Decaf Coffee in N. America

Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul

2012-01-10T06:28:00.000-08:00

My dear husband gave me a thoughtful gift this Christmas -- Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul. I haven't read all the sappy short stories in it yet, but I think I've already found my favorite. "The Truth About Coffee" shares the story of two couples, the author and her husband are visiting the author's brother and his wife for a weekend visit in Naperville, Illinois. They go for a chilly evening walk and chide each other about they need to get home before everyone's too tired for a game of Scrabble. It's like foreshadowing -- they get back and everyone is ready to call it a night. Except sister-in-law Trisha, suggests putting on a pot of coffee. Which they do. And then sure enough, they all perk up, play some games and talk about old times -- all the while remarking about how good it is to have coffee to wake one up.

The punch line (as you might have guessed) is Trisha laughing as she informs the other three of her discovery -- she unintentionally brewed DECAF coffee for them. This, of course, leads to the discovery decaf drinkers everywhere have made -- "it really wasn't the caffeine that kept us going throughout the years when we needed a lift. It was the camaraderie -- the closeness of family and friends... with tasty sips of coffee to hold onto for enjoyment or comfort."

Looking for some great-tasting decaf coffee for your next get-together?

Aida Batlle story in The New Yorker

2011-12-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

It's always great when the pioneers of truly specialty coffee are recognized in mainstream media. Such is the case with the article in November 2011's The New Yorker, "Letter from El Salvador: Sacred Grounds -- Aida Batlle and the new coffee evangelists." The journalist, Kelefa Sanneh, was on-site in El Salvador at Aida's beautiful and captivating farms. She writes with touching vignette's about Aida's career and the challenges she faces as a coffee farmer. The article highlights well the many challenges any professional in specialty coffee has come across at some time. This makes it a delight to read.

But you'll need some time -- and a good cup of (decaf) coffee. (The story is captivating enough to not need the caffeine.) But it's 10 pages of New Yorker fine print!

Finding Flavorful Decaf Coffee

2011-12-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

Dec. 5, 2011
It's been fun hearing stories about people in search of great tasting decaf coffee. One student on his junior year abroad wanted decaf coffee for his mother's birthday. She's been looking for something that really tastes good -- not flat and burned. AND, if possible, it should be organic and certified as fair trade. He found it by searching the internet.

Peru, Swiss Water Process, organic, fair trade is what he bought!

DeliciousDecafCoffee.com launches!

2011-11-22T19:18:00.001-08:00

Calling all gourmet decaf coffee lovers!
The website of your dreams has just launched - www.DeliciousDecafCoffee.com. It gives you the opportunity to buy roasted premium decaf coffee on-line, from a source you can trust: Artisan Coffee Imp orts (the only importer who specializes in great-tasting, high end decaf coffee.)

I've tried the decaf Kenya AA Meru-Riankune, and it's excellent. For those that want an organic and water-processed coffee, try the Peru.

The site is great, because it categorizes the coffees by decaf process. And ALL the coffees are single origins -- no blends of "nasty + moderately bad" trying to masquerade as good coffee. There's even a decaf espresso that's a "custom design" for great decaf espresso drinks.

Enjoy!

Decaf Admired - Ann Arbor.Com Newspaper

2011-11-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

My local newspaper, AnnArbor.Com, just published a touching review of coffee culture in our county - Washtenaw County, Michigan. From a 1924 Men's Morning Coffee Group, to Frank's and the S.S. Kresge, the article recounts the history of coffee in our community. Love the Steinbeck quote, "The hot bitter coffee scalded our throats. We threw the last little bit with the grounds in it on the earth and refilled our cups."

Now the coffee scene is diverse and offers a wide variety of quality choices. Love it that one of my favorites, Zingerman's Coffee Co., is called out with a quote from a decaf drinker -- "I only drink decaf, and their decaf blend of Americano is really wonderful," she said. She is so right. When I've ordered decaf Americanos there I almost always am stopped in my tracks for a few seconds thinking, "DANG, that's good coffee!"

Keep doing that decaf right out there, folks! And if you need a source for good decaf grounds, besides Zingerman's, I've heard of another local provider who has great-tasting roasted decaf coffee.

Decaf Coffee In Europe - Data and Mysteries

2011-11-15T04:25:00.000-08:00

Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, October 2011
This month's issue of Tea & Coffee gave a rare and detailed insight into the world of decaf coffee in Europe. A glimpse at Europe is, in many ways, a glimpse at the entire world of decaf coffee, because so much of the the world's decaf coffee is decaffeinated in Europe.

The article takes a look at the first ground-breaking compilation of market statistics on decaf coffee done in 1999 (using year 1997 based figures). The result back then? "Above 10% in Austria, Germany, Holland and Spain; just below 10% in Belgium and France; below 5% in Itlay and the UK; negligible amounts in Scandinavia." Averaged out -- "15 years ago the decaf tonnage consumed within the EU amounted to about 7% of the global [EU] coffee consumption, on a green bean disappearance basis."

Interesting terminology, eh? "GLOBAL EU coffee consumption? I assume that means there is also a "GLOBAL North American coffee consumption figure? As an editor, I would prefer to use "combined" to describe combined data, and save the word "global" for when we're really talking about the whole world.

Anyways -- the article goes on to estimate decaf consumption by country today. Unfortunately, there is no directly comparable report to the one done in 1999. Instead, Tea & Coffee has compiled various data and reports: France at 7% (down from before); Germany at 7.8% (also down). Decaf growth appears to have happened in Italy, now reporting 7% and Spain, "remaining the champion" is at 20%.

Wow! 20%! Why would that be? How could that be? That's a bit of a mystery. The article says "the Spanish decaf manufacturers have been intensely communicating about the benefits of decaf consumption." But who are the Spanish decaffeinators? We only know of plants in Italy and Germany.

So not surprisingly, an article delving into the world of decaf also digs up new mysteries in this shadowed and barely understood market!

Valuable by-products of the QGrader Exam

2011-10-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's this way with every training course, but having just completed my QGrader re-takes, I've now had the opportunity to do 1.5 QGrade courses with two different sets of 10-12 coffee professionals. That experience, whether one passes the test or not, is truly valuable. I'm not saying I'd pay $1000 just to hang out and cup with 1o people for a week -- but there is a truly valuable learning aspect that one probably doesn't anticipate when one signs up for the course. At least I didn't.

What I noticed is that because each roaster and importer has different backgrounds and areas of expertise, all week you are on a learning curve about aspects of the coffee industry that are less familiar to you, given your place "in the supply and service chain". And when it comes to the coffee in the cup, it's fascinating to see how one roaster finds a cup "well rounded and bold" and another finds it "too earthy." Of course, it's great when a room of disparate traders, roasters, importers, cafe-owners all have a unanimous experience, too -- "that one sucks!", for example. Now we can debate how and why.

Keep cupping, everyone!

Passed the QGrader - Summary of 4 Retakes

2011-10-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hopedale, Mass., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
Passed! Yesterday at Coffee Solutions in Massechusetts I got the great news, I had passed the 4th of my 4 retakes needed to complete the QGrader certification.
Indonesian Cupping: took that first thing Thursday morning along with the other 10 people in the class and at least one of the other people doing re-takes. Challenging! The calibration cup was a washed PNG. So bright and clean it hardly seemed like an Indonesian. I gave it a higher score than the rest of the group. That's OK -- this is what calibration is for, right?

I was able to pick out that reference cup on the table when there were 6 coffees to cup blind. Of those 6 one was bad. I got that one, too, but thought (after the review with Rob Stephen, the instructor) that I hadn't dinged it hard enough. On the rest, I surmized that I had scored each relatively low compared to the scores Rob said he would have given them. I had over corrected on the scoring! But it must be that others had scores in a broad range also, because I did still pass. (One's cupping scores have to be within the range set by the group.)

Matching Pairs: This is one of those tests that takes place in a darkened room with red lights. Very Halloween-like! Each cupper faces a table with 8 or 10 sets of 4 coffees. Two of the coffees have an acid added to them, two of them don't -- they're just the same standard coffee that's in every cup. So the test is to 1) pick the 2 cups that have the acid and 2) name the acid that's been added.

Roasted Grading: This is the easy test -- note that one does not necessarily pass the first time just because it's easy. Like me! I honestly did not know what a quaker was the first time I took the QGrader, so I incorrectly identified some light-roasted beans as quakers. I studied up on it in the meantime, though, and this time was able to pass!

Aromatics - dry distillation: I think there are 4 aromatics tests, where one has to name the smell contained in each of 9 different little vials. The dry distillation set includes such things as cedar, clove, pepper, coriander, malt, maple, tobacco and roasted coffee. Again, having the opportunity to focus my study only on these aromas helped me pass this one the 2nd time around.

It's a rigorous test to pass, but it achieved a goal for me -- not so much having the certificate, but having a much more in-depth appreciation for the SCAA cupping form and the skill and craft of cupping. I'd been to many of the cupping classes at SCAA events. They were good introductions to cupping, but even the advanced ones do not have enough time and intensity to force a comprehensive understanding of how we cup and evaluate coffees. There's so many questions and nuances that get questioned and answered when a group of 10 - 12 coffee professionals work through the QGrader exam agenda over the course of a week.

Once completed, one has to say -- "you were right on, Ted!" (Lingle). And to all the QGrader instructors -- especially the two that tolerated and trained me a VERY BIG THANK YOU -- Rob Stephen and Kelly Amoroso, you guys are the best.

Caffeine Discussion in Specialty Coffee Retailer

2011-09-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

Sept. 2011
This month's issue of Specialty Coffee Retailer offers a summary of a common discussion I have. "How bad is caffeine for you anyhow?" And if you drink decaf, "how bad are the "chemicals" in decaf"? Jack Groot, owner of JP's Coffee in Holland, Michigan, is a friend and I appreciate his comments in this column. Read it here.

At the beginning, he rightly muses that the caffeine in coffee is much purer than the caffeine in soft drinks because with coffee you don't automatically get the sugar with it. You control the sugar content.

He also explains a little known fact -- the caffeine used as an artificial additive in many products, including soft drinks, comes from coffee. Typically, it's pulled during the decaffeination process. Question -- which is the by-product? The raw caffeine (for sale to CPG cos) or the decaffeinated coffee?

In the middle of the article, Jack somewhat mysteriously jumps to the topic of decaf coffee and the misperception that some of it contains dangerous chemicals. THANK YOU JACK for clearly laying out with facts and reputable sources that coffee decaffeinated with methylene chloride is not dangerous by any stretch of the imagination.

So just the last paragraph is confusing -- Jack states that studies indicate moderate caffeine consumption is beneficial so keep drinking regular coffee (with all it's associated headaches, migraines and bad hangovers). Don't those same studies indicate that moderation to the tune of only 3% (i.e. the caffeine content of decaf compared to regular) is therefore ideal?!

Maybe in your next column, Jack!

QGrader Re-Takes Coming Up

2011-09-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Sept. 18, 2011
Got the word today that the QGrader class I've been waiting for has been confirmed! Rob Stephen, Coffee Solutions, Boston, MASS, has enough participants to hold a QGrader class Oct. 10-14. So several "almost-Q-Graders" like myself will have the opportunity to do our re-take tests.

I need to pass the Indonesian cupping, matching pairs and the "aroma-therapy" series called "dry distillation". I also have to pass roasted grading -- which is basically the test where you identify quakers.

So the studying begins -- and repeated cuppings of Indonesians. Please comment here if you'd like to suggest some for me to try!

Ruth Ann Church, President, Artisan Coffee Imports

Coffee on the Hill

2011-09-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Sept. 13 - 15, 2011
I was in Washington D.C. on other-than-coffee business these 3 days -- too bad! As I learned from NCA member Tom Isaia, of Coffee Express, a bi-annual event called "Coffee on the Hill" was happening 8 - 10am on 10/13 at the Rayburn House, one of the buildings next to the capitol that houses dozens of congressional offices. Then 10/14 -1 5 was the NCA's fall educational program - including presentation of the results of the lastest consumption survey: "National Coffee Drinking Trends" (NCDT) report.

Once I heard about it, I made plans to catch an earlier flight than originally planned on Tue., 9/13. Everything looked like I was destined to be at Coffee on the Hill until the flight was cancelled AFTER the plane had taxied to the runway. Disappointing! Coffee on the Hill is put on by the NCA to raise awareness among lawmakers about the importance of the coffee industry. USAID is brought into the fold -- they bring in top quality coffees from around the world. (USAID sponsors many-coffee related projects in coffee-growing countries.)

I was able to peek into the ballroom on 10/14 as the NCDT was being presented -- but had to then rush on to other meetings.

Note to self: September 2012, plan to go to NCA's fall educational conference. In Sept. 2013 -- plan to be in DC for Coffee on the Hill - and fly in a day early!

RG Retreat - Day 3

2011-08-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Sat., Aug. 20, 2011
Roanoke, West Virginia
7:00am: cupping the roasts from the day before to decide what to submit for the competition. One will be for a french press, the other for a pour over brew method. The third submission is supposed to match one of the samples in the calibration cupping on day 1. (But that 3rd challenge doesn't count towards the team score.)

My team had some pretty nice roasts in our bunch. We decided to blend 2, when we couldn't decide which one was better. We used the Santa Barbara for the french press, the Marcala for the pour over and did our best on matching the Copan to the sample we cupped the day before.

10pm: Skipping to the end of the day -- our team won 4th place (out of 12)!

I enjoyed the 2 in-depth educational sessions that day: "economics at origin" and "setting up sensory tests".

We finally got our group of Michigan attendees together for a photo -- there were 7 of us in total --Ben Angelo could not be in the group photo because he was getting a nap to prepare for his SECOND NIGHT of giving us great DJ-ing during the dinner and party! The man has vinyl even!

Michigan roasters L to R: Seth Chapman, Water St; Ruth Ann Church, Artisan Coffee Imports; Kurt Stauffer, Rowster; Tom Isaia, Coffee Express; Stephen Curtis, Rowster; Allen Liebowitz, Zingerman's.

RG Retreat - Day 2

2011-08-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Aug. 19, 2011
Our team picked up our 10lbs of green coffee and got to start dreaming of how to roast them in order to win the competition. We pretty much had to dream all day, because we were in the last roasting session (3:45 - 5:45).

The time went quickly, though, as we had an interesting presentation from an Honduras estate owner about experiments he's conducting (the Manzano Project). In the afternoon, I took part in a roundtable discussion on direct trade. Finally, at the end of the day, we had our turn at 2 roasters in the roasting tent. We had a Dietrich and a US Roaster to work with. Other teams were working away at their roasters the whole time. It's a pretty fun atmosphere and I learned a lot from our more experienced roasters -- including how to use a roasting form to track the roast profile.

The Manzano Project: Emilio Lopez Diaz, owner of Quatro M in Honduras, designed and implemented an experiment over a period of 5 years. He wanted to see the difference in taste that would result if the same green coffee, from the same lot, grown with all the same variables, was processed 4 different ways: natural, semi-natural, mechanical wash and full wash. It was great that the final product of all his labor was available for all of us to cup! I thought they were all quite good. I don't have my scores, however, because Emilio asked us to turn in all our sheets.

Direct Trade: There was no agreement on a definition of the term "direct trade". Some assume, that if they are using an importer, they are by definition not doing direct trade. I disagree.I don't believe there needs to be a definiton at all, and certainly not that one. There were others in this group of 20 - 30 people that,like me, see direct trade as a continuum, on which some roasters are farther than others. Others want direct trade to be something they can say "yes we are" or "no we're not" to, like the Fair Trade (FLO) certification. The conversation included another point about direct trade that is difficult -- does it have to be something that has some social or community benefit for the growing community? If a roasters is "simply" buying/selling coffee, does that qualify as direct trade?

Roasting session: The part we were all waiting for! We decided to roast all 3 coffees: the Mancala, the Copan and the Santa Barbara on both machines, giving maximum chance to derive the optimum roast from each. We took turns, but a few of the more experienced members were definitely directing and doing the most. The tent set-up itself is pretty amazing. 8 little roasters working away. One giant exhaust pipe going down the middle and out the back. And all this is surrounded by a gorgeous river + mountain setting on a perfect summer day. Once our roasts were done, Mathew Hill whisked away our 5 brown bags to "rest" in secluded safety until the cupping, early the next morning.

2011-08-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Aug. 18, 2011
Arrived at the Stonewall Retreat in Roanoke, WV at 5pm -- just in time for the start of the "newcomers" session. Specialty coffee long-timers like Phil Beattie, Chris Schooley,Chris Wade and Darin Daniels sat down with our small groups to give us insights and suggestions about how to maximize our experience.

The opening session included a fine keynote address by the president of Probat. At dinner we were encouraged to sit with our team. I was honored to be on team #1 with legends such as Paul Katzeff, Thanksgiving Coffee; Willem Boot of Boot Coffee, David Kastle, Swiss Water Process; Tom Owen, Sweet Maria's; Bjorn Dhaese, Dillanos Coffee; Carol McLaufhlin, Gorilla Coffee; Alex Burbo, Intelligentsia; Stephanie Ratanas, Dogwood Coffee; Neal Wilson, Wilson's Coffee; and Mathew Hill, Salt Spring Coffee Roasters. Apparently, they carefully pick the teams to have a balance of experience and in-experience, new-comers and old-timers, also roasters and importers (like me, with Artisan Coff ee Imports).

We had a hard time deciding a team name. Eventually we got to "The Luwak Liberation Front." (see photo right, with David Kastle and Tom Owen.)

Yahoo News "Accidentally" Shares How Good Decaf Can Be

2011-08-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Aug. 2, 2011
I'm not a big fan of Yahoo! news posts, but today there's one worth mentioning. In an article where the unknown, un-named author supposedly has objectively tested many different Colombian and Ethiopian coffees, he/she finds a stand-out that is a decaf!

"New England Coffee Decaffeinated Colombian was judged better than most caffeinated coffees, including Starbucks Colombia Medium."

Click here to read the whole article.

Coffee & Cocoa International Shines Spotlight on Decaf

2011-07-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

July 2011:
This month's issue of Coffee & Cocoa International has two features of interest to those pursuing high-end decaf coffee. Pgs. 26-27 review the presentation given at a workshop at the SCAA convention in Houston, May 1, 2011. The presentation, "Dissecting Decaffeinated Coffee" was given by Jose Ramirez of Farmer Brothers Coffee and Ruth Ann Church, of Artisan Coffee Imports.

Further in is a "Trader Profile" on Artisan Coffee Imports with quotes from Ruth Ann Church and photos from her trips to origin, like the one posted here. (Pgs. 44-45)

You can download a .pdf of both articles by clicking here, to go to Artisan Coffee Import's press page.

California Roaster "Gets It"

2011-07-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

July 5, 2011
Just came across the blogpost on Rose Park Roaster's blog titled, "Second-Class Citizens of the Coffee World". Everyone here at "Decaf Coffee in N. America" says, "THANKS" to Andrew of Rose Park Roasters in Long Beach, CA.

Click here to read it and enjoy!

~ Ruth Ann

Ugly Mug - long history as high-end coffee hotbed

2011-06-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

June 14:
Today I returned to the Ugly Mug to talk with Chris Mullins and roaster Ramiro Lomeli more about their business... where it's been, where it's going. It's REALLY amazing how many top coffee professionals in the region have worked there at one time or are working there now... Chris Mullins, Ramiro Lomeli, Jim Saborio, Josh Longdorf ... And then if you include the top coffee people across the country that have close links to the Ugly Mug, it's even more amazing... Tonx, Trevor Corlett, Metropolis.

The illustrious history is having it's growth effect. Ugly Mug is anxiously anticipating the arrival of a 25lb. San Franciscan roaster to add to it's tried and true smaller 2 kilo Dietrich.

Talking with Ramiro today, it's easy to see why this cafe has a strong following. Ramiro's dedication and education in the craft of coffee were clear with comments like, "every day it's something new to learn, something new to try. I always want to make the next cup better."

Of course, I was pleased to hear that this curiosity even extends to their decaf. Ugly Mug is one of only about 4 cafes in the country roasting Las Serranias, Colombian A from the state of Huila. I tried both a pulled shot and a brew from their Chemix. Abundant citrus, sweetness with a smooth body and lingering aftertaste. When I say abundant, I mean "bursting". This decaf is really impressive. Ramiro said it impressed their customers, too, when they first put it out. They were asking what it was when they first offered it as a trial. They didn't guess it was decaf.

Ugly Mug Hosts Impressive Palate Development Jam

2011-06-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2011
I walk in to the Ugly Mug around 8:30pm, only to find I am too late! The coffee "taste development" event of the year in southeast Michigan has already finished! It had started at 4pm, so I really shouldn't be surprised. I had just hoped my family obligations that took up most of my evening weren't going to make me miss it all.

It was worth getting there, even so late. I was able to get the impressive handout and chat with cafe manager Chris Mullins. Sounds like the first-of-its-kind event at the Ugly Mug brought in a good sized crowd (20-30) and accomplished its goals. There were various apples to refine one's understanding of malic acid tastes, in-depth discussions of acidity and sweetness, and a station designed to help one understand how taste variables are affected during roasting. "Great job!" to the Ugly Mug team who put this together!

Ugly Mug team members I met: Chris Mullins, Meg soon-to-be-Graham, Matthew "the Birdman" and Ramiro Lomeli, roaster extraordinaire

Rowster Roasting Class Pushes the Envelope

2011-05-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Blitzkrieg Roasting Class - Rowster Coffee, Grand Rapids, MI
May 23, 2011
This was my first trip to the famed Rowster Coffee and it was a treat! First of all, kudos to Kurt Stauffer for offering such a class. He's truly democratic in his willingness to help anyone from anywhere get better at the craft of roasting. Along with it, he instilled in each of the 5 participants (including me) the amount of dedication it takes to roast and roast well in a retail setting. He also convinced us of his passion for roasting each coffee to it's optimum level. The small size of the class enabled each of us to explore our own roasting issues -- I was able to go heavy on questions related to roasting decaffeinated coffee and samples. Kurt has swung back and forth on the "must be light roasted" to "could be dark roasted" pendulum. A phrase I learned in the class: "the paradoxes of coffee."

Kurt's staff, Stephen Curtis and Andy, were great. The Lever espresso machine pulled some wonderful shots and was impressive to see. So was the level of cleanliness Kurt keeps around his literally "middle of the shop" roaster. All eyes at the bar can see everything.

The class:

Started with a review of what is roasting.
A market segmentation of roaster "classes" (as a marketer, I found this quite interesting)
Chemical processes of roasting
Tour of the roaster (machine) anatomy
Looked at and discussed roast profiles
Teamed up in pairs and each got to roast a 14 lb. batch of Monserrat (Colombia) Cup of Excellence. Obviously, this was the best part!

I now understand why Rowster's tagline is "New American Coffee". With unique and high-level classes like this out there, a new age of coffee in American is dawning. Keep it going, Kurt!

MotownThrowdown II - fun!

2011-05-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

Motown Throwdown II, May 19, 2011 Location: AJ's Cafe in Ferndale, MI
I enjoyed the second Motown Throwdown in Ferndale, MI on May 19th. AJ was a gracious host at his cafe. Tom Isaia (Coffee Express) did a great job organizing us. First event - Signature Espresso Drink Contest, with Lani Peterson of Kerry Beverages judging. Teresa Pilarz of Espresso Elevado (Plymouth, MI) won $300! Runners up were Lorne Keeny of Coffee & Friends, Okemos and Brian Cullen, Tres Bean Coffee House, Walkerville, Windsor (Ontario).

The second event: Best Coffee Contest - had 13 entries -- all Colombian. Sally Rivera (imported from Cafe Imports) and Ruth Ann Church (Artisan Coffee Imports in Ann Arbor, MI) cupped and scored all 13 of the coffees, which took almost 2 hours. The top 5 Colombians were then brewed and poured into 5 numbered airpots. Then all participants could taste and judge. The informally scored ranking was:
1) Coffee Express Co., Plymouth; Giraldo Exotico (imported by Royal)
2) Madcap Coffee, Grand Rapids; from Didier Reinoso's farm - used at the Barista Championship in Houston
3) Cafe Imports (green coffee importers), St. Paul, Minnesota.
4) Coffee Express Co., Plymouth; organic
5) Artisan Coffee Imports, Ann Arbor; you guessed it right! This was a DECAF coffee from Artisan Coffee Imports and it was in the top 5 out of 13! The coffee is from the state of Tolima, southern Colombia, and the ASOCEAS cooperative -- a group of 58 farmers near the town of Rio Blanco.

Deconstructing Decaf at the SCAA

2011-05-04T05:35:00.001-07:00

May 1: Jose Ramirez, Director of Coffee at Farmer Brothers, graciously included me as a co-presenter of his SCAA lecture titled, "Deconstructing Decaf." 40 participants filled the room on a Sunday morning! Jose walked us through the technical details on the various decaffeination processes -- including a new one using triglycerides!

Photo (right) -->: Decaf Kenya AA Meru - green sample next to 3 other regular green coffee samples at an SCAA booth.

For my part, I shared the marketing complexities of decaf, focusing on the relationship between costs, pricing and quality. By clarifying the fact that there are two extra costly steps to getting a decaf coffee, people are better able to see why quality compromises are being made all the time. We looked at locations of decaf plants on a world map, comparisons of how much each decaf process costs, compared mark-up practices for pricing decaf and shared consumer data and marketing tips for decaf.

It was great to have 2 participants in the room from decaffeination plants -- Descamex and Maximus were represented. The best question/quote, I thought, was from Alfredo Rego of Idaho who asked, "why is it at a coffee show like this, you go up to a beautiful espresso bar like Counter Culture has set up and they have 5 amazing coffees -- but no decaf? Isn't everyone a little over-wired and caffeine weary by 3pm on day 3?" Couldn't agree with you more, Alfredo!

Hopefully the roasters in the room are now better able to choose to put QUALITY and TASTE FIRST. This typically means asking one's supplier/importer as many questions about the origin, age and storage of the green coffee as one asks about any regular coffee -- and worry less about which decaffeination process. Whether a coffee is decaffed using water or methylene chloride will make less difference to the taste than whether the green coffee was full of defects or a good, fresh, clean coffee.

Thanks to all who attended! Check out Artisan Coffee Import s for more information and guidance on finding great tasting decaf coffees.

SCAA Houston - Day 4 - Single Origin Decaf Cupping

2011-05-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

May 1: This was the big day - Artisan Coffee Imports first cupping at an SCAA event took place starting 9:15am. About 15 cuppers came! I was worried a Sunday morning event would be too tough for anyone to get to. The amount of prep work was more than I anticipated, so many thanks go to Jose Ramirez of Farmer Brothers and Robert Athay of Theta Ridg e for their help and support.

The cupping featured 9 decaf coffees, two of which were on sale by Artisan Coffee Imports:

decaf Kenya AA, Meru-Riankune (precision or MC decaffeination process)
decaf Colombian AA, El Meridiano, Tolima-Herrera region, ASOCEAS coop, (ethyl acetate - EA - process)

The other coffees on the table were:

decaf Kenya CO2 process
decaf Kenya SWP
decaf Colombia traditional (MC) process
decaf Colombia SWP
decaf organic Peru CO2 process
decaf organic Peru SWP
decaf organic Sumatra SWP

Cuppers at the session included Stumptown, Ritual, Equator, Invalsa, Swing Coffee, Wawa, Coffee Express, Crop to Cup, Caravela, Just Go in Taiwan and GEPA - Fair Trade Company in Germany.

Guest cupper, Ben Kaminsky of Ritual Roasters, cupped our triangulations -- he correctly picked out the decaf 3 out of 4 times! The trays were Kenyans, Colombians, Perus and Sumatras. The Sumatra was the one he missed. He said the Kenyan was the next one where it was almost too close to tell.

Near the end of the cupping, Justin Archer of Ecom/Sangana/SMS gave some comments on the challenges farmers are facing in Kenya. Frederick Kariithi, Chairman of the Rung'eto Coop in the Kirinyanga region of Kenya, also added some insights. They mentioned the struggle in Kenya to raise production which has fallen steeply in the last decade. Kenya used to produce 120,000 metric tonnes, and last year was down to only 35,000 -- next year 2011/2012, might get back to 50,000 m. tonnes. Poor weather, climate change and aging farmers are a few of the culprits mentioned.

SCAA Houston - Day 3 - Benefit Breakfast, Lunch & Show Floor

2011-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Apr. 30, Started off today with the breakfast benefiting the non-profit Interna tiona l Women's Coffee Association (IWCA). I've attended these breakfasts ever since my first SCAA 5 years ago in Long Beach. Each year I find them so inspirational. They have speakers with fascinating stories and the women around the table are usually like a mini United Nations. It was so great to see Elvy again - an exporter and friend from my trip to El Salvador in 2009.

At an Utz hosted cupping that morning, we cupped Brazils, 2 from Honduras and 1 from Guatemala. I liked the Honduras Cocafelol the best.

For the first time at SCAA, I went to the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) lunch. Since CQI does the Q Grader courses, I feel like I've become part of this circle. Like IWCA, it was impressive to hear about the ways they are working around the globe to assist coffee farmers. I accidentally sat down at a "sponsored" table -- the sponsor being Deli Cafe from Costa Rica. Many thanks to Grace Mena, President of Deli Cafe, who graciously welcomed me, ignoring my faux paux!

After lunch I finally got to the trade show floor. It was a bit of a whirlwind - a mix of pre-planned meetings and visits to booths I'd been planning to visit for weeks. Thanks to Theta Ridge who agreed to have Artisan's decaf Kenyan-Meru sample on display along with their other fine coffees.

After the show floor closed, I was on to my first Roaster's Guild annual meeting. I just joined this year, which apparently is a milestone year. Long time chair, Beth Dominick, was stepping down after an incredible run. There was lots of anticipation for the upcoming retreat in W. Virginia. First time on the "right" side of the Mississippi!

Finished off the evening at Armadillo Palace and the Roaster's Guild party. It was great to see Connie Blumhardt of Roast Magazine and a big crew of SCAA staff.

SCAA Houston - Day 2 - Cupping Classes

2011-04-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Apr. 29 - spent most of today in cupping classes. First, a 3 hour class on the SCAA form and calibration. Trish Rothgeb, Wrecking Ball Coffee, was the instructor. Then for the afternoon, a 3 hour class on cupping defects, taught by Andi Trindle from Atlantic Specialty and Chad Trewick, Caribou Coffee. Both classes were excellent, providing hands on experiences and plenty of experts in the class to discuss and debate the various issues.

In the morning I was happy to find that Artisan Coffee Imports decaf Colombian had arrived for the roaster skill building workshops! (see photo) Whew! Shipping miscommunications had caused unfortunate delays -- Max Gonzalez of Amaya Roasting in Houston saved the day with a dramatic curb-side pick up of the coffee from the trucking company SAIA. Thanks Max!

In the evening I met some cafe owners/baristas and we went to the Barista Guild competition where they were announcing who would move ahead to the next round -- Jeff Hoffman of Square Mile in London was one of the judges/announcers.

From there we went to a reception hosted by Utz and I was glad to see two of the cooperative chairmen from Kenya who I had met in February! Raymond Gitau of Ndumberi Coop in Kiambu and Fredrick Kariithi of Rung'eto Coop in Kirinyanga.

SCAA Houston - day 1 at the world's largest coffee expo

2011-04-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Apr. 28, 2011 Today was my first day at the SCAA Houston. It's the world's largest coffee expo, so what better place to have it than, TEXAS -- where everything is BIG. Professionals from 20 countries and around 8,000 attendees and 360 exhibitors are expected. It's at the G. R. Brown Convention Center (see photo) - a massive place right in downtown. The featured origin this year is Brazil, so top coffee officials from the largest producer of coffee in the world gave remarks at the welcome reception. I was sit
ting next to the Vice President of the Colombian Coffee Federation, Edgar Cordero. He seemed mildly amused with the Brazilian speaker's comments.

I spent the day volunteering -- first with set-up at the SCAA store and then welcoming and orienting volunteers at the volunteer check-in booth. Both places were fun, since I was meeting people from far and near as they arrived. Then I enjoyed the welcome presentations and the welcome reception -- a Texan sized party with Brazilian dancing and decorations. It's really amazing how this event brings together the top coffee people from around the world.
We did not see the royal wedding in London, but a lovely Houston couple was getting their photographs in the park across the street from the hall!

New decaf Colombian AA to be featured at SCAA

2011-04-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

A tasty new decaf from Colombia has landed in Oakland, CA! Get yours by contacting Artisan Coffee Imports (734-717-6278). Processed using the ethyl acetate "natural" decaffeination method (at the Descafecol plant in Colombia) this coffee has lemony sweetness, brings a fresh, crisp aftertaste, very nice acidity, clean and has a viscous body. A surprisingly tasty cup.

What's great is the transparency through to the cooperative level. The coffee is called "El Meridiano", a brand name of the ASOCEAS association of 58 small coffee growers in Herrera, a department of Tolima, Colombia. To really drill down to the location, look up the town of Rioblanco -- that's the small mountain town closest to most of the farms. I've uploaded a photo of Einar Ortiz, one of the farmers in this cooperative.

Varieties of coffee in this lot: Caturra (70%), Colombia (20%) and Typica (10%)
Fully washed in micro-mills at each farm
Sun-dried at each farm in green-house and roof type drying patios
Grown with 40% shade cover
Preparation: Excelso European Prep (EP) (Screen 15+)
Specialty Grade

Going to the SCAA Event in Houston? Cup this coffee and other decafs at the "Single Origin Decaf Cupping" being hosted by Artisan Coffee Imports on Sunday, May 1, 9:15- 10:15am in the Activities Hall (of the G.R. Brown Convention Center), The Cupping Exchange, Room A.

Video: Women in Kenya, Coffee Production

2011-03-13T21:39:00.001-07:00

In this video, I'm interviewing a young teacher I met in Meru, Kenya about the issue of involving women in coffee businesses. It's an issue for Kenya, because coffee production on smallholder farms has been going down. There have been women staging what has been called a "revolt" because their husbands maintain full control over the cash that comes in, while the women do most of the work in the coffee fields. So in some areas, the women have refused to work on the coffee and instead grow bananas or other products. So the household then becomes a dual-cash-crop household. But coffee productivity goes down (the men are not industrious enough) and the women earn much less with bananas than they could with coffee.

Single origin, high-end decaf a reality

2011-03-09T22:17:00.001-08:00

Mar. 9, 2011
It's been great to be back in the U.S. and see some new things -- Metropolis (Chicago, IL) has launched a revamped and much revved effort to offer a wide array of single origin coffees. Including decaf! Their character as a roaster includes highlighting some of the softer side of coffee -- click here to see how they've cared enough to share what Artisan Coffee Imports is doing to give back to the communities at origin.

Kenya-Meru-Riankune Cooperative

2011-03-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

Feb. 24, 2011
Kenya, Meru region
Visit to Riankune Cooperative (and factory), 1400m (5250 ft), East side of Mt. Kenya, Kienganguru District (near Chogoria)
Rainfall: 1,500mm
Temp range: 16-20°C
Members: 360, each with 50 - 1000 coffee trees, harvesting ~130-150kg ea.
2010 production: 128,778 kg
Main harvest period: March-June
Types: 4 types of arabica: K7, SL28, SL34 and some Ruiru 11
Shade: 50% of acreage protected by shade

Andrew Kandia, marketing services agent with SMS, and I arrived about 9:30. First we met the vice-chairman of the society, Ephraiim Nkonge and Edafas Kenegen, the assistant manager. Soon Festus Kariuki, the factory manager, also arrived.

Grafting:
Together we looked at their nursery stock, obeserving how they are grafting SL28 to an SL34 base to create Ruiru11 saplings. Ruiru11 has proven to be more productive than SL28, but somewhat more susceptible to drought.

Farm visit:
As we walked up the hill to visit one of the farms, we met the Chairman of the society, Burini Ntaari. This tall, gentleman with glasses and a red sun hat welcomed us with a broad smile. I wish I knew more than my few words of Swahili because Mr. Ntaari did not speak English. He is 90 years old and still ably walked up and down the hills and through the trees with us the whole way. We arrived at the farm of Mr. Ntaari's brother, M'rucha Ntaari. We also met M'rucha's wife, son and his cows and goats. All seemed very happy and comfortable. Their farm grows many other crops and vegetables besides coffee, so it appears they have a diversified income.

Meeting the governing committee:
After touring the farm and the washing station, we met in the chairman's office with the 5 member cooperative board. Each person on the board represents a geographic region and therefore a certain number of farmers. We discussed the coffee Artisan Coffee Imports (my company) had purchased from the cooperative. The Vice-Chairman knew the price paid at the auction and exactly how many bags (it was a 44 bag microlot). The auction price (of $3.46/lb.) was a helpful discussion point to share how the value chain works after the auction. I gave the chairman 3 bags of roasted coffee from my customers, Metropolis and Mighty Good Coffee, and shared how at that point, the coffee is selling for $17-$19/lb. This insight got many interested looks and exclamations among the committee members.

Chairman Ntaari thanked me for the visit, (and the token gift of a Michigan cap), and said he would show the coffee bags to the other farmers to inspire their efforts to produce high quality coffee.

Day 3 - in Arusha, Tanz. EAFCA

2011-02-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Feb. 19
This day ended up having both the typical frustrating and exhilarating experiences of a Western tourist in East Africa. It started out with the frustrating. My hotel, the Impala Hotel in Arusha, had no record that my 3 nights had been paid by my travel agent in Nairobi. They didn't even have a shred of evidence that the agency had placed my hotel reservation. I knew the agent had said they would pay the hotel, but I couldn't stay to argue with the guy, so I paid the hotel with my credit card and got on the shuttle going to the conference. Hours later after I was finally able to get the travel agent to call the hotel, Impala admitted they had been paid 2 days earlier and agreed to refund my credit card the charges for 3 room nights. I got the receipt to prove it.

At EAFCA, I was able to catch the sessions on coffee financing in Africa which included presentations by the Coffee Development Fund, Kenya and Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST). The FAST presenter was Noemi Perez, and I was privileged to be able to visit with her for about an hour after her presentation to learn more about what FAST is doing. They are a young, innovative player in the world of development finance and technical assistance.

I enjoyed sharing lunch (which was on the patio near the exhibit booths again) with coffee professionals from Rwanda and Cameroon. Then it was on to visit the Thika Coffee Mills booth. Thika is the miller that processed the Kenya AA Meru-Riankune that my company, Artisan Coffee Imports, is now selling (as decaffeinated green). Later, I got to hear most of the talk by David Griswold (Sustainable Harvest) on transparent trade models, which was the perfect segway as I departed for the airport to go to Kenya.

The airport taxi fee was the other frustrating Westerner experience I had. The hotel had told me the fee would be $50. I asked the driver once we were getting in the car if it could be $43. He readily agreed. I obviously paid too much! Should have started at $25.

Then came the flight from Arusha to Nairobi and the exhilarating things about being in East Africa: 1. meeting Sakina 2. seeing Kilimanjaro's peak from the plane as we flew by! Sakina and I met as we we re checking in our luggage. She's a Nairobi native who had just been to a wedding in Tanzania. We talked, got on the plane together and as we did, discovered that she lives in the same neighborhood as the Methodist Guest House where I was going to stay! I invited her to ride with the driver that would be picking me up and she agreed. She canceled her driver. Attached is the best shot I could get of Kilimanjaro. I was sitting next to 2 young British women on the plane who and just climbed it and were cursing it. There had been early and heavy snows, which made the climb very cold, very tiresome (trudging through deep snow) and almost impossible. There's also a shot of the inside of the small airplane. Cozy, eh?

Day 2 - in Arusha, Tanz. EAFCA

2011-02-20T09:47:00.001-08:00

Friday, Feb. 18, 2011
Met interesting folks on the shuttle bus from Arusha town to the hotel where the conference is -- Europeans from the 4C program, the Neumann Stiftung and a Canadian from FAST. The 4C program can be described as "UTZ light". A few years ago, some private companies (including big ones like Nestle and Tchibo), some producers and some funding organizations got together to create a standard of "the basics" for sustainability, fair working conditions and good business practices. The 4C enables producers who are doing a good job (but not yet good enough to get certified) to still differentiate themselves from producers who are using good practices.

The morning session on women in coffee was great. First August Burns from Grounds for Health talked about their recent successes. While I've always thought Grounds for Health was good, I was skeptical because the focus on cervical cancer seemed so narrow -- limited even. After August's talk, I understood better! They are saving women's lives and will reduce the rate of cervical cancer by 30% in the communities where they work. The finale was a great video prepared by IWCA with Burundi women farmers sharing their stories. Very inspiring. Phyllis Johnson's presentation about IWCA used an African proverb as a theme, "if you want to go fast, travel alone; if you want to go far, travel together."

Next was a roundtable session hosted by CQI on "High Coffee Prices - Good or Bad?". How's that for a topic? It drew 8 or 10 tables of 6 each and the session was moderated by Bruce Mullins of Coffee Bean International. The photo shows the list of "goods" and "bads" that was finally distilled out of each small groups' discussions.

The next event was the coffee farm visit. I went on the bus with 20 others to Two Bridges Estate, which was over an hour's drive away, on the other side of Mt. Meru. This was advertised as a "high tech" farm and it was. They have two center pivot irrigation machines on their large, flat fields with no trees. These make up the "low" farm. Two other farms belong to the same owner, but they are higher up, on slopes and they have shade. The farm also is implementing an innovative inter-cropping method with a plant called sun-hemp. Sun hemp is totally worthless as a grain ("even cows won't eat it" we were told). So it doesn't get stolen, and it's allowed to grow to about 4 ft. tall, then it's felled to just lay on the ground and accomplish 3 things: retain moisture in the soil, fix nitrogen in the soil and fight against nemotodes (a pest).

The washing station at Two Bridges was odd because it was 7km away and up a mountain. They have to truck coffee from the lower farm to the station, and then bring it back down again for storage. The station seemed a little old, but they ran the depulper for us with some buckets of cherries. The equipment and set-up seemed to be running great.

I was invited to a dinner by Schluter at a nearby restaurant. Like the night before, tables were actually out in the open, just under a sturdy tent. The food was excellent and two quality awards were presented.

Day 1 - in Arusha, Tanzania - EAFCA

2011-02-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011
It's been a fine first day in Tanzania. Started out with a typical bad assumption on my part --- namely I believed the hotel manager who told me a shuttle would arrive at 8am that would go to the Ngoroto Hotel where the EAFCA conference is. Wrong. By 8:15am he had changed his story and was telling me and another EAFCA delegate (from Japan) that we would have to pay for our own way out there.

So we got a taxi and that was probably the best thing. I needed to go into town to buy a phone and the taxi driver was very helpful. My new-found Japanese friend helped me negotiate prices, too - we had to buy the phone, then the SIM card, then get minutes on the SIM card then exchange dollars for Tanzanian Schillings. Doing all that afforded a peek into "real life" in Arusha that other conference attendees are not seeing.

Finally, around 10am we were at the beautiful Ngoroto Hotel and Resort and attending the conference. The photo shows me with Mark Stell (Portland Roasting), Elliot from Schluter (CH), Phyllis Johnson (BD Imports). What I love about these conferences is meeting producers like Loy and Jane from Uganda (other photo).

The conference included seminars on expected volumes, pricing and coffee market issues for the coming year. There was, naturally, a lot of focus on East African countries. I was very intrigued by the Nescafe Plan presented by Gary Milsted of Nescafe. The big brand companies are talking like they really want to make a difference at the smallholder level. The exhibit area is refreshingly different -- all the booths are out in the open air!

The dinner this evening was also in the open air (under tents) at the Rivertree Hotel. Very enjoyable company, including roasters from 3 continents, farmers, and CQI professionals.

Transferring in Amsterdam

2011-02-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

Ah. The single shot of Segafredo espresso is kicking in as I sit on this comfy orange sofa-bench in Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport. No decaf espresso here. I asked.

Flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania departs in 2 hrs. Should be a fair crew of coffee folks headed to the EAFCA conference on that flight. Saw Anne Ottaway as I was boarding in Detroit. It's her 3rd trip to Africa this year already!

Flight over was pleasant. Met a charming Irish man living in Bergen, Norway. Cancer researcher. He showed me pictures of the beautiful landscape of fjords and mountains around his home. He's a bike commuter and cross-country skiier, too. Loves Norway. Discussion about Norwegian tax structure and culture was interesting. Would love to go there again. (It was 25 years ago that I backpacked there - yikes!)

Logging out now since it's 3 Euro for 15 mins in expensive Europe.

Packing, packing, packing

2011-02-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Can't write much. It takes so long to pack for these trips! "Take 1/2 the clothes and twice the money you think you'll need," is the old adage. I'm trying.

Business casual for the EAFCA conference - check
Casual but all skirts for the mission work in Meru - check
Hiking/casual for trips to coffee farms (3 planned) - check

Decided I can't take cupping equipment this time. I'll check out exactly what others bring for grinders and water heaters while I'm there.

The Aeropress is coming with! It will provide the delightful morning cup, I'm sure, for not just me but my teammates while in Meru. Surely at the EAFCA there will plenty of good coffee -- but I'll be very surprised if there's decaf.

Which coffee am I bringing? Kenya AA Meru-Riankune, of course. Regular roasted by Mighty Good and decaf roasted by Metropolis just 2 days ago!

Getting ready for East Africa

2011-02-02T18:10:00.001-08:00

The countdown is on -- 12 days until I depart for Tanzania and Kenya. I'll fly to Tanzania first, for 3 days at the East African Fine Coffee Association (EAFCA) trade show and conference in Arusha. This is supposedly "the place" to meet the East African traders, exporters, growers and everyone interested in East African coffee from around the world. Looking forward to the "coffee safari" that will take us to visit Tanzanian coffee farms and washing stations.

I'll take the short flight from Tanzania's Kilimanjaro airport to Nairobi on Feb. 19th and this will be my first time in Kenya! I'll spend the night at the Methodist Guest House and then the next morning, I get to do a "trek" out of Nairobi and through the bush to the "country", in particular, a town named Meru. Here I'll be meeting up with a group of 17 others from my church. We're a mixed bag group -- 5 teenagers, a physician, a pastor, 2 college professors, a successful IT entrepreneur, an organizational strategy consultant, several retired people and me -- a coffee importer/broker with an international development background. What can we offer to a high school in Meru? I don't honestly know. But I'm told we will learn to think on our feet and it will be appreciated. Watch this space. I plan to blog about it!

During the week in Meru, there's a plan that I'll visit the Riankune cooperative and mill. That will be fantastic if that works out. I would love to meet the growers from who Artisan Coffee Imports has already purchased coffee and establish an on-going relationship. One that is mutually beneficial and lasting.

At the end of the trip, Feb. 28th, I'm looking forward to visiting Dorman's in Nairobi and, you guessed it, another coffee farm. This time one in the Nairobi region.

Trying to figure out what to pack. It has to be very little. I've been warned that the minibuses for the group I'm with in Meru have very little luggage space.

Decaf Kenya AA to shout about

2011-01-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

OK. Maybe shouting would be a bit extreme, but an enthusiastic blog is certainly in order! Artisan Coffee Imports has just decafed a fine microlot of Kenyan AA from the Meru region - Riankune cooperative. This coffee was bought at auction in Sept. 2010, so it's fresh crop. It landed in CA Dec. 10 and was decafed the second week of January 2011 at Coffee Process in Houston (solvent method with very careful and precise handling - i.e. original flavor preserved as much as possible.)

CUPPING NOTES:
It offers an enticing dry aroma of chocolate and casis berries. From the surface of the wet grounds a bursts a joyous combination of sweet honey and nuts. The first flavor has that carmel-cashew baked brownie taste with a medium acidity. The aftertaste lingers on the palette with soft tones of citrus and toasted bread.

ORIGIN NOTES:
Artisan President and Founder, Ruth Ann Church, will be traveling to Kenya in February 2011 and plans to visit the Riankune cooperative. This will be in conjunction with a Millennium Development Goals project where she helps support education for low-income children in the Meru community. Meru is one of Kenya's premier coffee-growing regions, but it harvests the little known "fly crop", or "second-season" of Kenyan coffee. The people of Meru are also generally from the less privileged tribes of Kenya's complex history of colonialism and post-colonialist economics and politics. But now I'm venturing into areas where I really know very little (and it probably shows...)

Back to coffee:
19 bags still available for sale from the Annex (Bay area, CA) and a warehouse in South Bend, IN. Samples available from Artisan Coffee Imports (call 734-717-6278, or email rachurch@artisancoffeeimports.com).

Measuring decaf sales and gross margin

2011-01-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

Discussions with roaster/retailers inevitably seems to come to a point about how decaf is such a small part of the business. X, y and z just don't make sense. X being a focused marketing promotion, Y being a prominent place on the menu and Z being a pricing strategy that ensures good margins, etc. etc. The list could go on with other things that companies routinely do for other product categories, but not decaf coffee, because decaf is "only" 9-12% of the business.

Usually I end up agreeing. My partner in such discussions has usually been in the business 10+ years and certainly knows what he/she is talking about, right? And, unfortunately, I don't have numbers to back up my argument. But then I think, "wait a minute, do they have numbers to back up their argument?"

I would invite anyone who has some numbers for either side of this argument to comment. First, have you measured carefully what % of your revenues comes from decaf? Or is it just an estimate? Do you have costs and revenues for decaf and regular coffee split in your accounting system, so that you can measure your decaf margins separate from the margins you're achieving on regular coffee? If anyone is doing this, it'd be very interesting to hear what you're typically seeing...

Please share!
(or contact Ruth Ann Church, President at Artisan Coffee Imports by going to the website.)

Caribou: "We don't like to punish our decaf customers."

2010-12-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

I had the chance last week to chat with Brett Struwe, fellow Roasters Guild member and Director of Coffee Operations at Caribou Coffee Co. The topic was Caribou's relatively unique and ground-breaking move 5 years ago to upcharge $.1o for a cup of decaf coffee. It says it plain as day on each menu board. Decaf whole bean bags get an upcharge of $1.00.

I asked Brett why. He answered that there was a strategic decision made at the time that they would upgrade the quality of their decaf offering. To them, that meant serving only water-process decaf and toll-decaffeinating green coffee they sourced from trusted vendors (i.e. instead of buying "off the shelf" decaf from a decaffeinator). To cover the costs of this quality upgrade, they had to charge more. A standard "upcharge" per cup and per pound seemed simplest. "Seems to be working, or we wouldn't be doing it, " Brett said.

He commented further on how they are dedicated at Caribou to offering a certain level of quality, even if it means they lose a percentage of the market. Then he made the comment that was so perfect I had to ask if I could quote him in my blog, "we don't like to punish our decaf customers."

Thanks Brett and the crew at Caribou!

The magic of pour-over

2010-12-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

If attendance at Coffee Fest Seattle seminars was any indication, pour-over service for brewed coffee is a very hot trend. All three seminars (there was one each day) sold out faster than any CoffeeFest seminar in its history. Speculation abounds about why this trend is here now - is it because owners and consumers loved what the Clover machine did for single-serve brewing, and have been trying to replace it ever since it was acquired (and subsequently shelved) by Starbucks?

Whatever the reason why, it is good for decaf drinkers. First, the quality of our "freshly brewed coffee" really is on par with the regular coffee the cafe is serving. No more getting the stuff that's been sitting in an airpot, or worse yet, on a burner, for hours. Second, there is suddenly potential for soon seeing more variety and quality in decaf offerings on the menu. Since cafe owners no longer have to squirm as they pour gallons of un-consumed, expensive decaf down the drain, they can start using that money to invest in buying, storing and marketing higher quality and more variety.

It made sense in the 24-cup brewer world to limit a cafe's decaf offering to one, generic, crowd-pleasing decaf coffee. In many cafes, it was the only way to economically offer decaf at all. But now with pour over, the beans aren't brewed, they aren't even ground until someone is about to drink them. So why not buy 2 or 3 different types? Why not go for quality in the cup that equals the quality of the regular coffee? Store the little gems in pre-measured, sealed cups and they'll be fresh for a few days.

Need ideas of where to get high-end great tasting decaf? Green sources include Artisan Coffee Imports, Shrub, Cafe Imports, Royal and others.

Marketing Great Decaf

2010-11-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

Presenting at CoffeeFest Seattle last month was fun because it was also educational. Even as the presenter on marketing decaf, I was able to learn a lot! In my seminar "Don't Ignore the Decaf: How Decaf Can Improve Your Bottom Line" I presented ideas for roasters and cafe owners, and they in-turn shared some exciting things they are doing out there already.

Of course, I shared a list of my marketing ideas: don't compromise on quality, don't assume you know how much your customer will pay for it, educate your customers about the added-value process that decaffeination is, etc. At the end, I had a list of promotional, tactical suggestions meant to start some brainstorming, for example: target the older population, hold a decaf cupping, use "coffee lovers" coupons to encourage passionate coffee drinkers to not stop late in the day, just because they've had enough caffeine.

The ideas from the audience were even better! The one cafe owner had started a "Baby Club" in his cafe -- the nursing and expecting moms all enjoy and rave about his decaf. One roaster does regular coffee "tastings" at his customer's premises - a grocery store. They often do a blind tasting with one of the coffees being decaf and they are surprised how often the decaf wins. They've won more than a few new decaf customers this way.

CoffeeFest Seattle

2010-11-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

Seattle, WA - it's true! There are espresso cafes and "walk-ups" nearly every 20 yards when you're downtown Seattle near the convention center. I enjoyed my first visit to CoffeeFest Seattle, Oct. 29-31. It was a fun distillation of the coffee industry, with a distinctly heavy dose of the "thinking of opening a cafe" crowd amongst the attendees. Among the exhibitors, it was, not surprisingly, a terrific group of very high-end coffee roasters, importers and retailers, primarily from the Northwest -- the region with the highest coffee consumers after Norway!

What was unique this year was probably the fact that it was Halloween. Here's a photo of me pulling shots for the latte art throwdown at Victrola Coffee Roasting Co.'s fun Halloween party on Saturday evening. You can also see the "winning cups" and one of the competing baristas (I was NOT a contestant, just a volunteer!)

The Decaf Scene at CoffeeFest Seattle

2010-11-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

On the decaf scene, the CoffeeFest Seattle crowd showed themselves to be exciting and distinctive!! Mercanta (an importer) had a direct-trade Honduran decaf on the cupping table. Cafe Umbria had decaf espresso to serve from their gorgeous espresso machine and luxus style booth. For the first time, this coffee-loving attendee was able to get a great decaf espresso at the show!

Quality is in the cup

2010-10-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ann Arbor, MI -- good to be back. My nose, mouth and entire body found the week of intensive cupping and the sensory tests nearly overwhelming. The Q Grader course was worth it however -- thanks to great instructors and a uniquely diverse and fun bunch of people who made up the class. Main learnings -- 1. one must rely on the cup, not certifications, grades or descriptions given by others. 2. learning to accurately score what one cups correctly is going to be a challenge. Takes lots of calibration opportunities. I'm pretty good at awarding a coffee when it's good. What's tougher for me is "dinging" a coffee when it's not living up to specialty grade.

My feedback on the course -- there should have been more "drills" on specialty vs. non-specialty coffees, and then the test. Line up 3 cups of Colombians that score 78-79 and 3 more that score 80-81, score them and discuss. Then do the same with Indonesians, East Africans, Centrals, etc.

4th Day of the Q Grader Exam

2010-10-07T19:21:00.001-07:00

Long Beach, CA. SCAA headquarters (also CQI headquarters). Just finished the 4th day of the Q Grader exam. There's 10 of us in the class, an instructor (Kelly Amoroso) and an assistant instructor from Korea, Paul Kim. We're all exhausted at this point in the week. It's as tough as they say -- I'll have to re-take several parts. But well worth it -- I'll be a more educated and confident cupper regardless of whether I get the certificate this time around.

Great decafs profiled in Sept/Oct. issue of Roast

2010-09-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Have you checked out the Sept/Oct issue of Roast magazine? Page 76-78 you'll find the reprint of Coffee Review's evaluation of "signature decaf blends." I especially like the "roaster's notes" on each of the top 3 coffees: Nelson Valverde on his Decaf South American Blend; Patrick Grzelewski on his Decaf Redline and Terry Patano on his Organic Decaf Jackie Oh (gotta love that name).

The nice thing about these three coffees is the range of processes and certifications. Two use the water processes, and one uses the direct solvent method (sometimes called the precision method). I think this shows that no one process has a monopoly on "great tasting decaf" -- it all depends on the quality of the bean from origin. Also, one of the top 3 is organic and at least is trying to be fair-trade (see notes in the article about that), showing that one does not have to give up taste in order to achieve the other requirements of these certifications.

I've bought and brewed all three of them now. Good stuff in the cup with each one.

Doctor's Order: Reduce Caffeine

2010-09-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here's my new slogan: Behind every coffee drinker is a decision to reduce caffeine intake. The coffee industry needs to take more note of this undeniable truism. The question isn't "if", it's "when" for any regular coffee drinker. At some point in their coffee drinking life, each coffee devotee will discover for themselves, or a health practitioner will tell them -- "try reducing the amount of caffeine intake." The next question that consumer has to answer is, "will I switch beverages, or will I go to decaf coffee?" If they haven't been getting any marketing messages about the delightful taste, variety and excitement their cafe, roaster and barista has to offer in the decaf line-up -- guess what? They will probably switch to vitamin water, herbal tea, or tap water.

A large employer in my community, like large employers across the USA, recently had this advice in their employee "Wellness" newsletter: 'Curb Caffeine to Reduce Stress:
Stimulants such as tobacco and caffeine can rev up your nervous system, which increases stress. Also, the addictive nature of some stimulants could leave you anxious until your next fix.'

Wake-up and smell the coffee -- market your decaf or you will be losing market share.

Green Coffee Grading and Decaf

2010-08-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

At the SCAA show in Anaheim (April 2010) I was able to take the Roasters' Guild's "Green Coffee Grading" course. It helped me learn about the various types of defects. It's almost like a "processes at origin" course on it's flipside - they are primarily talking about and showing you throughout the class what happens when those processes at origin are not done well.

As we witnessed the kind of stones, little sticks, "blacks", "withereds", "pre-matures" and other defective beans, my thoughts turned to what must be going into a lot of decaf coffee in North America. Each defect found in a 300g sample downgrades the quality of the coffee, and therefore the price. That's why more often than not, it's the cheap, low quality coffee (with blacks, whites, sticks, brokens, etc.) that is getting thrown into the brutal decaffeination processing plant, and then the giant roasters at commodity coffee production plants throw it into a wicked 7 minute blast roast. It's no wonder most decaf in the US tastes miserable!

The power of the word - what decaf method is it?

2010-08-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here's another rave related to Coffee Review's July article on decaf coffees. I appreciate the non-inflammatory language the author found to use when he had to describe the different decaffeination processes. Given that there are basically four different decaffeination processes in use today (water, super-critical CO2, methylene chloride and ethyl acetate), and all of them are allowed by the FDA with no controversy, it seems safe to say that none of the four are "unhealthy." So it's helpful that Ken Davids uses the term "synthetic solvent" instead of "chemical" to describe the methylene chloride processed coffees. It seems obvious to me that when the water (and CO2) process marketers were designing their campaigns, they cleverly chose a word that had some negative baggage, "chemical", to describe their competition. Over the years, they and many others have used this term a lot and it's been successful. Three cheers for marketing! One should never underestimate the power of it.

But when others who are not marketers for the water-process brands use the term "chemical process" to describe methylene chloride and ethyl acetate processes, it irks me. A more objective, less negatively charged term, such as synthetic solvent, should become the norm and the standard amongst specialty coffee professionals.

Not only that, I propose that the industry move away from defining the decaffeination processes by the solvent used, to something that helps the consumer understand how brutal the process is on the coffee bean. When brevity and amount of material that remains in tact are the focus of the descriptor, the potential for negative baggage quickly shifts to the other foot. The most "precision" process is the super-critical CO2, followed by a tie between methylene chloride and ethyl acetate. The water processes could be described as "brutal to bean and very long" (sometimes days, I understand). So "soaked" might be the appropriate term, versus "precision."

Top Rated Decafs - Gotta Get 'Em!

2010-07-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

The top rated decaf coffees in this month's Coffee Review are Cafe Valverde's "decaf South American blend", Metropolis' "Decaf Redline" and Doma Coffee's "Jackie Oh Organic Decaf". I've bought and tasted the second (Redline) and the first (South American blend) is on it's way. Need to get on-line and get some of that "Jackie Oh" next!

Metropolis' Redline does hold up nicely to both espresso extraction and drip brewing. I agree with the flavor notes the Coffee Review guys shared -- sweetness comes in the form of caramel and dark chocolate, and there's an aromatic woodiness and fruitiness mixed in. What separates it from other decafs is the mouthfeel -- it's round not flat.

Coffee Review's Pity for the Poor Decaf Drinker

2010-07-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Ken Davids and Ted Stachura have done the coffee world a great service! Their detailed and discerning cupping skills were applied to 50 decaf coffee samples (most were blends, but a few single origins made it in) and now their articulate and thorough review has been posted at www.coffeereview.com/articles.

Their overall impression was not surprising: "the North American specialty coffee industry continues to underperform when it comes to producing decaffeinated coffees intended for non-espresso brewing methods." And their conclusion of "what to do about it" is right on target: "the one area where I think roasters and their green dealers could improve is in selecting green coffees for decaffeination. ...The kind of curiosity and innovation that the top tier of the specialty industry has lavished on sourcing exceptional single-origin coffees and developing sophisticated espresso blends has largely passed decaffeinated coffee by. ... What we need are roasters and green buyers [and cafe owners] who bring the same passion to pairing fine green coffees with optimum decaffeination methods as they have to sourcing prize-winning green coffees in the first place."

The new era is coming folks...

Roaster's Question 2: Is truly high-end decaf really even available?

2010-06-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

Back in May we started this series on "roasters questions regarding decaf." The first question appears in the May 6 blog. Today's question: "Is truly high-end decaf really even available, since such large volumes of beans are needed for minimum toll decaffing?"

Answer: Available? Yes. Easy to find? No. And if you do find it, there might not be a lot of it. Artisan Coffee Imports is trying to help roasters overcome these two issues related to availability. Its business model is to become the "go-to" source for roasters who want a reliable and high quality decaf. They don't want to waste precious time searching through more than the average number of samples for something that meets their quality criteria, but is only 15-20% of their volume, tops.

The best ways to find out if an importer puts any time and effort into the quality of the decaf is to ask questions about the cupping scores and the traceability to origin. The importers listed on this webpage are places that will have reasonable answers to those questions. Or you can contact any of the roasters listed here and find out where they get their great tasting decaf. Finally, Coffee Review will focus on "decaf Blends" in their up-coming July 2010 issue. Check this blog for comments when that comes out!

Next roaster's question, "how does one keep exceptional decaf beans from losing their exceptional character over time?

New Research: Caffeine Users Not More Alert

2010-06-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

New research in the U.K. appears to show that people who use caffeine on a daily basis are not more alert than people who rarely or never use caffeine. The article (click here), published June 2, 2010, in The Guardian, is unfortunately poorly written. They talk about "coffee drinkers" instead of "caffeine users", but the tests were done with caffeine pills. The fact that the author, Jacob Aron, equates caffeine pills with coffee drinking is strange for several reasons. First, since he's writing in the U.K., why wouldn't he equate caffeine use with tea-drinking? Second, he obviously hasn't heard of decaffeinated coffee, since it wasn't mentioned. And lastly, everyone in the specialty coffee industry should bristle when journalists project the idea that the coffee beverage is simply a liquid, widely available form of a caffeine pill!

The article would have been more impressive had the author mentioned that decaf coffee drinkers and non-caffeinated tea drinkers would be included in the "alert but abstaining from caffeine" group. And I would submit, at least this decaf drinker is better able to interpret the research on caffeine.

Find more information on great tasting decaf coffee at www.artisancoffeeimports.com.

Skill Building Workshop in Ann Arbor a hit!

2010-05-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

The SCAA Skill Building Workshop, May 13-14, in Ann Arbor, MI was a treat for coffee professionals and a watershed for the coffee industry in southeastern Michigan. Maybe even for the Midwest as a region.

Tom Isaia and the crew from Coffee Express as well as Allen Leibowitz from Zingerman's and Greg Miricle from Great Lakes Coffee were all instrumental in getting the event together. As if those 3 names aren't big enough, the event also brought in Trevor Corlett from Madcap Coffee Roasters in Grand Rapids, Jack Groot frim JP Coffee and the Midwest Barista School, and a large contingent of Canadians, such as Richard Ottenhof, of Multatuli Coffee in Kingston, Ontario.

I was the only green coffee importer represented, as far as I know amongst this crowd of ~ 100 top notch coffee professionals. As Artisan Coffee Imports I cupped some amazing coffees during Allen's Comparative Cupping course (see video). As a generic SCAA member, it was fun for me to be a porter for Trevor's Milk & Latte Art class (see video).

The informal Motown Barista throwdown of latte art at the Plymouth Bean coffee company was my first throwdown. Three judges (Allen, Jack Groot and Sherry from JP Coffee) quickly gave a thumbs up or thumbs down as two baristas at a time competed to create delicate rosettas in the foam and crema of the lattes they pulled. The excitement and suspense created a wonderful and fun atmosphere -- collegial even.

The big "a-ha!" in Anaheim

2010-05-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Caravella and Virmax coffee companies apparently organized a watershed cupping of Colombian coffees during the SCAA's Anaheim trade show. A fine micro-lot Huila Colombian A was on the table along with it's decaffeinated counterpart. It was a blind cupping. So the 6 or 8 highly respected roaster/cuppers in the room had no idea what was on the table or which was which. They were just asked to taste and score.

More than half of the roasters rated the decaf version of the Colombian A higher than the regular version! Amazing - yes! Is there an explanation? Perhaps. Virmax is using the ethyl acetate process at the Descafecol plant in Colombia. The theory is that if you start with excellent coffee (of which Colombian A is a good example) the fruitiness of the ethyl acetate solvent actually enhances the fruity taste of coffee.

Roasters question: is great decaf really feasible?

2010-05-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

"Is it really feasible for a roaster to offer a high-end decaf (i.e. Micro-lots/with certifications), when the demand for it is only part of an already small market segment (all decaf being 15% of total)?" This was on one of the great questions during the Q&A part of my co-presentation for the Roaster's Guild seminar on decaffeination at the SCAA conference in Anaheim. Reuben Mood of Signature Coffee was the "asker" and he was right on target -- this is also one of the most challenging and frequently asked questions I get as an importer of specialty green decaf.

My answer in brief, "niche marketing and niche pricing". One may ask a car manufacturer, "is it really feasible to sell an outrageously fast sports car with no room for luggage and only 1 passenger?" If your entire system is geared up to manufacture and sell low cost, high volume automobiles, it probably isn't feasible to add the high end, branded coup. But if your current business is selling high end SUVs (like Hummers), it might be a profitable expansion of your business to also sell high end sports cars. [Analogy; if you're already promoting high-end regular coffees that are selling for a premium, it won't take much to include high end decaf.]

To bring the analogy a little closer to home, I believe some crazy guys at Peet's wondered one day if they could build a franchise on coffee that costs $3 a cup instead of a $1 a cup. America was very used to $1/cup coffee. But here we are 15 years later with Starbucks on nearly every corner. They used marketing savvy and the let the consumer decide. The same will be true for decaf. Find a great decaf, promote it as premium and make sure you put a price on it that earns you, the roaster, a profit. Our data show that decaf consumers are extremely price elastic and loyal.

Stay tuned for the next question in this series...

Raising the bar (and eyebrows) at SCAA Anaheim

2010-04-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

I've been back from the SCAA Anaheim trade show and conference for 5 days now, and am sorta feeling like I'm getting my feet on the ground again. I think I'm 80% there. That show is just so big and overwhelming in some ways, and over-the-top inspiring and energizing at the same time. I love bumping into the top roasters from around the continent -- Ritual, Thanksgiving, Sisters, Flying Goat, 49th Parallel from the West, new wine/coffee shop owner from Phoenix, Santropol from Montreal, Metropolis, Boston Stoker, MadCap, Alliance World, Intelligentsia, and Alterra from the Midwest.

I also thrive on the proximity to coffee producers and exporters. So many, so close! Up front and personal. Walking to their booths on the trade show, or sitting down to breakfast at the IWCA breakfast is truly a "world in your cup" feeling.

The true inspiration comes from awards like the Sustainability Award that went to Peter Kettler for the "Coffee Lifeline" project. This project brings solar-powered radios to remote coffee farmers in Rwanda and Burundi and is now set to replicate to other African and even Central American countries. Talk about a green (no batteries to buy or dispose of) and appropriate (technology that works in the mountains of Rwanda) technology -- that helps farmers educate farmers with peer-sharing (Millenium Development Goals 3, 7 and 8!)

Another inspiration and great tasting treat was the Ethiopian Cupping Caravan. I and other SCAA participants got to cup 10 Ethiopian coffees. The producers were right there to talk to us. There were delightful Sidamas with big blueberry taste, Harar - Oromias with cherry, chocolate notes, and one from Bele Kara (Yirgacheffe) that was complex and beautiful. Heard names and regions I'd never heard before. This is a terrific project, and hopefully one that will be replicated.

I had my usual mission on the trade show floor of seeing if any roaster was bold enough to bring to this important show -- their best tasting, knock your socks off DECAF coffee (this raises a lot of eyebrows when I ask). Didn't find a one! I did find someone on a similar mission, however! Alex Nathanson of "No Buzz Coffee" and I met just in front of the 49th Parallel booth. It's an idea whose time has come, folks! And -- the roasters and cuppers I met at the Intelligentsia booth seemed genuinely intrigued by the challenge to be the FIRST roaster to bring a great tasting decaf espresso to the SCAA show. We'll check 'em out next time, and see if they'll be able to meet the challenge.

Supposed "high end" coffee shop with no decaf

2010-04-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

A new coffee shop just opened near my office in Ann Arbor, MI. The press as they opened is about how they are creating a place for hip, young professionals. (Apparently the other shops in town are for the un-hip, old folks?) Regardless of the age-ism issues the owners may have, I decided to try it out. Attractive lighting, lots of sleek bamboo wood for the tables, benches and bars, emphasis on tea and frozen yogurt are unique!

So the coffee -- they're boasting about serving Intelligentsia coffee and I see a bag of Black Cat near the LaMarzoco espresso machine. Sounds promising! I order a decaf machiatto. The formerly bright shining face of the barista/new-owner falls to a slightly pained look. "I don't have decaf espresso." Then, without offering anything to compensate he explains how he can't afford a second grinder right now, partly because he's only using the best grinders -- a Mazzen sits on the counter proudly filled with caffeinated espresso (the Black Cat, of course).

I try to understand why a "high end coffee shop" would not cater to the epitomy of dedication in coffee -- the decaf espresso drinker -- by asking questions, but Toby, the barista/owner doesn't get it. I explain that Artisan Coffee Imports could provide Intelligentsia with high end decaf if they don't have it. He doesn't comprehend and doesn't even get what good customer service is. He tells me several times he's very busy and doesn't have time to talk. Apparently he'd rather have me go away and tell 10 friends how arrogant they are, rather than offer me one of his estate single-origin decaf drip brews. How sad when young professionals must learn the hard way!

Decaf Gaining Respect - New York Times & Counter Culture

2010-03-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

We're gaining ground here, folks. Today's FRONT PAGE of The New York Times Dining & Wine section blares the following headline, "Decaf With Pedigree and Flavor."

Peter Giuliano, director of coffee and an owner of Counter Culture Coffee, (Durham, N.C.) shares the state of the art beautifully, “We have a special obligation to the decaf drinker. Those guys are the true believers. They’re not drinking coffee because they need to wake up. They’re only drinking coffee because they like the taste.”

The NYT author did a good job selecting some of the best craft roasters for their opinions. Blue Bottle Coffee, Intelligentsia, Four Barrel, Peet's, Port Rico, Stumptown and others are all quoted. For their taste test though, the Times picked a weird assortment. They should have worked with Artisan Coffee Imports or Ken Davids at Coffee Review to get a really great selection of decafs.

James Hoffmann's epiphany about decaf coffee

2010-02-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

James Hoffmann, founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters (London, UK) and the World Barista Champion in 2007, wrote in his Feb. 2, 2010 blog of his epiphany about decaf coffee which apparently happened in 2007. (Whew! Glad he's been "in the know" for at least the past 3 years!)

"I think we make a grave mistake alienating decaf drinkers with tonnes of pre-ground, nasty coffee brewed without much care. These are people who are buying coffee because they like the taste. We are supposed to love these people – they aren’t the ones suffering through awful espressos or instant coffee just to get their caffeine fix. And yet they are the people least catered to in the industry. A shame."

Couldn't have said it better myself, James. Thank you! And thank you to roaster Joel (formerly of Stumptown- West Coast, which is where James had his epiphany) for seeing the light and brewing that tasty, sweet, full bodied shot for James.

Read the whole blog, it's a good one: http://www.jimseven.com/2009/02/02/decaf/

Coffee to Help Haiti

2010-02-01T04:20:00.000-08:00

Today's post is not so much about decaf as coffee and economic development. The coffee industry can play a significant role in economic development of all coffee growing regions. We've seen it work in Rwanda and now Burundi. If you're not familiar with it, check out the work Dan Clay and others do through the PEARL project at Michigan State University (http://www.iia.msu.edu/pearl/index.htm), partially funded by USAID (http://www.usaid.gov/). Tim Schilling, based at Texas A&M University, is also involved. http://agnewsarchive.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/AGPR/Sep1107b.htm

Now is the time to start bringing this kind of economic development to Haiti. A project that would support and strengthen specialty coffee farming in Haiti's rural areas should be a part of the long-term planning that the big donor agencies, including USAID, are trying to put together. Coffee may not be the only valuable export crop that could be supported in Haiti's rural, mountainous backlands, but it has been successful in the past. Development workers I know who work in former coffee growing regions say any assistance in this area would be welcome. http://www.haitianartisans.com/

I'd like to encourage David Farmer, Dan Clay, and folks from the Clinton Foundation to sit down with the grassroots organizations at work in rural Haiti and start pilot projects to re-establish coffee in Haiti.

Where's decaf on the menu?

2010-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to do an interview with a cafe owner/operator at his cafe this AM. He knew something about what I do, so was prepared when I got there to explain how decaf coffee is a tiny fraction of his business. This is typical of many cafe owners and roasters I talk to.

So I we looked carefully at his menu boards -- (the great chalkboard kind, which I love). I asked, "so it seems no where on the boards does it mention decaf -- not even a mention that you've got the house blend brewed?" He agreed -- not there. As we discussed other parts of his business that have more demand than decaf coffee, it was the cafe owner, not me, that kept coming back to the insight -- "but at least "organic" is listed on the menu". "At least tea is listed as an option on the sign." Not surprisingly, we both agreed it will be worth it to see if modest promotion, such as putting decaf on the menu boards, makes any difference in demand.

The cafe owner, (who by the way, is a wonderful guy), then explained how teas are more convenient than coffee. He can have 100-150 teas in stock. The beverage is brewed one cup at a time, (instead of batch brewed), so there isn't the waste one gets with brewed coffee. Also, no grinding required. The dear little dried tea leaves can be placed directly in hot water for steeping. This got me thinking, are there ways to adopt any of this "convenience" to the coffee world? Imagine having dozens of coffees in one cafe - including decaf, of course.

Health Benefits of Coffee

2010-01-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

I heard somewhere last fall that the National Coffee Assoc. (NCA) had recognized that it should be pushing the health benefits of coffee more effectively in the press. I think they're executing pretty well now. I've seen articles popping up all over, including the Wall Street Journal on Dec. 30, 2009. ("Good News on the Daily Grind", Health Journal, Dec. 30, 2009, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703278604574624032849271284.html)

The interesting thing to me is that the articles mention that many of the good qualities do not seem to be related to the caffeine and many of the NOT good qualities of coffee are related to the caffeine. But so far, I have not seen an article evaluate whether decaffeinated coffee is practically a health boost drink. The crumbs are leading that direction, though...

Are decaf coffee drinkers tired of limited choice?

2009-11-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Fellow Decaf Drinkers:
Is anyone else tired of walking into an inviting cafe only to find that their choice for a decaf coffee will be limited to one "house" option and that the folks behind the counter have no idea what the origin is. "It's a blend," they typically state.

The limited choice is just my pet peeve, I guess. The real issue is, do I get a coffee that tastes great? Since I'm what they call a "dual drinker", I know that the "regular" crowd can please their palatte whether they're craving a dark roasted Indonesian or a light and citrusy Ethiopian. And, that "house coffee", if it's regular and at a place that calls itself a "cafe", has a reasonable chance of tasting OK. Not so for a decaf drinker! Too often I'm reminded that we are an after-thought, a necessary evil to many cafe-owners.

Especially that cafe with the green, round label. NO decaf served after the morning rush! How absurd! Can we not think of alternatives like offering only SPECIALTY coffee drinks -- like the made to order espresso drinks or pour-over coffee?

The root of this problem -- cafe owners who just aren't thinking about their after-thoughts.

~ Ruth Ann