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May
9,2013

Trip Report: CoffeeCON 2013

Author | Marc Wortman

IMG_1637     CoffeeCON 2013 is in the books, and I was proud to be an Official Media Blogger for the event.

CoffeeCON is a one of a kind show, geared entirely towards the coffee lover, as opposed to people in the coffee industry talking to other people in the coffee industry.  I’ve attended two other coffee shows before this one, and both were geared towards the coffee professional as opposed to the coffee consumer.  And there’s nothing with trade shows, but that’s how CoffeeCON is different – it’s education and fun for the coffee lover.

IMG_1593     The show was started by Kevin Sinnott, renowned coffee expert, author, and creator of the Coffee Brewing Secrets DVD.  Kevin had attended many coffee shows, and saw that what was missing was greater awareness for the everyday consumer, both of quality and of conditions at coffee’s origin.  Kevin did something about it.  He started CoffeeCON, taking place just outside of Chicago.

Stay tuned over the days and weeks to come as I share some of the show’s highlights with you, so that you can start planning your own attendance next year.  Some highlights in a nutshell:

IMG_1600- Amazing presentations to raise awareness of key issues and educate the everyday consumer, including an intense 2.5 hour workshop lead by George Howell, founder of Terroir Coffee.  George covered everything from how to select coffee, to the job of a good roaster, to conditions in the growing countries.  The presentation was broken up at intervals for coffee tastings that brought George’s presentation to life, and made evident just how rich the world of coffee is.  Also stay tuned for my interview with George, obviously a knowledgeable coffee giant, but also a class act to speak with.

- Different brewing workshops, so that attendees could learn about brewing beyond the drip brewer.  Even for attendees like myself who already have a French Press, Aeropress, and Chemex, tips and tricks on using these brewing techniques.

IMG_1619- Specialized workshops such as Olfactory Development, how the sense of smell can be trained to help identify unique traits in coffee.  Coffee on the Road, a great presentation on how to make great coffee even when you’re traveling.  If you follow me on Twitter, then you know how many hotels I stay in, and how personally beneficial this workshop was.

- Exhibitors from across the coffee world, giving an appreciation for all steps in the chain.  These ranged from coffee farmers to coffee roasters to coffee gear manufacturers.  From bean to cup, some of everybody.

IMG_1599- A chance for me to meet greats from the world of coffee blogging.  In this picture, myself and Coffee Nate, a fellow coffee lover and blogger.

Stay tuned!  I have many pages of scribbled notes and countless minutes of audio recordings that I’ll transcribe in the days and weeks to come, to share with you.  I want to take this opportunity to thank Kevin, his wife Pat, and organizer Jennifer Stinnett for including me in this unique, exciting, and informative event.  I have memories and new friends from the weekend that I know will last a lifetime.

Learn more about Kevin Sinnott’s CoffeeCON.

Categorized In | Brewing Coffee,Buying Coffee,Coffee and You,Coffee News,Coffees of the World

May
3,2013

Check out our article in Roast Magazine

Author | Marc Wortman

roastmayjuneI was fortunate to be living in Portland, OR last year when it hosted the Specialty Coffee Association of America‘s annual summit.

Dave Cook, owner of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company and Habitual Chocolate, was travelling to Portland for the show, and planning to travel on to Hawaii from there to meet coffee and cacao farmers.  Despite some resistance that almost got in the way, I jumped at the chance to join him.  It was no choice at all.  Origin trips are an amazing way to gain an even deeper appreciation for coffee, by meeting the people that make it possible and learning about it at its source.

Around the same time, I had interviewed Connie Blumhardt, founder and publisher of Roast Magazine.  It was Dave that had first introduced me to the magazine.  Although it is written primarily for the professional roasters of the world, even as a coffee lover, I found it a fascinating read.

Read: Profile Roast Magazine

The two events just kind of came together…in the latest issue of Roast Magazine, you’ll find an article written by myself and David, talking about our origin trip to Hawaii, and what we discovered while we were there.  Specifically, an infestation that has hit Hawaii and its coveted coffee in the form of a tiny beetle that is decimating coffee crops.

Click on the image above or click here to see a preview of the article.  And if you come across this issue of Roast, pick it up and give it a read.  The article is full of lots of great shots that Dave took while we were there, and the information itself will be of interest to coffee roaster and coffee lover alike.

Categorized In | Buying Coffee,Coffee and You,Coffee News

May
2,2013

CoffeeCON: Planning My Day

Author | Marc Wortman

badge_officialblogger_250I’ve never been so excited for a coffee show!  Just three days away.

This May 4th, I will be attending the 2013 CoffeeCON in Chicago, IL, both as a coffee lover and as an official blogger.  I’m excited to share everything I learn with fellow coffee lovers.

My day’s schedule and workshops are shaping up as follows:

9:10 – 11:40 AM: For the Love of Coffee
George Howell, founder of the famous Coffee Connection in Cambridge, MA, and owner of Terroir Coffee, leads an intensive 2.5 hour coffee tasting workshop.  This is a huge hole in my coffee game, being able to pick up and describe flavor accents.

12:15 – 12:45 PM: Chemex Lab
I have two different size Chemex pitchers at home.  I have the official instructions on how to use them, but it’s no comparison to a professional display of do’s and don’t's.  I will come home a Chemex master (right now, I’m more of a Chemex journeyman).

christythorns1:00 – 1:50 PM: Coffee Sustainability
Christy Thorns, Director of Sourcing and Quality Control for Colorado based Allegro Coffee Company, a subsidiary of Whole Foods Markets, leads a discussion on coffee quality and sustainability.  Christy presents an overview of the variables and conditions that lead to great coffee, and the importance of supporting long-term economic and environmental sustainability in coffee growing.  I am very pumped for this presentation.

2:00 – 2:30 PM: French Press Lab
Just like the prior Chemex Lab, I get a professional presentation of the do’s and don’t's of my personal favorite brewing method, the press pot.

3:00 – 3:40 PM: Coffee on the Road
Oh heck yeah!  A presentation on how to enjoy great coffee when you’re on the road away from home.  I am away from home much of the time.  As I type this, I’m staring at a cup of hotel room no-brand decaf coffee.  I can’t wait to share with you, the lessons I learn on how to enjoy great coffee while traveling.

4:00 – 4:40 PM: Olfactory Development
As if the prior For the Love of Coffee segment won’t already be a quantum leap for my coffee tasting skills, this workshop will focus on using the sense of smell to identify and appreciate flavor characteristics in coffee.

I’m pumped!  A day of coffee education and being surrounded by coffee professionals from each step in the supply chain.  Just three days away!

Categorized In | Buying Coffee,Coffee News

April
15,2013

CoffeeCON 2013: Five pairs of tickets up from grabs

Author | Marc Wortman

badge_officialblogger_250I’m happy to be an Official Blogger, invited to this year’s CoffeeCON in Warrenville, Illinois on May 4th.  I couldn’t be more excited for the event, and my opportunity to connect with coffee farmers, roasters, tasters, gear manufacturers, etc., etc.

Read: Official Blogger for CoffeeCON 2013

And here’s what’s even more exciting!

The organizers of CoffeeCON have given me five pairs of tickets to get into this year’s show.  Do you live in the greater Chicago area?  Do you have plans to be in the greater Chicago area on the weekend of May 4th?

It’s as easy as this!

Send me an e-mail at marc@makegoodcoffee.com, confirming your e-mail address and confirming that you will be in the area on May 4th.  By the end of this week, I’ll draw five lucky names and notify you by e-mail that you’re going to CoffeeCON.

Exhibitors from across the coffee world.
Classrooms on tasting, sustainability, and different brewing methods.
Lots of coffee, and the best around.
Best of all, the chance to meet me in person! :)   I’m happy to make myself available to meet with you and talk coffee while we’re there.

Learn more about CoffeeCON.

Categorized In | Coffee and You,Coffee News

March
23,2013

Official Blogger for CoffeeCON 2013

Author | Marc Wortman

badge_officialblogger_250I am humbled to have been selected by the organizers of CoffeeCON 2013, as an official blogger covering the event and sharing the experience with coffee lovers everywhere.

CoffeeCON was founded by Kevin Sinnott, himself a coffee lover and blogger who reviewed coffee makers online starting in the 90s for his site The Coffee Companion. Kevin envisioned a different kind of coffee trade show from the ones that already existed, one where “the extraneous business context” was stripped away.  In short, an opportunity to take the online discussion that takes place throughout the coffee chain, and bring it to a face-to-face forum, including everybody from coffee farmers, roasters, bloggers, and of course, the coffee lovers themselves.

This year, the event takes place on May 4th in Warrenville, IL, just outside of Chicago.  As if I wasn’t already excited about the event, I happen to love the city of Chicago.  A large roaster named Intelligentsia has a number of locations in that city, so I will definitely be stopping in for an awesome coffee.

I look forward to arriving at this event, and sharing the experience with all of you.  I believe it’s a great opportunity to share knowledge with you, and maybe even open up the world of coffee for you.  You love coffee, so whether you’re just starting to dabble in how to make it better, or you’re a full-fledged connoisseur, the CoffeeCON will have something of interest for you, and I look forward to sharing it with you.

Learn more about CoffeeCON here.
See my name in lights on the blogger page here.

Categorized In | Coffee and You,Coffee News

April
30,2012

What is Decimating Kona Coffee Crops?

Author | Marc Wortman

   I recently had the opportunity to join Fire Roasted Coffee’s owner David Cook and manager Patrick Dunham on a coffee origin trip of Kona, Hawaii.  Both were in my city of Portland, Oregon for the industry’s largest trade show and were flying to Hawaii from Portland when the show ended.  How could I not jump on that opportunity?

Read: Touchdown in Kona Hawaii

Kona produces one of the world’s most vaunted coffees, costing roughly triple what other coffees cost.  Fire Roasted already sells Kona coffee, but had two goals on this trip: first, to make direct contact with farmers in the area, and two, to learn more of the borer beetle that is decimating Kona’s coffee crops.  The borer beetle was news to me, but as a coffee enthusiast (read: snob), I was blown away by what I learned.  The beetle snuck onto crops across Kona undetected, actually mistaken as a harmless twig beetle.  The result: half of Kona’s coffee crops have been destroyed with an impact of approximately $20 million on the local economy.

 

   Our first stop was at Greenwell Farms, a third-generation coffee farm and one of the oldest on the island.  If Kona coffee has a global reputation for quality, this is one family that has had an undeniable influence.

   David and Patrick wanted to know how they could make arrangements to source green unroasted coffee beans from Greenwell.  The answer was sobering: it would be March of 2013 before this farm, one of the largest in Hawaii, would have any green beans that they could supply.  After satisfying local obligations as well as contracts already in place with other companies, there was simply no other coffee to sell.  The borer beetle has hit all farms in the area, and the impact to one of this size is huge for the market.

 

   From there, we got up to speed on this major threat, courtesy of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the College of Tropical Agriculture.  The Coffee Berry Borer lives on surface of coffee cherry.  

When the cherry matures and hardens, the beetle drills its way into the cherry, destroying it from within, and destroying farmers’ crops.  The two organizations are collaborating to provide instruction on how to protect crops from this threat, and promote field sanitation.

   We moved on to Mountain Thunder, another Kona farmer that David and Patrick wanted to meet.  The answers there were no less inspiring.  Like all farmers, they too had been badly hit.  One of the family that runs this farm even broke open a coffee cherry for us, so we could see the tiny borer beetle that had destroyed it.  The beetle was almost literally as small as the head of a pin.

   What does it all mean, and why should you be interested?  If half of Kona’s capacity for coffee is not making it out of Kona, and since Kona is such a vaunted name in coffee, there are a number of repercussions.

   First, “Kona blends”.  Since everybody wants Kona but so many shop on price alone, if ever you see Kona advertised as anything other than “100% Kona”, don’t get too excited.  It’s vague and for all I can tell, means there’s at least one Kona bean mixed in with who knows what else.  This is how Jack in the Box can sell a Kona Blend coffee.  Don’t be fooled.  As the reduced supply of Kona coffee drives up prices to unreasonable levels, expect even more “Kona blend” coffees and expect them to get even worse as the actual Kona content decreases.

Second, if you want Kona in the next year, be prepared to pay for it.  It’s supply and demand, and supply has been rocked.

   Third, trust in your local roaster to be providing you with real Kona coffee.  I expect imitators will flood the market as they did for equally-priced Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.  The difference however is that to a large extent from lack of control, Jamaica allowed such imitation to happen.  The state of Hawaii takes its reputation for coffee seriously, so it will be difficult for imitators to pull the wool over our eyes, at least in the long run.

Categorized In | Buying Coffee,Coffee News,Coffees of the World

February
12,2012

Open Letter to Coffee Enthusiast Groups

Author | Marc Wortman

A few weeks ago, I attended my first meeting of a local group of coffee enthusiasts here in Portland, Oregon.  The group is loosely organized, and I had been a member for a few months before  I saw a formally organized event.  I walked away from my first event with this group, happy with the excellent coffee I enjoyed, and with some good coffee conversation.  There are some things I would need to see before taking part in such a meeting again.

Here are my suggestions to coffee enthusiast groups, including my advice if you run such a group or are thinking of starting one in your area.

1. Organization is everything
The organizer of the event didn’t show up.  This wasn’t just odd to me, it was insulting.  If you’re going to organize an event that people are excited to attend, show up for it.  Anybody who attends such an event probably already has some propensity to engaging conversation.  But don’t leave that to chance.  It doesn’t need to be run like a business meeting, but somebody should be there to push friendly conversation along.

2. Involve the roaster
The event was held at Ristretto Roasters in Portland.  I assumed that the roaster would informally act as some kind of host for this event.  I decided I would mention the roaster on Twitter and give them a chance to respond.  Or at the very least, to be aware that a formal coffee enthusiast event was taking place at one of their locations.  Nobody from Ristretto picked up on the tweet.  And nobody working there that day had an inkling that a coffee enthusiast group was meeting there.  By involving the roaster, our event would have had a excellent dimension of education to it.  We’re coffee enthusiasts, surely we have much to learn from a roaster.

Follow me on Twitter for regular coffee news, website updates, and fun discussion.

3. Involve an expert
This may sound like the last piece of advice repeated, but it can be separate.  Have an expert prepared to share something with those that attend.  It doesn’t need to be the owner of the roastery, it could be the organizer.  But, have somebody bring some expertise or a unique perspective to the conversation.  Arrange for a “speaker”.

So, I suppose it’s easy to complain, and another thing altogether to take action.  I haven’t decided if I will proceed with organizing such an event myself.  If I do, I will certainly follow my own advice, starting with showing up, involving the roaster, and having an expert share something with us.  As I continue to meet roasters in Portland, I’ll keep an open mind to a good such environment for local enthusiasts to meet.

Categorized In | Buying Coffee,Coffee News

January
29,2012

Portland ChocolateFest 2012

Author | Marc Wortman

I love Portland, Oregon and I wish I spent more time here.  Any major city can host a festival dedicated solely to craft chocolate, and chocolate education.  But in Oregon, there are so many craft chocolatiers and cacao roasters operating locally, they can fill a convention center.  Dave Cook, owner of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company, and my original coffee roaster of choice when I lived in Canada, was the first to bring to my attention the many similarities between coffee and chocolate.

ChocolateFest is an annual event hosted by the World Forestry Center, and this is its seventh year.  The mission of the WFC is simple: educate and inform people about the world’s forests and trees, and environmental sustainability.  On their campus in Portland’s Washington Park for the first ChocolateFest, they attracted over 1,000 people.  Last year, over 8,000 people.

 

Even before entering ChocolateFest, guests are provided with education on the cacao tree, fruit, and seed, and its transformation into the chocolate we know and love.Recognized at the Food Network Awards, Portland loves cuisine of any kind, and appreciation of chocolate is no exception. The people came out to sample from local chocolatiers, learn more about chocolate, and buy pounds of it.

 

Exhibitors used many ways to stand out in the crowd. An exhibitor wouldn’t get by selling chocolate bars alone. It takes a different angle, either a variety of origins, unique packaging, or in this case, something visual. One exhibitor was not providing samples, a huge mistake at this show!
 

A Lesson in Chocolate…

    • Types of Beans: Where the beans are grown, as well as how they are formented and roasted, directly affect their quality. Each high-quality variety of cacao beans has its own individual aroma, personality, complexity, subtlety, and character.
    • Blending: Some chocolatiers use beans from only one region creating a desirable, distinctive flavor. Others, however, skillfully blend beans which can result in a unique product for their company and an extraordinary taste. Most chocolate today is made from blended cacao beans.
  • Cocoa Content: The amount of cocoa in a piece of chocolate candy is one determination of its “quality”. The range is 10-75% with gourmet chocolate hovering around 60% and higher. Dark chocolate has a higher cocoa content and generally tastes more bitter. The remaining percent is sugar. The higher the cocoa rate, the less sweet it is. A typical American milk chocolate candy bar is about 11% cocoa.

 

The unsung heroes of ChocolateFest. Always smiling...it might be something in the chocolate!

Categorized In | Coffee News,Make a Good Cafe Mocha

January
16,2012

Portland ChocolateFest 2012 – it’s on!

Author | Marc Wortman

The first person to help me see chocolate in a new light was Dave Cook, owner of the Fire Roasted Coffee Company, and my original coffee roaster of choice when I lived in Canada.

Read Profile: Fire Roasted Coffee Company

Dave had expanded from roasting coffee into also roasting cocoa into chocolate through a new venture, Habitual Chocolate Roasters.  It was a very cool experience for me to learn more about the similarities between coffee and chocolate, the same ideal climate and conditions for growing the coffee cherry as the cocoa bean, and so naturally, the same people bringing this to the world.  With those similarities, also the opportunity for a roaster to differentiate between the commodity chocolate product that we all know and take for granted, and something more akin to gourmet chocolate.

It was Dave who brought to my attention that the Pacific Northwest’s largest chocolate show was in my city of Portland, OR this weekend: ChocolateFest.

The event is hosted by the World Forestry Center, and this will be its seventh year.  The mission of the WFC is simple: educate and inform people about the world’s forests and trees, and environmental sustainability.  On their campus in Portland’s Washington Park for the first ChocolateFest, they attracted over 1,000 people.  Last year, over 8,000 people.  This year, they bring it to their largest venue yet, the Oregon Convention Center.

I’m happy to be there and continue my education in the world of chocolate.  I’ll be looking for similarities with coffee to help me understand the chocolate process better.  And I’ll also eat a stupid amount of chocolate.  If I see the woman from the above picture walking around with that bar, I will probably take it from her.

Read: Cafe Mocha Recipes

Stay tuned!  If you live in the area, check out the show.  Here is some further information:

ChocolateFest 2012
Location: Oregon Convention Center, Exhibit Hall A
777 NE MLK, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97232

Dates: January 20 – 22, 2012

Categorized In | Coffee History,Coffee News,Make a Good Cafe Mocha

August
1,2011

Coffee Game Makes Great Statement

Author | Marc Wortman

This evening, a good friend sent me a link to Yahoo! Games’ Coffee Rush 2, suggesting I might enjoy it. It’s offered with a 60-minute free demo, just enough time to beat the easy early levels, and start to become really good at it before the trial expires. As a side note, it’s ironic that people accuse casinos of the unlikely act of “letting” you win when you first sit down at a slot machine, so you put in more money and lose it. This seems similar to me for the $7 that Yahoo! charges for software that’s already designed and installed on my computer.

In this game, the villain to the left with a striking resemblance to the Devil has come to your city and crushed all of the small coffee entrepreneurs, replacing them with his chain. What a great concept! First, that the designers would come up with, and second, that we all quietly get the joke. They did everything but name the Devil’s coffee company, Barstucks!

The goal of the game is for you as a quality-oriented small coffee entrepreneur to provide better and more personalized customer service so that you can replace the Devil’s chain locations in the city one by one. As a customer of local coffee roasters, the game resonates with me – no, I didn’t spend $7 on the full version, but I did go to the kitchen and make a cup of Portland Coffee Roasters coffee.

It did make me realize one important thing that the world of local roasters are missing because of their less-prominent locations and budgets: drive-throughs. The coffee market is still heavy on people that want to be served at the wheel, and those people will continue buying mediocre coffee than to find a parking spot and walk inside.

Categorized In | Coffee and You,Coffee News
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