Bottled Water redux

Last year I posted on this blog about bottled water.  You can read this by clicking here.  I described a particular phenomena that I find absolutely horrifying.  The so-called Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.  The Patch is a huge mass of plastic crap that is circulating permanently in a natural current called the Pacific Gyre.  It is visible from space and twice the size of Texas, maybe larger.

The gyre captures garbage that finds its way to the ocean. Once in the gyre, garbage can remain “in circulation” for decades.  After awhile the sun breaks down some of this plastic and after many, many years these particles disappear from view.  However, additional garbage is introduced into this system at a higher rate than it disintegrates, so the situation is growing even worse with time.    

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you from the Pacific Northwest or do you live here (I mean in the vicinity stretching from Seattle to Portland and surrounding areas. . .  this region is sometimes referred to as Cascadia by sociologists, marketers, and even liberal separatists)?  If your answer is yes,  then this is not for you. This is for everyone else, the people that live in the rest of the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you opening a cafe or planning to in the near future?  if you are, then I may have the perfect location for you:  right next door to Starbucks! 

Pictured here is a location that is actually available right now.  It offers the opportunity to go head-to-head with the industry’s Goliath–and your new store is smack in the heart of Seattle.  The Dragon’s lair, if you will!

At first this may seem utterly counter-intuitive.  Who in their right mind would open a competing cafe next to the biggest, most successful specialty coffee retailer in the world? A company identified as one of the most powerful brands on the planet by Brandz.  

The answer of course is You!  And especially if you plan to open a Third Wave Cafe–with a focus on quality products and training, and a hands-on approach to preparing coffee and serving customers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of accompanying my brother (Russ) on a Direct Trade sourcing trip to Nicaragua. Being the espresso machine geek I am - I’m generally in Italy, so this was a treat for me. Something that I wanted was a first had experience of Direct Trace sourcing vs Fair Trade purchases. Was there really a difference and what was it? Read the rest of this entry »

Specialty coffee has long struggled to be a good environmental citizen, notwithstanding the advent of the Solo Traveler cup and lid. One reason is that the industry over time has become uncomfortably connected to a broad range of disposable paper products, items that are likely to end up in landfills and sometimes as litter. It seems as long as customers demand the convenience, cafes continue to supply them with paper cups, plastic lids, and wooden stir sticks, while offering reusable alternatives when possible.However, this state of affairs doesn’t sit well with many cafe owners and their environmentally attuned staffs. They fret and fuss, feeling the measures they’ve taken are not really good enough, especially if so many customers find it impractical to adopt the greener solutions offered. Finding a better way remains one of specialty coffee’s greatest challenges and frustrations. The impetus, especially on the Third Wave side of specialty coffee, where enlightened mindsets roam the earth, is to acknowledge reality, to be aware, and do the right thing. It is never to hide or deny–or just let it slide. This is one of the characteristics I especially love about many of the individuals in our industry. The intentions are well-placed, so improvement is bound to follow. Read the rest of this entry »