Posted by TheShot on 27 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Fair Trade, Quality Issues
The April 2007 issue of Coffee Talk primarily focused on the annual SCAA conference next month. The most interesting article comes from George Howell, president of Terroir Coffee Company, who wrote about the state of the world’s quality coffee supplies: Towards a segmented quality coffee market [PDF file, page 8]. With the growing public awareness [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 26 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Machine, Quality Issues, Roasting
It’s no secret that I generally disdain superautomated espresso machines (myself and Howard Schultz apparently included) and the convenience-step-forward/quality-step-backwards home pod machines. So you may get the (false) impression that, when it comes to coffee, I am an anti-technology Luddite. While I have never placed PID temperature controllers on the group of my home machine [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 19 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Barista
Congratulations again to Heather Perry of Coffee Klatch in San Dimas, CA. Over the weekend, she successfully defended her 2006 title at the 2007 WRBC: Western Regional Barista Competition March 16-18, 2007. Also placing were Kyle Glanville of Intelligentsia in Los Angeles (yes, you read that city correctly) and Chris Baca of SF’s own Ritual [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 14 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends
Today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that “iced coffee is a hot commodity, surveys show”: Some like it iced. According to studies from the SCAA and NCA, iced coffee consumption is on the rise — accounting for 6 percent of weekly U.S. coffee consumers, as compared with 4 percent five years ago. The article also attributes the [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 08 Feb 2007 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues
Speaking of Nick Cho recently… Last Fall, Nick won the Southeast Regional Barista Competition (the press always wants to say “Championship”, but it’s “Competition” at the regionals). Congratulations, Nick. (No, seriously!) This means that Nick is headed down to Long Beach, CA to compete for the national title at the SCAA’s 19th Annual Conference & [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 23 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues
Today the press release mill churned out the announcement of the next SCAA conference: 10,000 Leaders Shape the Future of Specialty Coffee May 4 – 7, 2007 in Long Beach, Calif. Yes, there will be the usual plethora of speakers, exhibitors, mixers, courses, workshops, and awards. Yes, there’s the circus entertainment of the U.S. Barista [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 27 Jul 2006 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends, Quality Issues
Today’s Daytona Beach News-Journal cited a 2005 SCAA study in reporting that, “The coffee market is booming and expensive brands are the ‘in thing,’ but workers who drink coffee on the run say the less expensive ones stimulate their taste buds just as well as the others.”: Coffee fans fill up on taste, location — [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 02 Jun 2006 | Tagged as: Café Society, Consumer Trends, Starbucks
Today’s Spokane Journal of Business took the local angle on coffee’s current explosive growth bubble: Spokane Journal of Business – Coffee industry rides grande buzz. According to the SCAA, U.S. specialty coffee sales rose sharply to $11 billion in 2005, up from $9.6 billion in 2004. And Starbucks, the bellweather of specialty coffee, recently reported [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 11 Apr 2006 | Tagged as: Add Milk, Barista
And the winner is… The Charlotte Observer posted an article today covering the final rounds of the 2006 U.S. Barista Championship, held yesterday on the final day of the annual SCAA conference: Charlotte Observer | 04/11/2006 | Coffee artists grind toward national title. For all those who scratched their head thinking, “A quality coffee conference [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 09 Apr 2006 | Tagged as: Barista, Quality Issues
Local Charlotte, NC news TV station, News 14 Carolina, ran a story today about the ongoing annual SCAA convention being hosted in town: News 14 Carolina | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Coffee convention buzzes uptown. (Includes TV news video clip.) Conference attendance includes over 8,000 people from around the globe. The [...]
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