We’re one full month into 2013 and for this week’s post, I’m taking a look at my drinking, eating, and making consumption in January.
So that idea that I wanted to try a new roaster (designated by NR) every month more than succeeded. Favorites are designated by asterisks. What did I drink/eat/make this month?Read More
Most people throw away their retail bags of coffee once they’re through with the beans. I tend to keep all my bags. Design fascinates me in every way, coffee packaging included. I’m a fairly visual person. I believe that branding and coffee packaging is just as important a consideration for a coffee roaster as the name, location, and bean quality. But that’s for another post. This post is about what I did with these bags that I’ve been saving for the last three years.Read More
This post was meant to be posted on Thursday (I wrote myself an editorial calendar. Will probably take two months for me to actually transition to it). But it doesn’t matter, it’s still timely and the past weekend’s Big Central has only reinforced my opinion below.
Three years ago, I was embarrassed to admit that I streamed barista competitions on my computer. Now, I proudly shout it out:
I WATCH BARISTA COMPETITIONS.
ON MY COMPUTER.
BY MYSELF.
At the time of writing this, I am 27 minutes away from my Twitter-peer-imposed writing deadline. It’s been a weirdly emotional 24 hours for me. I know a number of people struggle in their 20s and I know that life-stress can be difficult to manage.
A few months ago, a close friend was diagnosed with depression and for the 2nd time in my life, I had to figure out how to respond. Do I tiptoe around her? Do I check in everyday? I still don’t know the answer, but I try and listen/answer to every call and email.
Last night, I found out that a different friend was denied long-term disability, even though she has medical proof of suffering from PTSD. At the same time, I also discovered the fact that she had PTSD for the last six months. We had only been intermittently in touch. This dear woman was one of my biggest cheerleaders when I was deciding whether or not to leave a job I hated. Her PTSD has been a result of recently recalled sexual assault and medical trauma. She has since moved back to Indiana with her parents, but is still seeking help in paying her medical bills. Please consider making a small donation. *If you donate at least $20, I will personally come to your office [in Chicago] at a scheduled time and make you a cup of coffee. Anything more or less is still deeply appreciated.*Read More
A coffee professional once asked me rhetorically, “Does it really matter what coffee bloggers say?” Which, since we’re being rhetorical, let’s just ask, “Do bloggers actually have influence?” My answer to both is a definitive yes.
Let’s define “coffee blog” as “a blog which main topic is coffee.” Simple, right? There are a number of coffee blogs out there, authored by all sorts of people. Writers span a whole origin scope: coffee enthusiasts, home baristas, coffee businesses, equipment reviewers, individual coffee professionals (from baristas to green bean buyers)… this list goes on and on. By sheer numbers, there are tons of coffee blogs. But by quality and consistency for specialty coffee, I’d argue that there are only a few dozen coffee blogs.Read More
A couple of weeks ago, Oliver Strand’s column “Ristretto” (last post) ended and coffee lovers all around the world shed caffeinated tears. Since I want to write more often, need more blogs to read, and I work way better with others keeping me in line, #blogchallengewk1 happened. One coffee blog post a week with D. Nettleton (read), Maxwell Mooney (read), and Randy Levine (read). Anyone can join in- no prior writing experience needed.
For the past few years, I’ve been establishing one NY resolution a year (instead of the 15 that I used to write & give up on within six weeks). In 2012, my general new years resolution was to make new friends [outside of work]. I went through the pains of setting up an OKCupid account (I don’t suggest doing this to find new friends), attempted to join Meetup groups, and said yes to many events where I didn’t know anyone… needless to say, random group meetings, random one-on-one meetings, random parties… they just don’t pan out into real friendships. The new friendships I’ve made this year have all come out of the coffee industry and I’m grateful for all of them.
I’ve yet to decide on my general 2013 resolution, but I do have many coffee goals that I want to achieve in 2013.Read More
Note: These are my thoughts & notes from a coffee event. Facts stated do not have linkable sources, but were talked about in the lab. If I made any errors, I apologize. Please let me know what they are.
I’ve been attending a lot of coffee events lately and forgetting to write up my thoughts on them. Last Wednesday, Counter Culture Chicago hosted 20 coffee professionals for an organic acid lab. The event was free and open to the public. I guess only coffee pros attended, because the phrase “organic acids” might scare off.. pretty much everyone. The lab was put together by Lydia Iannetti from the Durham training center. The first part consisted of simple, easy-to-grasp slides while the second part was all about tasting the acids.Read More
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
This post is long overdue. By about ten days…
It’s not usually until I’m half an hour into a coffee event that I notice how I’m one of ten women standing in a sea of men. Half an hour.
After attending a number of male-dominated throwdowns and coffee-related events, I’ve come to the anecdotal conclusion that there are a number of women in coffee, but not as present as the men. I think coffee ladies in general need to up their competition confidence level. And sometimes, it’s much, much easier to test out waters when you’re surrounded by only women.Read More
I read somewhere that if you make a difference in one person’s life, then it should be a reason to keep on going in your passion’s path. Five months out from quitting my job, I still believe in coffee. The people I’ve met in this industry are some of the nicest people that exist. And while I love the industry professionals, I’m also very interested in the people I “convert” into coffee enthusiasts. I’ve created a few of those already and I’m quite proud of that. Without naming names, here are their stories:Read More
I'm a San Francisco-based coffee marketer: digital strategist, writer & photographer. On the side, I munch on donuts & think of new ways to make you look stunning online.
You can reach me here or on Twitter.
Life goal:
eat / drink coffee / write / travel
>>>> all in one.
