Daniel of Arabica
brew, drink, repeat
Miscellanea
The rest, really. Things found.
Coffee Common’s First Public Event in North America
Coffee Common’s First Public Event in North America is going to be in New York City….
And it’s only $5. Sheeeeeit, that’s cheaper than two cups of coffee at Intelligentsia in Pasadena. I’m there! Oh, wait, no I’m not. I’m stuck here in California. But if you’re in New York and you love the coffee, you should go … and let me live vicariously through you.
The inter-webs just got Handsome
They make this coffee loving nerd-boy and recent SoCal resident proud to call Los Angeles home. They’re one of the first high-quality, post-Intelligentsia, small and independent roasters to grace L.A.’s still nascent coffee scene.
And now, those of you out of reach of the myriad nationally dispersed retail outlets in which Handsome beans are available can experience a little SoCal bean magic for yourselves.
Because Handsome Coffee Roasters is now open for business on the inter-webs.
A Fair Trade split
Fair Trade USA has decided to resign its membership from Fairtrade International (FLO) effective December 31, 2011.
Fair Trade USA is setting out on its own.
I’m curious what this may mean for Fair Trade going forward. The entire concept of Fair Trade, at least in the coffee industry, has received a lot of criticism over the last couple years as being good but no longer good enough, especially in light of many roasters’ embarking on their own sourcing initiatives i.e. Direct Trade, etc.
One thought is that this development may be good in terms creating a competitive environment and thereby spurring the two associations towards improving the image of fair trade as a whole. Just a thought.
Another: there seems to me, as I stroll the aisles of my local organic grocer, an increasing number of certification organizations at play these days. I’m curious what sort of competitive environment already exists between all of them, what the nature of that competition is and what, if anything, this development has to do with it.
Feel free to enlighten me in the comments.
Highwire…delivered
This is getting fun. Another installment of the #CCCP has brought to my Southern California door the very same coffee canonized by Jo (my first guest poster!), in Oakland, just days ago.
And that’s not all. That box? The very same box that started it all. On its third trip across the longitude of California, a different fine coffee filling its paper belly each time. Tonx Coffee need not worry. We’re making good use of their shipping materials.
I can’t wait to dig in.
Mugs up! To the next shipment! And to sharing fine coffee with friends, no matter where those friends may be.
Coffee and the Good Food Awards
The Good Food Awards’ coffee competition is on its way. Follow the link to find out more about the panel, the judges and the requirements of entry.
Rogue
Last week brought news that a pillar of this still nascent North American specialty coffee industry of the aughts has possibly forsaken ownership, independence and a sustainable business model for growth potential. Possibly. All of the details of whatever financial deal was made are, publicly, fuzzy at best.
End of an era?
For me, in the face of all of the information swirling around the event, as well as because of the lack of it, a bit of the romance that once was a part of the image surrounding the company in question has been lost. In my experience quantity and quality do not mix well in the food industry but I’ve adopted a wait-and-see attitude. End of an era? In a way, definitely. There’s no avoiding it, regardless of how things turn out. A small, local institution, in a very short period of time, has gotten bigger, increased its reach and wants even more. That’s going to put some people off. It’s going to change the way many people perceive them and their brand. They might loose some customers. I’m sure they are betting they will gain many more.
For my part, my skepticism is piqued when tales of money and secrecy are allowed to flourish in the type of vacuum that is created in the absence of quality PR. But all of this is no matter. The fact that today’s cup of coffee was produced using a stringent eye for quality by any one entity does not mean it will be so tomorrow.
A moving target
I refuse to attend reunion tour concerts put on by the bands of my youth. Those bands had their day and I’ve no need or desire to dwell in some gilded past that only looks so golden through the hijacking of all of the benefits of hindsight and the desire to acquire the meager contents of my wallet. I’ve no intention of clinging to the past of the coffee industry either. I’m not so under that spell, such that you’ll hear pass through my lips, laudings of the past or that the best days of coffee are behind us. “The best days” are a moving target, as are quality and passion and craft.
And so, imagine my joy in being made privy to someone just starting a new journey in the coffee industry, and my excitement at being furnished the opportunity to witness another industry birth, first-hand, and of having the chance to partake of the fruits of someones nascent passion, one-on-one, to take that journey with them, in some small way, as a grateful recipient of their work.
And the serendipity… two different “friend-streams” converging into one: one revealing to me the presence of the micro-roaster himself, and the other highlighting the presence of the pop-up café with which this roaster and these housemates, with both entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit, are able to present themselves to the world1.
OneNinetySeven & the Rogue Café
Eric Thoreson is the coffee roaster, OneNinetySeven is the roasting operation. Rogue is the pop-up café. On Saturdays, from 9am until 1pm Eric Thoreson and the house residents of 654 60th Street (AKA “The Green House”), here in Oakland, California, open up their garden-like backyard to neighbors and friends, both new and old and serve up small, edible goodies and coffee.
Pastries have been made by both Emma Sullivan (a local baker) and Ciara (a member of the Green House household) at various times and the baked offerings are different every week. Two weeks ago it was a mushroom & asparagus frittata and an olive oil, hazelnut, cherry muffin. This last, it was candied bacon with a touch of cayenne and a berry tart with a buckwheat crust.
Coffee preparations are determined by Eric with the backbone being pour-over, using ceramic Beehouse drippers. Last week, on the Beehouses, it was a Guatemala Finca La Providencia Dos from the San Pedro Necta, Huehuetenango region. This last Saturday was a treat, with Eric busting out, as promised, a Mypressi Twist and a commercial-grade espresso grinder in order to pull shots of his wonderfully balanced and sweet Faux Pas seasonal espresso blend. On the drippers was the delicate but tangy fruit of his Tanzania Mbinga.
Beginning of an era
A door closes, another opens. It can’t be helped and I’m not going to continue to trumpet any particular coffee purveyor’s dedication to quality when that dedication is patently absent. In the grand scheme of things coffee quality and producer integrity certainly doesn’t rank with other, more pressing matters like the sorry state of American politics or the belief in false prophets but blind faith is blind faith. I’m not saying that scion of recent Pacific Northwestern coffee fame has taken its eye off the prize. I just don’t hold any illusions that it won’t. But I prefer not to focus on the steady target of brand and image. Instead, I try to fix my gaze on the moving target that is quality, integrity and passion for craft. That’s where you’ll always find the good stuff.
See you next Saturday, in the garden, espresso or drip coffee in hand.
The skinny
Rogue is a pop-up. That means it’s best to check and make sure it’s going to be where you think it’s going to be before you head out on your coffee journey. The best places to look for information are 1) at the OneNinetySeven website, 2) on the Rogue Café Facebook page and 3) on Twitter.
Footnotes
- There may be other journeys beginning here as well, but that’s probably for another site. [↩]
Stumptown Expands
In – let’s say – ten years from now, how will we perceive this moment? As the beginning of something grander for Stumptown and its customers (both present and future) or as the beginning of the end – the Starbucks-ification of a respected pioneer in modern specialty coffee?… “Stumptown Expands With the Help of a Powerful Investor”.
Broadcasting can be evil
Your job is to interact, not just to broadcast
I don’t normally post about marketing here – more appropriate for other venues – but I ran across this quote in article on the subject of proper business use of social media (specifically about Facebook but relevant for others as well) and I couldn’t help thinking of a particular San Francisco based roaster (who will remain nameless), one whom I know at least one person has stopped following on Twitter for violation of this rule-of-thumb.
It inspired a post at one of those said other venues. I’m hoping the right person reads it.
Toothbrush, meet grinder
Toothbrush, meet grinder
This is just your friendly, semi-regular coffee quality focused PSA: have you cleaned your grinder lately?
A small brush (there was a tiny one included with my grinder when I bought it) is great for sweeping away the loose particles. If you want to get at the more “baked on” or more obstinate hangers on in the nooks and crannies, though, a toothbrush is where it’s at… unused in its explicit purpose, prior to use on your grinder, of course. Minty fresh morning coffee? Nnnnn-no. No thank you.
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