coffee business strategies

It’s been over 5 years since I began jotting down my thoughts, tips, press releases and frustrations with the coffee industry to this blog and I have always wondered “who is reading this stuff?” So, I thought, why not ask: who are you? In two sentences, post a reply below to describe your business, what [...]

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Organizers in Dubai are gearing up for the 2nd annual Middle East Coffee & Tea Conference, which is also the site of the official UAE Barista Championship. Having attended and presented at last year’s inaugural conference, I can say firsthand that the event is an important educational opportunity and market linkage for the fledgling specialty [...]

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(alternative title: Belated Blog from Brazil) Google sends me news updates on search keywords that are of interest to me, things like “coffee,” “espresso,” my name, my company and sales at my favorite stores. As news items are generally added very quickly, I was surprised to see this article from Exame, Brazil’s largest business magazine [...]

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Friend and colleague Shawn Steiman scores high marks in this month’s Roast Magazine with The Points Principle, a point/counterpoint look at the 100-point cupping system and its alternatives, with rebuttal by Ken Davids of Coffee Review. I give the article a solid 92.

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My mail today included a humility-free plea from Coffee Fest, the industry’s self-proclaimed “top retail show,” instructing me and other members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America to express concern with the SCAA board’s consideration to relocate its annual convention to Seattle for 6 out of 8 years annually beginning in 2014. “While Coffee [...]

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