Spillin' the Beans...

A blog about coffee, craziness and catharsis

3-1-2011

We just raised our prices for the first time in 3 1/2 years and I'm sick...

Not physically, its just that I know what the last few years has done to many of our customers and I really didn't want to add any more burden to anyone feeling the pinch (and who isn't?). Jeannie and I kept telling ourselves that if we just hang on long enough, things would pick up and we wouldn't have to take this step at least until everyone was getting along better...

Then we began hearing the news from our roaster and other coffee news outlets hinting at the fact that the last few years have been getting harder for the coffee producers as well. It sounds like a "perfect storm" of trouble for the coffee markets - 3 consecutive years of way above average rains in Indonesia and Costa Rica and drought in Kenya and Nairobi has coffee production way down below levels 3 years ago. And while Brazil is still the world's largest producer of coffee and had a record year, domestic consumption as well as consumption in China and India has skyrocketed creating more demand.

And the news just keeps on coming... Here is a chart of the coffee exchange pricing over the last year:

I've heard that with the rise in coffee prices, commodity investors are now getting more involved in using the market to push prices higher for thier own profit motives... sounds like capitalism is alive and well in the exchange markets...

I could go on, but don't want to ruin my appetite any more than it already is...

I just want our great and valued customers, friends and neighbors to know that we will do everything in our power to keep our prices as low as possible and still give you the great coffee you expect from us. We are thinking of new ways to give you a great experience every time you walk through our doors and encourage you to let us know if you think of anything we can do to better your experience.

We love serving coffee to you and very much appreciate you allowing us to do just that...

2-6-2011

Hopefull I will get better at keeping up a blog...

In the meantime, here is a bit o' humor I ran across while cleaning out some of my files on my computer today...

A husband and wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, “You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don’t have to wait as long to get our coffee.”
The husband said, “You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it because that’s your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.”
The wife replies, “No, you should do it, and besides, it says in the Bible that the man should make the coffee.”
The husband replies, “I can’t believe that, show me.”
So she fetched the Bible and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of the page, that indeed it said…

“Hebrews”

Now go have a great day!

1-5-2011

I'm going to start off with a coffee recipe given to us by one of our long-time and best customers, Steve Arnold. Steve is a renaissance man – he paints, he restores gumball machines, he’s a runner, he reads relentlessly, he cooks and he takes vacations in Hawaii where he is originally from. We currently have one of Steve’s water colors on our wall at RTB and I have two at my home. Enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think…

Mrs. Arnold's Famous Coffee Pot Roast
    1 chuck roast 4-5 pounds
    1 medium onion cut into 8 small wedges
    1 cup cider vinegar
    3 tbsp olive oil
    2 cups very strong coffee
    Salt and pepper to taste

Place meat in a glass shallow, flat pan and cut 8 slits in chuck steak.  Insert wedges of onion into slits.  Pour 1 cup of vinegar over meat making sure some runs into slits.  Marinate for 24 hours then discard vinegar. 

Put oil in large cast iron or non-stick pan and heat on high.  Place meat in pan and BURN (really) on both sides adding more oil if necessary.  Discard excess oil, turn heat down and add 2 cups very strong coffee and two cups water and simmer for six hours.  During the last half hour add salt and pepper.  Thicken the juice with cornstarch (dissolving 2 Tbsp. in a little water and adding slowly to juice while stirring) to make an excellent gravy.

"Now, not being one to leave well enough alone, I would use balsamic vinegar in the marinade and would probably add a can of diced jalapenos to the cooking phase but that is not part of the original recipe," says Steve.