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72 Hours in Helena, MT
About 6 months ago we tweeted about a big Probat roaster that was listed on Craigslist in Montana. Last month it was still available, so we decided to get serious and go have a look.
Kevin Cuddeback
Kevin is founder and CEO of Gimme! Coffee.
Trust Third-Party Verification
Our cup runneth over! In the Annual Best of Manhattan and Beyond Edition in this week's New York Press, we were bestowed their award for Best Baristas. Specifically, they mention the good people over at Lorimer Street:
"You need to know that your barista might hate you."
Now, wait a minute... We are lovers not haters. Like a typical family, we may think about pulling your hair or grabbing your toys from time to time, but deep down it's 99.9% love.
"Pulling espresso shots can be a thankless job that requires all the nuance and skill of being a bartender, but with less gratitude, leaving most baristas in a state of general saltiness. As you sit a few feet away from them, working on your screenplay, they are banging their scoops and making little spades atop your latte, waiting to get home and work with Pro Tools until sunrise. This is what makes the baristas at Gimme! so un-objectionable. In fact, between Marta the bike punk girl, Alex the band kid, Joe the long-haired California dude, Mike the DJ and Elia, the guy who's good with computers and holds the place together, the baristas at Gimme! aren't just un-objectionable, but welcoming, which wouldn't be as big a deal if they weren't also making the best espresso drinks in the borough."
While it feels great to hear we're the best, what's most important to us is that we get better and better over time. If you happen to disagree, or if you care to offer some suggestions on how to improve, please submit feedback online so we have a clue.
Best baristas are a reflection of interesting, enthusiastic customers. Thank you for your patronage.
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Continuous Flow
A graphic designer for LaMarzocco designed this symbol to indicate "continuous flow". In our repair shop, we are blessed with a continuous flow of espresso machines that are experiencing technical difficulties. This provides endless opportunities to explore espresso machine engineering insight that spans 5 decades.
Gimme the Keys.
Vince, a long-time customer in Trumansburg, takes his coffee devotion very seriously. Let's face it: Sometimes a bumper sticker just won't do.
Thank You and Goodnight, Ithaca Farmers Market
Dear Friends, Gimme! Coffee will be shutting down our Ithaca Farmers Market operations on October 11, 2009. We won't be back in 2010.
The Market charter requires the owner of each business to be present for 25% of market hours. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend at that level, given my other responsibilities with Gimme. In the past, enforcement of the rule was more lax. The Board of Directors recently determined that strict enforcement of the rule is in the best interest of the Market. So, Gimme! Coffee will no longer be at the Market.
It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of this community nexus all these years. I wish we could stay, but I understand the importance of enforcing charter rules evenly. I have confidence in the Ithaca Farmer's Market Board, and that it's governance will preserve and protect this important local treasure for years to come.
We very much look forward to serving you at our Ithaca and Trumansburg locations.
All the Best,
Kevin
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Offshore Cafe
Most coffee I drink is brewed indoors - in the house, in the roastery, or in the cafés. Today, feeling the residual stifling pressure of the outgoing Ithaca winter, I decided to take it outside.
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Exorcising the Probat LG5
Last Friday we met to conduct a volatile spiritual intervention involving dark matter and vapors. The crew was rightfully concerned.
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The Last of the China Cafe and Menu Photos
As I've mentioned in previous posts, China is quite the anomaly with respect to cafe culture. They are only recently "turning on" to coffee as they embrace some of the symbolic luxuries of Western culture. Fortunately, this is not a barista, but a waiter in a theme restaurant.
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Bike Study from Inside a Cafe
At one point in China, I found myself at the C. Straight Café, a 5000+ square foot coffee bar / restaurant located on the second floor of a strip mall. Through the giant windows overlooking the street there was a parade of über bicyclists.
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Tarot Cafe, Beijing
I was in Beijing in late Spring, 08 trying to develop an understanding of the local coffee culture. As I've mentioned previously, the scene is very much nascent. Fortunately for me, the internet discussion forums have a global reach and I was able to get a couple suggestions from Peter Tam. He recommended I pay a visit to Lanzi at Tarot Cafe. That's her in the next photo.
The Nation Hearts Us
I received a letter today which began as follows:
Dear Left-leaning shop, cultural institution or gathering place,You can buy the book here if you're so inclined.
Congratulations! You've been included in the soon-to-be-published THE NATION GUIDE TO THE NATION...just in time for the inauguration of our Democratic president-elect, and the ushering in of a new era of liberal culture.
Sharing Shapes with Stamps
Our handy friend got a package that was plastered with stamps depicting a comet screaming to earth. The shape of the comet struck me as near and dear, nearly identical to one I built into the original logo back in '00.
A New Temperature Control Mod for Mirages
Kees is now offering a needle valve assembly which can be installed in the thermosiphon loop on the Mirage. (If you're unfamiliar with how heat exchanger espresso machines work, here is a primer.) The adjustment screw allows the operator to easily control the water flow-rate between the boiler and the group head, thus controlling the extraction temperature at each group.
Kees offers basic parameters after the jump.
Kees offers basic parameters after the jump.
Head-Start Program Hailed as Innovative (Satire)
Our upstairs neighbors forwarded proof that our early intervention program is working. Nyuk-nyuk.
100+ Roaster Rehab Photos Posted
We finished dis-assembling this neglected roaster and it still smells like death. Hopefully, sandblasting will disinfect and deodorize it.Today we dumped 100+ progress photos into an album for posterity (...and to amuse kindred grease-monkeys). I guess we'll cull the out-of-focus and redundant shots later.
Ithaca Has an Unusual Combination of Brains and Beauty
Mike forwarded me an article promoting his hometown. Is Ithaca an idyllic bedroom community for der Ciudad? If only we had a high-speed rail connection...
'The New York Times' Has Good Coffee on the Brain
The increasing availability of better coffee is once again the subject of an article in the Times. The frequency of their recent attention to coffee leaves me hopeful but I was taken by today's curious subhead: "Beyond Starbucks: Coffee Shops
Overflow but Will Connoisseurs Pay the Price?" Do I detect a double entendre?
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Inventory Spotlight: Vintage LaMarzocco GS2
Once again we've indulged our penchant for rejuvenating vintage equipment. We were lucky to find this demure, 30-year-old beauty in decent shape. Now, tuned and tested, it is ready for title transfer and an opportunity to shine.
Choose your Favorite Caption
A. I should have been a bricklayer.
B. I like to PhD (...pile it higher and deeper).
C. We charge triple for this government contract work.
D. All this coffee is making me twitchy.
B. I like to PhD (...pile it higher and deeper).
C. We charge triple for this government contract work.
D. All this coffee is making me twitchy.
A Message from our Farmer Friends in Costa Rica
The families at La Union wrote to say, "Gracias!" and included a colorful enamel cup too. I thought I'd share this hand written note on behalf of the Vindas-Camacho family. They're keeping it real.
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Spying on Starbucks in China
It should come as no surprise that Starbucks is making aggressive moves in Pacific rim emerging economies. This particular outlet is about a mile from Peking University, the same general area as Google.cn HQ. The Western-culture loving Beijing capitalists are prime targets for adopting coffee culture and fostering a trickle-down effect, helping to introduce the most populous nation to coffee.
Disclosure: I Occasionally Support Muckrakers
I need to give a shout-out to TPM, the sharpest investigative news organization I'm aware of. I sent a few pounds of coffee over last week and it arrived in the nick of time, averting a bodega coffee death spiral. The lawns of the fourth estate need some tending every now and then.Landmines Kill Coffee Farmers
Before the Coffeelands presentation at the 2008 Barista Jam in Easton, I wasn't sufficiently aware of the problem of land mines in coffee-producing countries. Upon returning home, I did some searching and found 2 videos on the subject. After watching them, I decided to go one step further and donate to the Landmine Victims' Trust.
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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.
