by Lorenzo Perkins

“Event Description:
Alright y’all, the Saturday Night Smackdown is up and running once again. Sunday December 6th from 11 AM to 2 PM at Owl Tree (click for directions) is the first part of Edible Austin’s Drink Local Day, part of the week long celebration known to us as Eat Local Week. (To those of you who caught it, yes, the SNS is now on a Sunday) Around a dozen roasters from in and around Austin will be there, set up with booths, tents, beans, and all sorts of crazy shit to show off to you and other onlookers exactly what it is they do.

David Allan is putting this together with Edible Austin, and he will be judging a cocktail contest later on that evening (we should all go to that too!). David is a cool guy and he makes yummy booze stuff, hi five him if you see him at the event.

The pour off will be back to a standard Smackdown pour off – you choose the cup, you choose the pour, ONE PITCHER ONE POUR!!!! $10 buy in, winner will take ALL. Now, this event is an open invite to anyone across our great state (Texas, you dolt!) HOWEVER, the top ten AUSTIN competitors will go on to represent our fair city in Texas’ first ever City VS City throwdown: ATX v. ATL. (Brainchild of Scott Lucey, actualized by yours truly) It’s gonna be awesome. So bring your game, bring your face, but most importantly, pour your face off!“

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/

Also, if you are a consumer and you post videos of coffee industry news or establishments, you are welcome to be added as well.

The hope is that this new feature can help connect Texas Coffee People who use YouTube together in an effort to further develop the specialty coffee community in Texas.  (as usual)

We would also love to post a promotional video for your event, shop, roasterie, or other related subject matter to our channel, if you would like.  Just let us know via our Contact page.  We’d be glad to hear from you.

Dan writes,

How does one get added to your list of roasters. We are a specialty coffee roaster in north Texas, in Aledo, providing over half dozen different regional Mexican coffees to Mexican restaurants, coffee shops and for fund raisers.

How?  Just like that.  Shoot us an email or fill out our Contact form.

Bearcat Beanz has a website, but does not have a logo or much in the way of branding besides the name.  The only way to get ahold of them is via email, which can be found at their website.

Their website is simple and informative, focusing entirely on convincing the reader that coffee is a fantastic way to do fundraising, and that they are just the company to help you do it.  It’s most certainly an interesting business model, and while it may already have existed, this is the first I’ve heard of it.

Bearcat Beanz has been added to our list of Roasters.

Oak Cliff couple take coffee beans to customers’ doors

“…Here comes coffee time and the man with the goods.

There goes Shannon Neffendorf, cruising the sleepy streets of North Oak Cliff, hanging bags of freshly roasted coffee beans at customers’ front door.

“I love delivery day and the way it makes the car smell,” says the co-owner of Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, out and about on his pre-dawn rounds.

He and his wife, Jenni, hope this milkman-style service helps their budding business stand out as more than another joe in the world of java…”

“…The couple launched the venture not long after their marriage. And in just over a year, they have seen it steadily grow to include about 75 residential customers, 10 businesses and offices, and five commercial accounts that sell their beans, serve their coffee or both…”

And here’s my favorite part…

“…They aren’t alone in North Texas. Texas Coffee People ( tx-coffee.com) lists 12 coffee roasters in the Dallas area on its Web site, which seeks to “promote a community of serious coffee people in a state which most would consider to be a coffee wasteland…“

Kudos to Shannon and Jenni (and the Oak Cliff Brand) for the article!  (and thanks for the plug, whoever was responsible)

And let’s not forget to give you Oak Cliff’s website link: http://www.oakcliffcoffee.com/

I got this tip from Facebook (via)

San Antonio Coffee Roasters, also known as What’s Brewing, a company that produces one hundred percent Specialty Gourmet Coffee has gone kosher. The oldest individual coffee roaster in San Antonio, they have a full line of coffees from various countries as well as blends that they have created for over 25 years.  More…

Is Kosher the next big certification in coffee?  It’s been Fair Trade and Organic and Rainforest Alliance, and Bird Friendly, and on and on for a long while now, but a few people are starting to see through the marketing front that seems to have become the dominant aim these days.

Is there such a thing as non-Kosher roasted coffee?  What all is required to make coffee “Kosher”?  Is this certification significant, or is it another label intended to move more product?  I don’t have the answer to that, but if the goal was publicity, I’d say that it has worked already.

It also turns out that San Antonio Coffee Roasters is not already in our list of Roasters.  They have now been added.

Has anyone tried their coffee?

]]> http://tx-coffee.com/2009/05/19/san-antonio-coffee-roasters-kosher-certified/feed/ 3 http://tx-coffee.com/2009/03/31/pay-fair-duncan-coffee-company/ http://tx-coffee.com/2009/03/31/pay-fair-duncan-coffee-company/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:43:42 +0000 Jason Haeger http://tx-coffee.com/?p=1213












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

Since late January, Crooked Tree Coffee House in Dallas has begun serving coffee roasted by Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters.

As taken from the Oak Cliff Coffee Blog:

Beginning next week, The Crooked Tree Coffeehouse in Uptown will be serving fresh roasted coffee from Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters.  The Crooked Tree opened last summer and it is run by two ladies (Sarah and Kristyn) who are passionate about coffee and people.

They were using a roaster on Colorado whose name I cannot recal.  (and they may still be using them as well)

Congrats to Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters for the new account!  (and for going full time!)

Website

GREEN COFFEE BEANS & BAGS OF LUMP CHARCOAL – A GREAT START

I received an email mentioning Rodak’s Coffee and Grills in Ft. Worth.

If this doesn’t say “Texas” and “Coffee”, I don’t know what does.

The story seems pretty interesting, and the slogan at the top of the website says it best:

Welcome to Rodak’s Custom Roasted Coffees and BBQ Grills in Ft. Worth Texas. We are a coffee roaster and we can help with all of your BBQ grilling needs. This is a fun place to come because you never know what you will find next!!!

Rodak’s Coffee and Grills is located in Ft. Worth, and has been added to our list of Roasters.

Rodak’s Coffee and Grills
2520 W PAFFORD ST
FT. WORTH, TX 76110
(817)924-6821

I received an email yesterday asking to have Buon Giorno Coffee to our list of roasters and retailers.

David writes,

Hi,

I am the owner of a successful Coffee House and In store roasting operation in Grapevine, TX, I would like to be included on the site.  I have been roasting for 5 years altogether and have a growing loyal customer base for my in store roasted coffee beans.

David Clarke

To be honest, I thought it was already added!  Whoops!

I have not yet visited Buon Giorno, but I have heard good things. The drink descriptions on their Menu seem promising!

As you can see, they roast in-house.  They have live music on the weekends, and offer Free WiFi.

Buon Giorno has been added to our list of Roasters, and our list of Retailers.

Buon Giorno Coffee
2350 Hall-Johnson Road, Suite 100
Grapevine, Texas 76051
817-421-7300