Arizona Coffee

Ugly Mug Coffee Company has introduced a new look and feel. The Memphis company was featured on The Dieline blog (a site about packaging design). They have also released a new web site which is very classy.

Congratulations to Jason Calhoon of Tucson for his winning performance in Las Vegas at the Southwest Regional Barista Competition. He is the new southwest region champion (and first ever). Now he goes on to Minneapolis for the big contest.

The Arizona Republic today has a list of 9 cool coffeehouses.

Copper Star Coffee
Drip
Willow House
Steve’s Espresso
Rare Earth Coffee and Wine Bar
Coffee Buzz
Jolta Java
Mama Java’s Coffeehouse
Mokarabia Coffee Bar
Mandala Tearoom

Has anybody been to the new REV Coffee Cafe?
http://revcoffeecafe.com
It looks like they have two locations. My friend Brian Shaler said he went by one of them on Sunday and it was closed for the weekend.
620 E. Roosevelt
Phoenix, AZ 85004
3245 W. Ray Road
Chandler, AZ 85226

Your local Starbucks closes at 5:30. That might be a good time to visit one of Arizona’s great independent coffee houses.

Someone I’ve known in the local tech industry emailed to let me know he will be playing music on March 7th at Inza. If you like Acoustic Guitar and coffee, it sounds like a sure bet.
Details: http://www.matthewmoranonline.com/music/2008_03_07_show/

The Arizona Coffee Forum has been buzzing lately. If you hadn’t noticed, the forum is open to new registrations now. It has been closed to new registration for 6 months. New members only see a small portion of the active forum. If you’re good, you’ll be granted access to the rest of the categories.
So if […]

This job offer is for a new coffee shop opening in Tucson: They are looking for FT Manager and F/PT Baristas.
Waverly’s Coffee and Espresso To Go is opening in late March in Central Tucson (Craycroft neighborhood). Our goal is to bring the real Northwest coffee experience to the Southwest coffee lover. Our products are superior […]

It’s worth noting that next week there will be a barista competition in Las Vegas. In the Arizona Coffee Forum there is a debate brewing about this event. Primarily because there is little awareness about the event.
I’ll get to the facts:
February 25, 2008: SWRBC Judges Certification Workshop
February 26-27, 2008: Southwest Regional Barista Competition
Hosted By: […]

An interesting video from CBS News. Via www.murkycoffee.com

A local coffee cart business is for sale. Here is the description, if anybody wishes to learn more leave a comment.
For whom:
Established coffee businesses looking for market penetration and exposure,
Entrepreneurs looking to build an empire from ground level,
Or coffee lovers who would like to make money selling coffee.
For sale:
Turn-key espresso business complete with La Marzocco […]

A reader named Ryan emailed me and reminded me that I had not visited Tempe recently. Saying I needed to try the South Tempe coffee shop circuit.
Tempe is home to about 12 independent coffee houses. The three I visited today were Steve’s Espresso, Bunna Coffee, and Solo Cafe. Each are within a few miles of […]

Lynette Woode writes:
Hello, I would like to add my coffee shop to your list of coffee shops in Prescott, AZ, if possible.
We are Royal Hawaiian Coffee & Wine Co. Our address is 1957 Commerce Center Circle, on the corner of Prescott Lakes Pkwy & Willow Lake Rd. our phone is: 928-776-4104. We are an Espresso […]

If there is one thing I hate to see, it is a good coffee shop go unnoticed because you can’t see it from the road.
Is a good location enough or is high quality signage all that matters?
What are some good techniques for saving money on signage?

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 22nd. We’ll have a get together to celebrate Arizona Coffee’s 3rd birthday, and have a general celebration of coffee!

We’ve had numerous discussions on this web site about what Starbucks needs to improve. One of the often suggested items is better training in the ways of a true barista.
Today we learned that all 7100 stores will be shut down for 3 hours this month for training. How interesting.
Further Reading:

If You Were The CEO […]

A funny video chastising Starbucks for the way they name their drink sizes.

Thanks to Copper Star Coffee for sending the link!

I’ve heard more than one person in town wish there was a way to automate coffee ordering. Well, here’s a prototype of how you could pull it off.
http://www.genoco.com/link/interactive_quickOrder.html

(Thanks to Ben for the link)

From a Starbucks Press Release: Starbucks said Monday it will give customers that use its Starbucks purchase card two hours of free wireless access per day. After that, it will cost $3.99 for a two-hour session. (Source)
What does this mean? It means independent coffee houses will be competing for free wireless internet customers. I’m not […]

Anne writes:
There is a great new coffee roasting company in Flagstaff, AZ. It’s About Coffee (http://itsaboutcoffee.com). They roast on site and ship within one day of roasting. Locals can stop in to sample and buy coffee that is often less than a day old and absolutely less than a week old! […]