Arizona Coffee

I was curious if anybody could offer a recommendation. I have a friend and occasionally some types of coffee cause him to get headaches. Has anybody run across this before? It’s not like a one time thing, either. He can drink the same coffee days later and get a headache again. Weird.

What’s the hardest thing about running and owning a coffee shop?

Need photos for your marketing materials? Look no further than two great free photo sites. First try Stock Xchange which allows you to download high resolution images (once you register) and Photocase which is in Germany and allows you to register and download up to 3 images a day for free.

Just went to the Refresh Phoenix meeting this week and had this latte at Inza Coffee (Scottsdale).

Just had a great visit to Coffee Rush in Gilbert last night. Just wanted to say they’re doing some awesome stuff.

Rich Aroma Coffee Co. in Queen Creek is bringing a film festival to Queen Creek called Santan Short Film Festival. See this writeup in The Arizona Republic.

The San Tan Short Film Festival will take place at the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center on November 16th – 19th, 2006.

Business Week reports on the new coffee bar concept being pulled out by Illy. It’s old news to some, but check out the photos in this cool article.

Italian coffee maker Illy is out to conquer the “last frontier”—the coffee bar. By rolling out a global chain of licensed cafes called “Espressemente,” Illy intends not only to sell more of its high-quality coffee, but to purvey the original Italian cult of espresso. That means ensuring everything from the barista’s skills and manner to the Italian furniture and interior architecture of the café. It also means coffee as Italians love it: one short, dark shot that coats the tongue with subtle hints of chocolate, almonds, jasmin, and fresh peaches.

Robert writes to Arizona Coffee about Bunna Coffee:

This coffee shop knows the value of quality water, a good atmosphere, and perfect preparation. It’s the best coffee shop I’ve been to in a long time…Tempe is a long way to drive for me but I can’t think of a better place to spend a few hours. Their progressive and comfortable interior immediately removes you from the heat outside… I forgot it was 112 F outside during the visit. What a wonderful place!

I just got a neat email from Eric Schrepel announcing his new web site Espresso Map.

He writes: I launched this personal web project on Saturday and am looking for recommendations to add to the map. The map focus is on espresso, third-wave style competition-level baristi, that type of thing. I see your site has lots of cafes listed, but wondered if you have personal recommendations for truly stellar AZ espresso. Thanks for your site, and for checking out my li’l non-profit tool.

Cool stuff!

* Arizona Coffee Does Not Endorse Rocket Coffee Roasters or Larry Jones *

You might have noticed that I added a tab for Jobs at the top of the navigation. It’s been sitting up there for about a month now without any content and I wasn’t even going to announce it until I could get a job board system installed. I have been eyeing a new job board system called Ekwipment which is in a private beta. I’m hoping I can license it from them for Arizona Coffee.

Yesterday Larry at Rocket Coffee Roasters sent me this email with a job opening at his soon to be opened espresso bar.

If anybody has any job openings feel free to contact me and I’ll post them here for free until I get something official in place.

Job Opening at Rocket Coffee Roasters

Rocket Coffee Roasters, a wholesale and retail specailty coffee roaster, located in Phoenix, AZ, is opening a new Espresso Bar. The location of this new venture will be in the heart of downtown Glendale, AZ with an opening date of October 15, 2006.

We are actively seeking a Barista/Manager/Partner position. Yes, this is quite a opportunity for anyone seeking a career in the coffee industry.

Brief rundown on the company philosphy/overview -

• serving and preparing the best espresso and coffee with the emphasis on quality and presentation
• elevating coffee to a culinary art, with the inclusion of coffee and food pairings
• educating our local customer base and creating a sophisticated coffee palate
• support of farmers and growers at orgin (direct relationship)
• community involvment at a local level

A few other notables;

• we will be using a Synesso Cyncra espresso machine machine
• a Clover coffee brewer (a first in AZ) will be the preferred brewed method of choice
• Cup of Excellence coffees on tap
• regular cupping lab and barista class offerings

Our focus is on the coffee, first and foremost! We have however teamed up with the best and greatest local culinary people and will be offering the finest handcrafted chocolates, baked goods and local, organic fresh fruit. This is geared to the finest espresso/coffee/combination/culinary experience of it’s kind in the Southwest, maybe beyond!

We are offering one Position as a Manager/Partner.

This position requires no investment other than the focus, determination, hardwork, passion and drive to be the very best. If this sounds like your ideal career path, than please email your resume to:

Resume

We look forward to hearing from you!

The restaurant down the street from our office has a popular coffee bar. I was just down their enjoying one of those Blizzard drinks and I watched a “barista” make a shot of espresso that lasted all of 8 seconds.

Eight seconds is too short!

The guideline for a proper brewed espresso is between 25 and 30 seconds. Don’t believe me? See CoffeeGeek.

So I have been thinking a little bit about this whole concept of barista education, and I’ve come to the conclusion that while coffee shop owners and restaurant owners probably do not care, it might be interesting to have a barista training workshop. Maybe someone should think about doing this. I’m thinking that coffee shop owners and restaurant owners would pay to have each of their new barista hires attend this workshop. Maybe it would cost $50 and there would be 4 to 8 people in a workshop.

Most specialty industries require some education, so why not coffee? If the guy making your drink at a bar didn’t know how to make it, you’d be appalled. It should be the same at the coffee shop.