Couldn’t make it to Minneapolis this year? Check out the live SCAA 2008 conference blog.
2008 SCAA Conference Blog
May 2nd, 2008 · No Comments
→ No CommentsTags: Events · Retail Coffee Industry
Black Coffee Screening at SCAA Conference
May 1st, 2008 · No Comments
Black Coffee Screening at SCAA Conference on Saturday, May 3, 2008
Join other SCAA conference attendees for a special screening of the film series Black Coffee, which traces the unique and volatile history of coffee. The Perfect Cup, the episode being screened, heralds what some coffee experts have called “the romantic age of coffee.” North Americans re-discover what their European counterparts have known all along; coffee is better when it’s quality coffee, and the best place to find it is in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the cafe.
A quirky collection of vagabond hippies looking for a quality cup of coffee emerge from the 70’s to create a new café society. Specialty coffee becomes the first global industry to experiment with sustainable practices and a new breed of co-operative farmer is born in Central America. As activists wake up to the fact that a pound of designer coffee in North America represents a full week’s wage to coffee growers in the producing countries, they organize under the banner of “Fair Trade” (defined as coffee grown by small holders in cooperatives who meet the requirements.) A new generation of coffee consumers demands not only the quality coffee but justice and environmental awareness in their morning cup — a complex brew.
And the search continues for the perfect cup.
The movie will be shown on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at the Oak Street Cinema in Minneapolis. A panel discussion featuring Irene Angelico, the director of Black Coffee, Mark Pendergrast, the author of Uncommon Grounds, TransFair USA President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Rice and several coffee luminaries will immediately follow the film.
A shuttle bus will pick up conference goers at 7:20 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center, returning at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Tickets will cost $7. illycaffe,
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Coffee & Tea.Ltd., Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea are sponsoring the event.
→ No CommentsTags: Events
The great barista battle is brewing
May 1st, 2008 · No Comments
OK, so it’s Specialty Coffee Association of America, not the Specialty Coffee Growers Association, but otherwise, the article is spot on. I even like the subtitle:
The National Barista Championship beginning Friday will showcase some highly sophisticated coffee preparation — and for three local competitors, the experience is as rich and savory as a perfect demitasse of espresso.
The article begins:
Grind. Brew. Extract. Steam. Serve. Repeat. And repeat again, several hundred times, quickly and gracefully.
Since early February, Adam Palmer has spent 30 hours a week in a Zen state, practicing for the Olympics of coffeemaking, the U.S. Barista Championship to be held this weekend at the Minneapolis Convention Center. As one of three young Twin Cities men competing in this creme de la creme contest for coffee fanatics, he knows that no ordinary cup of Joe will tickle the picky palates of judges who consider coffee a high art, not a mere beverage.
More from the Minneapolis Star Tribune
See you in Minneapolis. Ooh yaw. Doncha know.
→ No CommentsTags: Events · Retail Coffee Industry
Coffee Counter-Culture
April 30th, 2008 · No Comments
Neat article on MSN (in their City Guides section) looks at Seattle’s coffee culture and discusses barista competitions.
Thanks to Starbucks, coffee is big business in America, where specialty espresso drinks—lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos—have replaced the diner “cup of joe.”
But long before Starbucks was a household name, the coffee revolution was underway in mid-1970s Seattle, where old standbys like B&O Espresso and Café Allegro—Seattle’s first independent coffeehouse—were defining a new culture. Starbucks itself was part of that wave before blowing the lid off the espresso business, opening its very first shop in Seattle in 1971.
Today, try to list the best cafés in Seattle, and you’re in for a fierce debate. Want to start a coffeehouse? Better take cues from the three V’s—Vivace, Caffe Vita, and Victrola—which roast (and sell) their own beans and manage at least one retail location. Think you’d rather be a barista? You’ll need a zeal for coffee and a serious training session because you’re up against baristas who have competed at the national level. So just how did coffee become way of life in Seattle?
→ No CommentsTags: Events · Retail Coffee Industry
Market Spotlight: Lighter roasts enticing coffee lovers
April 29th, 2008 · No Comments
Associated Press Business Writer Lauren Shepherd interviews Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers and others regarding the recent consumer trend favoring lighter roasted coffee:
NEW YORK — Coffee lovers, burned out from the dark roasts popularized by some gourmet specialty coffee chains, are increasingly turning to lighter-roasted beans for their daily pick-me-ups.
Coffee industry watchers say as coffee drinkers have matured, they are looking for more flavor and more originality _ a desire that has created new lighter-roasted options in the market.
“We’re beginning to see a more educated palette,” said Andrew Hetzel, a coffee taster and founder of consultant firm Cafemakers, adding that more coffee drinkers are saying “hey, coffee doesn’t need to taste like the inside of my barbeque.”
Read the full article: Market Spotlight: Lighter roasts enticing coffee lovers
→ No CommentsTags: Retail Coffee Industry · Coffee Shop News