Just Announced: The Los Angeles Coffee Festival In November

Allegra Events are coming to Los Angeles. Just announced today, the group behind coffee festivals in London, Amsterdam, New York, and Milan as well as the Coffee Masters competition is heading westward for the inaugural Los Angeles Coffee Festival taking place November 9th through 11th at The Reef.

For this first-of-its-kind event in LA, you can expect to find a lot of the favorites from past festivals: coffee companies from around the world, coffee art, and all manner of cocktails. But there will be a few new wrinkles for spectators’ enjoyment, most notably the Coffee Mixologists competition. Making its first appearance in the United States, Coffee Mixologists pits teams of two (one barista and one mixologist) in a battle royale to see who can create the best coffee cocktail using a set of unknown ingredients.

Also new for the Los Angeles Coffee Festival is The Kitchen, a casual dining experience harnessing the power of one of the country’s best culinary cities. Per the website, attendees can expect “fiery demos, workshops and talks headed up by culinary legends” from the “vibrant Los Angeles cooking scene.”

Tickets for the Los Angeles Coffee Festival are on sale now, with early bird pricing starting as low as $22.50 (through July 31st). For more information or to purchase your tickets, visit the Los Angeles Coffee Festival’s official website.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via the Los Angeles Coffee Festival.

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Help Small-Scale Colombian Farmers With A Microloan On Kiva

Direct Origin Trading is a farmers collective based in Colombia and Honduras “made up of many small-scale coffee farmers,” whose goal is to offer these small producers “direct access to roasters willing to pay fair prices for their microlots independently.” Many of the farmers that comprise the collective are based in conflict-torn areas of Colombia still recovering from civil war. Now a new microloan initiative created by Kiva is hoping to raise $50,000 to help raise the wages of these coffee producers.

Based in San Francisco, Kiva is a non-profit organization that hopes to help pull people in developing countries out of poverty via microloans. In essence, it works like Kickstarter. Backers contribute an amount of their choosing, but instead of getting some sort of reward, you will—assuming all goes well—get your investment back. No interest, just good will.

According to the microloan site, the $50,000 will help extend Direct Origin Trading’s “pre-financing program to more smallholder farming families, especially in isolated, marginalized areas affected by armed insurgency. This loan will allow Direct Origin to process and export more coffee more efficiently while paying a 50%+ premium to rural farmers.” With eight days left in the campaign, Kiva has raised 66% of their goal, leaving some $16,000 to go as of publication.

They are asking for loans as small as $25 all the way up to $500. Kiva is expecting the loan to last 14 months with repayments occurring as the funds are available to the farmers.

To learn more about Direct Origin Trading, visit their official website. For more information on the microloan and to consider donating, visit Kiva’s donation page.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top image via Kiva.

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Build-Outs Of Summer: Grindsmith Coffee Roasters In Manchester, England

The Build-Outs roll on and we are returning to Manchester, which has been pretty fertile ground for Build-Outs the past few years; last year we featured Roc & Rye—our first ever foray into the UK’s second most populated city—and then not but two weeks ago we highlighted Atkinsons Coffee Roasters. And here we are for round three with Grindsmith Coffee Roasters.

Featuring a hyper-clean lab space and a hyper-clean Loring Smart Roaster, Grindsmith is driven by three core values: community, customers, and craft. And from the looks of the shindig below, it looks like they’ve got it nailed down. So let’s head back to Manchester one more time for Grindsmith Coffee Roasters.

As told to Sprudge by Laura Wood.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Grindsmith was created with the aim of serving the best coffee experience in Manchester. We believe this can only be delivered through quality of product, commitment to customer service excellence, and by creating a community that is enjoyed by staff, stakeholder and suppliers alike. Therefore, the Grindsmith is underpinned by three core values—community, customer, and craft. These pillars are part of our brand promise and are fundamental as the specialty coffee supplier of choice.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

The Grindsmith Coffee Roastery is a state-of-the-art laboratory and the latest innovation within the Grindsmith portfolio. The expansive space, set across two floors, has been renovated and is supplying all three of its stores with home-roasted coffee.

It includes an industry-leading Loring Smart Roaster machine—an odourless, flavour-locking system with lower emissions—and a Tech Lab that will help the company push further boundaries within the industry when it comes to quality and taste.

What’s your approach to coffee?

We use expert knowledge, training, and feedback to source, roast, and perfect the best coffees for our stores. We have a commitment to serving high-quality single origin coffee and innovative brew methods.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

Loring Smart Roaster is the heart of our operation.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

May 2018

Thank you!

Grindsmith Coffee Roasters is located at 231-233 Deansgate, Manchester. Visit their official website and find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

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How Can Water Flow Rate Help You Pull Better Espresso Shots?

Have you ever struggled to keep your espresso extraction time consistent? Perhaps you’ve checked the machine to confirm the pressure and temperature are steady. You’re dosing correctly. And you’re careful to tamp well. But no matter how closely you follow these best practices, your extraction time keeps varying.

So, what’s the problem?

Well, it could be your flow consistency. One of espresso’s most overlooked variables, flow rate can affect consistency and even be used to better control extraction.

To learn more, I spoke to two Dalla Corte Coffee Pros: Danilo Lodi, a World Barista Championship judge from Brazil, and Simone Guidi, who is an Authorized SCA Trainer (AST) and coffee roaster in Italy.

You might also like How to Control Brew Ratio for Better Espresso

Pulling an espresso shot on the Dalla Corte Mina. Credit: Dalla Corte

What Is Flow Rate?

Let’s start by defining flow rate: it’s simply the amount of water flowing out of your group head over the amount of time in which the pump is activated.

In other words, it measures how quickly or slowly the water flows during espresso-making.

And if you don’t have a consistent water flow, not only will the extraction time vary but the espresso flavor profile will do too. As Simone Guidi says: “If I give more or less water to the coffee, it releases more, less, or in a different way, the aroma.”

Which means that even just one group with an inconsistent or randomly varying water flow can cause significant problems.

Shot of espresso. Credit: Jeremy Ricketts

When Flow Rate Is Inconsistent, Everything Goes Wrong

So, what happens if your flow rate is inconsistent? Danilo gives me this example: “You’ve set up your grinder in your coffee [shop] for a specific amount of time and weight, so you want your extraction, for example, to be 20 grams in/38 grams out in around 20 seconds. Let’s say that one of your groups has a lower flow than the other, or in your fifth extraction after you do that, you have a higher flow.”

Here’s what will happen:

With a lower rate: “You’re going to increase the amount of time that the coffee and the water will be in contact and you will decrease the pressure inside the portafilter, forget about the pump pressure, but the resistant pressure inside the portafilter chamber.”

With a higher rate: “You will decrease the [extraction]… plus the pressure on the portafilter chamber will change.”

In each case, the altered contact time and pressure affect the flavor and quality of the espresso. This negates all the hard work you put into dialling in and finding the best recipe, and also leads to inconsistent coffees – something your regulars will notice.

You might also like How Does Pressure Affect Espresso Quality?

Coffee Beans, espresso, and espresso based beverage. Credit: Nathan Dumlao

What Causes an Inconsistent Flow Rate?

There are many issues that can affect your flow consistency: pump malfunctions, worn-down parts that need replacing, or even old and outdated machines.

But it’s not just about your equipment. It’s also about how you’re using and maintaining it. Danilo tells me, “Especially on high-standard machines… it’s not a problem with the pump. Sometimes the users are not properly cleaning one group or are only using one group all the time.”

Remember, if you’re going to invest in high-quality equipment, you need to look after it.

The Dalla Corte XT Espresso Machine. Credit: Dalla Corte

Easy Ways to Calculate Your Flow Rate

Danilo recommends that everyone who has an espresso machine, either in a café or at home, calculates their flow rate. Do it at least twice for each group, without the portafilter.

“You put a precision scale at the bottom of the machine and a pitcher under the group head, and then you start the group pump and a timer at the same time, and you do it for 20 seconds…” he advises.

“After you’ve finished, let’s say you have 200g of water, so you know that you are extracting 10 grams/second. Because you went through 20 seconds and 200 grams.”

Espresso ready to be enjoyed. Credit: Jonas Jacobsson

Can a Varying Flow Rate Ever Lead to Better Espresso?

But keeping it consistent is only the start of using flow rate to produce better espresso. Yes, you want a controlled and repeatable rate – but that doesn’t mean it has to be the same throughout the extraction. And in fact, controlled variations in flow rate could allow you to pull even better, more delicious shots.

Simone uses the Dalla Corte Mina, a professional single group machine that allows you to alter the flow rate mid-extraction, following a profile you created beforehand. He says, “We found that, by changing the flow rate during a certain time or period during the extraction, we are able to make the coffee soluble in different ways. So [we can] extract in different ways the aromas from the coffee.”

He remembers going to World of Coffee 2017: Budapest and inviting roasters from all over the world to try their coffees, which he had brewed with different flow profiles. “It was funny,” he says, “because when I gave the cup to them they didn’t recognize it. They said, ‘This is not my coffee. It’s better!’”

 

Pulling an espresso shot from the Dalla Corte XT Espresso Machine. Credit: Dalla Corte

How to Manipulate Flow Rate for Better Espresso

So, what can you achieve by manipulating the flow rate? Simone says, “I can reduce the bitterness, I can reduce the acidity, I can reduce astringency, because sometimes that happens. I can reduce the dryness and I can improve the sweetness.”

Like all things coffee-related, there’s no simple recipe for flow rate. It always depends on the coffee in question. But Simone was willing to offer some guidelines for those beginning to play with this variable.

“We can’t give a general answer to this,” he stresses, “but I’ve seen from my personal experience that by being more gentle, which means a lower flow, at the beginning, you are more able to extract sweetness and the acidity is more complex. So, the cup becomes more balanced and more bright, [thanks to] being gentle during the pre-infusion.”

Using the Dalla Corte app to control the flow rate profile for an espresso shot. Credit: Dalla Corte

Flow rate: it’s espresso’s forgotten variable, but it can have a dramatic impact on quality and consistency. So, what are you waiting for? Go check the flow rate on your machine!

Enjoyed this? Check out How to Control Brew Ratio for Better Espresso

Written by Ivan Petrich.

Please note: This article has been sponsored by Dalla Corte.

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Tostadores: Cómo Comercializar Café & Definir un Plan de Negocios

Has estado soñando con abrir tu propia tostaduria artesanal y tener una vida llena de ese aroma delicioso de café, de cataciones de cafés especiales, decidir exactamente qué tipo de café quieres crear y ser pagado por ello.

Read this in English Roaster Life: How to Market YOUR Coffee and Define a Business Plan

Bienvenido a la parte final de nuestra serie sobre cómo hacerlo. Hemos respondido a preguntas básicas, hemos dado sugerencias sobre la elección de una tostadora, y ahora estamos listos para pensar en los más finos detalles de convertirse en un tostador de café de especialidad. 

1. ¿Blend, Origen Único o Algo en Medio?

Si Hamlet hubiera sido un tostador de café, habría dicho algo así:

Mezclar o no mezclar, esa es la cuestión:

¿Qué acción es más noble para el alma entre aspirar al origen único, evitar las combinaciones genéricas y atraer el atractivo de una fortuna injusta, u oponerse a un mar de adversidades y dar fin a la atrevida resistencia, pues al hacerlo abrimos mentes a un buen café?

Sin embargo, también hay un aspecto práctico que debemos considerar (y seamos honestos, las cosas no resultaron demasiado bien para Hamlet al final).

Si te encuentras en una zona urbana importante, con un movimiento de la tercera ola en desarrollado, entonces puedes salirte con la tuya y ser un tostador de origen único exclusivamente. Todos los independientes que aparecen en las grandes ciudades regularmente buscarán tostar siempre algo único para poder diferenciarse. El modelo de origen único también debería funcionar de maravilla para las ventas en línea, los mercados y las ferias de alimentos.

¿Origen único o blend? Ambos pueden tener diferentes características particulares.

Sin embargo, para muchos tostadores, la demanda del mercado probablemente no les deje más opción que ofrecer un par de blends. Hay muchas tiendas de café independientes que demandan un blend bueno, confiable y consistente que sea adecuado para la leche, y necesitas poder adaptarte a esto. Nos damos cuenta entonces, de que alrededor del 90% de nuestro negocio son mezclas.

También te puede interesar Cómo Convertirse en un Tostador Artesanal: Aspectos Básicos

Combinar cafés es un área enorme en sí misma, Así que prepárate para invertir mucho tiempo en el desarrollo de tus blends; estamos hablando de cataciones de muestras de otras mezclas que hayas ordenado; armar diferentes combinaciones de cafés; probar diferentes grados de tueste; y recibir comentarios de amigos, familiares y clientes potenciales.

¿Por qué no organizar una catación para amigos, familiares y amantes del café? Puedes obtener comentarios valiosos sobre tu tueste.

Ofrecer un blend también tiene algunos inconvenientes. Necesitas asegurarte de que el sabor del mismo sea siempre constante. Esto. Significa que debes estar al tanto de las listas de ofertas de café y utilizar la investigación que hiciste en la parte 1 (lo hiciste, ¿No?) acerca del tiempo de las cosechas de café. También necesitarás hacer un compromiso económico para poder apartar tu café, tal vez con una anticipación de 12 meses. Esto no es para los débiles de corazón.

Ahora, hay un punto medio entre los tuestes de origen único y blends: los blends de temporada. Puedes rotar tres o cuatro blends diferentes en el transcurso de un año. Los blends de temporada se han vuelto cada vez más populares entre las tiendas, ya que hacen que tus ofertas se vean frescas, y tus clientes apreciarán esto. Además, puedes mantener tu contrato bajo control y así también satisfacer tus necesidades, tales como explorar diferentes cafés, que es tu labor.

2. ¿Cuál es Tu Estrategia de Mercadeo?

El apetito por el café de buena calidad continúa creciendo a nivel mundial. Esta es una gran noticia para los tostadores, pero también viene con una mayor competencia. Entonces, ¿Cómo te vas a diferenciar? ¿De dónde vendrán tus clientes? ¿Y cómo los persuadirás para que compren tu café?

En otras palabras, ¿A quién se dirige y cuál es tu USP o Propuesta Única de Venta?

Necesitas tener esto claro y transmitir un mensaje de manera uniforme a todos los medios, desde el principio. Por ejemplo: Bean Smitten se dedica a hacer que el café especial sea más accesible, tanto en casa como en cafés independientes. Ese es nuestro mensaje. Y lo que sea que elijas, se único, se firme y se apasionado. Haz las cosas bien y las personas se identificarán contigo y tu marca, obteniendo así  esos seguidores leales que necesitas.

¿Cuál es tu marca? ¡Define tu mensaje y mantenlo!

Permíteme enfatizar de nuevo una parte de lo anterior: sé consistente. Una vez des tu discurso, mantente fiel a este. Si afirmas hacer el mejor blend para espresso, será mejor que te asegures que realmente sea el mejor. Si usas café proveniente al 100% de una sola finca, entonces debes seleccionar tus cafés con mucho cuidado. De lo contrario, perderás esa autenticidad tan importante que buscan las personas.

3. ¿Te asociarás con un proveedor de máquinas de café espresso?

Una de las cosas que aprenderás desde el principio es la dificultad de venderle a una empresa que ya tiene un suministro de café establecido. Es muy probable que hayan comprado un paquete que incluía la máquina, el molino, el servicio y un contrato para el suministro de café.

Ahora, personalmente, no creo en que el cliente deba firmar un contrato para comprar tu café. En mi opinión, un tostador de café artesanal debe centrarse en el café y el cliente debe elegir quedarse con ese tostador porque el café es bueno y el servicio es insuperable. Sin embargo, trabajé en finanzas durante muchos años y sé que la realidad comercial puede ser bastante diferente, especialmente porque a las personas les gustan los “tratos”.

Pronto te darás cuenta de que debes enfocarte en los posibles dueños de cafés y tiendas cuando estén formulando sus planes. Si te asocias con un proveedor de máquinas, puedes ofrecerles el paquete completo que comprenda una máquina de café, servicio y el café como tal. Y si crees que van a vender mucho café, tal vez puedas darles un descuento sobre esa máquina.

¿Qué más quieres ofrecer? ¿O solo quieres concentrarte en tueste?

Sin embargo, no es suficiente ofrecer sólo un paquete. Tiene que ser un paquete que pueda competir. Recuerda que las máquinas de café representan una gran inversión para el propietario de una tienda de café, por lo que explorarán todas las marcas y todas las opciones. Asegúrate de poder ofrecer alternativas como el arrendamiento con opción de compra o  el alquiler.

Sin embargo, puede que pases mucho tiempo persiguiendo un trato que no va concluirse. Prepárate para eso y hazte la pregunta inevitable: ¿Habría sido mejor dedicar ese tiempo a la venta de café? Tendrás que sopesar esto por ti mismo.

4. ¿Cuál es Tu el Plan de Contingencia?

Al principio, tendrás que hacer todos los papeles: el de vendedor, controlador de producción, administrador, contador y diseñador web. Asegúrate de ser capaz y estar dispuesto a hacerlo. Pase lo que pase, habrá noches en vela y madrugadas.

Además, asegúrate de tener un plan -y- un plan de contingencia. Programa todas tus actividades. Gestiona bien tu tiempo para realizar todas las actividades del día (recuerda que puede haber 24 horas en un día pero no puedes trabajar durante la totalidad de ellas).

Y recuerda, tu tiempo es valioso. Debes trabajar en desarrollar tu negocio tanto como sea posible y de la manera más efectiva posible. Esto significa que debes saber cuánto tiempo vas a invertir en cada tarea.

Mi consejo para las primeras etapas es subcontratar al menos uno o dos aspectos. La clave para esto es elegir aquellas áreas en las que alguien más es claramente mejor que tú. Para mí, lo fueron el diseño y los asuntos tributarios. Luego, a medida que se desarrolla el negocio, puedes delegar más.

Anota tu horario y asegúrate de estar respaldado en caso de que necesites que alguien más se haga cargo de él durante unos días. Crédito: kaboompics. com

Pon sobre la mesa algunos planes de contingencia, en caso de que te enfermes. Crea un archivo de emergencia que contenga toda la información importante y comienza a documentar tus tareas diarias en forma de notas de procedimiento o diagramas de flujo. Consigue a alguien más que esté entrenado para manipular la tostadora tan pronto como sea posible, y mantén una pequeña reserva de café por si la máquina deja de funcionar por unos días.

Finalmente, si vas a hacer esto solo, considera dar pequeños pasos en lugar de dar un salto grande. Evalúa si puedes comenzar tu tostaduria mientras continúas con tu antiguo trabajo; será agotador, pero te ofrecerá seguridad financiera y tranquilidad.

Sin embargo, si hemos hecho que esto parezca imposible, no te rindas. Con el apoyo adecuado de familiares, amigos y colegas, realmente podrás hacerlo.

Convertirse en un tostador de café es un sueño compartido por muchos de nosotros. La diferencia entre soñar y hacerlo es un poco de autoconfianza, mucha dedicación y una mucha preparación. Si bien nuestra serie de tres partes no cubrirá todo lo que necesitas saber, te ayudará a tomar decisiones importantes. Estarás informado, bien preparado y listo para enfrentar la mayoría de tus desafíos.

Así que, ¿Qué esperas?

¡Buena Suerte!

Escrito por D. Tickner de Bean Smitten  y editado por T. Newton.

Traducido por Alejandra M. Hernández. Traducción editada por María José Parra.

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Build-Outs Of Summer: Amethyst Coffee In Denver, CO

If you ask your favorite coffee professional to list the best cafes in America, there is a good chance that Amethyst Coffee in Denver would be one of the first spots you’ll hear about. Beyond good coffee, which of course they have—anchored by another local favorite Commonwealth Coffee—Amethyst and owner Elle Jensen have become well-known advocates for coffee professionals, particularly women, gender non-conforming, gender queer, and transgender individuals through their work with Cherry Roast. In short, they are your favorite barista’s favorite barista-driven coffee shop.

Now it is shops, plural, with a forthcoming location in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood. But if you’re expecting a carbon copy of the original cafe, think again. Whereas Amethyst is known for their “any coffee, any way you want it” service model at the original location, the new shop is option for a more streamlined approach, eschewing pour-overs all together in favor of batch brews. It’s a significant shift in concept, one that shows Jensen and Amethyst aren’t satisfied with resting on their laurels and are always examining the idea of service in the cafe context. We are still a few weeks out from the official opening, but in the mean time, let’s find out a little more about what we can expect at the brand new Amethyst coffee in Denver, Colorado.

As told to Sprudge by Elle Jensen.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

We are a woman-owned and operated cafe in Denver, CO focused on the treatment of our staff and making specialty coffee accessible to all.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

It’s in a building that was built in the ’20s, right next to a beautiful art deco theater. The space was used as a piano showroom until the ’60s/’70s and has been vacant since. We are excited to lend our hand to making this space a community space again!

What’s your approach to coffee?

We believe that good coffee should be approachable and that it’s our job as baristas to make people a drink they will enjoy, rather than the drink we think they should enjoy. Conversation is paramount when serving coffee, and we do our best to facilitate that conversation. We use Commonwealth Coffee as our house roaster and rotate our out-of-state guest roaster every quarter. We try to keep guest roasters on a little longer so that we can build a real relationship with them and their coffees. We spend a lot of time thinking about the difference between what is good coffee, what coffee do we prefer, and how to build a balanced coffee offering list.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We’ll be using a Synesso MVP, which we are SO excited about, a Curtis batch brewer, and a Taylor Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine. We’ll also have a stellar four-bay sink. We will not be doing pour-overs at our new location, but we will offer two batch brews and larger format batch brew service.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

July 14th…

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

Yes! We are working with Art Builders Guild, Slate Construction, Paper Airplane (architects), Breezy Sanchez from Go!Go!Good!, Push Designs, and the tiny Scandinavian company Ikea.

Thank you!

No, thank YOU!

Amethyst Coffee Co. is located at 4999 W. 44th Ave, Denver. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

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Build-Outs Of Summer: Beachcomber Coffee In Gibsons, BC

It’s summertime and the living is easy for those on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. That’s the home of the brand new location for Beachcomber Coffee, a coffee company who does all their roasting on the mainland in Vancouver before shipping it over via ferry to the chiller side of things.

Beachcomber touts themselves as much of a lifestyle brand as a coffee company, and it is easy to see why. Being out on Gibsons—so close to the big city but still so very far away—is by its very nature a lifestyle. Any company that can successfully embody that vibe has the lifestyle part down; all it needs is the brand. And does Beachcomber ever have that. Let’s mosey on in, shall we, and check out the brand new Beachcomber Coffee in Gibsons, British Columbia.

As told to Sprudge by Martin DesRosiers.

For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Founded in 2015, Beachcomber Coffee is an award-winning craft coffee company based on the Sunshine Coast, BC! Roasted in Vancouver but based in Gibsons, Beachcomber Coffee represents the Sunshine Coast lifestyle and produces a proprietary blend of Certified Organic, Certified Fairtrade, Certified Kosher, and Certified Halal coffee. Beachcomber is unique in that it doesn’t offer different blends and roasts but instead focuses on its unique blend appealing to the daily Canadian coffee drinker.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

Having lived/worked in Gastown (Vancouver, BC), we wanted to take a slice of it and drop it into Gibsons Landing. Our space is located a stone’s throw from the ocean, situated at the epicenter of historic seaside village called Gibsons Landing. The location has been a coffee shop since 1979 and we purchased it late last year to convert it into our home base. Our model is coffee-first with complementary food options including exclusive baked goods from a local baker (two doors down) as well as grilled wraps and sandwiches. We sell our beans as well as merchandise as we consider ourselves a lifestyle brand.

What’s your approach to coffee?

Our approach from day one has been to create a coffee company rooted within the area we grew up tailored to the average Canadian coffee drinker. Our coffees have always been “medium” on the roast spectrum with notes of chocolate, caramel, and nuts. We set out to create a lifestyle brand leveraging the power of marketing and social media and spent months analyzing the Canadian coffee market. We’ve won numerous awards for our coffees and late last year we pivoted and completely redesigned our packaging and our signature blend. We are now Certified Organic, Certified Fairtrade, Certified Kosher, and Certified Halal. Our brand represents the Sunshine Coast lifestyle, a community nestled so close (40-minute ferry ride), yet so far away from downtown Vancouver, BC. The juxtaposition between concrete jungle and small town seaside community is what we’re all about and our approach to coffee has always been more than just a bag of beans, it’s about making people feel good and tap into that feeling of West Coast living. Our slogan is it’s not just a coffee, it’s a lifestyle…

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

We’re using a FETCO Batch Brewer, custom Victoria Arduino White Eagle, as well as Victoria Arduino espresso grinders. We are the first coffee shop in British Columbia Canada to be working with the purpose-built chocolate waffle cone called “coffee in a cone.” We are also about to launch a cold brew in a bottle (355ml beer bottle) within the next couple of weeks. We’ve decided to focus on efficiency and encourage a take a go model (as we are in a desirable tourist area) and is why you won’t find pour-overs and other methods.

What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?

Grand Opening June 16th, 2018 (currently in soft-open phase)

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?

Definitely would like to shoutout a few people: John Lieffers from Blenheim Construction who was our contractor on the project, Ethan Luc Goosen who was our architect/designer on the project, and Ben Tour (local artist) for the murals within the space.

Thank you!

No, THANK YOU :D

Beachcomber Coffee Company Inc. is located at 264 Gower Point Road, Gibsons, BC. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Build-Outs Of Summer is an annual series on Sprudge. Live the thrill of the build all summer long in our Build-Outs feature hub.

Photos by Dolf Vermeulen.

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Supernova Hub In Curitiba, Brazil Is Coffee For Everyone

Curitiba, the capital of Paraná state, is well known in Brazil for its intense coffee culture. The newest addition to the already effervescent coffee scene is the Supernova Hub: a collective roastery—where coffee lovers/cafe owners can rent out the equipment to roast their own green coffee, a cafe, a business incubator for coffee-related startups, and a soon-to-be certified Specialty Coffee Association campus. 

Luiz Eduardo Melo, Supernova founder, is a lawyer by training and an entrepreneur by trade. In 2014 he started learning about roasting and opened the first Supernova location in 2015, together with his partner Bruno Regalo. Since then, Melo has opened two other cafes, led the production of a coffee documentary film (“Coffee Isn’t Just Coffee”—watch the trailer here), finished his SCA instructor certification in the US, and now opened the Supernova Hub.

Luiz Eduardo Melo

Melo’s three prior Supernova cafes are focused on the “coffee to go” concept—to the extreme. “I needed to stand apart from the other already established roasteries from Curitiba and offer something new to our customers,” explains Melo. They eschew WiFi and table service, and only serve in to-go cups, focusing solely on coffee quality and customer experience, which Melo today recognizes was really risky. Thankfully, it has worked out so far.

The Supernova Hub came about for many reasons, Melo tells me. The roastery space in the flagship store was overcrowded with green coffee storage. The stock space for cafe supplies and green coffee was divided among the stores, which made it logistically challenging to distribute supplies. Melo began to conceive of a space where he could centralize the roastery operations and the stock together, and at the same time, he got a nudge from the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association to become an authorized SCA trainer. And he found an amazing, spacious location in downtown Curitiba, then somewhat of a desert for specialty coffee. That was it: the Supernova Coffee Hub would host his SCA training lab, roastery, green and roasted coffee storage center, and also a cafe.

The Hub cafe initially opened in October 2017, and Melo and his team of baristas quickly learned that customers in this part of Curitiba were different than those they’d served elsewhere. Low-income downtown workers were not used to specialty coffee, the beverages offered, let alone the pricing. They took the opportunity to rethink the Hub’s cafe operation when they had to briefly close to build out the roastery and the training lab upstairs.

Much of the Hub format today came from this rethinking period, says Melo. One of the important decisions—that was suggested by baristas Amandha Locathelli and Daniel Munari—was to leave it up to the customer to decide how much the beverage they order is worth. Inspired by other initiatives such as Curto Café, this allowed them to make specialty coffee more affordable for their clientele. Focused on making the space an accessible space for people of all backgrounds and income levels to experience specialty coffee, The Hub will also host free cuppings and events, as well as allocate one vacancy in every coffee course for low-income coffee professionals. 

The structure of their collaborative roasting space, too, came from this period of renovation and reflection. The Supernova Hub offers members usage plans that include roasting training as well as roastery hours, so that students can practice what they learn during classes.

To tie this all together, Melo realized he needed a tool that could facilitate the access to specialty green coffee by the roasters who would rent out the roastery equipment. His newest startup initiative is a web platform for the specialty coffee trade: Baerter. The idea is to provide a link between roasters and specialty coffee producers, where they can buy green coffee online with guaranteed delivery, and also post reviews of the coffee quality and so forth. All parties are held accountable—both producers and buyers have the opportunity to review the transaction and thus a reputation is slowly built within the platform. All samples are submitted by producers to the Supernova Hub, where they evaluate green quality and grade the coffee, attesting to its quality, before it can be posted online for sale.

“I remember all the difficulties I had to go through when trying to open my coffee business,” recalls Melo, “and I am thus trying to solve all of them for the newcomers to the industry: access to roasting and barista courses, access to roastery equipment, access to high quality green coffee from all over the country—without necessarily having to travel all the way to the farm in order to buy directly from the farmer.”

And how will he measure Supernova’s success? Melo will know—when specialty coffee in Brazil gets even more competitive.

Supernova Hub is located at Rua Barão do Rio Branco, 222, Centro. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Juliana Ganan is a Brazilian coffee professional and journalist. Read more Juliana Ganan on Sprudge.

Photos by Bruno Regert.

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In São Paulo, Coffee Finds A Home In The Dining Scene At Futuro Refeitório

In Brazil, the largest coffee-producing country in the world, it is not always easy to find a good cup of coffee at the end of a meal. Restaurants do not always take into account the quality of the coffee they serve—forgetting that the cup of coffee is the last taste that the customer will take from that experience.

But fortunately, this scenario is beginning to change: more and more restaurants are looking to partner with good roasters to serve fresher, better beans. And there are also those who prefer to buy and roast their own, controlling the whole process. And there are those doing all of those things in a converted parking garage.

When it opened its doors last January, Futuro Refeitório (Future Cafeteria, in a literal English translation), an all-day restaurant located in the Pinheiros neighborhood in São Paulo, already had an Atilla 5 Gold Plus roaster in the middle of the room, along with all the kitchen equipment. Usually relegated to the backstage, here the roaster is the center of the show, for the public to see—and smell, and look, and be part of the preparation. When talking about coffee, this is an important move, as it brings customers closer to its entire culture.

That’s what Natalia Braga, head barista at Futuro, wanted from the beginning, when she was invited to join the team. Besides the two owners, the sisters Gabriela and Karina Barretto, the restaurant also has a head baker, Hanny Guimarães, who is responsible for all batches of bread. “I’ve always wanted to bring people closer to the coffee world,” says Braga, who first started working in coffee at Starbucks. She went on to work for many coffee shops in São Paulo until she moved to Minas Gerais in order to learn more about coffee and its agricultural processes. “Since we started, I always wanted to add value and shorten the path from product to consumer,” says Braga.

Natalia Braga

The invitation to join the team came from Karina Baretto, an HR manager who is passionate about coffee. Her family was always involved in coffee production and she wanted to bring that relationship to Futuro. “I always knew that I didn’t want to only buy coffee from a good roaster. I wanted our relationship with coffee to go deeper. So, like a miracle, Natalia showed up, and we decided to get into the whole process,” she explains.

Months before Futuro opened, its team literally hit the road to visit farmers who could become their coffee suppliers. First, they visited the region of Chapada Diamantina, in the interior of Bahia State, and met producers such as Michael Alcântara, from Divino Espírito Santo Estate and Renato Rodrigues, from Chácara Vista Alegre. “We thought that Bahia could be a good region to emphasize at Futuro, since it has great coffee and is not much known in São Paulo,” Braga says. Following this line, from Minas Gerais, one of the largest states with coffee production in Brazil, they also serve beans harvested in lesser-known regions, such as Serra da Careta, which has been notable for the production of excellent coffee.

Photo by Gui Galembeck.

From those regions comes the coffee full of personality that they serve in the restaurant, in varieties like Obatã, Pacamara, Piatã, among others. “We came back with 65 samples and the arduous job of analyzing all of them,” she points out. They made a point to explain to the producers that the batches couldn’t be mixed, which is very common in regions where there isn’t a specific request to do otherwise. “In the roasting trials, it was difficult to define the roast profiles of many beans because of this.”

Today, with the restaurant already in operation, it has become easier for them to get the results they seek. “It is a relationship that is built slowly, so it needs patience and a lot of talks, exchanges. But it is something we are willing to do and it has paid off,” she says.

At Futuro, the team of five baristas (including Braga) prepares only two coffee methods, which are served all day long, from morning till night: espresso and V60. “We are not a coffee shop, but we do have a full coffee operation inside the restaurant, so we had to simplify to do a good job. With the crowds we get, it would be difficult to serve many other methods with quality,” Karina says.

In addition to a brewing station (in front of which many clients prefer to drink their cups), they have a La Marzocco Linea to prepare espresso beverages. “Today we have a balance between espresso and brewed coffee sales. Since we receive lots of people for lunch or dinner, Brazilians in general still have a close relationship with espresso to finish their meal. It is something cultural. But we serve many brewed coffees as well,” Braga explains.

At Futuro, brewed coffee is served in a glass—“it is a way to democratize the service, to allow the customer to see more of the coffee, its color, etc.,” as Karina says—while espressos are served in cups. The menu also includes some cocktails and drinks made with in-house roasted coffees, such as cold brew and the Gin Brew—a mixture of gin, tonic, and a punch of cold brew—and Bourbon Milk, made with bourbon, coffee, and almond milk. There is also an affogato in the desserts section, with the perfect amount of espresso spilled over artisanal vanilla ice cream.

Still on the menu, detailed information and many descriptions are avoided. “We have a lot of people who come to eat and are not too worried about the sensorial characteristics of each of the beans,” Braga says. “At first, we wanted to go into more details, but we understood that the most interested customers would ask for them, so we opted for basic information such as region, producer name, variety, and two descriptive words.” “Light and fruity” are used to describe Alcantara’s beans, while “soft and elegant” are used to refer to Rodrigues’.  

For the house blend, Braga preferred to go for a more, let’s say, conceptual description to explain the blend that she roasts at least twice a week—to ensure the freshness of the beans. “We say it is a mixture of Pedro Almodóvar and Talking Heads,” she laughs.

“Maybe it’s a good way to make people think about what I mean when they taste the coffee, right?”

Futuro Refeitório is located at R. Cônego Eugênio Leite, 808 - Pinheiros, São Paulo. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Rafael Tonon is a freelance journalist based in Brazil. Read more Rafael Tonon on Sprudge.

Photos by Fran Parente unless otherwise noted.

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