Training returns to Kona Coffee Festival in November

Espresso training, coffee roaster training, a farm tour and a new professional coffee tasting class will be held ahead of this year's Kona Coffee Cultural Festival on the Big Island. Building on last year's success of offering professional training programs in conjunction with the annual event, the 2008 series has been expanded with an advanced barista training session and coffee cupping class.

Nov. 3 - Advanced Profile Roasting (Paul Thornton, instructor)

Nov. 4 - Coffee Farm & Mill Tour

Nov. 5 - Beginning Espresso (Andrew Hetzel, instructor)

Nov. 6 - Advanced Espresso (Andrew Hetzel, instructor)

Nov. 7- Cupper's Training

Both espresso classes will feature the new World Barista Championship edition Aurelia espresso machine from Nuova Simonelli, the same machine that will be used in WBC competition for 2009 - 2011. Advance registration is required.

Complete workshop details

Barista Training Registration

The Finest Coffee Cups - Most Incredible Coffee Icons On The Web

In this article I present you the finest icons of the fuel of a lot of designers and students (and other people too) available on the web. I’ve just released my own coffee cup icon but this beverage seem to have inspired a lot of other beautiful icons especially on Mac OS X.

Now just get your next coffee, sit back and enjoy this little showcase. Just click on the images to get to the icon sources. And remember you will have more control over time itself if you reach your 100th cup of coffee.

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Bad Java Blues: Why do we get bad coffee in good restaurants?

Thursday, October 23, 2008
By China Millman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Great restaurants are great because of their attention to detail. Whether in Pittsburgh or Paris, they serve high-quality bread, use freshly squeezed juices in cocktails and make their desserts from scratch in house. Too many restaurants in Pittsburgh treat these elements of the meal as if they were only details, as if they don't matter in the overall scheme of success.

There are many easy changes that restaurants could make to improve the quality of their meals (so-called whipped cream that actually comes from a canister is ubiquitous and frustrating), but instead I'd like to examine a problem that isn't so easily solved, but is definitely worth solving. Why is it so hard to get a decent cup of coffee in a Pittsburgh restaurant?

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PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. Named “Roaster of the Year” by Roast Magazine

Topeka, KS (October 22, 2008) – PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. has been named Roast magazine’s “Roaster of the Year” for 2009 in the publication’s November / December 2008 issue released today.

The annual “Roaster of the Year” title is awarded to candidates that serve coffee of superior quality, demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainable practices and their employees, among other criteria.

“We never set out with the intent of winning awards,” said PT’s Coffee co-founder Jeff Taylor, “but it is gratifying to gain recognition for doing business the way that we feel is right; for example, through our Direct Trade program that develops relationships with farmers who are rewarded for exceptional quality, sustainability and commitment to their communities.”

PT’s Coffee edged out North America’s top specialty coffee roasters in the large (Macro) roaster category (companies roasting more than 100,000 pounds of coffee annually) to win the industry accolade.

“I am proud to have PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. represent Roast magazine as our 2009 Roaster of the Year,” said publisher Connie Blumhardt. “PT’s Coffee encompasses all the qualities that we look for in our Roaster of the Year – environmentally and socially responsible, innovative roasting, a strong commitment their employees and of course, serving great coffee. ”

Two categories of the award are presented each year. Winning the small (Micro) roaster category was Coffee Klatch of San Dimas, CA. Owner Mike Perry is a friend and frequent coffee buyer with PT’s Coffee.

About PT’s Coffee Roasting Co.

PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. began in 1993 as a single coffee shop in Topeka, Kansas, later expanding into coffee roasting in 1997. PT’s Coffee now roasts over 100 tons of premium specialty coffee annually for wholesale clients and operates 3 retail locations in Topeka and Overland Park.

Recognized for award-winning small lot coffees, PT’s Coffee is among the leading roasters reviewed by industry resource Coffee Review, receiving the guide’s highest ever rating of 97 points. PT’s Coffee manager Pete Licata ranked 2nd in competition at the 2007 & 2008 U.S. Barista Championships.

PT’s Coffee can be found at fine coffee shops and restaurants nationwide and in select Whole Foods locations. For more information or to try PT’s award-winning coffee, call 888-678-5282 or visit http://www.ptscoffee.com.

About Roast Magazine

Roast magazine is a bi-monthly technical trade magazine dedicated to the success and growth of the specialty coffee industry. Roast addresses the art, science and business of coffee roasters by covering the issues most important to them with high quality editorial focused on the technical aspects of coffee. For more information, visit http://www.roastmagazine.com.

Fresh brewed coffee in zero gravity

Astronauts cannot brew good coffee in space because of zero gravity, so they have had to make yucky instant coffee. Two Costa Rican engineering students, Daniel Rozen and Josue Solanoat, at Technological Institute of Costa Rica, invented the Space Infuser to solve the problem.

Cheers to Costa Rica for producing not only some of the finest coffee in the world, but also to these two Costa Ricans for producing the Space Infuser. ¡Pura Vida!

Is shade-grown coffee the drink of the day?

Dilemma: First it was fairtrade for the farmers, now it's bird friendly for biodiversity. Lucy Siegle spills the beans on planet-friendly coffee

Lucy Siegle
The Observer,
Sunday October 19 2008

Everything concerning coffee is hotly disputed, including its origins. But I like the story that it was discovered by an Abyssinian goatherder who noticed his goats dancing about with exuberance. He correctly surmised they had eaten coffee cherries, experimented with them himself and, lo, a multi-billion dollar industry was launched (sort of). The array of 'ethical' screening and certification programmes came later, with every retailer preferring their own way of fulfilling their take on social and environmental obligations - so Starbucks presumably sees no conflict between its overseas environmental programme and leaving a tap running in every one of its stores, reputedly wasting 34.2m litres of water a day.

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World's leading espresso roaster seeks Indian coffee beans

19 Oct, 2008, 0000 hrs IST,Raghu Krishnan, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: The global economic crisis may have reduced out-of-home consumption of bevereages by 20% in the developed world but the world’s leading roaster of espresso coffee illycafe (spelt with a small i) says this will have little impact on sales and its sourcing of beans from producing countries like India. Every day, some six million cups of illy espresso are consumed in 50,000 upmarket restaurants and coffee bars in 140 countries.

The Italy-based illycafe is the single largest buyer of gourmet Plantation A (Arabica) beans from India. illycafe director Anna Illy says that the current economic crisis will not have much of an impact on a premium product like illy espresso. “At the most, there could be a dip in the growth-rate,” she says.

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Coffee sales rise amid economic downturn

New chain coffee shops are opening up at a rate of 10 a week as Britons turn to coffee to relieve their financial woes, new research shows.

By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent

The boom in sales is much faster than analysts had forecast, with consumers refusing to forego their daily coffee despite the economic downturn.

Sales are set to reach £1.4 billion this year with the number of outlets rising to 3,461.

In the past year, there were 245 new Costa Coffee outlets, 160 Starbucks, 83 Caffe Neros and 78 new shops opened by smaller chains, according to research by Allegra Strategies.

Overall, 566 branded coffee shops were launched, increasing the total by 25 per cent to 2,804.

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