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News: “Revival Market is the toast of the town”

Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/7632653.html

Revival Market is the toast of the town
Coffee bar is an example of grocery’s push for local goods
By GREG MORAGO FOOD WRITER
June 29, 2011, 5:26PM

“…

Revival continues to explore ways to distinguish itself as both a market and a marketplace, thanks to the efforts of co-owners Morgan Weber and Ryan Pera. Revival’s coffee program is a good example. Java fans will be happy to know that Revival is the only place in town where you can buy beans from three of Houston’s small-batch roasters: Amaya Roasting Co., Greenway Coffee Co. and Fusion Beans. Those boutique purveyors have joined the store’s coffee stock, which also includes Katz’s Coffee and Fontana Coffee Roasters.

With top-notch Houston-roasted beans available, expanded offerings at its coffee bar and serious bean-head baristas working behind the counter, Revival is the city’s new coffee mecca.

“A lot of people who know coffee already know about it, so they come,” said barista Fabio Pontes.

But those who aren’t in the know might be surprised to learn that the coffee bar occasionally has local coffee masters pouring as guest baristas. Recently Max Gonzalez of Catalina Coffee (which features Amaya beans) rocked Revival’s coffee bar. Coffee sales doubled that day.

Revival’s coffee bar also is unique in that it is serving an espresso tasting “flight” that includes strong plain espresso, an Americano (espresso with water) and cappuccino (espresso with milk). The bar also cold steeps its coffee for iced coffee, as opposed to brewed coffee that is iced. The difference in flavors is astonishing.

The coffee program is, like its food offerings, Revival’s way of supporting the best of local purveyors and food artisans. The store already has become the place where the best locally sourced products can be found…”

Duncan Coffee Company Hiring: Jobs

I received an email from Mr. Duncan letting us know that they are hiring.

Looking for sales people in Houston
base +  commission

Simple enough.  Thanks!



The job posting (along with contact info) can be found on the Jobs page here at tx-coffee.com

Fusion Beans – Houston

Fusion Beans has been working on building a new website for awhile, and Sean Marshall informed me that it is finished.

The front page now serves as a blog featuring updates about company activity.  There is an about page with a lengthy introduction to the faces behind FusionBeans.  There is a Coffee 101 section with basic brewing instructions.  And, of course, there is a page where you can order freshly roasted coffee from the comfort of your computer task chair.






Sean is the owner, and is quite active in the regional coffee community in TX.  If  you care to, take a peek at their new site.  http://fusionbeans.com/

Fioza Cafe: Houston

Some readers may already know about Fioza, but since I just found out about them via Flickr (and their ties to Catalina), I figured I’d give them a mention.

I have not been, but I get the impression that they care about the quality of their coffee.

Straight from their website:

Fioza wants the best that coffee has to offer. We are constantly learning, constantly improving, constantly creating, and constantly adjusting anything that can be improved. From fresh locally roasted coffee to well crafted espresso drinks using the best equipment we know, we strive to create a great coffee experience.

Pair that with the fact that they hosted/sponsored a latte art throwdown with Catalina Coffee, and the implied result sounds promising.

Here are a couple of pictures from their website as well:

Have you been to Fioza?  How was it?

Fioza Cafe has been added to our list of Retailers.

Fioza Cafe
9002 Chimney Rock Rd, Suite F
Houston, TX 77096

"Pay What You Think Is Fair": Duncan Coffee Company

We received an email from Mills Duncan of the Duncan Coffee Company with this interesting idea.

Times are tough especially for coffee houses. I would like to help out by offering a program to all interested coffee shops to “Pay what you think is fair” for our Farm to Market Fair trade coffees.  Perhaps any interested party could e mail me and suggest a price they might want to pay and I will get as close as I can (restraints of our accounting system)  ex if someone wants to pay  $4.00 a pound and the lowest setting was 4.25 we would go with the 4.25.  COD or credit until they establish credit.

This was such an interesting and ethical (of sorts) approach, that we had to pass it along.

DuncanCoffee.com

Houston Coffee Retailer Doubles Clientele with Twitter

Who knew?

I stumbled across this piece via arizona-coffee.com

Source: Mr. Tweet

When J.R. Cohen, Operations Manager for CoffeeGroundz (@coffeegroundz) Cafe in Houston, Texas first heard about Twitter from one of his customers, he was puzzled but intrigued. Today, he credits Twitter with almost doubling his clientele and with opening his eyes to a whole new way to build Community.

…Shortly after joining Twitter, Cohen started following members of the local Houston Twitterati and in no time had amassed over 1000 followers. Cohen is a naturally charismatic, giving, and friendly guy – traits that make him a natural on a network like Twitter….

…On October 31st, 2008 Sean Stoner (@maslowbeer) was hungry. As a regular customer at CoffeeGroundz he sent the following Twitter to Cohen:

Cohen quickly replied and Sean went through the drive-thru at CoffeeGroundz to pick up his burrito.

This simple exchange got a lot of coverage on Twitter and was hailed as potentially the first time that Twitter had ever been used to place a To-Go Order. more…

I’m not really sure what to think about this.  It’s not direct, but it seems like its saying that a guy increased his business by turning his specialty coffee retailer into a fast food joint, though that’s from an article written by someone who doesn’t work in the business. That having been said, I could be wrong!

Have any of you Houston readers been there?

How many readers are on Twitter?

Cappuccino Movie – Dates and Times Update for Houston and Dallas

Remember this post? “The Perfect Cappuccino” Movie Screens in Texas!

Well, Amy emailed again to fill in the details on the screenings in Houston and Dallas. Unfortunately, the Houston screening is happening right smack in the middle of the South Central Regional Barista Competition, though if you are in the Houston area and are not planning to make the trek to Austin for the competition, be sure to check it out!

THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO at Real Films, Houston, TX
Saturday, November 1, reception at 7 pm, screening at 8 pm, Q&A with the filmmaker at 9:30 pm
The Aurora Theater, 800 Aurora Avenue, Houston, TX 77009
Tickets: $10.00 online or $10.00 cash/check at the door. Ticket price includes free refreshments: beer, soft drinks, water, and popcorn (and hopefully coffee too! We are working on it…)
Door Prize: A signed DVD of the film
Local Sponsors: Catalina Coffee and Cuvee Coffee
For more info, please visit www.realfilms.org

THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO at the Dallas Video Festival
Sunday, November 9, 10:30 am
Angelika Film Center
5321 E. Mockingbird Lane
Dallas, TX 75206
214-826-3300
For info/tickets, please visit www.videofest.org

"The Perfect Cappuccino" Movie Screens in Texas!

Some of you may remember our blog post about this movie when the trailer was posted. (ignore the formatting.. the post is from an earlier incarnation of this blog)

Well, today I received an email from Amy Ferraris, the creator of the film, to let us know that it will be screening THREE TIMES in Texas.  Be sure to watch the trailer if you haven’t already.

Don’t miss the screening if you can help it.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to make any of them, honestly, which is a shame.  So here’s hoping most of you can catch it and give us a write-in about it.

Amy writes,

Hi guys,
I’m a documentary filmmaker, and I’ve recently finished a film called “The Perfect Cappuccino.” I’m writing because it’s going to be screening a few times in Texas over the next couple months – the first time is this Saturday in Denton. And I was wondering if you would consider either posting something in one of your forums or creating a blog post to let your members know about the screenings? I think the crowd of people who frequent your site would definitely get a kick out of the film.

It’s going to be screening…
–Saturday 9/27 at 11:00 am in Denton, Texas as part of the Thin Line Film Fest (www.thinlinefilmfest.com)
–At the Dallas Video Festival, which runs Nov. 6-9 (www.videofest.org)
–At the Real Films screening series in Houston in early November (www.realfilms.org) – I will be at this screening for a discussion afterward.

I’m pasting the text of a press release re: the screening in Denton below. (Excuse the press release-ese, but it has some good info on the film in general…)

Thanks for your help in getting the word out!
All the best–
Amy
_____________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Perfect Cappuccino
A documentary about coffee, consumerism and being American
screens in Denton, Texas on September 27, 2008

Global Capitalism. One Man’s Fight for Survival. Delicately Foamed Milk.
One morning only!

Filmmaker Amy Ferraris’ eucalyptus pictures presents the Texas premiere of THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 27, at the Fine Arts Theater in Denton, Texas. This quirky, first-person  documentary screens as part of the 2008 Thin Line Film Festival (www.thinlinefilmfest.com).

THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO tells the story of thirtysomething Amy Ferraris’ lifelong obsession with the cappuccino, an Italian coffee drink that consists of espresso and foamed milk. Having first discovered the cappuccino on a trip to Italy in 1990, Ferraris comes back to the U.S. and is plagued by one seemingly unanswerable question: in the country that put a man on the moon, why is it so hard to find a decent cappuccino?! Ferraris’ quest to answer this question leads her all over the country and includes encounters with a wide variety of characters, including average coffee drinkers, espresso historians, cultural critics, political activists, and even one of the founders of Starbucks. Ultimately, the search leads her to the DoubleShot Coffee Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she finds not only sensational coffee but a community of fascinating characters as well. But her happy discovery coincides with a threat to DoubleShot’s very existence: a legal dispute with corporate giant Starbucks.

“Although this film is pretty wide-ranging in terms of time and geography, in the end, the DoubleShot story is really the film’s heart,” Ferraris notes. “The David-and-Goliath story of this tiny shop standing on principle and going up against a corporate behemoth really inspired me, and it really made me think.” Although it maintains a light-hearted tone, THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO raises some serious questions. Why is the Starbucks chain-store model a uniquely American approach to coffee? Is there something in our character, as Americans, that pushes us toward expansion and mass standardization? Is this human nature? Is it American nature? Are we a culture that values business enterprise? Or a culture that is ruled by it?

Described by one viewer as Super Size Me meets This American Life, THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO was a crowd-pleaser at its festival premiere in August 2008, at the Hardacre Film & Cinema Festival in Iowa. Ferraris has pieced together a smart, witty meditation on what our coffee habits say about us, as individuals and as a nation. “The central idea behind this film,” comments Ferraris, “is that when you talk about a ‘perfect’ cup of coffee – or any food, for that matter – you are really talking about much more than how it tastes. Taste is part of it, but there are these other intangible things too – the environment in which you drink it; community, or the people who’re with you when you do; the business practices of the entity who sold it to you… there’s so much to consider.”

Tickets for the event may be purchased in advance at www.thinlinefilmfest.com.

###

To view a trailer of the film, please visit http://cappuccinomovie.com

Media Contact: Amy Ferraris at cappuccinomovie@gmail.com

Production still photos available for publication.

Press copies of the film available for review.

For press inquiries on the Thin Line Film Festival in general, please contact festival director Joshua Butler at joshuabutler@texasfilmmakers.org

The Fine Arts Theater is located at 115 N. Elm Street, Denton, Texas 76201

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

KHOU.com staff report 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

www.catalinacoffeeshop.com

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.

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