this is our best chance to change the coffee industry for the better ­ and that is a great opportunity to have. We didn’t know what… Continue

It has been a while but we did another Bellissimo Podcast yesterday, and Bruce decided to do it on ... drum roll ... Barista Exchange :)



After you listen to the PF.net podcast, feel free to check it out, it's 20 minutes on bX and what I have planned for the future ... Click here to listen to the Bellissimo Podcast.





Enjoy!



-… Continue

Re posting this for Jaanus Savisto and making the link hot. Thanks Jannus!

Click here for pictures of the competition

An article in the Oregonian today about how Stumptown will stop using Clovers to brew coffee in their retail stores by Friday.



"We've never purchased parts or service from Starbucks in the past, and we're not going to start now," said Matt Lounsbury, Stumptown's director of operations, who said the company's two stores with Clovers… Continue

Not sure if anyone else out there has picked up a TORR tamper, but I wanted to share with you this cool new product. I received my new Zebra Wood TORR tamper from TerraKeramik last week. It is their newest offering since their great line of "competition" quality ceramic capp and espresso cups.



I must say the tamper is a true work of art, it fits my hand similar to the beloved espresso craft tamper I have been using, and… Continue

Hey Guys,

Wanted to announce another chance for bX'ers to meet up and party. The official party being thrown by Ritual Coffee Roasters will take place this Saturday at Ritual Coffee Roasters at 1026 Valencia St. San Fransisco 94110

Barista Exchange will be there in spirit(s). Come out and get down with your local bay area baristas, and all the others in town for the WRBC! Bring espresso!

- Matt

At least I had Howard beat on this idea :) ...



... "Schultz isn't stopping there. He also wants customers to push back to the company using MyStarbucksIdea.com. In other words, the coffeehouse's own social networking site. Schultz wants to empower his customers to help shape the future direction of the coffeehouse he founded.



This is more than a blog or a forum -- customers can discuss ideas, argue about them, post new ideas, vote… Continue

Oh boy ...



SAN DIEGO — A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay its California baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest that the coffee chain paid to shift supervisors.



San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett also issued an injunction that prevents Starbucks' shift supervisors from sharing in future tips, saying state law prohibits managers and supervisors from sharing in employee gratuities.



Starbucks spokeswoman… Continue

So as many of you can tell, there have been a substantial redesign to how content is displayed on the site. Also, there are a lot of updated features! It will take a few days I think to get used to the new stuff, but it is all well thought out and adds a lot of functionality to the site.…





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Not sure what to think about this ... still in shock a bit. Will post more later.



Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Coffee Equipment Company and its proprietary Clover(R) brewing system. The Coffee Equipment Company is a privately held coffee equipment developer and manufacturer based in Seattle, Wash. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.…

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Follow the classic recipe from the Buena Vista in San Fran. You Ritual peeps better be down there right now! Happy St. Patties everyone!

- Matt

Coffee Kids’ 20th Anniversary Dinner, Saturday, May 3rd from 7:30 pm to 9:30, Minneapolis



Coffee Kids’ will commemorate two decades of helping coffee-farming families improve the quality of their lives at a special anniversary celebration. All coffee professionals and fanatics are invited to join the festivities on Saturday, May 3rd from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at the Minneapolis Convention Center. With live entertainment provided by Putumayo World Music, a cocktail reception, a… Continue

Found a cool write up on Barista Exchange on the called "social networking for the coffee-obsessed".

Check it out!

As a coffee house owner there are many decisions that one can make to offer sustainable coffees, environmentally friendly products and to create a culture within your business that is socially responsible. I have seen an exponential growth in customer education and social awareness in the past few years and am excited to see coffee houses and coffee roasters/green coffee buyers focusing not only on quality but also developing direct relationships with coffee farmers… Continue

Hi everyone,



Thanks for your participation on bX. I am pleased with the growth of the site so far, and have some great PR stuff planned in the near future. I recently added a new "Jobs" posting page on the site. The format and functionality is killer and as someone who has posted jobs on bX before I encourage you to try it out.…



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We are proud to announce the next Barista Exchange Meet Up will take place Friday, April 11th in conjunction with the NERBC. The party is sponsored by the American Barista & Coffee School



Here are the details:



Friday, April 11th, 2008

8pm - 1am

Ithaca, NY

The Chanticleer Loft (corner of Cayuga St. and State St.)



Barista… Continue