Specialty Coffee Retailer articles from December 2003

Specialty Coffee Retailer archives from December 2003

Show going.(Editor's Note)
December 1, 2003... I just returned from this year's Coffee Fest Seattle show, and I have to say, I was enormously impressed. I've been to a few shows over the course of my time in the industry, and, to me, this one looked to be a good one. Just trying to get...

Dunkin' Donuts sponsors kids' safety.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... For the second year in a row, Dunkin' Donuts, headquartered in Randolph, Mass., teamed up with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to make sure kids across the country had a sale Halloween, The Mind Your Munchkins * Halloween Safety...

Coffee Masters culinary fundraiser.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... Coffee Masters executive vice president, Mike Ebert, recently led a coffee and pastry tasting educational session at the French Pastry School in Chicago. The session was held in order to raise money for Les Dames d'Escoffier (LDEI), an...

New Web site for Vail Mountain.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea Company recently announced the launch of a newly designed Web site. www.vailcoffee.com. The new design features images of the products, as well as photos of the beautiful Vail Valley. Coffee, tea and accessories are...

Coffee Bean International celebrates 10 years of Panache.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... Coffee Bean International of Portland, Ore., announced the 10-year anniversary of its Panache Brand[R] coffee this fall. Panache is both the flagship brand and best-selling product that Coffee Bean International produces. The line currently...

Coffee Fest Las Vegas and Great American Dessert Expo co-locate.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... Coffee Fest Las Vegas will be held at the same time and place as the Great American Dessert Expo for the first time this year. Both Coffee Fest Las Vegas and the Great American Dessert Expo will be held at the Sands Expo Center June 12-14,...

Routin holiday trio at Williams-Sonoma.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... New York based Routin America has announced that Williams-Sonoma, the San Francisco-based upscale kitchen product and specialty food retailer, will sell a set of its holiday syrups this season. The Holiday Syrup Trio will feature three gourmet...

Da Vinci employees become baristas.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... Da Vinci Gourmet recently completed a two-month education period that turned one-third of its employees into certified baristas. The training sessions earned these employees the titles of Certified Barista Professional and Certified Barista...

New Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf location.(Brew News)
December 1, 2003... The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf[R] opened the doors to a new location at Beverly Boulevard and Alta Vista in Los Angeles on November 2. General manager Stuart Feldman will oversee the location, which will serve the same high-quality coffee, tea,...

Reinventing the mocha: chocolate is still king, but white chocolate, caramel and spices are expanding the reach of the mocha and hot cocoa.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... First popular as a beverage for the early Native American cultures of southern Mexico and Central America, chocolate seems to have come full circle as more and more of it is poured into specialty drinks at coffeehouses near and far. The...

Crop report.
December 1, 2003... Having attempted to analyze the world's coffee crop "situation" for the benefit of the specialty coffee roaster for the past 20 years, of so, some salient consistencies (regardless of weather, etc.) become apparent: 1) There will always be...

Getting to the source: mastering the fine art of coffee buying is a lifetime endeavor.
December 1, 2003... Buying specialty coffee, whether roasted or green, is one of those things that takes a relatively short time to grasp but more than a lifetime to master. It's not something that can be learned instantly, though, or even in a few hours, like...

The state of sustainability: consumer pressure rises for tea and coffee labeled environmentally friendly and economically fair.
December 1, 2003... In the past few years, the sustainable movement in the specialty coffee industry has gained momentum as larger and larger players have joined the journey. Starbucks began offering fair-trade certified coffee in 2000. The following year Sara Lee...

The buzz on decaf: with an increasing demand for high-quality decaf, it pays to give this category the attention it deserves.
December 1, 2003... The market for decaf in the United States is laid out as follows: 46 million Americans drink decaf coffee weekly. The category represents 15 percent of total coffee consumption. Exclusive decaf drinkers, people who drink mostly decaf, represent...

Evolution of a coffeehouse: employee recruitment and retention.
December 1, 2003... Running your own coffeehouse can be an exciting, if not exhausting, experience. Many entrepreneurs love to share their passion for coffee with their customers. But customers aren't the only people that business owners must interact with....

The doughnut duo: two Boise women gave up high-tech careers and found glazing success.(Coffeehouse Profile)
December 1, 2003... A couple years ago Millie Kelly took her friend Wendy Adams to visit a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop, and said, "Hey, let's start our own." "It was two in the afternoon, and the place was packed," Adams recalls. "The doughnuts were good, but...

1. Personalized prepaid gift cards.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... San Diego-based Tx Systems, Inc., has found success with its prepaid Internet access card system, iCafeCard, and it hopes to encounter more of the same with a new prepaid gift card system called ValueCard. The card functions similarly to a gift...

2. Hand-painted truffles introduced at Fancy Food Show.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... Novato, Calif.-based Splendid Specialties introduced a new line of truffles at this year's NASFT Fancy Food Show in New York. The truffles are hand-painted, ensuring that no two are exactly alike. They are made with a pureed fruit ganache...

3. A taste of the gypsy life.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The story behind Zhena's Gypsy Tea sounds almost too romantic to be true. Zhena Muzyka, a woman of Ukrainian gypsy heritage from Ojai, Calif., began blending and experimenting with tea in the year 2000, as a way to get in touch with her...

4. New Tanna coffee from Islandproductions.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... Islandproductions LLC, an importer based in New York, has introduced Tanna Coffee to the United States. Tanna Coffee is grown on the volcanic island of Tanna in the republic of Vanuatu in the Southwest Pacific. The coffee is 100 percent arabica...

5. New Professional CD player provides cafe mood music.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... The coffee shop experience is made complete not only by a great tasting cup of coffee, but also by the atmosphere of the shop. Part of this ambience is set by the music playing in the background. Denon Professional is proud to introduce the...

6. Good-for-you chocolate.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... Healthy chocolate? No, this isn't an oxymoron--it's the new "intense candies" being offered by Woodi Z, a Rockford, Ill.-based company. Chocolate Shivers are 1-ounce squares of chocolate enhanced with Guarana and Dandelion root. Woodi Z, the...

7. Gavina offers new organics.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... F. Gavina & Sons, Inc., of Vernon, Calif., has announced the release of a new line of 100 percent organic coffee this rail. The line includes Mexican, Guatemalan, Espresso and French Roast coffees. All are available in 5-pound bags, and will...

8. Insulair online.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... In response to customer request, Insulair, Vernalis, Calif., has announced a new e-commerce Web site, www.insulair.com. The triple-wall insulated paper cup manufacturer has now made it easier to order its products. Three different designs and...

The right roasting partner.(Regional Update)
December 1, 2003... Most people don't make their major purchases in life simply based on whether the salesperson is nice, or because the company is the only one of that kind with which they are familiar. But Marla Tabaka, owner of Fat Bean Coffeehouse in...