Tell Us a Story

Interesting piece about Tom’s Shoes.  You can read it for yourself, but in a nutshell, inspired during a trip, a guy starts a shoe company with the idea that he’ll give away a pair to a shoeless child for each pair that he sells.  How cool is that?  Moreover, the shoes are inexpensive, yet apparently Carrie Bradshaw might wear them.

Let’s jump to this bit….

Tom’s Shoes has buzz for a variety of reasons, which include:

1. An uncommon product amidst of sea of commonality.
2. A simple, yet inspiring story that’s easy to tell and therefore spread.
3. An accessible and well-spoken leader who’ll tell the story to anyone who’ll listen.
4. A strong culture of participation among employees and customers that’s ingrained into the DNA of the company.

Why might this be of interest to us as an Organic, Fair Trade, Cooperative coffee company?

Our story isn’t as easy to tell perhaps.  Organic, Fair Trade, Cooperative.  That’s our DNA, but is it readily accessible?  Does it tell a clear, concise story?  Certainly not one as clear as Tom’s.  Indeed it’s not a story, it’s more of a list.  Like bullet points on a Powerpoint slide.  Ugh.  Let’s take a look, nonetheless….

1. Organic.  Coffee is international and criteria for organic certification differs from region to region.  This isn’t much of a hurdle, however, because most people understand the intent behind organics.
2. Fair Trade.  Thanks to “direct trade” and co-opted phrases like “fairly traded” there is a lot of confusion around Fair Trade as a business practice.  Those of us in the Fair Trade movement have some work to do here.
3. Cooperative.  Cooperatives are elaborate business constructs which, despite having been around for a couple of hundred years, often mean different things to different people.  We’ve got some work to do here too.

What do you think?  Those of you who know us in particular, do you know our story?  Would you say that we have one?

Lots to think about.

Coffee & Seafood: the perfect combo.

Coffee and Seafood go together like, well, we’re not sure.  Peanut butter and tomatoes.  But as we all know everything is better with coffee.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

We will be with our friends at Market Street Traders during Ballard’s SeafoodFest with free samples of our coffees.  Stop by and say hi.

This guy could use a cup of coffee.

And while you’re at Market Street Traders do not miss Dawn’s soups.  They are fantastic.

And they’re even better with coffee.

Stressed? Wake up and smell the coffee.

Sniffing that first cup of coffee in the morning may help ease the stress you’re feeling, so finds a South Korean study.  It’s not exactly news to those of us who are addicted aficionados, but it’s nice to know that someone has traced it to our genes

World Fair Trade Day

Celebrate your coffee break with us.  Now through World Fair Trade Day, May 10, take 20% off your online order with coupon code wftd.

On May 10 2008, people in 70 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) and highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade. Fair Trade Resource Network, the coordinator of WFTD in the U.S., is working closely with the newly-launched Fair Trade Towns Initiative and other leading Fair Trade organizations to make WFTD 2008 the largest celebration of its kind. Fair Trade enthusiasts worldwide will host Fair Trade food tastings, house parties, speakers, festivals, concerts, and fashion shows. Many communities are celebrating WFTD over a period of two weeks, from May 3- 18th, America’s First Fair Trade Fortnight.

 

Good News About Coffee: A Podcast from Scientific American

Look what bubbled through to the top of my podcasts today. An article/podcast from sciam.com on the health benefits of coffee. The article is over a year old–guess that’s what I get for listening to my podcasts in random order–but I’m sure the info is still good.

I suppose I can skip the podcast from BBC News on the results of the 2004 “election.”

How to Decipher Your Coffee’s Eco Label

Thanks for this article on how to decipher your coffee’s eco-label.

Certifications that lack standards and audits are not certifications at all, and such was the case with “Shade Grown.” Various state and regional chapters of the Audubon Society had offered what many considered a certification, yet these certifications required little if anything more than a signed letter of best intent and a donation. Did one shade tree per acre satisfy shade grown? This was unclear. Was a micro roaster able to rely on any sort of audit trail that reached back through brokers, importers and mills to the producer? No.

The Audubon Societies have done well to draw attention to the practices of many large scale coffee plantations. These green deserts are tended by workers in gas masks and bare feet as they spray pesticides on clear cut fields of coffee plants. Nothing but direct sun and poisonous chemicals for miles. Everyone suffers under these conditions, including migratory birds. The Audubon Societies have also done well to withdraw shade grown certification, since without standards and audits it risks diluting real certifications such as Organic and Fair Trade in the minds of consumers.

While the Audubon’s efforts around shade grown certification were misguided, my sense is that their intent was noble. There are other much more damaging activities and claims in the certification arena.

There are unscrupulous companies that ride the coattails of the Fair Trade movement and its certifying agencies. These companies use phrases such as “fairly traded” to encourage the impression that they participate in the Fair Trade system when in fact they do not. They do not pay Fair Trade premiums, they have not registered with a certifying agency and there is no third-party audit trail for their transactions.

If a coffee company is making “fairly traded” claims without displaying the Fair Trade logo, if it is based in the USA yet not listed as a licensee by TransFair USA, then you have to ask yourself if you want to do business with them.

Spoonful of Happiness

Spoonful of Happiness, originally uploaded by yoshiko314.

I just got an email from Yoshiko with this photo.

I was in Japan several years ago and was stuck by the simple beauty all around. Perhaps it is the influence of Buddhism and Taoism–simple acts, simple pleasures.

I need to send more simple coffee to my friend Yoshiko.

Thoughts on a new Espresso Cart

While eating lunch I had some time to think about our conversation. I think you face a few challenges which you might be able to turn into advantages.

With an espresso cart in the lobby of an office building you have a restricted audience. You’ll need to turn as many of your neighbors into customers as possible. You’ll need to find ways to engage them, to make them partners in your business. How do you do this? I have a few ideas….

Learn as much as you can about coffee and the coffee business. You had many good questions on the phone. Continue with that. The more you know about coffee the more you’ll be a resource for your customers. Encourage this same thing in anyone you hire on to help you run the espresso cart. Find employees who are interested in coffee for coffee’s sake. Find employees who like to share their knowledge and experience with others.

Taste coffee from as many sources as possible. Ask roasting companies about their practices. Please yourself first – find the coffees that you like – and don’t worry so much at the start about pleasing your customers. If you like the coffee, and you know something about how it was produced and roasted, then you’ll know why you like the coffee and you’ll be able to explain it to your customers.

You’ll want to be able to catch people as they are rushing to get to work. Be as efficient as possible during the morning rush. Let your customers run a tab, let them pay once a week or every other week or whatever makes you comfortable. This will build loyalty and you won’t be fumbling with money during the morning rush. Think about the traffic pattern and streamline as much as possible. Have a table downstream, a few feat away from the espresso stand, for anyone that needs sugar and napkins. Let people phone in their orders as they approach the building and have everything ready for when they arrive.

Later in the day set up a few small tables and stools so that the people can gather and meet with each other. If the environment is suitable set up medium sized tables off to the side or in a corner for business meetings.

Later on, once you’re established with the espresso stand, consider catering for nearby businesses. With a good drip brewer you can brew coffee into airpots which keep coffee fresh and deliver it to nearby businesses for their business meetings. Collect the airpots the next day during your next day delivery so that they are always rotating in and out. Establish a regular account with these businesses and bill them once a month. Find out how to make things as easy as possible for the Office Manager. This person can be your friend if you make their job easier. Take orders for espresso drinks via phone and deliver to any businesses that are within walking distance.

You had many good questions about blends. I’d be happy to talk with you more about that, but don’t allow the many many options out there to overwhelm you. I’ll give you a quick overview of one of our most successful blends. We talked a bit about the Peru and the Sumatra on the phone. The Peru is a bright, sweet coffee, good as a medium roast. The Sumatra is rich and earthy, good as a dark roast. Mix them together and you have a great blend. The two compliment and balance each other in a specific way. But you need to be familiar with the Peru alone and the Sumatra alone before you begin to blend them, otherwise the process is random and pointless.

In my opinion you can run single varietal coffees through an espresso machine. You don’t always need a fancy espresso blend. And herein is another way to engage your customers. Have one stable coffee, something that you’ve found that you like, and always offer it. You need something that your customers can rely upon. But then
also offer a second coffee, something different each week. Make it fun and interesting for your customers. “This week we are featuring coffee from Ethiopia, next week from Honduras.” It will be like sampling wine and over time your customers will tell you what they like. It will be an exploration for everyone. Don’t think that you need to find the one perfect coffee. I don’t think that such a thing exists. The world is a big place and it has a lot to offer. Vanilla alone or chocolate alone get boring after awhile.

You’ll need to tune your espresso machine for each coffee. Some coffees will taste good at six grams per shot, others at eight. Get to know your equipment. Only way to do it is by trial and error. Again, go with what pleases you.

Yes, nitrogen flushes and vacuum packaging help keep coffee fresh, but the most important thing is the freshness of the roast. Green coffee has a long shelf life, up to two years. But as soon as coffee is roasted the clock starts ticking. I’d stay under two weeks for roasted coffee. Ten days actually. This can be something that sets you apart. Make sure your customers know how fresh your coffee is.

As I said on the phone, all of our coffees are Fair Trade and Organic. You’ll see this referred to as FTO in the coffee business. FTO prices are typically above conventional prices. We only offer the best coffees that we can find, which means that they can be expensive, but I am regularly watching coffee prices, and our FTO prices are usually better than our competitor’s.

I’m not sure I explained Fair Trade very well on the phone. Our blog has a few videos that talk about Fair Trade; you might find them interesting….

Well, that’s a lot for one email, so I’ll just leave it here for now. I’ll send you some information in the mail. You’ll get it sometime in the middle of the week.

Have a good weekend.

Rick

Morning Coffee Time

Morning Coffee Time, originally uploaded by yoshiko314.

Yoshiko is a prolofic photographer who lives in Japan. This is another example of how people’s interests create links. In this case, Yoshilo’s photography and our coffee. Yep, that’s our coffee on her table there in Japan. It’s a small world.

TransFair USA Video

An excellent survey of the business and social benefits of Fair Trade.