Gimme! Coffee News

This Weekend: Free Winners' Flight Tastings in Ithaca, Brooklyn

2012-02-03T20:15:00Z

Haven't yet gotten a taste of the limited edition Colombia Finca San Luis? Tasted it and want to try more Good Food Award winners? Join us this weekend in Ithaca and Brooklyn, where we'll be tasting Good Food Award winning coffees from Counter Culture Coffee, Broadway Cafe & Roasting, Klatch Coffee, Noble Coffee Roasting, and (of course) Gimme!

The tastings are free and open to the public -- bring your friends!

Ithaca Tasting (Facebook invite & directions)
SATURDAY 2/4, 12pm-1pm
Gimme Training Lab, 506 W. State St, Ithaca NY 14850

Brooklyn Tasting (Facebook invite & directions)
SUNDAY 2/5, 12pm-1pm
Gimme Training Lab, 107 Roebling St, Brooklyn NY 11211

Photos - Locally Made Pro Tools

2012-01-31T02:38:28Z

By now you must be aware that making espresso worth drinking is a manual process. If not, this is a tamper: It is used to pack fresh ground coffee just prior to pulling your shot.

View the full gallery

Charity Art Auction at Roebling Cafe, Thursday, 2/2/12

2012-01-25T12:51:10Z

New York City! Come to our Roebling Street cafe Thursday, Feb 2nd for live music, free coffee, and the kick-off of our month-long art auction to benefit Brooklyn-based nonprofits, featuring the ink drawings of Misha Bittleston.

The kick-off party is Thursday, Feb 2nd at 7:30p - live music by Eight Two, BYOB (we will check IDs), free coffee, and ART!

"Born in England, MIsha Bittleston moved to California to pursue a career as a visual artist. During this time, Misha began experiencing auditory hallucinations: he heard voices and music, some beautiful, others terrifying. He realized what he needed to share with the world - the sounds he heard inside his head. Misha picked up a guitar and a microphone, moving to Brooklyn, NY...It was there that Eight Two was born."

There will be a clipboard next to each piece of art on which a person interested in acquiring the art can place a bid. At the end of the month, February 28th at close, the bidding ends. The cool part is that the winning bidder can just donate their winning bidding price to any Brooklyn charity (Misha is supplying a list of suggestions), bring the receipt to Misha, and take the painting!

Art OpeningThursday, February 2, 2012 at 7:30pm

107 Roebling Street (@ N. 6th)
Charity Auction all month long
Feel free to bring your own beverages - coffee will be provided

The illustrious Zoey Thorson, manager of our Roebling Cafe, has a slew of community events scheduled for the next few months, and this kick-off party is something we've never done at Gimme before.

You bid on the art, you pick the charity you want to donate your money to, you show Misha your receipt from the donation and BOOM - he gives you the art. The auction is all for Brooklyn-based charities; you can even place a bid for $10 and possibly end up with an awesome piece of art, and have your cash go to a charity of your choice!

See you there!

Feature - Finca San Luis Wins Good Food Award! Free Tastings in Ithaca, Brooklyn

2012-01-23T14:58:03Z

Updated January 2012

The New York City event time has been changed to Sunday 2/5, 12pm - 1pm. Please join us then!

Colombia Finca San Luis has won the Good Food Award for the second year running! That means it's been recognized by a panel of expert judges as delicious, authentic, and responsibly produced. We're proud of the Finca San Luis, and proud to be a part of the Good Food Awards mission. We have a very limited supply — only 250 hand-numbered bags — of this outstanding microlot. Find it in stores and online, and join us for free tastings in Brooklyn and Ithaca!

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Finca San Luis is a small farm in Tolima, Colombia, where farmer Omar Arango grows and mills his coffee in tiny batches. Gimme's Director of Coffee, Colleen Anunu, traveled to Colombia to meet him and kick off an an innovative trading partnership — relationship coffee — that has brought him Organic certification, schooling, price premiums, and international recognition for his coffee. Now, for the second year running, his coffee is a Good Food Award winner. Only seven winners were chosen from a field of nearly 100 applications submitted from all over the United States. This microlot is a blend of four coffee varietals with aromas of passionfruit and papaya, and flavors of ripest mango soaked in richest honey.

Join Us for Free Tastings in Brooklyn & Ithaca

We'll be tasting a “Winners' Flight” of Good Food Award winning coffees, including our Colombia Finca San Luis. Join us at our training labs in Brooklyn and Ithaca!

Winners' Flight: Ithaca

Gimme Training Lab, 506 W State St, Ithaca, NY
Saturday 2/4, 12pm - 1pm

Winners' Flight: Brooklyn

Gimme Training Lab, 107 Roebling St, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday 2/5, 12pm - 1pm

Taste a flight of award-winning coffees from all over the country; meet our trainers and roasters; and try our Good Food Award winner, Colombia Finca San Luis. Tastings are free and open to the public.

The Good Foods Mission

The Good Food Award is an innovative program that recognizes both quality and responsible production. As they put it:

For a long time, certifications for responsible food production and awards for superior taste have remained distinct -- one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates flavor. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food -- the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities -- contains all of these ingredients. We take a comprehensive view, honoring people who make food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions.

In order to qualify for the award, we had to pass strict tests for responsible sourcing; many coffees were disqualified at this stage. The final round of judging was a blind tasting by a panel of expert judges, so only the best and most delicious coffees were awarded top honors.

Updated January 2012

The New York City event time has been changed to Sunday 2/5, 12pm - 1pm. Please join us then!

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Join Us for Free Tastings in Brooklyn & Ithaca

We'll be tasting a “Winners' Flight” of Good Food Award winning coffees, including our Colombia Finca San Luis. Join us at our training labs in Brooklyn and Ithaca!

Winners' Flight: Ithaca

Gimme Training Lab, 506 W State St, Ithaca, NY
Saturday 2/4, 12pm - 1pm

Winners' Flight: Brooklyn

Gimme Training Lab, 107 Roebling St, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday 2/5, 12pm - 1pm

The Good Foods Mission

The Good Food Award is an innovative program that recognizes both quality and responsible production. As they put it:

For a long time, certifications for responsible food production and awards for superior taste have remained distinct -- one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates flavor. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food -- the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities -- contains all of these ingredients. We take a comprehensive view, honoring people who make food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions.

Buy Now

Colombia Finca San Luis
Microlot

Photos

Grown With Care at Finca San Luis

Other Pages

And The Time Has Changed!

2012-01-11T23:49:25Z

Attention New York City! Our Public Cuppings are moving to Sundays at 3pm! Same free tasting with a new post-brunch time!

Come on over to our Williamsburg training lab at 107 Roebling Street to explore coffee origin history, see what a coffee bean looks like before it's roasted, and taste different, amazing coffees every week.

New time and day starts this Sunday!

Free Public Cupping

Every Sunday at 3pm (beginning this Sunday)

Gimme! Roebling Training Lab

107 Roebling Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Dear New York: The Time Has Come. Love, Gimme

2012-01-03T00:10:27Z

The much-anticipated Weekly Free Coffee Cuppings at our Roebling Street Training Lab, Saturdays at 12pm, start this Saturday, January 7th! Learn more about coffee, seed to cup, and participate in a guided tasting with our expert trainers.

We've been hosting free cuppings for over a year at our Ithaca training lab - we are super excited to be opening our NYC lab to you and continuing our mission of coffee education. It's a big deal. Trust.

Try new and exciting coffees every Saturday at 12pm - no experience necessary. Remember, the classes are limited to the first 12 participants - so come early!

Photos - Good Food Awards Roadshow NYC

2011-11-16T14:56:57Z

On November 12th we participated in a tasting workshop for the Good Food Awards Roadshow.

We received a Good Food Award in 2011 for our Colombia Finca San Luis, and our commitment to producing delicious, transparent and responsibly grown food.

This year we are (again) honored to be considered a finalist in the 2012 competition! Fingers crossed!

View the full gallery

Photos - A Look Inside A Coffee Warehouse

2011-10-27T17:37:37Z

During a trip to NYC this past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Continental Terminals, the warehouse where the majority of our coffee is stored after it comes off the boat and before it's trucked to Ithaca for roasting. The logistics involved in running this place are amazing, but they are pros and have been doing this since 1958.

View the full gallery

Photos - 72 Hours in Helena, MT

2011-09-30T12:22:30Z

About 6 months ago we tweeted about a big Probat roaster that was listed on Craigslist in Montana. Last month it was still available, so we decided to get serious and go have a look.

View the full gallery

Photos - Congratulations Team Gimme!

2011-09-15T19:23:24Z

Last weekend, the STAP AIDS Ride for Life took place under sunny skies. Team Gimme riders got an early start and made a quick stop at Cayuga Street for a few shots of espresso to help get them going. Team Gimme had 27 registered riders!

View the full gallery

Fincas La Providencia: Atitlán y Huehuetenango

2011-09-15T15:28:06Z

For the past many months, we've been working hard to form new relationships with growers in Central America, and this month we are releasing 2 new beautiful relationship coffees from Guatemala. These coffees come to us from our ongoing work with Virmax Café, our exporting partners in Colombia, who have recently expanded their work north to Guatemala. One important bit of information to note about these coffees is that they come from farms with the same name, though are completely different! The farms are in different regions, owned by different producers and have different flavor profiles.

Finca La Providencia

Region: Atitlán

Juan Francisco Pira spends a lot of his time on his phone, or tablet, checking the position of the coffee market. It's kind of like a game, where every 10 minutes there is another exclamation of, "Oh, my gosh, guess where the prices are now?!" The compulsion is necessary for Juan, who owns 5 farms, 2 wet mills, and buys coffee from over 500 small producers in 2 different regions in Guatemala. A true market player for his commodity grade coffee, he is also 100% dedicated to producing high quality microlots at farm gate pricing, as he understands the differentiation needed to meet the demands of all types of coffee roasters/markets across the world.

At his wet mill in Santiago, Atitlán, Juan processes his own coffee from his 3 different farms in the region, but also buys and processes coffee cherry from over 300 small holder growers. Beneficio Santiago la Laguna is where, roughly 10 years ago, he first came across the coffee from a small farm not 10 minutes up the road called Finca La Providencia. Then owned by a lawyer living in Guatemala City, the coffee from La Providencia exhibited the potential for great quality, though serious attention needed to be given to the farm in order to achieve this. Over the last decade, Juan pursued the acquisition of La Providencia and was finally successful in 2010.

Juan's first action was to divide the farm into different plots and begin heavy renovations to each. He took inventory of all of the trees on the estate, factoring in the history of how each tree was planted, as well as the types and amounts of inputs that were given over the past many years. Juan tailored his renovation attack to the needs of each plot. Some plots need complete soil regeneration, others needed complete tree renewal, some others selective pruning. He began with a small 2 hectare section of the farm, whose coffee treeline ends just 50 meters shy of the stunning Lake Atitlán. This is the specific plot, producing just 15 export bags, from which our La Providencia Atitlán comes.

La Providencia Atitlán is, perhaps, one of the most transparent and clean coffees that I've had in my life. It is so delicate and mild, congruent with the general characteristics of the Atitlán region, and exhibits the type of perceivable citric acidity of tropical and stone fruits. I cannot say enough about how truly passionate I am about this flavor profile.

______________________________________________________________

Finca La Providencia

Region: Huehuetenango

Finca La Providencia is located in the municipality of San Pedro Necta, roughly 1,550 meters above sea level. The farm, which has been in the Palacios family since 1954,is a 34 hectare farm, producing mainly the Caturra variety. They fully wash and sun-dry their coffee, and mill off site. The cup is rich, syrupy and juicy, with flavors of apple, peach, cocoa and vanilla. This is the 'typical' profile of the region, so most of you that like more of those sugar browning notes in your mild-washed-Centrals will no doubt enjoy this coffee. It's a very solid cup.

Unfortunately, I have no anecdotes to share about Max Ariel Palacios and Finca La Providencia in Huehuetenango.Visiting the Huehuetenango region in northwestern Guatemala, is one trek I've yet to make. However, this is why we invest so heavily into our partnerships with not only producers, but exporters and project managers as well. So, perhaps I'll take this opportunity to talk about how that.

Relationship Coffee is not simply related to working directly with a coffee producer, but rather indicates that the entire supply chain is being utilized collaboratively, thereby strengthened, and fair compensation resounds. If you look on our website, you can see that our most concise definition of Relationship Coffee is this:

Relationship coffee is a model of coffee trading where roasters and producers work together to establish a long-term trading partnership. This relationship can continue over many years, and is insulated against the fluctuations of international commodities markets. The trading process is transparent; farmers gain bargaining power through knowledge, and receive a fair price that is not vulnerable to commodity market fluctuations.

We usually refer to the Intercontinental Exchange as the Commodities Market, 'C' Market, or simply as New York (NY), as in "Today NY is trading at $2.xx for December." Coffee contracts are bought and sold months in advance of delivery. Typically, the daily price of those future contracts fluctuate based on the speculation of what the production output will be from a few big coffee producing countries, namely Colombia and Brazil. Speculators look to a myriad of external influences on coffee production, such as weather patterns, for these crop yield predictions. If there appears to be a shortage of coffee, the competition for contracts becomes more fierce, and thus the price for the contracts increases. Of course, it's more complicated than just this, but at least you can see how coffee prices respond to the basic principles of supply and demand.

Coffee is traded at the base daily fluctuating price, and most specialty coffees are traded at a higher differentials. While our contracts for our high quality coffees are traded with much higher premiums on top of the C, they are unfortunately still tied to whatever the daily price is (ie. NY + $1.35). This means that while the producer receives a higher price for higher quality, prices that are even above the Fair Trade minimum, in the free market, there is still no way to protect them from falling prices.

So you can see that with coffee, like any market, speculation causes the daily price of coffee to either fall or rise. Relationship Coffee refers to the way in which we protect producers, and their investment in the costly production of high quality coffee, from the changes in market prices.

Relationship Coffee approaches buying from a 'different-from-the-norm' perspective, that is, we pay a flat price that is not subject to market fluctuations. These prices are based on production and transport costs, and also add a stable and truly fair margin for the producer, exporters and importers. If the daily price of the C contract falls, the sustainable price for Relationship Coffees remains the same. Producers maintain their position and are able to recoup their production costs, while also making a living. We, then, are able to secure the supply of high quality coffee and know that the price paid was not due to false inflation and speculation, but to real costs to the actual producers.

It's a win-win situation.

Kenya Kiandu Scores 95pts from Coffee Review!!!

2011-09-15T12:35:28Z

Ken David's Coffee Review is, as their web header indicates, "The world's leading coffee buying guide." Ken, and his employees, solicit samples from various roasters around the world and offer both quantitative and qualitative data for consumers looking to get a sense of what to buy and from whom. Coffee Review's September review slate was focused on coffees from Kenya. While I am unsure how many roasters sent in their best (and most phosphoric) Kenyan coffee to be reviewed, I am sure about one thing... our Kenya Kiandu was awarded the highest score of 95 (out of a possible 100). Oh, my!

As a consumer review website, Coffee Review offers an analysis of the roasted quality of a coffee. However, we, as a roasting company, are not only highlighted based on how we've developed the Kiandu through the roasting process, but also in our acquisition of a one of the most beautiful Kenyan samples that we saw in 2010. Without the competency of the workers and manager of the Kiandu Factory (coffee mill) in Nyeri, or the cuppers at C. Dorman (exporters) in Nairobi, this coffee would not have been possible.

We are down to our final 350 lbs of this coffee, and it should be out of stock sometime in November/December. However, we are looking forward to working with Kiandu again in early 2012, when they start harvesting. I will be visiting the mill in late October to discuss how we can further develop a long standing relationship, where everyone benefits... including you. So, with that, any suggestions for a gift congratulating the Kiandu Factory for their great work on this year's lot?

- Colleen

Cappuccinos are for Lovers, Atitlán is for Friends.

2011-09-13T15:10:22Z

I have a little story for you. A few years ago when I was a Barista at Cayuga Street a couple would frequent the cafe. No matter how attached at the hip some couples may be they do, at times, venture into the world sans partner. Being the neighborhood coffee shop we were able to witness this occurrence with some frequency.

Both partners would get their drinks to stay, lingering over a book or academic-like paperwork. One person would get lattes while the other would get a macchiato, but when they came in together they got cappuccinos. This is when I noticed that many couples not only got the same drink, but they were usually cappuccinos.

Cappuccinos may be for lovers but our Guatemala Atitlan is for friends! You know when you see your good friend, or a new friend you've been getting to know better and you smile, relax then think of a million things you need to tell that person? The Atitlan is just like that! It has a universal comfort with pears baked in butter, a spoonful of perfectly ripe papaya ending light and clean, like a peeled white grape. Mellow, clean and always ends on a good note. Catch up with a friend, or a make a new one, over a cup of Atitlan while it's still featured in stores.

Who Is The Happy Roaster?

2011-08-26T17:11:03Z

It's true that Colleen, Jesse, and Jacob are all happy roasters ... but we've got another little bundle of joy in the house that you might have met before. His face adorns our new Happy Roaster T-shirt. You can find the t-shirt online or in stores for as long as it lasts!

Join Us This Weekend at Roast for Life!

2011-08-19T14:22:26Z

Tomorrow, Saturday August 27, Team Gimme presents the first annual ROAST FOR LIFE, a benefit for the Southern Tier AIDS Program.

Team Gimme has been riding for life and raising money for STAP since 2004. This year, we're throwing a party and you're invited! Please join us at the roastery from 10am-1pm for coffee, roasting demos, door prizes, live music, and more. $10 donation at the door, with all proceeds benefiting STAP. Kids get in for free. Open to the public -- invite your friends!

WHEN?
Saturday, August 27, 10am - 1pm

WHERE?

Gimme! Coffee Roastery (map)

3201 Krums Corners Rd

Ithaca, NY

WHAT?

All you can drink coffee, handmade using 5 different brew methods
Coffee roasting demos, with 2 brand-new unreleased coffees
Live music by The Evil City String Band, 11am-1pm
Treats by Krums Corners Bakery, including espresso brownie bites and lemonade for the kids
Seven-mile group bike ride, from Gimme Cayuga to the Roastery (meet at 10am at Cayuga St)
And tons of door prizes!

DOOR PRIZES ...

Buffalo Street Books: $25 gift certificate
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra: 2 season tickets
Finger Lakes Beverages: $50 gift certificate
Funk 'N Waffles: $50 in gift cards
Gimme! Coffee: new mugs, shirts, and gifts
Greenstar: $40 gift card
Kitchen Theatre: 2 season tickets
Manndibles: $50 gift card
Maxie's: $25 gift card
Moosewood: $40 gift card
Rasa Spa: 30 minute massage
Red Feet: 2 bottles of wine
Sarah's Patisserie: $50 gift card
Wegman's: $25 gift card

Gimme some Tuff Mugs

2011-08-12T16:53:52Z

We know you've been waiting a bit for our newest line of travel mugs to appear on shelves. Wait no longer. After months of testing and debating, we've chosen Tuff Mugs from Zojirushi - an industry leader in vacuum insulation technology for over 90 years. These stainless steel bottles come in two sizes - the Red Love Coffee is 12oz and the Black Diamonds is 16oz. Each is laser etched (yes, etched) with a unique design created by our in-house graphic designer, Joshua Sperling. Vacuum insulation keeps your coffee hot or cold for hours upon hours! Both feature a wide mouth opening for ice cubes and a nonstick interior for easy cleaning. Look no further for the travel tumbler that'll allow you to take your coffee to-go in style. Get yours in stores today and online soon!

Honduras Las Peñitas is Back!!!

2011-08-01T15:38:52Z

Honduras Las Peñitas is back! In fact, we have 2 small lots from this farm that we will be releasing consecutively, both of which have slight differences, but nonetheless exemplify the silky bodied and clean fruit characteristics that took 3rd place in the United States Barista Competition Brewer's Cup (by the skilled hand of NYC Regional Trainer, Erin McCarthy) in May. This year we were able to work more directly with Jorge Benitez, the 22-year-old farmer of Las Peñitas, and Beneficio San Vicente, the mill that is responsible for over 60% of the 2011 Honduras Cup of Excellence winners, to bring in this coffee at fair price, and establish a long-term partnership. Our first release from Las Peñitas is a 7-bag early harvest lot. The aroma starts rich and intense, with notes of ripe blackberry, browned butter and oxidized apple. There is a lot of melon in the cup, from honeydew to juicy watermelon, and a sweetness that is reminiscent of a peach flavored hard candy. A silky, full body and a clean and balanced finish compliment all of these flavors. It is a great example of a high grown, pacas varietal.

From the left: Natividad Benitez, Jorge Benitez, Benjamin Paz

Las Peñitas is a roughly 3-hectare plot of the Benitez family property. Jorge inherited the property from his father, Natividad, over 2 years ago, and although he has been farming along side Natividad since he was a little boy, he still considers himself in the learning phase, following his father's lead on most decisions, whether it is farm management techniques, or selling decisions. This year, Natividad and Jorge jointly decided to sell directly to roasters rather than to submit their coffee to the Cup of Excellence competition. This means that we were able to secure Jorge's beautiful coffee without the elevated price from an auction, and use a fair farm-gate price determined by Beneficio San Vicente.

Las Peñitas is just one of three farms that we purchased from in Honduras this year. We've also committed to purchasing from Joel Guzman of finca Linda Vista, and Esteban Madrid of finca El Sauce, both of which will be released later this fall. Each farm works with Beneficio San Vicente, a family mill owned and operated by the Paz family. Purchasing manager, Angel Arturro Paz, learned early on that working directly with producers to make small changes in production operations meant increased quality, price and relationships.

When I visited this mill and farms in early June I quickly noticed that the farmers who work with Beneficio San Vicente are unlike any I've seen in my travels. They engage with each other, share information, and are, in a way, like one large extended family. This community aspect astounded me, and it shows in the quality of the coffee. We're so proud to be working with so many great farmers this year, and for years to come!

Grab a Bag and Brew Excellent Coffee at Home

2011-07-29T15:21:52Z

"How can I get the coffee I brew at home to taste as good as it does in the store?" If I had a dime for every time I heard that question while working in a Gimme cafe, I'd be on my way to a Dollywood vacation right now.
When I get this question, the first thing I say is: Use filtered water.

Home coffee brewing doesn't have to be complicated. We've written some nifty posts about the importance of a burr grinder, using freshly roasted coffee, and being flexible with your dose and grind.

Remember that coffee is 98.5% water, and the quality of the water you use will affect the taste of your brewed coffee. We've done our own lab tests to judge water quality - and you can, too.

Take a bag home and try it youself: using your water filter device of choice (Brita, Pur), make one cup with filtered water and one cup with tap water. I bet you'll taste a difference right away!

The 2011 AIDS Ride For Life Bike Raffle!

2011-07-28T20:13:21Z

The visible part of the Team Gimme! Ride For Life fundraising effort is now complete and ready for mass consumption, er, contribution. This year, thanks in big part to Director of Coffee, Colleen Anunu, we have a genuine Sears-Roebuck "coupled" bicycle. Word on the street is that Colleen spotted this diamond in the rough one morning while towing the coffee cart to the Ithaca farmer's market. I'm glad I was not with her that morning, or else there would have been some epic thumb-wrestling over it. No matter, my lobbying effort prevailed and now you have the opportunity to win it and help local folks in need!

This bike is similar to a folder, but without a hinge. The front end - handlebars, headtube, wheel and half of the downtube detach from the rest of the bike to be stowed or portaged. The element i like the most about this bike is the long wheelbase luxury. This is not your typical twitchy 20", you can carve sick lines with this whip while remaining fully upright, confident, and reeking of pure style. If this bike were any more laid back, it would be a recumbent, or a lowrider. It will be the envy of all Williamsburg.

This was by far the most intensive restoration I have done. The frame was sandblasted and powdercoated by Will at Cayuga Powdercoating. The same was done to our Probat LG5 a few years ago, and it is still looking great. I cleaned and polished the chrome, repacked bearings, replaced all corroded fasteners with stainless steel, sourced new fenders, tires and chain.

Enough about the bike, the real focus here is our commitment to helping our community by raising needed funds for Southern Tier AIDS Program. Team Gimme! makes the Ride For Life our greatest effort each year, and we value everyone who contributes - jersey sponsors, customers, friends, family and even total strangers. All that good energy together makes the 100 mile ride around the lake seem effortless. To get in on this action, please visit the Cayuga Street Gimme to purchase raffle tickets. If you cannot make it there you can still participate! Visit the Team Gimme! fundraising page at firstgiving.org.

Toddy Time!

2011-07-21T19:02:09Z

Boy is it hot! With the weather reaching record highs we are keeping cool with cold brewed iced coffee. What is this cold brew coffee you may ask? It's sometimes called Toddy which references the most popular brand of cold brewing device. It's a slow extraction process using room temperature water. How slow? 12-14 hours. Heat is really important in extracting coffee so without any it takes a long time to get those good flavors into the cup. We brew gallons every night for you sweltering New Yorkers with fresh coarse ground coffee, similar to french press grind, and filtered water.

We love cold brewing coffee because of the big body, syrupy mouthfeel and low acidity. Toddy is smooth and sweet by itself but we always try to pick a coffee to brew that pairs well with cream and sugar. We have been using our Guatemala Chajulense for at least a month now with great results. Drinking the Chajulense cold brew straight up is like melted dark caramels swimming in rich chocolate. A little cream and sugar make this drink pretty darn close to a coffee milkshake, perfect for the kid in all of us!

The coffee we are using, Chajulense, is from a large co-operative in Guatemala. This co-operative is made up of over 2000 members, the coffee is Organic and Fair Trade certified, and the Chajulense co-operative dedicates a minimum of 10% of profits towards education and health projects; cultural values and development projects for the indigenous Maya culture; promoting Women's participation at all levels; and encouraging democratic community leadership of the cooperative. We are very happy to be offering you this coffee this year.

Cold brew is not the only way you can get iced coffee in our stores. We now offer our rotating featured coffees brewed to order on ice, so try one of those when you want to try something new.

This Week at Roebling Street, $5 Discount on All Bagged Beans

2011-07-20T17:38:44Z

We're just not ready to stop the celebrations yet -- so y'all are invited to drop by our new Roebling Street cafe this week and get $5 off all bagged beans! We're running the deal until Sunday, July 24th -- it's a great time to stop by, say hi, and stock up. Hope to see you there!

107 Roebling Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11211

Open 7am-7:30pm daily

Intersection of Roebling & N 6th St
2 blocks east of the Bedford Ave L stop

Gimme Coffee Takes Part in TED Coffee Common

2011-07-14T20:19:30Z

In Edinburgh, Scotland an event called TEDGlobal was held over the past few days. TEDGlobal is a branch of TED, which is a gathering of some of the greatest minds in science, marketing, art, education among other fields. TED takes place over the course of a few days and thousands of attendees get to listen to eighteen minute speeches by presenters over eight hour days. They are immersed in astounding rhetoric that is simply inspiring. These people need great coffee to go along with the inspirational thoughts that are being presented. Enter Coffee Common.

Coffee Common equals collaboration. Coffee Common equals what the specialty coffee industry needs. It is the idea of putting aside competition and allowing our common market to see many examples of great quality, sustainability, sourcing, and success in those fields. We were asked to contribute coffee to TEDGlobal because of our reputation of great coffee and having paved the road over the last ten years for many more specialty coffee companies.

So, In Edinburgh, our Finca San Luis has been brewed using manual filter methods as well as espresso by some of the greatest baristas in the world. The national barista champions past and present from Norway, Greece, Britain as well as the Cup Taster's Champion from Ireland among many other talented people were all there presenting ours and 6 other amazing company's coffees to the attendees of TEDGlobal.

Please follow the links here to both the Coffee Common site and the TED site. Watch some of the amazing videos from previous TED conferences and please read all about what Coffee Common stands for. And while you're there please follow the links to the other companies that were highlighted and see if you would like to try their coffee. I can assure you that they all source and roast some the world's finest.

We are proud to have had this opportunity, and look forward to many more years of collaborating with others in the industry to do what we all do best; help grow community within our respective cities and within our industry.

Free Drink Cards at Roebling Street This Week

2011-07-14T15:06:16Z

Have you seen our new Roebling Street cafe yet? We're really excited about it, so we're handing out free drink cards with every purchase this week. Stop in before Sunday to pick up a drink -- and one for the road!

107 Roebling Street
Brooklyn, NY, 11211

Intersection of Roebling & N 6th St
2 blocks east of the Bedford Ave L stop

Feature - New Cafe in Brooklyn! Roebling Street Open for Business

2011-07-12T14:00:37Z

After months of preparation, our new Brooklyn cafe is open for business! We've opened a new flagship espresso bar in Williamsburg, at Roebling and North 6th Street.

107 Roebling Street

Our new location is at 107 Roebling Street, right around the corner from the Bedford Ave L stop. It's a little more generously sized than our Lorimer Street and Mott Street cafes, with indoor and outdoor seating, a fully equipped training lab, and two-not-one espresso machines.

Featured Espresso, Fancy Coffees

At Roebling Street, we'll be piloting our new rotating featured espresso program. Choose either our regular Leftist Espresso or a monthly featured espresso for a single shot or any espresso drink. To kick off, we're pulling shots of the delicious Kenya Kiandu, praised in Serious Eats as "hugely juicy, lively and expansive." In months to come, we'll be featuring other single origins and custom blends.

Along with our featured espresso, we're alsoo serving our brew-to-order Clever and iced Clever coffees, along with our delicious cold brew options. Come by and give 'em a try!

Lab Sessions, Events, Classes, and More

We chose this space in part because it offered enough room for a fully-equipped training lab. In the weeks to come, we'll be offering classes, lab sessions, and other events in that space. Stay tuned for more details!

After months of preparation, our new Brooklyn cafe is open for business! We've opened a new flagship espresso bar in Williamsburg, at Roebling and North 6th Street.

107 Roebling Street

Featured Espresso, Fancy Coffees

Along with our featured espresso, we're alsoo serving our brew-to-order Clever and iced Clever coffees, along with our delicious cold brew options. Come by and give 'em a try!

Lab Sessions, Events, Classes, and More

The new cafe has plenty of indoor seating, free wifi, and a fully-equipped training lab.

Iced Coffee Brewed By The Cup Is Coming!

2011-07-01T17:39:05Z

Coming this Tuesday, July 5th in our cafes - get your favorite Featured coffee iced! You choose, we brew in our Clever dripper, right over ice.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love some cold brewed coffee, and our Guatamala Chajulense makes a sweet and refreshing cup.

But we've been scheming to bring you some other options. How about being able to get any of our featured coffees available iced, made for you immediately after ordering? Starting this Tuesday, July 5th, you can order any coffee off our Featured Menu and get it on ice - for the month of July, it'll be our Decaf Primavera, Cima del Jaguar, Finca San Luis and Kiandu. I did some tasting in the lab this week, and our method is producing some amazing results! The Finca San Luis in particular rocked my socks off.

Counting down the days!

Summer Salon & Free Cupcake Giveaway - TONIGHT!

2011-07-01T17:02:08Z

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC -- INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

THE ART:
Over 75 artists have created original works in response to a randomly assigned object for Gimme's first-ever Summer Salon. Their creations will be on display at State Street Gimme through the month of July; the public opening will be held as part of Gallery Night Ithaca.

THE CUPCAKES:
We'll be giving away hundreds of free cupcakes from our new Krums Corners Bakery. Baked fresh with local ingredients; delicious flavors like Red Velvet, Carrot & Ginger, German Chocolate, Lemon Drop, Vegan Chocolate, and more!

LIVE MUSIC & FREE COFFEE:
We'll also be featuring live music by Kites in Space, and free coffee samples to go with your cupcakes. Join the party!

Check out our Facebook invite: http://on.fb.me/kUZuOK

...With Coffee and Ice Cream for All!

2011-06-27T18:01:26Z

This Fourth of July weekend we will be offering affogatos at our State Street location. What better way to celebrate America's independence than by eating ice cream! We had such a great time serving affogatos at Cayuga Street for the Ithaca Parade that we have decided to offer them again. For those of you who missed out during the parade, an affogato is a scoop of ice cream (Purity vanilla in this case) topped by an espresso shot, it is a delicious combination. We will start serving affogatos Saturday morning and continue until we run out of ice cream. If you aren't still in a sugar coma from the cupcake giveaway the night before, come have one for breakfast! We hope to keep serving these through the holiday weekend, but if it's hot out they are going to go fast, so get over here! We will also be able to make little sundaes for the kids, so bring your whole family.

Local Barista Makes Good (Latte Art)

2011-06-22T20:59:25Z

Congratulations to our own Michael Sadler for getting 2nd place in last week's city-wide Latte Art Throwdown!

Mike was up against 9 other stellar latte artists, and brought home the silver with one of his beautiful tulips. The tulip in the photo above is not the winning one, but is an eerily similar re-production.

Wanna see more of Mike's amazing latte art? It's coming to you soon in a Meet Your Barista blog. In the meantime, if you see Mike, he's accepting high fives and applause.

Affogato - One Day Only

2011-05-30T17:33:56Z

This weekend is the Ithaca Festival, which marks the beginning of summer in our lively college town. The students are gone, causing the locals to rejoice at the amount of on street parking and reclaim the best swimming holes! The festival is four days of music and food that starts Thursday night with a parade and race down Cayuga Street, passing right in front of our original location. This year we have decided to take advantage of the massive amount of people crowded onto the street to bring you a summertime treat: the Affogato. An Affogato is a scoop of ice cream topped with a shot of espresso. It is close to heaven in a cup. We tried some last week for, um, research and found that the combination of sweet vanilla ice cream and a well extracted shot created an out of this world caramel flavor. We are so excited that thanks to a partnership with Purity Ice Cream we are able to share this with you!

Now, we don't have freezers normally in our cafes, so this is a one day special, only at our Cayuga location. From 3pm until close (or while supplies last) this Thursday (June 2nd) we will be serving this frosty treat. Come for the ice cream and stay for the parade! Keep an eye out for Team Gimme in their bright red jerseys kicking off another fundraising year.

For those of you who (gasp) do not consume coffee, we will have Sundaes available made with our house made chocolate syrup, as well as fresh squeezed lemonade. For those of you who (gasp) don't get excited for Ice Cream, we will still be offering our entire menu of coffee beverages ,including our awesome cold brewed iced coffee. See you Thursday!

New Decaf! Introducing Colombia La Primavera

2011-05-20T14:30:27Z

La Primavera is the new name of our new crop decaf from Colombia and the DESCAFECOL plant in Manizales, Colombia. If you've been enjoying the La Serrania Decaf for the past year, then you can expect to be just as satisfied by the Colombia La Primavera Decaf, which is very similar in flavor profile to La Serrania. In fact, almost everything about the Colombia La Primavera Decaf is the same as La Serrania, except for the raw green coffee. This means that we went through the same sourcing and approval process, using stringent grading protocols, and the coffee went through the same decaffeination process. The green coffee that we approved was sweet and clean, and carefully selected to undergo decaffeination at the DESCAFECOL plant. If you aren't familiar with the process, here's how it works...

We source Colombia La Primavera directly from our exporters, Virmax Café, and approve the green coffee before it is decaffeinated. This process is atypical of buying decaffeinated coffee, as roasters are usually sent samples of coffee that has already been decaffeinated. This means that the coffee was carefully screened both before and after the process, and was not just some junk coffee that was sent to slaughter because it had no redeeming qualities. No, we chose this coffee to decaffeinate based on cup quality, balance and certain flavor characteristics. Now, that's what I call a value added decaf.

Colombia La Primavera was decaffeinated by way of the solvent process. This means that the coffee was first treated with steam to cause the beans to swell and open their pores. Secondly, a solvent is introduced in order to extract the caffeine from the bean. Next, the solvent is driven out of the bean by means of steam. Finally, the coffee is dried to its initial moisture content.

The solvent process is known for keeping the integrity of the bean's flavors, aromas and cell structure intact. Still, solvent decaffeination has come under fire for appearing less gentle of a decaffeination process than the widely known Mountain Water Process. Well, fire no more. While there are many different types of solvents that can be used for decaffeination, the type that the DESCAFECOL plant uses is naturally occurring ethyl-acetate gained from sugar cane molasses. Ethyl-acetate (EA) is also naturally found in fruits and vegetables, as well as roasted coffee itself. However, since the EA used in the decaffeination process for the La Primavera comes from sugar cane molasses, around the roastery we've been referring to it as sugar decaf (ok, you can, too).

Typically, solvent processed decafs are processed in Germany and then redistributed from the decaf plant to various other parts of the world. La Primavera only traveled a few hundred kilometers to the DESCAFECOL plant in Manizales, Colombia. A Colombian coffee that is decaffeinated in Colombia? A novel idea.

There isn't much to not love about the Colombia La Primavera. Even your non-decaf drinking friends will agree that this is a solid coffee with nothing to hide. Enjoy!

Photos - Chalk Back! Closing Event 4/29

2011-04-26T22:15:56Z

An interactive exhibit created by Hallie Chase, one of our very talented baristas, has been running all month at the State Street Gimme.

View the full gallery

Earth Day 2011

2011-04-21T01:41:37Z

Everyday, Americans throw out thousands of paper coffee cups, hundreds at Gimme Coffee alone. Most of our locations compost almost everything, but that just reduces the amount of trash that heads to the landfill, it doesn't reduce the amount of energy, water, and trees used to make these cups. Here at gimme we would love to serve you coffee in a ceramic reusable cups, but we know that that isn't always possible. You have places to be! That's why we sell travel mugs and thermoses at all locations, and offer a discount for bringing them in and filling them up with the beverage of your choice. Bring in a reusable cup any day of the week, from our cafes or any others, and we will give you 35 cents off the cost of your drink. This Friday is Earth Day, and we would like to encourage you to bring in a reusable mug, and to star thinking about reusing in general. This Friday, April 22nd, if you bring in your reusable mug we will double the discount that we usually give. So bring in your reusable cup for 70 cents off of any drink on our menu. We also have a few shiny new thermoses on the shelves if you are thinking of picking up a new mug to use daily.

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for April 2011

2011-04-15T13:59:48Z

Kristen Leonard
at Gimme! Coffee Mott Street
Ink Drawings

Octomouse
at Gimme! Coffee Green Street
Drawings

Anesti Zakos
at Gimme! Coffee Cayuga Street
Painting & Sculpture

Hallie Chase (Spray Paint & Chalk) and Sean Chilson (Illustration)
at Gimme! Coffee State Street

Sarah Oros
at Gimme! Coffee Trumansburg
Photography

Brittanie Bond
at Gimme! Coffee Lorimer Street
Photography

Congratulations Erin McCarthy... NERBCBC Champ!

2011-04-11T16:36:34Z

Congratulations to Erin McCarthy for taking 1st Place in the NorthEast Regional Barista Competition Brewers Cup! Erin is our NYC Regional Trainer, though you might remember him from years back boppin' around Ithaca as our Upstate Regional Trainer, as well as Cayuga St. barista.

Erin chose to compete with our Honduras Las Peñitas, brewing it for three separate judges with a Chemex coffee maker. During his presentation, Erin described that what he liked best about this coffee and method combination was that the coffee retained its silky, full mouthfeel while being brewed though a dense filter that traditionally makes a coffee light and crisp. He mentioned that the judges should expect to taste notes of ripe tropical fruits, and even red berries. Delivering what he promised to the judges, as well as his natural charm, gave Erin the top trophy in the competition. As one judge described to me during the award ceremony, "He nailed it."

The win provides Erin with sponsored airfare and accommodations to the United States Brewers Cup held April 29th - May 1st in Houston, Texas, and, of course, bragging rights... though if you know Erin, you know his talent is derived from his heart, not his head.

Wanna learn more? Click here to watch short, fun, and informative video about the USBC Brewers Cup.

Hey, Where'd My Coffee Go?

2011-04-07T13:16:06Z

March saw a handful of our favorite coffees go out-of-stock. While I always feel a certain amount of sadness from saying good-bye to coffees that I have spent the past many months roasting, cupping, and enjoying, I like to approach the reality of out-of-stock coffees with one eye crying and one eye smiling.

When we purchase a coffee, we forecast the quantity that we will need for a certain use, whether it is for a single origin, special promotion or a blend. Whether we choose a quantity of a coffee that will remain in our inventory for 12 months, or approve a small lot that will only serve our purposes for 2 months, these coffees will eventually and inevitably achieve an out-of-stock status. Ideally, that will happen when we have an appropriate substitute for the coffee (ie. Java Blawan for Sumatra Wahana), and before it starts showing its age, that is, start to lose its sweetness and distinction. It is this latter aspect that we strive to avoid, and as such we may discontinue a product before we have an exact substitute (ie. not being able to substitute fresh crop Sumatra Wahana for past crop Sumatra Wahana).

Time takes its toll on many of life's greatest gifts, coffee being one of them. As we approach the new arrivals from the new crop season, many of last year's coffees tend to start 'showing their age'. You may already know that coffee is a seed - a seed that could germinate into another coffee plant - and as such can be stored for a long period of time before 'spoiling'. In the case of coffee, spoiling does not result in rotting. The spoiling of green coffee occurs when there is a loss of moisture, loss of organic material, and certain enzymatic changes that effect acidity. Because it is the seed of a tree and it composed mainly of cellulose, it is no surprise, then, that as coffee ages it tastes more like wood.

A coffee can start to develop notes of wood immediately after processing if it was dried incorrectly. However, the majority of Specialty grade coffees do not show notes of wood immediately off harvest, but rather later in the storage phase as the coffee ages. Natural as the aging process may be, we still attempt to keep a coffee sweet and lively for a long period of time, to satisfy the needs of our customers. Technological advancements in packaging have helped to reduce the 'aging' of a coffee. In our roastery you can find coffees that have been packaged in traditional jute bags, as well as vacuum-sealed packages, plastic lined and cotton lined bags. Neither alternate packaging will halt the aging process completely, but the result is the ability to keep a coffee's sweetness and distinctiveness 'alive' for many months more that we would otherwise be able to. Sooner or later, every coffee harvest must give way to the next crop.

Part of why I love when coffees go out-of-stock is because I can set my sights on bringing in new inventory, and focus on fresh coffee arrivals. Now happily into April, we are just about at the end of what some call 'The Dark Months' in coffee... the months in which very few new shipments arrive in our warehouse. Aside from lingering shipments of Brazil, Bolivia and some Indonesian countries, January through April brings more preshipment sample cuppings than arrival cuppings to the lab, meaning that we are sampling and (hopefully) approving coffees from current harvests that are awaiting shipment. So, while some of our favorites leave the shelves, we anticipate the arrival of many new Central American, African and Colombian coffees starting in May. Here's to change!

Back to Regular Hours

2011-03-19T00:58:56Z

Starting today all your favorite Gimme! Coffee locations are saying goodbye to cold dark days, and goodbye to shortened winter hours. We are very excited to welcome the sun and the spring back! So come on in for a coffee after dinner. Mott, Cayuga, and State street locations will be open from 7am until 9pm. Lorimer street will be open from 7am until 8pm.

Baristas Offer Relief

2011-03-15T02:51:13Z

After spending Friday morning watching the horrifying news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the manager of the Green Street cafe put this sign on the tip jar during his shift. He wanted to get the community involved so that he would be able to donate more to the emergency efforts taking place than he would be able to afford by himself. The out pouring of support was heartwarming. Not only from the customers at the cafe, but the other baristas working over the weekend: all of them donated their tips. I spent Saturday at green street and was very impressed with the amount of people who, after spending the cash in hand on their coffee, pulled out their wallet again to offer what they could to the cause. This simple sign also generated great conversations about ways to help strengthen our own community. Get to know your neighbors! It is always so beautiful to see how people can come together over a cup of coffee. These small donations added up to almost a hundred and fifty dollars in three days. This was mailed off to the Red Cross. It will add to all the other donations coming in and hopefully together make a difference. Thank you, Green Street Crew, for taking the initiative to do some good, and thank you to all the regulars who donated to the cause.

Jaguar's Hilltop

2011-03-07T17:32:13Z

2010 brought sad news to specialty coffee producers in Bolivia. At the end of July, the announcement came that Bolivia would have to withdraw from the Cup of Excellence program. The news came as Bolivia was quickly approaching peak harvest time, and specialty coffee producers had already known which selections from their crop they would set aside for the international competition. The cancellation was heartbreaking to say the least, as the Cup of Excellence program was instrumental in creating a stable and financially rewarding specialty coffee sector, and coffee quality had been steadily improving since its implementation. CoE provided a global market for the production of unique, beautiful coffees. As such, the fear now is that as the country determines the priorities of its coffee sector, the opportunity cost is the degradation of years worth of advancement, development and international aid.

Those who feared the loss of quality due to loss of premium acted quickly to purchase and secure some of the country's finest coffees. One such coffee is our newest microlot, Bolivia Cima del Jaguar. It comes to us from award winning producer Aida Titirico Hilari, who along with her husband and brother, produced 3 of the top 10 winning lots in the 2009 Cup of Excellence competition. They were favored to place just as high in 2010, before the cancellation, and I can honestly say that the odds were with them.

Cima del Jaguar means 'Jaguar's Hilltop'. Rather than the name of a specific farm, it refers to the collective group of Aida, her husband, Braulio, and her brother, Carmelo. Each family member has their own 10 hectares of land, and the coffee produced therein they keep separate. Still, they work together to market their coffee under one collective name. Each farm produces 15 to 20 bags of coffee each year, and this year we purchased the entirety of Aida's individual production, 16 bags.

Some of the most dynamic coffees I have ever tasted have come from the the Bolivian Yungas region, settled in the high elevations of the Andes. There, you can find the highest grown coffee in the world... just kissing the sky at 8,000 ft above sea level! Still, even at 6,000 ft, Aida's coffee has the kind of acidity that sparkles like precious stones, with delicate, sweet fruit notes that truly question your ideas of coffee. From the aroma of sweet florals, marzipan, honey, pumpkin and almond, to flavors of purple grape, tangerine, wintergreen, chamomile and praline... I'm going to bet that many of you have never tasted a coffee like this before. Expect this coffee to be rather light in color, as there is simply too much to highlight about it that we don't want to mask by the roasting process.

Aida is 25 years old and is a mother of 3. Her 10 hectare farm has about 4 hectares of coffee growing area of which 75% is Caturra varietal and 25% is Catuai varietal. All of her coffee is washed and sun-dried, contributing to the sweetness of the coffee. All of her coffee is also certified organic.

Next steps for Cima del Jaguar as a group: continue to produce vibrant and unique single estate coffees, and expand their operation by processing and drying their neighbors' coffee cherries. They are looking to purchasing a large mechanical drier, and expand their operation by processing close to 300 bags of coffee in 2011. We hope to continue to work with Cima del Jaguar in both capacities in the future, supporting specialty coffee producers that have limited access to specialty coffee buyers, and are interested in the development of a business model that promotes both coffee quality and transparency.

Photos - Good Food Month: That's A Wrap

2011-03-01T03:02:31Z

Gimme! Coffee just wrapped up our first ever celebration of Good Food Month. We celebrated the fact that our coffee from Finca San Luis won a Good Food Award with a month of tastings.

View the full gallery

Photos - Photos From Our First (Annual?) Roastery Tour

2011-02-22T16:31:25Z

Our first ever public roastery tour was a smashing success! We had over two hundred people attend and we all crowded into the roasting room at krums corners.

View the full gallery

Castillo and Caturra Microlots from Finca San Luis

2011-02-14T14:14:08Z

It is widely accepted that Specialty coffee has no single definition, though there is one explanation that I believe truly represents and captures the concept. In 2009, the Commercial Director of the Colombian Coffee Federation (FNC) defined a Specialty coffee as one that is "perceived and valued by consumers, one that is of character that people are willing to pay for, one that has potential." Though this definition may be broad, it also needs to be broad, as it has to satisfy the concept of something as dynamic as the global markets in which it is sold. Specialty coffees themselves are complex, and the value chain even more so. What we have to do, then, is simplify the product without underplaying this complexity. In other words, we want to highlight the various reasons that make a coffee valuable, but ultimately revel in the simplistic pleasures of taste and aroma perception. Enter: Castillo and Caturra microlots from Finca San Luis.

Following a widely successful campaign highlighting our relationship with Colombian coffee grower Omar Arango, and exporter Virmax Café, a relationship that landed us a 2011 Good Food Award, we decided to take our offerings to the next level. In December, we purchased two new very small and very delicious lots from Omar's Finca San Luis. Each lot is a single varietal from a single picking, and neither lot is over 350 lbs. Each lot has unique flavor differences that we thought were too interesting to blend together, and instead chose to keep them separate. Most importantly, each lot will be presented individually on our retail brew bars in February for you to experience.

Think of it as a fun experiment... When I sampled these two varietals from the same farm, I noticed cup character similarities and differences. I immediately thought that our employees and customers should to be able to experience them, too. They both have pronounced citric acidity, but they both have distinct structural differences (body and balance), as well as intensity in the finish. These main variances in character are because of they are different varietals.

In the scheme of global coffee production it is rare that a company is able to offer quality coffee of this caliber from the same farm with all things being equal except varietal.

There are many stages in a coffee's life-cycle, from before the point of harvest to before the point of consumption (and even beyond via feedback). When a coffee arrives in our roastery warehouse as sweet and clean as when it was originally sampled, it is no accident. We invest time, energy and resources into the sampling, packaging, shipping, storage and roasting of a high quality coffee in order to preserve and highlight its uniqueness. Very rarely are we able to minimize the effects of quality degradation at any stage in the process. Actually, to rephrase that, very rarely do companies attempt to minimize the effects of quality degradation at every stage in the process. We are lucky to have the kind of transparent relationship with Omar and Virmax that will provide the needed support and structure to ship these coffees to our warehouse without interrupting the quality.

This is a lot to value in these two Finca San Luis microlots, but most important might be that you are able to experience that world class coffees taste like in your own neighborhood. This is a great opportunity to taste two cleanly prepped varietals, experience the differences and talk about them with your favorite barista.

Enjoy!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for February 2011

2011-02-10T16:51:20Z

Kelsey Montague
at Gimme! Coffee Mott Street
Pen & Pencil Drawings
Alice Muhlback
at Gimme! Coffee Trumansburg
Paintings

Raghuram Ramanujan
at Gimme! Coffee Green Street
Photography

Renata Wadsworth (Ceramics), Stahl Caso (Mixed Media), and Tyler Barker (Wood)
at Gimme! Coffee State Street

Glen Sanders
at Gimme! Coffee Cayuga Street
Photography

Roastery Tour!

2011-02-09T18:50:12Z

Until now we've been running our roastery with the secrecy of Willy Wonkas factory, letting no one in or out. This Saturday that is all changing, and you don't need to find a golden ticket to attend! We are opening the doors to our roastery this Saturday from 2:30-4, and you are invited. This event is the end to our celebration of good food month, and we will be hosting a beer and coffee tasting. We have teamed up with Smuttynose brewery, a good food award winner, as well as Brewery Ommegang and Ithaca Beer company, our local favorites. The beer tasting will be happening on our roasting room floor, so you will be able to see and ask questions about the different roasting machines we use at gimme. You will also get to taste our award winning coffee, Finca San Luis, brewed several ways, and talk with the team responsible for sourcing and roasting all our coffee. It's going to be a great time and I hope you all can make it.

It is all happening this Saturday, February 12th. At the Gimme Roastery 3201 Krums Corners Rd, Ithaca NY, 14850. From 2:30-4pm.

Good Food Month Week 3: Pickles and Charcuterie

2011-02-03T02:31:49Z

It's Good Food Month, and we are getting ready for our third tasting: Pickles and Charcuterie!

The Good Food Awards recognize food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions. We have been hosting tastings of finalists from all seven categories all month long, culminating in a beer and coffee tasting at our roastery next week. Each Friday, at every gimme coffee espresso bar, and on Saturdays in the lab at State Street, you can try outstanding food from around the country. Last weeks' cheese and preserves tasting was a delicious success, the sweet and spicy Raspberry Habanero Jelly from HeathGlen Organic Farm was the crowd favorite! This week we have four types of pickled foods for you to try: we have Peppered Okra from Sour Puss Pickles, Purple Suerkraut from Spirit Creek, Asparagus from Tillen Farms and Dills from Real Pickles. For those of you looking forward to the meaty part of this meal we have Sweet Potato Liverwurst from Weeping Radish Farm Brewery.
We will also be brewing and sampling our Good Food Award winning Finca San Luis. If you haven't tried this coffee yet, be sure to come by! It is always clean and sweet, just as fine coffee should be.

This Friday from 5-7, stop by any of our cafes. If that time doesn't work for you, come to the presentation and tasting in the lab at the back of State Street on Saturday from 12-1. See you there!

Open Cupping: Good Food Awards

2011-01-28T01:46:38Z

Last weeks cupping and chocolate tasting was a great time. There was a good group of attendees; sampling four different chocolates, drinking Finca San Luis, and learning about the good food awards from Colleen Anunu. This week Colleen will present again! She will tell us about what it means to us to gimme and the farmers that we work with to have won a good food award. We will also learn a little bit about how coffee is usually bought and sold in Colombia, and how we found this award winning coffee. We will also be treated to some cheese and preserves that were good food finalists.

If you haven't been to a talk by Colleen, it is not an opportunity to miss. Colleen buys all of our coffee, and travels to several farms a year. She is a great resource for all things coffee and all things gimme. This talk and tasting will be held in the lab at the back of state street gimme, this Saturday the 29th, from 12-1 pm. The event is free, open to everyone, and part of our celebration of good food month. I hope you can make it.

Good Food Month Week 2: Cheese and Preserves

2011-01-26T17:43:25Z

It's Good Food Month, and we are getting ready for our second tasting: Cheese and Preserves!

The Good Food Awards recognize food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions. We are hosting tastings of finalists from all seven categories all month long, culminating in a beer and coffee tasting at our roastery. Each Friday, at every gimme coffee espresso bar, and on Saturdays in the lab at State Street, you can try outstanding food from around the country. Last week's chocolate tasting was a delicious success, featuring four superb chocolates. Some were salty, some were fruity and one was spicy, which kept everyone on their toes. It was easy to taste why these were award wining products. For this weeks tasting we have cheese from Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese, and preserves from HeathGlen Organic Farm and Elllelle Kitchen. We will also be brewing and sampling out our Good Food Award winning Finca San Luis. If you haven't tried this coffee yet, be sure to come by! It is always clean and sweet, just as fine coffee should be.

This Friday from 5-7, stop by any of our cafes. If that time doesn't work for you, come to the presentation and tasting in the lab at the back of State Street on Saturday from 12-1. See you there!

Open Cupping: Good Food Awards

2011-01-21T17:14:51Z

At tomorrow's open cupping we have a special treat planned: Colleen Anunu, gimme coffee's director of coffee, will be talking about her trip to the Good Food award ceremony in San Franciso, and about her various trips to Colombia sourcing coffee. This presentation will happen in the lab at State Street during the normal open cupping time, from 12-1. This will be a great time to learn a little more about the process of buying coffee, what goes into sourcing excellent coffee and what it means to be a Good Food Award winner. We will be brewing our award winning Finca San Luis, and also have chocolates for tasting that are Good Food Award Finalists.

See you tomorrow, Saturday January 22nd, at the lab in the back of State Street at noon!

We've Won!!!

2011-01-20T19:52:00Z

Months of anticipation finally came to a close this past weekend, as Gimme! Coffee was announced a 2011 Good Food Award winner! Our Colombia Finca San Luis was given this top honor among 70 other food and beverage products on January 14th at the renowned Ferry Building in San Francisco, CA. Stay tuned for a full digest of the award ceremony and Good Food Marketplace. In the meantime, feel free to take part in our month long celebration of Good Food Month.

Congratulations to all winners! And congratulations to those in our Colombia Finca San Luis supply chain: producer Omar Arango, exporter Virmax Café, importer Caravela Coffee, and all of you who support Relationship Coffee at its finest. Cheers!

Good Food Month Week 1: Coffee And Chocolate

2011-01-20T17:43:32Z

To kick off Good Food Month all Gimme! Coffee locations will be hosting a Chocolate and Coffee tasting. We will be showcasing our Good Food Award winning coffee, Finca San Luis, and chocolate samples from several Good Food Award finalists. The Good Food Awards recognize food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions. The tastings will be happening at every Gimme Coffee location this Friday, January 21st, from 5-7pm. We will be brewing Clever Cups of Finca San Luis for you to try, a very nice coffee from Colombia, that has nice sweet floral and fruity notes that are very well balanced by a rich full body. We also be sharing chocolate samples from Good Food Finalists from around the country with you. This is a great chance to try some outstanding chocolate that might not be available at the local grocery store. We have samples from Vice Chocolates in Oakland, Poco Dolce in San Francisco, Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Co in Nashville, and Mindo Chocolate Makers in Ann Arbor. These are considered some of the best chocolates in the country and we are very excited to share them with you.

All month long we are doing tastings at all of our espresso bars from 5-7 on Fridays. I hope you can come to all or some of our events celebrating good food.

Feature - Celebrate Good Food Month and Colombia Finca San Luis!

2011-01-07T17:32:48Z

Updated January 2011

WE WON! Colombia Finca San Luis was named a Good Food Award winner at the January 14 ceremony, making it one of the top 10 coffees in the nation! Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

We're proud to announce that our Colombia Finca San Luis is a Good Food Award Finalist! That means it's been recognized by a panel of expert judges as tasty, authentic, and responsibly produced. We're proud of the Finca San Luis, and proud to be a part of the Good Food Awards mission. So we're celebrating Good Food Month in style! Join us for free tastings, labs, and our first-ever public roastery tour!

Celebrate Good Food Month With Us!

The Good Food Awards are sponsoring a nation-wide celebration of winners and finalists. We're participating with a series of free tastings, labs, and roastery tours. Each week, we'll focus on a different category of winners, with an in-store tasting on Fridays and a guided lab on Saturdays. We'll wrap up the month with a roastery tour and beer tasting!

Free Public Tasting: Coffee & Chocolate

Friday 1/21, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Coffee & Chocolate

Saturday 1/22, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY
With a presentation by Colleen Anunu, Gimme's Director of Coffee

Free Public Tasting: Cheese & Preserves

Friday 1/28, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Cheese & Preserves

Saturday 1/29, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY

Free Public Tasting: Pickles & Charcuterie

Friday 2/4, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Pickles & Charcuterie

Saturday 2/5, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY

Free Roastery Tour & Beer Tasting

Saturday 2/12, 2:30-4pm, at the Gimme! Roastery, 3201 Krums Corners Rd, Ithaca NY

All events are free and open to the public. Come to one, some, or all the events, and enjoy good food all month long!

The Good Foods Mission

The Good Food Award is an innovative program that recognizes both quality and responsible production. As they put it:

For a long time, certifications for responsible food production and awards for superior taste have remained distinct -- one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates flavor. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food -- the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities -- contains all of these ingredients. We take a comprehensive view, honoring people who make food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions.

Their mission corresponds closely with our own, and we're proud to be one of five regional finalists selected by their expert jury!

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Last year, our Director of Coffee, Colleen Anunu, traveled to Colombia and kicked off a relationship with Finca San Luis and its owner, Omar Arango. The coffee he's sent us embodies almost everything that we, and the Good Food Awards, look for in a quality food. Colleen explains that Finca San Luis is...

Authentic and responsibly produced. Omar took the time to pick and process only ripe cherries, tracking and separating each picking lot through to the milling period, allowing for individual microlot identity. He also went through the process of certifying his farm Organic.
Responsibly sourced and traded. We worked with exporters Virmax Café to determine a fair price that covered all of Omar's costs, then added a premium for the cup quality. We even prefinanced Omar's harvest so he could afford to take the time to produce better coffee.
Tastes amazing. It has notes of fresh fruit from the nose to the finish, and is juicy, sweet and balanced. The cup quality is the initial qualifier to be a Finalist in Good Food Awards, and Finca San Luis was chosen by a panel of judges out of more than 150 other coffee entries.

It's almost too bad that only this microlot from Finca San Luis can be qualified as a Finalist for the Good Food Awards, as we have more microlots on the way from Omar, all of exceptional quality and all responsibly produced, sourced and traded.

Updated January 2011

WE WON! Colombia Finca San Luis was named a Good Food Award winner at the January 14 ceremony, making it one of the top 10 coffees in the nation! Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

Celebrate Good Food Month With Us!

Free Public Tasting: Coffee & Chocolate

Friday 1/21, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Coffee & Chocolate

Saturday 1/22, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY
With a presentation by Colleen Anunu, Gimme's Director of Coffee

Free Public Tasting: Cheese & Preserves

Friday 1/28, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Cheese & Preserves

Saturday 1/29, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY

Free Public Tasting: Pickles & Charcuterie

Friday 2/4, 5-7pm, at all Gimme locations

Free Lab: Pickles & Charcuterie

Saturday 2/5, 12-1pm, at the State Street Training Lab, Ithaca NY

Free Roastery Tour & Beer Tasting

Saturday 2/12, 2:30-4pm, at the Gimme! Roastery, 3201 Krums Corners Rd, Ithaca NY

All events are free and open to the public. Come to one, some, or all the events, and enjoy good food all month long!

The Good Foods Mission

The Good Food Award is an innovative program that recognizes both quality and responsible production. As they put it:

For a long time, certifications for responsible food production and awards for superior taste have remained distinct -- one honors social and environmental responsibility, while the other celebrates flavor. The Good Food Awards recognize that truly good food -- the kind that brings people together and builds strong, healthy communities -- contains all of these ingredients. We take a comprehensive view, honoring people who make food that is delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions.

Their mission corresponds closely with our own, and we're proud to be one of five regional finalists selected by their expert jury!

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Authentic and responsibly produced. Omar took the time to pick and process only ripe cherries, tracking and separating each picking lot through to the milling period, allowing for individual microlot identity. He also went through the process of certifying his farm Organic.
Responsibly sourced and traded. We worked with exporters Virmax Café to determine a fair price that covered all of Omar's costs, then added a premium for the cup quality. We even prefinanced Omar's harvest so he could afford to take the time to produce better coffee.
Tastes amazing. It has notes of fresh fruit from the nose to the finish, and is juicy, sweet and balanced. The cup quality is the initial qualifier to be a Finalist in Good Food Awards, and Finca San Luis was chosen by a panel of judges out of more than 150 other coffee entries.

Buy Now

Colombia Finca San Luis
Microlot

Photos

Grown With Care at Finca San Luis

Poster Free events for Good Foods Month

Other Pages

Winter Hours: 7-7

2011-01-07T16:02:56Z

Ah winter, it starts getting dark at 4pm and it's too cold to leave your house after dinner. Not a season that inspires frequent short trips, even to our favorite places. So, fitting to the season, most Gimme! Coffee locations will be closing a little bit early for these next few cold winter months. We will still be here, with hot coffee, bright and early to help you get to work on these frozen mornings, but will be closing up just a little early so we can get home and barricade ourselves against the elements.

From now until March 17th, St. Patrick's day, all gimme stores will be closing at 7 except for our Green Street location in Ithaca. Green will still be open until nine for those of you brave enough to fight the snow for a great cup of coffee.

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for January 2011

2011-01-01T21:24:49Z

Ant Walach
at Cayuga Street Gimme! Coffee Jan Aguirre

at Green Street Gimme! Coffee

Photography

Noah Hyleck
at Lorimer Street Gimme! Coffee
Ink/Etchings

Cly Boehs

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

Pen and ink coffee-themed cartoons

Sam Sveen
at State Street Gimme! Coffee
Mixed media

David Cook
at Lorimer Street Gimme! Coffee

Free Shots To Ring In The New Year

2010-12-31T21:44:43Z

Congratulations and welcome to 2011. I hope you had a lovely time ringing in the new year with style. It is the one night of the year where people are practically required by law to stay up past their bedtime. Do you know what brightens up a sleepy hungover Saturday? Espresso. Lots of espresso. Lucky for you, smiling baristas will be happy to serve you a free shot of espresso at all gimme coffee locations on New Years Day. Upstate will be open from 9-3 and our New York City area espresso bars will be open from 11-5. This special offer is for one shot per person (no hanging out all day) and for stand alone espresso (no you may not add the shot to your cappuccino). If you love espresso, then this will be a great day for you. If you are not a usual espresso drinker, then there is no better way to start of the year than by trying something new.

Also, as an added bonus for State Street customers, the open cupping tomorrow will be replaced by open shot pulling. I will be back in the Lab from 12-1 pulling shots of Piccolo Mondo, our organic espresso blend. Come try both shots, or just the one you don't get every day if too much caffeine worries you. This will also be a great time to answer any espresso extraction questions you may have if you are a home barista. If you are a regular but have no idea what we baristas "are doin back there" this will be a chance for you to see all the tiny steps that go into a perfect shot of espresso.

Cheers and see you tomorrow!

Good Food Awards

2010-12-20T15:33:54Z

We're pleased to announce that we've been selected as a Finalist for the inaugural Good Food Awards, a pioneering initiative that grants awards to outstanding American food producers and the farmers that provide the ingredients. We were selected as a Finalist in the Coffee category for our Colombia Finca San Luis, a coffee project that we have been involved with over the course of the past 12 months with producer Omar Arango and exporters Virmax Café.

Colombia Finca San Luis embodies almost everything that we, and the Good Food Awards, look for in a quality food product:

The coffee is authentic and responsibly produced. Omar took the time to pick and process only ripe cherries, tracking and separating each picking lot through to the milling period, allowing for individual microlot identity. He also went through the process of certifying his farm Organic. Omar had been producing Organic and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee with the producer group Cafenorte Orgánico for many years, but needed his own certifications in order to sell his coffee directly to us.
Finca San Luis is responsibly sourced and traded. We worked with exporters Virmax Café to determine the farm gate price of the coffee, which includes all production costs from picking labor, to weed control costs, to drying, to crop loss, etc. Once the base price was established, we then determined the added premium for the cup quality based on a numeric grading system. We even prefinanced Omar's harvest so that he could pay immediate production costs, while taking the time to produce higher quality coffee.
Finca San Luis is an ambassador for Colombian coffee. That's my way of saying that this coffee tastes amazing. It has notes of fresh fruit from the nose to the finish, and is juicy, sweet and balanced. The cup quality is the initial qualifier to be a Finalist in Good Food Awards, and Finca San Luis was chosen by a panel of judges out of more than 150 other coffee entries. It's too bad that only this microlot from Finca San Luis can be qualified as a Finalist for the Good Food Awards, as we have more microlots on the way from Omar... all of exceptional quality and all responsibly produced, sourced and traded.

The winners of the Good Food Awards will be announced on January 14th, 2011 at the Good Food Awards Ceremony in San Francisco, California. Following the ceremony, there will be a an entire Good Food Month celebrating all winners from the categories of coffee, chocolate, charcuterie, pickles, preservatives, cheese and beer. Interested in tasting winning products from all categories, weekly presentations and a roastery tour? Stay tuned for more information about how Gimme! Coffee plans on celebrating Good Food Month, the Good Food Awards and Finca San Luis!

Open Cupping: Home Brew Kit

2010-12-16T20:22:17Z

This weekend at the open cupping we will be looking at ways to brew great coffee at home. It's amazing how little changes (like grinding fresh) can make an huge improvement on your morning cup. We will be focusing on how to get awesome results with the Skerton Grinder and Clever Dripper. We are offering a bundle deal on these if you buy them in our stores: the grinder, dripper and filters for just sixty bucks. So if you have been thinking about upgrading your home morning routine, or need a holiday gift, now is the time to get this set. If you are on the fence about changing how you brew, or have any trouble shooting questions, then this is a great lab to come to!

We will brew a lot with the clever, but I have many different ways to brew available in the lab, and I sure drink a lot of coffee at home. So, if you have any questions about brewing with a press pot or stove top espresso maker we can certainly make coffee that way too. We will be brewing the Las Peñitas, my current favorite coffee. Hope to see you Saturday at noon in the lab in the back of State St. Gimme Coffee.

Photos -

2010-12-06T15:41:19Z

After 3 years of working with the coffee from Fazenda Santo André, it was time to make the trek out to western Minas Gerais, on the cusp of Cerrado, to meet the skilled hands that grow and process the coffee.

View the full gallery

Photos - Grown With Care at Finca San Luis

2010-11-30T21:49:22Z

Omar Arango has been growing and milling coffee for years at his small farm, Finca San Luis.

View the full gallery

Gift Boxes Ship Free Starting Today

2010-11-16T18:37:58Z

Just in time for holiday meals and get-togethers, gift boxes will be for sale online beginning today and ship for free anywhere in the U.S.A. Sales in stores will begin Monday, November 22.

There are 3 excellent gift box choices this year. The Blends box includes Leftist, Mocha Java and Piccolo Mondo. The Limited Edition Box features Honduras Cup of Excellence, Colombia Finca San Luis and Sumatra Wahana. The Mug box contains 2 Diner Mugs, 1 bag of El Salvador Altamira and 1 bag of Brazil Santa Clara. All gift sets come in a shiny red box with our logo on the front.

Photos - Dial E For Espresso

2010-11-13T01:17:32Z

It’s 2:00 pm on a Wednesday afternoon in lower Manhattan, and Erin K. is getting ready for his closing shift. His first task is to “dial in”, which means adjusting the grind particle size so that his shots have the correct visual parameters, and of course, taste awesome.

View the full gallery

Gimme Art: November 2010

2010-11-05T18:38:21Z

Nat Lakin; Brandon Schmitt; Kristine Heiney
at State St. Gimme! Coffee

506 W. State Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Sandra Strayer

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street

New York, NY 10012

Themina Kader
at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Stahl Caso
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street

Trumansburg, NY 14886

Sean Gannon
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee

430 N. Cayuga Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Trust Third-Party Verification

2010-11-02T14:27:01Z

Our cup runneth over! In the Annual Best of Manhattan and Beyond Edition in this week's New York Press, we were bestowed their award for Best Baristas. Specifically, they mention the good people over at Lorimer Street:

"You need to know that your barista might hate you."

Now, wait a minute... We are lovers not haters. Like a typical family, we may think about pulling your hair or grabbing your toys from time to time, but deep down it's 99.9% love.

"Pulling espresso shots can be a thankless job that requires all the nuance and skill of being a bartender, but with less gratitude, leaving most baristas in a state of general saltiness. As you sit a few feet away from them, working on your screenplay, they are banging their scoops and making little spades atop your latte, waiting to get home and work with Pro Tools until sunrise. This is what makes the baristas at Gimme! so un-objectionable. In fact, between Marta the bike punk girl, Alex the band kid, Joe the long-haired California dude, Mike the DJ and Elia, the guy who's good with computers and holds the place together, the baristas at Gimme! aren't just un-objectionable, but welcoming, which wouldn't be as big a deal if they weren't also making the best espresso drinks in the borough."

While it feels great to hear we're the best, what's most important to us is that we get better and better over time. If you happen to disagree, or if you care to offer some suggestions on how to improve, please submit feedback online so we have a clue.

Best baristas are a reflection of interesting, enthusiastic customers. Thank you for your patronage.

Meet Your Barista: Laura Preston

2010-10-25T17:26:27Z

The lovely Laura Preston has been delivering delicious cappuccinos to the Mott Street masses since June of 2009. Her coffee of choice is our Ethiopia Amaro, or maybe a gibraltar made with organic milk...

NYU pulled this serious foodie and art enthusiast to the big apple all the way from the great state of Texas. When not working or schooling, Laura can be found cooking, eating, biking, painting, or parking it in a park. We heart you Laura P.

Where We Sit While They Drive the Market

2010-10-23T13:05:42Z

This past Monday marked the beginning of the National Coffee Association's Fall Education Conference. For me, it began with an instructional cupping at one of the most important locations for coffee in the world: the Coffee and Cocoa Grading Room of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). It is in this room where coffee is evaluated based on Exchange grade standards, where it can either become certified stock against C contracts, or fall short of expectation, diminishing world supply. Ironically, the course for which I was assistant instructing was a tutorial on evaluating Specialty grade coffee.

"What's the difference between Exchange grade and Specialty grade," you ask? These days, anywhere from $.30 - $2.00. But seriously, the main difference is quality. In Exchange grade coffee you can find up to 23 defects per sample, and as long as the coffee is essentially 'sound', of adequate color and odor-free, it can be tendered. Specialty grade, on the other hand, must have 0 primary defects, and score 80 points or above based on fragrance, taste, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, cleanliness, and uniformity. In other words, Specialty coffees are highly scrutinized, and found in much smaller quantity than the millions of pounds of Exchange grade stock that are certified each year.

Millions of pounds of Exchange grade stock... and yet as global coffee consumption grows and weather patterns remain adverse to crop yields and deliverablilty, the supply of certified stock is lacking. The limited supply of tenderable washed mild coffees is not only causing the staggering minute by minute fluctuations in the price of the C contract that you read about in the news, but it is also forcing unprecedented action from the ICE board to increase the world supply of certified stock- namely, with the consideration of bringing washed and semi-washed Brazilian coffees into the mix. So we are left to think, in the face of the current problems of commodity coffee, what is the future of quality coffee?

From the left: Jonathan White, Christian Wolthers, John Meyer, Jon Stefenson

I was recently told by a supplier, "Buy this coffee now, or it will be gone by Monday. There is nothing left in Brazil." Well, Christian Wolthers, CEO of Wolthers America, a green coffee importer promoting Brazilian estates, testified to this as he presented the current state of the Brazilian green coffee market. Mr. Wolthers reported that as of July 30, 2010, Brazil had a historic 0 bag carry over from the previous crop year. He anticipates that in July 2011, Brazil will only have a 1 million bag carry over, and in July 2012 we should anticipate an 8 million bag deficit. He credited the steady 4 - 5% annual increase in internal consumption and the biennial short crop in 2012 for that deficit.

Meanwhile, John Meyer, VP of the Coffee Division of ADM Investor Services, and active member of the ICE US Coffee committee, indicated that due to low plant and harvest productivity, along with unfavorable weather conditions, the Colombian crop has been steadily decreasing over the past 2 years to the tune of 35%. It was speculated that in the next 2 years, the Colombian crop will not produce the 10 - 11 million bags needed to supply the world market. Colombia, the panel concurred, has no clear recovery in sight, regardless of the promises of the Colombian Coffee Federation.

The steady decline of ICE certified stock and anticipated short yields caused C futures to rise above $2.00 on Thursday, in part as a response to the discussion of this panel. Within a few short hours, the news hit that arabica coffee will be in tight supply throughout 2011, and we saw the market jump $.05 Tuesday, $.06 more on Wednesday... and it kept climbing throughout the rest of the week.

So, regardless of the quality discussion, you might be asking yourself this question: What's going to happen to the cost of coffee in general in the coming months? It mainly depends on supply, how strong the dollar is, and also knowing exactly who will be participating. Who indeed. "We're the insiders," said Jon Stefenson, Director of Marketing at Atlantic (USA) Inc., referring to us actual coffee people, "and we have no idea why the market is up or down. Speculators are more than half of the market now." That is, in the day to day trading of coffee contracts, over 50% of the participants are outsiders who will never have physical involvement with the coffee. These people use the volatility of the market, and live in the face of risk in order to make a buck. Needless to say, they aren't concerned with the physical quality of the coffee.

What about supply? As stated above, it doesn't look likely that supplies will increase by any substantial amount, although the fly crop from Colombia, as well as the early spring production from Central American countries, will ease prices slightly for a short period of time. While it was initially anticipated that Guatemala will produce over 4 million bags this year, the dramatic effects of last May's tropical storm and volcanic eruption has created temporary infrastructure problems. However, the early rains from the storm are likely to have increased production in neighboring El Salvador, and those infrastructure problems are likely to be solved by the harvest. What is also in favor is that Honduras's steady increase in production over the past few years is anticipated to finally surpass 4 million bags.

Moving past June 2011, however, the world will be looking to Brazil to gauge the efficiency of their yields and the possibility of their future in the C market. Currently, Brazilian coffee cannot be tendered to the C contract, as the C contract is a 'washed mild contract', and 90% of Brazil's production is naturally processed coffee. The proposal of tendering washed and semi-washed Brazilian coffee is now at the hands of the ICE board, and camps on both sides of the debate await the decision. Some anticipate a slight loosening of the tight supply, while others anticipate an utter flood... substantially easing the risk of investment, at which time those 'outsiders' will leave the game as quickly as they came in, causing prices to tank.

Given the instability of faceless Exchange grade coffee (not even Specialty coffee), is it any wonder that we invest in quality the way we do? Oren Bloostein said it right: the enemy of high quality is low price. Still, so are artificially high prices. Why do more work than your neighbor and get paid the same? Directly communicating the need for quality, meeting the costs of production and paying stable premiums are the only ways to ensure a constant and consistent supply in the future. In the Specialty industry, there is no better hedge. Because when prices come down, and they will, we don't want to be in the backseat of what's currently driving the market.

Photos - One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

2010-10-21T15:37:18Z

You all know the game we played in the lab last last month and the song that goes with it: it's the simple act of picking the one item in a group that is different. In the coffee world we call this type of tasting challenge "Triangulation" and there are both national and world wide competitions to determine who can best identify the odd one out.

View the full gallery

From Jam To Conference, The MANE Grows Up

2010-10-13T21:52:05Z

I spent this past weekend at the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Artisan Coffee Conference in Rhode Island, and came back inspired and excited. If you work in coffee anywhere from Maine to DC, look up this event next year - it's completely worth it.

There I am in the picture above, chatting with coffee friends and eating real deal Rhode Island local apples. I met these friends in 2006 when, as a barista and trainer, I was lucky enough to attend the first ever Mid-Atlantic/Northeast gathering, which back then was dubbed a "barista jam". Traditionally, "barista jam" is coffee industry vernacular for a loose gathering of (mostly) baristas and (some) coffee industry folk, who come together in a no-big-deal, laid-back kind of way to share knowledge, learn new ideas and meet other people in coffee. The general idea is, if we as coffee professionals gather together, we can learn from each other and thus expand our pursuit of excellence in coffee.

The MANE has been going above and beyond the laid-back "barista jam" model, and reflected this by changing the name of the 2010 event to the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Artisan Coffee Conference. As Sarah Allen of Barista Magazine wrote on her blog: "baby's all grown up now". What a perfect sentiment. Going further, I see that the growth and maturity of this conference is a direct reflection of how these regions have grown and matured over the past few years.

The MANE organizers, Gerra Harrigan (of New Harvest Coffee Roasters) and Troy Reynard (of Cosmic Cup Coffee Company) were smart enough to recognize the upper-mid East Coast's desire for an affordable weekend of structured coffee education, and talented enough to pull it off, hosting 150 baristas over three days. They invited industry heavy hitters to give talks, structuring actual classes, and set up a program that included classes on milk chemistry, a discussion and tasting of alternative brew methods, a course in espresso machine technology, and a panel on traveling to origin.

Though still barista-focused (indeed, baristas were those most heavily in attendance), this conference included many folks in other parts of the industry - greens buyers, techs, trainers and importers. For me, the most exciting and inspiring part was that most of those people started out as baristas - and a lot of them were baristas when I met them only four years ago! Every one of them has kept coffee the focus of their career, and most have moved to other parts of the coffee industry - whether as trainer, greens buyer, or technician.

We learned about by the cup brewing methods from Jay Caragay and Devlin Rice of Spro coffee in the Hamden neighborhood of Baltimore (any John Waters fans out there?). We were able to really optimize our time on Saturday, as the organizers had the classes follow two separate tracks: manager and barista. For example, while both baristas and managers learned about by-the-cup brew methods, the manager class added a dollars and cents analysis.

During this conference, I realized how young the Specialty Coffee industry is, and was also struck by how quickly it has matured; it hasn't even been 10 years since coffee professionals began taking baristas more seriously, and it's only been 5 years since Barista Magazine published its first issue! So much has happened around the world in specialty coffee since that first publication, so much growth and knoweldge sharing - it's incredible. This reflection renews my hope for future change in the industry, because I'm reminded that we have always been re-creating and redefining what it means to be Specialty/Artisanal Coffee. Thanks again to Gerra, Troy and all the volunteers and speakers for a great event! See you next year!

Finca San Luis Blows Minds For A Living

2010-10-07T02:43:52Z

Finca San Luis has been breaking hearts and taking names all over the Gimme family. Organic and shade grown, it's also one of our Relationship coffees. Our Director of Coffee, Colleen met with producer Omar Arango in late 2009 - read about her trip here.

This coffee has been blowing my mind! The fragrance of honey perfume and cherries gives way to a verdant wet aroma full of stone fruit and post-rainstorm rose gardens. The taste hits all parts of my mouth at first sip, and the flavors combine with a balance equal to its complexity. I get black cherries, lavender, vanilla and purple fruit - lovely sweet and handsome tart. My first taste reminded me of how a coffee mentor had once described a good shot of espresso: it should taste like a symphony - each taste component adding to the whole in a crescendo, working together, recognizable separately but as a sum, becoming bigger.

I've been able to cup this coffee six times in the past three weeks - because It's one of our featured coffees this month, I've been cupping it with baristas in the Training Lab.

But you get to taste it, too! Another benefit of having it be a featured coffee is that we're brewing it up every day, to order, on our Clever drippers. If you brew at home and buy a bag of any of our featured coffees, you get a free pour-over to drink!

Go get yours!

Gimme Art: October 2010

2010-10-05T15:10:20Z

Lauren Barnett

at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee
495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Laura Preston

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Tim Angell / Ellie Hall Minnis

at State St. Gimme! Coffee

506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Jessica Guido

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee
131 E. Green Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

James Rosado

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Timothy Mike

at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

End Roast Profiling... Start Profile Roasting!

2010-10-04T17:48:31Z

When it comes to coffee purchasing, there exists a horrible affliction called Roast Profiling, a mental disease that leads to wrongful assumptions about cup character based on 'roast level'. If your buying decisions have ever been swayed by the words light, dark, or medium, before even learning what the flavor profile of a coffee is... well, then I'm afraid you've been diagnosed positive. We're in this together though, as we have paired our coffees with roast level in such a way, and for so long, that even our own purchasing behavior has been located deeply within its paradigmatic grasp... and we never even knew it. As coffee purveyors we are also educators. In the past we have trained our customers to locate and identify the roast level of a coffee, using it as the determining factor in a purchasing decision. Our longtime retail customers can remember our dichotomy of offerings as Featured Roast and Daily Brew, the darker and the lighter offerings respectively. We have asked you to become experts on the subject, really. Well, there is much more to coffee than its roast level, so it's now our duty to step up and educate beyond the color scheme.

Before going any further, let me offer that whether it's a bright acidity or bitter finish that's desirable to you, you are never wrong about what your preferences are. No one is. Taste is one of our most personal senses, as we cannot taste from a distance the way that we see or hear. No, a person is not wrong when it comes to taste, but they can be more informed about what it is that they taste and why they taste it. We're here to educate on this point, so keep this thought in mind as you read on.

A coffee's 'roast level' or 'roast degree' is often thought of as the color tint, how dark or light a coffee is. Color, although it is quantifiable and measured by the reflectance of light of the coffee's surface, is neither universally accepted nor indicative of a coffee's flavor. We often assume that the darker the coffee is, the stronger the brew is. In many cases, this is true, as darker roasted coffee tends to have more solubility and the resulting extraction is more saturated. However, if all coffees are extracted properly, the level of roast of the coffee used in the resulting brew doesn't matter. What does matter are the indicated flavor profile and cup characteristics, and trusting your own taste preferences. Because when it comes down to it, relying on color or roast level hardly provides an informed assessment of coffee flavor.

In reality, there are over 1,000 different aromatic and flavor compounds in roasted coffee, making it possibly the most complex food in your kitchen. Compressing that complexity into 4 or 5 categories of 'roast level' is perhaps the fastest way to dumb down an articulate, quality product to educated consumers. What I want to convey here is this: when it comes to offering properly roasted, high quality coffee, roast levels are arbitrary and have no place in their presentation.

In its most simplistic definition, roasting is the process by which the coffee seed is made edible for consumption. The roasting process is the means to the end, and in the end there should be no premeditated dark or light roasts, but only these 3 possibilities:

The coffee is too underdeveloped, flavors taste vegetal
The coffee is properly developed, flavors are revealed and highlighted
The coffee is degraded, nuances masked by improper and over roasting

Of course, all of this has little meaning without the context of the quality of the green coffee (coffee seed) itself. If the quality of the green coffee is poor, then all that 'proper development' will do is highlight the intrinsic negative characteristics of the coffee (defects and the off tastes of cellulose). If the green coffee is of high quality and has complexity, uniqueness, balance and sweetness, then it is the roaster's job to develop, reveal and highlight these characteristics.

If you think about it, the road to roast level ideology was paved long ago by the marketing giants at major commercial coffee operations (your basic grocery store coffees) and their products don't taste very good. Why? One reason is that these operations race-to-the-bottom for cheap, commodity grade coffee, with poor flavor, thus necessitating the need to mask the negative characteristics by way of over roasting. So, it is in possibility #3, the degradation and masking for flavors, where all of the big name commercial, and some smaller roasters who follow suit, are constantly and consistently located. This is the main reason why roast levels are so pervasive in our ideas of coffee - the coffee is bad to begin with.

In the world of Specialty and boutique coffee, however, there is no place for roast level, only proper development. As pioneer George Howell says, "If the duck is delicious, why smother it in sauce."

At the Gimme roastery, manual Profile Roasting - finding the correct time and temperature curve for a coffee in order to reveal the beautiful aromatics and flavor nuances of a coffee - is what we obsess over day after day. Finding the correct profile for a coffee takes a skilled mind, and achieving that same profile small batch by small batch takes a skilled hand. We roast each batch of coffee manually, using time and temperature, smell, sight, sound and taste as our guides. Whether or not the properly developed roast has a color tint lighter or darker than another is quite beside to the goal. We can roast the same coffee two different ways (two different profiles), but to the same color specification, and we end up having two drastically different results.

So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you (yes, you) are 100% above choosing coffees based on roast degrees and color tints alone. Starting October 4th, 2010, in an effort to End Roast Profiling, we will slowly phase out the use of roast level indicators on our product packaging. Instead, we will focus on emphasizing the flavor characteristics of each coffee product. The coffee inside the bag will be the same coffee you've been enjoying, but you'll just know more about what you taste. Go on... trust your preferences, you're never wrong.

To understand more about what you taste and why you taste it, we invite you to attend our weekly free cupping on Saturdays in our State St. store (coming soon to Brooklyn!!).

NEW! 12oz Coffee Bags!

2010-10-04T14:11:26Z

You've been asking for a smaller sized bag, and now we've got it! Starting today, all our coffees are available in a new 12oz size. Besides being awfully cute, these bags are smarter in a few ways. With these new bags, it's easier for you to ...

Stock Up and Home Brew! 12oz bags make about 25 cups of coffee. That means you can get exactly the right amount to feed your daily habit.
Try New Coffees! If you've been wanting to shake up your routine, here's your chance! 12oz bags are an affordable way to try the newest from all our favorite farms, like Panama Hartmann Honey (not to mention the Honduras Cup of Excellence winner coming soon)!
Drink Fresher Longer! Coffee beans lose their flavor and sparkle about ten days after the roast. Smaller bags mean fresher beans, and more flavor for you. Check out the roast date on the top of the bag!
Find Your Flavor, Not Your Dots! We don't roast by color; instead, we develop individual roast profiles for each coffee. Along with these new bags, we're phasing out roast dots in favor of flavor notes, so you can pick a coffee you'll love.

Got questions? Love the new bags? Miss the old ones? Drop us a line at gimmecoffee.com/feedback, and we'll get back to you!

Photos - Latte Art How To: Part 2 - Rosetta

2010-09-30T02:08:27Z

Ah, the Rosetta. That beautiful, balanced, delicate and complex design that you often see on the top of your Latte. We call it a Rosetta, not a Christmas tree or fern, and it is done with just a flick of the wrist. There are no tools, stamps, or tricks involved. Just a learned method and lots of practice. Now that you have mastered perfect milk, I'll show you how to pour it.

View the full gallery

What is Relationship Coffee?

2010-09-23T16:47:24Z

If you've browsed our offering list in any capacity, you've no doubt noticed the emblems that we assign to different coffee. Some of these icons, such as Rainforest Alliance and Organic, are general third party certifications for commodity products, such as coffee, cocoa, etc. Some others, such as Relationship Coffee and Microlots, are representative of specific purchasing practices at Gimme that add value to the coffee you're buying. If you look on our website, you can see that our most concise definition of Relationship Coffee is this:

Relationship coffee is a model of coffee trading where roasters and producers work together to establish a long-term trading partnership. This relationship can continue over many years, and is insulated against the fluctuations of international commodities markets. The trading process is transparent; farmers gain bargaining power through knowledge, and receive a fair price that is not vulnerable to commodity market fluctuations.

I realize that this brief explanation might be a little confusing to those who don't know the way in which almost all coffee is traded, that is, daily on the Intercontinental Exchange. Here's how that works...

We usually refer to the Intercontinental Exchange as the Commodities Market, 'C' Market, or simply as New York (NY), as in "Today NY is trading at $1.xx for December." Being that we are now in the month of September, you can see that coffee contracts are bought and sold months in advance of delivery. Typically, the daily price of those future contracts fluctuate based on the speculation of what the production output will be from a few big coffee producing countries, namely Colombia and Brazil. Speculators look to a myriad of external influences on coffee production, such as weather patterns, for these crop yield predictions. If there appears to be a shortage of coffee, the competition for contracts becomes more fierce, and thus the price for the contracts increases. Of course, it's more complicated that just this, but at least you can see how coffee prices respond to the basic principles of supply and demand.

Not all coffee is traded at the base daily fluctuating price, some coffees are traded at a higher differential, some at lower. While our contracts for our high quality coffees are traded with much higher premiums on top of the C, they are unfortunately still tied to whatever the daily price is (say NY + $1.35). This means that while the producer receives a higher price for higher quality, prices that are even above the Fair Trade minimum, in the free market, there is still no way to protect them from falling prices.

So you can see that with coffee, like any market, speculation causes the daily price of coffee to either fall or rise. Relationship Coffee refers to the way in which we protect producers, and their investment in the costly production of high quality coffee, from the changes in market prices.

As an example discussed in previous posts, the coffee from Finca San Luis was difficult to secure based on the producer's need to pay immediate production costs. Almost 70% of the total costs of production for Finca San Luis come from picking labor and organic fertilizer. This percentage is typical of almost any farm's production, which is the main reason why so many producers are hesitant to invest in the intense production labor of high quality coffee. Unfortunately, the costs are barely covered in full based on the daily price of the C market. The addition of premiums for quality helps the producer make a margin on their products, but in most countries, it is hardly anything to write home about.

Relationship coffee approaches buying from a 'different-from-the-norm' perspective, that is, we pay a flat price that is not subject to market fluctuations. These prices are based on production and transport costs, and also add a stable and truly fair margin for the producer. If the daily price of the C contract falls, the sustainable price for Relationship Coffees remains the same. Producers maintain their position and are able to recoup their production costs, while also making a living. We, then, are able to secure the supply of high quality coffee and know that the price paid was not due to false inflation and speculation, but to real costs to the actual producers. It's a win-win situation.

Get Your Learnin' On...

2010-09-23T11:56:37Z

If you're in New York City in mid-October, you should be attending the National Coffee Association's Fall Education Conference. Compared to their larger annual Spring conference, the NCA's Fall Education Conference (FEC) is specifically focused on... well, education. Spread over three days, the FEC "serves the educational and business needs of coffee professionals in all industry segments and functions". The program will take you through a variety of panel discussions, guided tours, networking opportunities and, for the first time, an Introduction to Cupping class. Just read the brochure... there's hardly an issue left undiscussed.

Unless you are caught up on your coffee history reading, or are just really interested in the coffee commodity chain, you might not be familiar with the NCA. Perhaps I can best explain the NCA as this: it is the organization that lobbies for protections from foreign and domestic trade regulations, and has major influence over U.S. government coffee food source policies. As the broader industry coffee representative to governmental agencies, the NCA acts on behalf of the interests of national companies from Sara Lee and McDonalds, to Starbucks and Peet's, to, more loosely, Specialty coffee companies such as Gimme. Suffice it to say, they're kind of a big deal.

If you are reading this, are in the Specialty coffee sector, and are still thinking, "My focus is on Specialty, why should I invest in this organization and conference?" I think you just answered your own question. After all, the NCA is the association from which the more niche organization, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) was spawned. The NCA has a lot to offer all coffee professionals and businesses, if even just offering a change in perspective, so come share yours. I wouldn't miss this opportunity if I were you, but I'm not, so I'll just hope to see you there.

Open Cupping: Panama Hartmann Honey

2010-09-16T16:05:42Z

Our Panama Hartmann Honey has been a favorite coffee of many for the last three years. It is silky and sweet, has very subtle fruit notes, and mellow acidity. Baristas and regulars all look forward to each year's crop from the Hartmanns. We have never been disappointed by this coffee. The Harmanns pay careful attention to each step of coffee farming and processing, and the consistent quality is a result of their careful attention.

At this Saturday's cupping we will learn a bit more about the Hartmann Farm's coffee and history. We will also try this coffee brewed a few different ways that you may brew at home; Clever, French Press and Pour Over. This will be a great lab to come to if you want some tips to make your home brewing better, and you will be amazed by the range of taste one coffee can produce. You will also be able to tell all your friends what puts the honey in Hartmann Honey. Hint: there are no bees involved. See you this Saturday, September 18th, at State Street at noon!

Photos - El Salvador: Ahuachapán & Santa Ana

2010-09-13T21:43:25Z

El Salvador is nestled just south of Guatemala and west of Honduras. It is the smallest country in Central America. You could take an afternoon drive from the western most municipality of Ahuachapán to the eastern most of La Unión in 4 hours, or visit the Pacific Coast from San Salvador in just about 45 minutes.

View the full gallery

Open Cupping: Indonesia

2010-09-09T02:47:04Z

At this week's open cupping we will be only tasting coffee from Indonesia. Indonesian coffees tend to be very heavy and earthly so it's nice to try a group of them all together. When you put an Indonesian coffee next to the sweeter, milder, coffees they can come across as being too intense in comparison. Also, trying many similar coffees together is a great way to start refining your palate. This week will be a great cupping to come to, especially if you have already attended one.

We have a lovely new Java, Kayumas, that is so sweet and thick you've just got to try it. There are also two Sumatrans currently on the shelf. Wahana is the new one, and it is the cleanest Sumatran coffee I've ever tasted. Iskandar is our smokey favorite from Sumatra, and this weekend we will have a chance to try it roasted two different ways. We will cup our Sumatra Iskandar roasted on our air roaster, which is how we normally roast this coffee, next to an experimental drum roast. This is a very unique chance to see how using a different roaster affects the taste of this coffee.

If you are interested in learning a little bit more about Indonesian coffees I hope to see you in the lab this weekend, September 11th. Remember, Open Cuppings happen every Saturday at noon, in the lab at the back of State Street Gimme! Coffee.

Fire Claims Home of NYC Baristas

2010-09-08T20:55:13Z

Early last Thursday morning, a fire destroyed the apartment and most of the possessions of beloved NYC baristas Sam Penix and Sasha King. Next Thursday, September 16th, a latte art throwdown benefitting Sam and Sasha is being hosted, and you can bet NYC Gimme! baristas will be in attendance and in good form.

Come show your support and help raise funds. The cost to compete in the latte art throwdown is $5, and remember, all proceeds go to Sam & Sasha (and their cats and gerbils). Check out the Facebook page for the event here.

I hear there will also be raffles, BYOB and...oh, yeah - lots of latte art. And probably hugs.

For more ways to help out, check out Sprudge.com.

Back In The Saddle

2010-09-08T20:28:37Z

Same saddle - different horse? It's now my third official week back in the employ of Gimme! Coffee.

I've done some minimal city exploring, and I've spent a good amount of time getting to know all of the wonderful baristas at both the Mott Street and Lorimer Street stores. Pictured above are a couple of Lorimer Street baristas holding down the stoop outside the cafe.

Check out that tin ceilng! Either the Mott Street cafe is shrinking or we're hiring taller baristas. Theo, David, Mike, Sheena, Mary and I engaged in some tasty quality control today- tasting three cups of Finca San Luis side by side, each with only a slight grind adjustment, all brewed on the Clever dripper. Which one tasted best? Why, the one we will serve you, of course! This new lot from Omar Arango is out of sight - we tasted honey, sweet orange and vanilla.

Photos - Latte Art How To: Part 1 - Milk Texture

2010-09-02T12:56:01Z

Latte art is one of the fun parts of being a barista. We get to show off a little and beautiful drinks always make people smile. Latte art takes a while to learn, but once you get the basics down it doesn't take long to master the different designs.

View the full gallery

Throwdown!

2010-08-19T02:15:20Z

On Sunday in Ithaca we here at Gimme had an internal latte art throwdown. It was time to show off new tricks and old favorites that we can pour into lattes and cappuccinos. This competition was not only for fun, we were competing for an Aeropress. Aeropress is a fun, fast way to brew a cup of coffee that not many of us own, so the competition was fierce. We ran this competition head-to-head style, with two baristas steaming and pouring at once, with the better pour moving ahead to the next level. Think college sports brackets, but with milk, and you have the right idea.

State State veteran barista Benn Bartishevich took home the grand prize. He's always pushing the limit to learn new latte art tricks, and it was his creativity that won him the competition. Congratulations Benn! Keep an eve out for stunning art from this guy next time you are in our state street store. He keeps turning out beautiful drinks.

Gimme Bicycle Benefits!

2010-08-16T13:19:26Z

Thom already explained it - bikes are cool. As you can maybe tell (from previous blog posts and knowing some Gimme folk) we're all real into bikes.

So when Ian from Bicycle Benefits approached us about participating in the program - it was a no brainer. Cleaner air? Improved personal health? Sustainable communities? Less parking demand? More helmets on riders? YES!

Here's how it works:

Buy a sticker at Gimme Coffee or any location that sells them
Put the sticker on your bike helmet
Show your helmet with sticker at participating locations and receive a benefit

This helmet sticker entitles bike riders to discounts all over the country! C'mon. Do it.

Gimme Art: August 2010

2010-08-12T13:05:34Z

Bodie Chewning
at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee
228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Seth Werlin
at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Danielle George
at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee
131 E. Green Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Loretta Louviere
at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee
7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Hallie Chase
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

2010 AIDS Ride For Life Bike Raffle

2010-08-02T15:40:10Z

This weekend, Team Gimme will begin our fundraising campaign for the 2010 Southern Tier AIDS Prevention Ride For Life. The grand prizes for this years raffle are two bicycles that will be raffled individually. The bikes are on display in the front window of the Cayuga Street cafe.

Tell me more about these mad whips!

The first is a 1971 Raleigh Twenty, a 20-inch three-speed folding bike. The folding frame is unique as it can be collapsed into a small, easy to stow package that begs to tag along wherever the day takes you. Modern folders are great utility bikes for large metropolitan areas, but they don't have the style that the Raleigh Twenty had. This bike is 99% original, and was given a complete rebuild from the frame up over the winter. A huge thank you to Alice Heise for contributing the bicycle.

If I can indulge you for a moment on the subject of style related to this particular bicycle. I predict that the English three-speed, particularly the folding variety, will eclipse the fixed gear bike in New York as the vehicle of choice. I have made numerous observations along the Hipster Silk Route of more riders running the free side of their flip flop hubs, and a greater number of English threes. Are young people choosing practical design over coolness? Nah, their knees are just sore from riding fixed. I feel in three short years, skinny jeans will be history and v-neck tees will be replaced with tweed sport coats and ascots to cover all the neck tats. And everyone will be riding folders.

Bike number two is a 2005 Eastern Bikes Hercules BMX. This one was the action back in the day, and is ready for all your half-pipe afternoons. Roaster Jacob Landrau was kind enough to pull this bolt from his quiver of BMX machines for your hucking and thrashing pleasure. Jacob tells me it is completely stock and ready for your upgrades. I think you should just keep it real and get out and ride. Jacob, pictured above, demonstrates the proper riding technique.

How can I get in on this action?

It's easy! Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Cayuga Street store from any barista, and are structured as follows:

One for $2.00, three for $5.00 and while supplies last, 15 with a five dollar gift certificate from our generous sponsor Viva Taqueria for $20.00! You don't have to use it to buy a margarita, but it is what I recommend. The raffle tickets will be color coded so participants can choose what bike they hope to win. Everyone is eligible for the drawing, and can buy as many tickets as they want. The drawing will be held on Friday September 10. Winner need not be present.

What if I don't want the bike, but want to contribute?

That is easy too! Go to the Team Gimme! fundraising page and make a donation to the rider(s) of your choice. The Ride For Life is a big event for us every year, and we are very grateful to all in the community who make a monetary or volunteer contribution to help those in need.

Guatemalan Coffees

2010-08-02T14:29:49Z

Guatemalan coffees have long been some of the most favored offerings in our Upstate, NY retail stores. Maybe this is because our environmentally conscious consumers know that an estimated 98% of all Guatemalan coffee is shade grown, making the country a refuge for biodiversity. Or, perhaps, customers just know that they can find exceptional value in a strictly high grown, washed Arabica from Central America's leading coffee export country. Whatever the rationale, there is no wrong reason to love a Guatemalan coffee.

Guatemala is sandwiched between the southern tip of Mexico, and the northern provinces of El Salvador and Honduras. The size of Tennessee, Guatemala supplies the world with 3.5% of its coffee, producing roughly 3.5 million 60kilo bags of green coffee per annum. Though not a 'major' player in comparison to the annual coffee production in Brazil and Vietnam, whose 33% and 18% respectively flood the world market, the fact that 98% of Guatemala's coffee production is washed Arabica coffee, makes them very influential in the specialty coffee market.

What makes Guatemalan coffees so special, according to the Anacafé, the Guatemalan National Coffee Association, are the high altitudes of growing regions, consistent rainfall patterns, abundance of water, and hundreds of microclimates. Now, what does all of that mean? Here are a few brief explanations...

Altitude

The higher the altitude, the denser the coffee, the more unique the flavor and acidity profile. This all has to do with cooler temperatures, slower plant respiration and thus slower growth of the coffee cherry (and if you didn't know that coffee comes from a cherry, now you do). Much of the coffee in Guatemala is grown at high altitudes, around the country's 34 volcanoes, which run parallel to the Pacific Ocean. One of our favorite regions, Huehuetenango, is one of three non-volcanic regions, and is located in the remote highlands just south of Mexico.

Rainfall Patterns

Coffee develops best when there are consistent patterns of rainfall, with clear delineations between seasons. The rainy season is considered Winter, and it is during this time that the coffee trees blossom, the fruit begins to grow, and the seed embryo develops into what we call coffee. It is important that the rainy season does not drag on for too long, or else the plant will continue to produce, and nourishment will be spread thin over an abundance of cherries.

Abundance of Water

Not all coffee in the world needs to be processed with water, but in Guatemala, where the relative humidity remains consistent between 65% and 95%, depending on region, water is crucial. Without cleaning the coffee cherries properly, the effects would be devastating, as producers can end up with overly fermented or moldy coffee rather than the clean and mild coffee that we are used to tasting. Guatemala has an abundant water supply. In looking at a map of Guatemala's water recharge areas, it literally looks like the country has a vast and intricate vascular system. According to Anacafé, 85% of coffee farms lie within these recharge areas.

Microclimates

Finally, what makes Guatemala, or any other quality coffee producing country, so special are the various regions and microclimates. Guatemala is characterized as having 8 major distinctive coffee growing regions; distinction in the form of altitudes, rainfall patterns, temperature and humidity, all of which contribute to marked differences in cup characteristics. Anacafé cites the major geographic influences like large crater lakes, flat plains, and mountain ranges combine to make over 300 different microclimates within these regions, each of which furthering the distinct cup profiles of each coffee.

Yes, coffee production is more complicated that you might think, and the production of unique quality coffees is even more difficult. I recommend checking out Anacafé's website, guatemalancoffees.com, to learn more about this beautiful and abundant producing country. Or, try our new offering from the Guaya'b cooperative from Huehuetenango to get an idea of just how good a Guatemalan coffee can be.

Magic Coffee Cone

2010-07-29T15:49:43Z

We've had Clever Coffee Dippers in our stores for quite a while now, and I've had one at my house for just as long. It's a great little brewer that I've come to take completely for granted. It's not the only way I brew at home, but it's become my go-to method most mornings. I've gotten so used to it that I've forgotten how truly great the design is. I recently had a lot of family in town and my father started calling my Clever the "Magic Coffee Cone." I thought this was very cute and fitting.

It's the stopper in the bottom of this filter cone that makes it magic. The coffee can brew fully immersed in water for as long as you would like. Making a consistent and good cup is very easy. We've been having great success brewing with these magic cones in all of our stores for months.

Give a cup of Clever brew a try, made fresh for you, at any or our locations. Or pick up the actual brewer, for perfect coffee at home anytime. Great coffee is simple with a little magic.

Photos - Yoga For Baristas

2010-07-22T21:53:02Z

Here at Gimme we recently had the pleasure of inviting local yoga teacher Rachel Bush into our lab to teach us how to better protect and use our bodies while on bar. It was a very helpful hour and a half session and I am eager to share a bit of what we learned. Retail managers Liz Clark and Emily Thompson are the gracious models for these pictures.

View the full gallery

Gimme becomes EPA Green Power Partner

2010-07-22T20:41:56Z

We have joined the EPA's Green Power Partnership, a program that recognizes and supports the environmental leadership of businesses, communities, as well as college and universities across the country.

We have been purchasing nearly 100% of our energy from renewable resources, such as wind and low-impact hydro power, for almost 2 years now and are excited to be recognized by the EPA for our efforts. Check out the other steps we're taking to be environmental stewards in our communities.

Meet Your Barista: Shanika Scott

2010-07-12T16:41:52Z

Shanika's been working with Gimme! Coffee for about a year and a half. She's a full time barista at the State St. location, where her sense of humor and stellar drink making skills have proven valuable assets to the team. It should also be noted that if there was a contest for the nicest smile there, well Shanika would probably win it.

Her favorite coffee to drink has been our sun dried Ethiopia Amaro via French press, and her favorite espresso drink to make is a Gibraltar with soy milk. Hey, someone's gotta look out for soy milk drinkers! I'll also mention (for your own good) that many of her hours outside of Gimme are spent playing pool. So be weary if you come across this woman with a nice smile at your local pool hall.

New Brazil Offerings

2010-07-08T12:50:00Z

Brazil is the world leader in coffee production, and Minas Gerais is the largest producing region in Brazil. Coffee grown in this region is typically known for mild fruit acidity, chocolate, nut and brown sugar flavors, and big body. That is just what you get from our two new Brazil offerings: Brazil Santo Andre and Brazil Santa Clara (organic). Each coffee produces a cup that stays true to the regional character, but they also hold their own ground as distinct and unique specialty coffees. This is our second year offering both coffees, and I anticipate they will be as popular this year as they were in 2009. Fazenda Santo Andre is located in the Cerrado Mineiro region of Minas Gerais under the guidance of producer Lincoln Ferreira. The farm is located on a plateau at an altitude of 1,220 meters. Nights are very cold and days are hot, which promotes a longer, slower growing that results in a denser bean. These cool nights also allow the plant to accumulate sugars (rather than use them up), leading to a sweeter cup. The Cerrado region is known for having distinct rain patterns during the summer months, and being a gentle and dry area during the harvest period. Such conditions are perfect for creating sweet, ripe coffee cherries.

Brazil Santo Andre is 100% Mundo Novo varietal, which is a hybrid of the original two Arabica mutations, Typica and Bourbon. Mundo Novo is an interesting child of two parents, one of which, Typica, is very low yielding and, if lacking in nutrition, will drop every single leaf before it lets go of the cherry. The other, Bourbon, produces 20%-30% more coffee cherries than Typica, but they mature faster and are at risk of detaching from the tree in heavy rains or winds. So what happens to the offspring, then? It picks up on the yield of the Bourbon, the tenacity of the Typica, and the excellent cup quality of both! It is a very well-rounded varietal, and a beautifully lush coffee tree to boot.

Brazil Santo Andre has a very smooth and easy cup profile, with a lot of dark chocolate, malt and roasted almonds in the aroma, as well as the flavor. I characterize the acidity as sweet-citric and wide, meaning that you will definitely experience some candy-like orange on the sides of your tongue and cheeks. But make no mistake, this is not a high acidity coffee. Santo Andre rounds out with a smooth cocoa finish and long pleasant bitters. Its flavor profile is one reason why it is a component of our Leftist blend.

Sitio Santa Clara is a 10.3 hectare farm located in the municipality of Andradas. The small farm is part of the larger Tijuco Preto Cafés Especiais group out of Sul de Minas. The Tijuco Preto group is a multi faceted operation that not only produces high quality green coffee for export, but they also roast and retail their own line of coffee called Tijuco Preto Estate Coffee. Their organic line comes from the small Santa Clara farm, which produces roughly 40,000 lbs (~18,000kgs) of green coffee per year. We've purchased a little less than half of what Santa Clara produces, and will use the coffee as a component in our Piccolo Mondo blend as well as offering it as a single origin.

Brazil Santa Clara is the kind of coffee that reminds you that simplicity can also be elegant. It has a soft caramel, cocoa and cashew butter aroma, and one heck of a viscous, creamy mouthfeel. It is solidly sweet, with a very mild cherry-like acidity that is enveloped in a nutty, caramel candy.

Enjoy!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for July 2010

2010-07-05T14:49:12Z

Ed Marion

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street

Trumansburg, NY 14886

Kelly Blanchat

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street

New York, NY 10012

Doron Gild

at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee

495 Lorimer Street

Brooklyn, NY 11211

Phil Ashworth

at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee

430 N. Cayuga Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Marc Miller

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Zach Furman

at State St. Gimme! Coffee

506 W. State Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Guatemala Cup of Excellence

2010-07-02T13:04:04Z

Guatemala has been in the news a lot these past few weeks. First there was the continuous eruption of Volcán de Pacaya to the south west of Guatamala City that covered the streets in up to 8 inches of ash. Then Tropical Storm Agatha bombarded the western coast of the country, causing vast devastation to properties, infrastructure, and even caused a sinkhole in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, an international jury of about 25 professional coffee cuppers withstood the environmental conditions to classify the top 28 coffees of this year's Guatemalan Cup of Excellence. Ok, so the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence may not have been the most interesting story to come out of Central America in May, but let me tell you more about it anyway.

By now you all should know that it takes an extreme amount of effort to produce an exemplary coffee. Hundreds of hours of preparation and thousands of kilometers of transport can be ruined by the slightest wrong move. The Cup of Excellence program is a discerning process that finds coffees of the highest quality, and awards producers for their dedication to quality. It is probably the most recognized certification for Specialty coffee quality worldwide, and is, in my opinion, by far the most prestigious. It involves an intense amount quality assessment, followed by a worldwide internet auction that claims astronomical prices for coffees. For instance, two years ago the top ranked coffee in Guatemala received a record setting $80.20 per pound!

Cup of Excellence is open to every coffee grower and cooperative from a participating country. A producer first enters their coffee into a national competition in which cuppers from that country assess the quality. If a coffee passes through the initial round of judging with a high enough score, it moves onto an international jury. The international jury is constructed with the idea that a cupping panel should have very diverse, but distinguished, tastes. This is to ensure that a coffee score isn't artificially elevated because of one region's specific taste index. The 2010 Guatemalan Cup of Excellence international jury consisted of roughly 25 cuppers from Japan, USA, Canada, Russia, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Norway, New Zealand and Lithuania. Sure enough, there were some coffees that I found were not of "Cup of Excellence quality" but that another jury member thought was exemplary, and vice versa.

A coffee receives a final score when all of the individual scores are averaged. Because of the diversity of scores, buying participants in the CoE program like us don't really pay attention to the overall rank of the coffee. We do our own assessment of the samples and find our own favorites. This is partially why over the years Gimme! has purchased a #7 Nicaragua lot, or a #32 Honduras lot or a #19 El Salvador lot, etc.

This year, the top lot was certainly deserving, but not my favorite. I'd also like you all to taste the top scoring lots from this year's Cup of Excellence Guatemala competition. The auction is on Thursday July 14th, so would like to offer you a chance to cup my favorite coffees of the auction on Saturday July 17th, 10am sharp in the State St. training lab. Then, stay for the weekly free public cupping at noon. Hope to see you there!

Open Cupping: Processing

2010-07-01T03:35:38Z

The coffee that we all love and drink daily is the end product of a long process. One crucial stage of this process is how the coffee seed is removed from it's fruit. We are lucky to have on our shelves coffees that reflect a few different ways this can be done. In particular, we have coffee from the Amaro mill in Ethiopia processed in two different ways: Sundried and Washed. We have come very close the end of our lot of Sundried Amaro and will only have it in stock for a few more weeks. To send off this coffee that many of us have grown very fond of i would like to cup it in the lab with you this Saturday next to the Washed version. We can talk about, and taste, the difference that processing can make. We will also taste a washed and a pulped natural South American coffee.

So, if you are interested in learning a bit more about coffee and coffee processing, come to the open cupping this Saturday, July 3rd, at noon. Open cuppings happen every Saturday at noon in the lab at the back of the State Street Gimme. I hope to see you there!

Meet Your Barista: Anna Detar

2010-06-28T14:20:52Z

Anna hails from western NY and grew up riding horses with her mum. She is an avid beer maker, skiier, hiker, and general have-fun kind of girl. After a stint in Boston, Anna and her super awesome husband moved to NY with their two dogs to pursue higher education and excellent coffee.

Anna started her Gimme Coffee career working full time in the production department at our roastery. We're glad she decided to come down the hill and join our team of baristas at Cayuga Street. If you asked her what her favorite coffee is she'd probably tell you that she prefers cappuccinos.

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for June 2010

2010-06-14T13:23:33Z

Lauren Lacey Slowik & Alyssa Robb

at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850 Yeoun Lee & Charles Kelly
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Angela Goldberg

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Patricia Heckart

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Josh Sperling

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

Finca San Luis Microlots

2010-06-07T20:05:56Z

Omar Arango is the owner of Finca San Luis, a 42-hectare farm in El Libano, in the department of Tolima, Colombia. Finca San Luis is organic and Rainforest Alliance certified, and located at an altitude of 1600 meters. Predominantly producing coffee of the caturra varietal, Omar creates a cup profile that has well structured acidity, and rich flavors that range from ripe stone fruit to mild, sweet tobacco. While Omar often sells this coffee with the producer group Cafinorté Orgánico, this year we are working with him to separate some of his higher quality coffee in order to sell directly to us as Finca San Luis. In most countries, coffee producers live harvest to harvest. Production costs are very high, and increasing. Microlots are indications that a producer does not compromise quality for a higher yield. Small lot differentiation means that the producer can meet the demand for unique small lots. Lot differentiation takes perseverance, as the producer must trace each picking from the fields, through the washing stage, through a sampling process and into the secure freight. It takes a lot of work to produce a small amount of coffee.

Contrast that with legacy cultural practices, where producing a higher yield with less effort on quality is the norm. In Colombia, as a fitting example, the typical mechanism for selling coffee is through buying agents of the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC), the non-profit, government sponsored entity that provides support to Colombian coffee producers, and is essentially the marketing agent for Colombian coffee. If you've only ever heard of clean, mild Colombian coffee and Juan Valdez, it's because of the FNC.

The FNC is known as the 'Growers Association' and is the buyer of last resort, meaning that if you are a coffee producer and need to sell your coffee, the FNC will always buy it, regardless of quality. If the quality meets their export standards, the coffee will be milled, separated by size and then exported. If the coffee does not meet their export standards, then the coffee will be sold internally (within Colombia), decaffeinated, or perhaps sold to make soluble coffee (Folgers crystals) or extracts. However the coffee is resold or exported, what is important is that the producer:

will always have a buyer for their coffee
will always be paid a set price (think minimum wage) for their coffee
will be paid this price almost immediately upon arrival to the FNC's warehouses

So, what does this have to do with Finca San Luis? When I met Omar in September of 2009, it was during the FNC's annual ExpoEspeciales conference in Ibague, Tolima. During our conversation, Omar learned how committed Gimme Coffee is to investing in quality. After that, he had one question, "How do I send you my coffee to sample?"

In the month following the ExpoEspeciales, I received an email from Alejandro Cadena, general manager and co-founder of Virmax Café, indicating that he had received a sample from Omar Arango that was quite good, even though it was from his first pickings of the harvest. Once I had the opportunity to cup the coffee, I also thought the quality was excellent. But by the time we had informed Omar that we wanted to buy that lot of coffee, he had already sold it to the FNC warehouse. Omar needed to pay his pickers immediately, so he had sold that lot of coffee to the FNC in order to fund his harvest, even though in the end we were to pay him well beyond the price he had received from the FNC.

These legacy practices create a cycle that is difficult to get out of. A producer cannot risk holding coffee because of costs, and the prices they receive are not nearly enough to hold for future investment. With on going communication with Omar, we were able to quickly secure 2 unique microlots from the beginning of this season's harvest. We were also able to prefinance the remainder of his harvest so that Omar can afford to pay his pickers and other costs upfront. This means that the result of Omar's dedication to his coffee crop will not be blended in with lower grade coffees simply because he could not wait for a higher price. It also means that by financing his harvest, Gimme Coffee is able to secure a much larger lot of Finca San Luis for August/September 2010.

It is a sad reality that beautiful coffees are being sold at commodity prices and blended with coffees of a lower caliber. We know that Omar Arango is capable of producing high quality coffee and we look forward to our ongoing relationship with Finca San Luis.

Notes From Gimme's Public Cuppings

2010-06-04T02:37:18Z

It's been a little over one month that I've been hosting open cuppings in the lab in the back of the Gimme! Coffee on State Street and things couldn't be going any better. Each week there has been a different, small, very interested group of people showing up to talk about and taste coffee. We have had a diverse group of folks attend; roasters from other coffee companies, students from the universities in town and many regulars from our cafes. It's great to see how information is shared, and misinformation dispelled, when you get a good mix of people together. For many people this tasting was the first time they realized coffee can be sweet without sugar. So don't worry if you don't know anything about coffee or feel like a pro taster. If you've got a tongue you are welcome to join us.

Great coffee is no accident, so we've been starting off the session with an intro into how and where coffee is grown. Next, we talk about how we get coffee that is roasted and ready to brew from the seed of a little red fruit. Then, we get into the sniffin and slurpin! Properly tasting coffee is a loud, sometimes messy process. If you are someone who gets hushed for slurping your soup at the dinner table, you will feel very welcome here.

Each Saturday there have been many "a-ha" moments, when people who think that all coffee tastes the same realize that they can pick out differences in the brews based on terroir and processing. This cupping has quickly become the favorite part of my weekend, I just love drinking coffee with new faces! This weekend we will have our Finca San Luis on the table next to some contrasting coffees. If you hadn't gotten a chance to try this first mico lot, you should really consider stopping by. We're only going to have this coffee for another month and it's smooth, sweet and satisfying. Hope to see you on saturday at noon!

Team Gimme Brings Home The Bean

2010-05-18T14:22:35Z

This past Sunday, Gimme Coffee brought home the trophy which Team Gimme fought for in the first ever Battle For The Bean against Team Coffee Mania. Here Gimme's Tomas Reyer is enjoying the thrill of the win surrounded by Team Gimme rollers.

It was nip and tuck in the first half as the two teams battled it out. But the 2nd half was dominated by Team Gimme leading to a final score of 113 to 157.

Check out the handmade trophy as it makes the rounds to each store.

Nobody Needs to Renounce Coffee...

2010-05-10T13:22:20Z

The rumors are true! Not every coffee drinker enjoys the physiological effects of caffeine. The good news : modern decaffeination methods allow for a complete and pleasant coffee drinking experience without the added energy. The even better news : this month we are releasing a brand new decaffeinated coffee that just might leave you asking, "La Serrania, where have you been all my life?!"

Colombia La Serrania is going to challenge your judgments about decaf, because it tastes like... coffee! In fact, it tastes like a rich and mellow coffee with flavor nuances of toasted nuts and cocoa. It has a candy-like sweetness that is rounded out with a buttery milk chocolate mouthfeel and finishes complete and satisfying.

Colombia La Serrania comes from our friends at Virmax Café, founders of Las Mingas, a project that directly connects quality roasters with quality producers in an effort to achieve a truly fair price for beautifully unique coffees. Although not part of the project, we were able to source the Colombia La Serrania directly from the Virmax warehouse, and approve the green coffee before it was decaffeinated. This process is atypical of buying decaffeinated coffee, as roasters are usually sent samples of coffee that has already been decaffeinated. This means that the coffee was carefully screened both before and after the process, and was not just some junk coffee that was sent to slaughter because it had no redeeming qualities. No, we chose this coffee to decaffeinate based on cup quality, balance and certain flavor characteristics. Now, that's what I call a value added decaf.

Colombia La Serrania was decaffeinated by way of the solvent process. This means that the coffee was first treated with steam to cause the beans to swell and open their pores. Secondly, a solvent is introduced in order to extract the caffeine from the bean. Next, the solvent is driven out of the bean by means of steam. Finally, the coffee is dried to its initial moisture content.

The solvent process is known for keeping the integrity of the bean's flavors, aromas and cell structure intact. Still, solvent decaffeination has come under fire for appearing less gentle of a decaffeination process than the widely known Mountain Water Process. Well, fire no more. While there are many different types of solvents that can be used for decaffeination, the type that the DESCAFECOL plant uses is naturally occurring ethyl-acetate gained from sugar cane molasses. Ethyl-acetate (EA) is also found in fruits and vegetables, as well as roasted coffee itself, and its consumption is free from health risks. However, since the EA used in the decaffeination process for the La Serrania comes from sugar cane molasses, around the roastery we've been referring to it as sugar decaf (ok, you can, too).

Typically, solvent processed decafs are processed in Germany and then redistributed from the decaf plant to various other parts of the world. La Serrania only traveled a few hundred kilometers from the warehouse in Neiva, Colombia where it was approved to the DESCAFECOL plant in Manizales, Colombia. A Colombian coffee that is decaffeinated in Colombia? A novel idea.

There isn't much to not love about the Colombia La Serrania. Even your non-decaf drinking friends will agree that this is a solid coffee with nothing to hide. Enjoy!

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for May 2010

2010-05-07T14:24:33Z

Janelle Tompkins
at Cayuga St. Gimme! Coffee
430 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Ant Walach

at State St. Gimme! Coffee
506 W. State Street
Ithaca, NY 14850

Phil Ashworth

at Green St. Station Gimme! Coffee

131 E. Green Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Julian Rapp

at Lorimer St. Gimme! Coffee

495 Lorimer Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Sarah and Mark Oros

at Trumansburg Gimme! Coffee

7 E. Main Street
Trumansburg, NY 14886

Little Chris

at Mott St. Gimme! Coffee

228 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012

Shows change monthly, if you want to display your art in a Gimme espresso bar, please contact that location.

The Battle For the Bean: The Trophy

2010-05-04T20:52:52Z

The Ithaca League of Women Rollers is partnering with Coffee Mania and Gimme! Coffee for the first-ever intraleague bout on Sunday, May 16, at the J.M. McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland - the league's springtime home track.

For this special event the ILWR teams, the SufferJets and BlueStockings, will be reblended to form two high-octane teams--Team Gimme! and Team Coffee Mania. Whether you wear Gimme! red or Mania purple, you'll be able to cheer for your favorite ILWR skaters as these one-time teammates turn on each other for this special event - the Battle for the Bean. Come see which team will take home the Bean Trophy.

Doors open at 4:30 pm and the first whistle blows at 5:00 for this Sunday evening event. Tickets are $10 for adults. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets for this bout and the entire 2010 season are now available through the league's newly designed website. Tickets are also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons. For information on riding the ILWR Fan Van from Ithaca to Cortland, e-mail events@ithacarollerdery.com.

The J.M. McDonald Sports Complex is located at 4292 Fairgrounds Drive in Cortland. Join your favorite skaters after the bout for more fun and music at the Darkhorse in downtown Cortland.

A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to support the Women's Opportunity Center of Ithaca.

This bout is generously sponsored by Gimme! Coffee and Coffee Mania. ILWR is sponsored all season long by platinum sponsors Cayuga Xpress, Gorges Website Design & Development, Clayburg Creative, and Angry Mom Records.

Smells Like Team Spirit!

2010-04-26T15:52:42Z

The NYC gimme! family (or staff) is pretty close and often spends time together both at work and in leisure, but it's a rare treat to find us all together in one room. Thanks to a recent staff meeting, all gimme! baristas from both our Lorimer st and Mott st locations came together for an evening for information, sandwiches, cake, and fun!

Meet the NYC gimme! team!
From Left to Right: (top) Rick, Pete, Laura, Aaron, Adah, Jason, Elia, (bottom) Alex, Theo, Ian, Joe, and David. Though present, Sheena was taking the photo, and sadly we were missing Marta and Aleks.

Pretty cute bunch, right?!

Gimme! Coffee News

This Weekend: Free Winners' Flight Tastings in Ithaca, Brooklyn

Photos - Locally Made Pro Tools

Charity Art Auction at Roebling Cafe, Thursday, 2/2/12

Feature - Finca San Luis Wins Good Food Award! Free Tastings in Ithaca, Brooklyn

Updated January 2012

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Join Us for Free Tastings in Brooklyn & Ithaca

The Good Foods Mission

Updated January 2012

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Join Us for Free Tastings in Brooklyn & Ithaca

The Good Foods Mission

Buy Now

Photos

Related Pages

Other Pages

And The Time Has Changed!

Dear New York: The Time Has Come. Love, Gimme

Photos - Good Food Awards Roadshow NYC

Photos - A Look Inside A Coffee Warehouse

Photos - 72 Hours in Helena, MT

Photos - Congratulations Team Gimme!

Fincas La Providencia: Atitlán y Huehuetenango

Kenya Kiandu Scores 95pts from Coffee Review!!!

Cappuccinos are for Lovers, Atitlán is for Friends.

Who Is The Happy Roaster?

Join Us This Weekend at Roast for Life!

Gimme some Tuff Mugs

Honduras Las Peñitas is Back!!!

Grab a Bag and Brew Excellent Coffee at Home

The 2011 AIDS Ride For Life Bike Raffle!

Toddy Time!

This Week at Roebling Street, $5 Discount on All Bagged Beans

Gimme Coffee Takes Part in TED Coffee Common

Free Drink Cards at Roebling Street This Week

Feature - New Cafe in Brooklyn! Roebling Street Open for Business

107 Roebling Street

Featured Espresso, Fancy Coffees

Lab Sessions, Events, Classes, and More

107 Roebling Street

Featured Espresso, Fancy Coffees

Lab Sessions, Events, Classes, and More

Related Pages

Iced Coffee Brewed By The Cup Is Coming!

Summer Salon & Free Cupcake Giveaway - TONIGHT!

...With Coffee and Ice Cream for All!

Local Barista Makes Good (Latte Art)

Affogato - One Day Only

New Decaf! Introducing Colombia La Primavera

Photos - Chalk Back! Closing Event 4/29

Earth Day 2011

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for April 2011

Congratulations Erin McCarthy... NERBCBC Champ!

Hey, Where'd My Coffee Go?

Back to Regular Hours

Baristas Offer Relief

Jaguar's Hilltop

Photos - Good Food Month: That's A Wrap

Photos - Photos From Our First (Annual?) Roastery Tour

Castillo and Caturra Microlots from Finca San Luis

Gimme Art: Featured Artists for February 2011

Roastery Tour!

Good Food Month Week 3: Pickles and Charcuterie

Open Cupping: Good Food Awards

Good Food Month Week 2: Cheese and Preserves

Open Cupping: Good Food Awards

We've Won!!!

Good Food Month Week 1: Coffee And Chocolate

Feature - Celebrate Good Food Month and Colombia Finca San Luis!

Updated January 2011

Celebrate Good Food Month With Us!

The Good Foods Mission

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Updated January 2011

Celebrate Good Food Month With Us!

The Good Foods Mission

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

Buy Now

Photos