“The enemy.” In a recent conversation with one of my co-workers, he asked me if he should consider another local coffee shop to be “the enemy” now that he worked here. I told him my take is that there is absolutely no reason he should feel that way, and for two reasons: Value and trust.… [Read more…]
September 30, 2011
Some of you were aware that, last week, I took a little trip to Seattle to take in the city, hang out with Ryan and Molly Soeder, and enjoy Coffee Fest and its related festivities. Those handful of you who don’t add excitement and enrichment to your life by anxiously awaiting my every tweet and… [Read more…]
June 10, 2011
A lot of you folks don’t know this, but I used to surf quite a bit. When someone found out I was born and raised in Hawai’i, one of the first questions was often, “Do you surf?” I’d smile a little and nod my head. “Do you miss it?” Another little smile, another nod. “Man,… [Read more…]
June 4, 2011
In light of the the hype and excitement surrounding tomorrow’s World Barista Championship finals, I thought that a little perspective — albeit from a year ago — might be helpful. Ice brew, cold brew, and… gold brew? Chris Deferio doesn’t post to his blog much, but when he does, I listen. The only two posts… [Read more…]
March 8, 2011
My brain is still in a bit of a tizzy from a hectic work schedule, and while I do have quite a few different thoughts and ideas for posts stewing up in my cranium, those brainwaves are still too fragmented or incomplete to be aired here. I do, however, want to share a few of… [Read more…]
January 15, 2011
Earlier this week, while Nathan and Philip and I were brainstorming and hoping that little red roaster wouldn’t get hurt in the bed of the truck, I mentioned the idea of printing out little postcard-sized handouts with helpful hints on how to taste coffee. At the time, we were thinking of ways to set ourselves… [Read more…]
January 12, 2011
I’m not a mean guy, really. Okay, sure, there was that time I laughed when I ran over Pablo’s ankle… with my car… but that really was funny, I promise! Maybe that’s a bad example. It’s just that I have a hard time not having a knee-jerk response in my mind every time I hear… [Read more…]
December 16, 2010
Things have been mildly crazy around here, and, as sometimes happens when craziness ensues, I find myself scrounging around in the dusty corners of my over/under-caffeinated brain for something worth blogging about. More about the latest Bash? Nah. The pieces of manual brewing equipment I’ve been meaning to test out more but haven’t yet? Uh…… [Read more…]
December 11, 2010
As much as I find this funny, I also find it extremely telling and bothersome: The hilarity is easy and obvious, because no one except Buddy really believes that there’s the world’s best cup of coffee in that little shop. Every time I watch it, though, a little part of me is sad. I’m sad… [Read more…]
October 29, 2010
My first job out of high school was working at a grocery store. At that time, Safeway, Inc. was feeling the squeeze being put on them and others by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. My orientation and training at Safeway centered upon two little words: customer service. The head honchos seemed well-aware that there was no way… [Read more…]
November 29, 2011
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