Specialty Coffee Retailer articles from January 2004

Specialty Coffee Retailer archives from January 2004

Training to transform.(Editor's Note)
January 1, 2004... While in Seattle for Coffee Fest in October, I learned about a unique program happening in the city. It's called the Youth Barista Training Program, and it's run by YouthCare and FareStart, two organizations committed to helping disadvantaged...

Java for toys.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Port City Java teamed up with the Toys For Tots program to make a merrier Christmas for children in New Hanover County, N.C., where the company's headquarters are located. The Toys For Tots program, run by The United States Marine Corps,...

New corporate identity for Grindmaster.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Louisville, Ky.-based Grindmaster Corporation celebrated its 70-year anniversary in 2003 by adopting a new corporate identity. Previously known as Grindmaster Crathco Systems, the company repositioned itself as Grindmaster Corporation. Tom...

Pacific Espresso on Amazon.com.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Amazon.com, purveyor of pretty much everything, will now be selling Pacific Espresso products. Pacific Espresso, based out of Santa Cruz, Calif., has made its products available at Amazon.com's Gourmet Food Products section. Previously the...

South Eastern Barista Championship.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Counter Culture Coffee announces the first SCAA-sanctioned South East Regional Barista Championship. This competition offers baristas from all over the Southeast to compete by creating a variety of espresso drinks in a 15-minute time period....

Ben & Jerry's Coffee For a Change.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., based in Burlington, Vt., recently announced a new coffee flavor. Coffee For A Change[TM] is the first coffee-flavored ice cream made with Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee that has been widely distributed in...

Da Vinci books exclusive deal with Borders.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Seattle-based Da Vinci Gourmet has announced a deal with Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group, Inc. Borders, which runs the country's second-largest cafe chain, will exclusively serve Da Vinci brand gourmet flavored syrups and sauces. All 420...

Brazil out to prove health benefits of coffee.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... The country of Brazil is seeking to show that coffee does indeed have health benefits, reported a recent Reuters news release. Brazil's government is funding a study to see if there is any link between heart disease and coffee consumption. As...

Davidson's changes to 100 percent organic.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Reno, Nev.-based Davidson's Specialty and Organic Teas has announced that over the next year it will convert its entire line of teas to organic. The company's slogan for this campaign is, "Tea as good as you expect it to be." Davidson's credits...

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's charitable giving.(Brew News)
January 1, 2004... Los Angeles, Calif.-based The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf[R] is giving back to the community that harvests the Colombian coffee beans it uses. Since last November, the company began donating a dollar from every pound of Colombian coffee sold, back...

Industry voice.
January 1, 2004... Q: What made you decide to jump into the specialty coffee business? I have a background in foodservice, restaurant, but always enjoyed the beverage side of the business. When I started discovering the specialty coffee industry in the early...

Moderate indulgence: with these better-than-anything decadent desserts, retailers can offer customers a break from health-conscious and hectic lifestyles.
January 1, 2004... Pity the poor cupcake these days. And the blueberry muffin, the fudge brownie and even the giant chocolate chip cookie for that matter. Times can be tough for these baked goods and their similarly sweet brethren. It seems as if all of the...

Flavor flow: today's syrups cover all the bases when it comes to satisfying a wide variety of customers' tastes.
January 1, 2004... In winter's post-holiday stretch, look to syrup for a little sparkle. With flavors such as Pumpkin Spice, Tiramisu, and yes, even Cheesecake, it's easy to craft a "drinkable dessert," says Kira Klaus-Swaim, food service marketing director for...

Go-cups: thermal drinkware allows consumers to take their coffee-to-go with style.
January 1, 2004... Thermal drinkware, designed to keep beverages at the perfect temperature, has emerged as an area with savory potential. And it's easy to see why. Often used as travel mugs, thermal drinkware helps keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold, all...

Brewing equipment: the next generation.
January 1, 2004... "It has wireless features," explains Scott Mazzini, sounding more like a Verizon or SBC spokesperson than the director of new business technology for Bunn[R] Corporation, Springfield, Ill. He continues to describe the newest additions to the...

Hand-painted truffles introduced at fancy food show.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... Novato, Calif.-based Splendid specialties introduced a new line of truffles at last year's NASFT Fancy Food Show in New York. The truffles are hand-painted, ensuring that no two are exactly alike. The center of the truffle is made from a pureed...

Cookie brittle.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... Petaluma, Calif.-based Zazi Baking Company[TM] has added a new delicious treat to its line up of baked goods. Mrs. Little's Cookie Brittle[TM] is a unique confection that looks like a cookie, crunches like a cracker and tastes intensely rich...

Award-winning chocolate.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... The San Francisco Chocolate Factory's Coffee Lover's Chocolate Collection is a unique set of chocolates designed to complement coffee. The collection, which earned the Best New Product Award at Coffee Fest Seattle, consists of three tins of...

Flavor it organic.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... Flavorganics, the Newark, NJ.-based producer of award-winning 100 percent organic vanilla extract, recently introduced a line of certified organic syrups. The syrups are currently available in six different flavors: French Vanilla, Raspberry,...

Whimsical Tea Infuser.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... Davidson's Inc. has named its newest tea accoutrement "The Ultimate Tea Infuser." This new infuser brews one pot of tea at a time and includes a lid that converts into a drip cup when you are done brewing. Made of 18/8 gauge stainless steel,...

FIFO Fresh.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... When coffee or tea, or anything for that matter, is placed into a canister, usually the last amount added ends up on top. This means the freshest part is used first, while the coffee, tea or food at the bottom of the canister becomes stale or...

Sample this--new table from Walls + Forms.(Gift & Gourmet)
January 1, 2004... How do you sample your newest products so that customers can try them? Use the new promotional/sampling display table from Wall + Forms Inc, based out of Dallas. The professional appearance and durability of this new table are ideal for...

2004 Take Me 2 Tea Expo preview.
January 1, 2004... The 2004 Take Me 2 Tea Expo is expected to be even bigger than last year's inaugural show. Show organizers George Jage, Faith Taylor and Steven Taylor anticipate that the 2004 expo will be twice as last year's, which attracted more than 1,200...

Choosing suppliers.(Regional Update)
January 1, 2004... To many experienced specialty coffee retailers, the word "vendor" conjures up images of a man crawling out of bed at 5:30 on Saturday morning to fix a cantankerous espresso machine. But for far too many others, the word describes a salesman who...