Press Coverage
2008 Articles - 2008 Articles - 2007 Articles - 2006 Articles - 2004-2005 Articles
Specialty Coffee Retailer - December, 2008
It's in the Details: Designed for Profit
The December 2008 issue of Specialty Coffee Retailer magazine features articles with tips intended to improve the profitability of new, but also existing retail coffee businesses. Included in the article on p. 16 by Karen Meyer “It’s in the Details” are two breakout boxes with Andrew Hetzel's suggestions.
Read the breakouts here: Expert Advice: Andrew Hetzel
Read the article here: It's in the Details
CFO Magazine - December 1, 2008
And in This Corner, the Price-Fighter
Josh Hyatt of CFO Magazine writes about the concept of "fighter brands," or low priced alternative brands designed to capture market share during weak economic times.
Read the full article here: And in This Corner, the Price-Fighter
Phil Lempert's Supermarket Guru - October 21, 2008
Factoring Coffee in Today's Budget
Hardly a financial advisor writing or commenting in the media today fails to suggest that cutting back on your lattes is the way to save money. Even the IRS got into the act on tax forms last year making the suggestion which, apparently, most Americans roundly ignored. Industry spokespeople and consumers do agree that coffee has been and always will be an "affordable luxury," one that brings pleasure and, in times like this, comfort but that doesn't mean one cannot cut a few corners here and there.
Read the full article here: Factoring Coffee in Today's Budget
BusinessWeek - August 18, 2008
Starbucks: Big Investors' Divorce Grounds
by Ricky McRoskey
Maverick Capital is the latest large shareholder to bail, perhaps not willing to wait and see if CEO Schultz can turn the coffee giant around. Andrew Hetzel comments on some of the changes (or lack thereof) at Starbucks that have soured big investor interest in the coffee giant.
Read the full article here: Starbucks: Big Investors' Divorce Grounds
BusinessWeek - July 21, 2008
Vying with Starbucks: A Love-Hate Thing
by Ricky McRoskey
As Starbucks' expansion loses steam, independent coffee shops reveal the subtle ways they compete with the coffee powerhouse. Industry expert Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers comments on the impact of Starbucks' closures (or more accurately, the lack thereof) on successful independent coffee retailers and what those retailers have done to bring success in the first place.
Read the full article here: Vying with Starbucks: A Love-Hate Thing
CSP Magazine - June 25, 2008
More Than Beans: Coffee upgrades are the norm, but how much should retailers invest?
Article by Joe Bush explores findings from the first CSP Magazine Hot Beverage Symposium and summarizes the positions recommended by experts and taken by convenience store retailers to improve their coffee offerings.
Removed from the era of "gas-station coffee," the convenience channel today faces a conundrum as it pursues even greater purchases from its coffee loyalists.
With the likes of McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and other well-heeled titans fashioning total breakfast menus, convenience operators are now questioning how they should respond in this a.m. tit-for-tat.
"You don't have to be a knockoff of one of the retail coffee chains that's out there," cautioned Andrew Hetzel, director of Kamuela, Hawaii-based Cafemakers, who quickly dispelled the notion of one-size-fits-all.
Read the full article here: More Than Beans
CSP Magazine - March 12, 2008
Hot Beverage Brouhaha: Symposium stresses high-end coffee, strength despite sagging economy
Andrew Hetzel recently moderated the first CSP Magazine Hot Beverage Symposium, held in conjunction with the annual Specialty Coffee Association of America conference, this year in Minneapolis. CSP Magazine was there to cover the event:
Convenience store operators can be good Samaritans and boost their bottom lines, all while increasing their legitimacy as a foodservice destination, just by selling high-end coffee. Andrew Hetzel, director of Kamuela, Hawaii-based Cafemakers, a coffee-industry consultancy, told attendees of CSP’s inaugural Hot Beverage Plus Symposium May 5-6 that the specialty-coffee industry needs them as much as c-stores need to upgrade their coffee business.
Associated Press - April 28, 2008
Market Spotlight: Lighter roasts enticing coffee lovers
Andrew Hetzel comments on the growing trend of consumers requesting lighter roasted coffees.
"We're beginning to see a more educated palette," said Andrew Hetzel, a coffee taster and founder of consultant firm Cafemakers, adding that more coffee drinkers are saying "hey, coffee doesn't need to taste like the inside of my barbeque."
Read the full article here: Market Spotlight: Lighter roasts enticing coffee lovers
Singapore New Paper - April 25, 2008
Coffee is art, a performance
Andrew Hetzel is interviewed about barista competitions, including the Singapore Asia Barista Championship.
"Mr Andrew Hetzel, 35, a coffee cupper (professional coffee taster), says: 'These days, coffee machines produce coffee in a very precise manner, correct to one tenth of a degree. A cup of the wrong temperature can ruin that. One tenth of a degree? Why on earth...."
Lodging Magazine - March 1, 2008
Better Than Average Joe
Andrew Hetzel is quoted on current trends in the hospitality industry.
"When it comes to coffee, the old adage "The more things change, the more things stay the same" certainly applies. "There haven’t been many changes in how coffee is extracted since the initial principles were established in the early 1900s," says Andrew Hetzel, founder of Cafemakers, a coffee-industry business consultancy. "You’ve got pressure, heat, water in contact with coffee—and different variations of that formula will change what sort of beverage comes out the other side."
Read the full article here: Better Than Average Joe
Fox Business - February 22, 2008
Coffee Klatch anti-Starbucks promotion sparks indie coffee uprising
Andrew Hetzel comments on the success of the publicity campaign created for client Coffee Klatch Roasting. Over 600 publications carried the story, including the New York Times.
"Independent businesses are smartly seizing this opportunity to turn the tables and spotlight Starbucks' touted 'bold demonstration of commitment,' for what it really is -- an admission of weakness," says specialty coffee industry consultant Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers. "Local coffee shops everywhere should band together and join in the promotion for maximum impact."
West Hawaii Today - February 18, 2008
Hetzel Makes the Grade
A Waimea-based coffee consultant has become the first Hawaii resident to be certified as a coffee cupping judge by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
In a five-day series of exams held in January in Waterbury, Vt., Andrew Hetzel of coffee consultancy Cafemakers successfully completed 21 sensory skill and coffee knowledge tests necessary to obtain accreditation. Participants traveled from as far as Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Portugal in pursuit of the certification.
Read the full article here: Hetzel Makes the Grade
Honolulu Star Bulletin - January 31, 2008
To Andrew Hetzel, it does amount to a hill of beans. by Erika Engle
Andrew Hetzel of the Big Island is Hawaii's first certified coffee cupping judge and instructor, after passing exacting testing by the Specialty Coffee Association of America this month.
Certified cuppers can grade coffee "from its green state on through the finished cup," said Ric Rhinehart, executive director of the SCAA. "It is a significant accomplishment, so kudos to him," he said.
Hetzel is one of only 250 SCAA-certified cuppers in the world. He will seek Q Grading certification from the Coffee Quality Institute in March. Its standards are identical, but testing includes an additional 100-question exam.
Read the full article here: To Andrew Hetzel, it does amount to a hill of beans
Delaware Out and About - January, 2008
Coffee's Third Wave
“Most specialty coffee served in coffee shops is over-roasted and inexpertly brewed on automatic machines, which means that you need to add lots of milk and sweeteners to overcome the bitter and sour taste,” says industry consultant Andrew Hetzel. “It’s like with a charred steak, where you taste the char and not the underlying flavor of the steak. Over-roasted coffee hides the inherent flavors of the coffee.”
Read the full article here: Coffee's Third Wave
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