Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 21, 2008 at 8:43am
Those crazy sci-fi kids over at the io9 blog have uncovered a future of pure, unadulterated horror: a world where humans will bow down to the coffee profiling dictates of the machine known simply as the Electronic Taster.Indeed, friends, this is the end of coffee enjoyment as we know it--an end that could only have been designed by those nutty engineers at Nestle, who, mad with power, continue on in their quest to conquer the world through taste bud desensitization. Run for your lives!LinkPost originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.
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bX'ers - I am asking for your help in kicking off and then spreading the word about a fundraiser tied in with the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Western Regional Barista Competition (WRBC) called Baristas for Bikes.The goal to get all competitors who enter the WRBC (March 28-30), attend the Pre-Competition Training with Heather Perry (March 1), and really all Baristas in the western region (or everywhere!) to participate and demonstate to the media and the general public what a great group of people Baristas are.It’s pretty simple – the challenge is for each Barista to raise enough money to puchase a bike ($120) through Bikes to Rwanda. That’s twelve customers and friends at $10 each – do-able. Can you imagine if just 10% of the Barista Exchange community participates?! We really can make a difference.Bikes to Rwanda’s aim is to provided is to provide cargo bikes to co-operative coffee farmers in Rwanda. (They had been using bikes made from wood, including the tires to haul green coffee beans). The goal is to improve the quality of life in the communities through a bike workshop and maintenance program that provides transportation resources for basic needs and enhances production of quality coffee.Once each Barista decides to take on the challenge I’d like to get a quick email (or café/shop) with the barista’s name, café name and location so I can get an estimate on how many Baristas plan on participating. The larger the number of participants I know are working on gaterhing sponsorships the better chance I have of getting some media attention for the Barista community.Attached a PDF file with more information about Baristas for Bikes and the sponsor form.More information and sponsor forms can be found here.Question? Don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks for your support.Email: info@wrbc2008.com or kerrylaird@pacificbaycoffee.com
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Posted by Coffee Kids on February 20, 2008 at 9:00am
Ever traveled with a pack of Irishmen? Lucky for me I can say that I have. And it was the gift of a lifetime. I traveled to Nicaragua with representatives and affiliates of our long time supporter in Ireland, Java Republic. While it's always an adventure and an eye opening experience when our supporters visit Coffee Kids project participants, this was truly an extraordinary journey. ..
I don't know that I have ever seen such an extraordinary spirit of generosity, compassion, adventure, fun and learning. I myself learned about the Irish and their history and just what incredible people they are. There were people from each region of Ireland, including Northern Ireland. Because of the history of poverty and violence that Ireland has experienced and because they were able to overcome that history largely due to education, these travelers felt a sense of solidarity with the Nicaraguan people. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti. Nicaragua has experienced a long history of civil strife, corruption, and poverty.
Perhaps it was this ability to identify with this shared history and to see the hope for the future that lead to such exceptional generosity on behalf of these Irish travelers. But I don't think so. I think they are just highly compassionate people. .. I watched as 17 people made a concrete difference in the tiny community of Aguas Amarillas by supporting the students struggling to continue their education and learn new technologies to bring them into the future. Perhaps the most moving gesture, at least to me, was that each one of these people brought back the knowledge that they can make a difference -- not just by being associated with Java Republic, but through their own personal commitments to support Coffee Kids and generate more support for the town of Aguas Amarillas and so many like it throughout Latin America...
I have never been so proud to represent Coffee Kids internationally and of the work that we do. I can't thank them enough for all that they taught me about the impact an individual can have on the lives of others. They each touched many lives, not least of all my own.
Check out pictures from the trip at Coffee Kids Flickr site or you can visit this site and see photos of the trip from our friend Patrick Jordan who was one of the visitors with the Java Republic. ..
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Posted by Loren Anthony on February 20, 2008 at 8:10am
Im both a new barista and a new coffeehouse owner. I attended the American Barista & Coffee School 3 yrs ago and absolutely fell in love with the industry. I'm proud to have learned from some of the best. I opened my own coffeehouse 7 months ago in Atlanta. I've attended trade shows subscribe to all the magazines, and visit all the coffeehouses.Im currently practicing my latte art (almost got my rosettas down!) and my tamp is perfect maybe 80% of the time! lolI work real hard sometimes to the point of overwhelming and overextending myself to one day be among the best.I want to learn more about competitions and the differences in how the beans are grown and harvested and become a professional "cupper". I want to do it all ! lolBefore I'm able to hire an employee, I need to learn how to prevent waste and how to train someone else to pull the perfect shot and help them foster a love for the industry.I guess I just sometimes feel a bit intimidated because there's things that seem so common knowledge to others that I still don't know about. Yet, here I am with my own shop. *Shrugs This is where the chump part comes in ! lolI'm so into it even my regular customers are excited, see my enthusiasm and gave me the nickname "Java The Hunny" lol. I guess if they're confident enough in my ability to have me deemed a coffee-related nickname. I should have enough confidence in myself eh ?
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i have two pet rats, Gretchen and Eloise. they are sisters, which is awesome because they love each other. the thing is, they don't like me very much. this is because i used to have another rat, Freya, who was sort of their surrogate mom. when Freya died last june (from being an old old lady), the baby rats stopped liking me as much. i've been trying to play with them more, but they are pretty skittish. i think it's also their genetics, because they were bred to be pretty rats, whereas Freya was bred to be a hardknock snake meal.here's the point: i bought Gretchen and Eloise some delicious yogurty treats tonight as a peace offering. they LOVE yogurt drops. the ones i bought are blueberry flavored, and they smell pretty good. Eloise was a meanie and stole Gretchen's treat, so i gave Gretchen a new one, which Eloise promptly stole. jerk. and she used to be the shy one.in coffee-related news, i think i might write in to Dirty Jobs and ask Mike Rowe to come to the java house for a day and get all espresso-y. mostly i just want Mike Rowe in the same zip code as me.
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Just came back from one hell of a road trip. Andrew (Kopplin) and I drove to DC and back this weekend for Coffee Fest DC 08. That's the area that I grew up and most of my family is still there so the trip it self was nothing new. We left Thursday after we opened and drove the 17 hours thru the night. Arrived Friday afternoon ate, napped, and dropped Kopplin off with a friend so I could hang with my family and some friends. Saturday we went down to Coffee Fest early because I was entered in the Millrock comp. and had to be there early. I was nervous about the whole thing, and managed to remain nervous through out the entirety of the comp. It was the first time I have ever been involved in anything of the sort. It was worth it just for that reason alone tho. There were like 40 or so people involved this time 20 going friday morning and 20 going on saturday morning....vieing for a spot in the finals (top ten). I arrived to see the leader board with photos of some sweet art that had been poured. This certainly did not help the nerves. Being nervous was such an interesting experience for me. I just simply havn't really felt like that before. I have just never really been exposed to enough pressure to make my hands shake and my legs feel light/numb. It was kinda bogus. So the whole thing started and I sat and waited, in what felt like a cattle hold, for my chance to pour. Another pretty awesome thing about the whole event was getting to meet some really nice people. Being my first time at an event such as this it was very nice to see how friendly and down to earth most of the people were. My chance to pour finally came and my nerves kinda took over.....My hands were shakin pretty bad and well I tried to fight it but I didn't do such a great job of it. My pours were pretty mediocre and I certainly thought not good enough to get me back later that night for the finals. Fortunately I was a little hard on myself and I managed to grab the third place spot in the top ten for that nights finals. I was relieved for a bit to know that I was in the finals but of course.....I got more and more nervous as they approaced. Took a little break for lunch after the first round. Also finally got to experience Murky Coffee for the first time.......being from the area I had actually tried to go many times but always ended up not being able to make it for some reason or another. It was a decent shot for sure. The only decent one that I had really ever had while being at home (I have resided in the twin cities for a few years now). It was also my first CCC experience which was also cool. It was nice to see a shop about the same size as Kopplin's doing so well. It has been very rare that we ever see shops as small as we are. After lunch and shots I headed back to the convention center for the finals, and by this time I was pretty much scared shitless. I won't belabour the point finals came and finals went. I did pretty awfully. Nerves took over again and I didn't manage to win any money. Again the people I sat with were great, and this made the trip worth it in my mind. Some really sweet pours took the top three (well deserved I think). It was kinda surreal be a part of the whole thing but it was fun, I learned a lot about my self, and I really look forward to doing more in the future. I think my favorite pour of all that I saw though was one poured by this girl Jenny from Alterra Coffee Roasters. The semi final rounds she poured three rosettas the third one was one of the most beautiful I have seen. It was pretty neato. Go to Alterra and make her pour you face melting rosettas.
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Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on February 19, 2008 at 8:07am
Costa Coffee, one of the largest roasters, wholesalers and retailers in the United Kingdom, opened a new café in Aberystwyth, Wales yesterday and managed to do it in the worst possible way. With your indulgence, I'd like to offer up a brief rant of just where this company went wrong.Mistake #1: Opening the café on high street without planning permission from the Ceredigion County Council.Mistake #2: Ignoring a letter from Aberystwyth Town Council requesting that they provide bilingual signs.Mistake #3: Believing they could get away with such obviously thoughtless and disrespectful actions in the land of the proud and passionate Welsh--not that it would be more acceptable anywhere else, mind you.After centuries of repression and abuse, the Welsh people have worked long and hard to safeguard their distinct heritage, and even with all their dedication only about a fifth of the population can speak their native tongue. In a time when the world is experiencing an epidemic of cultural and linguistic extinction, it is truly unconscionable for any company to ignore those cherished things that give people a solid sense of identity.For Costa Coffee, this is not merely a public relations crisis, this is a cultural and social faux pas of the highest magnitude. People are no longer willing to put up with bad corporate behavior just to get a business to come their town. And claiming ignorance of the existing local cultural and governmental environment can longer be used as an excuse.If Costa Coffee cannot comply with local government stipulations or the simple requests of the general populace, who are their potential customers after all, they deserve to have their shutters closed and their shingle removed.Carry on.Link (via Coffee Talk)Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.
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Hi, everybody. I often lament that I am so far isolated out here in the Pacific and I can't attend any barista events without a criminal amount of travel and expense, or that I haven't been to a coffee shop in so so long that's not my own. And I think about how all my training comes from videos and magazines, websites and things we learn together, or the odd traveller who comes out here to tell us about coffee. And I lament that all my beans come by aeroplane (thank heavens for Fedex). And it's so sad that my supplies are limited and my dairy options are limited, and my knowledgeable customer exists only because I knowledged him.But man, oh man, it's 75 degrees out, clear skies, light trade winds. I can see the canal that runs by my shop (located in an old historic building) and flows under bridges into the clear ocean. There's a few waves out there, glassy ones. Every so often, if you're paying attention, you'll see the splashes of a pod of whales swimming around the island chain on their migration through the Pacific. I have a reddish tan that I got this weekend at the beach, swimming in the ocean, walking on the rocks, laying out at a deserted beach with friends.Sorry guys.It all comes out in the wash, i guess.
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A good coffee day…It starts before the sun. Opening the shop is my time. The music is loud (Michael Jackson, pre – Neverland Ranch creepiness) while I wake up the machines. The Clover bubbles and snorts while going through its cleaning cycle; the Synesso clicks awake as I dial in the espresso. The ‘spro is creamy and sweet with those chocolate and cherry notes that always make me smile. The machines, the spro, and I are all happy little campers as the sun breaks open in the sky.The first people I see this morning are regulars. I love regulars. They’re the five minute friend that, over the months, you get to know. As much as I like meeting new people, it’s my regulars that make being a barista such an awesome job.The morning moves along. The milk is steaming like it wants to be latte art. For five months now I’ve been working on a Synesso and today we’re in synch like veteran dance partners. I was once told the art of espresso was to take the fallacy out of the barista. In other words, to create in the barista the precision of a machine. This day I was an extension of the machine.The day moves on. Washington’s primary is this week and my shop is filling with Clinton and Obama stumpers. The strategizing and planning in intense low tones is beginning to drown out the Curtis Mayfield coming out of the speakers behind me. I lower the stereo and listen in on all the political discourse swirling around. I’m not a politico; I guess it’s never really interested me all that much, but I started thinking about the rich history coffee shops and politics share. Mainly my mind went back to Boston’s Green Dragon, where a handful of forward thinking capitalists came up with the ballsy, and dangerous, idea of starting their own country. In that moment the weight of two centuries of my country’s history settles around me. For the span of a couple of heartbeats I can truly appreciate how coffee has helped shape societies.Then I had lunch. BBQ is one of the finest expressions of love that I know.In the afternoon I hosted a coffee tasting. Four coffees- For an hour I get a captive audience listening to me babble about a true love. I love educating people about coffee. The idea that these cherry pits will be meticulously tended, cherished, and picked; then travel thousands of miles to end up in my hands… the soil to cup chain is something that still takes my breath away. At one point I start talking about how coffee farmers in Central and South America have had to contend with civil unrest that sees them not as people but merely an economic weapon to be exploited or destroyed. I try to impress upon my attentive group the fact that coffee isn’t just a job or a commodity for these people but one of the defining characteristics of their culture…The day winds down with an art opening. It’s one of our regulars showing her art for the first time. She’s nervous, but her friends and family show up; showering her with praise. Nibbling on some brie and crackers, I watch the tension leave her shoulders when her boyfriend shows up with a bouquet of roses.It was a good coffee day…
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Posted by Ed Kaufmann on February 18, 2008 at 12:00pm
Dear Coffee, I love you. I have many friends that love you too. Many of them also have another friend named Beer who they also love dearly and a few others have a delightful young friend named Whiskey. I am writing to let you know that my friends and I will be visiting our other friends, Beer and Whiskey on March 9th at Harefield Road in Williamsburg at 9pm. Now don't get upset Coffee, don't be jealous. Many of us will be back early the next morning to care for you as we always have. We might be a little sleepy but you may be able to help with that. If you love me coffee, you will let me have other friends. I knew you would understand. Coffee, you are the best!Love,Ed(This is an invitation if you didn't pick up on that. Come one, come all!)Info and directionsRead more…
Posted by Jason Dominy on February 18, 2008 at 10:00am
Well, I have gotten back, and am now settling my thoughts, trying to capture them on paper so I don't forget all the things I wanted to remember. So, this will help to solidify those thoughts. This is how I remember it.Friday, I arrived in DC, met up with Michael Feemster, a great barista who works with us at Dilworth Coffee. He got there early, so met me at a Metro stop. We proceeded to our hotel which was in Bethesda. I know, it ain't close, it's where Orbitz put me. We got to the Convention Center, and immediately hit the floor to see what was going on. Alot of cool stuff. I had my first coffee from a Clover, and over the course of the weekend, I must have had 10 cups of coffee off various Clovers, and to answer a question lots of people are asking, "Yes. There is a huge difference." The coffees were more clean, brighter, more in focus I felt. There were about 7 or 8 on the floor, and they were featuring some good coffees. My favorites? Intelligentsia's Tres Santos El Portal. I love the dark chocolate notes, with a nice spice background. A very close second was Counter Culture's famous Idido Misty Valley Yirg. I love this coffee for it's complex simplicity. I got a real sweet cup with honey and dark plum. Very delicious! Also, Cafe Pronto had a great Yirg Koke.I was very honored to have a chance to take the Free Pour Latte Art Workshop with Ellie Matuszak and Chris Deferio. We broke up into groups of three, and I went under Chris' fine tutelage. Before I knew it, I was pouring some great rosetta and hearts, and in awe of the skills that Ellie and Chris have been mastering over many years. Not only are they great latte artists, but they are excellent communicators, and it was just really cool to be able to take the class and learn from two of the best. Well worth it. I have been working on latte art for years, and never gotten to anywhere close. Friday, it clicked. I even tried it this morning, and still remembered it. Sweet.One thing led to another, and before I knew it, it was time to head over to Arlington for the Barista Exchange get-up at Murky. I made my way that direction, got to Murky around 7. Before long, the place got packed, and there was a great mixture of people. It was great to meet a bunch of the people whose names and avatars grace this site everyday. It was also cool to see people like Jay Caragay and M'lissa Muckerman chatting with Matt Milletto, people from three completely different areas of the country, and how close these people really are. It really is a cool community to be a part of. Murky was a cool place, too. I love their Synesso and it's simplicity. Even the Murky baristas are all cool. Several competed in the Mid-Atlantic Regional, and one (Anne Boatner), even came in second. It just goes to show Nick Cho's commitment to dishing out the best espresso drinks everyday.Saturday was full of show floor stuff, and more Clover coffees. I spent much of the day watching all the competitors. A few stood out. I love the fun run Jay Caragay did. I loved his "Breakfast in Bed" signature drink, and it was alot of fun to see him compete. Anne Boatner from Murky had a lot of fun in her run, and despite it being her first time competing, showed great poise. It was a real honor to see Lem Butler from Counter Culture-Durham go through his run. We had had a great conversation earlier, and he agreed to help me prepare for competing this year, so I was interested to see him do his thang. He was cool as a cucumber the whole run, and finished a whole minute and a half before time, smooth the whole way. Not once did I see him rushed. It was very cool. I can't wait to work with him in the future. After staying for the regional qualifier and latte art compeition, it was time to leave for the day. There was a Counter Culture party I had planned to go to, but Michael and I ended up joining Kerry and Melissa (Our Bradford, Canadian friends) and Chris Deferio for a nice brisk walk 20 blocks to eat Chinese. We had a great time, and despite the fact I hated I missed all the cool stuff going on down at Counter Culture, I'll catch it next time. Met some cool Counter Culture people I didn't know before. Daryn Berlin, Brian Ludviksen and Phil Proteau.Sunday was wrapping things up, and saying chows. I met alot of really nice people in our community, and again, it reminded me that the barista/coffee community is very small, and very close. It's a great family, and a special thing to be a part of it. And despite being in coffee for 10 years, I am just getting more involved, which is sad. All these years I have been missing out on some really cool stuff. I got some great advice this week from Heather Perry, Chris Deferio, Ellie Matuszak, Matt Milletto, heck, too many people to really list or count, but the point is that there is a whole community of people that really want to see you progress and get better at your craft. They want to see you succeed and to excel. This community can be what you make of it. More or less, it's up to you.We all have a place. What's yours? Can you see how what you do fits into a much bigger picture? And are you willing to buy me a Clover? That's the real question.P.S. I am including a picture of my first real latte art. I can't take credit for it, because I couldn't have done it without the help of my man Chris Deferio, who helped me to get it to click.
Posted by Troy Reynard on February 18, 2008 at 4:28am
Belle Batista's (Aldo Coffee) been a champion long before Nick announced the winners on Sunday afternoon at the Mid Atlantic Regional Competition in Washington DC. Few competitors (or people for that matter) have the compassion and grace that Belle exudes every time I have talked to her. Saturday evening, after I totally blew my performance at the MARBC, and I was wallowing in anger at myself and at the world in general, and good dose of self-pity, Belle came up to me and said some very nice things to give me some solace. I can't truly put into words how happy I was for her when it was announced she had won. Congratulations Belle! You're not only a champion behind the espresso machine, but a champion in life!
Posted by Matt Milletto on February 17, 2008 at 7:03pm
I didn't get to watch all of the finalists today as I was in the booth, but did try to follow the comp as much as I could. A big congratulations to all who competed, and instead of trying to re-post everything here, for now, check out the sweet blog put on by Octane at www.coffeerevelation.com
Also congrats to Ben from Octane for winning the Millrock Latte Art Competition, along with Justin from Alterra coming in 2nd place! More to come soon.
- Matt
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Posted by Stickman on February 17, 2008 at 11:04am
I have this 2 unit pour-over contraption on a shelf at my shop that we've never used for the same reason we don't make drip for our "regular coffee". For the 25% of our clients who don't ask for espresso-based drinks we make French Press. The French Press coffee is made in 1.5 litre presses then decanted into airpots and refreshed/replaced as need be depending on how it ages and tastes (+/- 30 minutes) depending on the beans and their roast. But when someone wants a coffee other than what is available at the moment they have to wait 4 or 5 minutes while their individual press is prepared...(ie: if we've decided that it's a Papua New Guinea day and someone requests a Yemen, they have to wait.)4 or 5 minutes isn't much in geological terms but during the morning rush having this thirsty person shuffling around the end of the line in my small shop can be stressful to staff. Also, we're in the early stages of coffee education in our small town and there are no waits at the other shops because they make great vats of drip. First-timers who want something new could be disinclined to return if time is their controlling instinct...And they might never enjoy the benefits of good single origin beans - one of our goals.So this pour-over thingy...Are there gold (or other metal) Melitta-style filters that will allow the 'oils' to pass-through or am I stuck with papers?
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Posted by James Spano on February 16, 2008 at 7:28pm
Just a general idea of what's going on with my apprenticeship. Got into the shop at 6:00 A.M. and started up the roaster. I've gotten to the point where I (get to) start early by myself and clean things up and get the roaster started and ready for the day. Today was light, we roasted about 60 lbs. of Hue Hue. Mike comes down finally with coffee and a little something to eat. He reminds me (again and again) what I"m looking for in the roast and when to drop it in and when to take it out.Mike starts things up in the shop and after discussing options and planning things for my future shop, we open his at 9:00 A.M. (that's right). Everythings goes smoothly and I take care of the roasting side of the morning then finish up and help behind bar till lunch. At 1:00 P.M. We close up for a two hour lunch (I freakin' love the hours here, you can get away with them and still make enough).Except it's not our usual lunch then plan then maybe grab a 15 minute siesta. Mike gets a call around noon from a local tour guide. The guide brings tourists (mostly Italians) into the shop during the closed hours so they can get personal attention from a skilled barista on a machine from the motherland (Mike has a lever la Cimbali, they love it). So picture about 15 Italians crammed into this little shop all ordering singles, doubles, and ristrettos. While Mike trusts me behind the bar, he know just what these guys are looking for and want to give them exactly what they need. So he runs solo while I take everyones orders. Depending on their age, they order espressos how they know them: Ristretto, lungo, corto, double, normale. Mike smiles and nods and pulls beautiful shot after beautiful shot. Then some want to try the coffee. We pour out some Hue Hue and the expression on their face tells the story about this coffee: wow. Now, they all want coffee. Espresso, regular, ground for moka, drip, and professional machine. Then they see there's cacao. Well of course they need that too.There's a time when your working and there's so much going on and it just keeps building. Mike calls this being "in the weeds". We were in the weeds. Fortunately they had another site to see and could come back later, so they left us frantically packaging.The afternoon continued with more beans and brew to sell. We must have sold 20 lbs. of coffee today. To fully appreciate this, you'd have to see Mike's shop. It holds about 17 max with no elbow room and no hope of the barista getting out from behind the bar.We finally close at a very late (haha) 7:00 P.M. Then it's clean up and talk shop. These are amazing times where I can sit and listen to a guy with 20 years in coffee all over the world tell me about shops, customers, and the heart.Tomorrow we're off on a coffee run! We'll be gone to and a half days into farms searching for this years stellar bean. The harvest here is very late and a lot of coffee was lost in a big wind storm. I'm excited because Mike is visiting some farms new and old to him, so I can experience both of those aspects.Meanwhile I'm still deciding how to get things started. The capitol this is still a question. How to get it. I could work for a year (I mean, I am a certified teacher) or try to get on with somebody as a roaster or barista and save up. Or I could just start as a roaster which would greatly reduce my startup costs, then continue planning and saving and buy little things here and there. I'm still thinking and praying about all of it.So. That's my day. Almost two weeks in, and the rest of my life to go.
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Posted by Bel Townsend on February 16, 2008 at 10:24am
(NB: This is a follow up for uni - I started a discussion on here a while ago asking why coffee is perceived to be Italian at least in the UK. These are just some thoughts and experiences on that topic)Walking round Darlington town centre gives you a relatively large selection of places to get cups of coffee. There are numerous 'traditional tea rooms' where coffee is an afterthought, and greasy-spoon cafes who will do instant Nescafe in a polystyrene cup. And then there is two Costas, a Caffe Nero and the brand new Starbucks. So far, so uninteresting. Darlington does boast a few independent cafes, however: The Voodoo Cafe which I am still too biased to express an opinion about, Coffee Bamber – an expensive and somehow unappealing place which, commendably, only sells FairTrade coffee, and “Coffee @ Elliotts.” This company actually has two branches now on either side of town, and I decided to try it out.Coffee @ Elliotts is done out quite attractively, all art deco with huge chandeliers, ornate mirrors, heavy wooden furniture and the odd bust dotted around on shelves. There are also lots of sepia pictures of old style continental pavement cafes with titles in... French?This is surprising. I had honestly expected the elusive Elliott to pretend to be Italian. Costa claims to serve Italian-style coffee, Caffe Nero are so Italian they've even added the extra 'f', Starbucks was apparently inspired by Italian espresso bars... Admittedly, Coffee Bamber doesn't seem to know what it is selling, and I tried to make the Voodoo Cafe as Latino as possible, but otherwise it is a safe presumption that most coffee shops have some Italian connection. Elliotts does serve espresso, cappuccinos, lattes, and all the rest, but also apparently sell 'coffee' as well, without giving it an Italian identity. All drinks come in 'regular' or 'large' as opposed to 'grande' or even 'venti'. Although the emphasis is on coffees, they also serve panninis and biscottis, but also plain sandwiches, cakes and jacket potatoes. None of which sound particularly continental.The coffee at Elliott's wasn't bad at all, and was actually cheaper than the bigger chains. And then I found out why – they were using a Bean-to-Cup machine, which is about the same size as a Gaggia espresso maker and works on the same principle, but doesn't require the same human input. This machine will make espresso-based coffee, but only requires that you fill it up with beans, water and fresh milk in different compartments, and press the right button depending on what you want. It presses the coffee and steams the milk all by itself, and the 'barista' just has to put a cup underneath.This makes the coffee cheaper – not because it is cheaper to run, or cheaper on staff costs; the baristas are still there to bring your coffees to you and cash up etc. It is cheaper, I think, because it requires less skill to produce. And also, less showmanship. Making coffee like this, looks easier to anyone watching. Therefore, value cannot be added to it by making it look more skilled. The process does not look sufficiently complex to warrant charging more to compensate for the skilled labour involved. This sort of coffee is less of a luxury.This does not mean, however, that anyone could do it. It is still highly unlikely for many people to have a bean-to-cup machine at home, and so the luxury of having someone make it for you is still there. Even with a machine like that, there still has to be some product knowledge involved. An example is that the coffee from Interval bar at Sheffield university also comes from a bean-to-cup machine, just like at Elliotts. Elliotts coffee is infinitely better tasting however. Baristas still need to know how to maintain the machine, set it to the right temperatures and pressure, and what coffee to put in it. Elliotts coffee tasted as good, if not better, than Caffe Nero's equivalent, whereas the coffee at Interval is somewhere between burnt and stale and possibly flavoured with ground up car tyres. This, to me, implies that there is more to making coffee than just which machine you choose.As shown by the Barista Championships, there is a lot of skill, art and showmanship that goes in to making espresso based coffees, and the fact that these competitions, and this style of coffee-making are still so popular implies that it is still what consumers want – there must be a specific selling point to make the coffee shops invest in Gaggia machines and in training their staff. If the bean-to-cup machines were as good – and they are quicker, more efficient and dare I say it, convenient, then Starbucks and Nero would use them and the art of the barista wouldn't be so called for. Something has to make the 'real' espresso coffees of higher quality.I would argue that it is the Italianess that is that selling point. Italianess is part of the 'experience' which the big brands are so keen to promote. Caffe Nero, for instance, want to offer the experience of a old fashioned Italian espresso bar and continental cafe. It gives the coffee, and this 'experience' an identity, which is very important to the brand, Being 'Italian' not only makes the place sound sophisticated and if not exotic, then certainly different to the quaint English tea rooms, it also adds an element of performance. Espresso was invented and perfected in Italy, the first espresso machines were designed and patented by Italians. This style also happens to require more skilled human input, more visual techniques and as such, more labour. Increasing the labour involved increases the value of the end-product, the customer perceives it to be of better quality entirely because of the added labour-value, and so espresso coffees become more expensive. This could be the main reason why coffee shops, like Coffee @ Elliotts become Italian, when they are on Darlington high street, run by Americans and get their coffee beans from Brazil.
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I just figured I would give this whole blog thing a shot. It's been a really long time since I have done this...not to mention my one and only blog was on xanga.... any who, it's late in Kansas and I am watching Harry Potter (#1) and just finished season 3 of 24. I did practically nothing today, with the exception of writing up descriptions of our competition espresso blend. It should be up on the site by Monday I would assume. Well, even though this is the 72nd time I have seen it, I must watch Harry's hijinks ensue....Holls
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our store uses a brew bar system (with Melitta cones and #4 filters) to make brewed coffee. my location (Mormon Trek) has six brew bar slots (four for straight coffee and two for flavor). to make it easier for customers to figure out where their coffee is, we make signs and direct customers to the sign under which their coffee is dripping away. i made some kickass signs today... breakfast cereal characters (with vintage cereal boxes for the pictures). included were Count Chocula, Trix Rabbit, Dig 'Em Frog, King Vitaman, Tony the Tiger, and Cap'n Crunch.while i was making the signs, i realized that a lot of breakfast cereal mascots have titles like Captain, Count, King, Sir, etc. that's weird. i don't think children are sitting at the table saying, "you know, i will only eat this sugary crunchy stuff if a dude with a fancy name endorses it."at least Cap'n Crunch isn't pretentious with his name... he's snappy!
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