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Devorah Freudiger

Devorah is our Training Specialist, responsible for training all Upstate New York staff in espresso prep, coffee knowledge, and quality control.

Magic Coffee Cone

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We've had Clever Coffee Dippers in our stores for quite a while now, and I've had one at my house for just as long. It's a great little brewer that I've come to take completely for granted. It's not the only way I brew at home, but it's become my go-to method most mornings. I've gotten so used to it that I've forgotten how truly great the design is. I recently had a lot of family in town and my father started calling my Clever the "Magic Coffee Cone." I thought this was very cute and fitting.
 

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Yoga For Baristas

Here at Gimme we recently had the pleasure of inviting local yoga teacher Rachel Bush into our lab to teach us how to better protect and use our bodies while on bar. It was a very helpful hour and a half session and I am eager to share a bit of what we learned. Retail managers Liz Clark and Emily Thompson are the gracious models for these pictures.

Here at Gimme we recently had the pleasure of inviting local yoga teacher Rachel Bush into our lab to teach us how to better protect and use our bodies while on bar. It was a very helpful hour and a half session and I am eager to share a bit of what we learned. Retail managers Liz Clark and Emily Thompson are the gracious models for these pictures.

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Open Cupping: Processing

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The coffee that we all love and drink daily is the end product of a long process. One crucial stage of this process is how the coffee seed is removed from it's fruit. We are lucky to have on our shelves coffees that reflect a few different ways this can be done. In particular, we have coffee from the Amaro Gayo mill in Ethiopia processed in two different ways: Sundried and Washed. We have come very close the end of our lot of Sundried Amaro Gayo and will only have it in stock for a few more weeks. To send off this coffee that many of us have grown very fond of i would like to cup it in the lab with you this Saturday next to the Washed version. We can talk about, and taste, the difference that processing can make. We will also taste a washed  and a pulped natural South American coffee.

So, if you are interested in learning a bit more about coffee and coffee processing, come to the open cupping this Saturday, July 3rd, at noon. Open cuppings happen every Satrday at noon in the lab at the back of the State Street Gimme. I hope to see you there!

Notes From Gimme's Public Cuppings

notes from.jpgIt's been a little over one month that I've been hosting open cuppings in the lab in the back of the Gimme! Coffee on State Street and things couldn't be going any better. Each week there has been a different, small, very interested group of people showing up to talk about and taste coffee. We have had a diverse group of folks attend; roasters from other coffee companies, students from the universities in town and many regulars from our cafes. It's great to see how information is shared, and misinformation dispelled, when you get a good mix of people together. For many people this tasting was the first time they realized coffee can be sweet without sugar. So don't worry if you don't know anything about coffee or feel like a pro taster. If you've got a tongue you are welcome to join us.

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Open Cuppings

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Have you ever looked into the back lab at state st and seen a group of Gimme folk standing around the table totally focused on small cups of coffee? You may have. We are back there several times a week cupping. Cupping is a specific kind of coffee tasting, a standardized way to evaluate coffee which is practiced all over the world. It's the way green buyers decide which coffee to buy. It's the way roasters decide on their profiles, and it's the way we baristas get to know the coffees on our shelves so that we can better describe the taste to you. Starting this Saturday we would like you to come cup with us!

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Las Mingas Release Party

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Hello Friend!
You are cordially invited to a coffee tasting and lecture at the Gimme! Coffee on State Street in Ithaca, New York. We here at Gimme really love the coffees we purchased this year through the Las Mingas program. If you've been able to try any of them on pour over this month, then chances are, you love them too. But, did you know we love the Las Mingas Program itself? If you would like to learn why, come to this event for a chance to spend some quality time with your favorite Gimme baristas. We'll tell you all about it! This is the time to come learn a little more about this different model of coffee trading,and why it is so unique and important. You will hear stories direct from Gimme's green buyer, Colleen Anunu, and have a chance to see pictures from her recent trip to Colombia to meet the people responsible for growing these lovely coffees.

Here's the details:
This Saturday, April 17 2010, come to State Street Gimme for a free coffee tasting that starts at 11 am.  We will have all three Las Mingas Lots available and will be brewing them several ways.
Then, at Noon, Colleen Anunu will give a presentation on the importance of the Las Mingas program and share her personal experiences. There will be time for questions to be answered.  So come prepared to get cafinated and involved.

Free Coffee? More info on how Gimme finds our exceptional beans? A chance to schmooze with baristas and other coffee enthusiasts? You better be there!

Las Mingas Pour Over Month

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You may have noticed our pour over menu for the month is all Colombian coffee. Specifically, Colombian coffee purchased through the Las Mingas Program.  Las Mingas is a quality based program for sourcing coffee created by Virmax, a Colombian specialty coffee exporter. The Las Mingas program connects specialty roasters like gimme with a multitude of high quality samples that we are able to blend into regional offerings.  The samples are from farms as small as two hectares, a size too small for Gimme to purchase, market and sell. Through the Las Mingas program we are able to create specific macro lots, from several small farms, that represent a specific flavor profile of a region. This is the third year that Gimme has participated in the Las Mingas Program and the coffee keeps getting better. We have two Las Mingas macro lots on our shelves and offered as pour over this month. The lot from Cauca, a department in Colombia right on the pacific coast, is very floral and full of light sweet citrus notes. The lot from Huila, directly east of Cauca but separated by mountains,  is very creamy and rich. The third option on the pour over menu this month is also a Las Mingas coffee, but it is so unique and beautiful we couldn't stand to blend it with anything else. The name of the farm this coffee comes from is Bella Vista.

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An Idea For a Drink

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Last weekend Gimme barista Liz Clark performed in the Northeast Regional Barista Competition. She had been working with our Guatemala Santa Elena for the past few months, learning to coax out a range of flavors from her shots. It's the beauty of this coffee that made her decide to compete with it, and the versatility of it drove her presentation. In a Barista Competition participants are asked to prepare twelve drinks in fifteen minutes. They must make four single espressos, four cappuccinos, and four signature drinks of their own creation. The competitors are judged by seven judges on consistency, presentation, coffee knowledge and overall deliciousness of their drinks. The performance is more than just time to quickly make drinks, it's time for baristas to share their love of, and connection to, coffee with an interested audience. Baristas know that they are often the face that is associated with the coffee they are serving, but also that they are just the end point of a long journey.

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Gimme Visits Boston!

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This weekend a few of us are headed down to Boston to cheer on Gimme barista Liz Clark in the the North East Regional Barista Competition. She's been hard at work in the lab for months and is ready to get up on stage and share her love of coffee. She's been playing with our Guatemala Santa Elena and is getting delicious shots from it. This coffee also yields the sweetest cappuccinos I have ever had, and I drink a lot of cappuccinos.

If you are in the Boston area and would like to come show support, this event is open to the public every day! The preliminary rounds of the barista competition run Friday and Saturday from 11am-5:30pm and the top six baristas of  the weekend will perform again on Sunday from 10:30am to 1pm. This event is being held at the Summerville Center for The Arts at The Armory. Barista competitions are very fun to watch, and there will be free coffee drinks available all day each day.

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Pouring For The Gold

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The Millrock Free Pour Latte Art Championship is a type of Barista competition held a few times a year at Coffee Fest, a Specialty Coffee trade show. As hinted in the name, this is a competition in art only. Taste doesn't matter, participants are judged only on the swirling patterns in their foam. Only forty baristas are allowed to participate, and competitors can enter from all over the world. Last weekend Coffee Fest was held in New Jersey. Being so close to home, a few brave Gimme Baristas could not resist the urge to strut their stuff.

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Scranton or Bust!

On snowy Sunday we packed our bags and headed south to Scranton. We braved the weather to do what we love: talk about and share coffee! We were headed to Northern Light Espresso Bar a Gimme wholesale account located in downtown Scranton. We wanted to get to know our comrades in coffee a little better.

On snowy Sunday we packed our bags and headed south to Scranton. We braved the weather to do what we love: talk about and share coffee! We were headed to Northern Light Espresso Bar a Gimme wholesale account located in downtown Scranton. We wanted to get to know our comrades in coffee a little better.

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Amaro Gayo, You're So Lovely

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I adore the coffee from Amaro Gayo. It's been a pleasant month of enjoying both versions of this coffee.on pour over. The Washed Amaro Gayo is blowing me a away this week.

In that moment before the coffee actually reaches my lips I'm engulfed in the scent of fresh flowers;. It offers a sense memory of blooming flowers in the midst of this harsh winter. The floral notes I pick up vary from lavender to jasmine and rose. Once I get a taste, it's a very smooth and sweet cup, silky even. The spring floral scent is not overwhelming in the taste, it turns juicy, crisp and refreshing. Then, I get a warm feeling of cookies from this coffee; fresh baked lemon lavender shortbread. Yum. I think I'll be baking this weekend.

Hey Hep Cats, What's That Sound?

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Have you been by our Green Street location lately? Were you treated to a morning of Big Band classics? Or perhaps your afternoon was a journey through the discography of Brian Eno? Was it Crooner Hour? Our baristas choose what's playing daily in our cafes, knowing that the music helps set the mood. The cunning baristas at Green Street took their tunes one step further by installing a turntable.

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Happy Valentine's Day

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I'm spending this Valentine's Day behind the bar at Green Street, and there's no where else I'd rather be! My sweetheart brought me flowers. I've got three Dean Martin records on rotation.  I'm pulling shots of Leftist, that taste like dark chocolate covered orange peel, for all the lovebirds on their dates. I hope you are feeling the love buzz today like I am. What do I care how much it may storm? I've got my coffee to keep me warm.

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Which Water Works?


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Water is a very important part of brewing coffee. It's important; to use water that is hot enough,  to use the right ratio of coffee to water, to only boil your water once, and to use water with the right mineral content. That means use filtered water. Many people have a water filter at home for drinking, yet use water out of the tap for their morning coffee. As baristas, we hear many reasons for this; from the idea that boiling water purifies it, to the thinking that the taste of the coffee will mask the off flavors in tap water. This week in the lab we set up an experiment to see if we could, in fact, tell the difference between coffee brewed with different waters.

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Brewing On The Go

I recently took a bus trip to New York City to visit our cafes and baristas down there. While the trip is always totally worth it, I couldn't help but grumble at the necessity of being ON the bus at 5:30am. No time for breakfast. No time to make coffee. Good thing I packed my trusty picnic basket...

I recently took a bus trip to New York City to visit our cafes and baristas down there. While the trip is always totally worth it, I couldn't help but grumble at the necessity of being ON the bus at 5:30am. No time for breakfast. No time to make coffee. Good thing I packed my trusty picnic basket...

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日本語分かりませんか？

You don't understand Japanese? Are you are feeling intimidated by the Skerton Grinder instructions? No problem! I'm here to talk you through setting up this lovely grinder.

You don't understand Japanese? Are you are feeling intimidated by the Skerton Grinder instructions? No problem! I'm here to talk you through setting up this lovely grinder.

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Brewing at Home, Part 6: Clever Dripper

Let talk about brewing with the Clever Dripper! Maybe you were lucky enough to receive one as a holiday present, or maybe you had a cup from the Clever in stores and couldn't resist bringing one home. Either way, making excellent coffee at home can be super easy. You will need: the Clever Dripper, paper filters (size 4), a timer (or clock), a spoon, a small plate to cover the Clever while brewing, freshly ground coffee, and I highly recommend a scale.

Let talk about brewing with the Clever Dripper! Maybe you were lucky enough to receive one as a holiday present, or maybe you had a cup from the Clever in stores and couldn't resist bringing one home. Either way, making excellent coffee at home can be super easy. You will need: the Clever Dripper, paper filters (size 4), a timer (or clock), a spoon, a small plate to cover the Clever while brewing, freshly ground coffee, and I highly recommend a scale.

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Cooking with Coffee Part 2: Spice

When baking my holiday pumpkin pie I assembled the usual roster of spices: cloves, cassia, nutmeg, and allspice. I also added, you guessed it, ground coffee!

When baking my holiday pumpkin pie I assembled the usual roster of spices: cloves, cassia, nutmeg, and allspice. I also added, you guessed it, ground coffee!

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Cooking with Coffee Part 1: Cold Brew

For Thanksgiving dinner I made pumpkin pie. The secret ingredient? Coffee! I used our Honduras Linda Vista because I felt the sweet, spicy notes of this coffee would pair well with the spices typically added to pumpkin pie. To preserve the clean sweetness of this coffee I decided to cold brew it the night before I was planning on baking.

For Thanksgiving dinner I made pumpkin pie. The secret ingredient? Coffee! I used our Honduras Linda Vista because I felt the sweet, spicy notes of this coffee would pair well with the spices typically added to pumpkin pie. To preserve the clean sweetness of this coffee I decided to cold brew it the night before I was planning on baking.

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I (Heart) Skerton

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I love this grinder. Not only is it small and attractive, making it a very fine hat, but it does its primary job of grinding coffee very well. I love the motion of hand grinding my coffee in the morning, what a nice gentle way to wake up. It takes a few more minutes than buzzing beans with an electric grinder, but it never takes longer than the time it takes me to boil water for which ever method of preparation I choose. The ceramic burrs are adjustable and have a good range from large particles for a Press Pot to a fine powder that would work for Turkish Coffee. It's a little bit more work with a super fine grind,  I wouldn't pull espresso shots for an entire team grinding solely with this little guy. For me and my sweetie at home? It's perfect!

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Cash for Clunkers: Trade in Your Grinder!

Do you have a bean busting, electricity sucking, noisy old grinder at home?

Do you have a bean busting, electricity sucking, noisy old grinder at home?

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More Latte Art, Upstate Style

At the upstate stores, and in the lab, we've been playing the game of swirling foam too. Here's some worth showing off, starting with a rosetta in progress by yours truly.

At the upstate stores, and in the lab, we've been playing the game of swirling foam too. Here's some worth showing off, starting with a rosetta in progress by yours truly.

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Coffee By The Cup? How Clever!

If you are spending some time at Gimme studying, or just enjoying the ambiance of our newly renovated State St. store, I highly recommend giving our new Pour Over Coffee a try.

If you are spending some time at Gimme studying, or just enjoying the ambiance of our newly renovated State St. store, I highly recommend giving our new Pour Over Coffee a try.

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Introducing Green Street!

If you are a regular at either of our downtown Ithaca locations you may have noticed an abundance of new faces recently. They are all baristas in training.

If you are a regular at either of our downtown Ithaca locations you may have noticed an abundance of new faces recently. They are all baristas in training.

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Something is Brewing at State Street Gimme!

What a normal peaceful day at State St Gimme! Coffee. Everything is in its place, espresso drinks are flowing smoothly, and everyone is calm.

What a normal peaceful day at State St Gimme! Coffee. Everything is in its place, espresso drinks are flowing smoothly, and everyone is calm.

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Frosty the Spro Man

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Winter came to Ithaca just in time for Take Your Snowman to Work Day.

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Gimme a Cuppa...Decaf?

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If you've stopped by any Gimme! Coffee location you may recognize the big Bunn brewers pictured above. If you're a regular you may have tried to order a cup of decaf at some time. It's ok, we all drink it; sometimes you need that cup of love, hold the buz. I hope you weren't too shocked to learn that "we don't brew decaf."  These bad boys above are good at what they do; brewing a lot of coffee, fast, and doing it relatively well. It's a fine system for brewing a lot of coffee if you are able to sell the coffee when it's hot and fresh. It may not surprise you to learn that here at gimme we serve significantly less cups of decaf coffee than caffeinated. So, rather then brewing a big pot of decaf in the morning and letting it sit until it is sold, we take a slightly different approach.

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Falling In Love With Fall

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At key moments I've encountered specific coffees that have lined up perfectly with what was happening in my life. Call it fate, call it synchronicity of the universe, call it me liking my job a little too much. I've had coffees comfort me during break ups, inspire me to take a chance to better my self, help me see a city in a whole new way and pull me out of the winter doldrums.  The Honduras Linda Vista is one of these coffees.

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Brewing at Home, Part 5: Pour Over

Hello class, it's been a while since we've done one of these, but I thought it would be nice to get back to giving you helpful hints and guidelines for home brewing. Today I will be presenting Pour Over style coffee made on a Bee House dripper, and using a paper filter.

Hello class, it's been a while since we've done one of these, but I thought it would be nice to get back to giving you helpful hints and guidelines for home brewing. Today I will be presenting Pour Over style coffee made on a Bee House dripper, and using a paper filter.

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The Secret to Great Espresso

The secret to great espresso, in fact the secret to all great coffee, is that there is no secret. No magic formula. No easy answer. The secret to great coffee is in the details and in the hard work applied by everyone involved in every part of the process. As Baristas we know that we are the last step in a long line of people working to bring high quality coffee to consumers.

The secret to great espresso, in fact the secret to all great coffee, is that there is no secret. No magic formula. No easy answer. The secret to great coffee is in the details and in the hard work applied by everyone involved in every part of the process. As Baristas we know that we are the last step in a long line of people working to bring high quality coffee to consumers.

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State Street Renovation: Synesso on Bar

For months now this Synesso has been installed in the lab at the back of State Street Gimme, getting moderate use from the trainers and sitting idle most of the time.

For months now this Synesso has been installed in the lab at the back of State Street Gimme, getting moderate use from the trainers and sitting idle most of the time.

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The Paper Problem

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I'm an old-fashoned type of girl: I read a lot of books, prefer letters to email, and I will not vote electronically. I like paper. I like its tangible, touchable nature and the history that paper provides. However, there is one place that I cannot stand to find paper; in my coffee.

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Macchiato Madness

This past week in the upstate training lab we made macchiatos, more macchiatos and then we made more macchiatos!

This past week in the upstate training lab we made macchiatos, more macchiatos and then we made more macchiatos!

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Wham! Pow! Zing! Kenya Shots!

kenyaReSize.jpgThis week in the lab we are deconstructing our leftist blend by pulling single origin shots of its components. The spectrum of flavors in the coffees pulled by themselves as shots was amazing.  Boy did we find some gems! The Kenya Gatomboya was by far the favorite!

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A Full Table of East African Coffees

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In celebration and in anticipation of our new Kenyan and Ethiopian coffees a few of us here at Gimme got together and cupped coffee, just African coffees!

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MANE Barista Jam 2009

Barista jams are the equivalent to business conferences, a place where baristas gather to exchange new techniques, make networking connections, see old friends, and hone their skills under pressure behind the bar. Back in June we were excited to attend the Mid-Atlantic / North-East Jam, hosted by Troy Reynard of The Cosmic Cup.

Barista jams are the equivalent to business conferences, a place where baristas gather to exchange new techniques, make networking connections, see old friends, and hone their skills under pressure behind the bar. Back in June we were excited to attend the Mid-Atlantic / North-East Jam, hosted by Troy Reynard of The Cosmic Cup.

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About the Blog

The Gimme blog is a collaboration that gives voice to people across our company. Opinions expressed by our authors are uncensored, and are not necessarily the opinions of Gimme! Coffee. If you need a company statement, or any other type of response, please contact us.

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