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A Random, Yet Deserved, Quote of the Day v. 10-24-08
Space is the enemy here, and geopolitical boundaries seem to be the enemy of our coalescence. Because the entity is known as “Texas” it seems to make sense that we should all be one big happy family. But as the interstate sign makes clear as you cross into Texas from Louisiana, this really is a big, big place. The sign reads: WELCOME TO TEXAS! Beaumont = 15 miles; Houston = 150 miles; El Paso = 798 miles. Thus, we have to make the best of our situation by grabbing every opportunity for community, no matter how frequency and geographically-challenged and those opportunities are.
- Aaron Blanco
“coming up” - http://coffeepress.blogspot.com
Buna Bean Coffee Roasters Open House
I received an email from the folks at Buna Bean Coffee Roasters in Ennis, TX to let everyone know that they are having an open house.
When: Thursday, October 16th, 5:15pm - 7:00pm
Where: Buna Bean Coffee Roasters
1505 S. Oak Grove Rd., Ennis, TX 75119
map
We are having an Open House/Business After Hours on Thursday, October 16, 2008 from 5:15 – 7:00 p.m. at our roaster located at 1505 S. Oak Grove Rd., Ennis, TX 75119, 972-872-2862 (BUNA).
We would love to have other coffee folks come to our event. Food served.
Thank you,
Brenda Haupt
Buna Bean Coffee Roaster
Thanks, Brenda!
Buna Bean Coffee is a fairly new roasting company in the DFW area roasting on a Deidrich. They are new, but they are off to a great start. If you are in the DFW area, give them a visit! I have been enjoying a Costa Rican from Buna Bean for the last couple of days with good results.
Houston Ike Relief Fund - Houston News Report
Originally Found @: KHOU.com - Houston Relief Ike Fund
Houston Ike Relief Fund
09:52 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 16, 2008
HOUSTON — Many people have been hard hit with the hurricane not just in the city of Houston, but in the entire region. Because of this, the Greater Houston Community Foundation has established a special Houston Ike Relief fund.
To donate to the fund, checks can be mailed to:
4550 Post Oak Place Suite 100
Houston, Texas
77027
Make checks out to: Houston Ike Relief Fund.
Money donated to the fund will be used to help hurricane victims throughout the Houston region.
No, it’s not coffee, but this is a huge hit to Texas, and here is an opportunity to help from a distance.
Latte Art Throwdown - Sept. 27th, Catalina Coffee: Houston, TX
Latte Art Throwdown
- @ Catalina Coffee
$20 to enter - winner takes all.
Baristas will have 7 minutes to make up to three lattes, choose one to present to three judges.
Judging will be based on symmetry, contrast, and technical difficulty and complexity of the art.
Free-pour only, no etching.
Coffee, Culture, and Music
Music has long been a big part of coffee house culture for many people. The morning brings about the need for energizing comfort in a cup, and the evening brings the desire for social interaction, and a little local culture for many coffee house patrons.
Naturally, we like to focus on coffee quality as the high priority around here, but how many play host to local or traveling musicians? A shop here built their name as sort of a venue, and the coffee quality came later. Reverse order, if you ask me, but still… far better to be late than to have missed the boat entirely.
I often enjoyed the “culture” found in a bustling coffeehouse warmed with the sounds of a one-man(or woman) folk band, or a jazz/funk/experimental quintet, or anything in between seemingly breaking the social ice, not offering even a chance for it to form. Everyone is there to have a good time, and everyone knows it. Everyone also knows that the air will (usually) be smoke-free, and that the likelihood of a loud drunk ruining the fun is extraordinarily slim, at best.
The undefined, yet undeniably present cafe culture in the United States is what drew me to the specialty coffee scene years ago as a young teen. Back then, I didn’t know anything about the coffee. What I did know is that all of the retail spaces that made me feel at home had one thing in common. That one thing was coffee. This only further fueled the spark of respect I inherently possessed for the beverage. Eventually, this respect blossomed into a desire to learn, to understand, to know, and to spread the enjoyment of quality coffee.
How does this all relate? For a lot of people, they are not drawn in by the bean, but by the culture surrounding it in certain retailers.
We’d like to know. Is the availability of live music in a coffee retailer much of a priority for you? Honestly, it is no longer a high priority, but I still enjoy going to a shop that not only knows how to serve a good cup of coffee, but also plays host to numerous musicians looking for an audience.
If you find that it is, or was, a priority for yourself, where did it begin? Where do you go now?
On Professionalism and the Necessity of Tasting
Last week, I walked into a coffee retailer for the sole purpose of socializing over a cup of coffee. I walked up to the counter, and asked which coffee was freshest (obviously, it is not a cup-at-a-time establishment, as most aren’t). Then I asked what it tasted like. The barista couldn’t tell me.
I see this as a big problem. Dan mentioned a situation that can touch on this a bit in the forums (though not about tasting).
When you go to a restaurant, and you see a particular dish that strikes your fancy, you may ask your waiter to describe it for you. You may also ask his opinion and if he would recommend it. Nine times out of ten, the waiter will do a sufficient job of describing the dish, as well as his personal evaluation.
So when I see a barista who is not only serving the product, but actually MAKING the product as well, who cannot even describe to me what sort of a flavor experience to expect, I consider there to be something very wrong. There exist some baristas who will say, “Oh, I don’t drink coffee.” And others who will say, “I don’t know, I don’t like coffee.” And there are those who do the minimum and just repeat the flavor descriptor off of the packaging from the roaster, their boss, or something other than drawing from their own experiences.
Are we to just accept that the person serving our beloved cup of coffee actually cares less about this product being served than the consumer who, by comparison, is supposed to know very little by comparison?
For the life of me, I cannot understand why someone who does not drink coffee would ever want to work in a position serving coffee to others. And what’s more, I have an even more difficult time understanding why a business owner or manager would ever consider hiring someone who will not be able to describe what they are serving, much less ever care for its quality.
So, maybe this is a little bit of a rant. Either way, we are professionals. A professional does not do only the minimum. A professional does not stop at “good enough”. A professional knows their craft inside and out, and has an enormous respect for the materials they work with, and the work that went into them. It is for this reason that I believe that a coffee professional must taste everything they serve. They must do cuppings on a regular basis. They should take notes (mental or tangible), and experiment with variables until perfection is attained(an impossible feat, which ought to tell you something about the nature of a professional).
When a customer comes up to you and says, “Tell me about this coffee,” you should be able to draw upon a wealth of stored information. Flavor descriptors, brewing parameters, where it came from, how it was processed, its varietal/cultivar, the roast level, who the roaster is (if applicable), and any and every other detail you can retain that the customer may be interested in hearing.
I recently lead a cupping with a shop here in Lubbock. They had never done one before, but I am told it was a very enlightening experience, and these baristas gained a new respect for their craft. This lasted for less than an hour, and it had a huge impact, and I’m sure that this enthusiasm will be perceived by their customers. People like buying from businesses who know their products better, can communicate better, and who have a love and passion for what they do.
I would consider it a good idea to hold a weekly staff tasting lead by an experienced barista, manager, owner, or whoever can help further the education and spark a little excitement into those present.
Quality is not a goal. It is a methodology of striving towards an unreachable end.
A Feature on Fair Trade in Ethiopia
Fair trade coffee in Ethiopia?
By Louise Williams
11-01-2008
Fair trade claims to guarantee a better deal for third world producers. But are producers really getting such a good deal? Louise Williams has been to southern Ethiopia to find out what benefits fair trade is bringing coffee producers. more…
There is an accompanying sound clip that gives some insight from our friends at Stumptown Coffee in Portland.
Texas Coffee People + Barista Exchange = <3
+
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T exas Coffee People now has a group in the Barista Exchange community. Even if you don’t want to have anything to do with Texas Coffee People… you should at least join Barista Exchange. It’s such a great networking and community resource for such a small and budding industry.
Starbucks intended competition = coopetition?
SLATE presents,
Don’t Fear Starbucks
Why the franchise actually helps mom and pop coffeehouses. (click)
It appears that having Starbucks move down the road from your coffee retailer may not be such a bad thing afterall.
I’ve been saying for a long time that Starbucks has done more good by “enlarging the pie” than they have harm by misleading customers with drink titles. For many people, Starbucks is their first experience with Specialty Coffee. Starbucks is common enough to not seem overly intimidating for the average consumer, but is socially elevated enough to give the impression of being something above average.
With their marketing success, and exponential growth rate, having a new store moving in near your retailer can be a scary thought. This article gives a brief insight as to why it may not be such a scary thing.
I do, however, feel that it is important to point out that the focus is on quality, and only quality.
Perhaps the Barista Guild of America is right. “Quality as the primary means of success.”
SLATE: Why Starbucks actually helps mom and pop coffeehouses by Taylor Clark
Happy Holidays!
From Texas Coffee People, to you and your families. Have a safe and happy season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Channakah, Kwanza, or just the Winter Solstice. (we don’t discriminate here)
Be Merry!
(and may your cappuccinos look nothing like this! )
I’ll be out of town for about a week.
If any of you are traveling, have a safe trip, and
don’t forget to bring some fresh roasted coffee along for the journey.
(I know I’ve got about 1.5lbs. ready)
-
TX-Coffee Partners
EspressoTrainer.com