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Ritual Coffee Roasters/Barista Exchange Meet Up/Taco Truck Party S.F. March 29th.

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 25, 2008 at 5:02am

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

Starbucks to try its hand at social networking

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 24, 2008 at 12:43pm

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 on ideas and form more opinions on improving the Starbucks experience. Well, I though this was exactly what Schultz was busy doing these days? Is he really interested in what every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks?" Link to full article

murky coffee training video #2: paper towels

Posted by Nick Cho on March 24, 2008 at 10:19am

Our New FTO Sumatra!

Posted by Stone Creek Coffee Roasters on March 23, 2008 at 5:30am

Posted by: Stephen Bybee, SCC RoasterI've just had a cup, or maybe three, of our new Fair Trade Organic Sumatra, an absolutely delightful new crop offering from a relatively new fair trade coop in Sumatra. Stone Creek usually purchases our Fair Trade Organic Sumatra from the PPKGO coop in the Gayo mountain region of northern Sumatra, but this time we are trying out a Mandheeling offering from the KBQB coop in the Aceh province of northern Sumatra. When I initially cupped this coffee back in January, I was so astounded by its complex fruit and berry flavors that I put it directly on the top of my list of coffees to purchase for our February order. Once it arrived at our roastery we were so eager to taste it that we were counting the days until our old supply of Organic Sumatra was depleted. It was well worth the wait, and this coffee has been so impressive that I have already begun booking a large supply for our next shipment...right now it is the most sought after take home coffee for everybody working here at the roastery, and hopefully our retail customers will soon notice how delicious this coffee really is. As far as my cupping notes go on this offering, I would describe the aroma as a rich, sweet bouquet of berry and syrup, complemented by a hint of carmel. In the cup I find it to be a hefty coffee with a rich, extremely balanced body and taste. Some of the flavors I encountered during cupping were hints of sweet red apple, subtle notes of chocolate and delicate shades of sweet carmel. During every sip of this coffee I was for some reason constantly reminded of the act of eating a deliciously prepared steak, perhaps a filet mignon at medium well. The finish is extremely clean, and the acidity is fairly mild despite the vibrant flavor and exotic aroma.You should try this one out for yourself...pick up a pound in Our Stores or purchase it Online.

murky coffee training video series #1

Posted by Nick Cho on March 23, 2008 at 4:16am

Courtesy Travis Edwards (murky barista). The first in a series of training videos. The information herein is PROPRIETARY, but I thought I'd share nonetheless. Enjoy!

So. I. did. it. Ha!

Posted by Sarah on March 22, 2008 at 11:35am

So. I. did. it. Ha!

Home cupping fun

Posted by Trza on March 22, 2008 at 8:17am

Last night Wiggles hosted a home cupping with Ryan, Jess the mess, Chrissy, Me, Pat (who didn't participate) and Goth Moofin. We cupped 4 colombians from 4 different roasters, 2 samples of each. It wasn't perfect...the water was too hot (I forgot to calibrate my thermometer), we didn't have a scale so we used coffee scoops, and I'm pretty sure the mugs were different sizes so they had different ratios of coffee to water. None the less, we cupped, took notes, and revealed the 4 coffees after tasting.Ironically, the least palatable one to most of us was.....our own Rainforest Alliance!! Wiggles is sure of a production error on our parts as he has cupped it before and says it cups very well. We've all had the coffee served as french press, espresso, manual drip, moka pot, and vacuum pot and we serve it regularly in our stores as an auto drip with no negative flavor profile to be found (well, I wasn't a big fan of the moka personally). So we need to get better at this cupping thing for sure.Also, most of us didn't enjoy the intelly tres santos. I think this too might have been a production error. We know these coffees are good, but we botched up the cupping one way or another. Sigh, better luck next time! It was still a good time, and coffee geekery was still had. As were a lot of beers. And some pizza. Yeah!

A Simple Analysis of Coffee Consumption

Posted by Peter Tam on March 22, 2008 at 2:00am

Consumption Analysis.pdfWhen we look at the statistic figures of coffee consumption for different countries or regions, we may use different way and units for them. Then, we may have different pictures or understandings of them. For Italy, they used to count in cups, for some reason, while for other countries, they used to do in consumed amount of coffee beans or grounds. For example, for some Scandinavian countries, people consumed the most amount of coffee in kg comparing any other counties of the world. While in Italy, they consumed the most cups of coffee comparing with other countries. List of some figures of coffee consumption for several countries, Finland, 11.1 kg/person (about 1,110 cups) 50 M kg, 74% retail, 26% hotel and restaurants Norway, 9.6 kg/person (about 960 cups) Sweden, 9 kg/person (about 900 cups) Denmark, 8 kg/person (about 800 cups) Holland, 6.9 kg/person (about 690 cups) Italy, 600 cups/person (about 4.2 kg)How can it be like this?When we analyses those figures, we have to take the following elements into account. Sorts of coffee drinks, and the coffee grounds used for a cup For drip coffee, it needs about 10 grams of coffee ground for a cup, while for espresso, it needs only around 7 grams for a  cup. Convert to the cups of a kilograms, it can make 100 cups for drip coffee, and 140 cups for espresso. Lost of coffee grounds The most consumed drip coffee is at home, while for espresso, it is normally in a café, where people pay more attention  to save the coffee grounds as possible. So we assumed the lost for drip coffee is 30%, while 10% for espresso (for our  cafes, it is only 5%). Considering the social condition in the Scandinavian countries, 30% of lost should not be too highly  assumed, or even lower than the fact. At home, people may also drop some part of the drip coffee made due to too much  consumption or low temperature or simply in a hurry to do something.Integrate the above two reasons, we made the following calculation and the table below.　　　　　　ton 　kg 　　　cup/kg 　　cups 　　　lost 　　net cupscoffee-1 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-1 　　5 　5,000 　　140 　　700,000 　10% 　　630,000　coffee-2 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-2 　　7 　7,000 　　140 　　980,000 　 10% 　　882,000　coffee-3 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-3 　 10 　10,000 　　140 　　1,400,000 　10% 　 1,260,000In the above table and the calculation, we give three examples. One is 5 tons comparing to 10 tons, and the second one is 7 tons comparing to 10 tons, while the third one is 10 tons comparing to 10 tons. In the first example, the consumed cups of coffee can be similar, and for the second, the cup number is rather higher than the drip coffee, around 26% more than the drip coffee even if the consumed coffee is only 70% of the drip coffee. While for the third example, the coffee consumed is the same, but the coffee drinks in cup is much higher than the drip; 80% more.There are also other elements, but those two are enough to explain the difference and can be the most influenced reasons.This is a simple analysis of the consumed coffee for different countries or regions. If any comments or corrections, it is extremely expected.Peter Tam, Kaffa Café

A General Idea of Coffee Industry in China

Posted by Peter Tam on March 21, 2008 at 7:24am

The Chinese coffee market was started to grow about ten years ago. That was 1997. Maybe in 1992, few of cafes independent from grand hotels were established, but not many. So, I would consider the start of Chinese coffee market was about 1997. For example, one of the famous cafe chain in Beijing, Scrupting Times, was established in 1997. This is one of the commercially succeeded cafes in Beijing.It was about ten years later than in the States, considering the fact that Starbucks started to contact the VC investors in US, and none of them would believe their succeed in the middle of 1980s, for espresso drinks only.We started to investigate the coffee market in China in 2000, and learnt that the market was started to grow fast.Since then, more and more cafes established together with more and more coffee roasters and related dealers. There were also a lot of coffee lovers, or called intended lovers. They looked around the whole city to find good coffee and good cafes.Around that time, 2001, almost none of cafes know really how to brew espresso. The most or all you can see and get were the cup about 200 ml, or 7 oz, for espresso (about 80% full, that was around 6 oz or 160 ml). Only in Starbucks, one can get the espresso in around 30 ml or so, but they were not drinkable, according to the taste buds of most people.The number of coffee roasters had been increase and so is the number of cafes. But, due to the poor quality of their coffee drinks, very few of cafes can be kept openning till now. The Scrupting Times are very few of them, together with few of others.Why the number of cafes had been increased? Because the number of opened cafes had been bigger than the number of closed cafes always, even if the number of remained cafes is very small.Under the name of SCAA or not, there had been several Barista Training centres in Beijing, and world wide recognized espresso brewing skills had been learnt and followed among some of the baristas, including the competitors for the WBC local game for China. The results of that was still poor quality of coffee drinks for almost all cafes in China. They were poor, so that almost no one can get used to drink espresso in China.I was the first guy to tell people that espresso should be a tasty coffee drink, and to find out the way to make it taste good. In our first cafe, which had been closed for years, few people learnt that espresso can be so nice to drink. Since our cafes were closed and they can not find it any more, none of them drink espresso any more, if you ask any of them. Only recently, the end of 2004, we have a partner as Pass By Bar and their sales of pure espresso drinks occupied 22-23% of the total coffee drinks in cups, which is rather high among the cafes where clients are served by both espresso drinks and drip coffee. Last year, two of cafes opened by our trainees in Peking, and several in other cities.Let's come back to the Chinese coffee market.In China, one can find mostly Starbucks, but not any other big chain of cafes. Maybe some small, but not all legal.(to be continued)

Starbucks Ordered to Pay More Than $100 Million in Back Tips

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 21, 2008 at 5:27am

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 Valerie O'Neil said the company planned an immediate appeal of the ruling, calling it "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason." Read full article here

Updates and Redesign Features

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 21, 2008 at 5:22am

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.

Starbucks Coffee Company to Acquire the Coffee Equipment Company and Its Revolutionary Clover(R) Brewing System

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 19, 2008 at 8:14am

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. Read full article here

ASCAP, BMI and SESAC's Harassment of Small Coffeehouses is Bad Business

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on March 19, 2008 at 5:30am

Let me make something very clear at the outset of this post: Both my husband and I are songwriters and artists and as such have a vested interest in license and distribution royalty rights--in fact, it makes us absolutely giddy to be paid for our work. That being said, I find the harassing, heavy-handed tactics employed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC against small, independent cafés to be not only petty and tiny-minded but also shortsighted and just plain bad business.ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) are the three main licensing agencies, representing composers and music publishers worldwide. While few if any would argue against the positive need for their existence, they have become monopolistic bullies under the guise of unionization.KING 5 Television in Seattle, WA reported on Monday about the issue of public broadcast of music CDs and digital music in cafés, highlighting two locally owned coffeehouses, Caffe Bella, with only one location, and Diva Espresso, which has six shops. While the reporter did not make it clear as to whether Diva Espresso was targeted, the owner of Caffe Bella was, forcing her to make a choice between paying hundreds of dollars in licensing fees to the agencies, playing commercial radio or going with satellite radio. She chose satellite radio, with fees paid automatically, at $150 per year, a hefty amount for a single shop to carry while working mightily to keep afloat.Again, I have nothing against artists getting paid and I wish more of us actually did receive fair compensation for our work, but the amount of time, effort and money these huge licensing agencies spend on tracking down small, independent businesses is simply a waste. Not to mention the animosity they create by threatening legal action against coffeehouse owners who, in a good year, see a mere 1-2% profit margin. The fines for not paying licensing fees can be astronomical, reaching into the ten of thousands of dollars and driving people right out of business. In sharp contrast, ASCAP alone raked in $863 million in revenue last year.The small café is most often the best friend of songwriters and musicians, giving play to those who rarely if ever get airtime on commercial radio stations and introducing their work to a wider audience. This is free publicity, free marketing and free advertising, the real value of which is undeniable. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC not only represent big artists, but hundreds of thousands of struggling, largely unknown artists. It is these artists, making up the majority of the agencies' membership, who stand to lose the most when their leaders tread the path of harassment and intimidation of small business.So what is the solution? My suggestion is that members of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC exercise their own muscle of sheer numbers to convince the agencies' leadership that their heavy-handed tactics against small, independent coffeehouses and other businesses is not in their best interest and is in reality doing more harm than good. Perhaps a compromise can be reached in which businesses that operate less than a certain number of locations--let's say six--can receive a waiver from the agencies to play CDs and digital music free of charge. In exchange, the businesses would publicly display detailed information about the music being played, complete with composing and publishing credits, and where the music can be purchased.The main goal of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC is to obtain fair compensation for work done by their members. In tandem with working to make sure that large businesses, radio stations and other broadcast mediums pay their share of fees, the agencies' leadership must also recognize the value of marketing and advertising to the public so that their members can grow an audience who will purchase their material. But if the agencies continue to cut off one of the best avenues of marketing and advertising, one for which neither they nor their members pay a cent, they have lost sight of their goal and the negative consequences of that rest solely on their shoulders.It's time to work together, people, for the benefit of all.Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Easter Egg Hunt on PT's website!

Posted by Holly on March 18, 2008 at 12:38pm

This year we decided to try something new for the Easter holidays. We are having an Easter Egg Hunt on our website through Easter Sunday! Go to www.ptscoffee.com and see if you can find little eggs that offer promotional codes!

Putumayo Recording Artist to Perform at Coffee Kids 20th Anniversary Dinner

Posted by Coffee Kids on March 18, 2008 at 10:27am

Our 20th Anniversary Celebration scheduled for May 3, 2008, at the SCAA Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn., just keeps getting better. We’re happy to announce that Luca Mundaca, a recording artist with Putumayo World Music, will be performing at the event.

Mundaca, a self-taught guitarist and vocalist, has appeared on the Putumayo compilations "Women of the World Acoustic" and "Brazilian Lounge." She was born in Chile and moved with her family to a small town south of Sao Paulo, Brazil, when she was six. At age 15 she began teaching herself to play guitar and has dedicated her life to music. For more information on Mundaca, check out her MySpace page!

Along with Mundaca’s performance, Coffee Kids 20th Anniversary Dinner celebration will feature a short Coffee Kids movie and a variety of speakers including Founder Bill Fishbein, Executive Director Carolyn Fairman, Board President Rob Stephen and longtime contributors and representatives from our partner organizations in Latin America.

Dinner reservations for the event are required. Please contact Heather Ferraro at heather@coffeekids.org or 505-820-1443 for reservations and details.

Great American Dessert Expo Crap !

Posted by Loren Anthony on March 18, 2008 at 8:00am

OK who else is pissed at these freaking people from Great American Dessert Expo calling every 3 hours claiming that they're still affiliated with the CoffeeFest* and begging you to buy admission tickets??They keep calling my cell phone @ that!Not just that but after attending the Coffee Fest Atlanta (which was tons of fun by the way) I noticed all these companies were "cold calling" me and saying I gave them my number at their booth when I KNOW full well I didn't !!It's pretty low and poor business practices. Something needs to be done about this.* What they're really doing is dropping the CoffeeFest's name and saying "this is the great american dessert who showed with coffeefest last year" they say it in a vague way to make u think they're still affiliated.

Help me get to Copenhagen!

Posted by Lita Lopez on March 17, 2008 at 6:00pm

Hello Barista Colleagues!I have entered a contest with the Travel Channel asking Anthony Bourdain to take me to Copenhagen for the World Barista Championship. Please view, rate and add your comments! Thanks so much!http://yourtrip.travelchannel.com/clip.aspx?key=4484DE291DBC04D1

Latte Art War Declared!

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on March 17, 2008 at 11:59am

Peter Pachal of the high tech blog DVICE has posted a video of a modified Philips 8155 x-y flatbed plotter printing out detailed latte art with edible ink. While it's a clever little gadget, it takes about two extra minutes and that's way too long to have my latte just sittin' there.Baristas who practice the time honored skill of latte art have not yet responded to this most recent and provocative move by the computer/robot race into the their territory, but when they do, man, ya better duck 'cause the foam is definitely gonna be flyin'.Link (via Coffee Talk)Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Great Lakes Regional Competition

Posted by Jake Randalll on March 17, 2008 at 6:30am

Lets be honest,This weekend was nothing less than amazing. It was full of drama, passion, and freaking amazing people.Thanks to everyone this weekend who painted a beautiful picture of what true community looks like. I am so thankful that I am apart of something that represents passion, intimacy, and commitment.

Coffee Kids Voice from the Field: Miriam Canto Juarez

Posted by Coffee Kids on March 17, 2008 at 6:30am

Miriam Canto Juarez is a 13-year-old from the community Ocotitlan, Ixhuatlan de Café, Veracruz, Mexico. She takes part in programs run by Coffee Kids partner, Self-Managed Development (AUGE).

"I am part of the children’s savings group called ’Coral,’ this year with the help of Coffee Kids, our group has received training to help us become facilitators, or as we call them, ’promoters.’ We learned about the different types of leadership and other topics like drug addiction, domestic violence, sex education and alcoholism. Since I am also part of a group of women in the GMAS program called ’Las Americas,’ everything I learn with the Coral group, I share with my women’s group

"The ’Las Americas’ group is around 30 women. My mother and one of my sisters are also members. Doña Clara Palma, the coordinator of the GMAS groups and of the children’s savings groups, asked me to share what I learn in my children’s group with the women’s group because it is important to share what you learn. I enjoy this a lot and we use active lessons that are like games and so we learn with more ease.

"Currently, I am studying in secondary school and when I grow up I would like to be a teacher because I really like to teach. The topics that I like most are leadership, because I think that we women can also direct things. And I like to explain things related to the environment because they are very important and because we cannot afford to lose what we have.

"When the women in my group listen to me, I feel great because I don’t feel nervous talking in public. Before I was nervous and scared, but not anymore. I’m not paid for this work, but I gain confidence in myself and now the women in my group know that they can listen to children as well as adults."

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Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.