Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Editorials: Consumer Fads

Not sure if it's the cassette tape of Celine Dion's Falling into You in my car, but for some reason I was thinking of the American consumer fads of the mid-1990s that touched my early working life. One was Boston Market and the home meal replacement fad. Another was Barnes & Noble and the big box bookselling fad. During my time at these businesses, I learned many valuable lessons from managers who served as friends and mentors to me. I feel regret that the capricious nature of the American consumer may have impacted their careers--though obviously it would have been both for better and for worse. These fads of the 1990s reflected a generous, optimistic view of the US consumer. I wonder if the "take-away" from the decline of these fads has been for the service sector to go into lockdown mode and go after the quick, sure buck. (And I won't lie awake tonight staring at the ceiling while pondering that mystery.)  I guess I would wish that those who devise these concepts would base them more on fundamentals. 

You might have guessed where I'm going with this: I wonder if the cafe aspect of specialty coffee is next. Obviously, Alterra is a strong company, but they have also picked up the Heinemann's mantle--not to mention that they've been infused with a shitload of cash. I predict tough going for others, with perhaps "treading water" being the best outcome to hope for.

Alterra: Retail Coffee: Love Supreme

Not necessarily my favorite coffee in terms of taste, but definitely my favorite in terms of label design.  It looks like the cover of a Simple Minds album, New Gold Dream.

Retail Coffee: Sweet Maria's Roastmaster

Thank Heaven I occasionally have long weeks, at the end of which I'm too tired to type!  I make some interesting Web discoveries by just surfing.  Like this one: http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.roasted.php

How did I miss this?  (Or, more accurately, how did I forget about it?  I know I've been to Sweet Maria's and I think I'd seen the roasted coffee page before.)

Ristretto: UWM

Excited about the possibility of taking a course called "Editing and Publishing" at UWM in Spring.  I emphasize the word "possibility", as the class meets once a week in the early evening, and I have to e-mail the professor and ask her if it would be acceptable for me to miss one or two classes while I'm in Arizona (yet again!) in February.  I hope it works out.

Alterra: Retail Coffee: Costa Rica Herbazu Honey Ends Sunday

I've just secured my pound of Costa Rica Herbazu Honey.  Tomorrow (Sunday) is the last day--you know you need some!

Alterra: Retail Coffee: Featured Farm Series Update

I picked up a flyer at Alterra on Prospect that seems to advertise a Featured Farm Series gift box for $34.95.  However, I haven't actually seen one in any of the stores and there isn't a link on the website.  Anyone know anything?  I know at least one person who would buy one!

Alterra: Retail Coffee: Alterra Featured Farm Series

I'm not sure I'm sold quite yet, but I noticed Alterra's Featured Farm Series listed as a gift option on their website.  Basically, for $20 a month (in the six-month option), you are sent a pound of featured farmer coffee.  The coffees listed are among their three best of 2009--with the notable exception of the Costa Rica Herbazu Honey!

Alterra: Snapshots: You Can Call Me Pedro (Or Jose)

In another impressive matchup between varietals, this week Alterra is offering two takes on their Honduras Capucas, lots named after the respective farmers, Pedro Romero and Jose Isidro Lara.  Last night, I enjoyed a mug of Pedro at the lakefront location; tonight, I had one mug of each at Bayshore.  I didn't think that last night's coffee delight could be topped, but I actually think tonight's mug of Jose hit the spot just about perfectly.  Actually, I'd like to try a blend of both.  So it's looking like I'll have to take advantage of the package deal, offering a pound of each.  One kind--I forget which--is being offered as single-origin espresso at some locations.  Without looking, I'll bet it's the Pedro.

UPDATE:  Ooh, it's neither: it's Fausto.  A new twist!  So you can have the Fausto as espresso, but not as drip or over-the-counter beans?  I'm intrigued!

Stone Creek: Retail Coffee: Stone Creek Decaf Colombia

Many thanks to Stone Creek Coffee's Steve Hawthorne, who graciously sent me two pounds of their delicious Decaf Colombia.  It's wonderful both by itself and blended with regular coffees to create half-caff (my usual strategy when I find myself downing cup after cup of coffee).

Muchísimas Gracias!

Mequon: Snapshots: Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters

I'm catching the tail end of the Fiddleheads roasting launch party at the location on N. Port Washington Rd. in Mequon.  I've enjoyed meeting and chatting with a lot of great people.  At age 36 and as a semi-seasoned observer of the local coffee scene, It's rare that I'm really and truly blown away by an event.  The spacious cafe was packed with a standing-room only crowd when I arrived at 12:45, about fifteen minutes before the announced end of the event.  I wasn't aware that Fiddleheads had such a loyal coffee following; since I always have been here on Saturday around noontime, I'd formed a stereotype of the cafe as mostly a lunch place--albeit a very comfortable one!  That's one of the main reasons why I was so excited to hear the news of the launch of this ambitious new coffee program.

This was a coffee tasting, after all, and the taste of the coffee surpassed my high level of excitement.  Three varieties were being sampled: the Costa Rica La Dama Tres Rios, the Ethopia Harrar Gorecha, and the Papua New Guinea Kuta.  Steve, the roaster, has sent me home with two samples of beans that will fuel a late-evening work session tonight.  (Not all at once, of course!)

And to think I get to do it again the next two Saturdays!