Cafemakers Newsletter - July 2006
Improving Restaurant Coffee
Readers' comments are in following Andrew Hetzel's first two monthly columns in Hospitality News Featuring CoffeeTalk. Of all the messages we received by email, just about half of our readers found the articles "entertaining," "descriptive" or "amusing" - a group that we will call our "right-brained" respondents. However, our left-brained friends were clearly looking for more concrete answers, with questions like: "how can we fix this?" or "do you have suggestions to...?" and the more assertive, "what are you going to do about it?"
For all of those that are looking for recommendations to improve their own restaurant coffee or that of their clients, we suggest that you'll find at least a few helpful hints in this latest edition for June and July:
Last month’s article in this series presented the unfortunate reality of a typical fine dining experience: great food, great wine, great service – not-so-great coffee. Like tripping over the finish line of a record breaking marathon run, many of America’s finest and most celebrated restaurants fall short of expectations on the quality of coffee they serve at the end of a great meal. So what is a restaurateur to do when he or she recognizes that this problem exists within his or her own business?
Zingerman's Coffee Company Announces "Espresso Boot Camp"
The artisan coffee roasting progeny of specialty food icon Zingerman's Delicatessen has announced 4 espresso workshops led by Andrew Hetzel for trade professionals that will be held on August 18 and 19 at their Zingerman's Bakehouse location in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Zingerman's Coffee Company was founded in 2003 by Allen Leibowitz and the founders of Zingerman's Community of Businesses, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig as a wholesale roaster supplying cafes, restaurants and businesses. In a 2005 article for Travel and Leisure magazine, Francine Maroukian included Zingerman’s Coffee Company among the “crème de la crème” of artisan coffee producers in the country along with Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, and La Colombe Torrefaction.
"An educated consumer is our best customer" says Leibowitz. "Flavorful food is the foundation on which Zingerman's has built its reputation. By providing resources to help our wholesale coffee customers serve outstanding espresso drinks, we help them to outperform their competition."
Visit the Zingerman's Coffee Company website to register or learn more
Listen to the PRWeb podcast interview with Allen Leibowitz and Andrew Hetzel
Also be sure to check out Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating and Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, two excellent publications written by Zingerman's Founder Ari Weinzweig.
The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to Last Drop
We would like to send our special thanks to The Coffee Book authors Nina Luttinger and Gregory Dicum for their recent signing appearance at the Western Barista Guild Jam in Campbell, California.
A freshly updated edition of the best introduction to one of the world's most popular products, The Coffee Book is jammed full of facts, figures, cartoons, and commentary. It explores the process of cultivation from crop to cup, surveys the social history of cafe society from the first Turkish coffeehouses to beatnik havens in Berkeley and Greenwich Village, and examines the industry's major players, revealing how they turned a much-loved product into a commodity, ruining the lives of millions of farmers around the world. Luttinger and Dicum detail the rise of the specialty coffee industry, including the Starbucks phenomenon, while considering the exploitation of labor, damage to the environment and reduction in the quality of the bean that mass cultivation causes.
We recommend that you pick up this "informed and argumentative" look at coffee's "long and colorful rise to ubiquity" at Amazon.com or your local book store.
Are you Ready for the Ultimate Barista Challenge?
The Ultimate Barista Challenge™ inaugural competition premiers at the Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo. Come watch as professional baristi face challengers on the exhibition floor where they prepare their signature espresso beverages for a panel of discerning judges. There will be a showdown of three flights of espresso frappe, espresso cocktails and beautiful café latte art. Winners from the Challenge at the Expo and competitions in Orlando, FL will compete in the Grand Finale in NYC in March 2007.
In addition to watching the action unfold you will learn the value of fine espresso and coffee on your menu, secret tips to drive profitability into your offerings and tips to impress your customers.
What is a barista? A barista is someone who demonstrates their passion and knowledge for coffee for customer’s everyday in cafes, restaurants and coffee bars around the world.
Think you’ve got what it takes to win The Ultimate Barista Challenge? Professional barista who wish to be considered for the competition must apply directly with curriculum vitae (bio), photograph and professional barista and/or competition experience to Sherri Johns at sjohnswholecup@aol.com.
The Ultimate Barista Challenge™ ensues to the delight of the audience and barista alike. Winners receive trophy, cash and prizes and of course, the recognition as “The Ultimate Barista."
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