Arizona Coffee

On Saturday, December 1st from 11am to 2pm the good folks at Lost Dutchman Coffee Roasters are hosting a free coffee tasting. At 2pm they will be holding a raffle (tickets for purchase) with all proceeds going to a good cause. Victor Kessler, the owner and coffee roaster, sent me some information I’m sharing below. Looks like a great event!

Coffee Tasting December 1st for local customers of Lost Dutchman Coffee Roasters: The amazing new Brazen Brewer will be highlighted along with a raffle for a Chemex Brewer, Hario Brewers, and of course some coffee. The brewers all come with a pack a filters.

Some of the key features to the Brazen include: precise temperature control. Easy programming of a pre-wetting cycle, and very, very even shower head distribution over the coffee grinds typically only seen in high-end commercial brewers. The machine even self calibrates for different brewing altutudes.

At this event, folks can see the Brazen in operation to help decide for themselves if the machine lives up to its reputation along with sampling a selection of some of our best coffees including our seasonal Holiday Blend.

100% of the proceeds from the raffle will go to our favorite charity, Sunshine Acres Children’s Home. This is our way of giving back to the community. The tasting will be Dec 1st from 11am-2pm, with the raffle for the prizes commencing at 2:00pm sharp. For complete trasparency, a representative of Sunshine Acres will be on hand to collect the raffle donations.

Click here for driving directions.

The Lost Dutchman Coffee Roastery
1920 E 3rd Street
Ste 9
Tempe, AZ 85281
Phone: (623) 217-1304

Note: I asked Paul Kenjora to write up a little post about how TabHere works because what they’re offering is really cool. Plus, it’s an idea made here in Arizona and tested at local coffee houses. I think coffee shops could benefit from using TabHere, and know of several local shops doing just that. – Chris

TabHere is a way for local coffee shops and regulars to benefit each other. For the coffee shop its a pre-paid tab that means: money up front for the week, a rewards program funded by CC fee savings, a guaranteed return visit, increased transaction frequency, and increased customers guaranteed ( that last one is unique to TabHere ).

For regulars it means, no need to carry or lose a gift card, no app to download, an amazing user experience at the counter, and 20% instant rewards ( paid for by reduced CC fees ). Focusing on the experience is working for TabHere, customer adoption at participating coffee shops is generating over $2,700 a month in repeat tabs. Customers with huge smiles are walking up to the counter with family and friends saying “Check this out, its so cool… put it on my tab!”

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Ran across this cup design for Cavistons in Dublin this morning and had to share:

Where did the summer go? I don’t know about you, but I’m glad it’s gone. I love this weather. Turned off the A/C a few weeks ago and have been loving it. What about you?

One of the more frequent questions I receive is ‘where can I go that is open really late?’ and I answered that in a post right here on Arizona Coffee in 2008 (with updates in between). I realized that post is old and a new one is in order. Please leave a comment or send me a note if you know of a coffee shop open late and I’ll update this post.

Xtreme Bean (Tempe) is open till 11:00 every night, except open all night Friday/Saturday nights.

Ground Control (Litchfield Park, and Verado) is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Jobot Coffee (Phoenix) is open till midnight 7-days a week (and 24 hours on weekends).

Lux Central (Phoenix) is open till midnight every night, and till 2 am on Friday-Saturday.

Coffee Rush (Gilbert and Chandler locations) is open until 11 pm daily.

Cartel Coffee Lab (Tempe, Scottsdale) is open until 10 pm daily in Tempe, and the same for Scottsdale but on weekends Scottsdale is open till midnight.

32 Shea (Phoenix) is open until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

Hava Java (Phoenix) stays open until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday.

Echo Coffee (Scottsdale) is open from 6 am to 10 pm, daily.

Is a barista a real career, or is it just a job that will get you through college? Depending upon where you work and your skill level, you may be able to cultivate your experience as a barista to turn it into a professional career.

How Much Does a Barista Make?

A barista is better known as the worker behind the counter at a coffee shop, serving up simple to intricate coffee and espresso beverages that may include a soy mocha latte or frappuccino. When it comes to entry-level pay, a barista will make roughly $8.50 per hour, including tips. Most entry-level positions are part-time jobs that are ideal for students, stay-at-home moms, or people looking for a second income.

As a barista gains experience in a coffee shop, they may receive a pay increase accordingly up to $12 an hour, including tips. To score at entry-level job as a barista, educational requirements are not necessary, although many employers will look for a high school diploma or equivalent.

While the US may not look too kindly on the profession of a barista, considering it an entry-level job with moderate pay, other countries that take their coffee culture seriously may pay more. In Australia, a skilled barista with years of experience can make up to AU$25 an hour.

How to Increase Your Prospects as a Barista: Up the Ante

If you want to move beyond an entry-level position and earn more as a barista, you have to put your money where your mouth is – meaning, invest in training courses and barista-specific education. While a number of coffee companies may provide on-site barista training with continued education, an aspiring barista can attend a barista school or training course, which may last from six months to one year.

Once an experienced barista is hired by a company and gains further experience on the job, they will likely be eligible for a promotion based on their skill level.

With an educational background in barista training, a barista may be able to move up to a managerial position to make anywhere from $30,000-$47,000 a year. A barista may be able to advance into a number of related positions, including working as a barista trainer or instructor or even a coffee consultant for a large corporation.

To work successfully as a pro barista with the opportunity for in-house promotion, coffee and espresso skills are a must, and customer service skills are also required. Baristas represent a company behind the counter and must connect with customers with a welcoming, friendly attitude.

In areas of the US with a more in-depth coffee culture, like the Northwest, a barista may be able to put their training to better use with a higher demand for advanced techniques like latte art and Japanese iced brewing.

Bethany Ramos is a full-time freelance writer and coffee lover that co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.

At Whole Foods in Scottsdale you can get this Kona blend for $30. Oh, and speaking of Whole Foods… they have a sign on every single isle proclaiming the number of products that are local. I’m sorry to say that not a single coffee bean was from a local roaster. Sad.

No, I didn’t get it. But, now that I’m thinking about it do you have a favorite Kona Blend? Who roasts a good Kona blend locally?

Stumbled across an interview with James Freeman today in which he shares his gear and setup at home.

I liked this quote from ineedcoffee.com:

[K]eep in mind that the lighter the roast, the more confidence the roaster is showing in the quality of the raw bean.

Here’s a video of a coffee pot with an expensive price tag!

Not sure about you, but that’s not really in my coffee budget.

The One Limited has a “proportional integral derivative feedback control loop,” (monitored by an Arduino, naturally) which controls the temperature of the water throughout the brewing process. Blossom president Jeremy Kuempel explains this technology as “a fancy way of saying we measure the temperature of the coffee while it brews and we use heating elements to correct that temperature to whatever [the user] has set it to be.”

I thought this was a pretty awesome rant:

OK….ENOUGH! with the pour over drip stations..the treating coffee like it’s not meant to be enjoyed, but rather a painstaking, painful “ART” that only can be consumed with a face full of Angst. DO NOT treat coffee like it’s a the black wearing, skinny jeans fitting, dirty fingernail having First Friday going HIPSTER! It’s none of the above. It’s a beautiful farmed bean that, with a small amount of love can transform a mundane morning into a wonderful day…It can bring people together, it can soothe crappy rainy days and make going to the Symphony a night out….That’s it! No more…I want to order a Cappuccino and get it in less than 25 minutes….I want to be able to put sugar in any drink I order, and not get a glare from the waaaaay tooooo coooool “barista”.

There’s more, too… click the link below to read the rest.

Posted on the One Coffee Company Facebook page today.

Hey folks: If you’re on Facebook, join the discussion at the new Arizona Coffee Facebook Group.

Here is a great series about common mistakes people make when cupping coffee. I found it really good.

On hot water:

Far and away the biggest problem I’ve run across is not enough hot water. There are only two ingredients that go into a cupping bowl: coffee and hot water. No one ever seems to forget the coffee. Remarkable how often the hot water gets neglected.

On smelly cups:

Of course, it’s much better when I take that inhale and find that there’s no odor at all! Then I can concentrate all my powers of olfaction where they belong: on the coffee.

On blind tast testing setup:

There’s a simple way to get around this. Just double-code the coffee. Imagine I am setting up a cupping with one other friend, and we both want to score blind. I will write down one set of codes. So a coffee from the farm “Finca Alfa” becomes 001 and “Finca Beta” becomes 002, etc.

1. Part 1: Hot Water
2. Part 2: Smelly Cups
3. Part 3: Not Really Blind

Good tips!

Just saw this article from a few weeks ago in the newspaper about an as yet unopened coffee and wine bar. This is an interesting story in that the owners of the building will be opening a coffee shop in Glendale.

Four years ago, Sciacca and his wife purchased the 2,400-square-foot historic building at Chicago Street and Arizona Avenue, knowing that the new Chandler City Hall would be opening across the street in 2010.

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I’ve seen a lot of lame infographics about coffee. This one isn’t so lame.