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Giving away Panama La Esmeralda Special Gesha #5 dissapointment

Posted by Mike McGinness on November 30, 2008 at 9:18am

Yesterday was a bit of a bummer, poor turn out. Lesson learned, don't schedule giving away free tasting samples of one of the world's top coffees the Saturday after Thanksgiving! Guess most people chose to fight crowds and long lines at the Malls. Oh well! But damn it was tasting good just coming on peak, roasted it Tuesday morning for Saturday...

I woke up early

Posted by Steve MacDowall on November 30, 2008 at 1:00am

It was dark when I woke up this morning and made my way down stairs. I had a real desire for a hot mug of java that I just started to sing to myself the Java Jive song, but the only coffee I had was the house decaf blend from Starbucks (which I pick up for my wife Beverly).I so wanted to sit down with a coffee in the still of the morning with a coffee that I made a pot.So good – I settled down to read and warm myself with my mug of coffee.It's been a good morning..

Way too early!

Posted by Erin on November 29, 2008 at 5:33pm

Scheduled as the opener on Black Friday. 2:30 in the very dark morning. Wow.So My dad and sister took coffee to the endless lines of early morning shoppers and sold them for 2, 3, and 4 dollars each depending on what kind. We sold lattes, mochas, hot cocoas, and drip coffees. They ate it up!While the pops and sis were walking the lines, mommyo and I completed the whole day's chores in less than 2 hours. The coffee shop was so slow!!Finally the stores opened, and we rung in all the drinks that were sold. They totaled $176 and some change. So we counted out the cash, set it on the counter, and put the rest in the till. Holy Crap!! we each made 60 bucks in tips.I could barely keep my eyes open the whole morning! I had gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before, and every word that came out of my mouth sounded like "lkasiieeslffleifffaaslgs". My body screamed for my bed, and my eyes itched SO BADLY. Every minute was one closer to clocking out, and taking my leave.Cassie, just shut up about only getting 6 hours of sleep. You are looking at the queen of unsleepingness.Come to find out, the morning spent selling to the lines wasn't actually that great profit-wise...we accidentally put the tip money in the till, and divvied out the actual charge. OOPS! Haha. Scratch the warnings I voiced to my sister about keeping a tight lip on the tip profit! Next year we'll have to hit up more stores earlier and faster. :) Yummy YummyI slept from 8am to 2:30pm. I don't think I've ever been able to do that before.Was it worth it? Probably not. Will I do it again next year? Probably. (good family experience and all)Note to self: go to bed earlier next time. Don't waste your time "helping decorate" at 9pm the night before when there is a mass of 24 people called family in the way. No way Hosea!

thanksgiving

Posted by judy f mccabe on November 28, 2008 at 2:25am

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! My Mom managed to say a blessing for our dinner, broke my heart because I know she struggled to get the right words out,( Mom has had a stroke and words don't come easy any longer).My siblings were all present and that's all Mama cared about. Hope you all didn't get too buzzed on coffee yesterday. My coffee intake is increasing because of the cold weather here in Fla,( high 30's low 40's in the am.) All you folks that are laughing right now......it's o.k. cause it's not snowing here! All the Southern Barista's know what I mean. Well, I'm on call today..so I have to check in with the charge nurse...bye Ya'll

Silverstone Half Marathon

Posted by Bryn Jones on November 26, 2008 at 9:21am

I ran the Silverstone Half Marathon earlier this year and have decided to run it again next march. This time i thought i should try and raise some money, so im going to do it for Cancer Research. If anybody would be able to donate anything it would be much appreciated. You can donate at this site: http://www.justgiving.com/bbjonesHere is me hitting the 'wall' last march! lolCheers!

Coffee Kids on Google Earth

Posted by Coffee Kids on November 26, 2008 at 5:50am

Ever wanted to travel to see where Coffee Kids' partners work? Well, now you can... on your computer. All of Coffee Kids' partners in Latin America have been posted on Google Earth thanks to help from Winston Rost at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.Simply download Google Earth at http://earth.google.com and install the program on your computer. Then download the link below and double-click it to open up a list of all of Coffee Kids partners. By clicking on the partner's names, you can see where they are based, get information on how they're helping coffee-farming families, and find links to photos of their work.

CoffeeKids_2008-2009.kmz google earth interface

Coffee Kids' Partner Opens Training Center, Celebrates 20 Years

Posted by Coffee Kids on November 26, 2008 at 5:42am

By Kyle FreundThis past weekend (Nov. 21-23), I traveled down to Oaxaca, Mexico, to attend the 20th Anniversary celebration of Coffee Kids’ partner, CAMPO. They also dedicated their new training center, which they built with support from Coffee Kids. photo of CAMPO Training Center

The new training center teaches by example. It was built using an environmentally-friendly compacted earth technique. Similar to adobe, it involves building molds and compacting dirt to form a solid wall. A water catchment system below the building collects rainfall in two large cisterns. The thick walls keep the building cool in the summer and warm when the temperature drops. CAMPO also has a number of demonstration projects to teach visitors from throughout the state of Oaxaca about organic gardening, permaculture, composting, fish farming, grey water treatment and bee keeping.Over 800 people attended the celebration. Before dinner was served, I gave a few words about the importance of CAMPO’s work and presented them with a certificate from Coffee Kids on behalf of all of our supporters to honor their work improving the quality of life in the entire region. photo of Coffee Kids presenting diploma

After dinner I ran into Pedro Osorio. We’d met a year earlier when Coffee Kids staff visited the community of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, a far-flung community clinging to a mountainside in the Sierra Mixteca. He told me about their efforts to develop a new cooperative for coffee farmers in the area and a number of their efforts to diversify local income. When we last visited the community, they were working on a small eco-hotel for tourists. Santa Cruz is in the middle of a globally-important nature preserve and many in the community have learned the importance of conserving their natural resources and how it can be marketed to attract tourists. Hope I can get back there for a visit some day.After dinner, Jose Carlos Leon Vargas and Jose Luis Zarate from our Oaxaca office and I interviewed Eduardo Torres Navarrete, one of the founders of CAMPO. We had a great conversation and it’s easy to understand why CAMPO has been so effective over the past 20 years thanks to his leadership. I’ll be posting excerpts from our interview with him soon.Thanks to all of our supporters who have make the projects we support possible. These efforts are making a great difference. If you'd like to see more pictures from the event, please visit our Flickr page. If you'd like to support Coffee Kids efforts, Coffee Kids donate page and make your contribution today.

24oz flavored lattes....

Posted by Kelly David H. on November 25, 2008 at 7:03pm

The head roaster and I were talking today about how much of a tragedy it is to serve any coffee drinks over a 16oz let alone our "huge" size (24oz). HOWEVER...we live in America in which bigger is better and sweeter is better than bitter. Being in the coffee business, it is our job to try and show people what coffee really should be but until that day...we must serve those 24oz "cappucino" with extra flavor, extra hot, and no foam. We have to give people what they want because its not about what we want, its all about the customer. Sad. Very sad.

TNT Charlotte December 11th

Posted by Brent hall on November 25, 2008 at 1:34pm

Time Change?!

Posted by Erin on November 24, 2008 at 5:30pm

So mom decided to change the hours for our shop from 5am-8pm to 6am-6pm. It'll be nice in some ways (I don't have to get up so early when I open), and lame in other ways (the high schoolers lose major hours). They decided to have one person to a shift because we aren't busy enough to need to people there. This is a bummer if you end up having to go to the bathroom while alone. :/ We should be making 23cups per person each hour. WOW that would be amazing! I absolutely love when things get that busy. Anyway, there's a large cut in hours which will be a bummer for those people who swap shifts often or at the last minute, request off every weekend on the calendar, and/or break rules (ie: texting, bar skills, customer service etc...). Thankfully, I can honestly say that none of these describe me. Not to say that I'm the perfect employee, or the best barista of them all. It just bugs me when people disrespect their owner or manager and think they can get away with it or won't have it swing around and bite them in the rear. :)Some thing I have fallen short on is gossiping about the people I work with ahem KRISTEN, and trying to tell people how to do things right. I'm working on making suggestions rather than telling people that they're doing something wrong, and I'm trying to be not cocky about it. I want others to be able to take the same pride that I do in my job. I want them to be able to hand a perfect latte to a customer, confident that they'll come back because it was the best they've ever had. It is just easy for me sometimes to be too blunt with people. I prefer others to tell me exactly what I'm doing wrong, why it is, and how to fix it. I forget that others don't expect the same from me, so I need to be easier on my words. :/

It's roasting day.

Posted by Bj Davis on November 23, 2008 at 11:34am

Here I sit listening to the roaster hum, and Sandy curse the flame for going out.She roasted last week and yesterday after we closed. We tasted some Colombia that she roasted yesterday. It was a little too fruity for her tastes, but I thought it was ok. I would like to see a bit more caramel in the flavor. It did go a tad sour once cooled.Flame didn't go out yesterday, so she thought it was perhaps some moisture in the drum. Wonder why it is doing this today?Well today she roasted some more of the Colombia, Kauai, and now she is starting on a French roast blend.Let's hope the flame keeps up with the darker roast.I guess I should go do something constructive.......

Bakery Bar Glisan

Posted by rob on November 22, 2008 at 6:18am

We are now open on 2935 NE Glisan, I would love to see some familiar faces so stop by, oh and we have a 3 group Synesso!!!

Nuova Simonelli Mythos

Posted by nik orosi on November 22, 2008 at 3:30am

Iv had a chance to get one Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder, i think this is special version called Victoria Arduino to be a pair to their new espresso machine, this grinder is in white finish, like new fashion car color, and if looks could kill, this grinder is the one! Has build in led lights as GB5 has and its so much fun to see your grounded coffee on the light. Build in tamper works great with option to fix the pressure of tamping, even im using my own tamper to tamp with. Build in tamper is probably for huge chains or shops with a lot of diff baristi. Hooper is 3,2 kg, in plastic, with plastic top too, so you can see all the beans inside that i like a lot comparing to other grinders that have black finish. Micro metrical fixing of grinding, 72mm burns that are gold plated and 'they say' they guarantee 900kg! Works as it looks, great! Fast and reliable, doses are correct and in only 2,45sec you get 18,65g of coffee!!! Grinds on demand one shot, two shots or three shots, as well continuous grinding...Has almost all, only what id like to see in future is portafilter holder, Mahlkonig look a like, and people from Nuova Simonelli said to me that they are working on new holder as well as on new software! IT SOUNDS GREAT! One of the best grinders and in look and in work...All the best to new WBC sponsor!

Kopi luwak

Posted by Domagoj Trusic on November 22, 2008 at 2:00am

I think that this kind of coffee brand and ideas are good for popularity of coffee in small country like ours Croatia , we lived in lies of big companies for lonk period of time,no education ,no blands,no taste...Thanks to few enthusiast we woke up and now new day for coffee in Croatia is coming ...www.barista.com.hr

Holiday Marketing Ideas to Increase Sales For Coffee Shops (Tip #1)

Posted by Paul on November 21, 2008 at 12:00pm

The blitz is on! Turkey food coma day has yet to come, but retailers are advertising and promoting heavily to attract customers through their doors. Here is one suggestion to increase your customer count and hopefully your holiday sales.Add Extra value for gift card purchasesWhy not offer a free coffee with the purchase (or reload) of $25 or more? You can also offer extra value (purchase any gift card in the amount of $50 or more, and we will match 10%, 20% etc). Set your extra value thresholds to what you are comfortable with, but enough to make sure the customer feels like they are getting a deal. Given all the doom and gloom of the economy, promotions like these will make your customer feel like a savvy shopper and be less reluctant to part with their cash.National chains like Jamba Juice, Red Robin, (even the Mermaid Coffee Shop through Costco) etc. are doing similar promotions through the holidays, so why not your coffee shop?One thing you need to consider is your gift card program itself. If you have a third party program charging you fees everytime you swipe the card through the terminal, this is now a less appeal promotion compared to having a NO FEE gift card program. Overall, fees or not, doing something is better than nothing. Benefits include:-You collect the money upfront (Yay, increase cash flow! Watch this though, because this should be treated like a liability from an accounting standpoint).-Customers already spent the money, so if there's ever a question to go elsewhere, they won't even if there's a bit of a wait.-Easier to upsell that scone or muffin because they don't have to take out extra cash.-You will have about a 10%-15% unredeemed value (to make up for those fees, no less. If you have a NO FEE gift card program, more power to you).NOTE: some states consider unredeemed value as unclaimed property, so you might have to turn that over to your state. Check your local laws just to be sure.And who knows, maybe a handful of these gift card recipients might actually convert into regular customers.

SEattle!!

Posted by Ed Kaufmann on November 21, 2008 at 5:32am

Hey all, I will be in Seattle from the afternoon of December 7th until the morning of the 10th. I have a few things to do during the mornings but outside of that, I would love to connect and drink shots and eat food with awesome Seattle coffee peeps. I am not familiar with Seattle but I would love it if someone could show me the spots if they have time. Let's Possify!Ed

Hong Kong Photo Bomb

Posted by Matt Milletto on November 20, 2008 at 11:30am

Hey guys, I just uploaded a lot of my pictures from Coffee Fest Hong Kong, I am also writing a field report for Barista Magazine in the next issue. It was a blast! So fun to meet so many new baristas from all over SE Asia, and to see some good friends too. Click here to view as a Slideshow, enjoy!

Nice Bloomberg article about Rwanda's coffee.

Posted by Adrian Badger on November 19, 2008 at 6:54am

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=af6ea.qO5TMM&refer=home

Campeonatos SCAE España

Posted by R.Moral on November 17, 2008 at 10:30pm

Estimados amigos,La Asociación Europea de Cafes Especiales, Sección Española, http://www.scae.com/, inicia sus actividades con la organización de tres campeonatos: Campeonato Nacional de Baristas, Campeonato Nacional de Latte Art y Campeonato Nacional de Catas.Los ganadores serán inscritos en las finales mundiales de cada modalidad y viajarán junto con el subcampeón y el personal de apoyo a representar a España. El CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL DE BARISTAS se celebrará del 16 al 19 Abril 2009 en Atlanta, Georgia- USA, los campeonatos de Latte Art y Catas se celebraran en Colonia-Alemania del 26 al 28 de Junio. Los ganadores recibirán formación extra de personas con amplia experiencia en campeonatos para apoyar su participación en la final mundial. Los seis finalistas de cada modalidad también tendrán la oportunidad de recibir más formación y se les proporcionarán actividades promocionales programadas con los patrocinadores durante todo el año 2009.SCAE ESPAÑA, es la única asociación que tiene derecho al desarrollo y ejecución del Campeonato Nacional de Baristas reconocido y autorizado por la http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com/. Las personas interesadas en competir no tienen ninguna obligación de asociarse, solamente estar registradas como participantes en el comité regional que les corresponda.A las personas, empresas u organización que estén interesadas en organizar algún campeonato en su región, se les proporcionará todo el apoyo necesario. Pueden dirigirse al Coordinador Nacional para recabar la información necesaria.De momento hay confirmados 3 regionales y la final en Cataluña. Hay reuniones informativas previstas en Madrid, San Sebastián y Castelldefels para el mes de Diciembre. El día 24 de noviembre informaremos de las fechas concretas.Saludos,Rafael MoralCoordinador Nacional

long day

Posted by Steve MacDowall on November 17, 2008 at 12:39pm

wow what a long day - I was up at 4:50 to start work at 5:30 - I finished well after 6:30.Tomorrow I have the morning off so I'm off to have my coffee downtown. Meet some friends and have a good time.I'm off not to la la time but first I do a little reading.night all.

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