News

Last month, over the weekend of June 22nd-24th, Sprudge Media Network banded together with a couple hundred of our favorite cafes and coffee brands across the United States in a fundraiser benefitting the Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project. We called the event Coffee For Families, and it’s part of the outpouring of support ASAP has received over the last few weeks.

With most of the reporting in, the coffee community has raised $100,000 and counting for Asylum Seekers Advocacy Project. There’s still a few more partners left to report and we’ll be adding to that donation total in the coming days. All donations were made directly to ASAP—and if you’re moved by this effort to get involved, you can donate directly to ASAP right here.

“ASAP is so grateful to Sprudge Media and all the businesses that participated in Coffee for Families for raising over $100,000,” says ASAP Co-Founder and Co-Director Dorothy Tegeler, “Throughout the country, business owners and coffee drinkers not only raised money, but helped to raise awareness about the challenges facing asylum-seekers who come to the United States fleeing persecution. It is incredible to see such an outpouring of support.”

Thank you to our fellow media companies who took the time to report out this story, including Chicago Tribune, Eater Austin, Eater Dallas, Easter Houston, Eater Portland, and Grub Street. And a huge thanks very much to everyone who participated, shared, donated, and made this effort part of your life over that weekend in June.

There’s so, so much work left to be done, but it’s heartening to know that coffee’s capacity for leadership and advocacy runs so deep. We’ll be back again this fall with our next bi-annual Night of 1000 Pours event. If you’d like to get involved in this fall’s event, please reach out here.

Here’s a complete list of all the participanting companies in this fundraiser. Thank you all so much!

1900 Barker Bakery and Cafe — Lawrence, KS
Amethyst Coffee — Denver, CO
Andytown Coffee Roasters — San Francisco, CA
Anelace Coffee — Minneapolis, MN
The Arbor Lodge / Tanager Coffee Roasters — Portland, OR
Ascension Coffee Roasters — Dallas, TX
Assembly Coffee Roasters — Pittsfield, MA
Atkinsons Coffee Roasters — Lancaster & Manchester, UK
BattleCat Coffee Bar — Asheville, NC
Beantween Coffee — Manhattan Beach, CA
Blacksmith — Houston, TX
Blackwood Coffee Bar — Los Angeles
Blue Bottle Coffee — Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, Miami, Boston
Blue Copper Coffee — Salt Lake City
Blueprint Coffee — St. Louis, MO
Brandywine Coffee Roasters — Wilmington, DE
Cafe Integral — Chicago, New York, Los Angeles
Caffe Streets — Chicago, IL
Carrier Roasting Co. — Northfield, VT
Case Study Coffee — Portland, OR
Chattahoochee Coffee — Atlanta, GA
Chrome Yellow Trading Co. — Atlanta, GA
City & State — Memphis, TN
The Coffee Ethic — Springfield, Missouri
Coffee Party — El Paso, TX
Community Loaves — Jacksonville, Florida
Coral Sword — Houston, TX
Counter Culture Coffee — Asheville, Atlanta, Emeryville, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Durham, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington D.C.
Cultivar Coffee — Dallas and Denton, TX
Dark Horse Coffee Roasters — San Diego, CA
Dichotomy Coffee & Spirits — Waco, TX
East One Coffee Roasters — Brooklyn, NY
Edorffeine — Los Angeles, CA
Either / Or — Portland, OR
Everyman Espresso — Manhattan and Brooklyn, NYC
Evocation Coffee — Amarillo, TX
First Village Coffee — Ossining, NY
Fleet Coffee — Austin, Texas
Flight Coffee Co — Bedford, NH
Foster Sundry — Brooklyn, NY
Four Letter Word — Chicago
FUTURO — Phoenix, AZ
Gelateria Gemelli — Austin, TX
Gimme! Coffee — Manhattan, Brooklyn, Upstate New York
Go Get Em Tiger, G&B Coffee — Los Angeles
Goat Hill Coffee & Soda — Kansas City, MO
Greater Goods Coffee Roasters — Austin, TX
Greenway Coffee — Houston, TX
Hal’s Office — Albany, CA
Heart Coffee Roasters — Portland, OR
Houndstooth Coffee — Austin and Dallas, TX
Hovey & Harrison — Edwards, CO
Hillside Coffee & Donut — El Paso, TX
Intelligentsia Coffee — Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City, San Francisco
Kaladi Coffee Roasters — Denver & Englewood, CO
Kickapoo Coffee Roasters — Viroqua, WI
Kindness and Mischief Coffee — Highland Park, CA
KIOSKO/Smalltime Roasters — Portland, OR
La Colombe — Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego
Lamplighter Coffee Roasters — Richmond, VA
Little Amps Coffee Roasters — Harrisburg, PA
Lupa’s Coffee — College Station, TX
Marigold Coffee — Portland, OR
Metric Coffee — Chicago, IL
Monarch Coffee — Kansas City, MO
Morningstar — Houston, TX
Mudhouse Coffee Roasters — Charlottesville, VA
New Gotham Coffee Community — Chicago, IL
No Booze on Sunday Podcast — El Paso, TX
Oatly
Oddly Correct — Kansas City, MO
Okay Yeah Co. — Oklahoma City, OK
Onyx Coffee Lab — Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale, and Rogers, AR
Ox Coffee — Philadelphia, PA
Palace Coffee Company — Amarillo, TX & Canyon, TX
Paperback Cafe — Mendocino County Covelo, CA
Parakeet Cafe — La Jolla, CA
Parlor Coffee — Brooklyn, NY
PennyCup Coffee Co. — Asheville, NC
Pentacle Coffee — San Francisco, CA
Philter — Kennett Square, PA
Phoenix Coffee — Cleveland, Ohio
Pleasant Pops — Washington, DC
Port of Mokha — Oakland, CA
Portland Roasting Coffee — Portland, Oregon
Posies Bakery & Cafe — Portland, OR
Post Coffee Company — Lees Summit, MO
The Potters House — Washington, D.C.
Presta Coffee Roasters – Tucson, Arizona
Public Square Coffee House — San Diego, CA
ReAnimator Coffee — Philadelphia, PA
Relax, It’s Just Coffee — Mansfield, OH
Rising Star Coffee Roasters — Cleveland, Ohio
Ritual Coffee Roasters — San Francisco and Napa, CA
Rock City Employee Cooperative — Rockland, ME
Rosalind Coffee — Garland, TX
Sip Stir Coffee House — Dallas, TX
The Society Hotel — Portland, OR
Sólo Espresso — New Orleans, LA
Stumptown Coffee Roasters — Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, NYC
Sustainable Harvest — Portland, OR
Tartine Bakery & Coffee Manufactory — San Francisco
Three Brothers Coffee — Nashville, TN
Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters — Brooklyn, Manhattan
Trade and Lore — Asheville and Charlotte, NC
Ultimo Coffee — Philadelphia, PA
Upper Left Roasters — Portland, OR
Vagabond Coffee Co. — Jacksonville, Florida
Verve Coffee Roasters —Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Francisco
Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate — Gainesville, FL
Water Avenue Coffee — Portland, OR

To learn more and donate directly to Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, follow this link.

The post Coffee Just Raised $100,000 For The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Dutch winds blew chilly outside World of Coffee 2018, but inside, at the Amsterdam RAI convention center, June 20th to 23rd were hot-ticket days.

Breaking records this year, nearly 11,000 professionals registered for WOC, according to its organizing body, the Specialty Coffee Association. At a pre-ribbon-cutting press conference prior to the trade show’s official opening, SCA chief events officer Cindy Cohn cited a presence of 271 exhibitors and called it “the best-looking event we’ve put on.” Later, on the competition floor, Agnieszka Rojewska from Poland made history by becoming the first woman in the contest’s 18-year existence to win the title of World Barista Champion.

Visitors to Amsterdam sometimes joke that they can’t remember much from their trips to the famously live-and-let-live city, but these five WOC booths proved unforgettable.

Kees van der Westen

Nothing lights up a Dutch coffee event like the indigenous splendor of the Kees van der Westen brand, and everybody, from everywhere, was getting revved-up to see the debut of the Mirage Slim Jim. Presaged in a 2016 Sprudge interview with Kees van der Westen himself, this new espresso machine is “kind of a mixture” between others in the existing seQries, explained Yvette van der Westen, who oversees marketing for the company that her father heads. “Technically, visually, and price-wise, it will offer users an experience that falls somewhere between the Mirage and the Spirit.”

Unlike the Mirage, the Mirage Slim Jim is a multiple-boiler machine. Available in a Douette or a Triplette configuration, the groups have been given plenty of love and attention, each having its own two-stage progressive pre-infusion cylinder, a shot timer, a thermometer, and a pressure gauge. Other features include a dual hot water temperature knob and a dual volumetric lever.

The Slim Jim Idrocompresso model shares many of the same specs as the standard Slim Jim, but its prominent lever group cylinders have been built to be fully encased in hot water. This produces “a water cushioning effect which takes off a bit of the pressure and it won’t hit you in the face,” said Yvette, explaining that the lever on previous Idrocompresso models was susceptible to shooting up if a barista forgot to load the portafilter.

All four prototypes showed unique details, including interchangeable legs, front and side panels, cup rails, awnings, and knobs, plus various colors and room for customized logos. Still, they all shared a nostalgic Americana automotive design sensibility, so much so that baristas might start pulling out their Pomade and poodle skirts.

Following WOC, the Van der Westen family—all members showed up, including Yvette’s two sisters, now also her colleagues—were due to cruise back to headquarters in Waalre. Their road map foresees a few more technical tweaks, a pre-production series, and finally, the Mirage Slim Jim’s availability by early 2019.

Qima Coffee

At WOC Amsterdam, the launch of Qima Coffee, a London-headquartered company sourcing specialty beans from Yemen, was bittersweet. “The Yemen Coffee Revolution Starts Here” read the slogan on the stand’s backdrop, a lively mocha- and gold-toned illustration of Sana’a’s ancient skyline. Helping lead that revolution is Faris Sheibani, a UK-born Yemeni who founded Qima in late 2016, seeking to do something for his parents’ country of origin, where civil war has killed, wounded, and displaced thousands of people since early 2015.

Booth-side, Sheibani and colleagues warmly received visitors, telling them about Qima’s debut collection. Some 800 smallholder farmers across northern and central Yemen produced about 250 coffee lots, which were cupped and scored by Dutchman-gone-Californian Willem Boot of Boot Coffee. For the expo, Cafe Keppler co-owner Kees Kraakman roasted sample beans and praised Sheibani, a former SCA course student of his, for “how he combines a moral cause with a commercial enterprise.” Some farmers can now earn 20 times more income working for Qima, said Brahim Boukadid, Qima’s commercial manager in the Netherlands. He reported that 10% of profits get reinvested in the farmers’ villages, supporting agriculture and education projects, though above all, he emphasized: “We want to give them hope with this coffee.”

Attendees showed avid interest in Qima, suggesting its commercial prospects in Europe are real. Those glimmers of hope, however, were overshadowed by a conspicuous absence: that of four Yemeni farmers and a Yemeni NGO worker who were expected to be part of the company’s Amsterdam delegation. Their visa requests to visit the Netherlands were denied twice after what Sheibani described in an impassioned video message as an arduous, time-consuming, and humiliating application process filed via the Dutch embassy in Amman, Jordan. The visa denial made headlines and generated social media posts hashtagged #freeourfarmers. Qima has been outspoken about the decision’s unjustness and its irony. In the same video, Sheibani stated: “The Dutch East India Company took—smuggled—seedlings from Yemen, coffee seedlings from Yemen, to Amsterdam to plant them in the botanical gardens in Amsterdam, illegally. Four hundred two years later, we wanted to legally… together with the Dutch, celebrate coffee culture.” Qima has since published a follow-up video, captioned as a “message of hope and coexistence from the farmers of Yemen to the people of the Netherlands and the world!”

At the time of writing, three of the farmers remain in Amman, Sheibani told Sprudge in an email shortly after he returned to the UK. He said that he is helping the farmers apply to other global coffee exhibitions so they can personally represent their coffees. “If they go back empty-handed, it would be a devastating blow to thousands of farmers following the events from Yemen and a significant setback to the Yemeni coffee industry in general,” wrote Sheibani. (For the latest news, follow Qima on Facebook.)

Department of Brewology

It was a sight for sore eyes and some salve for the soul to spot the Department of Brewology making their WOC debut. The dauntless design duo from Austin, Texas, was selling wearables and wall art featuring their Filter Coffee Not People slogan, among others.

“It’s been great, actually. We love coming to Europe,” said company operations manager Brett Cannon, when asked their reception outside the US. New items on show included two coffee blossom pins and mini-prints of their iconic illustrations commingling botanicals and barista tools. Company designer David Salinas also told Sprudge about a new campaign, expected to launch in the coming months. For it, the Department of Brewology is working with The Lucy Foundation, a New Zealand-based organization promoting greater visibility of people with disabilities in the coffee industry. In the same spirit that sees proceeds of the FCNP T-shirt going to the Refugee Services of Texas, the new initiative will help raise funds for The Lucy Foundation. These designs are a collaboration between Floridian illustrator Anna Coleman and Salinas, and will be anchored by their own slogan. Those words are not yet public, but the campaign is geared “to really advocate for coffees that do good as opposed to just coffees that taste good,” said Salinas.

Collezione Henk Langkemper

Not a booth but a veritable buffet table, the Collezione Henk Langkemper snaked its way along one side of the trade floor’s food court. On show were 25 vintage espresso machines and grinders manufactured between 1936 and 1972, and now belonging to Dutch coffee industry vet Henk Langkemper. His entire 110-piece collection of such relics is usually at Espresso Service West, his three-decade-old coffee import and distribution company in The Hague that has become synonymous with supporting Dutch baristas in national and world competitions.

Asked for his most cherished, Langkemper pointed to what he called “any collector’s favorite:” the Rondine, described as the first La Marzocco one-group ever made, in 1953. The journey to get the machines to Amsterdam was tumultuous, said their owner: the idea began hatching at last year’s WOC Budapest, was slowed down by uncertainty about where on the expo floor the display could be accommodated, got called off after Langkemper had a heart attack in November, and then by February, reignited when an ESW customer pledged to provide the display bars. Before long, friends of Langkemper, from Seattle to Hong Kong, pitched in to help restore the machines. And so there they—and their owner—stood, back in shiny working condition.

Coffee Pixels

Winning this year’s Best New Product Competition in the category of food was Coffee Pixels Cascara, one of two edible coffee bars being sold by Latvian cousins Raivis, Andris, and Gundars Vaitekuns. Former specialty cafe owners in Riga, the trio today forms the company Solid Coffee, which started producing Coffee Pixels in 2017. Raivis described it as an idea born from necessity or, more precisely, withdrawal while traveling. Recounting instances when gas station or airplane coffee was their only option, he said they asked themselves “how we can take the quality of experience and the values that we have in specialty coffee truly on the go.”

The 10-gram bars are made from cocoa butter, Ethiopian coffee, coffee cherries, sugar, and salt. The “Milk” version contains 33 milligrams of caffeine and the winning “Cascara” contains 50 milligrams, the equivalent of approximately 30 milliliters of espresso. Sourced by Panama Varietals, the cascara comes from Nicaragua, and its choice as an ingredient reflects “the other part of the drive to build this product,” said Raivis, which is “to really tackle the waste produced in the coffee industry.”

Raivis, Andris, and Gundars Vaitekuns, founders of Coffee Pixels.

Another edible coffee benefit is that it “will be micro-dosing itself within your body,” he said. Because the caffeine is in saturated fat, it takes longer for the body to absorb, with its effect lasting up to four hours, Raivis estimated. He also pointed out that cascara contains antioxidants, so “this clean boost” accompanies the caffeine kick. “It feels like you have more energy in the head.”

And no wonder WOC Amsterdam was full of superlative highs and yet, still so memorable.

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. 

The post Booth Beat: Our 5 Favorite Booths From World Of Coffee Amsterdam appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

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.

The post Just Announced: The Los Angeles Coffee Festival In November appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

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.

The post Help Small-Scale Colombian Farmers With A Microloan On Kiva appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

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!

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.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Grindsmith Coffee Roasters In Manchester, England appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

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!

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.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Amethyst Coffee In Denver, CO appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

As reported this week an article appearing in them.—a Condé Nast publication devoted to “the lens of today’s LGBTQ community”—the Seattle-based international coffee brand Starbucks is said to have just adopted the “most comprehensive trans health policy in the world.”

According to the article, the new policy is a “direct parallel” with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) international recommendations for trans healthcare. This is the result of Starbucks working directly with WPATH to create the new benefits package, expanding the company’s trans benefits that have included gender reassignment surgery since 2012. The new packages, called “Starbucks Transgender Medical Benefits,” extends to “lifetime coverage for everything from hair graft and voice therapy to facial feminization and breast augmentation—services considered vital for transgender healthcare but often listed as ‘cosmetic’ and not covered by health insurance.”

Per the article, Starbucks is the first company to approach WPATH about turning their Standards of Care—a 120-page document list of care guidelines and provider recommendations—into a corporate policy. Much like with their findings that led the company to 100% pay equity, Starbucks is hoping to share these new policies created in tandem with WPATH with other employers looking to provide more trans-inclusive benefits.

For more information on the Starbucks Transgender Medical Benefits, the company’s announcement can be found here.

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 Starbucks.

The post Starbucks Announces Expansive New Trans Healthcare Policy appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

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 😀

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.

The post Build-Outs Of Summer: Beachcomber Coffee In Gibsons, BC appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Coffee Masters has gone from a scrappy upstart coffee competition to one of the premier events on both sides of the Atlantic. This popularity has seen the interest in competing skyrocket even while available spots holds fast at 24. It’s a tough ticket to get, especially when vying against multiple national Barista and Brewers Cup champions. That’s why Allegra Events—the team behind Coffee Masters—have created their first regional-style event. Taking place at the Milan Coffee Festival in Italy between November 30th and December 2nd, CMx is a national level event with the winner earning a guaranteed spot at next year’s London Coffee Masters.

Unlike previous Coffee Masters events where anyone can apply to compete, CMx Milan is only open to Italian competitors. (side note: how many times will you have to hear CMx before you starting sing the Ruff Ryders Anthem? It was two for me). The competition itself remains similar to that of other Coffee Masters; competitors will be tested in seven different disciplines: cupping, brewing, latte art, the order challenge, signature drink, espresso blend, and origin. A total of 16 baristas will face off on a Faema E71, using coffees from HMC, Gardelli, and Ditta Artigianale. The last barista standing will win the €1,000 cash prize and the coveted spot at the 2019 London Coffee Masters.

Like with all Coffee Masters events, potential candidates for CMx Milan are required to submit a one to two minute video that showcases a coffee-based signature beverage, this time “inspired by Milan,” as well as fill out an application form on the Coffee Masters website. And be Italian (read: currently living or working in Italy). Applications are currently open and due by October 19th.

For more information about CMx Milan or to apply, visit the Coffee Masters 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 Coffee Masters

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Source: Coffee News

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.

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

Photos by Bruno Regert.

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Source: Coffee News