Gimme! Coffee News

Photos - Latte Art How To: Part 1 - Milk Texture

2010-09-02T12:56:01Z

]]> Latte art is one of the fun parts of being a barista. We get to show off a little and beautiful drinks always make people smile. Latte art takes a while to learn, but once you get the basics down it doesn't take long to master the different designs.

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Throwdown!

2010-08-19T02:15:20Z

On Sunday in Ithaca we here at Gimme had an internal latte art throwdown. It was time to show off new tricks and old favorites that we can pour into lattes and cappuccinos. This competition was not only for fun, we were competing for an Aeropress. Aeropress is a fun, fast way to brew a cup of coffee that not many of us own, so the competition was fierce. We ran this competition head-to-head style, with two baristas steaming and pouring at once, with the better pour moving ahead to the next level. Think college sports brackets, but with milk, and you have the right idea.

State State veteran barista Benn Bartishevich took home the grand prize. He's always pushing the limit to learn new latte art tricks, and it was his creativity that won him the competition. Congratulations Benn! Keep an eve out for stunning art from this guy next time you are in our state street store. He keeps turning out beautiful drinks.

Gimme Bicycle Benefits!

2010-08-16T13:19:26Z

Thom already explained it - bikes are cool. As you can maybe tell (from previous blog posts and knowing some Gimme folk) we're all real into bikes.

]]> So when Ian from Bicycle Benefits approached us about participating in the program - it was a no brainer. Cleaner air? Improved personal health? Sustainable communities? Less parking demand? More helmets on riders? YES!

Here's how it works:

Buy a sticker at Gimme Coffee or any location that sells them
Put the sticker on your bike helmet
Show your helmet with sticker at participating locations and receive a benefit

This helmet sticker entitles bike riders to discounts all over the country! C'mon. Do it.

Gimme Art: August 2010

2010-08-12T13:05:34Z

Bodie Chewning
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

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Seth Werlin
at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Danielle George
at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee
131 E. Green Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Loretta Louviere
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Hallie Chase
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

2010 AIDS Ride For Life Bike Raffle

2010-08-02T15:40:10Z

This weekend, Team Gimme will begin our fundraising campaign for the 2010 Southern Tier AIDS Prevention Ride For Life. The grand prizes for this years raffle are two bicycles that will be raffled individually. The bikes are on display in the front window of the Cayuga Street cafe.

Tell me more about these mad whips!

The first is a 1971 Raleigh Twenty, a 20-inch three-speed folding bike. The folding frame is unique as it can be collapsed into a small, easy to stow package that begs to tag along wherever the day takes you. Modern folders are great utility bikes for large metropolitan areas, but they don't have the style that the Raleigh Twenty had. This bike is 99% original, and was given a complete rebuild from the frame up over the winter. A huge thank you to Alice Heise for contributing the bicycle.

]]> Hipster Silk Route of more riders running the free side of their flip flop hubs, and a greater number of English threes. Are young people choosing practical design over coolness? Nah, their knees are just sore from riding fixed. I feel in three short years, skinny jeans will be history and v-neck tees will be replaced with tweed sport coats and ascots to cover all the neck tats. And everyone will be riding folders.

Bike number two is a 2005 Eastern Bikes Hercules BMX. This one was the action back in the day, and is ready for all your half-pipe afternoons. Roaster Jacob Landrau was kind enough to pull this bolt from his quiver of BMX machines for your hucking and thrashing pleasure. Jacob tells me it is completely stock and ready for your upgrades. I think you should just keep it real and get out and ride. Jacob, pictured above, demonstrates the proper riding technique.

How can I get in on this action?

It's easy! Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Cayuga Street store from any barista, and are structured as follows:

One for $2.00, three for $5.00 and while supplies last, 15 with a five dollar gift certificate from our generous sponsor Viva Taqueria for $20.00! You don't have to use it to buy a margarita, but it is what I recommend. The raffle tickets will be color coded so participants can choose what bike they hope to win. Everyone is eligible for the drawing, and can buy as many tickets as they want. The drawing will be held on Friday September 10. Winner need not be present.

What if I don't want the bike, but want to contribute?

That is easy too! Go to the Team Gimme! fundraising page and make a donation to the rider(s) of your choice. The Ride For Life is a big event for us every year, and we are very grateful to all in the community who make a monetary or volunteer contribution to help those in need.

Guatemalan Coffees

2010-08-02T14:29:49Z

Guatemalan coffees have long been some of the most favored offerings in our Upstate, NY retail stores. Maybe this is because our environmentally conscious consumers know that an estimated 98% of all Guatemalan coffee is shade grown, making the country a refuge for biodiversity. Or, perhaps, customers just know that they can find exceptional value in a strictly high grown, washed Arabica from Central America's leading coffee export country. Whatever the rationale, there is no wrong reason to love a Guatemalan coffee.

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Guatemala is sandwiched between the southern tip of Mexico, and the northern provinces of El Salvador and Honduras. The size of Tennessee, Guatemala supplies the world with 3.5% of its coffee, producing roughly 3.5 million 60kilo bags of green coffee per annum. Though not a 'major' player in comparison to the annual coffee production in Brazil and Vietnam, whose 33% and 18% respectively flood the world market, the fact that 98% of Guatemala's coffee production is washed Arabica coffee, makes them very influential in the specialty coffee market.

What makes Guatemalan coffees so special, according to the Anacafé, the Guatemalan National Coffee Association, are the high altitudes of growing regions, consistent rainfall patterns, abundance of water, and hundreds of microclimates. Now, what does all of that mean? Here are a few brief explanations...

Altitude

The higher the altitude, the denser the coffee, the more unique the flavor and acidity profile. This all has to do with cooler temperatures, slower plant respiration and thus slower growth of the coffee cherry (and if you didn't know that coffee comes from a cherry, now you do). Much of the coffee in Guatemala is grown at high altitudes, around the country's 34 volcanoes, which run parallel to the Pacific Ocean. One of our favorite regions, Huehuetenango, is one of three non-volcanic regions, and is located in the remote highlands just south of Mexico.

Rainfall Patterns

Coffee develops best when there are consistent patterns of rainfall, with clear delineations between seasons. The rainy season is considered Winter, and it is during this time that the coffee trees blossom, the fruit begins to grow, and the seed embryo develops into what we call coffee. It is important that the rainy season does not drag on for too long, or else the plant will continue to produce, and nourishment will be spread thin over an abundance of cherries.

Abundance of Water

Not all coffee in the world needs to be processed with water, but in Guatemala, where the relative humidity remains consistent between 65% and 95%, depending on region, water is crucial. Without cleaning the coffee cherries properly, the effects would be devastating, as producers can end up with overly fermented or moldy coffee rather than the clean and mild coffee that we are used to tasting. Guatemala has an abundant water supply. In looking at a map of Guatemala's water recharge areas, it literally looks like the country has a vast and intricate vascular system. According to Anacafé, 85% of coffee farms lie within these recharge areas.

Microclimates

Finally, what makes Guatemala, or any other quality coffee producing country, so special are the various regions and microclimates. Guatemala is characterized as having 8 major distinctive coffee growing regions; distinction in the form of altitudes, rainfall patterns, temperature and humidity, all of which contribute to marked differences in cup characteristics. Anacafé cites the major geographic influences like large crater lakes, flat plains, and mountain ranges combine to make over 300 different microclimates within these regions, each of which furthering the distinct cup profiles of each coffee.

Yes, coffee production is more complicated that you might think, and the production of unique quality coffees is even more difficult. I recommend checking out Anacafé's website, guatemalancoffees.com, to learn more about this beautiful and abundant producing country. Or, try our new offering from the Guaya'b cooperative from Huehuetenango to get an idea of just how good a Guatemalan coffee can be.

Magic Coffee Cone

2010-07-29T15:49:43Z

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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It's the stopper in the bottom of this filter cone that makes it magic. The coffee can brew fully immersed in water for as long as you would like. Making a consistent and good cup is very easy. We've been having great success brewing with these magic cones in all of our stores for months.

Give a cup of Clever brew a try, made fresh for you, at any or our locations. Or pick up the actual brewer, for perfect coffee at home anytime. Great coffee is simple with a little magic.

Photos - Yoga For Baristas

2010-07-22T21:53:02Z

]]> 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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Gimme becomes EPA Green Power Partner

2010-07-22T20:41:56Z

We have joined the EPA's Green Power Partnership, a program that recognizes and supports the environmental leadership of businesses, communities, as well as college and universities across the country.

We have been purchasing nearly 100% of our energy from renewable resources, such as wind and low-impact hydro power, for almost 2 years now and are excited to be recognized by the EPA for our efforts. Check out the other steps we're taking to be environmental stewards in our communities.

Meet Your Barista: Shanika Scott

2010-07-12T16:41:52Z

Shanika's been working with Gimme! Coffee for about a year and a half. She's a full time barista at the State St. location, where her sense of humor and stellar drink making skills have proven valuable assets to the team. It should also be noted that if there was a contest for the nicest smile there, well Shanika would probably win it.

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Her favorite coffee to drink has been our sun dried Ethiopia Amaro Gayo via French press, and her favorite espresso drink to make is a Gibraltar with soy milk. Hey, someone's gotta look out for soy milk drinkers! I'll also mention (for your own good) that many of her hours outside of Gimme are spent playing pool. So be weary if you come across this woman with a nice smile at your local pool hall.

New Brazil Offerings

2010-07-08T12:50:00Z

Brazil is the world leader in coffee production, and Minas Gerais is the largest producing region in Brazil. Coffee grown in this region is typically known for mild fruit acidity, chocolate, nut and brown sugar flavors, and big body. That is just what you get from our two new Brazil offerings: Brazil Santo Andre and Brazil Santa Clara (organic). Each coffee produces a cup that stays true to the regional character, but they also hold their own ground as distinct and unique specialty coffees. This is our second year offering both coffees, and I anticipate they will be as popular this year as they were in 2009. ]]> Fazenda Santo Andre is located in the Cerrado Mineiro region of Minas Gerais under the guidance of producer Lincoln Ferreira. The farm is located on a plateau at an altitude of 1,220 meters. Nights are very cold and days are hot, which promotes a longer, slower growing that results in a denser bean. These cool nights also allow the plant to accumulate sugars (rather than use them up), leading to a sweeter cup. The Cerrado region is known for having distinct rain patterns during the summer months, and being a gentle and dry area during the harvest period. Such conditions are perfect for creating sweet, ripe coffee cherries.

Brazil Santo Andre is 100% Mundo Novo varietal, which is a hybrid of the original two Arabica mutations, Typica and Bourbon. Mundo Novo is an interesting child of two parents, one of which, Typica, is very low yielding and, if lacking in nutrition, will drop every single leaf before it lets go of the cherry. The other, Bourbon, produces 20%-30% more coffee cherries than Typica, but they mature faster and are at risk of detaching from the tree in heavy rains or winds. So what happens to the offspring, then? It picks up on the yield of the Bourbon, the tenacity of the Typica, and the excellent cup quality of both! It is a very well-rounded varietal, and a beautifully lush coffee tree to boot.

Brazil Santo Andre has a very smooth and easy cup profile, with a lot of dark chocolate, malt and roasted almonds in the aroma, as well as the flavor. I characterize the acidity as sweet-citric and wide, meaning that you will definitely experience some candy-like orange on the sides of your tongue and cheeks. But make no mistake, this is not a high acidity coffee. Santo Andre rounds out with a smooth cocoa finish and long pleasant bitters. Its flavor profile is one reason why it is a component of our Leftist blend.

Sitio Santa Clara is a 10.3 hectare farm located in the municipality of Andradas. The small farm is part of the larger Tijuco Preto Cafés Especiais group out of Sul de Minas. The Tijuco Preto group is a multi faceted operation that not only produces high quality green coffee for export, but they also roast and retail their own line of coffee called Tijuco Preto Estate Coffee. Their organic line comes from the small Santa Clara farm, which produces roughly 40,000 lbs (~18,000kgs) of green coffee per year. We've purchased a little less than half of what Santa Clara produces, and will use the coffee as a component in our Piccolo Mondo blend as well as offering it as a single origin.

Brazil Santa Clara is the kind of coffee that reminds you that simplicity can also be elegant. It has a soft caramel, cocoa and cashew butter aroma, and one heck of a viscous, creamy mouthfeel. It is solidly sweet, with a very mild cherry-like acidity that is enveloped in a nutty, caramel candy.

Enjoy!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for July 2010

2010-07-05T14:49:12Z

Ed Marion

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street

Trumansburg, NY 14886

]]> Kelly Blanchat

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street

New York, NY 10012

Doron Gild

at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee

495 Lorimer Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

Phil Ashworth

at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee

430 N. Cayuga Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Marc Miller

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Zach Furman

at State St. Gimme! Coffee

506 W. State Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Guatemala Cup of Excellence

2010-07-02T13:04:04Z

Guatemala has been in the news a lot these past few weeks. First there was the continuous eruption of Volcán de Pacaya to the south west of Guatamala City that covered the streets in up to 8 inches of ash. Then Tropical Storm Agatha bombarded the western coast of the country, causing vast devastation to properties, infrastructure, and even caused a sinkhole in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, an international jury of about 25 professional coffee cuppers withstood the environmental conditions to classify the top 28 coffees of this year's Guatemalan Cup of Excellence. Ok, so the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence may not have been the most interesting story to come out of Central America in May, but let me tell you more about it anyway.

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By now you all should know that it takes an extreme amount of effort to produce an exemplary coffee. Hundreds of hours of preparation and thousands of kilometers of transport can be ruined by the slightest wrong move. The Cup of Excellence program is a discerning process that finds coffees of the highest quality, and awards producers for their dedication to quality. It is probably the most recognized certification for Specialty coffee quality worldwide, and is, in my opinion, by far the most prestigious. It involves an intense amount quality assessment, followed by a worldwide internet auction that claims astronomical prices for coffees. For instance, two years ago the top ranked coffee in Guatemala received a record setting $80.20 per pound!

Cup of Excellence is open to every coffee grower and cooperative from a participating country. A producer first enters their coffee into a national competition in which cuppers from that country assess the quality. If a coffee passes through the initial round of judging with a high enough score, it moves onto an international jury. The international jury is constructed with the idea that a cupping panel should have very diverse, but distinguished, tastes. This is to ensure that a coffee score isn't artificially elevated because of one region's specific taste index. The 2010 Guatemalan Cup of Excellence international jury consisted of roughly 25 cuppers from Japan, USA, Canada, Russia, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Norway, New Zealand and Lithuania. Sure enough, there were some coffees that I found were not of "Cup of Excellence quality" but that another jury member thought was exemplary, and vice versa.

A coffee receives a final score when all of the individual scores are averaged. Because of the diversity of scores, buying participants in the CoE program like us don't really pay attention to the overall rank of the coffee. We do our own assessment of the samples and find our own favorites. This is partially why over the years Gimme! has purchased a #7 Nicaragua lot, or a #32 Honduras lot or a #19 El Salvador lot, etc.

This year, the top lot was certainly deserving, but not my favorite. I'd also like you all to taste the top scoring lots from this year's Cup of Excellence Guatemala competition. The auction is on Thursday July 14th, so would like to offer you a chance to cup my favorite coffees of the auction on Saturday July 17th, 10am sharp in the State St. training lab. Then, stay for the weekly free public cupping at noon. Hope to see you there!

Open Cupping: Processing

2010-07-01T03:35:38Z

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!

Meet Your Barista: Anna Detar

2010-06-28T14:20:52Z

]]> Anna hails from western NY and grew up riding horses with her mum. She is an avid beer maker, skiier, hiker, and general have-fun kind of girl. After a stint in Boston, Anna and her super awesome husband moved to NY with their two dogs to pursue higher education and excellent coffee.

Anna started her Gimme Coffee career working full time in the production department at our roastery. We're glad she decided to come down the hill and join our team of baristas at Cayuga Street. If you asked her what her favorite coffee is she'd probably tell you that she prefers cappuccinos.

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for June 2010

2010-06-14T13:23:33Z

Lauren Lacey Slowik & Alyssa Robb

at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850 ]]> Yeoun Lee & Charles Kelly
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Angela Goldberg

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Patricia Heckart

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Josh Sperling

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Finca San Luis Microlots

2010-06-07T20:05:56Z

Omar Arango is the owner of Finca San Luis, a 42-hectare farm in El Libano, in the department of Tolima, Colombia. Finca San Luis is organic and Rainforest Alliance certified, and located at an altitude of 1600 meters. Predominantly producing coffee of the caturra varietal, Omar creates a cup profile that has well structured acidity, and rich flavors that range from ripe stone fruit to mild, sweet tobacco. While Omar often sells this coffee with the producer group Cafinorté Orgánico, this year we are working with him to separate some of his higher quality coffee in order to sell directly to us as Finca San Luis.]]>
Contrast that with legacy cultural practices, where producing a higher yield with less effort on quality is the norm. In Colombia, as a fitting example, the typical mechanism for selling coffee is through buying agents of the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), the non-profit, government sponsored entity that provides support to Colombian coffee producers, and is essentially the marketing agent for Colombian coffee. If you've only ever heard of clean, mild Colombian coffee and Juan Valdez, it's because of the FNC.

The FNC is known as the 'Growers Association' and is the buyer of last resort, meaning that if you are a coffee producer and need to sell your coffee, the FNC will always buy it, regardless of quality. If the quality meets their export standards, the coffee will be milled, separated by size and then exported. If the coffee does not meet their export standards, then the coffee will be sold internally (within Colombia), decaffeinated, or perhaps sold to make soluble coffee (Folgers crystals) or extracts. However the coffee is resold or exported, what is important is that the producer:

will always have a buyer for their coffee
will always be paid a set price (think minimum wage) for their coffee
will be paid this price almost immediately upon arrival to the FNC's warehouses

So, what does this have to do with Finca San Luis? When I met Omar in September of 2009, it was during the FNC's annual ExpoEspeciales conference in Ibague, Tolima. During our conversation, Omar learned how committed Gimme Coffee is to investing in quality. After that, he had one question, "How do I send you my coffee to sample?"

In the month following the ExpoEspeciales, I received an email from Alejandro Cadena, general manager and co-founder of Virmax Café, indicating that he had received a sample from Omar Arango that was quite good, even though it was from his first pickings of the harvest. Once I had the opportunity to cup the coffee, I also thought the quality was excellent. But by the time we had informed Omar that we wanted to buy that lot of coffee, he had already sold it to the FNC warehouse. Omar needed to pay his pickers immediately, so he had sold that lot of coffee to the FNC in order to fund his harvest, even though in the end we were to pay him well beyond the price he had received from the FNC.

These legacy practices create a cycle that is difficult to get out of. A producer cannot risk holding coffee because of costs, and the prices they receive are not nearly enough to hold for future investment. With on going communication with Omar, we were able to quickly secure 2 unique microlots from the beginning of this season's harvest. We were also able to prefinance the remainder of his harvest so that Omar can afford to pay his pickers and other costs upfront. This means that the result of Omar's dedication to his coffee crop will not be blended in with lower grade coffees simply because he could not wait for a higher price. It also means that by financing his harvest, Gimme Coffee is able to secure a much larger lot of Finca San Luis for August/September 2010.

It is a sad reality that beautiful coffees are being sold at commodity prices and blended with coffees of a lower caliber. We know that Omar Arango is capable of producing high quality coffee and we look forward to our ongoing relationship with Finca San Luis.

Notes From Gimme's Public Cuppings

2010-06-04T02:37:18Z

It'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.

]]> Great coffee is no accident, so we've been starting off the session with an intro into how and where coffee is grown. Next, we talk about how we get coffee that is roasted and ready to brew from the seed of a little red fruit. Then, we get into the sniffin and slurpin! Properly tasting coffee is a loud, sometimes messy process. If you are someone who gets hushed for slurping your soup at the dinner table, you will feel very welcome here.

Each Saturday there have been many "a-ha" moments, when people who think that all coffee tastes the same realize that they can pick out differences in the brews based on terroir and processing. This cupping has quickly become the favorite part of my weekend, I just love drinking coffee with new faces! This weekend we will have our Finca San Luis on the table next to some contrasting coffees. If you hadn't gotten a chance to try this first mico lot, you should really consider stopping by. We're only going to have this coffee for another month and it's smooth, sweet and satisfying. Hope to see you on saturday at noon!

Team Gimme Brings Home The Bean

2010-05-18T14:22:35Z

This past Sunday, Gimme Coffee brought home the trophy which Team Gimme fought for in the first ever Battle For The Bean against Team Coffee Mania. Here Gimme's Tomas Reyer is enjoying the thrill of the win surrounded by Team Gimme rollers.

It was nip and tuck in the first half as the two teams battled it out. But the 2nd half was dominated by Team Gimme leading to a final score of 113 to 157.

Check out the handmade trophy as it makes the rounds to each store.

Nobody Needs to Renounce Coffee...

2010-05-10T13:22:20Z

The rumors are true! Not every coffee drinker enjoys the physiological effects of caffeine. The good news : modern decaffeination methods allow for a complete and pleasant coffee drinking experience without the added energy. The even better news : this month we are releasing a brand new decaffeinated coffee that just might leave you asking, "La Serrania, where have you been all my life?!"

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Colombia La Serrania comes from our friends at Virmax Café, founders of Las Mingas, a project that directly connects quality roasters with quality producers in an effort to achieve a truly fair price for beautifully unique coffees. Although not part of the project, we were able to source the Colombia La Serrania directly from the Virmax warehouse, and approve the green coffee before it was decaffeinated. This process is atypical of buying decaffeinated coffee, as roasters are usually sent samples of coffee that has already been decaffeinated. This means that the coffee was carefully screened both before and after the process, and was not just some junk coffee that was sent to slaughter because it had no redeeming qualities. No, we chose this coffee to decaffeinate based on cup quality, balance and certain flavor characteristics. Now, that's what I call a value added decaf.

Colombia La Serrania was decaffeinated by way of the solvent process. This means that the coffee was first treated with steam to cause the beans to swell and open their pores. Secondly, a solvent is introduced in order to extract the caffeine from the bean. Next, the solvent is driven out of the bean by means of steam. Finally, the coffee is dried to its initial moisture content.

The solvent process is known for keeping the integrity of the bean's flavors, aromas and cell structure intact. Still, solvent decaffeination has come under fire for appearing less gentle of a decaffeination process than the widely known Mountain Water Process. Well, fire no more. While there are many different types of solvents that can be used for decaffeination, the type that the DESCAFECOL plant uses is naturally occurring ethyl-acetate gained from sugar cane molasses. Ethyl-acetate (EA) is also found in fruits and vegetables, as well as roasted coffee itself, and its consumption is free from health risks. However, since the EA used in the decaffeination process for the La Serrania comes from sugar cane molasses, around the roastery we've been referring to it as sugar decaf (ok, you can, too).

Typically, solvent processed decafs are processed in Germany and then redistributed from the decaf plant to various other parts of the world. La Serrania only traveled a few hundred kilometers from the warehouse in Neiva, Colombia where it was approved to the DESCAFECOL plant in Manizales, Colombia. A Colombian coffee that is decaffeinated in Colombia? A novel idea.

There isn't much to not love about the Colombia La Serrania. Even your non-decaf drinking friends will agree that this is a solid coffee with nothing to hide. Enjoy!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for May 2010

2010-05-07T14:24:33Z

Janelle Tompkins
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

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Ant Walach

at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Phil Ashworth

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Julian Rapp

at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee

495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Sarah and Mark Oros

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Little Chris

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

The Battle For the Bean: The Trophy

2010-05-04T20:52:52Z

The Ithaca League of Women Rollers is partnering with Coffee Mania and Gimme! Coffee for the first-ever intraleague bout on Sunday, May 16, at the J.M. McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland - the league's springtime home track.

For this special event the ILWR teams, the SufferJets and BlueStockings, will be reblended to form two high-octane teams--Team Gimme! and Team Coffee Mania. Whether you wear Gimme! red or Mania purple, you'll be able to cheer for your favorite ILWR skaters as these one-time teammates turn on each other for this special event - the Battle for the Bean. Come see which team will take home the Bean Trophy.

Doors open at 4:30 pm and the first whistle blows at 5:00 for this Sunday evening event. Tickets are $10 for adults. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets for this bout and the entire 2010 season are now available through the league's newly designed website. Tickets are also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons. For information on riding the ILWR Fan Van from Ithaca to Cortland, e-mail events@ithacarollerdery.com.

The J.M. McDonald Sports Complex is located at 4292 Fairgrounds Drive in Cortland. Join your favorite skaters after the bout for more fun and music at the Darkhorse in downtown Cortland.

A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to support the Women's Opportunity Center of Ithaca.

This bout is generously sponsored by Gimme! Coffee and Coffee Mania. ILWR is sponsored all season long by platinum sponsors Cayuga Xpress, Gorges Website Design & Development, Clayburg Creative, and Angry Mom Records.

Smells Like Team Spirit!

2010-04-26T15:52:42Z

The NYC gimme! family (or staff) is pretty close and often spends time together both at work and in leisure, but it's a rare treat to find us all together in one room. Thanks to a recent staff meeting, all gimme! baristas from both our Lorimer st and Mott st locations came together for an evening for information, sandwiches, cake, and fun!

Meet the NYC gimme! team!
From Left to Right: (top) Rick, Pete, Laura, Aaron, Adah, Jason, Elia, (bottom) Alex, Theo, Ian, Joe, and David. Though present, Sheena was taking the photo, and sadly we were missing Marta and Aleks.

Pretty cute bunch, right?!

Open Cuppings

2010-04-23T01:22:29Z

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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Cupping is a set process: we evaluate the fragrance of fresh ground coffee, then the scent again after it's brewed, and finally we taste the coffee. If you come to the lab on Saturday I will show you how it's done. It's amazing how you can taste the differences between coffees when you have several types next to each other. If you've ever thought that "coffee tastes like coffee," cupping is going to open your mind to the wide possibility of flavors available from a simple cup.

Cupping is going to happen every Saturday at noon, in the Lab at the back of State Street Gimme! Coffee. We are going to have a great time: you'll taste some lovely coffee and you'll learn a little more about the coffee plant. We will easily fill an hour with a little bit of learning and a lot of tasting, so please come a few minutes before noon so that we can start on time. No experience is necessary, we will guide you through the coffees and the process of tasting. I will be there most Saturdays and you can also expect cameos from your favorite Gimme staff members. After the formal tasting there will be time to answer your questions.

So, come to the lab in the back of State St Gimme any (or every) Saturday by noon for a free guided coffee tasting. Starting this Saturday, April 24, 2010, and running until further notice. I hope to see you there!

The Battle For The Bean

2010-04-20T21:12:20Z

Mark your calendars for the first ever Battle For The Bean, presented by The Ithaca League of Women Rollers and sponsored by Gimme! Coffee and Coffee Mania. More details to come!

At the Las Mingas Release Party

2010-04-19T15:35:18Z

Bright and early on a Saturday morning, dozens of people gathered at the State Street training lab to taste the new Las Mingas harvest. Our crew of awesome baristas served up Las Mingas Huila and Las Mingas Cauca in three ways: pourover, French press, and espresso shots.

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Talk at the counter was that the coffees were sweet and zingy, with mild fruit notes and a pleasant acidity.

After the tasting, folks gathered in the other half of the cafe to hear more about where these coffees come from and how they got here. Colleen Anunu, Gimme's Director of Coffee, talked about Colombian coffee export and the Las Mingas Project, and stayed for an extra half-hour to answer questions from the crowd. She explained that most coffees in Colombia are bought and sold as giant mixed lots, without regard to cup quality of the individual farmers' harvests. The Las Mingas Project is unique because it keeps each harvest separate, pays farmers more for better quality coffee, and provides support and training to keep improving that quality.

If you'd like to taste the delicious results of this extra care and attention, you can visit any of our espresso bars to taste three different Las Mingas coffees as pourover. Or, you can get these coffees online, while the harvest lasts!

Coffee + Cupcake!

2010-04-16T21:07:42Z

I like to stay in and bake on rainy days.
And seeing as we are in the month of April which is well known for it's showers that will bring May's flowers, it's a safe bet that I am baking a lot these days!
Being a rainy day, today's item was red velvet cupcakes and I thought I would try to mix some coffee into the equation! I chose to use one of our new Las Mingas coffees, the Huila, knowing that it's rich, smooth, nutty, creamy characteristics would go perfectly with a red velvet cupcake!
Using the Joy Of Baking recipe, I first tried to bake the coffee in the cupcake itself; nope! Although the texture was still nice, the coffee ended up adding a greenish, bitter flavor.

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So then I thought I would put the coffee in the frosting; bingo!
Using my Hario Hand Mill I ground the coffee as finely as was possible, so that I was left with very soft, powdery coffee grounds to mix into the cream cheese frosting.
The coffee gave the frosting a nice creamy tan hue with cute little "freckles" and a serious coffee kick! Now put that deliciousness atop a fresh red velvet cupcake...

BAM! AMAZING!
I mean, how could you go wrong with a delicious coffee like the Huila and a cupcake? You simply can't!
Needless to say, this rainy day wont be getting my spirits down!
Mmm, Mmm, Mmm!

Las Mingas Release Party

2010-04-15T02:07:58Z

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!

Iced Coffee Time!

2010-04-09T19:50:19Z

Rise and shine, everybody! Winter is no more and the time to hibernate is over! The sun is back and there are flowers to smell, gardens to grow, and picnics to be enjoyed! Spring is most certainly in the air and to me, that means one thing... ICED COFFEE!
All winter long I wait and long for the first batch of cold brewed iced coffee for the season. There is something about its heavy bodied, chocolaty sweetness that sends me to the moon and leaves me with a craving that no other coffee drink can satisfy! So velvety, yet still so crisp! Mmm! Heaven in a cup!
What makes cold brewed iced coffee so good? Unlike iced coffees which are brewed hot then cooled and often end up being sour, the cold brew method is well, cold brewed! Brewing coffee using cold water to extract all those yummy oils and gases from the ground coffee requires a much longer extraction time that with hot water; say, 12 hours longer! But good things come to those who wait! With this a slow and gentle extraction, you're left with the smoothest and richest cup of iced coffee you're going to find!
Stop by a Gimme store and give it a try, and if that isn't an option, try making up a batch at home!
Enjoy!

Las Mingas Pour Over Month

2010-04-08T17:46:25Z

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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Mr Faustino Muelas is the owner of Bella Vista, a two Hectare farm in Cauca, Colombia. His farm consists of about 6,000 Caturra trees. He is a very quality focused farmer; picking happens every two weeks during harvest time to ensure that only very ripe cherries are selected, he composts to create his own orgainic fertilizer, and fermentation of the mucilage off of the bean happens immediately after picking.

We are extremely lucky to have purchased an exceptional lot of coffee from this farm. This coffee is so outstanding that it was kept separate from the other coffees from Huila, even though the lot is only thirty pounds. That's right, we only have thirty pounds of this coffee. That's only enough to roast three batches on our very small drum roaster. It's not enough coffee for us to be able to sell this coffee in bags, but for this month (or as long as it lasts) we will offer this coffee brewed on the Clever Dripper in all of our stores. Stop by and try a cup, this is one of two ways you will be able to taste this splended brew.

The other way to get a taste is to come to Gimme on State Street in Ithaca for a coffee tasting and talk on Sat April 17 celebrating the Las Mingas project. We hosted a similar event last year that was a huge success (read: very crowded). This year we are having this event during the day and with the added space at remodeled State Street we will have room for everyone. We will start at 11am with a free tasting of all three Las Mingas, we will be pulling shots, brewing Clever cups and pots of French Pressed coffee. Then at noon Colleen Anunu will talk about her trip to Colombia to meet the farmers that grew these beautiful coffees.

Stop on by next Saturday at 11am to learn more about these coffees and the Las Mingas way of sourcing coffee. Don't miss out on tasting these coffees at the event and while they are on the menu. We may drink through the Bella Vista before the end of the month, and once it's gone, it's gone.

Hiring For NYC Regional Manager

2010-04-08T17:34:29Z

The Retail division of Gimme! Coffee is currently seeking a Regional Manager to provide operational oversight and cultivate coffee skills for our NYC cafes and employees. The NYC Regional Manager will lead a portfolio of stores. The ideal candidate for this position will be a proven, mature, coffee geek extraordinaire with excellent management, leadership, and organizational skils.

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Essential duties of the NYC Regional Manager include but are not limited to:

Organize, training events and continuing eduation programs for baristas, retail managers, and other company and community members
Oversee training; development and support directly to baristas and retail managers in drink making, customer service and coffee knowledge
Facilitate deployment and evaluation of retail policies, policy updates, and promotions
Develop the store management team within the region to deliver a consistently exceptional customer experience in all cafes
Plan, identify, communicate, and delegate key responsibilities and practices to the store management team to ensure smooth flow of operations within the region
Routinely broadcast ideas and information company wide using all internal communication systems as directed by supervisor
Positively and comfortably handle and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast paced, changing environment requiring self motivation and focused attention to detail
Work cross functionally with all core areas of Gimme! Coffee's senior management team including Production, Roasting, Wholesale, Human Respoureces, Design and Communications, Finanace, and Equipment and Facilities.
Constantly assess menu and merchandise offering looking for ways to change, improve, and sell
Ability to articulate and represent Gimme! Coffee and Retail Department to relevent groups
Plan and facilitate public cuppings

Gimme! Coffee offers a competitive compensation and benefits package and a collaborative work environment. The right candidate will join a progressive and evolving corporate culture. Gimme! Coffee is an Equal Opportuinty Employer.

Serious inquiries only to: HR@gimmecoffee.com by 5pm April 23, 2010

Ken-Yeah! Gatomboya

2010-04-05T21:49:28Z

It's true, I love Kenyan coffees best.
Perhaps it's because it was a Kenyan coffee that first convinced me to fall in love with coffee, or maybe it's just the taste. Whatever the case may be, I have always been a Kenyan coffee girl, through and through.
So you can imagine my excitement when our current Kenyan coffee, the Gatomboya, first arrived on our shelves late last year, popping with a bright and sassy, citrus boom! I was instantly won over by the subtle hint of savory-syrup-yum behind all that sparkle and zing! But over time the excitement wore off and the honeymoon was over. My heart began to wander to other coffees (Oh, Remera!) that would occupy my attention and my dear Gatomboya, was slowly replaced as my favorite coffee.

Perhaps it was an attempt to win back my undivided affection or maybe things just do get better with age, but a recent change in its roasting process has the Gatomboya back to being a coffee that is simply impossible to ignore!

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Using a Clever Dripper, I brewed and tasted several cups of this coffee in order to explore its recent transformation. Here are the things I observed:

The whole bean aroma was of light chocolate butter-cream frosting and chopped nuts, then when ground, it smelled more like spice cake and chocolate dipped roasted orange peels. After brewing and while still hot, this coffee tasted like a rum raisin pudding, which slowly turned to a delicious orange infused olive oil cake! As the coffee cooled I tasted more and more "purple" and caramelized, syrupy fleshy fruit flavors: Roasted apricot, with a hint of stewed tomatoes and a rich smoky finish. The body was smooth and the mouth-feel was thick and velvety, a perfect balance to its caramelized complexity!

All in all, I am happy to say, I love this coffee! These alterations in roasting have resulted in a very mature and balanced flavor from the Gatomboya, and leaving me with a cup of brew that I will happily call my favorite!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for April 2010

2010-04-01T19:42:05Z

Michael Bogin

at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850]]>

Meredith Townsand
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Daniel Albrigo
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Geri Kiel
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Clate Korsant
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

An Idea For a Drink

2010-03-30T13:46:03Z

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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For her specialty drink Liz decided to highlight another side of the Santa Elena by serving another single espresso, with nothing added to it, that tasted completely different from the shot she served first as the espresso part of her competition. She changed the way the shots tasted by adjusting the particle size and dose of her shot, something baristas do daily to finesse their drinks. By changing these parameters she was able to present two different versions of the Santa Elena, highlighting the versatility of her coffee, and also offer an homage to the barista. "The barista" as Liz put it "who combines the personality of the coffee with their own personality to create a unique reflection of the present moment." One of the shots she served had flavors of green apple, crisp nectarine, and while grape, with the mouthfeel of silky flower petals. The other shot offered up a deeper taste, one reminiscent of red delicious apples, raisins, and the scent of drying red rose.

If a big part of a baristas job is to to accurately represent the terroir of a coffee, then which version of the Santa Elena is the correct one? Liz would answer "Both! There are proper extraction techniques, but no incorrect flavor profile. A good coffee should have personality, and it is allowed mood swings." She got the idea for her specialty drink from drinking and working with Leftist, Gimme's signature espresso blend, on a daily basis. The Leftist always has a wood like, or smoky, element to it. One day she noticed, with that note in particular, that baristas played with it depending on what they personally enjoyed. Some baristas were offering thick ashy tastes, others sweet cedar chips like the type used for smoking meat, some found a dry wood quality, and others managed the crisp green scent of a freshly stripped branch. Different expressions of the same type of taste. This was a meaningful moment in her coffee carreer and the one she chose to share with the judges.

Espresso is a very interesting way to prepare coffee, and I am grateful to Liz for pushing limits of different flavor possibilities. Each espresso you drink is going to be slightly different each day; with each barista putting a slight stamp of their preference on the drinks they serve in an effort to share what they consider to be the very best.

How 'Spro Can You Go?

2010-03-19T18:59:20Z

As working baristas, we are often asked, "So, how many coffees do you drink in a day?" However, this is actually a surprisingly difficult question for us and we are likely to answer with an anticlimactic 1 or 2. A better question to as is, "How much coffee do you drink a day?" to which we answer with a predictable, "A lot!"

This is starting to sound like a riddle, right? But there is a simple explanation:

Unlike most other brewing methods, when making espresso there is no set "recipe" to follow.

You see, in brewing methods such as French Press or Pour Over, ground coffee simply sits and soaks in hot water, exposing each particle (and thus extracting) for the same amount of time, and then is gently separated using some form of filter. Because these brewing methods are so gentle, it's pretty easy to achieve the same outcome every time, enabling you to set and follow standard measurements.

But it's a little different with espresso where highly pressurized water is forced through finely ground and tightly packed coffee, pushing out the oils and gasses. And with such a forced extraction, coffee particles become volatile, exaggerating the smallest of variables into major factors; such as roast date, weather conditions (humidity and temperature), equipment temperature, and the list goes on.

]]> It's a baristas job to reign in all of these variables that would make for a bad shot, and manipulate them into something that is delicious! We have two main variables that we use to help us achieve this: dose (amount of coffee) and grind (particle size). Usually these two will go hand-in-hand in kind of a teeter totter fashion; low dose + fine grind or high dose + coarse grind.

Through some combination of these two variables we create a coffee puck with even density that is going to let the water pass through just slow enough to push all those tasty gasses and oils out, but not fast enough to over extract them with too much water.

These parameters can change in as little as ten minutes! And the only way to determine these parameters is by taste! So when you see us tasting shot after shot, we are in the process of finding that sweet spot, which is called "dialing in".
Now you can see why this is a tricky question for a barista: We drink a lot of coffee, but usually just not a whole cup at a time!
How do we handle drinking that much coffee?

Water, water, water! Hydration is key. And a little barista trick to cure the coffee shakes: Bananas!

Gimme Visits Boston!

2010-03-18T16:32:53Z

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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Free coffee? That's right. Several of the very best roasters in the region will be taking turns serving and talking coffee on a pour over bar and an espresso machine. Come prepared to get caffeinated and learn a little more about the beverage you drink everyday. Gimme folks will be brewing up our best on the pour over bar from 11:30 - 2:30, and we will be pulling shots and serving espresso based drinks from 3:30 - 5:30 on Friday. Stop on by, say hello, drink some brew and watch some of the best baristas in the region go head to head for a chance at the nationals in California.

Roap Trip to Boston for NERBC

2010-03-16T13:53:06Z

Who doesn't love Boston in March? If you've got the urge for a road trip, head to Boston for the Northeast Regional Barista Competition this coming weekend, March 19-21.

We're a Sponsor of the NERBC Espresso & Coffee Bar at which we'll be serving our Leftist espresso and 3 of our favorite single origins on the brew bar - Panama Hartmann Honey, Guatemala Santa Elena and Colombia Las Mingas Huila.

Gimme! Coffee barista Liz Clark will be competing against the best of the Northeast again this year! Good luck Liz!

Free Coffee- Now That's Clever!

2010-03-16T03:26:04Z

That's right! Enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee when you buy a pound of any coffee that is currently featured on our in store pour-over menu, free! Here's the deal:

Our pour-over menu consists of three coffees that we think are extra special. Often the coffees being featured will be new, having unique or outstanding flavors, and even select beans of limited supply. By brewing these coffees fresh by the cup using the Clever Dripper we hope to share them with you, highlighting their most delicious points and giving them a chance to really knock your socks off!
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The menu changes monthly, giving you the chance to fall completely in love with one coffee, then start over and try something new! This month we have Amaro Gayo Washed from Eithiopia, Santa Elena of Guatemala, and Las Mingas Huila from Colombia!

Where does the free coffee fit in again? Come by one of our locations, buy a pound of beans that we are currently featuring on pour-over, and we will make you a cup of that coffee in shop, for free! (using our beans of course!) Win-win!
Just ask your favorite barista if you have any questions!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for March 2010

2010-03-15T14:34:29Z

Josh Sperling
at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

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Josh Sperling
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Marina Inoue
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Tim Angell
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Joe Lemonik
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Photos - Continuous Flow

2010-03-12T15:47:44Z

]]> 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.

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Pouring For The Gold

2010-03-11T02:38:37Z

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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James Neidhart and Brett Barker, who regularly serve up delightful drinks at our state street store, were our baristas who rose to the challenge. The key to this event is well textured milk and steady hands. James and I carpooled and unfortunately underestimated the sprawl of Jersey City. It is not helpful to arrive frazzled to an event where all eyes are upon you.

James pulled it off; pouring beautiful tulips for the judges. Brett stayed traditional and offered up some lovely rosettas.The competitors have five minutes to pour up to three drinks. The drinks entered in the competition are judged on symmetry, how the design sits in the cup, contrast in color and whether or not the drink is pleasing to look at. Both James and Brett poured well under pressure, but neither one supplied exactly what the judges were looking for. The most important thing is that they both had fun, and look forward to competing again. Which means lots of practicing, on you! Thanks for letting them work their magic on your lattes and cappuccinos, I hope you don't mind the beautiful art.

Colombia Las Mingas : Cauca & Huila

2010-03-09T15:01:55Z

We are proud to offer two Las Mingas lots this year, one from the Department of Cauca and the other from the Department of Huila. Las Mingas Cauca is an organic lot that has bright citrus in the aroma and flavor, and is balanced by a juicy but mellow acidity. Think of it as vibrant yet easy. Las Mingas Huila is incredibly creamy and comforting, like a sweet milk candy that has some ripe cherry smack in the middle. ]]>
Before they are sent to our cupping lab for approval, the coffees are screened in Colombia by our exporters, Virmax Café. Virmax receives samples from producers, performs physical and sensory analyses, and assigns an overall score to the coffee. If a coffee achieves a high enough score, it is forwarded to us for approval. We, then, choose which coffees we want to blend together, or keep separate for an individual microlot.

The process is straightforward, but the work is intensive. To give an idea of the type of quality screening that we did for these coffee blends, here are some specs:

Las Mingas Cauca is from 17 different smallholder producers, totals just about 2,500 lbs, and the approved lot sizes are as small as 14 lbs and large as 700 lbs.

Las Mingas Huila is from 16 different smallholder producers, totals just about 5,000 lbs, and the approved lots sizes range from 46 lbs to over 1500 lbs.

Throughout the year, Virmax is on the ground working on facilities upgrades and technique advancements with growers. The growers work to produce quality coffee, and Virmax is able to bring the results to a niche coffee market that would otherwise be unavailable to producers. Without accessibility to specialty coffee markets, the efforts of producers and their achievements in quality would be lost, sold to the commodities market for low premiums. We believe that craftsmanship should be rewarded with top dollar, and hope that you feel the same.

More about Regions
As stated above, the Las Mingas Cauca is from the Department of Cauca, and the Las Mingas Huila is from the Department of Huila. You can think of Departments as individual States. Colombia has 32 Departments and 1 District Capital. Cauca is located to the west, and borders the Pacific Ocean, while Huila is located just to the east of Cauca.

View Gimme! Coffee in a larger map

The coffee growing regions of the two departments are contained on and within the Cordillera mountain ranges. The western range, Cordilerra Occidental, divides Cauca down the middle, separating the internal growing region from the Pacific Ocean. The eastern range, Cordilerra Oriental, is situated in Huila. Although Cauca and Huila share a common border, they are further separated by the Cordillera Central.

What makes Colombia so unique as a coffee producing country is that the range of climates from within its borders is as differentiated as the climate range from Mexico to Panama. In no small way do the Cordilerras contribute to this distinction. These topographical separations lend to slight variation in growing conditions, and, ultimately, distinction in the cup.

There is a lot of effort that goes into making quality coffee arrive on you counter. We hope that you find these coffees as brilliant as we do.

Saludos!

Colleen

Photos - Grinders: Blade vs. Hario

2010-03-05T05:39:11Z

]]> Ladies and gentlemen! For your entertainment, with us today are two coffee grinders rivaling for the Title: Best Home-use Coffee Grinder! (Not an actual event.)
Being judged on overall performance as well as taste, these two grinders must out-do each other in every way. But before the competing begins, let's take a moment and get to know the two contestants: a blade grinder and the Hario Grinder.

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Photos - Scranton or Bust!

2010-03-04T00:34:38Z

]]> 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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Photos - The Little Grinder that Could

2010-02-26T07:28:13Z

]]> When a building-wide, freak power outage struck 228 Mott St yesterday just after sunset, panic broke out amongst the coffee-seeking, snow-storm-refugees at Gimme! "No Coffee?!"

But there was hope..

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Amaro Gayo, You're So Lovely

2010-02-25T02:17:12Z

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.

Gimme a Sign!

2010-02-23T00:32:23Z

Almost too perfect to be real, this latte sporting the classic Gimme exclamation point was poured by Mott Street's own barista-in-training, Sarah! One might think that Sarah has been practicing this neat trick and has finally reached perfection, however this is not the case! What you see here is Sarah's very first latte! Although this untraditional latte art may have been unintentional, it's no mistake!
So Sarah, if you have been unsure thus far, I think this is a pretty clear sign that you are meant to be a part of the Gimme Family!

Cheers!

Photos - Meet Your Barista: Maria Fuenmayer

2010-02-19T14:22:59Z

]]> If you combined Madrid with South Beach, added a little Brooklyn, some sweetness, and crossed all of that with a surfing bad ass you would get Maria Fuenmayer.

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Hey Hep Cats, What's That Sound?

2010-02-18T01:04:27Z

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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The folks at Green Street also worked out sweet deal with Angry Mom Records. Angry Mom loans records to our shop to be featured for a week, so the rotation never gets stale. Located across the street form each other the stores swap regulars on a daily basis, this creates a great small town downtown feeling.
So, come on by for some coffee and rock and roll... or jazz...or funk...or folk. It all depends on who's behind the bar.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T00:25:22Z

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.

Who's the New Guy?

2010-02-12T19:47:09Z

Those who frequent Gimme! Coffee on Lorimer st. may have been a little confused to walk in last Friday afternoon and find a smiling new face behind the espresso bar. However this man of mystery is none other than Gimme Coffee's founder and CEO, Kevin Cuddeback!

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Down for a city visit from Ithaca, Kevin asked if he could pick up a few hours working in the shop. He tried to warn us that he may be a bit rusty on the espresso machine, but this was all just wasted breath! Kevin came ready to work hard and rocked out delicious drinks left and right, showing us how it is done!

Having already worked a busy morning at our Manhattan Location, Kevin was sure ready to go home when his shift ended! Although we were sorry to see him go, from the smile on his face, we're sure he'll be back for some more soon!

Compost Program Statistics

2010-02-11T18:19:29Z

In 2009, our friends at Cayuga Compost diverted and compost over 6,788,000 pounds of waste generated in our community.

Of that 6 million pounds, here's how Gimme contributed to that:

Cayuga Street: 21,965 pounds
State Street: 19,470 pounds
East Shore: 4185 pounds
Green Street: 1040 pounds
Trumansburg: 740 pounds
Krum's Roasting Facility: 486 pounds
*note not all locations have been composting for the same length of time

That's almost 48,000 pounds (24 tons) we diverted from the landfill in 2009!!!

To learn more about how this happens, read my compost blog from last year.

Thanks to all of our dedicated customers and staff who helped us achieve such astounding results.

Which Water Works?

2010-02-10T22:33:53Z

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.

]]> We set up our experiment by brewing three Press Pots of coffee: identical in type of coffee, dose, temperature and extraction time, but using different types of water. For this experiment we used: tap water, distilled water, and the filtered and softened water we use for brewing in all of our stores. The coffee we used was our Rwanda Remera.

The coffee we brewed with filtered and softened water was the Remera we all knew and loved: lightly sweet with notes of stewed fruit, hints of milk chocolate, and an unbeatable silky mouthfeel. We used this as a base line for comparing the other two pots. Next, we moved onto distilled water. Distilled water is free of the chlorine and metalic contaminates of tap water, but is missing the minerals that aid in the brewing of coffee. The coffee brewed with distilled water was surprisingly different: it tasted underdeveloped, the sweet fruit acidity was now sour, and the creamy mouthfeel was totally gone. This coffee was very flat and had none of the nuances of our Remera.
Then, we brewed with tap water. We expected some of the unpleasant flavors from the water to be perceivable in the brew, but we didn't expect the amount that the actual taste would change. This brew was neither sweet nor bright, it was overall lacking in flavor. What we perceived the most was the change in mouthfeel. This version of our Remera was dirty, gritty, dry and a bit salty. Kind of like a Clint Eastwood movie.
The filtered water was noticeably better to every one in the lab, so it's worth paying attention to water quality. You are, after all, using wonderful beans. Brew them to their highest potential!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists For February 2010

2010-02-08T17:38:41Z

Railey Savage
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850 ]]> Larissa Borteh
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Michael Kraus
at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Noelle Dembrowsky
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Caitlin Kronk
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Amaro Gayo Through the Lens of Processing

2010-02-08T15:14:09Z

A coffee's quality is threatened at any stage in its life cycle, but processing is the first crucial step in conserving the quality post harvest. Processing refers to the stage after the coffee cherries have been harvested and before the dry parchment coffee is sent to the dry mill. Many physical and chemical defects have the ability to form during processing based on the hygiene and calibration of equipment, environmental conditions, and a general understanding how a given action translates into overall cup quality and flavor profile. ]]> In the processing stage, it is to the producer's discretion whether to remove the coffee seeds from the cherry or to dry the cherry with the seeds remaining inside. However, in most cases the climate of the region 'chooses' for the producer. That is, if a producer is in an arid climate, without the threat of rain or intense humidity, there is no real danger in the lengthy natural process, in which the whole coffee cherries are laid in the sun to dry. Many also call this process sun-dried, or dry processed. Alternately, wet processing, or washed, refers to the removal of the coffee seed from the cherry before drying. Typically, the coffee seeds are soaked in water to remove some or all of the remaining mucilage left on the surface of the seeds. There are inexhaustible techniques and experiments that occur once the seeds are removed, so I won't go into detail here.

During processing, including drying, a producer cannot create quality but only maintain it. However, the choice of processing method, if environmental conditions allow, can alter the flavor characteristics of a coffee. Quality does not equal flavor, but flavor is a component of overall quality. Washed coffees are known for exhibiting mild to bright perceivable acidity, floral notes and good citric fruit character. Central American countries, as well as Colombia, are valued for their washed milds. These are the coffees you would typically find in a 'breakfast blend'. Sun-dried coffees typically produce solid and complex sweetness, with a round, and smooth body. Such is the case with the Amaro Gayo Washed and the Amaro Gayo Sun-Dried.

Until now, the Amaro Gayo that we have offered has been of the sun-dried process. If you've had the chance to taste the Amaro Gayo in the past 4 months, you have no doubt noticed the unique sweet berry, rich cocoa and vanilla, and subtle, soft lemon characteristics. Now you have a chance to taste the Amaro Gayo through the lens of the washed process. The Amaro Gayo Washed limits the fruit character to a mild lime, and is supported by a mouthfeel that is out-of-this-world soft. The fragrance of sugared lavender translates to a sweet floral finish that makes this coffee uniquely approachable. It's one of those coffees that doesn't challenge your immediate impressions, and stays true from hot to cool.

It is important to note that climate is not the only factor that helps determine how to process a coffee. Availability of the key resource needed to wash coffee, water, is also important. Many coffee growing regions in Ethiopia produce naturally processed due to water inaccessibility. What makes the Amaro region special is the presence of many beautiful waterfalls. Gayo itself is Amharic for waterfall. Experimenting with processing techniques is an important project for Asnakech Thomas, and the coffees she exports. When the opportunity to offer her coffee with different processing methods presented itself, it was too good to pass up.

I encourage you to try both coffees, and compare them. Heck, even blind taste them! See if you can distinguish the one from the other. New projects in quality coffee start with an idea, but the result has to be recognized. Enjoy!

Photos - Say, Whatcha Drinkin'?

2010-02-06T03:35:29Z

]]> What is "mouthfeel", and why is it so important?
Mouthfeel is a term used to discuss the physical and chemical interaction of a food or liquid with the mouth. What makes mouthfeel important is how dramatically it can cause a person to react to a food or drink, despite the taste. To explore this concept and how it relates to being a Barista, we put ourselves to the test!

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Photos - Brewing On The Go

2010-02-04T17:40:31Z

]]> 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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A night of music and charitable giving

2010-02-01T18:45:28Z

Jam for Haiti

Gimme! Coffee, BSI Production, 98.7 The Vine & Musicians for World Harmony presents

a night of music and charitable giving
with

SAMITE

RICHIE STERNS

NATE RICHARDSON

At Gimme! Coffee, 506 W. State St. Ithaca NY

FEBRUARY 3rd, 2010 7-9pm

98.7 The Vine will collect donations for Haitian earthquake victims and
Save the Children Foundation.

Photos - 日本語分かりませんか？

2010-01-29T19:06:42Z

]]> 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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Photos - One Coffee, Brewed Many Ways

2010-01-25T22:49:35Z

]]> Hello All! This last week in our NYC Lab, we took one coffee and brewed it using several different methods. Our goal in this experiment was a) get to know this coffee in a few different ways, and b) to explore the differences/similarities between different brewing methods.

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Gimme Art: Featured Artists For January 2010

2010-01-25T18:03:02Z

Don't forget to look around. If you do you might notice all of the wonderful art work at our cafes. These are the artists showing until the end of the month:

Christina C. Larkin
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

]]> Dee Sprague
at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Alex McWatt & Miles Karr
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Noelle Dembrowsky
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Bodie Chewning
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Photos - Brewing at Home, Part 6: Clever Dripper

2010-01-22T15:52:47Z

]]> 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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Interview with the Master Roaster

2010-01-19T17:12:27Z

edible Finger Lakes caught up with Master Roaster John Gant, who recently retired after almost 10 years as Gimme's master roaster.

Fresh from the Roaster: January

2010-01-11T14:59:41Z

Rwanda Remera

This month we will release the new crop from the Rwanda Buf Coffee washing stations. This is our third year support Buf Coffee and its proprietor, Epiphanie Mukashyaka, and I believe this may be the finest lot we have received from her yet. In the past we have purchased coffee from Epiphanie's Gkongoro Mill, though this year we are providing coffee from her Remera Mill, which took 7th place in the 2008 Cup of Excellence competition. The coffee has exceptional sweet, purple fruit character with warming allspice and is both juicy and dense.

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It is not Epiphanie herself that produces the coffee, but numerous small holder farms that provide the components for the entirety of the lot. The Remera Mill is able to process roughly 198 tons of coffee cherries each year. The coffees are naturally processed and sun dried on traditional African drying beds, which are perforated to enhance airflow, and elevated to diminish contamination. All of the coffees that arrive at the mill are of the bourbon varietal and are produced at altitudes between 1750 and 2000 meters.

While I have not met Epiphanie, her reputation procedes her as a remarkable woman who has suffered hardships during the Rwanda genocide of 1994, only to rebound with help of the development projects such as USAID and the Rwanda Coffee Development Authority. She is known for being a dynamic woman and a source of inspiration for many other women in the coffee sector.

Platinum Blonde

Over the course of the past few weeks you may have noticed a cornerstone blend either missing from our shelves, or marked as 'sold out' on our web roster. Platinum Blonde, the blend known for smoky leather character, has been discontinued, with no plans for revitalization.

If you've been a Gimme enthusiast for some time, you have no doubt been intrigued by the Platinum Blonde and its iconic label: the Rowdy Gal's Espresso Blend, with an aroma of centennial Harley leather. Platinum Blonde was a careful blend of coffees from Sumatra, Kenya, Guatemala and India, originally created to embody the idea of dive bar chicness, and vanity fair. This blend developed a devout following in its more than 5 years of existence, and yet you may be wondering why we are now discontinuing it.

Coffee buying begins around the cupping table. It is there that a coffee proves its true charm, or falls flat in one aspect or another (or altogether). When a coffee shows lack of performance or promise, the consequences can sometimes be easily dismissed, but they can also have a profound effect on years of effort or aspirations for the future of a coffee. This is what happened with one such component of the Platinum Blonde, the India Malabar.

As purveyors of quality coffees, we have a responsibility to source and purchase coffees with integrity, and to prove them beyond a namesake. Over the past few years we have seen a steady drop in the quality of samples we have seen of the India Malabar, and could no longer buy this coffee in good faith. The decision to reject current samples impacts the Platinum Blonde in such a profound way that we can no longer offer it as a coffee product. The good news: retiring blends that we deem to be under-performing provides us with the opportunity to explore, perfect and release delicious new blends that we've never had before. Embrace the coffee landscape as it is constantly changing.

Photos - Meet Your Barista: Heather Deal

2010-01-04T14:37:47Z

]]> Meet Heather Deal. Rumor has it she hails from Upstate New York.

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Photos - Cooking with Coffee Part 2: Spice

2009-12-21T12:34:49Z

]]> 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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Try Our Favorite Las Mingas Microlot as Pourover

2009-12-13T19:44:00Z

For a limited time only, you can try our favorite lot from Las Mingas as pourover coffee at any of our espresso bars! Grown by Leonardo Bados as part of the Las Mingas project, the entire lot is a mere 225 pounds of coffee, and we will definitely run out fast. It's a creamy big coffee with multiple layers of deep orange zest, sweet spice, and muscular fruit.

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For those of you new to Gimme, Las Mingas is a program designed to partner high quality, small holder farms with high quality coffee roasters. Here's how it works: We choose a focus region in Colombia, ie. Nariño. The coffee producer from that region sends small lots of coffee to our exporter's warehouse. The coffee is evaluated based on physical analysis and taste perception, and either approved or denied. All approved coffee is forwarded on to us. We cup and either approve or deny based on our own evaluations. The approved coffee can either be kept separate, or blended with other approved coffees of a similar profile to create a macro blend. So, in Leonardo's case, his coffee was so unique, and scored so high on the cupping table that we chose to keep the entire lot (although very small) separate. And now we choose to give that gift to you.

Photos - Finca Trinidad, You're the Best!

2009-12-12T05:26:36Z

]]> For me, November came and went, as pumpkin pie making season. In one short month I went from making my first pumpkin pie, to my seventeenth! Lucky for me, there was an absolutely spectacular coffee in my cup to keep me fueled!

Finca Trinidad! from Guatemala!

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Photos - Cooking with Coffee Part 1: Cold Brew

2009-12-10T16:37:02Z

]]> 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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Gimme the Keys.

2009-12-08T19:37:31Z

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.

Taste of Place

2009-12-07T16:40:00Z

In November, I had the opportunity to travel around the eastern states of Brazil, tasting coffee and learning about the various micro regions of the world's largest coffee producing country. Spending most of my time in the eastern part of Minas Gerais, one of Brazil's largest coffee producing states, I visited the smaller regions of Matas de Minas and Sul de Minas. Although these two growing areas are part of the same state, the differences in topography from one region to the next lend to the production of coffees with very different flavor profiles. What's more, these two areas, though different among themselves, are an even further departure from the coffees grown in Cerrado Mineiro, located in western Minas Gerais.

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For consumers, which is just about everyone from the home brewer to the coffee roaster (yes, we're consumers, too), coffee growing regions can be vast, complicated and esoteric. Without an experience to connect you to a location, making it both accessible and memorable, the names of these places are essentially meaningless. What is great about coffee is that it has the ability to provide regional experience and can tell a story about the area from whence it came. In other words, coffee can give us personal taste of place.

A coffee, like wine, is said to be representative of its growing location, or terroir. The mineral composition of soil contributes to the amount of sugars that are metabolized. The altitude of the plot contributes to the overall metabolic rate, lending to differences in bean density and acidity. Location of a region contributes to the need of higher or lower elevation for a given varietal to yield the highest quality. Harvesting time, processing techniques, reposo (resting) period... these are all just some of the variables that can make or break a coffee's quality and unique character.

For the most part, the taste of a place can be broad and predictable, but how we taste can be as individual as fingerprints. In A Natural History of the Senses, writer Diane Ackerman notes that taste is an intimate sense. We cannot taste things at a distance the way we are able to when we see, hear or smell. She says the mouth is the place where we get to greet the world. Well, this world is very, very complicated.

Flavor chemists and industry professionals are often baffled by the hundreds of different organic and inorganic compounds that make up the sensitive balance of a coffee's flavor profile. What further complicates flavor is the intricate way in which our palates respond to sensations. We all have different capacities to taste, and even then, taste involves a number of other senses. For example, in coffee analysis, taste is inseparable from both olfaction (smell) and mouthfeel (touch).

Do we need to know the intricacies of flavor chemistry in order appreciate and understand a coffee? Certainly not. Neither is it absolutely necessary to understand how a given growing region in Brazil may differ from the slopes of Mt. Kenya or may share similarities with Nariño, Colombia. What is important, however, is knowing that these variables contribute to the quality of a coffee, the overall trends in the global coffee economy, and why we at gimme! coffee choose one coffee's uniqueness over another's.

It is also important to know that taste of place is accessible. In February, when we release our new crop Brazil arrivals, you will have the opportunity to differentiate a classic big bodied Cerrado Mineiro from the intensity of a Rio de Janeiro raisin coffee or from the delicate acidity of a Sul de Minas coffee.

Tasting connects the world to us, intimately, and suddenly these places don't seem so foreign.

I (Heart) Skerton

2009-11-25T12:54:45Z

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!

]]> This is the grind I set for making a Press Pot. Yes, there is some variation in particle size, but that happens when you bust apart brittle roasted beans. This is much more consistent then I can get from a blade grinder.

This is the best I could get from a blade grinder. You can see there are many large chunks surrounded by lots of tiny chips. I've found that in a Press Pot this inconsistency in particle size sometimes makes it very hard to push down the plunger. Talk about pain in the neck, and danger of burns!

The Skerton has totally solved this problem for me. It has also solved the problem of who gets the kitchen in the morning. I have very precocious, skittish, and demanding roommates who will not stand for the noise of a coffee grinder during breakfast.

Thanks to the Skerton we are all happy in the morning!

Photos - Cash for Clunkers: Trade in Your Grinder!

2009-11-25T04:23:52Z

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

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Gimme! Coffee at Green Street Station is OPEN!

2009-11-20T20:51:12Z

Enjoy downtown Ithaca, and join us for coffee and a pastry before a movie, after checking out a book, or on your way wherever you're going.

We'll be here, everyday from 7am-9pm. See you soon!

Photos - More Latte Art, Upstate Style

2009-11-18T03:55:34Z

]]> 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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Hario Skerton Grinder is Here!

2009-11-16T20:49:10Z

Welcome the Hario Skerton Hand Mill coffee grinder to the Gimme product line. The Skerton has adjustable ceramic conical burrs which produce a consistent grind for various brewing methods, from espresso to French Press. The high quality Hario glass chamber is easy to clean and very durable. This compact grinder is perfect for home or office and travels well. Other features include: removable handle, no-slip base, slight arm workout (but worth it).

For sale in stores and online this week!

Photos - La-la latte art!

2009-11-14T07:02:43Z

]]> As autumn nears it's end and mitten season just around the corner, I often seek warmth in a delicious hot beverage from the espresso bar.

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Gimme Art: Featured Artists For November 2009

2009-11-11T23:52:42Z

Rose Gottlieb
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

]]> at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Matthew
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Nana Monaco
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Laurent Briet
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Fresh from the Roaster: November

2009-11-11T13:53:14Z

By November El Salvador is already past bloom, the coffee cherries are a few months shy of peak ripeness and Marco Batres is preparing both his wet and dry mill for production. These mills will process the sizable harvests of Sr. Batres's family of estates; the 15 estates in total can be found scattered around the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range. They are all organic, all Rainforest Alliance certified, and the coffees produced therein are known for having some of the highest quality in all of El Salvador. The quality of the coffee produced by Marco Batres is exemplified by 4 of his lots taking top honors in this year's El Salvador Cup of Excellence competition. We were able to secure a small 5 bag lot of one such winner, the best of group in my opinion, from a 40 hectare estate called Altamira I.

]]> Altamira I because, frankly, when you have 15 farms and 2 mills, the less variation in names, the better. Sr. Batres explained to me that there are 3 Altamira farms, each producing the bourbon varietal, but only Altamira I grows a second varietal called pacamara.

Pacamara is just about the biggest bean you've ever seen. Developed by the Salvadorean Coffee Research Institute in 1958, this hybrid culitvar sought to combine high productivity and environmental adaptability with lushness and superior cup quality. Pacamara is typically characterized by a brilliant balance of sparkling acidity and creamy body. This El Salvador Altamira I pacamara is no exception. During the Cup of Excellence, an international jury found that this coffee had notes of honey and caramel with grapefruit acidity and banana. This is a highly nuanced coffee with a lot of dimension and we are roasting it with the intention of preserving its every character.

The El Salvador Altamira I pacamara was processed by Sr. Batres's own award winning wet and dry mills. In 2003, the Santa Teresa wet mill won the El Salvadorean National Environmental award, and is the only mill in the world to use geothermal energy to process coffee.The mill uses warm, crystal clear mineral water from the mountain springs of Santa Teresa Estate to provide thermal energy for the pre-dryers and also serve to depulp and wash the coffee. It is this clear pure mineral water that give Batres Farms Coffee very special cup characteristics.

There is so much to love about this coffee, and not all of it has to do with its beautiful profile. We only have 700 lbs. of this coffee, so try it while you can!

Photos - Coffee By The Cup? How Clever!

2009-11-11T00:01:39Z

]]> 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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Photos - Introducing: Gimme Coffee training, NYC style!

2009-11-06T00:51:41Z

]]> That's right folks! After a few month hiatus, NYC Gimme! Coffee locations are excited to welcome back our barista training program!

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Sneak Peek: Gift Boxes

2009-11-05T20:38:14Z

Look at this hot little number.

Soon, we'll be offering three carefully selected gift boxes in stores and online - including free shipping in November and December.

Organics box will feature Ethiopia Amaro Gayo, Costa Rica and Guatemala
Blends box will include Leftist, Mocha Java and Piccolo Mondo
Select box will contain Panama, Kenya and CoE Honduras

Fire engine red, sturdy, reusable and filled with at least one of your favorite Gimme coffees.

Make it a complete purchase with the Hario Skerton Ceramic Burr Grinder we'll be getting in. More to come on that soon!

Photos - Introducing Green Street!

2009-11-04T02:39:47Z

]]> 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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State St. Renovation: It's Official!

2009-10-30T14:26:57Z

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Thanks for bearing with us through all of the dust and varying inconveniences. We're proud of the space and think it was worth it, and we hope you think so too. And stay tuned, because we have exciting new brewing methods and community events in the works for this location.

Photos - Something is Brewing at State Street Gimme!

2009-10-29T00:15:12Z

]]> 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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Feature - Now Composting at All Upstate Locations

2009-10-22T13:48:40Z

]]> We've been composting coffee grounds for years. Now we've expanded our program to include more of our waste at all our upstate locations, including our cafes, headquarters, and roastery.

Less in the Landfill

Our pilot project at the Cayuga Street cafe diverted almost 90% of trash to compost. Now, all our upstate locations are composting most of their waste. A local company, Cayuga Compost, turns that waste into fertile soil, which gets used by local farmers, landscapers, and wineries. Isn't the circle of life great?

How Do I Help?

When you throw away your stuff, please sort it into the labeled containers. Most of what you throw away at our cafes can be composted, including:

to-go cups

cold cups and lids

food scraps

straws and wrappers

paper towels

napkins

sugar packets

wax bags

Any other waste can go into either the trash or the recycling bins. If you have any questions, just ask a barista. Thanks for your help!

]]> We've been composting coffee grounds for years. Now we've expanded our program to include more of our waste at all our upstate locations, including our cafes, headquarters, and roastery.

Less in the Landfill

How Do I Help?

When you throw away your stuff, please sort it into the labeled containers. Most of what you throw away at our cafes can be composted, including:

to-go cups

cold cups and lids

food scraps

straws and wrappers

paper towels

napkins

sugar packets

wax bags

Any other waste can go into either the trash or the recycling bins. If you have any questions, just ask a barista. Thanks for your help!

]]>

Photos

Where Does our Compost Go?

Other Pages

Frosty the Spro Man

2009-10-21T01:18:48Z

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

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The guys on shift at State St Gimme! put Frosty right to work.

"Anyone order a (cold &) wet cappuccino?"

Delicious! Sorry you didn't make it until spring Frosty!

State St. Renovation: 26 Weeks and Counting

2009-10-19T11:15:50Z

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We've worked our way through a couple of seasons since this renovation began, and cafe operations have been back on track from a "permanent" bar for a month now. So what's left?

As you can see, and maybe you already knew because you follow us here as well, the floor and some other details have been completed since last post. Before you know it you'll be comfortably pursuing a little leisure time via expanded seating inside at State St.

Reflections on the Expo Especiales

2009-10-16T20:31:26Z

This past September I joined a group of roasters and green coffee buyers from the United States and attended the 2nd annual Expo Especiales, a national conference funded by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC). It's taken me some time to reflect on the conference, a venue that through discussing the current trends in production and consumption in one of the world's leading coffee exporting countries, essentially sets the stage for determining coffee futures globally. Here are some of my thoughts...]]> Quality. The FNC regards quality as "[resembling] the relationship and commitment of those who play part in the coffee trading chain, to preserve the unique conditions of the bean from the moment it is picked to the time when it is shipped across the globe." Indeed, every presentation from the FNC's Commercial Director, to the US Ambassador to Colombia, to the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) focused on the fundamentals of producing, supporting and marketing quality coffee. Needless to say, this conference was for los productores de café.

There was a showroom, of course, with vendors exhibiting any and all tools that, without which, the overall quality of a given lot could suffer. There were FNC supported cooperatives representing almost every department in Colombia, although given that Colombia has a vast coffee growing region and that the exposition was held in Tolima, I met more producers from Cauca, Huila and Tolima than from other departments. The draw to the expo, however, was less about the exhibitors, more about how Colombian coffees fit the niche of Specialty Coffee.

And just how do Colombian coffees fit that niche? Well, that depends on your definition of what exactly Specialty Coffee is. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the conference was this: What had prevented a concrete understanding of just why and how a producer should invest in quality was that the concept of Specialty Coffee itself is too ambiguous.

The Federación delivered to the audience that Specialty Coffee is whatever the consumer defines it to be, given that it is the consumer's decision to acquiesce to premiums, thus driving the market. CQI offered that Specialty Coffee seeks to have a common language of unique characteristics, sweetness and flawlessness. Speaking on the broad range of world markets and consumption patterns, panelists from Italy's Illy Caffé, Japan's Mitsubishi International Corporation, and the United States' Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea gave testimonials with little in common but this: each company has a willingness to invest in their own idea of quality.

A specialty coffee is one that is perceived and valued by consumers, one that is of a character that people are willing to pay for, one that has potential. If consumers perceive extra value, they will be willing to pay an extra price, but there is no guarantee a quality coffee will align itself with either a given price point or a sophisticated buyer. If the common themes that the US Specialty Coffee sector are interested in involve traceability, consistency, cleanliness, and uniqueness (and don't we pay for it!), how do we communicate those needs and the need for continued investment of time and innovation on the producer level when Specialty Coffee can also be defined as simply as 'high volume, low defect, and economical'? As a producer, which would you rather invest in?

The Federción explains that at its most basic interpretation, Specialty Coffee represents a sort of 'win-win' situation for both producers and consumers, since the commodity consumption of coffee has not dropped and doesn't seem likely to. Producers work to better their coffee quality, consumers at any level enjoy better coffee. But what happens when the win-win situation effects the premiums for baseline commodity type coffees, driving those prices up and thus narrowing the margin between conventional and specialty? As a producer, which would you rather invest in?

In the end, on the macro level, there was no answer for just how best to safeguard a producer's investment in quality. The most sufficient advice given was also the most hopeful: persevere. If producers abandon their investment in quality practices now, then we will all lose years of work. Given sufficient evidence from organizations such as the FNC and pioneering companies such as Sustainable Harvest, we can be sure that Specialty Coffee trends will continue to grow, open up new markets and new possibilities for higher echelons of quality. Perseverance may then be the first step to achieving that.

Gimme a Cuppa...Decaf?

2009-10-14T02:40:40Z

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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We only serve decaf espresso based drinks! This way your decaf is made with fresh ground coffee, brewed right when you order it by one of our lovely baristas, and served piping hot. This week in the upstate lab all the baristas have been polishing up their decaf shot skills. We've got it down! We're pulling our decaf shots with a slower extraction rate than our normal Leftist flow, getting low volume shots ending in the 30-40 second range. The decaf we pull is a Colombian blend, and we are able to coax out some buttery sweet notes, resulting in a fairly balanced shot. Now that it's getting colder a small decaf americano is a perfect pick-me-up to get through these long evenings.

Fresh from the Roaster: October

2009-10-09T17:00:38Z

From time to time some very unique and beautiful coffees slip through the cracks of a competition as large as Cup of Excellence (CoE) because of variance in roast degree or other such factors. Finca Trinidad is one such coffee that did not make the final jury selection for the Guatemalan CoE auction this past July. The first axiom of sensory analysis (taste, smell, etc.) is that it is subjective and highly influenced by environmental conditions. Even as trained and calibrated coffee tasters, there is no certainty that compelling coffees will not be glanced over and forgotten. Luckily, we were able to restore Finca Trinidad from anonymity and, hopefully, create a legacy.
]]> Finca Trinidad (which means Trinity) is a beautiful 10 bag Guatemalan microlot that comes to us via a unique opportunity from specialty coffee importer and coffee producer Edwin Martinez. Over 70,000 coffee producers in Guatemala submitted their coffees to the preliminary selection of CoE. Edwin cupped and then purchased 14 lots that just missed the cut for the final international jury selection, explaining, "some of these coffees are extremely distinctive and break the mold for typical characteristics of their region and others are a solid and exceptional representation of something very characteristic and exemplary of its region." I was lucky enough to cup them all, and snag what I believe to be the best of group.

Finca Trinidad itself is located in San José Pinula, a city in the mountains just outside of Guatemala City. Grown at an altitude of 6000 feet, this coffee is considered a strictly hard bean (SHB), meaning that the coffee cherry took its time to develop, lending a compact, elegant, soft mouthfeel and a very refreshing guava-like sweet acidity.

A relationship starts with interest and willingness to invest, and could take years to become stable and symbiotic. I hope that you find this coffee as compelling as we do.

Falling In Love With Fall

2009-10-07T00:15:25Z

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.

]]> freeze. I'd never been so without green for so long. I've been judging and dreading this fast approaching fall because of the inevitable winter that follows. Until I got to know this Honduran coffee.
The almost overpowering scent of sweet baking spices lured me in, next I was greeted with woodsy strength and then clean crisp brightness. The first sip is reminiscent of biting into peach cobbler; warming, sweet, buttery and rich. The taste lingers and turns floral; a last breath of summer.

So go ahead; grab a sweater, some homemade apple sauce, a mug of this coffee and go sit on the porch. Watch the leaves fall and listen to the geese flying south. Because I have beautiful coffee in my life I'm going to enjoy fall. And ya know what? I'm going to try to enjoy winter.

Thank You and Goodnight, Ithaca Farmers Market

2009-10-02T18:09:34Z

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

Photos - Team Gimme Bikes Again!

2009-10-01T18:59:16Z

]]> At 6am on a rainy Saturday morning, the 18 members of Team Gimme (along with their motorcycle safety gang and their canine fan club) were already up and running.

]]> View the full gallery

Upcoming October Events

2009-10-01T18:37:42Z

Upcoming October Events in Ithaca

Farmer's Ball & Live Auction - 5th Annual Farmer's Ball hosted by Full Plate Farm Collective to benefit Healthy Food for All. Bid on a Gimme gift certificate and other local items. October 3, Free, Everyone Welcome, Farmer's Market Pavillion, 6pm potluck.

Chamber of Commerce Annual Auction - Plan on attending one of the biggest and best auctions around - the Great Big Chamber Auction 2009. Our CEO, Kevin, was the auctioneer at this event a few years back. We've donated some goodies to the live auction. October 29, Celebrations, 5:30pm.

Arts For All Marathon - Fundraiser for CSMA's Scholarship program. A "moveable auction" book filled with items to bid on will circulate to Ithaca venues in which artists work and perform. Sept 28 - October 24, culminating in a Gala Finale.

Cornell Cycling "Red Cross" Cyclocross - a mix of mountain biking, road cycling and motocross. We're supplying the pre-race caffeine and some beans to enjoy at home for the top finishers. This event will bring cyclists from all over the Northeast to the Broome-Tioga Sports Center. October 24, 10am.

Gimme Art: Featured Artists For October 2009

2009-10-01T16:37:02Z

Tzlil Hadass
at State Street Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

]]> Shinto Imai
at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Eliza Pickens
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Nathan Gabor
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Khana Ledone
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Photos - Brewing at Home, Part 5: Pour Over

2009-09-30T02:00:35Z

]]> 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.

]]> View the full gallery

State Street Renovation: We're Practically In Business

2009-09-23T22:09:37Z

]]> MVA that once was. Just days ago you might have walked through this door and ordered your favorite drink, but now everything has changed.

We've moved on to the other side, and it's mighty fine if I don't say so myself. Your old MVU hot spot will soon boast a new floor, luxurious vinyl seating, and plenty of space to sit and enjoy a good cup of coffee with friends or read a book alone (or with someone if you're in to that sort of thing).

Since re-opening the original cafe side everything is going smashingly. We'll be moving a few things around and fine tuning our work flow over the next few weeks so don't get freaked out if the menu seems to be crawling slowly in one direction or another. You know, these things take time.

Upcoming Events

2009-09-22T15:50:54Z

Upcoming bicycle events we're supporting this week.

Ithaca
Cascadilla Hill Climb.This is a just-for-the-fun-of-it race up one of the steepest hills in Ithaca organized by the Finger Lakes Cycling Club. There'll be Gimme Coffee at the bottom of the hill to help the racers up! Saturday, September 26, 9am sign up, $5. 10am race.

New York City
Bicycle Habitat weekly giveaway item - Gimme cycling hat, 1 pound of coffee and 1 gift certificate! Enter to win at Bicycle Habitat, two blocks west of Gimme Mott St at 244 Lafayette. Keep your stub for an extra chance to win prizes at the Bike Bash, October 8.

Upcoming Events: Ithaca and New York City

2009-09-17T16:30:03Z

We support many fund raising events throughout the year and I'd like to begin highlighting them here. Here are some happening this weekend:

Ithaca

Coffee Tasting Expo at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Taste different organic coffees with Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification, such as our Guatemala Asobagri. Learn about the migratory birds that depend on shade-grown coffee farms for their survival. Free. Sunday, September 20, from 11am-3pm.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology Lecture: The Science Behind Bird-Friendly Coffee, by Dr Greenberg, Director, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Free. Monday, September 21, from 7:30pm-8:45pm.

New York City

The Mia Abides: Fundraiser for the Ocular Melanoma Foundation at the Living Room. An Evening of joyful music in celebration of Mia Jarlov, featuring Adam Levy & the Mint Imperials. $10. Sunday, September 20, doors at 7pm.