"coffees" news and stories

"Big soda" has been blamed for the obesity epidemic, but now they are trying to launch an even more insidious plan on the public: they want people to stop brewing coffee at home and buy prepacked, ready-made coffee drinks instead. And by "they", I mean Pepsi, the company that partners with Starbucks to put out bottled frappuccinos. Tracey Doucette, who runs the branch of the company that handles the partnership, said that their plan "is about converting users from the coffee form they have today to a new form that is ready to drink."

Many consumers welcome such a change, remarking that it would be faster and "less work."

The worst part of this is that studies have shown that consumers do not want to buy black coffee in a can, or coffee with minimal added sugar and cream. They want sugary "treats" - and by trying to make that the standard for coffee in the country, the companies really do seem to be promoting poor nutrition, in addition to the eradication of coffee as we know it.

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Folgers Coffee is trying to increase its visibility with a younger generation of consumers, the generation that grew up with Starbucks and other coffee shops on every corner. The company's slogan has long been "the best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup," but they perceive that their new target audience views the best part of waking up as going back to sleep. As such, their strategy is not only to develop ads - launched all over the internet in a viral campaign - that are hip, but that appeal to those who believe that caffeine exists to get the to work in the morning after staying out until 3am. The updated slogan is "tolerate mornings."

"Tolerate mornings" is far less catchy than the lyrical older slogan, but is the new ad format more effective than the old one? You be the judge, but somehow the implication that you should drink the product because it's there, and not necessarily because you like, it is a less-than-convincing sales pitch. The new ad features creepy yellow people who are meant to embody the morning while singing an irritating jingle: 

(video after the jump)

If you're ever in Santa Barbara, California, it is worth stopping in at the Santa Barbara Roasting Company. The roastery opened in 1989 as the only roaster in town and, as soon as they discovered how much better freshly roasted coffee tastes, it was not long before many locals and local restaurants were enjoying the coffee on a regular basis. The storefront is near the coast and isn't hard to find. They sell pastries, blended drinks and espresso drinks, in addition to straight coffees. My only complaint is that they don't seem to keep unsweetened iced coffee in the store. They'll make you an iced Americano instead, but it's not quite the same as having a coffee and, in a roastery, you would think that they might just tuck a pitcher in the fridge.

But the coffee is the main reason to go - and it is excellent. Half the store is dedicated to their whole bean choices and they have many different coffees out to sample everyday, which is very useful when trying to narrow down the bean options. They have a wide range of both light and dark roasts - most of which have a distinctive, smoky flavor. The Paradise blend is a lighter roast with smoked caramel note. The Colombian Supremo is a bit darker, but not overly so, and is a good everyday sort of coffee, while the State Street blend - one of their signatures - is full and dark.  

If you can't get to the store, you can order their beans online. They ship very quickly and the beans taste just as fresh (if not more so) than the ones you can pick up in person.

Santa Barbara Roasting Company
321 Motor Way
Santa Barbara, CA
805-962-0320

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Yesterday I picked "Ethiopia Sidamo" from the thermal pot at my fave local coffee shop, on a whim. I almost never go with the boring, ordinary Colombian house blend. Sometimes I'm wowed by my alternative selection, other times it's just coffee.

Color me wowed. I can't get enough of this stuff. It tastes like berries. No lie. And I'm sure you're thinking, coffee that tastes like berries? I totally passed that raspberry-flavored stuff up in the coffee aisle at my grocery store. But this is more a terroir thing (do they call it terroir in coffee?). The coffee beans, they're not that different from grapes, after all. Roasting brings out these amazingly complex and, yes, fruity flavors. According to the roaster, Stumptown Coffee, "The cup is Neopolitan ice cream... Intense chocolate, strawberry and creamy vanilla flavors in every sip." Plus it's organic and fair-trade and ohmigod I am so in love with this coffee. I wish I could give you a taste, you'd never be the same.