culture - Blog - Barista Exchange

Cultural exploration through Coffee - Bringing each cup to life - Support our Indiegogo Campaign

Posted by Sumant Yerramilly on July 22, 2013 at 10:27am

The consumer-product relationship is broken. Just think – walking into a store - there is no real interaction between you and the products on the shelf? For most of us it is a simple “Hmm this looks good, I’ll take it.” and throughout consuming the item, nothing new about it is really ever learned. We seek to revolutionize this experience by allowing you – from the moment you first see the product on the shelf to your last interaction with it – it adds value & color to your life.

When we saw this gap, we started Coffee Match – changing the buying & consumption experience around Coffee.

Revolutionizing the way we consume Coffee & Tea

We are both passionate about technology and wanted figure out a way to use it to create an experience around Coffee & Tea. To create an experience – we started thinking about what kind of content would add value to the consumption.

To start…You want to know where it comes from, who is responsible for making it. Next to really spice things up – experience it with your own eyes. Meet the farmers, the local roasters, understand how its locally consumed, what is interesting about the Coffee/Tea drinking culture, & impacts around the production of this beverage.

And that’s exactly what we did. We went to India to accomplish this.

Our First Journey: South India

Our trip in India was incredibly insightful. Most of the amazing Coffee in India is grown in a region known as Coorg which is about 3-4 hours away from any major city. On our journey to Coorg, we realized we were stumbling across amazing locations filled with interesting people & an amazing culture. We started to see how the Coffee & the culture fit together.

It was a surreal experience of how we initially began the trip to find this amazing Coffee, but in the process of doing so – we ended up with so much more. From learning local recipes, understanding how the Coffee is supposed to be made, listening to local music, meeting the local developer community, picking small bits from the language – how it all came together to change our perception of what Coffee & Tea really is.

So we want to bring this experience back – package it in a way from the first sip to the last sip – you feel you’ve been there.

The future of Coffee & Tea:

Once we came back home, we realized we had an opportunity to expose the world to interesting cultures through their daily interaction with Coffee & Tea – a seamless way to consume information while enjoying a delicious beverage.

So we built an app as prototype that pushes all the of the content that we gather while sourcing the coffee/tea from that destination & delivers in a seamless way to the end customer from the moment they see the product at the store.

For instance, meet the farmer with a quick snap – you can see the actual farmer who made it & the raw coffee/tea in his/her hand right on the store shelf. Watch it in action.

And through the process of drinking the coffee/tea until the last sip – we push interesting content through directly to you.

Creating an experience around products

Our vision is at the store – walking into an aisle – is much more interesting & interactive. The products are alive. You’re not buying a product, but you’re buying an experience.

We just launched our Indiegogo & we’d sincerely appreciate your support in changing the way we consume coffee forever.

Pulling Shots and Serving Others

Posted by Coffee Kids on May 8, 2010 at 5:13am

Baristas around the world team up with Coffee Kids to support coffee-farming familiesBaristas from over 50 countries will compete for the honor of World Champion Barista at the 11th Annual World Barista Championship (WBC) in London, England, June 23-25. The event will also feature efforts to raise awareness and funds for Coffee Kids, an international nonprofit dedicated to helping coffee-farming families.

This year, the WBC will be held in conjunction with the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe Conference and Caffé Culture Show, Europe’s largest specialty coffee expo.Special Coffee Kids/WBC efforts and events include:

An online auction of coffee-related items that will begin in June. All funds raised will benefit Coffee Kids’ projects for coffee-farming families.
A Coffee Kids Reception will be held Thursday, June 24 at 6pm. The event will feature a quiz show with celebrity baristas, an open bar and a presentation from Coffee Kids Executive Director Carolyn Fairman.
A coffee map featuring 20-25 of London’s must-visit coffee destinations will be compiled and distributed. All participating shops will collect donations and raise awareness of Coffee Kids.

“The partnership with Coffee Kids allows baristas an opportunity to learn more about ways they can get involved in supporting coffee-growing communities around the world,” said Cindy Chang, executive director of the WBC.More information on all of the events to follow soon! For more information on the World Barista Championship, please visit their website.

to baristas and customers who want to read about coffee culture

Posted by phillip benningfield on February 24, 2010 at 2:06pm

The Dark Roast is a collection of true and informative anecdotes about the coffee world we all love. As a barista of 13 years, having worked in a handful of shops and drank espresso in hundreds of shops, I have made it my mission to bring the culture and finer elements of coffee drinking to the world. The Dark Roast makes for interesting reading and can be used to know the ins and outs of real coffeeshops throughout the U.S. If you are an attentive barista or simply an appreciative or curious coffee drinker then The Dark Roast can give you many insights to properly extracted espresso and humurous everday stories seen in coffee houses. Examples from The Dark Roast include The Customers Ten Expectations, The Baristas Ten Commandments, The Do's and Dont's in Coffeeshops as well as stories titled Crappuccino, Starbucks or Bust, The Great Espresso and Chocolate Eclair Quest, Special Orders don't Upset Us and many more.

The Great Good Place - Part 1

Posted by Mike M on January 9, 2010 at 6:34pm

This is the first of a short series of blogs written to document my thoughts on Ray Oldenburg's book, "The Great Good Place." In his book, Ray discusses the 'Third Place' as the public places where people go to enjoy the company of others in an informal social setting as necessities for our personal and community health. Henceforth, references to the author's work will be discussed as Ray's ideas/assertions.Ray makes a historical reference to the post WWII era, where after the masses of veterans and others ushered in a new consumer era marked by affordable housing, the proliferation of the automobile industry for the masses, and America's stock was on the rise. This became the new 'American Dream,' right? The emphasis was on consumerism, growth was rampant, and the changing culture promoted a solid work ethic and a solid home life. That's my speculation, at least. Being in my mid-20s in the 21st century doesn't afford me the ability to be too empathetic when it comes to understanding what that life was like. All I have are stories and textbooks, but for the sake of this blog, it's good enough for me. I digress..This may very well have been the birth of the consumerism and competition we know today. Once individuals were provided the opportunity to own their own houses and buy their own cars, they had the opportunity to seclude themselves as much as they wanted to, to self-eliminate from the communities in which they live. I'm not implying that the masses trapped themselves in their houses and became xenophobic, but it provided an opportunity to become less connected to those around them. During this period, there were candy shops, soda fountains, malt shops, and cigar stores that served these communities well by offering 'third places' for its members.Now fast forward a number of decades and America's citizens have once again found themselves in a changing social paradigm:"America does not rank well on the dimension of her informal life and less well now than in the past. Increasingly, her citizens are encouraged to find their relaxation, entertainment, companionship, even safety, almost entirely within the privacy of homes that have become more a retreat from society than a connection to it...Daily life amid the urban sprawl is like a grammar school without its recess periods." -Ray OldenburgWhat caused this shift from the post WW-II era to now? I'll say that there was an increased emphasis on consumerism and competition. While my elementary explanation does nothing to change the fact that it has changed, I merely hope to acknowledge that there has been a shift in the way we conduct our lives and the society that we belong to. Also worth noting is that I will use the terms society and community interchangeably, but I believe our experiential understanding of community is as elementary as my explanation of the cultural shift from WW-II to now."Unfortunately, opinion leans toward the view that the causes of stress are social but the cures are individual. It is widely assumed that high levels of stress are an unavoidable condition of modern life, that these are built into the social system, and that one must get outside the system in order to gain relief. Even our efforts at entertaining and being entertained tend toward the competitive and stressful. We come dangerously close to the notion that one "gets sick" in the world beyond one's domicile and one "gets well" by retreating from it. Thus, while German's relax amid the rousing company of the bier garten or the French recuperate in their animated little bistros, Americans turn to massaging, meditating, jogging, hot-tubbing, or escape fiction. While others take full advantage of their freedom to associate, we glorify our freedom not to associate." -Ray OldenburgI could write my own book around that quote and how valid of an opinion I believe it to be..Ray goes on to explain how "leisure has been perverted into consumption" and how advertising has convinced people that the 'good life' is a purchase away, and pins people against each other in having the monetary resources to acquire the goods so cleverly advertised. This, coupled with the rarity or absence of places such as coffee shops, cafes, bookstores, etc that facilitate social gatherings for people to spend time outside of the home or work, define the reality we now face.

Mid City Caffe Opens

Posted by Tony Bowles on August 18, 2009 at 2:26am

Mid City Caffe OpensAnother fancy coffee place, thank goodness!By CARISSA DIMARGOUpdated 3:00 PM EDT, Mon, Aug 17, 2009After several delays, Mid City Caffé finally opened Saturday at 1626 14th St. N.W., a floor above the quirky (read: hot pink) Miss Pixie's Furnishings and Whatnot.We're kinda holding our breath to see how a second-story coffeeshop will fare on 14th, but if they fail, don't blame the coffee, which comes from Durham, N.C.'s Counter Culture Coffee. The coffee company brings in beans that are fair-trade, sustainable and harvested at their peak.Along with plenty of other local coffee purists (Nick Cho, we're lookin' at you), Mid City Caffé will use only two methods of brewing, French press and pour-over, both made to order, reports Prince of Petworth.Pastries and bagels come in from local bakeries. Indulge in chocolate croissants, spice cake and a changing assortment of other goodies. Once the weather cools down (as if that will ever happen), consider snagging a spot on the outdoor patio. WiFi is free -- snag a personal French press and ride the buzz while you surf the intertubes.Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 9 a.m.-7 p.m.Find this article at:http://www.nbcwashington.com/around-town/food-drink/Mid-City-Caffe-53443817.htm

Coffee as a metaphor for the not-so-mind blowing revelations about American culture

Posted by Bo Liles on May 12, 2009 at 11:01am

April/May 2009written by Bo LilesThere is something about knowledge that is both empowering and crippling. I find that I have unintentionally devoted a large portion of my brain cells to housing useless knowledge. Now, sometimes this knowledge comes in handy — like when you are at a party of nerds who like to argue about meaningless things such as coffee, bicycles, music, and the difference between a porter and a stout (which is a lot, btw). I admit that I am one of those nerds, and I know a lot about things that will not change your life if I were to share them with you.One thing I know about is coffee. Now, I am not a trained expert on the level of a coffee cupper, buyer, or roaster. But I can hold my own with a fellow barista or a coffee nerd. I know the terminology, I can correctly pull manual espresso shots (thanks to my coffee Jedi Masters, Courtney & Sarah), sometimes I can pour recognizable latte art. I appreciate a good cappuccino or a well-roasted and brewed drip coffee.And I know what a macchiatto is. And my knowledge of its definition and preparation causes me to loathe the masses of Starbucks customers who think it is a watery, super sweet concoction that some “drink designer” (who must like Twinkies and pixie sticks) forced upon unknowing caffeine addicts sometime during the dot com era.For the record, Wikipedia, and any other encyclopedia would define it as:“Caffè macchiato (IPA: [maʔˈkja(ː)to], sometimes called espresso macchiato) a type of coffee, is espresso with a small amount of hot, foamed milk.”Now, Starbucks wants you to think it is:“A popular American version of the latte macchiato is the Starbucks drink branded as a “caramel macchiato”. This drink is made by combining vanilla flavored syrup with steamed milk, pouring the espresso on top of the milk, then topping it off with caramel sauce. [1] The sauce then melts from the heat of the espresso directly under it and seeps down into the drink. Other flavors are made by using different sauces to top the drink.”Stay with me, I have a larger point. The mere fact that I become highly annoyed at the mere mention of the Starbucks “mis-defined” drink indicates that I am a nerd and a snob who needs to let things lie. But they would be wrong.But in the words of Harry Burns…”did you see that? I didn’t let it lie.”This seemingly meaningless debate can speak to a dual issue within the cultural landscape of American life. First, we have become too comfortable allowing things to pass themselves off as something they are not. There is no greater example of this than people who are “famous” for merely being famous - when they have not accomplished a single thing in life other than attracting paparazzi. These people are about as relevant as leeches in a medieval hospital: they take mindlessly and do not benefit humankind.Secondly, while things are mislabeled and wrongly defined in our culture it becomes apparent that my useless knowledge and annoyance is counterproductive and in fact, useless if I am unwilling to to use it for the hope of change and cultural re-alignment. A revolution does not exist until it spills out into the streets, and our mindsets about everything from coffee to social justice to God cannot change until we fight both mass group-think and intellectual apathy. This will define ours and future generations: did we let it lie, or did we stand up and say its time to have a conversation about where we are as a people and how we want to be defined by history. It’s about educating ourselves about those things that are original and beneficial — and sharing that knowledge rather than glaring in disgust.So, what about that coffee issue I have? Coffee might be the second most traded commodity in the world, but I’m not sure it will cure a diseased celebrity/voyeuristic virus among our culture. BUT, it might just inspire a handful of passionate people to channel their anger about the world into creating, crafting and changing mindsets. One tiny macchiato at a time.Well, after 3 months of not being being behind an espresso bar…I better damn well start re-educating the caffeinated masses again if this essay is going to make any sense.

October Saveur - So happy for Karaba!

Posted by Mark Overbay on October 8, 2008 at 8:37am

http://www.saveur.com/article/Drink/9-Great-Coffees

James Hoffmann East Coast Tour - March 2-15

Posted by Mark Overbay on February 27, 2008 at 7:30am

Counter Culture Coffee cordially invites the barista exchange community to join reigning United Kingdom and World Barista Champion James Hoffmann for his 2008 U.S. East Coast Tour, March 2-15!The 8-stop tour will include coffee presentations, skill demonstrations, barista workshops, and more at Counter Culture regional training centers and other locations listed below. Hope to see many of you at the events!www.counterculturecoffee.com/jameshoffmannRegional event details:March 2Ninth Street Espresso - Chelsea MarketNew York, NY3:00 p.m.Live Barista Performance and MixerNinth Street EspressoChelsea MarketMarch 4Hyde Park, NY (Culinary Institute of America)10 - 11:30 a.m.Signature Drink PresentationDanny Kaye Theater2 - 3:30 p.m.Signature Drink PresentationDanny Kaye TheaterMarch 6Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Barista Jam10am - 12pmEspresso Extraction PresentationMarch 7Washington, DC10-11:30amCoffee Cupping7 - 9:30pmFood Pairing PresentationDC Regional Training Center1836 Columbia Road NWSuite 202Washington, DC 20009March 9Durham, NC2 - 5pmThree-Part Presentation:1) James' personal history in coffee2) Single origin espresso tasting3) Preparing for barista competitionsDurham HQ and Regional Training Center4911 South Alston AvenueDurham, NC 27713March 11Asheville, NC7 - 9pmBarista Comp. & Classic Drinks PresentationAsheville Regional Training Center77 Broadway StreetAsheville, NC 28801March 12Charlotte, NC7 - 9pmBarista Competition & Signature Drink PresentationCharlotte Regional Training Center1435 West Morehead StreetCharlotte, NC 28208March 14Atlanta, GA10 - 11:30 amCoffee CuppingAtlanta Regional Training CenterKing Plow Arts Center887 West Marietta Street NWSuite m210Atlanta, GA 303181 - 3:30 pmBarista Competition PresentationAtlanta Regional Training Center8pmParty at Octane!March 15Atlanta, GA2 - 5pmThree-Part Presentation:1) James' personal history in coffee2) Single origin espresso tasting3) Preparing for barista competitionsAtlanta Regional Training Center

James Hoffmann Biography:James Hoffmann started working as a barista back in 2003. He started working for the espresso machine manufacturer Gaggia, and quickly progressed into a training role. From there in 2005 he moved to another espresso machine company - La Spaziale to work as their national training manager. He also began competing in barista competitions that year and in 2006 won the UK Barista Championship and placed 5th in the World Barista Championship in Berne. He competed again in 2007, winning the UK again and this time went on to win in Tokyo, Japan and became the World Barista Champion. In May 2007 James left La Spaziale with the aim of starting a roastery and cafe in London. He continues to train and consult, as well as write for a variety of different publications and has an interest in food science, having worked with the chefs at the world famous Fat Duck restaurant when working on signature coffee drinks for competition.

Revolutionizing the way we consume Coffee & Tea

Our First Journey: South India

The future of Coffee & Tea:

Creating an experience around products

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.