Posted by Mike McGinness on September 12, 2009 at 1:08pm
Just finishing bagging up an 11 batch 85LB greens (includes one half batch load Kona) session that took ~4hrs from powerup pre-heat to cool-down shutoff. Thinking back a couple years when I was starting this insane professional journey waiting for this little USRC 3k to be built and was driving Two max overloaded voltage boosted CCR HotTops simultaneously with batches @~333gr to yield two pounds from 5 roasts at approximately 4 batches total per hr both running non-stop it would have taken TWENTY-NINE hours continuous roasting instead of four! Which meant I was insanely doing 12hr plus sessions most Sat & Sundays plus roasting virtually every night after closing the café for a number of months... I was NUTS!!!! (Still am:-)
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Social Media Use By Restaurants (NYC, SFO & PDX)Initial Results of New York, San Francisco Bay Area and Portland OR MarketsChalkboarder.com is compiling the results of an exhaustive study of social media use by the restaurant industry nationally. Some preliminary discoveries are very intriguing.While the entire study encompasses sixteen (16) major metropolitan areas, we’d like to share initial results from New York, Portland Oregon and the San Francisco Bay Area.Records were generated from Urban Spoon and Yelp – cataloging the top thirty (30) percent of user-recommended operations in the Urban Spoon $$$ Affordable Fine Dining category.Here’s the results:NY % SF % PDX %Number of Restaurants 932 1491 168Records Surveyed 272 29% 444 30% 50 30%Websites 222 81.6% 231 52.0% 42 84.0%Email (direct link) 131 48.2% 128 28.8% 25 50.0%Facebook 15 5.5% 32 7.2% 4 8.0%Twitter 11 4.0% 20 4.5% 5 10.0%Twit only 3 1.1% 7 1.6% 3 6.0%Blogs 2 0.7% 8 1.8% 3 6.0%The remaining metro areas we are compiling are:Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, Washington DC, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans and Minneapolis. We’re also curious about rural areas and are setting up an additional study to analyze the five states with the least population per density.Two things surprise us the most – web presence overall and the opportunity to connect.We’re surprised that so many restaurateurs choose not to invest a small amount of money in web presence (San Francisco’s 52% is very surprising, given the proximity to Silicon Valley). For the equivalent of three months print advertising, an operation could open a virtual door for years.The opportunity to connect with current customers, enlist them to share the restaurant with their friends, be engaged directly with your patrons – all with minimal investment – at least, significantly less expense than traditional advertising, is real.We’ll release the completed study early next week. Originally posted at Chalkboarder.com White Papers. Comments and questions are encouraged!Jeffrey KingmanPresident, Chalkboarder.com
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Posted by Alun Evans on September 8, 2009 at 10:01pm
At this time of year the air can be crackling hot- at lunchtime hot enough to burn and blister the soles of your feet if you are silly enough to be walking through the sawah without shoes on. The rains threaten to come everyday, but as the day ebbs to dusk it is ultimately an unfufilled promise.Because of the heat, and also in part because its the fasting month, we decided to do our monthly expat walk up into the hills early than normal. The group was smaller than the last walk I lead, only six of us. However the 2.5 hour trek up ridges, through coffee groves and past the friendly villages that cling onto the slopes of this mountainous area was fantastic. The friendly men and women that make up this rural area always heartens me. Sitting down, chatting about coffee- also about the western world where we all come from is something I always look forward to. I think if more expats could just experience this magical part of Indonesia, then a lot of the bad press this country gets would be washed away.
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Earlier this summer a woman who teaches at a nearby university sent me a book list for a course she teaches on the history of coffee. Just thought I'd pass it along:Liss, David. The Coffee Trader: A Novel. New York, Ballantine Books, 2005. Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds. New York: Basic Books, 1999.Cycon, Dean. Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee. New York: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007.Gresser, Charis. Mugged: Poverty in Your Cup. London: Oxfam Publishing, 2004. Moodle Readings [M]
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Looking for the perfect barista: Espresso Italiano Champion is comingThe Aibes, the Italian Association of Barmen and Supporters, and the Italian Espresso National Institute will work together in the professional channel of coffee with the objective to increase professionalism in this industry. This is the objective of the agreement signed between the two associations involving the intervention of the National Italian Espresso both in competitions and in training by Aibes. In particular in the regional and national Aibes championships, the section Espresso Italiano Champion will be created. So in 2010, through the regional championships and the national competition that will follow, it will be possible to identify the best barista in Italy."This agreement with the Italian Espresso National Institute - said Giorgio Fadda, President of the Aibes - allows Aibes to implement the skills of our members in the coffee area, which we consider of essential importance. The qualified support of the Italian Espresso National Institute will be then used as part of our training programs. Since we believe that our competitions are an important moment of confrontation between professionals, we included in the 2010 program of competitions the section Espresso Italiano Champion: a new exciting challenge for the industry"."The agreement between the Italian Espresso National Institute and Aibes is a historical step for the bar industry in Italy - said Gianluigi Sora, president of the Italian Espresso National Institute - Espresso Italiano Champion will be a stimulus for growth in the sector because it will reward professionalism. However, the collaboration is not just limited to competition: in fact the Italian Espresso National Institute will support Aibes in the training in the coffee sector through its members. And the partnership with Aibes will allow our professional baristas, the Espresso Italiano Specialists, to enhance their culture in mixed drinks and in the high level hospitality".The Italian Espresso National Institute, which includes coffee roasters, equipment manufacturers and other partners that focus on quality espresso, now has 40 members with a combined turnover of around 650 million euros. The Aibes deals with developing the professionalism and skills of people working in bars through a training program that includes courses, masters, study trips and moments of confrontation between barmen and other companies in the sector. Aibes has a history of 60 years of activity and more than 3,000 associated barmen in Italy.
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please see this page, interesting!http://wwwaboutcoffee.blogspot.com/Towards giving valid information about coffee !Any views or information about coffee, is a useful tool for every body !The opinion and your contribution to our efforts become desirable!(At first post were in Greek.. but from now on the post will be published in English)Thanks and regards
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still looking for information, is there an asosication for exchange between the United States and North Africa, namely Morocco. I have launched a nice little coffee shop and i am a beginner though i have 4 people working, i still need to learn myself how to be a real good coffee shop owner and i need training, any ideas please . morocco is in North Africa, very close to Spain
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Posted by Josh Ferguson on September 1, 2009 at 2:37pm
Come see some of the nation's finest baristas compete! This year's Midwest Regional Barista Competition will be held in St.Louis, MO at the Soulard Preservation Hall. Additional info will be available shortly at kaldiscoffee.com. Please save the dates of Friday Oct30th - Sunday Nov1st.Soulard Preservation Hall1921 South Ninth StreetSt.Louis, MO 63104
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A new article from Gabriela Cordon, a coffee expert from Guatemala:"... That is Quauhtlemallan, a "nahuatl" word the Toltecas used to use to name Guatemala. It is not just a nice name. One visit is enough for you to see the luxurious vegetation that covers the highest picks of Central America and 33 majestic volcanoes. In such a mystic small place, almost the same size as the state of Tennessee, not only the Mayans built one of the most outstanding civilizations of the Americas, but also Jesuit priests thought this would be nice microclimate for ornamental coffee plants... " to read more click hereRead more…
Batch twelve is dancing in the fire as I type. Good day roasting a quick 96LBs. Ok relatively quick, but 4 hours not bad for this little USRC 3k.I'd hoped to have the coffeehouse open at my Roastery location next Saturday but alas ain't gonna make it. Still too much to do including too many government hoops not quite jumped through yet.Now to change hats to finish carpenter or is it plumber, cutting a hole in the backbar counter for one of the sinks. Tomorrow will probably put on the electrician hat and get those two ceiling fan/lights installed in the seating area..
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I'm amending my last blog, it's not only been a rough week at our shop, but a rough month.This week I was starting a morning shift as barista after a few days off, and I was really looking forward to rocking the shift. (And to fully clarify, when I've been away from the espresso bar for any amount of time I feel as if my world isn't right until I'm able to pull a few shots at the vary least.) We just started to get our morning rush of regulars when I noticed that my steam wand was putting off way to much pressure, and my gauges were off. I decided to try to make a regulars drink quick before addressing the problem, but I didn't get the chance before something exploded pretty close to my face.That's right, I said exploded.Turns out that we had a pressure safety valve blow, and I just happened to be locking in a portafilter when it did. So much for rocking the shift. After the cloud of steam cleared we had to explain to customers why we couldn't make them anything with espresso or steamed milk, and that our repair guy was on his way from 3 hours away.When all was said and done, all the needed repairs were barely finished just in time for me to put everything back in order for the next barista.Thankfully everything has been going smoothly since then, but this month has been one of the worst ... good thing it is almost completely over. :)And personally, I simply can't wait for my trip to Seattle. My fellow baristi are already sick of hearing me talk about it.
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Posted by Coffee Kids on August 28, 2009 at 6:13am
We're proud to announce a special promotion in our shop right now. Get your favorite college student or (barista who might be headed back to school) on the right foot by sending a Coffee Kids Off-to-College Gift Check out our shop for information at http://www.coffeekids.org/shop.For $50, we will send a Coffee Kids mug, a bag of S&D Earth Song Fairtrade Organic coffee and a bottle of DaVinci Gourmet Syrup directly to your student. Your purchase helps us continue education and scholarship programs for students in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Your support makes a difference in coffee-farming communities.
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