Beware: The Ides of April Newsletter
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The Ides of March on the Roman calendar is most well known in modern times as the date when Julius Caesar was assassinated, now usually converted to March 15 on our Julian calendar. In the United States, April 15 is widely known as the deadline to file annual Federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (it happens to be April 17 this year due to a holiday). Invariably each year some sad old joke or department store advertisement reemerges, urging you to "Beware the Ides of April." We force a pleasant smile and try to hide our cringing expressions. This year and every year from now on will be different with this little piece of information: April 13 is the Ides of April, not April 15.
On the Roman calendar, the Ides falls on the 15th of the month only one third of the time - the other two thirds of the time, it falls on the 13th - including April. From now on, when someone tries to lob one of these stale old lines your way, you will be armed with factual information and put it to good use when the time is right.
Happy Ides of April!
HOTELS Magazine runs Coffee Feature
The April edition of HOTELS Magazine includes a feature article entitled "The Breakfast of Champions." In the sidebar and its online continuation, the magazine's Sr. Editor discusses specialty coffee trends with Andrew Hetzel, who additionally makes suggestions for coffee service enhancements within the hospitality industry.
We are very excited to see the growing interest exhibited by foodservice and hospitality businesses about specialty coffee and applaud HOTELS Magazine for giving this hot topic such substantial attention. Hoteliers and foodservice operators are clearly beginning to recognize the profit potential and customer satisfaction value of great coffee. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Here's an excerpt:
While over the last year much focus has been on improving hotels’ tea service, coffee has been relegated to the Starbucks in the lobby and the in-room brewing machine. But, with coffee consumption on the rise according to the National Coffee Association, which via its 2006 National Coffee Drinking Trends survey found that U.S. consumers who drank coffee every day jumped to 56% from 53% in 2005 and that 82% of all American adults drink coffee, the question remains, how can hoteliers leverage the growing popularity of coffee to maximize profits? More...
The Breakfast of Champions feature in HOTELS Magazine
Sidebar Conversation with Andrew Hetzel Continues
Coffee is Hot at the 2007 Restaurant Show
QSR Magazine recently reiterated our assessment that specialty coffee is the hot trend at this year's National Restaurant Association Show, May 19-22 in Chicago. This year, you can see Andrew Hetzel speak in his general education session "Achieve Grande Profits from your Coffee Service."
In his presentation, Mr. Hetzel will present successful strategies employed by small and large operators to realize new income from the latest tends in espresso and specialty coffee - a topic named as one of the hottest trends for 2007 by the NRA in their annual chef survey.
Participants in this 90-minute event will be shown sensory evaluation techniques and will receive practical business suggestions that may be immediately to provide additional value to guests and achieve greater organizational profitability.
Coffee is Hot at 2007 Restaurant Show in QSR Magazine
Learn more about and register for the NRA Restaurant Show
Andrew Hetzel's Education Session "Achieve Grande Profits from your Coffee Service"
Explosion of Specialty Coffee Shops Creates Opportunities for the Tea Industry
The title says it all. Consumers' tastes for specialty coffee continue to mature, making it also a great time to be in the tea industry. In this recent article written for the Specialty Tea Institute and reprinted by popular coffee reference website INeedCoffee.com, Andrew Hetzel explores connections between the two sibling industries and how they can work together harmoniously.
As I travel around the world consulting with coffee retailers, several trends keep coming up: more teas and more exotic choices are on the menu, specialty sources are becoming the norm instead of the exception, and most importantly, the pseudo-adversarial position is now the start of a beautiful friendship of cooperation between the tea and coffee vendors. More...
Full article on INeedCoffee.com
CoffeeReview.com Awards High Praise
Congratulations all around to our friends that have recently received high marks for coffee quality and flavor from reviewer Ken Davids of CoffeeReview.com.
Zingerman's Coffee Company of Ann Arbor, MI vaults onto the national coffee charts with an excellent 91 points for their Detroit Street Decaf single-origin Guatemalan. The ultra-cool gurus of all things tasty once again prove that if it's Zingerman's, it's going to be really good.
Texas Roast of Rockwall, TX receives a respectable 89 point review of their Cowboy Roast dark blend. Just respectable, that is, until you take into account that the coffee was roasted by a computer! Amazing!
Texas Roast is among a new generation of in-store roaster retailers that is opting for the Fresh Roast Systems completely automated ventless coffee roaster. So you didn't think a computer could ever do as well as a human roaster with specialty coffee? Think again.
The Supreme Bean of North Hollywood, CA wakes up the competition with a stunning 94 points for their Decaf Organic Caffe Volcan. Mr. Davids describes the coffee as "A fine, versatile decaffeinated espresso particularly remarkable for its persistent floral top notes." Yes - a decaffeinated coffee. Outstanding!
PT's Coffee of Topeka, KS continues its dynasty of coffee quality with two recent awards, a 92 point rating for their East Timor Maubesse Fair-Trade Organic and a dizzyingly high 95 points for their El Salvador Los Planes Cup of Excellence 2006. As is the PT's motto: "without the love, it's just coffee."
Hula Daddy of Holualoa, HI (Kona) will be dancing in the streets after achieving the highest rated Kona of 2007, their 90 point 100% Kona Extra Fancy.
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