Cuvee Coffee

It was Christmas Eve and Clancy and I were invited to do a very short segment about some holiday coffee drinks. All in all, we had a great time, but we encountered a few "obsticles" along the way.

I carried in the La Marzocco GS3. While Clancy was carrying in the Mahlkonig K30 grinder, the hopper came off and the coffee (that was in the hopper) spilled out onto the ground. Not a big deal except that was all the coffee I had.

Once we got inside, there was a table set up. Unfortunately, the table was going to be in some of the shots, so we moved it into a back room to get everything hooked up. The espresso machine needed to be plugged in as did the grinder. Once we got settled, Clancy ran to pick up Lorenzo Perkins so that they could get some coffee from Caffe Medici. This turned out to be a huge blessing. The thought was that we would set everything up, then move the table from the back room to the studio before our live broadcast. What we did not realize is that by the time we set the table down, it was nearly time to go live and we did not have any power to the equipment. Lorenzo jumped to action and grabbed an extension cord. Rashelle crawled on her hands and knees over to the table, being careful to stay out of the view of the camera. She handed Clancy the cord so he could plug in the espresso machine. Then he told her that he needed another for the grinder. She ran and got another cord that Connor ran over to Clancy and he got the grinder plugged in right before he needed to start pouring espresso. It was total chaos and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do, since 2 of our 3 drinks were espresso drinks.

All in all, it was a great experience. It was fun to watch the crew interact when they were not on the air. They were all very interested in what we did and made us feel very welcome. Kate Wiedaw, Shawn Rutherford, Debra Wynn (hope you got your espresso machine for Christmas), Kipp McCubbin, Chric Wilderson and John Thomas were all awesome and help keep me from loosing my mind while I fumbled our way through. Here is the youtube video.

We all hear the buzz words…green, sustainable, organic, etc, over and over. These terms were created to describe a new idea. A new way of doing something, different, better. A word with a mission and a meaning. It seems to me that these words have been used so much and have now turned into a marketing tactic and lost their original intention.

In the world of coffee roasting, I am observing the same thing. Words like “direct” and “relationship” were created to describe the purchasing of some pioneering, specialty coffee roasters (Counter Culture Coffee, Intelligentsia Coffee, and Stumptown Coffee). These companies supported a new way of sourcing coffee. One with a mission and a meaning. Now it seems that these words start to ring hollow as many coffee roasters are using them as nothing more than a marketing tactic. My observation is that some roasters are using the term with no understanding what it means; while others are shamelessly trying to mislead the consumer into thinking they are something they are not. Justifying (in sketchy ways) words like “direct” or “relationship” to describe sourcing coffee is now minimizing the terms original intent. One example is the SCAA Roasters Guild Origin Trip. This trip (and I have been on a few as part of the Roasters Guild Executive Council) is by all means an incredible way to experience coffee origins in an organized and controlled environment. The trip is full of learning and interacting with farmers and other roasters. This by itself is wonderful, but here is how it gets warped. Joe Roaster goes on an RG origin trip and visits a farm. He learns about the farm, the processing, and the farmer and snaps some photos. Maybe even one with him and the farmer together. Now he goes home and asks Jane Importer if he can buy a couple bags of coffee from that farm. Voila, the marketing machine is in place and that coffee is now a “direct trade, farm direct or direct relationship.” Total (insert expletive)! That is not at all what those words were created to describe. It is sad to see a new breed of dishonest coffee roasters popping up all over the place. And it is quite disrespectful to the people that blazed a trail for the next generation of specialty coffee roasters.

In all fairness, there are a handful of specialty coffee roasters that are following the lead of the 3 pioneers, and I am not referring to them. The rest know who they are. Here at Cuvee Coffee Roasting Company, these terms and words mean something. It takes a substantial investment of time and money to build a business based on working directly with farmers. It also takes an infrastructure to allow someone to be out of the office a total of several months over the course of the year. I know from my own experience that until I had a few people working for me, I would have never been able to spend 4 out of 6 weeks in Peru and Brazil, like I did this past summer.

One of our stronger, and constantly developing relationships, is with Jose Antonio Salaverria in El Salvador. We have been buying his coffee for the past 3 years, and he was kind enough to visit us 2 weeks ago, here at our Austin, Texas coffee roasting and training facility. We are currently working on a couple of processing and lot sorting projects with him. As I write this, I am preparing to book my flight to El Salvador. I will be spending several days with Jose Antonio between Thanksgiving and Christmas in order to plan for the upcoming harvest.

Cameron, from Caffe Medici, was kind enough to put together a short video montage of Jose Antonio’s recent trip. Once again, just more proof that when we say direct and/or relationship, we mean it!

A good friend stopped in yesterday. His name is Justin Sinclair and he is a kick-ass sound guy and tour manager. He came to see us at our old place in Houston one day and we developed a friendship over the last couple years. He comes in telling us stories about his tours, and the bands are the who’s who of rock…Red, Seether, Three Doors Down, Thriving Ivory, Trapt, and Creed. The band he is working with now is Like a Storm. The guys are from New Zeeland and two band members are brothers who used to own a coffee shop in NZ. Anyway, Justin used to catch grief from the bands because he carries a “coffee kit” complete with press pot, Baratza grinder, scale and of course some specialty coffee from Cuvee Coffee. Even though the guys make fun of Justin, they always drink his coffee so I guess he gets the last laugh. I bet the band is drinking a press pot as I write this. Justin always visits the great coffee shops while he is on tour and relays his experience to us. The band stayed the night in Austin and the guys from Like a Storm were kind enough to autograph some CD’s for me and Clancy. The 10:00am trek to the Cuvee roasting plant was a bit early for them so we did not get to meet in person. Apparently the boys prefer the crack of noon, but I guess that is the life of a rock star! Clancy and I are heading to the Scout Bar in San Antonio to see Like a Storm rock on Sunday night. Maybe I will have Clancy autograph a copy of Barista Magazine for the band…

Last Thursday night (Oct. 15) I had the distinct pleasure of teaming up with David Alan from Tipsy Texan at this years Dolce Vita event. This year was the Austin Museum of Art's 20th year hosting the event and it was very well attended, with something like 2000 people in attendance. We were in the VIP scotch tasting lounge, and David was pouring some nice scotch cocktails (read about here Tipsy Texan) and I was pouring a coffee cocktail that he created called the Brown Witch. The drink was great and it was really exciting to see a beverage that merged the best of the coffee, and the cocktail crafts.

From David's blog here is the recipe for the Brown Witch.

The Brown Witch
1/2 oz Brown Butter
4 oz Whole Milk
1 oz Espresso
1/2 oz Strega
Barspoon (scant) St. George absinthe
Pour spirits into a demitasse. Steam the brown butter and milk, pour artfully into demitasse. Serve.

The drink was delicious, and I really enjoyed serving it to all of the people at the event, and having some good times with David.

Coffee from Cerrado Mineiro was the first one in Brazil to receive the certification of Geographic Indication of its micro-region (2005). The seal marks in particular the terroir of coffee produced at that location, under typical geographic and climatic conditions, creating an identity for a specific product. The Council of Associations of Coffee Farmers from Cerrado (Caccer) covers 55 municipalities, and became a reference for the remaining regions that produce quality coffee in Brazil.
Today, the producing region of Serra da Mantiqueira, also in the state of Minas Gerais, is seeking its geographical recognition from the body in charge, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), through the Association of Coffee Producers of Mantiqueira (Aprocam). 23 municipalities will be certified.
The demarcation, in addition to ensuring the product origin, marks its own identity, so the characteristics and qualities can be essentially linked to that origin. For the producer, benefits are manifold. In addition to increasing the product's added value and preserve its distinguishing characteristics, it facilitates access to new marketplaces. And both the buyer and roaster and the consumer gain a connection of trust with the certified product.

HOW IT WORKS

There are two types of Geographical Indication. The Indication of Provenience – which Caccer already has – demarcates the Cerrado Mineiro Region as producer of Cerrado coffee, under certain natural and production characteristics. Denomination of Origin, in turn, certifies the recurring characteristics and the standard of quality of the final product obtained there. This second step is the next one to be conquered by the producers of the region, something that will bring even more value to the product.