The Curb Kaimuki Archives - Page 33 of 33 - The Curb Kaimuki

Montreal-based roasting company Kittel revamped their look this year. Going with the popular box packaging, Kittel worked with independent creative consultant Marc-André Rioux along with Dutch illustrator Timo Kuilder to create a colorful line of coffees with a vintage travel poster inspired motif. We talked to Liam Robichaud, Director of Coffee & Quality Control at Kittel, to learn more.

Tell us a bit about your company!

Seven years ago, Guillaume Kittel-Ouimet left his successful career as a financial risk manager and struck out on his own to begin a career in coffee. He bought a small sample roaster, took a course on roasting coffee in nearby Vermont, and in his own apartment he began to experiment.

Now we’ve built a small team and in our humble warehouse in the Rosemont neighbourhood of Montreal we roast coffee for around 60 or so wholesale clients. As a company, Kittel is young and energetic. After years of focusing entirely on the quality of the product in the bag, we were finally ready for a makeover.

When did the coffee package design debut?

We launched the new packaging to select few wholesale partners the week before Christmas 2017, and officially switched over in January of this year.

Who designed the package?

We worked together with Marc-André Rioux, an independent creative consultant who came highly recommended by some of his former colleagues at Montréal advertising agency, Cossette.

It was Marc-André who helped us define our concept of Collections. We wanted to simplify the experience of shopping for new and unique coffees so rather than grouping coffees by origin, we decided to group them by flavour profile, or mood if you will. This allows us to introduce someone who likes earthy, nutty coffees from Brazil to coffee from Peru, Burundi, or Indonesia. Similarly, we can show lovers of Ethiopian and Kenyan coffee, the quality of microlots from Colombia, Guatemala, or Brazil.

So as to avoid over complication, we limited our collections to the four most commonly requested types of offering:

Classic: Rich, full-bodied coffees, with bittersweet, notes of chocolate and roasted nuts and limited acidity. Perfect for espresso, milk drinks, and a no-frills, any-day-of-the-week cup.

Signature: Crowd-pleasing coffees with notes of fruit balanced with notes of chocolate, caramel, pastry. These coffees are equally remarkable on espresso or filter.

Discovery: Bright, vibrant, fruity, aromatic and even floral coffees to excite the palate and wow your friends. These are the coffees to get for the person who has tried everything.

Decaf: The name says it all. Well just about. We want to source and roast decaf that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. Truth be told, it’s not uncommon to spot us at the roastery enjoying a cup of our single estate Colombian decaf when we’ve had enough caffeine before we’ve had enough coffee.

Tell us more about the art depicted on the coffees.

While Marc-André helped us to define the aesthetic of the new branding, from the packaging to the logo and typography, it was the extraordinarily talented Dutch illustrator, Timo Kuilder who provided the imagery on the front of the boxes.

We knew that we wanted illustrations that were inviting, familiar, and timeless. This is why the style might be described as vintage or retro. There is an element of travel posters from the early 20th century and a touch of cartoons from the 80s. Each image focuses on an individual, in the midst of some event that is objectively exciting but in spite of their unique surroundings, all they can focus on is their cup of coffee.

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

For us as the roaster, aesthetics are secondary. For years, we roasted coffee and put it in plain white bags with our name and some info about the origin. Quality is what’s important to us: quality of the product we source, and quality of the roasts we serve to our customers.

With that being said, there is another factor to consider. How do we introduce ourselves to new customers. If someone hasn’t had a chance to taste the coffee yet, they’re going to judge it the only way they can: visually. Through the process of this rebranding, we have learned that aesthetics are very relevant, and we are so proud to hear from customers that they love the new look.

What type of package is it and where is it manufactured?

When we set out to do this rebranding, we knew that we wanted packaging with as little environmental impact as possible but we were not willing to sacrifice customer experience. It had to be engaging, beautiful, easy to display, and yet still be able to be reused, recycled, or even to break down and return to the earth from which it came.

Only one option consistently stood out from the rest: boxes. Boxes stand straight up, they stack easily and in an attractive way, making them perfect for retail displays at our partner cafes and stores. And what’s more, even the most beautiful boxes could be made from recycled materials and be themselves easily recycled. Our own boxes are produced here in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, at Imprimerie Dumaine. They are made of FSC certified cardboard and printed with vegetable based inks.

Inside the box, we still had to use a bag, and so we knew right from the start it had to be compostable. We worked together with TekPak, a Canadian company making their own brand of Omnidegradable coffee packaging. With their help, we were able to procure 100% biodegradable bags (even the valve). Combined with our recycled and recyclable boxes, we felt that we were finally able to meet our goal of a product which is both sustainable and memorable.

Where is it currently available?

Currently we are available at numerous shops around Montreal and the surrounding region, and we’re starting to be offered at shops in other provinces. Better still, customers all across Canada can order online and we ship for free on orders of $30 or more.

We are also beginning to hear from cafes in the US that want to partner with us, so you may begin to see us on that side of the border.

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.

The post Coffee Design: Kittel In Montreal appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

I love coffee books, I don’t know why. Probably because I’m a sucker for anything coffee-related. If you put coffee in front of anything, I’m probably going to want it. A coffee circular saw? Sure, I can see how that would be a useful additional to my pour-over bar. But you don’t have to be that head over heels for gear to appreciate a nice coffee book, especially one that is primarily photography-based. And Beber Mi Sudor—a new book from Nordic Approach and photographer Jake Green being released tomorrow, April 6th—is just that.

This is the first in a series of books that will “document [Nordic Approach’s] epic journeys with speciality coffee at origin, starting with Colombia.” The name, Beber Mi Sudor, literally translates to “drink my sweat,” a colloquialism “used by Colombian coffee workers to reflect the incredible effort and energy that goes in to producing their crops.”

Along with Green’s photography, the book will include “interviews with farmers, roasters, and our long-time friend Tim Wendelboe, as well as essays on Colombia’s unique environmental conditions, the intricacy of cupping, and Nordic Approach’s philosophy and experience as a green coffee sourcing company.”

To celebrate the release, Nordic Approach is holding a book launch party this Friday at their Oslo headquarters, starting at 7:00pm. But for those unable to attend, the book will be available for purchase via the Nordic Approach website. For more information on the Beber Mi Sudor or the launch party, visit the Beber Mi Sudor Facebook event page. And pick up a copy for you old friend, Zac. You know he likes coffee things.

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 Nordic Approach

The post Beber Mi Sudor: A New Book From Nordic Approach Comes Out Tomorrow appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

It’s true! The 2018 London Coffee Festival kicks off in just a few short days, bringing with it the sights, sounds, smells and slurps of the world’s premiere consumer coffee event. This is Sprudge Media’s astounding fourth consecutive year attending and covering the event, and we’re thrilled to be back again for a wild whirligig of a good time in the city that never sleeps…er, the city that sleeps after a nice long lunch.

That would be London, global capital of coffee culture (with heaps of great wine). It’s a city that leads the world in cafe cool, and at the center of it all sits the London Coffee Festival. What began in 2011 as a new event is today Europe’s leading coffee festival, drawing exhibitors from across the UK and EU and more than 30,000 attendees annually. It is a hot bed of brand exhibitions and product launches—the work we do covering London Coffee Festival each spring informs content all year long on Sprudge.

An important facet of the fest is its work with Project Waterfall, an international water charity focusing on bringing drinkable water to coffee growing communities. 50% of ticket sales at this year’s festival will be donated to Project Waterfall. This ethical approach to hosting coffee festivals is inspiring and a big part of why we’re proud to continue supporting the London Coffee Festival in 2018.

So what’s on at the fest? Heaps, to put it mildly. There is of course the 4th annual running of the Coffee Masters Tournament at London Coffee Festival. This year’s tournament promises to be the biggest and best yet, drawing an international cadre of top flight competitors to the stage at LCF. Sprudge Media Network has expanded its coverage of the Masters this season to include live content via the Sprudge Live Twitter and web hubs—you’ll be able to follow up to the minute coverage from the event all weekend long, with coverage supported by Cafe Imports, Acaia, Assembly Coffee, Oatly UK, and Faema. Follow Sprudge Live on Twitter and visit our Sprudge Live coverage hub for content all weekend long form London.

The showfloor itself is an enviably deep bench of brand activations, product launches, pop-up bars, and educational opportunities. It’s hard to figure out where to start with the highlights, but we’ll do our best by diving straight in.

• Gruppo Cimbali are showing up big at this year’s festival, sponsoring a series of bar experiences including The Benchmark Bar, The Sensory Bar, and the Coffee Mixologist Sensory Series, featuring 2018 Coffee Mixologist champions Vito Sportelli and Andrea Peconio.

• La Marzocco UK’s popular True Artisan Cafe experience is back, featuring an ever-rotating roster of top roasters from across the UK, Europe and beyond. Expect a focus on signature drinks and espresso blends, and stop by throughout the festival—there’s always something new on the bar.

• The Tasting Room is set to offer an innovative series of experiences throughout the event, including exhibitions by Union Hand-Roasted, Origin Coffee, and Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood.

• The Roasters Village takes place over two floors this year, bringing together a who’s who of UK and European coffee leaders from brands like Koppi, Small Batch Coffee Roasters, Clifton Coffee Roasters, Allpress Espresso, and many more.

• The Lab is boasting perhaps its most robust collection of speakers in festival history. Across a stunning series of talks and panels you learn from the likes of Tim Wendelboe, BBC Good Food writer Miriam Nice, Richard Corney and Jessie May Peters of Raw Material, home coffee roasting expert Geoff Woodley of Ikawa, Coffee Masters champion James Wise, Curators Coffee co-founder Catherine Seay, and many, many more.

• A lively and surprise-filled exhibitors showfloor featuring pop-up cafes, cuppings, hot new gear, and much, much more.

And that’s just scratching the surface! There’s also epic off-site parties from the likes of Mavam (Thursday), Sprudge Wine (Thursday), and many more events to come. There’s also an epic OATLY takeover at Boxpark from Monday April 9th thru Sunday April 15th, featuring free oat milk lattes, prize drawings, an epic latte art throwdown on Wednesday the 11th, and complimentary “Big Leb-Oat-Ski” (!) cocktails on Friday and Saturday night. If you’re hosting an off-site party or event during London Coffee Festival and would like it listed on Sprudge, please get in contact.

We’ll see you in London at the 2018 London Coffee Festival!

Sprudge Media Network’s coverage of the 2018 London Coffee Festival is supported by Cafe Imports, Acaia, Assembly Coffee, Oatly UK, and Faema.

All London Coffee Festival coverage on Sprudge. 

Photos by James Bryant for London Coffee Festival. 

The post The 2018 London Coffee Festival Is Coming appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

The La Marzocco Cafe—the Sprudgie Award winning Seattle coffee shop and showroom inside the KEXP Studios—has announced their Year Three Roasters in Residence, and there’s a pretty signficant international bent to this year’s lineup.

Like with previous years, each roaster gets to takeover the cafe for a month; this isn’t just a guest roaster spot, mind you, this is a wholesale change. Roasters decide the drink menu, bar design, flow, etc., in order to provide patrons a cafe experience that most resembles that of the roaster’s home shop.

For Year Three—though really it is Year Three and Four-ish, running from May 2018 through February 2020—the La Marzocco Cafe has tapped seven international roasters of the 20 total to inhabit the KEXP coffee shop. The international list includes: Allpress Espresso (Auckland, New Zealand), Seesaw Coffee (Shanghai, China), Bonanza Coffee Roasters (Berlin, Germany), Onibus Coffee (Tokyo, Japan), Ditta Artiginale (Florence, Italy), The Coffee Collective (Copenhagen, Denmark), and Five Elephant (Berlin, Germany).

For US-based roasters, La Marzocco has selected: Cuvée Coffee (Austin,TX), La Colombe Coffee Roasters (Philadelphia, PA), Kuma Coffee (Seattle, WA), Metric Coffee (Chicago, IL), Dapper and Wise (Portland, OR), Equator Coffees & Teas (San Rafael, CA), Port of Mokha (Oakland, CA), 4th Dimension Coffee (Durham, NC), Elixr Coffee (Philadelphia, PA),  Onda Origins (Seattle, WA),  Linea Caffe (San Francisco, CA), Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters (Lakewood, CO) and Verve Coffee Roasters (Santa Cruz, CA). That last two are my mom’s favorite coffee roasters, just in case you thought your parents’ coffee game was better than my mom’s. It isn’t. Hi Mom!

It all kicks off with next month with Cuvée Coffee. Will they bring with them their assembly-line style of drink ordering (featured here in Sprudge) or will Cuvée owner Mike McKim stand in front of the cafe slinging cans of nitro cold brew to passersby (a thing he has been known to do)? Who knows. Maybe both. That’s the fun of the La Marzocco Cafe. For more information about the Roaster in Residence program, view the announcement of the Year Three residents via the La Marzocco Cafe and Showroom 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 La Marzocco

The post La Marzocco Cafe Announces Roasters In Residence For Year Three appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News

On Wednesday, March 28th 2018, a California judge tentatively ruled that coffee must come with a cancer warning label in the state of California. If you work in coffee, you definitely heard about this, but it’s been a hot topic in the mainstream media as well, making for features in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, BBC, and even Snopes, a website dedicated to fact checking urban myths. But this is no fable; the ruling is for real, and now leading California coffee companies are left wondering what new costs and regulations the next few months might have in store for them.

The decision came after a lawsuit that’s been underway since 2008, when the California nonprofit Council for Education and Research on Toxics filed suit against Starbucks and dozens of other coffee purveyors under the 1986 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires companies with over 10 employees to warn their customers about the presence of carcinogens or toxins in their products. The carcinogen in question is known as acrylamide, a chemical compound produced during the coffee roasting process, which, when isolated (ie. not actually consumed inside coffee) has been shown in massive doses to cause cancer in animals, and is therefore found on California’s list of chemicals known to cause cancer. The question the lawsuit sought to answer was whether this chemical is truly harmless in coffee, and the burden of proof fell on coffee purveyors—who, the judge said, were unable to prove that acrylamide in coffee posed no significant health risk, as reported by Associated Press and others.

This decision arrives at odds with a growing body of medical research showing that coffee is not only harmless, it actually provides significant health benefits and reduces cancer risk, including reports from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, National Center for Biotechnology Information, and American Gastroenterology Association. Even the American Institute for Cancer Research has stated decisively that coffee does not need a cancer warning because scientists say it protects from cancer. The coffee trade organizations National Coffee Association and Specialty Coffee Association have both put out responses condemning the tentative ruling and providing resources for coffee people whose families, friends, coworkers, and customers may have questions about coffee’s carcinogenic potential.

It’s not quite over yet; the judge has given coffee companies a few weeks to file objections before the tentative ruling is finalized. Some defendants in the coffee lawsuit have already settled, including 7-Eleven, and a third phase could determine civil penalties of up to $2,500 per person exposed each day over eight years.

So where does all of this leave coffee companies? This lawsuit went after large companies with legal teams and substantial funds, but what about the small businesses that make up the vast majority of California coffee? I spoke to a small handful of coffee company owners and managers across California to hear their reactions and concerns.

Tony Konecny of Yes Plz in Los Angeles reports already seeing labeling from bigger coffee companies since the ruling dropped last Wednesday, including a sign on the bar of Intelligentsia’s Silver Lake location. “I’m assuming any company with money will know they’re a potential target and be proactive; I just wonder what’s going to happen to the little guys.” He also raised concerns around the optics of shipping roasted product from CA to the other parts of the country. “For my business, I don’t know what the impacts are going to be.”

Brian Gomez of The Roasted Bean in San Dimas also expressed uncertainty around potential impacts, but he expressed confidence that coffee lovers will continue to place their trust in the many studies that demonstrate the positive impacts of coffee consumption, as well as their coffee purveyors. “When customers ask, I give them my honest opinion and I make sure to say that it’s my opinion. Based on everything I’ve read, it is safe to drink—not only safe but beneficial. Honestly, if I didn’t believe in my heart that coffee was safe, I wouldn’t be in the coffee business.”

San Diego-based Cafe Virtuoso’s Savannah Phillips agrees that this likely won’t have a huge impact on whether or not current coffee consumers skip their daily brew: “I consider this a non-issue that will have very little or no impact on our business. Coffee drinkers will not change their habits because we are a pretty smart group of individuals.”

Kyle Glanville of G&B Coffee in LA expressed similar frustration at the perceived baselessness of the warning labels. “If the goal is a more informed consumer, mission not accomplished; what an incomplete story to tell consumers. I mean, that’s the thing about coffee, right? It’s almost too good to be true; you can drink so much of it every day and it only makes your life better, and it doesn’t give you cancer—that’s why we love it! It’s a unicorn product.”

Sam Sobolewski of Bartavelle Coffee and Wine Bar in Berkeley echoed the sentiment: “It would be nice if these labels reflected some sort of scientific consensus, but since they do not I will happily tell my customers that we have no idea what it’s all about.”

Wendy Warren of Chromatic Coffee in San Jose is less worried; she’s currently ahead of the game, having put up signs in her Santa Clara cafe a couple years ago. “No one has even commented on it. There’s so much good news health-wise out on coffee that we’re not expecting a change in consumption, just the added cost due to labeling changes.”

Both Glanville and Konecny expressed hopes to see major coffee trade organizations take on the battle of appealing this—as NCA has stated they may—and providing the necessary resources for small companies to get organized. “It feels like if you want to do business you’re just in open water surrounded by sharks,” said Glanville, expressing frustration that a safe, beneficial product like coffee could be targeted as a safety concern while dangerous weapons still abound on the open market. “There are people out there who litigate for a living, and right now it seems like small companies could end up very exposed without the resources to protect themselves.”

It’s early days yet, but the people who will face the real impacts of this new legislation have legitimate concerns around how this will affect not only their costs and operations, but also the public perception of coffee in the long run. But, despite the challenges this ruling may bring, each of the business owners I spoke with are hopeful that no matter what, coffee drinkers will continue to follow the research and enjoy their favorite caffeinated beverage, warning sign be damned.

RJ Joseph is a staff writer for Sprudge Media Network. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge.

The post Coffee And Cancer: California Industry Leaders Respond To Judge’s Ruling appeared first on Sprudge.

Source: Coffee News