Arizona Coffee

A coffee shop in opening next year needs a name, and is offering a $100 gift card to the winner.

Hat tip: Jason Ayers

Ran across this nicely done video about the history of coffee. It glosses over some parts, but covers the history.

Part 1:

Part 2:

There’s a part 3, but I haven’t been able to locate it.

Posse Grounds Coffeehouse opens today in Sedona, AZ. The shop is run by John Berreman (the owner), Tyler Johnson, and Sarah Johnson (manager and Tyler’s wife). It features a La Marzocco Linea espresso machine.

Photo Credit: Posse Grounds

Located in the Village of Oak Creek in Sedona, the coffee house sports free wireless internet, espresso drinks, and from the looks of it, a cozy atmosphere.

Posse Grounds Coffeehouse
7000 Hwy 179
Sedona, AZ 86351
Phone: (928) 284-4620
Twitter: @PosseGrounds

Tucson barista Jason Calhoon is now working at Avenue Coffee, he reports on the Cafe VanGo Twitter account. In addition, Cafe VanGo is now closed.

Cafe VanGo had been a staple at Bookmans in Tucson, and I am wondering what’s next for the mobile espresso delivery unit?

Bookmans is working on an espresso bar in their Mesa location which is opening soon.

Update: Avenue Coffee published a post about this topic.

Avenue Coffee
2502 N Campbell Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85716
Phone: (520) 225-0437
Twitter: @avenuecoffee

Vincent Huizar from Royal Coffee Bar writes:

After more than 3 years of business we have decided to close this location in order to give our full attention to our other location.

We have had a great time, made many good friends and enjoyed showcasing more than 25 local artists. We built this space from the ground up and made it happen with the hard work and dedication of our family, friends and our loyal customers.

Despite this location closing you can still find us and get great coffee at our other location.

ROYAL at the MARKET is located at 14 E. Pierce, inside the new Phoenix Public Market.

Thanks again,
Hayes and Vince

Update: The Jackson St. location closed on 11-16-09. The hours at the new location are Monday-Saturday 7 am- 8 pm. Closed Sunday.

Royal at the Market
14 E. Pierce St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Jason Casale just started a video blog called The Coffee Enthusiast. His first review is of a Brazil Fina Monte Alegre from Cartel Coffee Lab.

15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee.

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On Saturday evening I stopped in to check out Sola Coffee Bar in Scottsdale and ran into the Jared Reasy (the lead barista and owner) and also Michael Puhala.

I shot this video while I was there. Overall: Great cappuccino and excellent coffee shop vibe. I can’t wait to visit again.

Sola Coffee Bar
7124 E 5th Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

I’ll post more photos of my visit to Hava Java, but seriously if you’re going to put that on your cup you better know how to make microfoam.

In August of this year I posted a link to an online survey and almost 100 people answered the survey. I’ve decided to post the answers in two parts. Part 1 includes the raw data. In part 2 (posted at a future date) I will attempt to parse the answers to the “write-in” questions.

Q.1 How do you typically read Arizona Coffee?
Answer		Count
Web Site		65 (69%)
RSS Feed		28 (30%)
Pony Express		1 (1%)
People who answered question:		88 (96%)
People who skipped question:		4 (4%)

Q.2 What is your occupation?
Answer		Count
Other – Not in the coffee biz		62 (70%)
Barista		11 (12%)
Coffee Shop Owner		7 (8%)
Coffee Roaster		5 (6%)
Other – In the coffee biz		4 (4%)
People who answered question:		89 (97%)
People who skipped question:		3 (3%)

Q.3 How long have you been a reader of Arizona Coffee?
Answer		Count
Less than a year		29 (33%)
2 years		25 (28%)
3 years		19 (21%)
1 year		12 (13%)
4 years or more		4 (4%)
People who answered question:		89 (97%)
People who skipped question:		3 (3%)

Q.4 Where do you spend most of your time?
Answer		Count
Phoenix Metro Area		72 (81%)
Southern Arizona		8 (9%)
Outside of Arizona		6 (7%)
Northern Arizona		3 (3%)
People who answered question:		89 (97%)
People who skipped question:		3 (3%)

Q.5 Do you make coffee at home or work?
Answer		Count
Yes		75 (86%)
No		12 (14%)
People who answered question:		87 (95%)
People who skipped question:		5 (5%)

Q.7 What would you like to see most on Arizona Coffee?
Answer		Count
Coffee shop rankings		48 (19%)
Interviews with people in the industry		45 (18%)
Better maps and location info		41 (17%)
More photos		37 (15%)
Polls and discussions		29 (12%)
Mobile web version		14 (6%)
More controversy!		10 (4%)
Revive the podcast		9 (4%)
More videos		7 (3%)
More stickers		7 (3%)
People who answered question:		88 (96%)
People who skipped question:		4 (4%)

If you want, you can also download the survey results as a PDF file.

Thank you everyone who answered the survey.

When Richardson’s Restaurant burned to the ground in July one of its neighbors was also affected. Luci’s Healthy Marketplace took the opportunity to make improvements to the shop and added a coffee bar.

Luci’s is located on the corner of 16th St. and Bethany Home Rd. and is named after Lucia, the owners wife.

The first time I walked into Luci’s their senior barista, Chris Mace, recognized me almost immediately (even though we had never met). I was very impressed with this and Chris went out of his way to make me some drinks (even throwing away a few). He give me a tour of the coffee bar, and introduced me to the staff. I also met Ken Schnitzer, the owner.

An exceptional cappuccino.

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You haven’t tried ice cream until you’ve tried Sweet Republic. Named Top 10 Ice Cream by Bon Appetit. Sweet Republic uses all-natural ingredients and they do a great job exploring different ingredients.

The shop is located at 92nd St and Shea Blvd in Scottsdale. If you haven’t already checked it out, now it’s easier to do so because their products are sold in Whole Foods (this was just announced the other day).

A few of the flavors I’ve seen: Real Mint, Beets, Pumpkin Spice, Cheese Course Duo, Espresso (from a local roaster) and a dozen others. They serve ice cream as well sorbet and yogurt. Not only that, but they’re constantly introducing new flavors to mark the seasons, or just for fun. I really dig that approach.

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Urban Beans describes itself as a savvy new coffee shop in the heart of midtown Phoenix. It’s a very new coffee shop, having first opened its doors at the end of September, 2009.

Update: Urban Beans is having its grand opening this Friday and Saturday.

Urban Beans
The Mercury Building
3508 N. 7th St.
Suite 100
Phoenix, AZ 85014
Twitter: @urbanbeans

Our new focus is quality, inclusiveness and education. We are not dealing with completely ignorant consumers anymore. These new customers are not the ones you want to alienate. They are your mouthpieces. These are the explorers of the urban landscape, armed with iphones ready to twitter and yelp. Don’t send them away pissed.

– Tom Maegdlin has a great new blog about coffee in AZ. You should check out his recent post (excerpted above). He makes some great points.

Tempe coffee house 3 Roots is in the Arizona Republic (November 3, 2009 edition).

The shop had closed at one point, but re-opened in July, 2009 to new owners (the article mentions Robin Bundy and Ryan Spencer). The shop first opened in Tempe in 2003. The article doesn’t mention the coffee at all, which I have not tried.

3 Roots Coffee House & Cafe
1020 S Mill Ave
Tempe AZ 85281
Phone: (480) 966-4949
Directions: It’s just south of 10th Street on the west side of Mill Ave.