Starbucks has opened a 320-square-metre, two-story store in Taiwan built that uses 29 shipping containers to form its structure.
It is the first retailer to open a storefront in the yet-to-be launched Hualien Bay Mall.
“This drive thru location is built to meet customer needs, both today and in the long-term,” Starbucks says in a press release.
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The Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) Product Innovation Awards will return in 2019, and entries are now open.
The Product Innovation Awards recognise MICE exhibitors and the contributions they make to the coffee industry each year.
The awards will include two categories: People’s Choice, judged by visitors to MICE, and Judges’ Choice, judged by an independent panel.
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Peter Giannitsios says coffee wasn’t his main focus when he opened Canberra’s BrewBar in 2007. But 11 years later, a second venue, and an investment in state-of-the-art coffee equipment has changed that.
“We’re evolving every day and constantly growing. There’s always something better around the corner and we’re always looking for it,” Peter says.
The family business on Anketell Street in Canberra has benefitted from its proximity to a shopping centre, where customers on the go come for a light lunch and specialty coffee, something other cafes at the time of opening didn’t serve.
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Olivier Monin was born with a family name that is synonymous with gourmet flavourings, yet he has no recollection of the man who started the family business, his grandfather Georges Monin.
Georges died during World War II, 15 years before Olivier was born in France.
Georges, a 19-year-old entrepreneur, started selling branded wines and spirits with a horse and cart and the slogan “A passion for quality”. He founded the company in 1912 in Bourges, central France, and by 1930 Monin was exporting private label spirit products to Europe and the Caribbean. In 1945, Paul Monin took the reins of the company and steered the product development towards syrups – a relatively untouched market in France – when it became clear the spirits industry was saturated with competition.
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When sports champions win a title, they usually pop a giant champagne bottle, enjoy a fancy meal, or hit the after party to bask in their winning glory. For this year’s World Barista Champion Agnieszka Rojewska, the celebrations were a little more subdued.
“I ate Ben & Jerry’s icecream – we don’t have many flavours in Poland – and went to sleep. I was super tired,” she says.
It had been a huge week of competition for 55 national barista champions from across the globe. Each put their heart and soul into their routine, which represented far more than the 15-minute performance at Rai Centre at World of Coffee in Amsterdam in June.
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On October 1, Tia Maria will attempt to create the world’s largest espresso martini as part of a Guinness World Record attempt to celebrate International Coffee Day.
“The espresso martini is fast becoming the signature cocktail of Australia so where better to celebrate our commitment to making the world’s best, than overlooking the iconic Sydney Opera House,” Tia Maria Brand Ambassador Mark Hickey says.
“As a coffee loving nation, craft cocktail culture is taking many of its cues from coffee culture and vice versa, so it’s no wonder drinkers are looking to what’s next as they demand new and exciting flavour profiles.”
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World Coffee Events (WCE) will host a WCE Judge Certification in São Paulo, Brazil, from 2 to 3 November.
Participants will demonstrate their skill and knowledge during a two-day test. WCE Committee Leadership will guide participants through a series of performance-based and written tests that measure a judge’s ability to perform successfully in a WCE competition.
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Cafés and restaurants can now sign up for DineSmart 2018, a campaign that sees venues ask diners to leave a small donation to fight homelessness on their bill.
Since 2003, the annual DineSmart campaign has seen restauranteurs partner with their diners in the lead up to Christmas to raise funds and support their local community.
Together, DineSmart and its partners have helped StreetSmart raise more than $5 million for 569 grassroots homeless organisations, sparking a number of innovative projects that are leading local responses to homelessness.
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Recently, Zest Director Rod Greenfield showed a non-coffee industry business colleague through our roastery. He was mesmerised by the rumbling of the roaster, the toasty aromas in the air, and watched wide-eyed as a batch of browned beans tumbled from the roaster into the whirring cooling tray.
They stepped into the production lab where he noticed a line-up of about 15 cupping bowls from a recent production cupping. Rod offered the guest a spoon to taste the coffees on the bench, and he backed away. “No,” he said. “I just drink cappuccinos. All coffee tastes pretty much the same to me. I wouldn’t be able to tell any difference.”
Rod persisted and handed him the spoon, demonstrating the basic scoop and slurp motions. He pointed to the Ethiopian coffee and asked him to taste it. Then he pointed to the Brazilian coffee and asked him to taste that too. “Tell me if you taste any difference at all,” Rod said.
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On 20 September, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) concluded its 15thedition of the Cup of Excellence (COE) in Colombia with a historic result.
Andres Londoño Montoya placed first, scoring 91.35 for a washed Gesha Bourbón blend from the farm Cumaral. This marks the first time a coffee from the Quindío region has won the competition.
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