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In cities large and small across the US, workers’ rights violations have long been so commonplace within the service industry that they frequently go unchallenged. Service employees often lack the time, energy, knowledge, or money to fight violations. But as more and more workers find a permanent or semi-permanent home within the service industry, more workers are learning that they do have rights in the workplace, including the ability to organize and fight for fair treatment free of retaliation. When Julia Baker and Lou Kramer, baristas and labor organizers in Pittsburgh, PA, were terminated from their positions at specialty coffee shop Tazza D’Oro (full disclosure: my former employer five years ago) for reasons they believed to be unlawful, they researched their options and pursued fair treatment, ultimately winning a lawsuit against the company with the help of restaurant worker rights advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC).

Baker joined Tazza D’Oro in the early summer of 2017, adding barista work to her roster of work as an organizer, which includes running an organization called Open House PGH and working as a member of both Socialist Alternative and ROC. At a staff meeting about six months into her tenure, Baker tells Sprudge, she and several other staff members brought up issues they were experiencing in the workplace, including lack of clear raise schedules and job descriptions, concerns around reduced management hours, and questions about promotion to management positions. “The day after the meeting,” Baker claims via email, “I started experiencing retaliation in the form of harassment and intimidation by management at work.” Baker claims this retaliation came in the form of “false claims” in their personnel file regarding workplace performance. Following another staff meeting in December of 2017, “they fired me out of the blue” claims Baker. Another coworker who was vocal about similar issues, Lou Kramer, was fired on the same day, as per Baker.

When Baker was fired, she drew on her background as a labor organizer in formulating next steps. “As an experienced organizer who has worked on several labor rights issues in the past,” she tells Sprudge, “I knew there was something very wrong about what we had experienced and wanted to learn more about our rights.” This fell under the purview of ROC, whose work includes taking on individual cases of worker violations, fighting for better wages across the board, and fighting discrimination in the industry. Baker reached out to a local ROC representative, who felt their claim fell under a protected right to speak with coworkers about workplace issues and to discuss those issues openly at work. The local Pittsburgh ROC representative encouraged Baker and Kramer to file an Unfair Labor Practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that exists to examine cases of worker violations, including retaliation.

In the six months that followed, Baker and Kramer went through the process of pursuing legal action with their NLRB caseworker. ROC national lead organizer and caseworker Jordan Romanus described cases like what Kramer and Baker experienced to be “as common as potholes in Pittsburgh.” Seeing cases like this all the time, he was prepared to help and thought the case was a great example of why it’s important to fight workers’ rights violations. “It’s important to exercise your rights in the workplace,” Romanus tells Sprudge. “You’d be surprised how much power you have when you organize collectively.” Fellow ROC organizer Bobbi Linskens, who got into ROC after winning a similar case against restaurant chain Eat’N Park with Romanus’s help, agrees that these cases are painfully common. “But I don’t see as many cases as I should, because most people don’t realize that they have rights and can stand up for themselves in the workplace,” she said.

After several months of investigation, the NLRB found merit in the charges Baker and Kramer brought against Tazza D’Oro. “At that point, Tazza could either choose to settle with us out of court or we could bring the issue to federal court with the NLRB representing us for free,” said Baker. “The NLRB was extremely helpful with the suit. We also had the advice and assistance of our ROC representatives throughout. If we won the case, Tazza would be required to pay us back-pay from the day we were fired until the day we found equal employment and also offer us reinstatement to our positions,” adds Baker. “We ended up settling with out of court with the same conditions, totaling about $10,000 each for Lou and me.” Both Baker and Kramer have found new jobs since their termination.

In addition to paying out back-pay, Tazza D’Oro was also required to put up a poster visible to employees for 60 days, explaining employees’ federal rights to advocate for workplace needs, bargain collectively, and specifically to “form, join, or assist a union.”

Tazza D’Oro owner and founder Amy Enrico agreed to comment on this story, in the form of a written statement. We’re publishing that statement in full below.

For 19 years, Tazza D’Oro has been a leader in creating community and providing all of our employees with decent paying jobs, opportunities within and outside of the company and in other parts of the coffee industry. We provide many hours of professional barista training with the goal of developing skills so baristas can be proud of their craft and connection to coffee. We have always strongly believed in and provided a diverse, inclusive work environment. We have been committed to all fair labor practices; while constantly striving to provide and move toward a living wage and professional training for all our employees – these practices we hold dear and abide by according to the law.

Also, in our 19 years of operation, with hundreds of employees through the years, we have never had a complaint or charge filed against us about an employment issue or unfair labor practice. Termination of employees is always difficult and sometimes complicated; something that we have never taken lightly and only done when serious infractions were found. Thus, we were disappointed that NLRB charges were filed by two former employees and that this investigation occurred. And, as much as we would have wanted to present our full defenses to the investigation, the costs attendant to fully presenting our side were just too high. Staggering legal costs, time and emotional energy required us to make the very hard business decision to resolve the matter before heading to litigation.

We have worked diligently and in 100% compliance to resolve all matters with all parties so that we could move forward in a positive way. At Tazza D’Oro, we will continue to follow our passion in building community, provide opportunities for our baristas and commit each and every day to do our best by respecting the coffees, respecting the craft and trying to brew the best cup possible for our customers.

This story is bigger than just one suit, or any one labor dispute at a single coffee company. Indeed, it speaks to much larger issues in the service industry related to worker’s rights and the role of workplace advocacy resources. Baker wants her story to encourage others to stand up for their rights in the workplace and to become active workers’ rights advocates. “Everyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how common it is to hear stories of violations at work or unacceptable working conditions,” Baker tells Sprudge. “If we build a strong national movement of restaurant workers, we can revolutionize the industry. We can address the rampant racism and sexism in the industry, we can fight for better wages, and we can raise the standard of expected working conditions.” The official homepage for ROC is here, and it includes local and national resources for those looking to learn more. ROC is also a non-profit, and you can learn more about donating here.

“I want workers to realize that they do have rights and ROC is here to help them,” says ROC organizer Linskens. “If they exercise their rights in the workplace, they’d be surprised by how much power they have when they organize collectively. Reach out to us immediately. As the watchdog of the restaurant industry, we will do everything we can to help.”

The more that workers know and share, the more power they have. The work of Baker, Kramer, Romanus, and Linskens offers service workers a powerful hospitality industry example of what it looks like to recognize your rights, organize collectively, and pursue justice for yourself and others.

RJ Joseph (@RJ_Sproseph) is a Sprudge staff writer, publisher of Queer Cup, and coffee professional based in the Bay Area. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge Media Network.

The post Worker’s Rights In The Coffee Space: A Case Study appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

‘Tis the Season, y’all, by which I mean it’s still half a month until Thanksgiving but everyone is already rushing full steam ahead towards that other holiday season, maybe only slowing down to grab a drumstick on the drive by. But if it’s for coffee, I’ll abide the encroaching of the December festivities (I mean, it’s gonna happen anyway, so might as well pretend we have some agency in it, right). That’s why I’m not so down about Onyx Coffee Lab’s Coffee Advent Calendar. It’s 24 days of coffee for your Yuletide countdown pleasure.

According to their website, each Coffee Advent Calendar contains 24 two-ounce (56g) bags of coffee, “the perfect amount of coffee for one pot or one Chemex.” All coffees are whole bean, and each bag is nitro-flushed for freshness. And what coffees will be included? Who knows, that’s the whole fun of it. Included in the 24 different coffee could be the Ethiopia Chelbesa or maybe a lacto-fermented Gesha from La Palma y El Tucan or maybe neither. Half the fun is the anticipation. And you get that excitement everyday for 24 days, which in this household we refer to as the “Triple Hanukkah.”

Onyx Coffee Lab’s Coffee Advent Calendar is currently on pre-order, with orders expected to arrive at your doorstep in time for the Advent advent. Each box set costs $95 and includes free shipping within the United States. For more information or to order you own Coffee Advent Calendar, visit Onyx Coffee Lab’s official website.

And then we’re going to be back to thinking about Thanksgiving, ok. I’ll be damned if we’re just gonna skip over my yearly-anticipated turkey, dressing, gravy, and cranberry sauce on a yeast roll sandwich.

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 Onyx Coffee Lab

Disclosure: Onyx Coffee Lab is an advertising partner with the Sprudge Media Network

The post 24 Days Of Coffee With Onyx Coffee Lab’s Coffee Advent Calendar appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Undercurrent Coffee in Charlotte, North Carolina

Summer’s come and gone, a-trill

and molting like the whip-poor-will

gave way to autumn’s shimmered gloom.

And tho the winter’s sun grew weary

season cycles pedaled clearly 

t’wards a waltzing April’s bloom.

The sun again begat the thrill

of Building-Out—an out to build!  

Another summer is in the books and that means so too is another Build-Outs of Summer, Sprudge’s series highlighting new and upcoming cafes from around the world. This is our seventh season for the Build-Outs of Summer, and each year it gives us a nice snapshot of where coffee culture is and where it is heading. Entries include first-timers, second locations, sister companies, and collabs aplenty, giving us a unique data set from which to extract trendy trend lines. And extract we shall.

As we have done three seasons previous, we busted out our finest spreadsheets, Google maps, and thinking caps to make sense out of this crazy little world we call coffee. The finding we present to you now: The Analytics of Autumn: A Requiem For The 2018 Build-Outs Of Summer.



Where Are They Building

This year we saw 41 entries, the second-most in Build-Outs history behind 2016’s 43. This year’s roster includes six non-US cafes: two from Canada and four cafes from England, the most ever recorded by a country not the United States. Of the 35 American cafes, the eastern third of the country was easily the most represented with a whopping 17 shops, followed by 12 in the central, and a measly six from the once-mighty west. But while the east is most represented, the central’s greater Denver area is home to most shops on this year’s list with a total of five.

And as previous years’ Build-Outs have shown us—and something we herald just about every chance we get—coffee outside the big cities is thriving. Of the American entries, Charleston, South Carolina—the 201st largest city by population—falls as the median city with 134,875 residents. This means that over half the 35 US entries don’t even break the top 200; only 12 are from the top 50.

Everybody Roasts

I’ve had more than a few coffee friends tell me off the record (read: over a few drinks and not in any official interview capacity) that eeeeeeverrrrryyyybody wants to roast their own coffee nowadays. This year’s Build-Outs certainly gives legs to their otherwise anecdotal evidence. 30 of the 41 respondents—73% in total—roast for themselves, including first-time cafes, who had 15 of 22 roasting for themselves out of the gate.

And the multi-roaster may be on its last leg. Only five of 11 non-roaster cafes are multi-roasters, but included in that total are shops like Amethyst, who have one permanent roaster and one guest that rotates in on a quarterly basis. The 10-roasters-rotating-weekly cafe is becoming a thing of the past. I’m not saying the multi-roaster shop is dead, I’m just saying I’ve begun putting together my rough outline for its eulogy.

Equipment

When it comes espresso, there isn’t so much a trend as a constant: the persistent dominance of the La Marzocco Linea. Over a third of the shops that listed their espresso machine in their questionnaire use the LM workhorse. The 13 Lineas outpaces the second through fourth most used machines combined.

For grinders, the Nuova Simonelli Mythos One has put an end to Mahlkönig’s espresso dominance, beating out the PEAK by a total of 10 to seven. When it comes to espresso machine/grinder combinations, the Mythos One and PEAK tied for first, each pairing on four different occasions with a La Marzocco Linea.

Spencer’s Coffee in Bowling Green, Kentucky

But if there’s one piece of equipment that could be described as a coffee shop must based upon the Build-Outs findings, it’s the Mahlkönig EK43, which remains the favorite grinder for brewed coffee (and to a lesser extent espresso). The total 16 EKs is yet again the most common piece of equipment found in Build-Outs cafes.

The Slighting of Hand-Brew

Speaking of brewed coffee, making it by hand is falling out of fashion. Of the 32 cafes who responded with the specifics of their brewed coffee program, only nine are doing hand-brewed coffee. That’s 28%. Only two had exclusively hand-brewed coffee as their filter option. And of the nine hand-brewers, three responded simply with “pour-over.” This continues a trend we’ve seen over the past few years, where shops used to laundry list every pour-over device they planned to use, but are now instead moving to something simpler, both in terms of what they offer and how they respond to the Build-Outs questionnaire. And while that doesn’t necessarily mean that folks don’t like hand-brewed coffee anymore, we generally find that people use the Build-Outs to discuss the things about their project they are most excited about. And that ain’t hand-brew.

Woodshed Coffee & Tea in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This isn’t to say single serve coffee is necessarily on the outs; 11 other shops have some sort of automated pour-over: Curtis Gold Cup and Seraphim, Poursteady, Marco SP9, etc. In total, 62.5% of cafes have some sort of single-serve filter option.

But that’s nearly 20 percentage points lower—81.25% in total to be exact—than the number of shops who expressly mention their batch brew program. And with the exception of two, all of the 25 batch brew shops enumerated at least the brand of batch brewer they were using (btw, Curtis is the most popular batch brewer, edging out FETCO by a tally of 11 to eight). In total, 12 cafes are batch brew only, higher than both the number of automated single-serve filter coffee shops as well as the number of cafes with hand brew.

And Now, The Armchair Philosophizing

So what does it all mean? Where is specialty coffee in 2018? If new cafes are any indication—and I wholehearted think they are, Build-Outs even more so; talking about your shop in these long-format pieces allows a new owner to reach for the aspirational, to talk about what their shop is TRYING to be, whether or not they are ever really able to make 100% good on that promise. Coffee shops are moving back towards being the third place, an almost revolt against the “snobby” coffee shop. This isn’t just true, it is aggressively true. Snobby coffee shops are flat out uncool, real square, totally Melvin these days.

It’s evident in what respondents say as well as what they don’t say. Take the brewed coffee, for example. Cafes would more readily talk about their batch brew setup than their hand brew; nearly 40% didn’t even mention what type of grinder they use. The gear arms race is over—though let’s be honest, with the Linea and EK43 always taking the top spot, there was never really much of a race in the first place. Convenience and community are in.

Method Coffee Roasters in Denver, Colorado

How do we know? Well, the word “community” appeared on average 1.4 times per article. But if we look at just the 24 cafes that talk about community, the word appeared 2.4 times per article. Which is all to say, building a sense of community is the common thread amongst this crop of Build-Outs.

What is perhaps a more interesting question, though, is if this is just the natural swing of the zeitgeist pendulum or something more akin to soldier’s returning home from war. For so long, specialty coffee had to fight to be taken seriously, which meant goofy gadgets, over-reverence, LOTS of comparisons to wine and sommeliers, and just a general “otherness” to help distinguish specialty from the other coffee. Now, specialty coffee is more of a household thing.

This is not to say that everyone is drinking specialty coffee, but more people are aware of it and we have (for the most part) moved past the hipster-barista-punching-bag phase. The way I see it, specialty coffee is on the same trajectory as craft beer. Once upon a time if you drank something from a local brewery, you were a “beer snob,” and engaged in some kind of special act. But now craft beer is mainstream. If you call someone a “beer snob” now for liking craft brews, you look like the asshole, not them. Specialty coffee isn’t quite there yet—it’s still a step or two behind, and still worn like a badge of pride by some. That won’t last for long. Snobbery is dying because snob-worthy coffee has gone way mainstream, big time, and that’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Is this the coffee shop returning back to its resting state, the relaxed hang out spot, or are we going to see coffee want to impose another round of super seriousness? Only time will tell.

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

“Avast, Ye Builders-of-Out” original poem by Jordan Michelman. 

The post The Analytics of Autumn: A Requiem For The 2018 Build-Outs Of Summer appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Black Coffee, the new event series from creative director Michelle Johnson (The Chocolate Barista) recently staged major events in New York City (October 15th) and Washington DC (October 19th) at the Classic Stage Company in lower Manhattan and The Line Hotel in Adams Morgan. Hosted by Michelle Johnson, produced by Sprudge, and featuring NYC co-hosts Tymika Lawrence (Atlas Coffee) and Ezra Baker (Oren’s Coffee Co.) and DC co-host Adam JacksonBey (The Potter’s House, Barista Guild of America Executive Council), these events centered the voices and experiences of Black coffee professionals and enthusiasts alike, all with unique perspectives that spanned intersectional identities and roles on the retail end of the value chain.

The NYC event was sponsored by La Marzocco USA, Revelato,r Coffee, Oatly, Everyman Espresso and Oren’s Coffee Co. and featured panel guests Lem Butler (Black & White Roasters), Kristina Hollie (Intelligentsia), Winston Thomas (Barista Champion of South Africa/Urnex Ambassador), and Candice Madison (Irving Farm). Extra special thanks to the team at Everyman Espresso and Classic Stage Company for helping support this event onsite, and to Oren’s Coffee Co., Discovery Wines and Make My Cake for afterparty support. (Special thanks to D’Onna Stubblefield for music, party logistics, life advice, et. al.) Live Instagram coverage and event photography was produced by Noemie Tshinaga.

The DC event was sponsored by La Marzocco USA, Oatly, Revelator Coffee, and The Line Hotel, and featured panelists including Aisha Pew (Dovecote Cafe), Candy Schibli (Southeastern Roastery), Reggie Elliott (Foreign National), Victoria Smith (The Cup We All Race 4), and Donte Gardner (Vigilante Coffee Company). Ticket sales at this event benefited Collective Action for Safe Spaces. Special thanks to everyone at The Line Hotel for their incredible support and accommodation for this event—particularly Farrah Skeiky for her exceptional coordination and consideration—and to Gran Cata and Danielle’s Desserts for supporting a delicious afterparty. (Special thanks to Callie Eberdt of Oalty for onsite support and general positivity.) Live Instagram coverage and event photography was produced by Kayla Butler.

Video of the event will premiere in the coming weeks, filmed by Lanny Huang.

Michelle Johnson

A huge thank you again to all of the sponsors—everyone at La Marzocco USA, everyone at Oatly, Cameron Heath and Joshua Owen at Revelator Coffee, Ezra Baker, D’Onna Stubblefield and the team at Oren’s Coffee Co., Sam Penix and the team at Everyman Espresso, and especially to the exceptional facility teams at Classic Stage Company (NYC) and The Line Hotel (DC). You make this work possible—thank you.

Poster by Taylor McManus

You can now listen to both episodes via podcast! Download them here and subscribe.

All images from Black Coffee NYC by Noemie Tshinaga.

All images from Black Coffee DC by Kayla Butler.

The post Black Coffee NYC & Washington DC: The Live Podcasts Are Now Available appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Los Angeles, are you ready for the LA Coffee Festival? I sure hope so, because it gets going today, November 9th. And like with all the Allegra Events-created shindigs that follow the general naming convention “[city] Coffee Festival,” the three-day bash descending upon LA is going to be chockablock with all manner of coffee good times. We’ve rounded up a few of the can’t-miss happenings going on this weekend; if you are in the City of Angels over the next few days, these are the things you need to check out.

The centerpiece for these coffee festivals is always a competition and the LA Coffee Festival is no different. This year’s event is the Coffee Mixologists, where teams of two—one barista and one mixologist—work together to see who can come up with the best coffee cocktail using mystery ingredients provided to them that day. And a fun twist for this year, baristas and mixologists will be doing daily takeovers of the Latte Art Stage for Coffee Mixologists LA Allstars, where teams will be making drinks on the fly THAT YOU’LL BE ABLE TO DRINK.

That’s not the only way to get your fill. New for this year, the LA Coffee Festival has added The Kitchen, a casual dining experience featuring “fiery demos, workshops and talks headed up by culinary legends” from the LA food scene. Look for features like “One Way to Have Your Eggs” by Go Get Em Tiger’s Marilei Denila as well as “Fine Dining Meets Specialty Coffee” with Joseph Geiskopf of TRINITI and Maya Alber of Devocion.

And lest you think it’s all about whatever you can shove down your gullet (which to be honest, is still a pretty great way to experience these festivals), there’s learning aplenty to be had at The Lab when you are recovering from your over-caffeinated food coma. Many of the discussions taking place are on hot button topics within the coffee community: sustainability, colonialism, and women in coffee. It’s kinda like food, but it’s food for thought.

But then it’s back to more flavorful goodies, including a tasting room, a street vendor market, and the True Artisan Cafe, La Marzocco’s rotating coffee concept that will feature over 30 different cafes taking over their space throughout the course of the festival, including G&B Coffee, Stumptown, Cartel, Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, and so many more.

Tickets are still on sale for the Los Angeles Coffee Festival and range from $27 to $100 for single-day passes and Super VIP three-day access. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Los Angeles Coffee Festival’s official website. See you there!

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 What To Do At The Los Angeles Coffee Festival This Weekend appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

A recent examination of Melbourne cafes by Broadsheet editor, Nick Connellan, asks an honest question: do the city’s cafes have what it takes to continue influencing cafe culture globally? Can they still be unique enough from each other locally to survive? And is the era of Melbourne cafe as international cultural symbol beginning to fade?

With hundreds of cafes in the Melbourne CBD alone, and hundreds more in the surrounding suburbs, the market appears to have reached what any reasonable person might define as saturation. Even with the Instagrammable build-outs, inventive restaurant-quality menus, and coffee offerings scaling from your basic $4 cappuccino to a $10 cup of an anaerobic process coffee from Central America, Melbourne may have “backed itself into a corner”, as per Connellan. Because these cafes are all starting to feel the same.  

From Broadsheet:

Our autumn 2015 cover story, “The Design Question”, asked why so many cafes were starting to look the same: polished timber, white subway tiles and Edison light bulbs. Since then, the similarities have become more pervasive than just aesthetics. Many of our cafes have begun to feel the same, too. It’s like everyone’s read the same basic manual on how to open a “Melbourne cafe”. “It’s become a very fashionable industry, and the barrier to get in is very low – you just need an apron and a beard and you’re in,” jokes Al Keating, a partner at Coffee Supreme, one of Melbourne’s earliest specialty roasters.

From the outside looking in, it’s interesting to read Melbourne roasters and cafe owners talk openly about the faults of cafes. Some of these faults include six-figure investments at least in design, branding, marketing, on top of building a kitchen and coffee program. Cafes today are spending big on making everything look good, and using influencer marketing quite regularly to drive a fickle local customer base with endless options. And that’s just to keep up.

I’m a self-proclaimed coffee culturalist particularly interested in the roles cafes and coffee shops play in everyday life in different places. As an temporary migrant to Melbourne (who also works in the coffee industry), it looks to me like observing the first results of a shift in priorities for cafes and coffee shops globally. In other words, rising investment costs and a marble pour-over bar aren’t the only things everyone is doing the same. Al Keating’s joke to Broadsheet has some truth to it: everyone doing it also looks the same.

We’re seeing stagnation of a coffee culture due to a lack of diversity in real time.

Melbourne has had a number of things that’s allowed it to set the standard to be a successful coffee city. The general public have a basic understanding of what specialty coffee is, what’s good, and where to find it. Most cafes serve coffee well enough to be considered “good” with still a fair amount achieving “exceptionally good” and “downright delicious.” Add those to the list along with food dishes that look like they’re out of Masterchef Australia against the backdrop of an indoor concrete greenhouse. Melbourne can be a coffee lover’s dream.

But what’s real is this: white men dominate cafes, especially in upper management and ownership. This is true so many places around the world, but it is very obviously most evidently true here in Australia, and in Melbourne especially. So it should come to no surprise that the same bunch of white men who created the template are out of ideas to innovate it. If Melbourne business leaders and cafe investors want to solve the city’s cafe diversity problem, they should start by investing in diverse business owners. This is the real next wave of coffee, and something Melbourne must consider if it wants to remain at the forefront of cafe culture globally.

Michelle Johnson is a news contributor at Sprudge Media Network, and the founder and publisher of The Chocolate Barista. Read more Michelle Johnson on Sprudge.

The post Melbourne Cafes Are Running Out Of Ideas? Well, Duh. appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The Good Food Awards are back for a ninth year and they have just announced their finalists. The yearly celebration of American-made consumables with a focus on sustainability has narrowed down the 401 products making it to the last leg from a field of over 2,000. Among the 27 finalists in the coffee category, there a handful of familiar names as well as a few new ones. And it’s not all Ethiopian coffees this year; it’s only mostly Ethiopian coffees.

The 2019 Good Food Awards coffee finalists are:

Bard Coffee, Organic Costa Rica La Mirella, Maine
Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, Geisha XO & KIUNYU Coffee Factory – Peaberry, California
Broadsheet Coffee Roasters, Special Prep Ethiopia Natural Bombe, Bensa Sidama, Massachusetts
Caffe Ladro, Ethiopia Limu Organic, Washington
Catalyst Coffee Consulting, Ethiopia Keramo, Oregon
Commonwealth Coffee Roasters,Carmen Estate Washed Geisha, Colorado
Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, Kossa Kebena, Ohio
Drink Coffee Do Stuff, Ethiopia Guji Hambela Wamena, California
Elixr Coffee, El Injerto Pacamara, Pennsylvania
Equator Coffees & Teas, Ethiopia Gedeb 1 Organic Gotiti Lot 143, California
Folly Coffee Roasters, House Bean – Ethiopia Guji, Minnesota
Intelligentsia, Organic Ethiopia Kurimi, Illinois
Linea, Ethiopia Suke Quto, California
Noble Coffee Roasting, Ethiopian ‘Buku Sayisa’, Oregon
Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters, Guji Highlands, Ethiopia – Natural Process, Organic, Texas
Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, Girma Eshetu, Texas
Onyx Coffee Lab, Colombia Granja La Esperanza, Arkansas
PERC Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Kayon Mountain, Georgia
Red Rooster Coffee Roaster, Kayon Mountain, Virginia
Royal Mile Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Kayon Mountain Taaroo & Kenya Ichamama Peaberry Washed, New Jersey
Spyhouse Coffee Roasting Co, Duromina/Ethiopia, Minnesota
Still Vibrato, Ethiopia Shantawene, Oregon
Thanksgiving Coffee Company, Upsetter Espresso, California
Vashon Coffee Company, Organic Ethiopia Sidamo Guji Hambela Buku, Washington
Vibrant Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Idido Washed, Pennsylvania

But coffee isn’t just in the coffee category anymore; it’s being utilized as an ingredient in multiple categories, including:

Beer:
Rolling Meadows Brewery, Coffee Break, Illinois

Chocolate:
Dark Forest Chocolate, Gimme Coffee & Dark Chocolate, New York

Confections: 
COCOPOD, Coffee Cocoa Chocolate Hazelnut, North Carolina
Garcia Nevett Chocolatier de Miami, Cafe de Hacienda, Florida
Vermont Amber Organic Toffee, Percolator Toffee, Vermont

Elixirs:
Sightglass Coffee and Shrub & Co.,Coffee Cascara Shrub, California

Snacks:
Hot Mama Salsa, Smoky Coffee Chili Oil, Oregon

Sprits:
Elixir, Caffe’ Corretto Liqueur, Oregon
Griffo Distillery, Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur, California

Winners of the 2019 Good Food Awards will crowned on Friday, January 11th at the GFA Gala in San Francisco. For more information about the Good Food Awards or for tickets to attend the awards show, visit their 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 Good Food Awards

The post The 2019 Good Food Awards Finalized Have Been Announced appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

No matter the industry, employee turnover comes with major costs, some more obvious than others. Between the costs of recruiting, onboarding, training, offboarding, and burnout, employee turnover can cost as much as four to 12 months’ worth of the lost employee’s salary—a number which is steep to begin with and gets steeper the more highly placed the employee is in the business. For all those reasons and more, employee retention is crucial to keeping costs under control as well as maintaining positive and consistent service and operations from the cafe upward. Leading human resource experts have different opinions on what a great retention strategy looks like, but one of the best ways to learn about retention is to talk to long-term employees that continue to be excited about and engaged in their jobs. In this piece, I talk to five coffee workers in varied positions who have been with their companies for five years or more about why they’re still excited to show up for work every day.

Pay and Benefits

Maybe the most obvious factor in long-term retention is pay and benefits. However, almost all of the folks interviewed acknowledged that while pay is important, they could probably make more elsewhere and don’t stick around primarily for pay.

Kailyn Fulmer, who has worked at Monocacy Coffee Company for 13 years and currently occupies a manager and lead barista role, listed competitive pay and employee incentives as key retention factors, but also acknowledged that she wouldn’t be in her job if cash were the number one factor. “Let’s be honest—it’s definitely not because of the money. I think what it boils down to is the love of the craft, the love of our industry.”  

Emily Davis has worked at Counter Culture Coffee (full disclosure, my former employer) for six years and currently inhabits the role of Director of Education. For Davis, staying in her job has been more about growth and fulfillment than pay. But, like Fulmer, Davis also lists salary and benefits as key to retention. “Companies should do what they can to demonstrate employee value by way of salary, bonuses, or benefits. I think that acknowledging value and demonstrating it are two very separate things and that both are necessary to retain employees.”

Jackson O’Brien, head barista and educator at Peace Coffee, has been with his company for six years and is more committed to his company’s fair pay policies for all than his own pay specifically. “The thing that initially made me want to work with the company has also made me want to stick around: the fact that the company endeavors to treat every employee fairly. Aside from competitive wages, we make sure that every employee including starting baristas and warehouse production assistants gets paid vacation and sick time, 401k benefits, yearly guaranteed cost of living raises, and full health and dental plans. Not only do I feel like I’m fairly treated, I feel like all of my colleagues are.”

O’Brien added that when money is tight, transparency around pay helps to cover the gap. “When it’s transparently communicated that times are tight, people might not be happy about their pay and responsibilities, but they’ll understand.”

Basic Fit and Growth

Perhaps also obvious, all of the long-term engaged employees I spoke to enjoy the basic work of their jobs and have found themselves able to grow and learn within them.

Davis found that fit and growth were the key factors in her own longevity. Starting as a customer relations representative and growing into her current director of education role kept her challenged and engaged. “I felt like I had learned the company well enough to take on a new layer of responsibility. The familiarity I had gained made me feel more deeply connected to the company, and that familiarity gave my influence a power and efficacy that I valued. That’s why I stick around—I believe I have helped the company grow as much as the company has helped me grow.”

Maciej Kasperowicz, the director of coffee at Gregory’s Coffee, has been with his company for eight years; fit and growth are the main reasons why he’s been happy long-term. His position has evolved significantly over time, allowing him to grow with the company and stay engaged and fulfilled.

Christy Greenwald, cafe manager at Ritual Coffee Roasters, has been with her company for 10 years, growing from barista to manager at the company’s flagship cafe. She too cited “opportunities for personal growth, job position and otherwise,” as a key factor in her own longevity.

Communication, Expectations, and Feedback

Healthy communication, clear expectations, and the ability to give and receive feedback also played an important role in retention for everyone I spoke to.

“Setting clear expectations for employees and delivering on them is key,” said O’Brien. “This shouldn’t be anything that is in any way innovative or out of the ordinary and yet I feel like so many employers don’t do it.”

Greenwald agrees and sees feedback as a two-way street. “Receiving direct feedback and encouragement really builds trust in employees, as does encouraging and heeding all employee input.”

Appreciation and Human Connection

According to all five of the workers I spoke with, the people involved matter. Being appreciated, seen as a whole person, and having a human connection with coworkers were all important in long-term engagement and employment.

Kasperowicz credited top-to-bottom team fit for a huge portion of his job satisfaction. “I get to work with people I really respect and care about: from our shops to our roastery, our education department, our boss, and even the people I get to buy coffee from. When I think about what I’d miss most about my job and what makes me care about my company, working with those people is towards the top of the list.”

Greenwald cited not only her team but her company’s female owner as important in happiness and shared values, while Fulmer emphasized the importance of providing a safe and positive working environment.

O’Brien talked about demonstrating care through treating workers as humans. “Understand that employees are not cogs in a machine but rather human beings with basic human needs. Again, it shouldn’t be out of the ordinary but somehow is.” For instance, O’Brien feels that to truly treat employees as people, employers not only need to provide paid sick leave but also compassion and support when an employee is sick. Rather than asking employees to get their own shift covered or interrogating whether or not they’re truly sick, employers should encourage workers to get the rest they need, treating them as whole people.

The Complexity of Feeling Valued

The factors that help workers feel valued and engaged long-term can seem complex and varied, but ultimately, they might not be that surprising. According to the long-term engaged employees I talked to, people care about being able to live and work in safety and relative comfort, as well as access to growth opportunities as they get older and grow; they care about connecting with the people around them and growing as a larger team. These things may not be easy to provide in equal measure at all times, but treating people as humans and taking the time to appreciate them as best you can seems to be the underlying factor in keeping workers happy and present.

RJ Joseph (@RJ_Sproseph) is a Sprudge staff writer, publisher of Queer Cup, and coffee professional based in the Bay Area. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge Media Network.

The post Employee Retention: Why Workers Stay Long Term appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Good news for people who derive some sort of satisfaction from claiming that cold brew stinks (and bad news for literally everyone else): science seems to show that hot coffee is better for you. A new study published recently in Scientific Reports titled Acidity and Antioxidant Activity of Cold Brew Coffee finds that hot brewed coffee is similar in pH and higher in antioxidants than the cold brewed version of the same coffee.

As reported by Health.com, the study was co-authored by assistant and associate professors of chemistry at Thomas Jefferson University Dr. Megan Fuller and Dr. Niny Rao, respectively. Using five different commercially available pre-ground coffees—Ethiopia Ardi, Ethiopia YirgZ (shout out to Keffa Coffee), Brazil, Colombia, and Myanmar—between a light and medium roast, the researchers brewed hot and cold coffees using the “same ratio of water volume to grind weight,” per the study.

Fuller and Rao (but not that Rao) found that, ostensibly contrary to general sentiment that cold brew is less acidic than hot coffee, the two had similar pH’s: cold brew ranging from 4.96 to 5.13 (YirgZ being the lowest and Myanmar the highest) and hot coffee 4.85 to 5.10 (Ardi and Brazil). However, the go on to note that hot coffee contained “larger measures of titratable acidity, indicating higher concentrations of extracted acids and/or additional acidic compounds not found in the cold brew,” and that it is this acidic complexity in hot coffee that may be the cause (or be a better indicator than pH) of the higher acidity, perceived or actual.

via Acidity and Antioxidant Activity of Cold Brew Coffee

In terms of antioxidant activity, the thing associated with most of coffee’s health benefits, hot coffee was found to have higher concentrations of total caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs). CQAs are believed to play a significant role in coffee’s antioxidative benefits, and indeed this study finds higher antioxidant activity in hot coffee than cold brew. But it also found that while CQAs were a good indicator of antioxidant activity in cold brew, it was less so in hot coffee. This means that, as Fuller and Rao put it in the most badass way imaginable, hot coffee may also have “additional radical-scavenging compounds” that are boosting the antioxidant activity.

Now, seeing how I can’t let the anti-cold brew bad guys win, let me grasp at a few straws here. Without any sort of TDS reading, we don’t know that these coffees were comparably extracted and perhaps this leads to the lower antioxidant levels in cold brew. Perhaps grind size played a factor; the same grind is presumably not ideal for both brew methods, which may contribute to the results.

I dunno, I’m not a scientists, I’m just a guy who doesn’t really drink cold brew that will fight for you right to do so unshamed. And so what? Maybe hot coffee has more antioxidant activity. Nothing a handful of blueberries can’t make up for.

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

The post Is Hot Coffee Better For You Than Cold Brew? appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

Employee retention is good for business. While not all employers look at the costs of turnover in their organizations, leading HR group the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimated that the loss of a salaried employee can cost a business an average of four to nine months of that employee’s salary. Other estimates put that cost even higher, and those costs get steeper and steeper the more highly placed an employee is in an organization. High employee turnover can also create a vicious cycle of burnout of remaining staff and further turnover, which can place tremendous social and financial strain on businesses.

While retention is crucial to employers’ well-being, there’s a growing body of evidence that shows that staying with a company isn’t always in workers’ best interests—and, in fact, can be just the opposite. There are real drawbacks to unconditional employee loyalty: fiscal costs, professional costs, and emotional costs.

Salary and Benefits

According to a 2014 article in Forbes, employees who stayed in their jobs for more than two years could expect to make 50% less over their lifetimes. Specifically, employees could expect an average yearly raise of 3%; on the other hand, employees who leave for new positions receive an average raise of 10-20%.

Tom Baker, who has worked in coffee for 15 years and held a variety of positions from cafe manager to wholesale trainer, now coordinates operations for in-house cafes and event spaces within the Salesforce corporation. With his tenure in the coffee industry, Baker sees these numbers as a very real reason to be discerning about how long you should stay with a given company. “In food service, most employers don’t offer a pension plan, and wages or salaries for entry and mid-level positions are so low that workers can’t set aside much to contribution plans even if they’re available. If the goal is to get with a company that I can stay with for a long time—one that will take care of me now and after I retire—it might be a long road to get there. That said, I probably don’t want to spend more time than I need to at any stop along the way.”

Baker adds that given the raise workers can get from having the chance to negotiate a new base salary with a different company, if workers aren’t making what they need to meet their goals, “staying with their employer is not going to get them there.”

Typically, the best avenue to significantly increase wages and professional growth without moving companies is through getting promotions, which can remain elusive for a variety of reasons. Rob Rodriguez, head roaster at George Howell Coffee, points out that not only are many companies unable to offer those opportunities because of their structures, it’s also harder for people of color and people from other marginalized groups to access them. “In the past, I’ve had to take a backseat to cisgender white coworkers when it came to promotions,” Rodriguez says. Because of the well-documented barriers to mobility people of color face, Rodriguez points out that leaving is often a more effective way to move up professionally than waiting in line for scarce promotions.

In addition, different workers have different needs benefits-wise in order to achieve long-term stability. For instance, employees who want to have children may be unable to if their company isn’t flexible on developing parental leave programs for longer-term employees, or employees with certain medical needs may need to find jobs that meet their specific healthcare needs, and so on.

Professional and Personal Growth

While the fiscal impacts of long-term employment within a company are significant, most of the coffee workers I interviewed for this piece placed professional growth above pay as the biggest reason to leave one’s job.

Barista Guild Executive Council member Adam JacksonBey (who’s worked at DC cafe The Potter’s House for two years now) feels that baristas sometimes benefit from changing jobs even if they aren’t moving up and to the right in terms of position. “I personally think you become a much better barista even after changing jobs once. In general, you learn a different way of doing the thing you’ve been doing for however long you’ve been doing it. Being in a new environment challenges or reinforces what you’ve learned before and makes you adapt.”

Equator Coffees’ Specialty Sales and Account Manager Mark Dias feels that not only is this kind of growth important for individuals as professionals, it’s actually helpful to companies as well. “One benefit of moving from job to job is the ability to see how different companies are structured and how they operate. You’re able to pick up different pieces and adapt better to different work environments in the long term.” This means that organizations that gain a new hire also get an employee who has learned a variety of organizational schema and is better equipped to recognize and solve deep organizational issues that can often be invisible or feel insurmountable from the inside.

Rodriguez points out that stagnation within a position can have negative mental health impacts for both workers themselves and those around them. “It’s a dangerous place to allow yourself to fall into in your professional development, but mainly for your mental health and how it impacts your workplace,” he says—an effect which can devastate productivity and happiness. “You can easily start doubting your own abilities. It can skew your perception of self and the people around you significantly.”

Growing Within Your Organization, or Without It

In what is perhaps an indicator of how much the specialty coffee industry does value employee loyalty, most of the veteran coffee professionals I interviewed for this piece offered advice on how to stay happy and engaged without leaving, even when an employer isn’t necessarily meeting your growth needs; however, they all noted that it’s important to recognize your needs and find happiness and security, even if that does mean leaving.

“Reach out to your community, regional and national, and see if there are outside educational opportunities for you,” JacksonBey encourages. He also recommends talking to friends from other shops, or making some if you don’t yet have any. And, lastly, “talk to your direct manager about how you feel and if there’s anything more you can do.” If all else fails, he encourages workers to move on—but, he says, there’s potentially a lot you can do even within an organization.

“Start seeking avenues of growth elsewhere. Full stop. This doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the company you work for in any way,” says Rodriguez, who himself has found effective growth through moving laterally within companies. “But, if it comes down to it and the place you’re working for doesn’t cut it, then it may be time to seek out employment for a company that can value your work ethic and your drive for self and workplace improvement.”

Retention Matters, and Engagement Does Too

There are many ways employers can provide growth and engagement for employees, and many reasons beyond money and promotions that many workers stay happy in their positions long-term, especially in a passion-driven industry like specialty coffee. By developing a solid retention plan that allows workers to grow, learn, and continue to earn, companies can avoid the lose-lose situation of poor morale or high turnover costs due to a lack of engagement and dissatisfaction. Ultimately, most coffee employees work at will, which means that their contract with their employer lasts as long as both parties decide to continue it. Employers have more power in the equation, but employment is a two-way street, and both parties have an equal right to prioritize their needs.

RJ Joseph (@RJ_Sproseph) is a Sprudge staff writer, publisher of Queer Cup, and coffee professional based in the Bay Area. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge Media Network.

The post Employee Retention: Why Workers Leave appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News