Arizona Coffee

I just received a banner for the Southwest Barista Jam. I’m putting it up on the sidebar for no cost to promote coffee in AZ. Go team, go team go!

Decomodo points us to the Espresso Machine from Mordor (or as they say, of Doom). I don’t know, it looks like a lovable fuzz ball to me.

Full product gallery.

Awhile back I received an email from Sonja Haller at The Arizona Republic asking me about local coffee shops. She asked me to name the best ones that had free wireless internet, and to give a few names from all over the valley. Thanks to Inza Coffee for emailing me the link to the article. […]

I was browsing around this neat color pallet web site this weekend, and stumbled across this innovative coffee lid. It changes color based on the heat in the drink. I’ll let the video do the talking.

www.smartlidsystems.com

I visited Ground Control nearly two weeks ago, and didn’t have a chance to write about it until now. It’s a sweet new coffee shop that recently opened up on the west side. Ground Control is owned and operated by Steve and Tara.
Besides being a coffee shop, they also sell food and have a wine […]

On a first visit to a coffee shop I intend to “review,” I don’t announce my visit (if you can call my write-ups reviews). Unless I am specifically invited. If I do get the special treatment, I’ll disclose that. I pay for all of my coffee unless mentioned otherwise. I often will make multiple repeat […]

Karen from Fair Trade Cafe in Phoenix writes:
Hi AZ Coffee! Right now, our shop is going through some exciting changes, but we need more than ever to get the word out about our rather hard-to-find (*cough*cough* light rail) coffee shop. We serve exclusively certified fair trade and organic coffee from Adventure Roasters in Tucson. Please […]

BIG Announcement today in the forums that I wanted to point you to.
The first ever Southwest Regional Barista Jam, sanctioned by the Barista Guild of America. Co-located with the Southwest Barista Jam will be an SCAA Skill Building Workshop. Separate registrations are required for each event.
Mesa, Arizona will be the place to be […]

Randy Miller writes:
I have been on the computer a lot lately and am glad to have stumbled on this website. Thanks for the good job and thanks for the gathering place for fellow coffee fans.
I will use this site for staying in touch with trends and the people in the industry.
We […]

Momento Coffee Co. is in the newspaper this morning.
Coffee processing goes high tech in Tempe
Betty Beard
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 26, 2007
Now even coffee processing has gone high tech.
Momentto Coffee Co., a small Tempe specialty coffee processor, is producing 17 coffee products in a plant that is so automated and computerized that every bean is controlled.
The automation […]

Olive & Ivy is a coffee shop and restaurant that opened up on the Scottsdale Waterfront this year. I’d like to describe it as the La Grande Orange of Scottsdale, but it really doesn’t compare on every level. For one, Olive & Ivy is massive, with high vaulted ceilings and a full wait staff. But […]

Do you consider price when considering a visit to a coffee shop?
What would you say is the average amount that you spend when you visit a coffee shop? I realize it matters what you order and what size, but overall I would say the price range in Arizona is fairly even except for a few […]

Where does the roaster get their coffee from, and how frequently does the roaster receive new coffees?
Does the roaster have an extensive knowledge of coffee?
How often does the roaster roast coffees you desire?
What coffee shops and restaurants does this roaster serve?
Does the roaster indicate on the packaging the date the coffee was roasted?
Ask, “If I […]

Anthony Santa Cruz from Bunna Coffee writes:
Hi Chris, I was just checking up on your site and I wanted to see if you could add us to your coffee list and coffee map. 7520 S Rural Rd, Tempe 85283. We’re on the NW corner of Elliot and Rural.
Thanks,
Anthony
Also, congratulations to Bunna Coffee for being […]

Here’s a neat video showing how to make Turkish coffee.

So I was just browsing online and saw this interesting article in The St. Louis Post Dispatch about how a group of coffee house owners are combining their marketing efforts. The purpose appears to be out of fear that as Starbucks expands its presence in the area, the independents will suffer.
“We really need an organization […]

I am looking for ideas on how we can spread the word about our little community. I’d like to get the word to a larger audience. I know there are thousands of people out there that visit coffee shops daily, and don’t know about Arizona Coffee. How can we get them here?

On June 7th, I received two pounds of coffee from Tucson roaster and coffee shop owner John Hall, of Desert Rain Coffee. We often have a bunch of different coffees around the office, and for the few weeks that we made our way through this coffee it was the clear “office favorite.” It just tasted […]

I must give props to the folks at Christopher Bean for sending out another batch of coffee. Back in May they sent us some coffees to try and two of the three were pre-ground. This was not something I specified so it wasn’t necessarily a mistake in the classic sense. But it wasn’t exactly a […]

I stumbled across an article that is worth sharing because it is something affecting coffee shop owners in Florida. It’s about music royalties. If you play music at your store, especially live entertainment, you may be in violation of copyright law.
When a songwriter signs with one of the licensing companies — the country’s three biggest […]