Coffee Canon

Part investigative storytelling, part historical commentary, Coffee Canon contextualizes coffee’s long journey from obscure plant to modern necessity. Listen on iTunes or your favorite podcast client. Get previews to upcoming episodes and extra content by joining our email list here.

S2 Episode 8: The AeroPress

Aeropress, Coffee Canon, , , , , ,

S2 Episode 8 Cover Art

Alan Adler founded his company, Aerobie, around his flying disc by the same name. He essentially perfected the Frisbee, then went on to sell 1.4 million of them in just two years. Not only that, Alan’s flying disc broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s farthest throw.  Alan has three parts to him: he’s an inventor, an entrepreneur, and most importantly for us, a coffee fanatic.

While he started with flying discs, Alan went on to invent something completely different. His invention took the coffee community by storm, and is now the basis for international coffee competitions. Not only that, it’s a staple in third wave coffee shops and cafes around the world. It’s simple, inexpensive, and a little alien looking. It’s unlike anything the coffee community had seen before, or has seen since. It’s called the AeroPress.

Check out AeroPress recipes that have won the World AeroPress Championship here. You can check out the Boise Coffee recipe here.

The Coffee Guy

Continue reading S2 Episode 8: The AeroPress →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Related posts:

Reblog – Pressing Matters: Tips For Using the Aerobie Aeropress BoiseCoffee’s Aeropress Brew Method Test driving my new Aeropress

S2 Episode 7: Good Grounds Coffee ft. Mary Lansden Rees-Jones

Coffee Canon, , , ,

S2 Episode 7

I’m joined this week by Mary Lansden Rees-Jones (formerly Brewbaker), one of the founders and the current Managing Director at Good Grounds Coffee Co.

Good Grounds is a coffee pre-financing, export/trading company based in Congo and the United States. Mary and her husband Huw, along with their business partner Dan, have developed a sole partnership with a coffee cooperative on Idwji Island, Congo that employs former Congolese rebels in an effort to bring peace to a place that has known war for far too long.

Mary and Huw live in nearby Rwanda – a three hour drive and one hour boat ride away from where the Idwji coffee beans are grown. I got the chance to speak with Mary at length about Good Grounds, Fair Trade, and what the future holds for coffee in Congo.

Please support Good Grounds Coffee Co. by contributing to their Indigogo page, here.

More about Good Grounds (from their About Page):

Our purpose is to transform the lives of former Congolese rebels by giving them the option to lay down their guns. In Congo employment is scarce, so men join rebel groups to provide for their families. Good Grounds brings lasting change in both the short and long run by providing cooperatives with cash to process cherries and export beans to roasters and consumers in North America. We also guarantee the purchase of all the coffee we pre-finance, eliminating risk for smallholder farmers.

Rather than starting anew, Good Grounds builds relationships with local cooperatives composed of former rebels and rebel widows.  Good Grounds is focused on quality because we believe in sustainable business and we know that our market demands only the best.

Now that we’re back on schedule, The Boise Coffee Podcast will be returning to a bi-weekly release schedule. Thanks for your patience!

The Coffee Guy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Related posts:

S1 Episode 8: Social Networks and Coffee ft. Gilles Brunner from Algrano S2 Episode 6: Loyalty Programs and Coffee S1 Episode 3: Home Brewing

S2 Episode 6: Loyalty Programs and Coffee

Coffee Canon, , , , ,

Loyalty Programs and Coffee

The Pareto principle states that for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. For a business, this means that 80% of sales comes from 20% of customers. One of the keys to having a successful company, then, is to find those 20% of customers and keep them coming back for more.

For a coffee company to be successful, they need to establish loyalty with their customers. In this episode of The Boise Coffee Podcast I discuss the history of loyalty programs over the past two centuries, and why I think it’s important that we support our local coffee shop with our wallet.

The reality is that small, local coffee shops rely more heavily on regular customers than you could ever know. Don’t waste your loyalty on chains that want to squeeze money out of you to stay on top.

The Coffee Guy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS

Related posts:

S2 Episode 10: Crema.co ft. Emily McIntyre S2 Episode 15: Italian Coffee ft. Hannah Mansfield S1 Episode 2: Coffee Waves