Tag Archives: Local Coffee

Episode Five: Season of Giving (ft. Nate Westwick from Wild Goose Coffee Roasters)

Around this time of year we hear stories of people giving back to the less fortunate in their communities. Whether it’s Ebenezer Scrooge from a Christmas Carol forgiving debts, or your local church donating money to a worthy cause, there’s something about the Holiday season that propels people to give.

Last week, just before Christmas, I got the opportunity to interview Nathan Westwick from Wild Goose Coffee Roasters. I wanted to do an episode highlighting Wild Goose because they place a huge emphasis on giving back to their community – but not just during the Holidays.

All year long, for every pound of coffee Wild Goose sells, they donate 10 pounds of food to a local food bank. Purchase coffee here to support their mission. Use the hashtag #1equals10 and let them know you’re taking part.

Through their commitment and actions, the folks at Wild Goose remind us that we each have the power to positively influence those around us in practical ways at all times of the year – and what better time to be reminded, than this Holiday season?

Happy New Year! May your 2018 be filled with love, generosity, and excellent coffee!

Colin

Episode Five Sources:

S3 Episode 1: Cities And Their Coffee Cultures

Welcome back to The Boise Coffee Podcast! In this first episode of Season 3 I discuss how a city’s culture influences their coffee culture, then I give some tips on how to find great coffee when you’re visiting a new city. Here’s a quick rundown of those tips:

  1. Do your research. Try Googling the name of your city + specialty coffee (for example, “Phoenix specialty coffee”), and then begin narrowing your search terms accordingly. I like to copy the names of coffee shops that look interesting and paste them into the notes app on my phone, that way I have a running list.
  2. Prioritize your list of shops based on how close they are to wherever you’re staying (hotel, AirBnB, etc). You don’t want to get your hopes up about a cool looking cafe, only to realize it takes a 45min drive across town to get to.
  3. Check out online reviews of the shops that look the most promising. I like to use Foursquare, but any similar service like Yelp or Google Reviews will work just as well.  I find that Foursquare has less paid reviews and better reflects local favorites, but your milage may vary.
  4. Be respectful to the staff of the coffee shop you choose to visit. If their coffee doesn’t quite live up to the hype, don’t throw your coffee in their faces – just make a note of it for yourself, and enjoy the caffeine rush.
  5. Leave a review using whatever app/service you looked the shop up on. This will help other coffee junkies, and it will leave you a digital paper trail to follow the next time you’re in town.

This episode of The Boise Coffee Podcast is brought to you by My Espresso Shop. Use offer code BOISECOFFEE to receive 10% off your order of any espresso machine or grinder. You’re not gonna find a better deal than this, so if you’ve been looking at a new piece of equipment now is the perfect opportunity to grab it and save some money! Head over to MyEspressoShop.com now!

I hope you enjoy the first episode of this brand-new season! You can look forward to the second episode in just one week – following that, I’ll be reverting back to the normal bi-weekly schedule. Thanks for listening, and if you like what you hear please leave me a review on iTunes!

Colin

Check out the full episode transcript below.

Continue reading S3 Episode 1: Cities And Their Coffee Cultures

Flying M joins 200 cafes in becoming “Luke’s Diner” for the day to celebrate the return of Gilmore Girls

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Today, to celebrate the four-episode return of Gilmore Girls, Netflix is turning about 200 cafes from the U.S. and Canada into Luke’s Diner – the iconic coffee shop from the show. On the list is Boise’s own Flying M – which, according to The Idaho Statesman – was randomly selected, then given cups and banners to outfit the shop.

Today also marks the 16th anniversary of Gilmore Girls‘ first episode, affectionately being referred to as the “Gilmoreversary.”

Starting at 6:30am, Flying M will be giving away free coffee in Luke’s Diner cups, while supplies last. According to a source who is participating in the event (my wife) a line is already forming, so head over now to score your free coffee!

Check out the full list of participating cafes here!

Colin

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