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Coffee Fest

Road trip! This weekend I am headed up to Seattle for Coffee Fest. Coffee fest is a trade show that combines educational activities, networking opportunities and new product demonstrations. I plan to attend some classes, meet some people, see what’s new for 2011 and drink lots of coffee. When I’m not at the show, I plan to explore Seattle a little bit and check out some of the Emerald City’s better cafés. Right now, I have a list of seven places that people have recommended. Hopefully there will be time to see them all! I’ll be posting updates on Twitter (@CaffeinatedPDX) throughout my time in Seattle and will share the stories that I just can’t fit into 140 characters here at caffeinatedpdx.com. It’s going to be a fun trip and I look forward to telling you all about it.

Coffee Fair

Next weekend (November 6-7) is the Coffee Fair at the World Forestry Center in Portland. It is an opportunity to check out several local roasters’ coffees without traveling all over town to do so. The fair is open from 10am-3pm each day and there will be tastings and demonstrations of various brewing techniques. I’ve never attended the event, so if any of you know what is a can’t-miss event at the fair, please share it with all of us. If you see me be sure to say hello!

Chasing the Black Cat (Red E Café)

In multiple conversations with people around Portland, I have been told that one of the best espresso blends on the market is Black Cat—an espresso blend from Chicago-based Intelligentsia. In hushed tones, people discretely tell me that it might be better than Stumptown’s Hair Bender blend. It can be hard for a Portlander to admit that there is an outsider’s coffee that beats the hometown hero, but many do say they love Black Cat.

Since I heard about it so much, I knew I had to try it. The trouble was that Intelligentsia doesn’t have a café in Portland, at least not under its own name, so Black Cat is hard to find. Asking around, I was told that Crema used to have it, Barista has it some of the time and that Red E is the only café in town that consistently carries it. I hadn’t been able to make it to Red E yet, and  my Black Cat dreams kept getting stronger and stronger until I finally went to North Killingsworth to find the Red E and its magical brew.

Ready for the Red E

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Higher Coffee Prices Coming?

It looks like you might have to pay more for your morning fix pretty soon (Starbuckians have already felt the pain). The price of coffee hit a new 13-year high today. Arabica (the highest-quality coffee) bean prices keep rising, due to fears about the upcoming crops in Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. As you can see from the chart below, coffee prices, up 48% over prices a year ago, are about double what they were five years ago.

Figure 1. From the Financial Times. Prices have been volatile, but mostly rising

If you look back a little farther (Figure 2), you can see that coffee prices are not the highest they have ever been. Coffee prices spiked sharply in 1994 and 1997 due to supply problems (weather events in South America). Fortunately for coffee drinkers around the world, after each price spike there was a fairly rapid drop. This time, however, the increase in prices has been more gradual, possibly reflecting a more stable trend. It’s something to watch over the next couple years.

Figure 2. Headed for a new high?

(Note: If you want to play with the interactive chart, click on the Figure 2. Your browser will send you to the Financial Times page that looks like Figure 1. Click on the Interactive Chart link in the top left corner of the chart. A pop-up window with the interactive chart will appear and you can change the parameters and add trend lines to the chart.  It’s great fun if you’re an economics nerd like me.) 

Spella Caffè

When I left the house on my way to Spella Caffè, it was one of those crisp fall mornings when you can see your breath. It started out sunny, but before long a cold fog had rolled in and it looked like it was going to be one of those gray days that drive Portlanders to drink lots of coffee. Fortunately, we have lots of options to help us deal with the grayness. Spella is one such place. I had heard good things about it from a barista friend and wanted to see if he knew what he was talking about.

As I walked down through the city, I had visions of stopping in, having some espresso and sitting down for a while. When I got there, I found that to be impossible, since Spella doesn’t have any chairs. In fact, the café has barely enough room to stand up if there are more than five customers inside, which there were when I arrived.

Spella

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Eight Tips for Café Customers

A few days ago, I wrote about what makes a good café. Today I would like to talk about what it takes to be a good customer. As customers there are a few things we ought to do to help make the café experience a pleasure for everyone involved. I talked to some local baristas for ideas, and as a former barista I have my own insights too.

Everyone ought to work in the food service industry at least once in their lives. People would be a lot more reasonable and patient with each other if they did because they would realize how hard it is to keep people happy. Serving coffee is not as difficult as serving food, but baristas are still in the business of serving others, which is never easy. It is fun most of the time, but once in a while you have a customer who is a real pain. We would like to avoid that, so here are some things to remember when you go to a café:

  1. Don’t talk on your phone while you are ordering. Tell the person you’re talking with you will call him or her back and put the phone down (unlike driving, using a hands-free device doesn’t count). Your conversation is not so important that it can’t wait 30 seconds. If it is that important, you shouldn’t be in line at the café in the first place. If you don’t stop talking when you get to the counter, you get decaf. No exceptions.
  2. Have a little patience, please. You’re not the only one in the world who wants your coffee and the barista isn’t trying to make you wait any longer than necessary (unless of course, you violate rule #1).
  3. If you like faster service, introduce yourself to the baristas and be predictable in what you order. If the baristas remember you and your drink, they will often start making it before you ever get to the counter.
  4. Hand your money directly to the person at the register. Don’t toss it down on the counter. In addition to being rude, it slows down everyone’s service.
  5. Leave a tip once in a while. You don’t have to leave a big tip—some change is fine—but baristas don’t make a lot of money and tips make a big difference to them (You’re also welcome to leave a big tip—we danced around the store one Christmas day after a woman left a $100 tip). Leaving tips won’t the hurt the quality of service you receive either.
  6. If you need something and the barista is carrying a bunch of drinks to customers, wait until she is done delivering them before you stop her to explain your situation. Standing there with an armful of drinks gets tiring, and you don’t want her to spill them. This is something that customers do without realizing they are making their barista’s life difficult.
  7. If you’re not going to buy anything from the café, but you still ask to use the bathroom, be polite about it. If you have to ask for a key to the bathroom, act appreciative when you get it (When you do get to use the bathroom, use it right. I’ve seen some pretty bad  results in café  bathrooms. Come on, people! Be civilized!)
  8. If you are someone who camps at a café that has Wi-Fi, you ought to buy more than just one drink, especially if the café is crowded. Your presence at a table may discourage more customers from coming into the café. My personal rule is one drink every two hours.

These are just a few things that can make your trip to the café more pleasant for everyone. I’m sure some of you could think of a few more. Feel free to share them. The most important thing to remember is that the person behind the counter works in the ‘service’ industry and not the ‘servant’ industry. If you can’t remember to treat people with dignity and respect, stay home and make your own coffee. Everyone will be happier that way.