Fresh Cup Magazine | November 2017

C A F F È U M B R I A | S M I T H T E A M A K E R | M O D E R N T I M E S | M I L K B A R | AT H E N S C O F F E E F E S T I VA L

November 2017 » freshcup.com

Fourth Wave Direct Trade PAGE 44

LEVER MACHINE LOVE PAGE 36 T H E M AGA Z I N E FO R S P E C I A LT Y C O F F E E & T E A P R O F E SS I O N A L S S I N C E 1 9 9 2

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November 2017 Âť Fresh Cup Magazine

FEATURES NOVEMBER 2017 Fresh Cup Magazine » Vol. 26 » No. 11

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FOR THE LOVE OF LEVERS A new generation of lever espresso machines brings a new level of craftsmanship.

BY RACHEL NORTHROP

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FOURTH WAVE DIRECT TRADE Direct relationships and two-way communication are keys to the next cresting wave of specialty coffee and tea.

BY TIM HEINZE

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DEPARTMENTS NOVEMBER 2017 Fresh Cup Magazine » Vol. 26 » No. 11

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Athens Coffee Festival, World Coffee Forum, Where to Drink Coffee Around the World, Mastering the Art of Brewing Coffee at Home

Tea as a Digestif

by Tony Tellin

Pizza + Café

by Ariel Kusby

THE FILTER

THE WHOLE LEAF

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BEHIND THE BAR Caffè Umbria Madison Café

by Peter Szymczak

THE WHOLE BEAN Multi-Roaster Cafés

by Ellie Bradley

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FORK & KNIFE

52

COUNTER INTELLIGENCE Alchemy Golden Turmeric Elixir, Owl’s Brew, and more!

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FROM THE EDITOR 16

CONTRIBUTORS 26

IN HOUSE Win-Win Perks Beyond a Paycheck

by Tim Cox

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CAFÉ CROSSROADS

58

Modern Times Brewery

by Rachel Sandstrom Morrison

Christina Tosi of Milk Bar

November 2017 » Fresh Cup Magazine

THE BACK PAGE

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CALENDAR Trade shows and events

56

ADVERTISER INDEX

Fresh Cup Magazine « freshcup.com

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FC

FROM THE EDITOR Inescapable Pull

COFFEE FEST PORTLAND PULLED TOGETHER THE

CONNECT WITH US

/FreshCupMagazine

@freshcupmag

@freshcupmag

ON THE COVER: Smooth Operator The two-group Victoria Arduino lever espresso machine at The Beanery in Salem, Oregon, one of seven area cafés owned and operated by Allann Brothers.

PETER SZYMCZAK, EDITOR editor@freshcup.com

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Photo by Peter Szymczak

EDITOR P HOTO BY C HA RLES G ULLUNG P HOTO GR APHY; TOP RIGHT P HOTO BY K ATYA AUSTIN

international coffee and tea community for three gloriously sunny and dry, crisp, cool autumn days of camaraderie, business, and education at the Oregon Convention Center.

In packed-to-capacity conference rooms, seminars offered educational sessions and intense discussions between presenters and attendees covering a wide variety of topics—from the meaning of direct trade and transparency, to employer/employee inter-café relations, the ways baristas can better communicate the flavors in tea and coffee to customers, and too many others to list.

New products sparkled on the trade show floor. There was glassware galore— beautifully crafted ceramic mugs, paper products to sip out of and hold onto, portable brewing equipment, single-serve dispensers, expertly engineered machines, elixirs, green bean importers, roasters and baristas of all ages …

And there were people competing for bragging rights in best latte art, cold brew, nitro, and espresso competitions. Tasters and judges rated beverages based on mouth-feel, body, acidity, and flavor profile. Looking on expectantly was a captivated audience of industry novices and experts alike, all waiting for the final verdict of winners to be announced.

It was a veritable three-ring circus of coffee, tea, and everything in between.

It was equal parts exhausting and inspirational. Over the past decade I’ve covered food and wine events around the nation, talking with growers from across the world, yet nowhere before have I felt such energy and determination to succeed as at Coffee Fest Portland.

If you didn’t attend, you missed out on one of the great events doing business in today’s evolving specialty beverage industry (see page 44 for an insight into the rapidly approaching Fourth Wave). You also missed seeing in person some spectacularly engineered lever espresso machines (see page 36 for more about these marvelous machines).

If you missed it, don’t worry: Fresh Cup has you covered. We understand you’re busy café owners who can’t always attend conferences in far away cities, which is why it’s our goal to show and tell you about the latest, greatest things happening every month.

And there will be new opportunities to join in the next Coffee Fest happening nearest you. Baltimore, Maryland, is scheduled for March 2018, then moves to Denver, Colorado, in June. What promises to be the biggest Coffee Fest yet will take place in Los Angeles in August 2018, coinciding with the National Restaurant Association national convention. I can’t wait.

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FRESH CUP MAGAZINE ~~~FRESH CUP FOUNDER~~~ WARD BARBEE 1938-2006 ~~~FRESH CUP PUBLISHING~~~ Publisher and President JAN WEIGEL jan@freshcup.com ~~~EDITORIAL~~~ Editor PETER SZYMCZAK editor@freshcup.com Digital Editor RACHEL SANDSTROM MORRISON rachel@freshcup.com ~~~ART~~~ Art Director CYNTHIA MEADORS cynthia@freshcup.com ~~~ADVERTISING~~~ Sales Manager MICHAEL HARRIS michael@freshcup.com Ad Coordinator DIANE HOWARD adtraffic@freshcup.com Marketing Coordinator ANNA SHELTON anna@freshcup.com ~~~CIRCULATION~~~ Circulation Director ANNA SHELTON anna@freshcup.com ~~~ACCOUNTING~~~ Accounting Manager DIANE HOWARD diane@freshcup.com ~~~EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD~~~ DAVID GRISWOLD

ANUPA MUELLER

Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers

Eco-Prima

CHUCK JONES

BRAD PRICE

Jones Coffee Roasters

Monin Gourmet Flavorings

JULIA LEACH

BRUCE RICHARDSON

Toddy

Elmwood Inn Fine Teas

COSIMO LIBARDO

MANISH SHAH

Toby’s Estate Coffee

Maya Tea Co.

BRUCE MILLETTO

LARRY WINKLER

Bellissimo Coffee Advisors

Torani

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CONTRIBUTORS ELLIE BRADLEY For tips on how to bring multiple roasters onboard at your café, see Bradley’s informative article “Becoming a Multi-Roaster” on page 30.

TIM COX North Texan Tim Cox is co-owner of Communion Café and Rail Cart Espresso in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. He has a decade’s worth of experience on the retail and wholesale sides of the coffee industry. As an employer, he has spent a good deal of time pondering employee value, while being mindful of management. Read about some creative remuneration models he’s discovered in “Perks Beyond a Paycheck” on page 26.

TIM HEINZE In “Fourth Wave Direct Trade” (page 44), Heinze shares his global perspective on the next phase of specialty coffee’s evolution.

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ARIEL KUSBY Looking for a good food fit for your café?

Pop-up restaurants are a creative way to audition different menus and build community. Creative writer Ariel Kusby recounts a culinary collaboration between a coffeehouse, merchandizing whiz, and pop-up pizza shop—see page 34. Based in Portland, Oregon, Kusby holds a B.A. from UCLA, where she studied English (creative writing) and fine art. Her articles, essays, and reviews have previously appeared in Garden Collage, Entropy, Hunger Mountain, Luna Luna Magazine, The Culture Trip, Adolescent, and FEM, among others.

RACHEL NORTHROP Difficult to pull. Impossible to control. Idiosyncratic. Those are just a few knocks against the lever espresso machines from days of yore—but no more. Northrop gets a handle on the new generation of manual machines—see “For the Love of Levers” on page 36.

TONY TELLIN Tony Tellin has come a long way from drinking sun tea on the farm in his home state of Iowa, blissfully unaware of how tea was grown or made.

That all changed in 1998 when he moved to Portland, Oregon, and started working at Tazo Tea Company. In 2009, Tellin rejoined forces with his mentor and Tazo founder, Steven Smith, and became a founding member of Smith Teamaker—a blender and packer of super-premium full leaf teas, herbal infusions, and other innovative delicious tea concoctions. In “Tea as a Digestif” (see page 28), Tellin advocates for tea’s post-prandial properties and food pairing possibilities.

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The FILTER A Fine Blend of News and Notes

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ore than 40,000 coffee professionals and enthusiasts—a global audience of café owners, managers, baristas, coffee roasters, executives, and consumers—gathered in Athens, Greece, for the second annual Athens Coffee Festival.

The festival took place over three days, September 30 through October 2, at the Technopolis, an industrial museum and exhibition space originally founded in 1857. The festivities

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ran all day, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., spanning musical events, competitions, coffee tastings, and coffeeinfused cocktails into the wee hours.

The big outdoor space housed vendors: equipment manufacturers, manual brew bar outfitters, apron artisans, and cafés, all showcasing their services and wares in a way that was extremely experiential. “It’s not a trade show—it’s an international community coming together,” says Jackie Malone, the Specialty Coffee Association’s senior community manager for the European Union.

The show brought together trade professionals and consumers from Europe, the United States, South America, and the Middle East, and offered the international community the rare opportunity to taste coffee varieties from 63 coffee-producing countries.

The atmosphere was casual and social, peppered with educational opportunities at workshops and seminars. Cafés brought their full experience to the festival, with one Greek company, Cup Fresh Roasted Coffee, transforming a shipping container into a full café, seating included.

P HOTO S BY RAC HEL SANDST ROM MO RR ISO N

ATHENS COFFEE FESTIVAL

The festival was one of the most massive events ever hosted in Gazi, Athens, and, according to Georgina Gianneli, executive secretary of SCAE Hellas, “The educational and commercial parts combined in the atmosphere of celebration, uniquely expressing the famous Greek spirits of cooperation and entrepreneurship.”

Capping the Olympic-sized event was the first-ever Panhellenic Roasting Championship. Ten Greek roast-

ers showcased their knowledge, skills, and talent at coffee processing and roasting. Contestants were rated for their ability to assess the quality of the green coffee they used and the roasting profile they chose to highlight the unique characteristics of each variety.

“We thought that as a nation with a really active and sophisticated coffee scene, it was time to run the competition,” Gianneli says. “The first national

championship gave its own dynamics to the festival, giving the playful twist of competitiveness and the important aspect of championships.”

The champion was Panagiotis Matziounis: he will represent Greece at the 2017 World Coffee Roasting Championship, to be held in China this December. Second place was awarded to Thanasis Nikolis and Giorgos Spithakis took third place.

—Rachel Sandstrom Morrison

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The FILTER

MAKING WAVES AT THE WORLD COFFEE CEO PORTAL

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he 2017 New York Coffee Festival kicked off with the third annual installation of the World Coffee CEO Portal Forum.

This year’s forum packed everything from consumer purchase patterns statistics and farming forecasts, to espresso technology and café philosophy, into a full day of presentations and panels. The consensus of the forum was that specialty and scale do not have to be mutually exclusive, leading to someplace Allegra Events CEO and forum organizer Jeffrey Young calls “the fifth wave.”

He explains, “The fourth wave was systemization and science of craft: geekiness overload. It quantified every aspect of the third wave artisanship that rejected second wave cookie cutter.”

Young identified hallmarks of successful coffee companies today as including beautiful design and packaging delivering high performance, data driven businesses, and brand loyalty, summarizing, “The fifth wave

is boutique at scale, unashamed of being business focused. It’s not an anti chain; it’s an excellent chain. Moving from two to three stores or to 23, it is scale by degrees to give the audience something special.”

For Toby’s Estate Brooklyn owner Amber Jacobsen, “Specialness of people is what makes specialty coffee.”

Both she and Joe Rubinstein, owner of NYC café chain Joe, told personal stories of growing New York City businesses from the ground up, of being in the trenches of trial and error. Toby’s Estate scales specialty across its stores by committing its employees to “a certified training program tied to compensation and longevity,” replacing the traditional tenure-wage correlation, while Joe accepted majority investment from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, and is balancing the new expectations of a board with 14 years of organic growth.

Starbucks President of Siren Retail Cliff Burrows cites specialty coffee’s

ALLEGRA CEO Jeffrey Young

potential for “impact at scale, to use scale for good.” Currently, Starbucks employs 40,000 youth ages 16–24 to address the national challenge of finding full-time employment during and after completing education.

The fifth wave of coffee is set to benefit everyone: café employees, customers, and players at origin, who also attended the festival to find better ways of making a living from something they love.

—Rachel Northrop

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here to Drink Coffee (Phaidon, $30) is an insider’s guide to finding specialty coffee wherever your travels may take you.

The book features 600 notable cafés located across more than 50 countries around the world, as chosen by 150 contributors including industry experts, baristas, and roasters.

The authors are Liz Clayton, editor of Sprudge and author of Nice Coffee Time, and Avidan Ross, a coffee connoisseur and founding partner of Root Ventures, a venture capital company that invests in hardware, development tools, and data science.

According to the authors, the book was created “to provide [read-

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ers] with the inspiration to explore… wherever the road takes you.” A short glossary explains commonly used coffee industry terms.

Where to Drink Coffee is organized by region of the world. Each entry

includes a map of the country, quotes from the contributors, and a list of recommended cafés, including the name, address, phone number, website, opening hours, what credit cards are accepted, and the style of the shop—coffee, coffee bar, coffee and food, or full-service with food.

For countries that have major coffee cities—such as Melbourne, Australia; Tokyo, Japan; and Reykjavik, Iceland—the cities receive their own page of recommendations.

Where to Drink Coffee is a great addition to any café’s bookshelf, and one your jet-setting customers (and baristas) will appreciate.

—Rachel Sandstrom Morrison

P HOTO O F J EFFREY YO UNG CO URTESY O F ALLEG RA G ROUP

AROUND THE WORLD IN 600 CAFÉS

MASTERING THE ART OF BREWING AT HOME

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hen it comes to selecting home brewing equipment, the number of choices can be paralyzing.

Chemex or Kalita Wave? Dripper or Kone? And what the heck is a Walküre?

Grinders also vary in mechanics and size. All filters are not made equally. Suggestions for brewing ratios vary depending on the brewing equipment, coffee type, and grind.

It’s no wonder so many people head straight for the Keurig.

But café-quality coffee is within reach for home brewers, and Craft Coffee: A Manual (Agate Surrey, $20) is here to show the way. The guide is loaded with helpful tips on how to choose and use brewing equipment, how to decipher the jargon on coffee bags, and how to improve taste—all while keeping time and cost in mind.

processing methods, and roast types, and explains how each of these elements ultimately affects coffee’s flavor.

Craft Coffee holds value for coffee lovers of all knowledge levels. With tips for troubleshooting, and detailed profiles of ten common manual brewing devices, this guide offers value for new cafés or novice baristas, as well as the casual consumer. FC —Ellie Bradley

Written by coffee enthusiast Jessica Easto, Craft Coffee takes a logical approach to teaching readers the basics of coffee, helping lead them to informed decisions about equipment, coffee beans, and brewing techniques. The book focuses on manual brewing rather than espresso, paying special attention to challenges unique to home brewers.

With input from seasoned coffee pros, Easto eliminates the intimidation factor from manual brewing. She tackles topics like brewing basics, extraction science, coffee varieties,

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BEHIND the BAR Caffè Umbria—Madison Café | Portland, Oregon » By Peter Szymczak

Bar area: In addition to Italian beers and wine, Caffè Umbria serves coffee cocktails such as espresso corretto (espresso “corrected” with grappa).

“It’s good before going out into the evening, marking the transition between day into night,” Madeddu says. Classic Italian spirits and cocktails, some made with cold brew, are also served.

CAFFÈ UMBRIA—MADISON CAFÉ 710 SW Madison Street, Portland, Oregon (503) 719-5248 | caffeumbria.com Hours: Monday–Friday 6:30 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.–7 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m.–5 p.m.

Cold-brew area: The featured coffee in the 25-cup Yama Cold Brew tower rotates between the Bizzarri Blend and a single-origin coffee. Available on tap are nitro cold brew and a beer that’s not an espresso stout—the light-bodied Gusto Crema Ale, made at Georgetown Brewing in Seattle, Washington, using Caffè Umbria’s signature mediumroast Gusto Crema Blend.

T

ime-honored Italian coffee traditions blend seamlessly with a rejuvenated Rose City landmark at Caffè Umbria’s new metropolitan café in Portland, Oregon. Located at the corner of Madison Street and Broadway Avenue in the downtown Cultural District, the coffeehouse attracts a mix of tourists, area residents, and business clientele. As a social hub, it provides a prime vantage point for reflecting on Portland’s past, present, and future—and the coffee company’s storied history, to boot.

The café adjoins the lobby of the historic Sovereign apartment building, which was built in 1922 and recently underwent meticulous renovation. The café’s design—by Rick Potestio of Potestio Studio—reflects the architecture of the Georgian-style structure, while mixing in signature branding and style.

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Mise en place: Caffè Umbria extols the kitchen principle that everything should be organized, and everything has its place.

The low counter was designed with minimal items to afford better contact between barista and guest. Items that need easy, frequent access (like saucers) are stored in slide drawers by the service area.

Moka pots: Even nowadays, the moka pot is still the everyday choice for millions of Italians, so all baristas are trained on table service for moka pots (and french press).

It’s part of the nostalgia, but also an important tool for selling retail coffee: “If baristas know somebody is using a moka pot at home, they can then give tips that will get the customer excited about the brewing format and how to use each blend in it,” Franklin says.

PH OTO C OURTESY O F CAFFÈ UM BRIA

Antonio Madeddu, lead barista trainer

Fetco Extractor series (2142 XTS): Marie Franklin is Caffè Umbria’s director of strategic development. She leads the company’s culinary research and education team.

Franklin likes the brewer’s ability to pre-program unique recipes per coffee blend, and its simple design does not detract from the café’s aesthetic. “It’s all about quality, consistency, and efficiency,” Franklin says.

Bowl of chocolate: Individually wrapped squares of dark chocolate, made in Italy, are served with every coffee “to provide a sweet finish. It rounds out the whole experience,” says Antonio Madeddu, lead barista trainer.

Cold food case: An Italian import with a low profile and modern lines.

Everything in the case is what you’d find in Italy: breakfast pastries made by St. Honoré Boulangerie, and lunch items including house-made panini, piadine, and salads.

BEHIND the BAR

Fima Deruta cups: Coffee cups are handmade at the Fima workshop in Deruta, Italy, just 15 kilometers from Perugia, the ancestral home of Caffè Umbria.

The cup-making process begins with the modeling of clay, which is then glazed and painted.

La Marzocco GB5 3-group: This automatic espresso machine makes the bar more efficient and aids baristas in providing an optimal guest experience. Its vintage look also fits in with the design aesthetic of the historic building.

Curved stand-up bar: It’s customary in Italy to get a quick espresso and consume it while standing at the bar.

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High ceilings, Roman cornice pieces, and windy blue Italian-made subway tiles combine to create a classically inspired, yet comfortable atmosphere. The Good Mod custom-fabricated the handsome metal and wood bar that sits squarely on a black-and-white mosaic checkerboard tile floor, which is original to the space and lovingly preserved. (It’s thought a restaurant once occupied the space, as did a florist, perhaps, and other now-forgotten businesses.)

The Madison Café is Caffè Umbria’s second location in Portland; the other, a substantially larger café that opened ten years ago and still does a bustling business, is across town in the fashionable Pearl District.

Location is everything, and the Madison Café has it in spades. Head west up Madison Street and you’ll find the South Park Blocks, where the Saturday Portland Farmers Market attracts foodies and tourists by the bushel. Other nearby landmarks: the campus of Portland State University, the Portland Art Museum, and Oregon Historical Society.

On Broadway, there’s the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and the iconic Portland marquee sign. Turn the other direction and there’s the building once home to The Oregonian newspaper, now occupied by Amazon.com workers.

Building occupants may come and go, but Italian traditions stand the test of time at Caffè Umbria.

The company’s roots trace back to the 1940s, when Ornello Bizzarri built a coffee roastery in Perugia, Italy. Now his grandson—third-generation roaster Emanuele Bizzarri—carries on the family tradition, accompanied by business partners Jesse Sweeney and Pasquale Madeddu.

Based in Seattle, Washington, Caffè Umbria also has three cafés in the Puget Sound area, in Ballard, Pioneer Square, and Westlake.

An expansion in Chicago, to better serve Caffè Umbria’s Midwest and East Coast customers, includes a roastery, training lab, and café in Logan Square, which are scheduled to open this November.

Their first Windy City café opened in 2015 on Clark Street in the historic John R. Thompson Building in River North.

In addition to its seven cafés, Caffè Umbria sells bags of whole roasted coffee beans to retail, restaurant, and wholesale accounts. The roastery has begun offering organic and single-origin varieties, but its namesake Bizzarri Blend—which earned a medal at the recently held Golden Bean North America coffee roasting competition— shows off Umbria’s Italianate soul. With its buttery caramel aroma, fruity acidity, full body, and nutty, bittersweet finish like Italian amaro,

Bizzarri Blend works well in milk-based drinks or on its own.

At Caffè Umbria, the craft of blending coffees remains king. “A single coffee bean cannot possess the complexity necessary for great espresso,” Bizzarri says, noting that he blends up to 15 different varietals, with the bulk coming from Central America, South America, and Africa. “We select the best varietals from each coffee growing country that have the best profiles to produce each of the blends.”

At its core, Caffè Umbria is an Italian Italian coffee company. Its cafés are places where customers can lean, like the Tower of Pisa, at a stand-up espresso bar and sip an espresso, which comes served as a single shot—as is the custom in Italy.

“No one orders a double espresso in Italy,” says Antonio Madeddu, Caffè Umbria’s lead barista trainer (SCA Level 2). “People will drink four or five espressos throughout the morning, but it’s always going to be a single espresso or macchiato. A single shot is the perfect amount. First you drink some water to cleanse your palate then you enjoy your espresso, and finish sweet with a bite of dark chocolate. It’s perfect.” FC

Mahlkönig Peak espresso grinders: One is loaded with Gusto Crema Blend and one with Mezzanotte Decaffeinated Blend. The grinders operate at a low RPM grinding speed, using flat burrs and a cooling fan.

PH OTO S C OURTESY O F CAFFÈ UMBRIA

Seasonal granita al Caffè Machine: Espresso, sugar, and water are mixed in the Ugolini Mini to make a semi-frozen espresso drink. In the winter months, Cioccolata Calda takes its place. Caffè Umbria’s version of hot chocolate is made with fine Italian Pernigotti cocoa and served warm for a rich, creamy, and intense indulgence.

Sunken milk well: You won’t find milk on Caffè Umbria’s bar or see baristas reaching into a fridge to grab a carton. Milk products are kept hidden in a sunken well next to the espresso machine. Filled with ice, the well keeps milk handy, cold and mostly out of sight. “It’s about making the barista’s life smooth and functional behind the bar, and allowing them to focus on the guest,” Franklin says.

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In HOUSE

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ccording to the National Restaurant Association, nearly 10 percent of workers in the United States are employed by restaurants, and nearly 90 percent of those restaurant workers do not get paid sick leave. This means workers often face the choice of losing pay or going in to work and endangering the health of others.

It begs the question, why would anyone want to work in foodservice at all? Well, some small café owners

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are providing employees with healthcare and other compelling incentives.

For Jared Truby, co-owner of Cat & Cloud Coffee in Santa Cruz, California, providing for employees was paramount in deciding to start a new business.

“Our mission is to make people happier than they were before they interacted with us,” he explains. “Owning a business isn’t so much about providing for us owners—it’s about making a big pie for everyone to get a slice of.”

When starting their business, Truby and his partners, Chris Baca and Charles Jack, thought deeply about their motivations for doing so, asking themselves questions such as “How can someone at least consider retiring with us?” and “How could someone earn a true living with us?”

Ultimately, these questions led them to create a compensation package that goes above and beyond what’s typically offered. Baristas at Cat & Cloud enjoy perks such as medical benefits, four weeks of paid vacation, a weekly $20 gift card to buy drinks for themselves and their friends, as well as a split 10 percent share of the company’s profits.

“We set aside a generous portion of our company equity to share with the team, provided they achieve benchmarks,” Truby says. “This will provide those who invest in us to be invested and provided for in the long haul. I am most proud of this.”

Beyond monetary incentives, Cat & Cloud offers opportunities for professional development. For example, every staff member receives a trip to a coffee producing origin country within the first three years of employment.

When the owners attend industry events, they select a few employees at random to accompany them.

Despite being only a few months old, Narrative Coffee in Everett, Washington, has already gained a reputation for its commitment to retaining and engaging café employees.

“We believe that our guests can’t be served well without our staff believing in the work they’re doing,” says founder and co-owner Maxwell Mooney.

Mooney acknowledges the struggles a small business can experience when trying to balance a tight budget with a desire to provide for its team. “As a brand-new small business, we may face some monetary constraints in serving our staff, but we are working really hard to make up for those constraints by offering opportunities to grow with our business,” Mooney says. “We start at a baseline of ensuring our staff are compensated as fairly against market rates as we can.”

Staff at Narrative earn $1 an hour above minimum wage. Paid sick leave is offered to part-time and full-time employees. Narrative also sponsors employees to attend barista competitions and other educational opportunities.

Offering these types of benefits is economically challenging, but Mooney has found other ways to encourage his staff to feel invested— without breaking the bank—­such as the café’s in-house signature drink competition.

Each quarter, baristas can present an idea for a drink to be featured on the café’s seasonal menu. Their proposal must include everything from a recipe to a breakdown of cost of goods.

Two winners are selected, with five percent of the net sales of those drinks going to its creators.

In these ways, employees feel valued. When staff feels empowered and provided for, they are happier and more productive.

When café owners see a return on their investment in cultivating higher qualities of life for their staff, the specialty tea and coffee industry can become a driving force for these positive changes within the foodservice industry. FC

P HOTO S: TH IS PAGE, CO URTESY O F NARRATIV E C O FFEE ; OP P OSITE PAGE, C OURTESY O F CAT & CLOU D COF F E E

Win Win Perks Beyond a Paycheck » By Tim Cox

HAPPY EMPLOYEES: Narrative Coffee (opposite) and Cat & Cloud Coffee offer enrichment opportunities, including trips to origin and barista competitions.

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The WHOLE LEAF Tea as a Digestif » By Tony Tellin

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soul-soothing nature is a fantastic way to finish a meal. A large category itself, oolongs range from light, nutty, and floral, to dark, full, and roasted. Their traditional preparation and accoutrements drive a feeling of function as well as a great sensory experience. Often referred to as “small pot” teas, they are commonly served in small two- to threeounce glasses. Oolong teas can be paired with just about any cuisine and offer a refined and theatrical experience.

Tea is evolving, forging new paths, and being showcased in new ways.

Behind the bar, tea is becoming much more than a lengthener and is now a star ingredient.

Tea can be concentrated and mixed with fruits, peels, sugars, bitters, and tonics to make tinctures just as potent as amari or liqueurs, and bartenders and tea sommeliers are getting more creative when it comes to incorporating tea into other beverages.

At Smith Teamaker, we recently launched Astoria’s Amaro, a tea inspired by an Italian amaro with a dark and bittersweet complexity. Chicory root is mixed with cascara, pink rose petals, bitter orange peel, osmanthus, bourbon vanilla, and lavender bitters.

By itself and prepared traditionally, this tea has a rich, dark-roasted character from the cascara. The assertive floral and smooth vanilla flavor creates depth and a bright and lingering finish.

As an ingredient, Astoria’s Amaro (pictured) is incredibly versatile. By concentrating and adding steamed milk, it can be pushed into a latte realm. Shaken over ice with fresh

DIGESTEAF: Astoria’s Amaro

by Smith Teamaker.

lemon peel and oleo saccharum syrup, and mixed with tonic water, you can make a wonderfully bright, refreshing, and palate-cleansing elixir that is delicious by itself or mixed with distilled spirits.

The quality and variety of teas available have increased dramatically over the past few years, and restaurants are doing a much better job preparing it.

Full leaf teas of all types, with bright and aromatic complexity and an array of flavors, are also becoming more readily available.

If the last time you ordered tea after dinner you were delivered an oldschool paper teabag and tepid water, I encourage you to revisit this timeless beverage. While tea may not seem like a traditional digestif, it has similar functional properties and it is a delicious, non-alcoholic, natural and healthy finish to any meal. You might call it a digesteaf. FC

PHOTO THIS PAG E, CO URTESY O F SMITH TEAM AK ER ; P HOTO OP PO SITE PAGE, BY K ATHY YL CH AN

T

raditionally, digestifs are alcoholic beverages sipped after a meal to aid digestion and to finish the sensory experience. Brandy, grappa, liqueurs, and amari are examples of this large and diverse category. Bitter digestifs, in particular, are carminative, meaning they reduce gas buildup, easing digestion.

Coffee is often cited as a digestif due to its caffeine content. Caffeine, in the right amount, can also provide help in digesting a large meal, and many teas are also carminative. In fact, many digestifs are made from similar ingredients to teas: peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger, and wintergreen, just to name a few.

So, while tea is not technically a digestif, it can serve a similar function and add just as much depth and complexity to the experience of a fine meal.

Tea offers a vast variety of flavors, aromas, and characteristics. Tea pairs well with different types of cuisines, tastes, and atmospheres, and tea heightens the meal experience. Because tea is non-alcoholic, finishing a meal with a pot appeals to health-conscious diners. A few high-end dining establishments, such as Eleven Madison Park and Atera in New York City, and Departure in Portland, Oregon, employ a tea sommelier on staff to recommend tea and food pairings.

A cup of Darjeeling black tea while finishing a crème brûlée is a wonderful pairing. The tea’s bright, muskysweet top notes and grape skinlike tannins add complexity to the creamy, rich custard and offset the caramelized sweetness.

A cup of Japanese Sencha green tea with a sticky rice dessert is another favorite. The lightly sweet and grassy vegetal character sings with the rice’s starch and sweetness from the usual fruit combinations that accompany the rice.

Oolong tea, a category that is growing fast in the United States, is a perfect after-dinner drink. Its softer,

TEA SOMMELIERS suggest tea and food pairings. Here, Jeff Ruiz of Atera restaurant in New York City mixes an iced matcha cocktail.

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The WHOLE BEAN Coordinating the Logistics of a Multi-Roaster Model » By Ellie Bradley

You’ll be responsible for purchasing your own equipment.

Cafés that buy coffee from only one wholesaler are often provided with equipment as part of their arrangement. This equipment comes with regular service, a dedicated account representative, ongoing education for baristas—the list of perks goes on.

Café owners who opt to source coffee from many roasters are left to purchase their own equipment, which incurs a significant upfront expense.

Buying your own equipment can have its perks, too. In the suburban town of Beaverton, Oregon, Lionheart Coffee opened its doors with plans to showcase coffees from all around the state. Owner 30

November 2017 » Fresh Cup Magazine

Ben Reese says coming up with the capital to purchase equipment was tough, but worth it for the big picture.

“Now we own our own equipment, so there are no limitations on what can be served on espresso machine,” he says.

“It’s something that has really opened the door as far as being a multi-roaster.”

You’ll be turned down.

Especially when you’re first starting out, know that many roasters won’t be keen on low volumes or short-term contracts. Non-traditional coffee programs, such as those in restaurants or retail venues, may face additional scrutiny from potential wholesale partners, making it even more difficult to establish wholesale partnerships.

Branch Line, a restaurant in Watertown, Massachusetts, features a robust specialty coffee program with a rotating roaster program (coffee from one roaster, swapped every few months). Though the Branch Line service staff is fully trained on dialing espresso and pouring latte art using the restaurant’s manual La Marzocco, many roasters were hesitant to hand their coffee over to a restaurant.

“I would reach out to people and they would turn me down,” says Branch Line general manager Deena Marlette. “A lot of people said they didn’t work with rotating programs.”

You might be someone’s big break.

Though large roasting companies may not be lining up to partner with you initially, there are lots of smaller roasters looking for opportunities.

Get involved with local coffee organizations to find out about new roasters in the area. These roasters may be hungry to get their coffee into a retail setting, and will likely be willing to flex on the terms of their wholesale contract.

Your relationships are everything.

If you haven’t noticed yet, the coffee industry is strongly founded on

people. “It’s all about grooming and growing current relationships,” Reese says. He recommends getting to know people in a variety of roles.

Connecting with wholesale managers, green buyers, education directors, and technicians can help you develop a deeper knowledge of the coffee you’re selling, and also increases the likelihood that a roaster will be flexible when it comes to negotiating wholesale arrangements.

For Lionheart, strong relationships have manifested in opportunities to exclusively offer micro-lots from some of their wholesale partners.

“We’ve taken responsibility in our shop to do our very best to represent that company the way they want their coffee represented.”

A successful multi-roaster program takes time.

Trust is slowly built through longterm relationships, which is why jumping into a multi-roaster model can be so challenging. But, with patience, the rewards can be great.

While Branch Line faced a lot of skepticism initially, once the coffee program had established a reputation for quality, it was much easier to get new wholesale partners on board.

“We’ve been getting more known for our coffee program,” Marlette says. “People are more understanding now. It just takes reassurance that their coffee is going to get the utmost respect.”

Lionheart now has roasters coming to them, eager to be a part of their café. “As we were discovered by customers and wholesale managers, we started receiving coffee from around the country,” Reese says.

For those willing to invest in equipment up front, take time to build relationships, and relentlessly pursue new opportunities, a multi-roaster café offers an exciting experience in growth and education for you, your staff, and your customers. FC

TO P TWO P HOTO S BY EM ILY HAGEN; BOT TOM P HOTO BY CYNTHIA M EAD ORS

A

s a customer, it’s exciting to walk into a café and see coffee offered from a variety of rosters. You might see a selection of local labels, a collection of national names, or even a few international superstars.

There are many ways to feature multiple roasters in your shop. Some businesses choose to have a consistent offering for espresso and batch brew, only rotating their manual brew offerings.

Others may rotate coffees in and out based on what they like from a roaster’s current offerings, without promise of any set volumes or contract lengths.

Those looking for a steady menu may choose a few roasters they work with year-round, opting for long-term, high-volume contracts and working within the offerings of those roasters.

The variety offered through a multiroaster model is appealing, but coordinating a rotating roster can be complicated and frustrating. Those seeking flexibility in their offerings may find the logistical challenges worthwhile. For others, the financial barriers and coordination efforts may not justify the effort.

While each design will come with its own quirks and loopholes, there are a few important things to know about running a multi-roaster setup.

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Café CROSSROADS

Modern Times Brewery » San Diego, California

M

odern Times is a coffee roasting company and a brewery that is serious about its craft, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. As a result, Modern Times has garnered a cult following for its funky flavor combinations and experimentation.

Since opening in 2013, the company has opened four locations in southern California: two tasting rooms in San Diego, a taproom in Anaheim, and a pilot brewery/café/restaurant in Los Angeles. The company’s flagship location, located in an industrial district near the San Diego airport, serves as a brewery, roastery, taproom, café, testing lab, and a bottling and canning facility.

When customers walk in to the industrial space through the garagestyle door, they are greeted by the café space, the word “Coffee” in big lights above the equipment. To the right of

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the open space is the taproom area with over 20 beers on tap, keg and barrel two-top tables, and on the far wall, a giant, 12,000 Post-It Note mural of Michael Jackson and his chimp.

The Michael Jackson mural, according to director of arts and crafts Amy Krone, “gives customers a glimpse into the strange minds of myself and CEO Jacob McKean. We take art quite seriously—we just don’t take ourselves very seriously—and that means we end up with decor that is playful and weird, and doesn’t come wrapped up with any specific meaning or story.”

The same attitude is taken with their coffee. Their blends have names like “Cloud Ripper,” “Alchemy of the Ice Wizards,” and “Guardian Spirit.”

Coffee roasting is done on-site on a baby blue 15-Kilo Giesen W15A, in view of the customers, thanks to huge windows surrounding the roasting room.

Modern Times’ love of experimentation extends from their hazy IPAs to their coffee program. “Our customers love to experience something new or unique. They love coffee that’s experimental or funky. We like to source coffee that has been processed in a unique way and focus on natural coffees that really have an expressive flavor,” says director of coffee Bartleby Bloss.

The barrel-aged coffee program brings it all together, combining classic flavors of washed coffees with the fermented funkiness of a rum barrel.

To highlight their growing barrel-aged coffee program, the café always serves a barrel-aged offering as pour-over, which is crafted on a Poursteady.

“We also have a large cold-brew coffee program and currently have four cold-brew coffees on tap. We offer these coffees as a flight option so people can taste the coffees side-by-side.

P HOTO S BY RACHEL SAND STRO M M ORR ISO N

By Rachel Sandstrom Morrison

Our customer base seems to be interested in unique flavors, and we love to offer them a chance to taste as many things as possible so they can see how region and processing methods affect the taste,” Bloss says.

Espresso offerings include their Guardian Spirit espresso blend, which is comprised of 75 percent natural Ethiopia Adado and 25 percent pulped-natural Brazil from the Rancho Grande Estate in Tres Pontas, Minas Gerais, and a rotating single-origin offering. Recently, the single offering was a rum barrel-aged coffee from Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Both are served on a bright blue Synesso MVP, pressure-profiled for an even ramp up and ramp down.

Over the next year, Modern Times plans for expansion into wholesale, for potential accounts throughout California and the Pacific Northwest, and eventually nationally. A brewery and restaurant—the company’s first foray into food—called the “Dankness Dojo” will open in downtown Los Angeles; “Leisuretown” will open in Anaheim, California; and in January 2018, Portland, Oregon, will become home to the “Belmont Fermentorium.”

While managing its rapid growth, Bloss hopes to “continue to develop our relationships with our producers and importers, as well as create more direct relationships with producers.

Continuing to offer our employees opportunities for professional growth through on-site education, crosstrainings, and off-site classes is also a big priority.”

Modern Times is an employeeowned company. Underlying the high design and chill southern California attitude is a passion for all things craft. Modern Times does not put out any product without in-depth research and testing, and that ethic is what’s driving their growth. FC

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FORK & KNIFE

H

osting a pop-up restaurant event is a way café owners can try out edible options.

These one-and-done special events provide food without committing to a set menu. Many café owners find it daunting to decide which

Pop-ups are a way to network and build mutually beneficial relationships with other businesses in your surrounding community. foods pair best with the drinks they serve, but they also know that a solid menu will generate profit.

Guilder is a Scandinavian-inspired coffee shop in Portland, Oregon, that

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has hosted two pop-ups, both featuring pizza, with rousing success. The first event, “The Princess Bride Pizza Party,” was a collaboration between Guilder, GSMP (The Great & Secret Motion Pizza), and Coffee Beer.

Guilder co-owner Caryn Nelson says pop-ups are an “opportunity for creativity and experimentation, allowing for new customers to experience a space, and creating a fun party-like atmosphere for attendees.”

Pop-ups are a way to network and build mutually beneficial relationships with other businesses in your surrounding community. Nelson was inspired to host a pop-up at Guilder when she attended a GMSP pop-up at Coffee Beer and was “blown away with their deliciousness.”

For cafés still fine-tuning their food menu or looking to expand edible options, pop-ups are an opportunity to try out dishes and see what customers are interested in eating.

Cafés with set food menus can also benefit from hosting pop-ups, because of the variety they provide.

Guilder typically offers a Scandinavian-inspired food menu featuring specialty porridge and toast. Nelson says, “We don’t offer pizza on our regular food menu, so it is a fun and easy way to switch it up a bit.”

Flexibility is another benefit of hosting pop-up events. Café owners can take advantage of certain times of day when customers may be more interested in sitting down for a meal than just a solo beverage. Nelson says, “We have some flexibility with our closing time, so dinner pop-ups make the most sense for our space because it would otherwise be vacant after 7 p.m.”

Pop-ups also offer an element of surprise, and their inherent sense of specialness is an effective tool for attracting customers. The “get it before it’s gone” mentality associated with pop-ups generates excitement and interest.

Pop-ups are fun opportunities to make connections with other businesses in your community, and expand the scope of your café’s food offerings. FC

P HOTO S THIS PAGE & TOP PHOTO O P PO SITE PAGE BY CYNTHIA MEAD OR S; BOTTO M THR EE PHOTO S OPPOSI TE PAGE COU RTE SY OF COF F E E B E E R

Pop-Ups Lead to New Possibilities » By Ariel Kusby

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NO. SIX DEPOT: Steven Amash pulls shots on the Victoria Arduino lever espresso machine.

Cafés with lever espresso machines share a passion for craftsmanship.

P HOTO BY R ACHEL NORT HROP

BY RACHEL NORTHROP

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OSLO COFFEE: Liz Pasqualo (above) prefers to use the shop’s manual lever machine, La San Marco Leva (pictured below left).

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P HOTOS TH IS PAGE BY RAC HEL NORT HROP ; P HOTO OP P OSITE PAGE C O UR TESY O F VICTO RIA A RDUINO

I

n an age where coffee-making is both a competitive sport and a fully programmable task for automated equipment, some still prefer to pull shots of espresso by hand, the old fashioned way.

In the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, No. Six Depot has been roasting and serving coffee for four years, titling their blends after literary references. Every shot of their Notes from the Underground espresso is pulled on their Victoria Arduino—the classic, hand-hammered, manually assembled machine that has been made since 1905.

Wholesale manager Steven Amash sees the lever machine as a continuation of the artistic culture the shop cultivates. Seasonal visitors are drawn to the region’s arts, music, and dance venues, and the café doubles as a gallery and performance space.

The Victoria Arduino doesn’t just look good, it also works hard. “We’ve had days where we’re pulling shots one right after the other for eight or nine hours and we haven’t had any trouble,” Amash says.

“The double boiler works perfectly for steaming milk and pulling shots. This thing’s a workhorse.”

In New York City, Oslo Coffee uses La San Marco Leva hand-pulled piston machines in two of its three cafés for the simple reason that they showcase the tactile connection between maker and medium, between barista and coffee. The machine facilitates that connection, rather than controlling it through computerized commands.

THE VICTORIA ARDUINO ATHENA like the one pictured above is the machine of choice for No. Six Depot in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

For Oslo owner J.D. Merget, “Lever espresso machines are the best. They put the barista in touch with the coffee through a real mechanical machine, not just an on/off switch.”

Lever machines can highlight coffee’s body, mouthfeel, and flavor profile, rich with a buttery texture, but the variability between shots might not meet the needs of all cafés.

Liz Pasqualo is manager of Oslo’s Upper East Side Manhattan location. She works with automated espresso machines but prefers the shop’s manual lever, from which the cover panels have been removed to expose the springs and hardware. “If you’re not watching, the shot is going to keep coming. It doesn’t stop automatically, so you have to pay a lot of attention,” she says.

One argument in favor of automated equipment is consistency of output, but for Oslo, a staff of baristas tuned into their work delivers a different, no less valuable kind of consistency, through attentiveness to drinks and service.

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Engineered by Wouter Streitman for home and restaurant kitchens, the STREITMAN ES3 is a tactile and highly adjustable lever machine.

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TASTE THE CRAFT, FEEL THE PRESSURE Adam Kenderdine is owner of Benchwarmers Coffee & Donuts caféroastery and handmade donut shop in West Reading, Pennsylvania. He extols the quality extracted from the Victoria Arduino Athena Leva 2 Group, which is situated on the counter between a Sonofresco air roaster and piles of donut dough. “Using the same bean, we found that the lever pulls a sweeter, less bitter shot than our old automatic,” Kenderdine says.

Lever machines can highlight coffee’s body, mouthfeel, and flavor profile, rich with a buttery texture, but the variability between shots might not meet the needs of all cafés. Lever machines afford the excitement—and some risk—that the cup will be a little bit different every time.

Oslo barista Dillon Schenker has worked behind the bar for eight years.

He’s trained with a timer and scale, calculating the target profile based on measured variables. “But with the lever machine there’s none of that. It comes from the hip,” Schenker says. “You don’t have control over those variables in the same way, so you learn to intuit. Not having a safety net personalizes it. The final drink doesn’t get lost in the numbers, because it was made by a person.”

Lever machines restore to espresso the tactile sense that pour-over equipment restored to drip coffee. With a person in charge, he or she can see, smell, and feel what is happening to yield the result in the cup.

Caspar Strietman, whose brother Wouter designs and manufactures lever espresso equipment for home and restaurant kitchens, says users “can feel the water, feel the grinds, which is great when you’re talking about different kinds of beans from different countries. It’s all really adjustable. The only electronic element is the thermometer. Making the pressure yourself gives you all the feedback you need.”

HANDS-ON LEARNING Events coordinator for Brooklyn’s Café Grumpy, Thea Hilburn has worked as a barista, manager, and trainer for over ten years. “The lever machine is perfect for training because it shows the difference between grind sizes. If you’re physically pulling a shot, you can feel that it’s too fine because it’s too hard to pull the lever down. If it’s pulling really fast, then it’s too coarse. So it’s really a good lesson.”

It is easy to say “nine bars of pressure,” but lever equipment demonstrates how nine bars behave. “The physicality of the machine makes the concept easier to understand,” Hilburn says, “especially since coffee shops draw artistic and visually minded people who need to feel it, instead of just hearing the theory.”

Kenderdine has experienced something similar at Benchwarmers. “Everything now is so automatic and scientific that it takes the passion out of the espresso. Pulling that lever down to pre-infuse the shot, then back up to release the shot, it takes finesse. We chose a lever machine to be more hands-on, raw, and real.”

The lever machine helps define Benchwarmers as a place where things are different. It educates not only staff on the art of espresso preparation, but also patrons on the process of turning coffee from bean to beverage. “There are not too many lever machines around, so it’s a really great talking and teaching tool for our customers and staff,” he notes.

Kenderdine started as a curious home roaster, proving that coffee aficionados sometimes become the next generation of coffee innovators. For this reason, Dutch entrepreneur Wouter Strietman feels lever-powered espresso should be tried at home.

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PROFITEC PRO 800: The 3.5L copper boiler paired with the hefty 17 pound grouphead offers great temperature consistency with very little recovery time.

“The concept is to make the user part of the espresso extraction, simplifying the technique so that customers see how it works,” Wouter explains of his wall-fixed and on-counter models, all of which he designs and builds in his small factory in the Netherlands.

DANCING THE DANCE Lever espresso machines might not be the best fit for high-volume shops since they are less suited for speed and repeatability of service and more aligned to the experience of service, for both barista and customer.

What I love the most is the actual physical

“What I love the most is the actual physical movements you make,” Hilburn says. “It’s active and dancey, as opposed to pushing buttons or using a paddle to turn equipment on and off.” Working with a lever machine requires choreography. Manipulating a tool through practiced movements becomes the dance that adds art to the bustle of working on bar.

And unlike computers, craft is built to last. At No. Six Depot, Steven has never had to call for equipment servicing. Oslo Coffee has been roasting and serving coffee since 2003, when artisan espresso was hardly a thing. Their first roasting space was next to a motorcycle repair shop, which heightened their appreciation for tools that stand up to the Brooklyn grind.

Schenker remembers, “Six years ago our lever machine survived a fire in the shop—it’s an industrial beast, this badass hunk of metal. There is something cool and respectable about that.” FC

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P HOTO TA KEN AT C LIVE C OFFEE BY CYNTHIA M EAD ORS

movements you make.

COFFEE COMMUNICATION: Conversation in the wet processing area near Mangzhang, Yunnan, China.

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Direct relationships and two-way communication are keys to the next wave of

PH OTO BY BRYON LIPPINC OTT

specialty coffee and tea.

BY TIM HEINZE

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DRY MILL: Tim Heinze (center) and Saxon Wright (right) of Pablo & Rusty’s working in Yunnan.

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There are vital members of the supply chain who are crucial to its overall success, and this cannot be forgotten. his back, handing the farmer cash (including a great premium for the high quality), and then returning home to roast and introduce their clientele to this new “direct trade” coffee. The reality is, for most coffee companies across the globe—and

farmers, for that matter—this storyline is unachievable.

The coffee industry has created an expectation whereby, unless one is fully embracing and adhering to this fictitious plot, then one is not truly espousing the values of direct trade,

P HOTO BY JOS HUA JAGELM AN

T

hird wave coffee is a term used to articulate the current state of specialty coffee. It refers to the development and growth of the industry’s focus on origin, appreciation of coffee’s nuances, and educating customers about coffee regions of the world. Throughout the third wave, “direct trade”—the action of buying and selling goods without intervening factors—has become a part of the popular lexicon. As a result, the pursuit of and importance placed on direct relationships has also grown.

The fairy-tale story was created of a coffee roaster packing a bag, flying to origin, cupping coffees, throwing a sack of green beans on

direct partnership, or direct relationship. Most farmers are not capable of exporting on their own, and most buyers are not able to facilitate and navigate the complex systems of importing on their own. There are vital members of the supply chain who are crucial to its overall success, and this cannot be forgotten.

Is there another way to achieving direct trade?

I believe the coffee industry is heading into the fourth wave of coffee, one which better understands and appreciates the entire coffee supply chain and how to ethically, responsibly, and sustainably participate in direct trade.

As the coffee industry heads in this direction, here’s some advice and guidance to companies as they establish direct relationships and work alongside coffee farmers all over the world.

Wright was dedicated to a direct relationship and long-term partnership, to the extent that he proposed a long-term buying plan. Based on the cost of production, plus a quality incentive, he suggested a threeyear pricing contract with farmers to provide stability, household budgeting, and a more sustainable situation at the farm level.

This type of sustainable, direct trade is best facilitated when buyers and farmers are committed to working together

COMMITMENT TO A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP In 2012, Yunnan Coffee Traders (YCT) began working with Saxon Wright, CEO of Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters in Sydney, Australia. Wright saw immense potential in specialty coffee from Yunnan, which then was in its infancy but on the rise.

After visiting the farms and sitting down to talk with agricultural bureau officials within the region, Wright made a commitment to help expand and grow Yunnan coffee in the Australian specialty coffee market. YCT’s involvement included on-theground quality control, legal requirements, and specifications.

From the very beginning, Wright made it clear that he was seeking a long-term commitment.

He offered many suggestions to improve dry milling, provide greater attention to maintenance of coffee trees, and shared a variety of other ideas. He was also very clear that if those recommendations were followed, and for some reason the coffee was negatively impacted, he would still buy the coffee.

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TWO-WAY, TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION After making some adjustments to dry milling, the first container of Yunnan green coffee was sent to Pablo & Rusty. On the receiving end, the roaster said some of the coffee had a diesel smell.

You might be thinking, “Well, there’s the end of that relationship!”

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But not so. Because of their longterm partnership and open communication, the parties determined that the diesel smell was due to the low-quality burlap bags produced in the country. They immediately made the transition to GrainPro inner bags.

YCT was the first company to begin exporting specialty coffee from China in 60-kilogram GrainPro bags.

This was an exciting innovation— problem solved!

But here’s the key: because of Pablo & Rusty’s open dialogue and exchange of information, not only were their needs met, but customers all over the world now benefit from their experience.

Pablo & Rusty also contributed to the two-way dialogue by sharing roasting notes, roast profiles, and other information, which collectively has helped Yunnan coffee grow. YCT has exported Yunnan coffee to six different countries—and counting!

P HOTO BY GRACE PARK

for years to come. This commitment leads to the next important step.

PURSUE INNOVATION WITH HUMILITY The fourth wave coffee movement will not only be immersed in sustainable direct trade, it will also be peppered with innovation and research. As farmers and buyers are communicating back and forth, inevitably obstacles and challenges arise that will require both parties to work together to find a mutually beneficial solution.

Roasters, importers, and brokers must remain humble and approach any situation as co-laborers working together, rather than dictating demands. The greatest innovations within coffee production in the next ten years will come about when the entire supply chain comes together discuss how everyone can improve.

The reduction of waste, application of new technologies, and expansion within the genetic pool of coffee are just a few areas

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that will see great leaps and bounds going forward.

Roasters, café owners, and others within the coffee industry must let go of the fairytale and start asking questions. Whomever you buy coffee from, ask them about their sourcing model, how they work with farmers, how long have they been working with their current farms, and what their long-term goals with the farmers are.

The third wave of coffee has done so much to put the focus back on the place where our daily cup all begins.

It’s difficult for many to travel to origin and develop direct relationships with farmers, but it’s within everyone’s power to better understand the supply chain and the role each participant within it plays.

The third wave of coffee has done so much to put the focus back on the place where our daily cup all begins. From understanding coffee and the entire supply chain, to sharing stories about the plight and struggles of the coffee farmer, the fourth wave will continue to expand and grow upon this information.

As the fourth wave of coffee begins to crest, it’s important to keep in mind these keys to staying balanced: • Invest in and commit to long-term relationships at the farm level; • Be active contributors to two-way dialogue; and • Stay humble in the pursuit of better coffee.

The fourth wave of coffee depends on it. FC

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P HOTO BY BR YO N LIPP INC OTT

SUSTAINABLE DIRECT TRADE

MARKETPLACE

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FC

Counter INTELLIGENCE THE WONDER SPICE Turmeric is topping food trend lists, thanks in large part to claims of health benefits ranging from reduced inflammation and improved digestion to headache relief. Getting in on the action is Alchemy Golden Turmeric Elixir, an Australian-made turmeric beverage concentrate that is vegan, free of dairy, caffeine, GMOs, gluten, and has no added colors, flavors, or sugar. The concentrate comes in 300 milliliter, 500 milliliter, and 1 liter clear bottles, which show off turmeric’s beautiful golden color. The Golden Turmeric Elixir is easily combined with milk or milk-alternative of your customer’s choice, steamed, and served. alchemycordial.com

OMG, IT’S OMJ

THE BUZZ ON YAUPON

Say hello to Asia’s superberry, schisandra

High in theobromine, yaupon tea of-

chinensis , or in Korean—“Omija.” “O”

fers a jitter-free buzz, and according

means “five,” “mi” means “flavor,” and “ja”

to some studies, antioxidants and

means “berry.” It’s called five-flavor berry

anti-inflammatory properties. Aus-

because it includes sweet, sour, spicy, salty,

tin, Texas-based Lost Pines Yaupon

and bitter flavors all in one. Omiberry is a

Tea harvests wild-growing yaupon,

new ready-to-drink beverage made with

the only caffeinated plant native to

schisandra extract. It comes in still and

North America, and roasts it to two

sparkling varieties, as well as a tea and syr-

levels—light and dark—which is sold as loose leaf and in

up. Health benefits associated with schisandra consump-

tea bags. Yaupon tea has fewer tannins than traditional tea,

tion include lowering inflammation, supporting adrenal

about the same caffeine level as green tea, and a sweet,

function, improving liver function, and improving mental

smoky flavor. Drinking yaupon also helps the endangered

performance. omiberrymall.com

Houston Toad: harvesting the plant lets native grasses grow back, thus restoring the toad’s natural habitat. lostpinesyaupontea.com

CHRISTMAS CREAMERS

REVV IT UP

Califia Farms introduced two

Cup pods, a new line of cof-

low-sugar, holiday-inspired fla-

fee that is roasted dark, “for

vors

creamers:

the early risers, all-nighters,

Pumpkin Spice, made with real

daily grinders, and everyone

of

dairy-free

Keurig has released Revv K-

pumpkin puree, and Mint Cocoa,

who lives for strong coffee.”

made with real cocoa powder and

Revv K-Cups are available in No Surrender, Afterburner,

peppermint oil. These creamers

and Turbocharger, and sold on retail shelves nationwide in

are made with nut milk and are free of dairy, soy, GMOs, gluten, partially-hydrogenated fats, and they have less than two grams of sugar per serving. califiafarms.com

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24-count packages. keurig.com

» People & Products «

HOLIDAYS ON ICE Owl’s Brew is the brainchild of two tea-drinking cocktail lovers who wanted to combine their favorite beverages into “a sipper that was lighter, fresher, funner.” The Classic is made with English breakfast tea, lemon and lime, while Wicked Green works its magic with green tea, habanero pepper, and lime. Now the duo is releasing three new flavors for the holidays—Grapefruit Collins, Mulling Spices, and Salted Caramel Toddy. Simply mix two parts of your favorite spirit—vodka, tequila, rum, whiskey, gin, or champagne—with one part of the mixer, and serve shaken or stirred over ice. theowlsbrew.com

MOTHER’S LITTLE TEA HELPER Hemp is the Mom-approved, non-psychoactive

variety

of

cannabis. With less than .3 percent of THC per serving, a mug of Hemptealicious Pure Hemp Tea offers the perfect balance of relaxation with a clear, calm mind. Denver, Colorado-based Pure Hemp Botanicals has manufactured its Pure Hemp Tea to be similar in flavor to green tea and naturally caffeine-free. Hemptealicious also comes in flavors featuring organic herbs, such as Apple Hibiscus, Peppermint Mate, Lemongrass Spearmint, Chamomile Lavender, and Ginger Turmeric. Hemp-

PARISIENNE POUR-OVER Silodesign Paris released the Twelve-O-One,

a

three-part

pour-over coffee brewing system, which won Best New Product at the Chicago 2017 Coffee Fest. The double-layer stainless steel filter is washable and reusable, and the borosilicate glass container is easy to clean and double-layered for increased insulation. A stopper made of glass and silicone rubber is included with each brewer to protect and keep coffee warm. 00-01.coffee

tealicious is available in canisters, each containing eight single-serving tea bags. purehempbotanicals.com

RARING TO GO Rare Share is New Order

MIGHTY OVEN

Coffee

new

The MultiChef by

line of nano-batch roast-

MTI Products is a

ed coffee beans. Sourced

high-speed

Roasters’

oven

in small quantities and

that cuts cooking

only available for a lim-

time up to 75 percent without the use of microwaves. Mul-

ited time, Rare Share coffees are available as whole bean

tiChef can cook, toast, reheat, roast, steam, melt, and bake

in 8-ounce specialty boxes and brewed to order in-store

at high speeds, thanks to its combination of convection, di-

on both a Modbar pour-over and as a handcrafted, single-

rect infared, and rotary air impingement. Available in two

origin espresso. newordercoffee.com

sizes—MultiChef 5500 and 6500—the compact oven requires no ventilation and takes up minimal counter space, letting you expand your food offerings without building out an industrial kitchen. multichef.com

Fresh Cup Magazine « freshcup.com

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Trade Show & Events CALENDAR NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 3–12 KONA COFFEE CULTURAL FESTIVAL Kona, Hawaii konacoffeefest.com

NOVEMBER 6–8 NAMA COFFEE, TEA & WATER Grapevine, Texas coffeeteaandwater.org

NOVEMBER 9–12 CAFE SHOW SEOUL Seoul, Korea cafeshow.com

NOVEMBER 9–12 WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP Seoul, Korea worldbaristachampionship.org

NOVEMBER 9–12 SINTERCAFE Herradura, Costa Rica www.sintercafe.com

NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 26 BEANSTOCK COFFEE FESTIVAL Vancouver, Canada beanstockfestival.coffee

DECEMBER DECEMBER 2–3 COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL VALLEY FORGE Valley Forge, Pennsylvania coffeeandteafestival.com

DECEMBER 3–6 INTERNATIONAL COFFEE & CHOCOLATE EXHIBITION Riyadh, Saudi Arabia coffeechoco-expo.com

DECEMBER 14–16 INTERNATIONAL COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL Dubai, United Arab Emirates coffeeteafest.com

JANUARY 2018 NOVEMBER 12–13 HX: THE HOTEL EXPERIENCE ROOMS TO RESTAURANTS New York, New York thehotelexperience.com

NOVEMBER 16–18 WORLD TEA & COFFEE EXPO Mumbai, India worldteacoffeeexpo.com

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November 2017 » Fresh Cup Magazine

JANUARY 25–27 CAFE MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.cafe-malaysia.com

FEBRUARY 2018 FEBRUARY 14–16 AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION Kampala, Uganda https://afca.coffee/conference/

2017–18 Coffee & Tea Trade Shows, Classes & Competitions

MARCH 2018

APRIL 2018

MARCH 4–6 INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT & FOODSERVICE SHOW New York City, New York internationalrestaurantny.com

APRIL 12–15 LONDON COFFEE FESTIVAL London, England chocolateandcoffeefest.com

MARCH 9–11 AMSTERDAM COFFEE FESTIVAL Amsterdam, Netherlands amsterdamcoffeefestival.com

APRIL 19–22 SPECIALTY COFFEE EXPO Seattle, Washington coffeeexpo.org

MARCH 10–11 COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL NYC New York City, New York coffeeandteafestival.com

MARCH 15–17 NCA ANNUAL CONVENTION New Orleans, Louisiana ncausa.org

MARCH 15–17 COFFEE & TEA RUSSIAN EXPO Moscow, Russia https://coffeetearusexpo.ru/en

MARCH 16–18 COFFEE FEST Baltimore, Maryland coffeefest.com

MARCH 17–18 SOUTHWEST COFFEE & CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL Albuquerque, New Mexico chocolateandcoffeefest.com

APRIL 22-23 NW FOODSERVICE SHOW Portland, Oregon nwfoodserviceshow.com

M AY 2 0 1 8 MAY 19-22 NRA SHOW Chicago, Illinois show.restaurant.org

JUNE 2018 JUNE 8-10 COFFEE FEST Denver, Colorado coffeefest.com

JUNE 11–14 WORLD TEA EXPO Las Vegas, Nevada worldteaexpo.com

Fresh Cup Magazine « freshcup.com

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56

ADVERTISER Index Go to freshcup.com/resources/fresh-cup-advertisers to view the Advertiser Index and the websites listed below.

ADVERTISER

CONTACT

ONLINE

Art of Tea

213.493.6518

wholesale.artoftea.com

Barista Pro Shop

866.776.5288

baristaproshop.com/ad/fresh

17

Brewista

888.538.8683

mybrewista.com

39

Cappuccine

800.511.3127

cappuccine.net

Caravan Coffee

503.538.7365

caravancoffee.com

49

The Chai Co.

888.922.2424

chaico.com

15

Coffee Fest

425.295.3300

coffeefest.com

Ditting

810.367.7125

ditting.com

13

Divinitea

518.347.0689

divinitea.com

51

FETCO

800.338.2699

fetco.com

Fresh Cup Magazine

503.236.2587

freshcup.com

Gosh That’s Good! Brand

888.848.GOSH (4674)

goshthatsgood.com

5

Grandstand Glassware + Apparel

800.767.8951

egrandstand.com/coffee

4

Holy Kakow

503.484.8316

holykakow.com

11

Java Jacket

800.208.4128

javajacket.com

4

Malabar Gold Espresso

650.366.5453

malabargoldespresso.com

Monin Gourmet Flavorings

855.FLAVOR1 (352.8671)

monin.com

3

Oregon Chai

888.874.CHAI (2424)

kerryfoodservice.com/brands/oregon-chai

9

Promac

844.776.6221

promac-usa.com

41

Routin 1883

800.467.7142

1883.com

60

SelbySoft

800.454.4434

selbysoft.com

11

SerendipiTea

888.TEA.LIFE (832.5433)

serendipitea.com

51

StixToGo

800.666.6655

royalpaper.com

51

TEA House Times, The

973.551.9161

theteahousetimes.com

51

Theta Ridge Coffee

800.745.8738

thetaridgecoffee.com

51

Toddy

888.863.3974

toddycafe.com

17

Vessel Drinkware

855.883.7735

vesseldrinkware.com

16

Vio by WinCup

800.292.2877

viofoam.com

Wega

39.0438.1799700

wega.it

39

Your Brand Café

866.566.0390

yourbrandcafe.com

14

Zojirushi America

800.264.6270

zojirushi.com

November 2017 » Fresh Cup Magazine

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6, 13

2 43, 57

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The BACK PAGE

5

MINUTES with Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi » By Rachel Sandstrom Morrison

S

uperstar pastry chef Christina Tosi is founder and CEO of the Momofuku Milk Bar empire.

She’s also a judge on Fox television network’s MasterChef cooking competition, a two-time James Beard Award winner, and the author of two highly acclaimed cookbooks, Momofuku Milk Bar and Milk Bar Life. Her infamous recipes, which she jokingly refers

to as “happy mistakes,” include the compost cookie, crack pie, and cereal milk.

Since opening in 2008, Milk Bar has become a force in the bakery world, expanding to nine locations around NYC, plus outposts in Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and Toronto, Canada.

Now, Milk Bar is branching out into the coffee world.

On this year’s National Coffee Day (September 29), Tosi released Milk Bar Buzz, a proprietary blend of coffee beans, roasted for use in Milk Bar and for retail sale in 12-ounce bags.

HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE? I am typically a cappuccino person, but I’ve also been obsessing over drip coffee lately. I just take it with whole milk. I used to add a lot of sugar in my coffee, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I’m going to eat a lot of sugar in my day, so I can slowly ease in.

Strong coffee, no nonsense, done well.

WHAT IS YOUR COFFEE RITUAL? In the morning, my go-to is some quiet time with a hot cup of coffee. I have a sleeve of Milk Bar coffee cups and lids that live under my kitchen counter, so if I need to get out the door quickly, I’ll make myself a cup of coffee and I’ll put it in a to-go cup, and then my quiet coffee time is headphones, my cup of coffee, and walking to the subway, going to work.

DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST AHA COFFEE MOMENT. Probably the first time I had a great cappuccino from Stumptown, because I realized that I didn’t need sugar.

When your milk is steamed to the right point, it’s caramelizing the sugars without burning them, and it makes all the difference in the world—velvety foam as opposed to overly aerated foam. FC

Read our full interview with Christina Tosi at freshcup.com.

58

November 2017 » Fresh Cup Magazine

PH OTO BY WINNIE AU FO R REFINER Y2 9

IF YOU COULD MAKE A CEREAL COFFEE BEVERAGE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? A latte made with our cereal milk is kind of like a pro-tip, off-the-menu thing you can order at Milk Bar. Also, in the dead of summer, cold-brew with cereal milk as your creamer is awesome. There’s a little bit of added sugar in the cereal milk, but it’s not so crazy that it overwhelms the flavor if you don’t take sugar with your coffee. It rounds out the flavor.