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Don’t let the name throw you off the caffeine track. The Chocolate House is not just driving chocolate, it’s got coffee in the passenger’s seat. Mad mix and brew master Jacob Smith conducts some of the finest coffee’s and chocolate’s in Ann Arbor, Mi. Tucked between a Chinese food resturant and Prickly Pear Southwest café, it is the ONLY standing Victorian house left in downtown.Formerly Carillon Chocolates, The Chocolate House 330 S. Main St. Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 is brewing and melting like mad. Walk through the front door to a kitschy, cozy front room with a rectangle, chocolate brown couch, few tables with random chairs. The walls are a delicious lime green and robins eggs blue with lived-in wood floors and give the room a 1970’s vibe.“I’m not a coffee drinker myself,” Smith said, but since he roasts and grinds it there in the store, “I can only drink the coffee I roast”. Which is understandable with the clean and crisp taste of it The espresso roast is a palette pleasing experience. The slightly fruity bean has a clean taste that doesn’t coat the entire tongue, but hit’s the sides of it. “We like to keep it lighter,“ Smith commented, “the importance is to keep the flavor of the coffee, not the roast.“ He watches numerous people walk by the house through-out the day and has had people comment that they didn’t realize he was there or that they had coffee. He wants people to know what high quality coffee they have without having to add much syrups or things like that.“I won’t sell it unless it’s the best quality it can be,” Smith said. He is a self-taught roast and brew master, yet he sounds like a seasoned one. They roast weekly and grind it per pot to serve. Now that’s fresh!High quality coffee and high quality accents. Hot and cold drinks range from mochas, lattes, coco’s, coffee, blended coffee drinks, tea, Chai, fruit smoothies, Italian sodas, milkshakes, and malts. Along with their phenomenal chocolates there, they also offer Stroh’s ice cream. Fondue is an eye catcher on the menu. It’s available for $7 a person with a minimum of two people to acquire it. The chocolate offered is a smart trip to fall into. Zelda Moran, the chocolatier there, is also a self-taught master. She does the art of the truffles, chocolate covered graham crackers, cream center chocolates, chocolate bark, covered rice crispy treats, toffee, smores confection, covered nuts and fruits. The also offer chocolate candy by the pound. Cheesecakes and layered cakes are also there for the tasting.No room inside to sit? Head through the house to the back door and take a seat out on the patio. Stop in to see what you’ve been missing and it won’t be your only visit. A website is in the works as well. (734) 222-0552.
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INDIA - Coffee region gets less rain, but recovery expected

The area under coffee has seen an upward trend in India, with areas fromnon-traditional regions in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa being added.

“The area under coffee is pegged at 380,000 hectares (ha) in the current crop season, 10 per cent higher than the production area in thelast three years,” said Jayarama, director (research) of the CoffeeBoard.

The present area under coffee cultivation in unconventional regions like Andhra and Orissa was 46,000 ha, he added.

However, close to 70 per cent of all output comes from Karnataka, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Non-traditional areas like Andhra andOrissa contribute around four per cent. The Coffee Board says Karnatakaalone is expected to produce 219,625 tonnes in the current crop season,of the total output of 308,000 tonnes.

Experts feel the addition of area is more in the Robusta variety than in Arabica. “Most of the gains in area in recent times is for Robusta,as planters are fetching a good crop with the desired price level frombuyers for this variety,” said A Nanda Belliappa, a member of the Boardand promoter of Suryakiran Estates. Inability to control the white stemborer in the Arabica variety, with uncertainty on price, has discouragedplanters to go for this variety, he said.

Presently, there has been deficient rainfall in the coffee-growing region of southern India, raising concern over production. However,“that will be compensated during August and September”, Jayarama said.He said output would not be impacted much.

Traders and analysts had similar sentiment.

“There was a dry spell in the coffee growing zone in the first week of July. However, things have improved in the last two-three days and isexpected to compensate the deficit,” said Chowda Reddy, an analyst withJRG Wealth Management.


Source: Business Standard

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Promotions?

I would like to know if any Drive thru owners have had any out of the norm promotions that have kicked'Ass!

Would love to hear from you..Thanks Keith Taylor yakima wa..

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Coffee, family and fun at the Zoo

Some might say caffeine and kids are a wicked bad combo. But according to Jessica and Jamie Owulette, it’s the perfect blend to make it a zoo. Zoobilee café at 1834 Whittaker Road, Ypsilanti Mi. is one of a kind in the making.“We’re doing something in the community for kids,” Jessica said, “it’s our whole drive.” Their website, http://www.zoobileeplaycafe.com has their mission statement: “Zoobilee is a family owned business dedicated to providing families in our community with wholesome family fun. We value not only your business, but what’s most important to you, your children. Zoobilee’s playscape activities offer more than just entertainment. It also promotes strong physical development and coordination. We base our reputation on the core values of quality, efficiency, integrity, friendliness, and of course fun!.”Having children herself, she wanted to have a business where she could have her kids with her; what a ideal way to make a living and still spend time with them. July 23 will be their third anniversary. When you walk into the door you get visually hit with a mass array of the basic color wheel you learned in art class. There is a sign-up sheet at the counter there and admission for kids 12-23 months ($3.00) and 24 months and up ($6.00); no charge for infants and adults. The admission helps keep them from extinction. The main area of the entire café is a massive climbing gym; slides, levels to climb on, stairs, and it’s encased in mesh for safety. There are animals painted on the walls everywhere. And if you lose your way, there are bear paw prints painted on the floor directing you to the back cafeteria style eating area. When you see the menu they have, you’ll want to eat. They brew an Italian roast for their coffee drinks; specialty flavored coffees, cappuccinos, blended coffee, vanilla chai, milk, pop, and smoothies. A full working kitchen provides panini’s, salads, wraps, soup, pizza, breakfast, and a variety of small sides. They offer desserts of a yummy and fun kind; sweet pretzels and smore’s are just two to enjoy.There are games to play, rocking horses, puzzles, carnival type toys to buy, a seating area with a TV, Viper Phase video game, and a Treasure Chest claw game to play. Fuzzy, stuffed animals are in various places watching over the kids and there to hug.Owulette has set up an opportunity for families to have private parties. After business hours you can book to entire place for any kind of party. They once has an Elmo appearance at one. It’s a minimum of a three hour time booking and $100 an hour. They provide all food and drinks so you don’t have to worry about anything but fun and your kids. What a great place and opportunity with fun, family and a focus on a positive environment for developing bodies and minds. Their number is 734-547-0966.
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I always loved the convenience of having cafeterias a stone’s throw away from my workplace but looking back this was expensive entertainment especially with many visitors and colleagues. Though, this was the only
chance to have a decent chat with them you know. More recently the situation has changed and because of the very high monthly costs I decided to start making coffee at work by myself. I didn’t buy any fancy coffee maker, no. I just brought an ibrik (dzezve), a bag of ground Turkish coffee, an old kettle, some sugar, a few nice coffee cups and a coffee spoon. Yep, just a few tools/ingredients and I was ready to brew my first Turkish coffee in my office – without any Health & Safety issues that is!


Just a few attempts at brewing Turkish coffee in front of my visitors shows how very easy it is to break the ice without even thinking hard what to say. I call this high-level simplicity networking extraordinaire. Isn’t that wonderful? They are first of all interested in the method of brewing Turkish coffee at work but that is then topped up with an enchanted smell of freshly brewed coffee. Yes, it’s not discussing the business that breaks the ice, it is all about something completely different that seamlessly pulls people into their comfort zone.

You will probably agree that the method of brewing a perfect cup of coffee is one of the most important elements if you really want to enjoy the magic of this ancient beverage. Well, there is one more element that makes or breaks the moment. People often forget that serving a perfect cup of coffee is art in its own right. I’m sure you have had a chance to visit superb restaurants. Have you ever got coffee in a paper cup there? Probably not! Even more, they probably served it in a way that made you talk about it for a minute or two. Now, that’s what I am

talking about and there should be no difference when you offer a cup of coffee to your visitors. It’s the first impression in the business world as well that counts. Here are a few tips:


- Use earthenware or glass cups or mugs. Why? The heat of freshly brewed coffee could melt wax from cardboard cups and affect its taste. On the other hand, it is very difficult to hold paper cups and they just
look so awfully cheap.

- Coffee stays warm much longer in earthenware cups or mugs and they are normally far more stable.

- Always ask your visitor whether they like their coffee sweetened or without any sugar.

- Have some fresh milk always available but you can buy some long life milk pots or sticks in case you haven’t got a fridge and a few sachets of sugar, and ask your visitor if they want some milk or
additional sugar.

- By default you should serve a glass of water with coffee and visitors might be thirsty anyway.

- Serve only hot coffee and never re-heat it and I mean NEVER!


Storing coffee appropriately to preserve its freshness is crucial. The best advice for the office environment is to buy small amounts of ground coffee (3.5oz which is roughly 100g), store it in an airtight
container and use it as soon as possible. Do not forget to close the
container lid tightly immediately after every use.

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Guatemala Huehuetenango Pahlu

Acid- 8
Body- 9
Texture- 8 Clean and milky smooth.
Flavor- nice Huehuetenango Guatemala has simple but unmistakable character and we found this one to be just that. The acid is as juicy as can be without going tart. It arrives immediately and makes the round mouthfeel the focus. Prototypical guatemalan caramel maltiness and flower-petal softness float in the big clean body. Not the most complex of coffees but easy to drink and satisfying. The long clean, juicy finish is one of it's best traits.

Like the Tanzania this one is limited but more guatemala to come...
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Tanzania PB Hope Project

This Tanzania Peaberry was sourced thru the Tanzania Hope Project.

Acid- 7
Body- 8
Texture- 9 Dry powder and particulate, peppery.
Flavor- when ground sandalwood and Nag Champa insense, dry aromatic spices and tomato vine smells are present. Once wet the acid becomes semi-penetrating and is very aromatic. The insense character remains and a warm dry tree pollen emerges as well as a light grapefruit rind in the acid. Along with the grapefruit a tomato on the vine flavor works into the acid profile as well. Layers of spice and sugar make this a complex coffee in both flavor and texture. It's not gritty yet does have a dry powdered character to it. The interesting thing is the dry characteristics do not detract from the mouthfeel, it remains juicy and just teeters on the edge of citrus rindiness. An interesting coffee to try as a single origin espresso shot as well. The acid is ultra clean and mouthwatering allowing the spices to show even more.


Limited quantity available.
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Cross-posted from Chalkboarder News


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