Coffee in Pictures: Tree to Cup

As someone who grew up in agriculture, I realize how little we know about some of the foods and drinks we consume. For me, it's always fun to find out where foods come from and how they are produced, so I thought I'd share with you some pictures that give you a better idea of how coffee travels from tree to cup.

Coffee trees growing in Panama. Photo by Gilian on Flickr.

The coffee tree produces a delicate white flower that has a jasmine or orange-like smell.

Coffee flowers in Indonesia. Photo by Deepak Bhatia on Flickr.

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Dog River Coffee Company

If you happen to be driving to Portland from Eastern Washington and you just cannot drive another hour without stopping (if you’ve got kids, you might know what I mean), Hood River is a good place to get out and stretch your legs. When we drove back to Portland after Thanksgiving, I was hoping to drive all the way to Portland without stopping. However, I was outvoted 3-1, so we pulled off the freeway and drove up to Oak Street, the main street in the touristy part of town. We parked and hopped out, looking for a café. Just up the street, beyond the absinthe bar, we spotted the Dog River Coffee company.  It looked like the type of place where we could get a little boost for the last leg of the trip (the café, not the bar).

Dog River Coffee 

For those of you who don’t know, Hood River is a small town about an hour’s drive east from Portland on I-84. It is located on the southern bank of the Columbia River and is a well-known destination for wind surfers who come to take advantage of the Columbia Gorge’s ever-present winds. It is also a popular place for people who are in transit to/from Mount Hood for camping, hiking or skiing. The downtown is geared for tourists and is full of small shops, restaurants and cafés. If you venture up the hill very far, the town offers some spectacular views of Mount Adams across the river to the north.

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A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 3

After our talk with Matt, Sam and I decided to walk up to Coava Coffee, just a few blocks away. I had been planning to stop by and talk to them about their new Kone filter that was just released for sale. Coava has been very effective at creating a buzz (pun intended) in the social media sphere. They are very active on Twitter, and the Kone was recently reviewed favorably by The New York Times and Gizmodo. I was hoping to talk to them about their marketing strategies and to try some Kone-poured coffee.

The rain was falling steadily and a hostile cold wind was blowing as we walked to Coava. We were relieved to get inside the café and out of the weather. I was glad to be back in one of the first PDX coffee shops I stumbled across in my exploration of the area’s coffee scene.

We walked up to the counter and started talking with Matt, one of the co-owners, about the Kone filters. Keith, the other owner, was busy boxing up Kones for shipment while Matt was taking care of the bar. They’ve been very busy lately with getting their products ready to ship.

Kones in waiting

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A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 2

Sam and I left Public Domain and headed south for Pioneer Square. As we reached the square, a newsman from Channel 8 asked if we wanted to be on the news. I hesitated for a second and then thought sure, why not? It never hurts to get some practice time in front of the camera. The station was looking for “on the street” responses to President Obama’s compromise on the tax cuts. I shared my opinions and we moved on. It had already been a more interesting day than I had planned.

We walked through downtown over to the riverfront area, crossing the Hawthorne Bridge and dropping down to Water Avenue (It would have been quicker to take the Morrison Bridge, but I only realized this after we reached the café). We arrived just as the rain started to fall. Inside, the barista warmly greeted us, and he described his espressos with ease. We ordered, and while we waited, I glanced around for the roaster that was supposed to be in the café. It was behind the wall just behind the front counter, but it was not in use at the time.

Attention: fresh-roasted coffee nearby

Sam and I sat down by the window and looked around. I took a couple of pictures and when I did, Matt Milletto, the owner, came over to talk to us. He was just making sure we weren’t up to anything sinister (I don’t blame him—we probably looked suspicious). Sam introduced himself as a co-worker to someone who Matt knew. Matt quickly recognized the name and offered us a tour if we could wait a couple minutes. Sure, we replied.

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Links for Week of December 4-10

Dutch Bros. is standing by its barista who killed a would-be robber, even though carrying weapon was against company policy (link)

Sumo wrestler in Fukoka, Japan, tries to rob coffee shop by sneaking in through open window (must have been a big window). (link)

Kraft’s and Starbucks’ divorce keeps getting uglier. Kraft has petitioned the courts for an injunction against the termination of their relationship (link)

Oprah really stepped in it when she decided to promote McCafes in Australia (link)

Kuma Coffee in Seattle is disclosing the prices it pays for green coffee beans in an effort to combat the perception that Fair Trade coffee is always better (link)

Interesting marketing idea from the UK: free coffee for finding and returning a café’s coffee mugs which had been spread out over town (link)

Cheap and convenient: Nestle is selling instant coffee (with sugar and cream) in small packets to increase sales in Africa (link)

Tufts University in Somerville, MA, has hipsters too (No, PDX, it’s not just you) (link)

Howard Schultz has been nominated as CEO of the Decade by MarketWatch, though if I were to bet, I’d put my money on Steve Jobs. (link)

A PDX Coffee Adventure-Part 1 (of 3)

Tuesday was a day that a coffee connoisseur would have enjoyed. I ended up at three different Portland cafés—Public Domain, Water Avenue Coffee and Coava Coffee—not quite the original plan, but it worked out well.

After participating in a webinar about social media, I had to hustle to catch the bus to downtown. I arrived at the #19 stop just as the bus did. The ride took about 35 minutes and dropped me off at Pioneer Square. I crossed the square and headed toward Public Domain. Located on Broadway and Alder, Public Domain is a café owned by Coffee Bean International, one of Portland's larger specialty roasters. You might not know much about the company, since much of what CBI does is produce private label coffee for other companies. CBI’s own brands are Panache, Public Domain, Café Tierra and Un Momento.

Public Domain

I walked into the brightly-lit shop and looked around for a minute. I asked the barista about the available espressos. He pointed me to a sign on the counter. There were two available: an El Salvador single-origin from Sterling and CBI’s own Prometheus blend. I chose the Prometheus and went  to sit down.

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Be Nice to Your Guitar (and Your Customers)

This morning I listened to a live webinar put on by John Bernard of Mass Ingenuity. He spoke about how the combination of social media, cloud computing and the millennial mindset (not wanting to wait for anything) are combining to change the ways companies interact with their customers in ways so profound that it is difficult to comprehend the changes how the new marketplace works. He said that we have moved from the era of mass production into the era of mass customization, where products and services are more tailored to customers’ needs. He especially mentioned how meeting customer needs through good service is more important than ever.

Bernard cited United Airlines’ baggage handling service miscues in the case of musician Dave Carroll as an example of how companies should not respond. In case you haven’t heard, Dave’s $3,500 Taylor guitar was destroyed during one of his trips on United Airlines and he went through months of troubles with the company to try to get them to rectify the situation. Things finally turned his way after he wrote a song (complete with music video) about his troubles that became a huge hit on YouTube. There are actually three videos in the whole series. Here’s the first one:

It’s true that some people write bad things about a company just to advance their own agendas. In the past, the companies might be able to ignore them and the problems would go away. However, with the speed that information gets passed around these days, it is imperative that businesses monitor what is being said about them in social as well as traditional media (that reminds me, I need to Google ‘Caffeinated PDX’ to see if there’s anything being said about it. Hold on a minute, I’ll be right back. . . . . Okay, we’re good for now). While it is impossible to know everything that is being said about your company, you must take care to monitor the problems and put out any fires before they get going too strong.

Although I question Bernard’s claim that this one incident with United led to an $180 million reduction in market capitalization for the company, his point was a good one. Customers have more power to expose companies’ misdeeds than in the past, so companies must be more alert and responsive than ever. Of course, those of you with your own businesses already knew that, right?

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