This article was brought to my attention today by Paul Stack, and talks about acidity as a component of flavour which we evaluate in coffee.  The article starts off by talking about the fact that many folk get upset stomachs after drinking coffee, and attribute that to the acidity in coffee.  As the article points out, coffee really isn't all that acidic when compared to many other drinks that we consume on a regular basis.

Anecdotal evidence that I have gathered over the past three years as I have talked to many of our customers has led me to another possible conclusion about the irritant that coffee possesses.  Truth be told, I have no idea if this idea has any credibility, but I thought I would toss it out there nonetheless.  Many customers have told me that since they started drinking our coffee, they found that they did not get an upset stomach.  I found this interesting, as we roast coffee very light, compared to most, and that would result in more pronounced acidity.  So, I have concluded that acidity is not the culprit in when talking about coffee as a stomach irritant.

As I have thought about this anecdotal evidence over the past couple of years, I have begun to wonder if the culprit isn't more related to coffee freshness.  Our coffee is uber fresh, and we stress that our customers use it within 5 - 7 days of it being roasted.  At most most people brew our coffee within two weeks of it being roasted.  Couple that to the fact that our coffee is lightly roasted and has no visible oils on the bean as a result.  So, when people brew our coffee at home, or drink it in the shop they are drinking lightly roasted, fresh coffee, with no oils on the surface of the beans whatsoever.

However, the average coffee drinker is not drinking fresh coffee, and most drink quite dark roasted coffee which has a lot of surface oil on the bean, both due to the roast level, and its age.  As roasted coffee goes stale, the oil within the bean leaches out and sits on the surface.  I have been led to wonder if all that oil on the surface of the stale dark roasted beans isn't going rancid, as it is exposed to oxygen.  The question is whether there is enough rancid oil present and transfered into the brewed coffee, to give people upset stomachs? I think that there might be.  Again this is purely conjecture on my part, and is solely based on anecdotal evidence, but it is a valid hypothesis, which we will likely test this fall as we partner with a local chemistry department here in Edmonton, to start doing some mass spectrometer testing on our coffees.  Any thoughts would be more than welcome.

It appears that some resourceful transcend customers (likely with a high level of CIA computer hacking training) have cracked our secret two pound shipping code.

OK... fine.

So the code was never really secret in the first place. But it is causing a bit of a stir amoung loyal transcend fans who live far enough away so that driving into the shop every week or so is not terribly convenient.

So here's the deal:

• Buy some coffee online.


• Be sure to buy 2 pounds. No more, no less (that's really the only secret part).


• If you live anywhere in Alberta, BC or Saskatchewan, the shipping is on us. Seriously.


• That's it. Fresh coffee delivered to your mailbox.

It doesn't matter if you live in North Edmonton and don't feel like the 20 minute drive, or if you live in Northern BC and don't feel up to the 20 hour drive. And no, this isn't a limited time offer, or a one time offer. When you use up your two pounds in a week or two, you can order again, and get the same deal.

It's just our way of trying to encourage more people to drink truly fresh roasted coffee. Enjoy.

Really, I do... I love chips, especially good Canadian chips made by Old Dutch!  I love the crunch, I love the taste, the salt the flavour, I love everything about chips, other than the fact that they are really bad for my health.  I know they are bad for me, I know that they aren't good for my waist line or cholesterol, but nonetheless, I still like them and eat them whenever I get the chance.  Like these past few days, with my wife and son gone to visit the in-laws, I can eat what I want, and when I want it.

You are probably scratching your head right now, wondering what this has to do with coffee, that is if you ever even look at our blog anymore, as we update it so infrequently...

So, what does loving potato chips have to do with the world of specialty coffee, with consumer habits, with coffee education?  In short, everything.

Firstly, it has to do with denial and avoidance.  Knowing the truth, and refusing to accept it, wanting to ignore it, because we hate the thought of living without potato chips.  It has to do with being aware of future consequences (heart disease) and not caring enough about the future to change our current behaviour.

Perhaps it even has to do with ADDICTION... addiction to salt, addiction to carbs, addiction to fat, addiction to OIL, addiction to POWER, addiction to the BOTTOM LINE, addiction to EXCESS, addiction to WALMART, addiction to CHEAP.  We in North America know addiction better than any society on the face of the planet, and more than that, probably better than any society ever before us in the history of humanity.  Addiction to drugs, food, alcohol, fitness, celebrity, money, the trivial, the list could go on and on.  We want, and want and want more, but always for less.  That is the key, we want it cheaper, and leaner, and in the process we get led in our milk, and toxins in our vegetables (if anyone eats them anymore), and hormones in all of our meat.  I know, I am beyond ranting, but as you have already figured out, I am trying to make a point.

All of this to say, that I think it is time for us in the specialty coffee industry, us who care more about our product, and quality than the bottom line, to start to lead.  James Hoffman encouraged us in his last video to contribute to the coffee page in Wikipedia.  Ironically, James (our Marketing director) and I were just talking today (before I watched the Hoffman video) about the unreliability of Wikipedia.  But, James Hoffman is right, if the collective conscience of the specialty coffee world contributed 100 words, each, to the Coffee page of Wikipedia, it would be reliable, credible, and informative.  If we cared less about reviews of certain coffees (and scores out of 100), and more about educating our customers in real ways, the market place would change.  People would start to understand quality, and want it.  Want it more than paying $8 a pound for coffee, want it more than paying $15 a pound for COE coffee at Target.  We in the industry would start to talk seriously, and act seriously about the impending crisis in the world of coffee, especially in Central America, as global warming rears its inevitable head, and messes with our beloved coffee, in ways that we can't comprehend.  How do we prepare, advise, assist, participate?  How does the SCAA, SCAE, SCAJ and other specialty coffee associations lead, lobby, and educate?  If we put our collective wisdom, education, heart, mind and souls together, I know that we can change the world that we live in.

It would mean that I learn to love Potato Chips a little less, and acknowledge that they aren't good for me.  It would mean that I start to think of the future, and not only think of the future but act in a way that changes the future.  It means that I have to be invested, and involved in ways that stretch me, scare me, and make me uncomfortable.  It means that I have to be someone who is not willing to let the world pass me by, but rather, be one who gets on, hangs on for dear life, and risks almost everything, to see it change.

OK, enough philosphy and soap box for this evening.  If nothing else, please think, responsd, react, to the words in this post.

Click to Play

In the second episode of transcend coffee's video podcast, Poul talks about Hacienda La Esmeralda — the first coffee farm he ever visited, and also one of the most famous and even controversial specialty coffee producers in the world.

On Fridays, you should do something that inspires you, or do something that inspires those around you. It has become somewhat of a mantra of mine.

James Hoffman at Square Mile has certainly delivered. All week his videos have been inspiring us around the shop to discuss, question what we think an believe to be true about coffee and try new things. Today, James threw down an absurd latte art challenge, and well, it inspired us.

Here's our entry:

You may wonder why I keep posting these videos that James has posted to his site?  Truth be told, I think his thoughts and questions are worth re-posting.  I won't re-post all of his videos but this one and the first one on espresso are very appropriate in that they force us to challenge our assumptions, our axioms within the specialty coffee world.  And at the end of the day, I agree wholeheartedly with James in that espresso is not the be all and end all in the industry I find myself a part of.  We would not sell as much whole bean coffee, nor care about educating our customers about where coffee comes from, as we do, if it just was about a blend of coffees that make there way into espresso.  So enjoy the video, we will have another one up soon, on a single origin coffee, which is in and of itself controversial.

James kicks off his video campaign with a bang, and throws out the question, initially asked by the good folk at the Coffee Collective in Copenhagen, is crema a good or bad thing in espresso.  Watch the video, try it out for yourself, and let your tongue decide.  We will be doing our own little experiment, and will report back our preferences.  Regardless of the outcome, this kind of banter is fun and absolutely necessary.

A number of things have been rumbling around the halls of my mind lately.  As many of you already know, we have been in the throngs of a serious offer on a new location in Edmonton.  While things have progressed, we still are in a period of uncertainty, as the landlord and his partners are reviewing our financial information to determine whether or not we are worthy of being tenants in their building.  Hopefully we should know one way or another within a day or two, so we can either begin to plan in earnest, or start looking for another location.  Recently I was introduced to the podcast, "The Age of Persuasion" which features Terry O'Reilly, by our marketing director James Schutz.  While the focus of this podcast is marketing, I have thoroughly enjoyed listening and have learned a lot about marketing including a lot of history.  It is a great podcast, which I would highly recommend.

As I was listening to Terry talk during his podcast the other day, he was talking a lot about the concept of authenticity.  Specifically, he was linking the notion of being authentic to marketing, and commenting on how effective marketing is, when it is perceived as authentic by its intended audience.  I was meeting with a designer on Friday (before listening to Terry) and he asked me an interesting question.  Brad asked me what one word I would use in describing what kind of feel that I wanted for Transcend's new location.  After thinking for a little bit, the word that I put out there was "authentic".  Perhaps that is why I am enjoying Terry's podcast so much (we are on the same page).  Sure I want the new cafe to be a trendy, cool, and inviting location.  I want it to be the hottest cafe in Edmonton, but more important to me than trendy colours, chrome, and fancy fixtures, I want the atmosphere and environment of the place to scream authenticity.  At the end of the day, the cafe needs to celebrate the coffee, the people involved in the coffee world, and the people who make coffee their craft.  People keep telling me that Transcend is more than great drinks and well roasted beans.  It is about our story, its story, and their story, all of which transcend a simple cup of coffee, or perfectly pulled shot of espresso.

The hard truth about Transcend and what we do every day, is far from perfection.  I would love it if I could say with certainty that every drink served over the bar was "perfect" or that every roast is flawless.  But of course, I can't, and the reality is that perfection in our industry is simply unattainable.  Firstly, the standard is a moving target, as different people have different ideas of what constitutes quality.  Secondly, coffee is an agricultural product, which is subject to the weather, the soil, the wind, the people who grow and process it.  Then it gets into our hands, where we do our level best to celebrate its unique characteristics.  In short, I am qualifying your expectations of what we do on a daily basis, and stating in unequivocal terms that we will not deliver perfection.  But, what we can deliver, and what you should expect on a daily basis from the folk at Transcend, is authenticity.  If you don't feel that we are delivering that, please let me know, as it is the most important thing we strive for.  OK, enough of me, click the link above and give a listen to Terry, or if marketing isn't your thing, take a wander over to Hoffman's blog and catch James' fun self challenge this month of a video every day for a month.

As part of our commitment to coffee education—and to using technology and geeky social media to spread coffee knowledge—we've decided to start a video podcast.

It's Canada Day and we thought it would be a fun time to start this new little venture.

In the inaugural episode, Poul talks a little bit about how he got his start in coffee and the beginnings of transcend. He even brought a uh... prop. It was kind of weird to have it in the shop.

Here it is, episode one!



What did you think? Do you have ideas or burning coffee questions that you would like us to try to answer in upcoming episodes? Please leave a comment and let us know.

We'll get a proper podcast / RSS / feedburner feed up and running so that you can subscribe on on itunes, just as soon as we figure out what all those fancy internet things mean.