Arizona Coffee

I always like to take a few minutes to reflect on coffee and this web site at the end of the year. In 2010 I focused more on quality posts than in previous years, and published 128 unique posts. A bit less than the year before (I attribute entirely to getting married, which took up a lot of time!).

I also had a lot of fun on Twitter this year! As of this week, we’re at 5,800+ followers. Facebook is dragging with only 337 “fans” – you should become one, now!

So without further ado, here’s the best posts from this year:

January

• Phoenix Coffee Crawl 1/9/2010 — This was a really fun event, and we’ll have to do it again soon
• Interview with Jason Silberschlag about South West Regional Barista Competition — An event that never happened (video interview)

February

• The Dutch Brothers Secret — My thoughts on what makes Dutch Bros. Coffee a success

March

• Celebrating 5 Years of Publishing — It’s hard to believe five years have already passed!
• Valley coffee scene gets a boost from Arizona Republic — I list my top 5 shops
• A few questions with Tom Maegdlin — A video interview

April

• Echo Coffee opens this weekend in Scottsdale — This post received 21 comments

May

• Now Open: Giant Coffee — The long awaited coffee shop opens
• An Interview with Ron Cortez of Cafe Cortez — One of my favorite coffee people

June

• Win a Free French Press — I asked readers to leave a good joke… their are some good ones in here!
• Video Demonstration of Trifecta — Mitch demonstrates the Trifecta! Lots of discussion about it here

July

• Cartel Merges with Avenue Coffee to form Cartel Coffee Lab, Campbell Avenue — This one got 35 comments (a little healthy debate)
• Photo: Cappuccino from Press Coffee — One of my favorite photos I took this year

August

• Organic Barista Milk — A healthy discussion about organic milk
• Elevate Coffee Opens in North Phoenix — A new coffee shop in the valley

September

• Married! — Explains a lack of posts towards the last half of the year
• Survey: What are you drinking? — Produced some interesting comments / data

October

• 70% of business before 2 pm — This was fascinating, and produced some interesting discussion
• Coffee Freshness? — Can the average consumer tell if coffee is fresh or not?

November

• First Peak: Press Coffee Roasters at Scottsdale Quarter — The newest coffee shop in Scottsdale

December

• Echo Coffee — A photo review
• Effects of Specialty Coffee By Gianni Assam — Produced some good discussion

Goals for 2011:

1. I’d like to conduct more video interviews… who’s interested? I’ll bring the camera to you.
2. Getting the “Readers Choice Awards” off the ground. It’s been a work in progress.
3. Coffee Wiki (in progress)
4. Get more followers on Twitter and Facebook.
5. I’d like to secure a few more sponsors, contact me if you are interested!

In case you are curious, you can browse my “Best of” posts from previous years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

I’d like to give a warm shout out to all of my sponsors this year, especially:

• The Coffee Bump
• Ground Control Coffee
• Cortez Coffee Company
• Firecreek Coffee Company
• Coffee Bean Corral
• The Roastery of Cave Creek
• Service Associates

Have a Happy New Year! — Chris Tingom