The New England Journal of Medicine published a study yesterday on the potential benefits of drinking coffee. DiscoveryNews did a story on it as well, and Global TV Edmonton also featured it on their evening news. In short, it would appear that the pleasure of great coffee, is now linked to living longer as well. Good news all around for those of us who love the dark nectair!

 

It is true, I have a burnt tongue! But not for the reason you might suspect, I have not been drinking coffee that is too hot. Josh is always kind and makes his cappuccinos at exactly the right temperature (tepid!). No the reason I have a burnt tongue is all about ACIDS.

You might remember, that a long time ago, I wrote a little post about wanting to write about acids. Well now is likely the time for me to make good on that promise.

I have been meaning to publish this info graphic from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , which he and his team created and labelled "How Coffee Revolutionized the World". It is an interesting bit of reading, enjoy.

Check it out, after the jump.

This is a great little peice on the reasons to invest in a good burr grinder. If you are on the fence about the value of grinders, this article will hopefully push you off.

Ristretto | The Daily Grind by Oliver Strand

As the title suggests, this is a mind dump, no unified theme or coherent message, just an honest and slightly unfocused bunch of thoughts and questions.

My brain was overwhelmed with ideas, concerns, questions, fears, excitement as I listened to the various sessions on the second day of Symposium. In stark contrast to my experience of day one, where I was left wondering why I had paid money and taken time to participate. But like everything, everyone has different interests and things which inspire them.

Let me just say, that I have many thoughts bouncing in my head. Day one of the 2012 SCAA Symposium was a bust, but Day 2 was much more engaging. Nick's media panel, and James Hoffman's session has me reeling. I will write more soon. It is late, and I have imbibed and chatted with Josh about the WBC into the wee hours of the night. So now is not the time to write. But write I will, and more than that, I will stir it up, so that you can think and question too.

As Josh and I have toured around Costa Rica and El Salvador, I have noticed something distictly different on this trip. It has nothing to do with the weather or the coffee; although the coffee has been, and will be amazing. No, it has to do with relationships. Transcend has been talking about developing meaningful relationships for quite a while now, and this trip has solidified my perspective on relationships. In Costa Rica, our time with Ricardo Perez and his family was unmatched. We got to know each other better than I ever expected, and I believe that as a result, the coffee will only get better. The level of commitment between us and the Perez family is stronger now than ever.

In El Salvardor the same experience occurred with the Pacas and Bolanos family. Not only did our trip result in us having some great coffee to share with Edmonton and Canada, but more importantly, it solidified an important and meaninful relationship which will continue into the future. Couple these producer relationships with our strengthened relationship with Exclusive Coffee in Costa Rica, and you have an amazing recipe for stellar coffee for years to come. This trip more than any other has made me appreciate all the hard work that has gone into developing relationships at origin. This trip more than any, has reinforced our business model and convinced me that it is about celebrating the hard work of producers, and partnerning with them to promote their coffee at home. It might sound cheezy, but trust me when I say that Edmonton is a lucky place on the planet, because in Edmonton, because of strong relationships, we have access to some of the best coffees in the world.

We spent the day with Federico Bolanos, Alejandro Mendez, Lily and Federico Pacas and finished the day off with a tour of their new roasting facility, training facility and cupping lab. While we were there, we thought it would be a good idea to chat about how Alejandro's WBC win has changed Viva Espresso, and changed the face of coffee in El Salvador. So here is episode No. 2 which arrived earlier than expected.

Podcast Cooling Tray Episode No. 2

I have been thinking about a more casual and conversational podcast for a while now. Since Josh and I were both in Central America together, it seemed like an opportune time to launch "From the Cooling Tray". I am sure once James has some time to direct towards tightening it up a bit, it will become a bit more refined, but until then, here is episode one, in its raw form. Josh and I will try and have conversations about coffee every couple of weeks. Please send your thoughts, comments (good or bad) and any suggestions for future conversations to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click to listen to our new podcast from the cooling tray

Today was a momentus day, and no, not because the Giants won the superbowl, but because Josh is on an airplane, as I type these words, flying to Kenya. As I have recounted numerous times this past week, my naive declaration four years ago, which promised that Transcend Coffee would source all of its coffee via direct trade by 2012, is almost a completed goal. You see, Kenya is one of our favorite countries of origin, and yet no one from Transcend has ever been there to source coffee. We knew it was high time, and so, Josh jumped on a plane this afternoon and is making the exhausting trip to Nairobi via Amsterdam tonight (better him than me). It will be a short trip, he is flying back next Sunday. But most importantly, it will be a trip about sourcing some of our favourite coffee, from a country we have yet to estabish any relationships in. I love the varietal SL28, and the unique characteristics it offers in the cup, and there is a lot of SL28 in Kenya.

So, on the eve of Josh flying to Kenya, I thought I would just write a little something letting you know why he is going. It is subscription week, and in honour of the trip to Nairobi, we purchased a little bit of the 2011 Kenya crop, specifically a coffee which we have had in the past, namely Karatina. Karatina is the town in which the mill is located, where Josh will be this week. So while we are fully aware that the Karatina being mailed out this week is past crop, we thought it would be a bit of foreshadow, for what we trust will be a very productive week in Kenya for our Barista Champ / Green Buyer. If you are one of the 170 to receive our monthly coffee subscription, then you will get a taste, if you are not (why not?) then you will want to pop by one of the shops this week and grab a bag. It won't last long!

Safe jouneys Josh, see you next week with samples of our beloved Kenya's.