Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Worlds Most Expensive Coffee. And its Not Starbucks!

Now there is an unlikely sentence. Yep, Starbucks doesn't offer the world's most expensive coffee beans. That award actually goes to a Costa Rican brew which just won the 'Taza de Excelencia' (means 'excellence cup') competition with their Aserri beans, and are now selling at the equivalent of $21.35 per pound. Not bad eh? So next time you think of that $12 bag of Starbucks think, hey, it's not THAT expensive...

http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2007/june/23/nac02.htm

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Burgers and Folgers?


For those of you that like Folgers coffee, you are in luck. Why? Because Wendy's has jumped on the premium coffee bandwagon by starting to offer Folgers premium coffee in all of its North American stores. So now you can chow down on your favorite Wendy's burger while sipping on a tasty Folgers cup of coffee.

Interesting they decided to partner, and not make their own premium brand, like McDonalds and Burger King have done. So which fast food chain is next to offer premium coffee? In-n-Out featuring Maxwell House? I wonder...

Monday, May 14, 2007

Bikinis. The new coffee shop marketing idea...

Yep, believe it or not, a coffee shop in Oregon is making their staff wear bikinis all summer! And its paying off - their sales have doubled to $1000 a day! Its actually part of a Haiwaiian Tropic promotion called 'Bikini Days' there - including free samples and advertising on coffee sleeves. Pretty good idea right? This would definitely work for coffee shops in San Diego too! All they need is to offer pina coladas and it would be the perfect hit ;)

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Impress Your Friends with Coffee Art

Yes, coffee geeks are impressed with doing cool stuff with coffee and the foam on top of it. I know this all to well after working in Starbucks before!

Anyway, I just found this cool website explaining how to draw some cool patterns in your coffee while pouring, called 'Latte Art'... check it out, very interesting! First person that can draw an english flag on their coffee gets a special prize from me ;)

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Latte-Art

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Vintage TV Coffee Adverts/Life With Crap Coffee

Coffee really wasn't really that big or very good in the 50's and 60's. I guess people were just happy with watery un-buzzable coffee back then. Just take a look at these vintage TV coffee adverts I found on YouTube. Can you imagine life back in those days with no good coffee and having to watch embarrasingly cheesy commercials for 'coffee' and having to rely on Folgers 'fresh-perked' or whatever that means? Check these out... very strange!

Fresh-Perked? What's that mean?


Drive-in Movie Coffee/What the hell is that kid eating anyway?


Difference, Difference? Weird...


Hold it Soon? Even weirder...

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Zanzibar in Upcoming Pacific Beach Restaurant Walk!

Not only do Zanzibar brew a good cup of coffee, but their food is great - so good that they have just been nominated as one of the 18 featured places on the 'Coast of Pacific Beach Restaurant Walk', on Tuesday April 17th, from 5-9pm.

Tickets are only $15 and you get samples at all participating restaurants. Come hungry and check it out - and congratulations to Zanzibar! Here's all the details:
http://pacificbeach.org/visitorinfo/calendar.cfm

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Coffee Shop Karma Anyone?

Ever wondered why people seem so happy in a coffee shop? Perhaps its the moment you walk into your favorite coffee shop and the smell of fresh ground coffee beans sends your senses into overdrive, you know you have entered another world, away from the hussle and bussle of life - and you really can't help but smile.

Or perhaps you smile because you see some great friends who are regulars there - and they always pet and make fuss over your dog - coffeeshops truly are increasingly becoming life's little escape pod. And they are appearing everywhere lately - true, you could go to coffeeshops 20 years ago, but its taken the birth of the 'Starbucks culture' and appearance of true coffee aficionados to help create this whole new coffee-karma world. And with the advent of wi-fi internet, coffeeshops can now the perfect place to focus on work, away from the hectic office.

So go ahead, order that caramel latte and banana nut muffin, and sit back relax - take a book that you have been meaning to finish, or my favorite - people watch. Coffeeshops bring all sorts of people together - the local artist who sells their work there, the aspiring local musician, the people in search of their morning coffee buzz to get their day started, and the pet lovers that enjoy being somewhere there dog is actually welcome and encouraged.

So next time you go to a coffeeshop, smile, if you aren't already! Its infectious - and who knows, you may even meet your soul mate there. Yep, its true, more and more people are meeting their certain special someone at a coffeeshop. Next time you see someone smiling at you, why not say hi? You never know what might happen! And for those of you that haven't been in a coffeeshop, or those that don't go very often, go out exploring, and you will soon find your own little piece of coffeeshop karma!