11.29.12

#foodiechats lesson: there are always people to educate about coffee

This past Monday, I learned how many consumers still needed to be exposed to great coffee. It was a very humbling, if not hair-tearing, experience.

Every Monday, there exists a Twitter chat that anyone can participate in called #foodiechats. From what I understand, #foodiechats grew organically- a solid group of Twitter foodies decided to pick a topic every week and then spend an hour and half discussing that topic. The topic is sponsored by a company or organization and the ten questions are released every ten minutes. The chat started in Chicago and has since expanded to all over the world. It becomes the top trending topic in the country every Monday night.Read More

05.01.11

Revival

I’m reviving this blog. Since my exit from the coffee shop, my new job had taken over my life, spinning away my interests, friends, and general inertia for anything remotely interesting. I’ve gone through the adaptation phase of my current job and now I’m in the settling-and-refocusing phase.

It’s taken a few moments about this for me to get kicked back into coffee.

1) A month ago, the recruiter who interviewed me said he liked me for my passion for coffee. It was a public passion (this blog, my internship, my club, my previous job) and he noticed. While obviously it wasn’t the only reason I was hired, it still helped that I had an outside interest. That I wasn’t going to go home after work and sit on the couch and do nothing.Read More

07.21.10

Cupping Comparsions

The following was drafted about a month ago and I just never got around to publishing it.

I’m not a pro at cuppings and I’ll be the first to say that my palate needs some serious work. But what I do know is the feeling I get when I walk away from the cupping. For the most part, I’ve walked away feeling educated, caffeinated, and with a good impression of the roaster.

I’ve attended cuppings presented by a CEO, sales rep, owner, roaster, and a barista. Locations have included a ballroom, classroom, retail shop, and roasting facility. And circumstances have been formal, QC, or even experimental.Read More

04.30.10

When you want to help a shop

I walked into a recently opened local shop today, hoping to get my caffeine fix with a cappuccino. It was my second time visiting and this time, there was one more customer than during my last visit (and there was no one last time). It made me wonder what was wrong with the shop. There I was, sitting outside on the patio (indoor seating= 10, outdoor seating= 12), the only other customer. On a Friday afternoon and 85 degrees outside. Nothing’s wrong with the location, per se, since the deli next door was packed with customers. But it IS located in a converted house (I almost walked by it the first time) with very little seating. It’s evident that the owners are specialty coffee fans: great espresso machine, grinders, beans, etc. They’ve even hosted workshops and expanded PR into some local news clips and newsletters. So why was the barista on her computer when I entered?Read More