Gimme! Coffee News

Photos - Tour Our Upstate Cafes

2013-05-21T02:15:10Z

Some upstate A-frame art

Paircafe Taste Science and Gimme! Coffee

2013-05-09T21:18:47Z

Gimme! Coffee's Upstate Lab Series will be featuring a three-part program presented by Taste Science, LLC, and their new venture, Paircafé™. Taste Science, LLC is a local firm researching taste and flavor perception, and how different flavors can either clash or complement each other. Taste Science, LLC is a collaboration between Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace, MD and Chef Renée Senne and has pioneered work in pairing tea with food, under the name Pairteas™. They are now continuing this tradition with coffee by partnering with Gimme! Coffee.

The first of the three-part series will be held on Wednesday, May 15 at 5:30 pm and will highlight "Paircafé™: Part 1. Flavors & Receptors." Dr. Utermohlen and Chef Senne will present their work on the science of taste. Pairing food by matching molecules is a relatively known concept and this program takes pairing a step further, by introducing you to the flavor receptors in your mouth and exploring how they work by tasting different herbs and spices together with coffee. You'll leave with practical knowledge for developing your own pairings of flavors and coffee.

Then, on May 22 at 5:30 pm "Paircafé™: Part 2. Coffee at Different Stages of the Roast" will show how coffee changes through a roast, and what flavor receptors it activates at these different stages. With this knowledge you will be able to choose the roast level of coffee that complements your choice of foods.

Finally, on May 29th at 5:30 pm "Paircafé™: Part 3. Your Turn." Attendees will be turned loose with an array of foods and coffees so they can develop their own pairings, based on their experiences in Parts 1 and 2. This session allows the participants to then share their discoveries with the other members of the group.

Seating is very limited for this special three-part series held at Gimme! Coffee's State Street tasting lab. For more information or to reserve your space, email tastescience@gimmecoffee.com. We look forward to seeing you there.

Photos - Behind the Bar at State Street

2013-04-30T04:11:04Z

Components of a latte: espresso and milk. (Yum!)

View the full gallery

Photos - I'd like to introduce myself. . .

2013-04-22T03:10:31Z

View the full gallery

Tasting at Espresso 77

2013-04-17T17:15:11Z

I walked into Espresso 77 in the cozy community of Jackson Heights, Queens, and was immediately greeted by kind and curious faces.

I was a bit taken back by how eager these friendly folks were to learn about coffee. This was, afterall, my first time running a public tasting in a venue I had only been to once before, so I had been a bit nervous. Mostly, I had feared apathy. But, boy, was I wrong. Not only were the baristas and customers of Espresso 77 inquisitive, but they were also already very well educated on coffee in general.

Out of relief, I sighed, and at that point, I knew the afternoon was to be ... a delight!

About a dozen lovely coffee consumers approached me to taste the brew I was preparing. I explained to them that I had a couple different types of beans: Honduras El Sauce, Kenya Gatomboya, and Brazil Santo Antonio. I also let them know I'd be using two different brew methods: clever pour over and cupping. I demonstrated with all the passion I possessed (you might even say I had gusto), and I was pleasantly surprised to my audience oohing and ahhing as I carefully constructed our cups of caffeine. I imagine they reacted the same way that you, the reader, is reacting as you become aware of all the above amazing alliteration. Thank you, readers, thank you!

As a group, we decided we liked the Kenya Gatomboya brewed through a pour over the best because it tasted like bright citric berries but came full circle with a rich dense full body on our palates. Not everyone agreed; some like El Sauce the best, and one individual preferred the Brazil because preferred coffees with lower acidity. Everyone has different palates, and taste is a subjective concept. We are all unique beings with our experiences, and there is no absolute! And yes, I did write that last sentence while channeling my college philosophy course. Shout outs to Professor Jones!

Anyway, I did find my afternoon tasting coffee to be delightful. It couldn't have happened without the help and kindness I received from Afzal and his team, as well as the terrific customer base! Thanks, guys!

Thanks to everyone!!! I especially thank my subconscious for allowing me to use so many A's in sentence 4 of paragraph 3! Shout outs to my cats!

Photos - NYC Experience

2013-04-15T12:42:55Z

No matter how many times I visit New York City, I always feel like that country singer from Iowa stepping off the bus for the first time. I am forever in awe of its majesty and was truly looking forward to exploring Brooklyn (for the first time in years) and Soho, as my trip included visiting the three NYC Gimme! Coffee locations.

View the full gallery

Lab Series Update for NYC

2013-04-11T19:54:59Z

After three successful months of Lab Series events at our Roebling Street lab in Brooklyn, we are excited to announce the schedule for the next two months. This series is open to the public and is an excellent opportunity to learn more about coffee, coffee preparation, coffee beans, and generally have a good time while sampling delicious Gimme! Coffee.

We have planned the next few months with the Gimme! Coffee customer and home brewer in mind with several events on "How to Brew Coffee at Home." We will also explore single origin coffees, bold coffees, recap our trips along the coffee belt, and many other topics.

In order to make these events more accessible to our customers, we will now be holding the Lab Series every Wednesday at 5:30 PM. If you are interested in details about upcoming Lab Series events, please join our group on Facebook.

Schedule through June 5:

April 17 - Single Origin Lab
April 24 - An Exploration of Bold Coffee
May 1 - Origin Report: Honduras with Zoey and Ben
May 8 - How to Brew French Press at Home (Hot & Iced)
May 15 - Relationship Coffee Lab
May 22 - How to Brew a Chemex at Home (Hot & Iced)
May 29 - Roasting Lab: Light, Medium or Dark?
June 5 - Blends Lab

We hope to see you at one of our upcoming labs.

Photos - Cupping Training in Sumatra

2013-03-19T21:48:41Z

The region of North Sumatra is known for the classic Mandheling and Lintong coffee profiles: earthy, spicy, and a low level acidity that can still ring sweet and balanced in a well sorted sample.

However, deliveries of grade 1 and Specialty coffees are becoming less frequent as lack of information about good agricultural practices (GAP) is leading to more defective coffee lots.

View the full gallery

Finger Lakes Lab Series Begins

2013-03-11T12:54:29Z

Gimme! Coffee has a good use for that extra hour of sunlight. Starting this Wednesday we will begin our "Lab Series," which replaces our Saturday cuppings. The new format will take a more casual tasting setting and will be more conducive to just "popping in" ... and we hope you do.

Finger Lakes Lab Series will be held each Wednesday from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm at the Gimme! Coffee State Street Lab in Ithaca (they replace the usual Saturday Public Cupping Events). Mark your calendars for these upcoming series dates:

March 13th: "Sugar" - Come taste sugars! We'll taste and discuss common sweeteners, such as honey, molasses and maple syrups plus a caramelization gradient, and how it relates to roasting coffee.

March 20th: "Tea" - An overview and tasting of teas.

March 27th: "Cupping: African & Central American Coffees" - Come explore the aromas and tastes of these coffee-producing regions of the world.

April 3rd: "Water" - When was the last time you really tasted a glass of water? Taste a variety of different waters and learn how the composition affects taste, and brewed coffee.

April 10th: "Cupping: Blends Deconstructed"

April 17th: "Five Tastes Triangulation" - Test your ability to distinguish the five tastes in a pick-the-odd-one-out format.

April 24th: "Tasting with Pictures" - Drink coffee, doodle your interpretation.

May 1st: "Dialing in: Automatic Drip" - The basics of how it works, and how to get the best cup possible.

May 8th: "Cupping: Single Origins"

May 15th: "Pair Teas: Part 1 Flavors & Receptors" - Pair Teas will be presenting their work on the science of taste. You've heard of pairing food by molecules? This takes it step further and you'll leave with practical knowledge for pairings. The basics of pairing food by taste receptors, and which foods activate them.

Pair Teas features collaborative work of Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace, MD and Chef Renee Senne. This special three-part series is free but limited to a group of twelve.

May 22nd: "Pair Teas: Part 2 Coffee at Different Stages of the Roast" - See how coffee changes through a roast, and what receptors it activates at different stages.

May 29th: "Pair Teas: Part 3" - Hands-on pairing of coffee and food.

A Visit to Dana's Workshop

2013-03-08T23:22:09Z

Recent Barista Competitor Lanny Huang and I went to visit the shop of Dana Paul, the man who has been custom making Barista's tampers over the past few years. Dana began the quest to create a tool that would best fit the Barista, by removing the need to compensate for a one size fits all instrument, which would allow Baristas to fully immerse themselves in their craft.

When I first got to know Dana he was absolutely enamored with the precision, focus, passion and resulting deliciously crafted product created by a skilled Barista. He already had hours of observational notes, of how people were tamping, the shape their hand was taking, and the motions they went through. He then began combining information to look at how to fit a tamper to a hand combined with personal preferences of each Barista.

This is where it starts -- the playground! It's not just fit, form, and function. Dana looks for the sweet spot where the wood reveals it's unique beauty. Similar to what drives Baristas when dialing in a coffee.

Check this out. This is the Jatoba wood that was used to make Lanny's tamper. When cut at the right angle the wood as a holographic effect, where it fluctuates between a deep burgundy and a warm light brown.

The fitting process starts with a Barista trying out several different tampers for size and shape, looking for a good start on what they like and don't like. Dana also measures four points on the hand, the length of palm to forefinger, center of palm to pinky, length of palm to end of middle and the space between the two fleshy mounds on the back of the palm. He keeps a record of hand shapes and sizes and hopes to find correlations from palm measurements to tamper design, making long distance custom tamper work more efficient.

Dana has a passion for figuring out the puzzles toward creating a beautiful, functional piece. It's not just a clean inlay, it's the direction of the grain in relation to the rest of the wood. He makes custom tools and jigs for each tamper, one series of inlays had a dizzying number of rotations and cuts that he couldn't, "duplicate it if [he] tried." Which just gives a glimpse into the work, or fun, Dana puts into his tampers and researching ergonomics. He just wants to create a beautiful tool that will be appreciated by a person who has the same passion toward their craft.

A Tasting Experience

2013-03-06T20:43:45Z

For those of you who have yet to fall in love with Gimme! Coffee, (early) springtime is the perfect time of the year to start a romantic relationship with a relationship coffee.
Since being on board at Gimme and witnessing, first hand, the passion behind the product, I have discovered my own, personal, love for coffee. Flavors and aroma that literally explode, reminding me that I am drinking the finest coffee anywhere. Set aside Gimme's recent string of awards: the Good Food Award and the 2013 Roaster of the Year and I am sure you'll understand that Gimme! Coffee truly does find the finest beans in the world and roasts them to perfection.

Whether you're an avid coffee fanatic already and have an established love, taste, and passion; or if you're simply someone who needs a pick-me-up in the morning and you choose Gimme, there is no denying the variety in tastes offered in every cup makes every tasting experience truly memorable.

I used to load my morning Joe with fancy creams and sugars. Or, I would order a soy vanilla latte and drink it down like it was hot candy. Now, I truly know what it means to fall in love with a great cup of coffee. Naturally. A satisfying, robust, power-packed delicious black mugful. Each coffee is different and each coffee is 100% coffee. Nothing added.

I always have loved the Squeeze song, "Black Coffee in Bed" and now it has new meaning to me as I snuggle with my French press each morning. Lovingly, slowly, pushing down on the plunger.

At a recent vegan dinner party, I presented the hosts with a bag of Gimme Honduras Las Penitas; one of my favorites. They glanced at the label and read the tasting note that the coffee finishes with "jasmine tea sweetened with honey." Seeing the word "honey," they went on to say that the coffee wasn't vegan. It took some convincing to let them know that within the bag there was nothing but fresh-roasted coffee beans. Nothing added. The flavors and aromas they experience when trying the coffee will be reminiscent of blackberry, starfruit and syrups (and honey) but the bag itself contains nothing but 100% coffee.

The roasting team at Gimme labors over every bean that comes in the door and determines the perfect roast to develop the signature aroma and taste. These, along with the "body" and "finish," are noted on a tasting wheel that refers to many of these sensory experiences. This is how true coffee is chosen and created and, because of this labor of love, there are no two coffees alike.

Today, I am on a mission to have everyone I know try a fresh-ground, French-pressed, hot cup of 100% coffee ... roasted by Gimme. I invite everyone I know to attend a cupping (part of the Wednesday Lab Series in Ithaca and Brooklyn); to try a variety of coffees and learn about their source. It's time to start your relationship - with Gimme.

What I Love About Coffee

2013-02-18T14:57:53Z

In honor of St. Valentine's day this month, I've been talking a lot about why I love coffee. In the Lab Series event on Wednesday, I shared a my love of coffee's smell -- the fragrance of freshly ground beans, the way it bubbles and blooms when you add water, and the amazing aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee. It's something that I think most people, coffee professionals and novices alike, appreciate about coffee. It smells so good that something goes off in my brain that says, "oh, yeah!" I love it!

But I've decided to write about something a little different for this blog post. It's still about my love for coffee, but not just why I love to drink it and make it. It's about why I love being a Barista.

There's been a spat of negativity floating around the internet from Baristas who seem to really dislike their jobs. I think most Baristas have been there at some point in their career -- that place where you feel tired, unappreciated, disrespected, and beyond bummed out about your job (we Baristas sometimes forget these feelings are universal to all work). The fact that every Barista (myself included) is probably qualified for any number of more glamorous and better-paying jobs is probably one of the main sources of these frustrations. So why don't we just do something else? Good question. And maybe some folks should do something else. But for me, I love being a Barista, or working next to one, and plan to for as long as I can.

The reason? Customers. Period. We focus a lot in Speciality Coffee on Relationship Coffee while too often we forget about the relationship right in front of us -- the relationship with our customers. And I'm not just talking about the regulars who come in a chat us up for hours about how much they love our coffee and tip us $5 bills. I'm talking about everyone.

As a Barista, I have a lot of priorities that I'm juggling at any given time -- coffee information, flavor notes, side work, how many trips downstairs I have to make with crates of milk -- but if I'm doing my job right, the top of that list should be the person standing across the counter from me. Even if he or she chooses to ignore me. Even if he's on his phone or she's wearing sunglasses. Even if he orders a caramel macchiato or a dry cappuccino or an espresso to go. I don't care. I still love them. And I'll still make them the best coffee I can because there are no rules for me when it comes to customers. They just have to come in and pay the bill, I'll take care of the rest.

In the end, the relationship between the Barista and the customer is the relationship that sustains all others. As Regional Manager and Trainer for New York City at Gimme! Coffee, I do all I can to foster that relationship by encouraging my Baristas to give customers the benefit of the doubt in all situations. That's because my goal is for every customer to leave with a smile, having affirmed their belief that Gimme! Coffee (and their Barista) is amazing.

We can't accomplish that if we hold grudges.

Wholesale Cupping - Brooklyn

2013-02-13T19:02:52Z

It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn, and I said to myself, "you know what would make this day even better? There's only one thing: a coffee tasting!" I boldly marched down to our Roebling Street location, and brazenly strolled into the coffee lab, where alas, it was time for me to meet my fate. As is the case with most heroes, I had an accomplice in my endeavor. Her name was Sarah Leslie. But, for the purpose of this blog, I shall only refer to her as: "The Coffee Whisperer."

I walked into the lab, and I said "Coffee Whisperer, let's taste some Mocha Java, Leftist, and Burundi, and we can share this wealth with our public!" The Coffee Whisperer agreed, and began to set up what's called a cupping. We went through all the mechanical steps with the magical beans, and soon it was undeniable that what we were indeed surrounded by was magic.

Dose, grind, dry aroma, wet aroma, break the crust, more aroma, taste, taste, and taste! Did I mention we tasted? It was a process so scientific that even the Pythagorean Theorem was jealous. Mocha Java had hidden chocolate covered blueberries, and Burundi was bright as the sun, tasting of lemon drops and sprinkled with butterscotch. Leftist was classic as always, a smoky sky with sun showers of citrus bursting through! Ohhhh, it was an afternoon that went down in coffee history, and it will not soon be forgotten. The Coffee Whisperer and Hero Wizard were brave that day, and shared a majestic world with the public. Behold!

Lab Series are held every Wednesday at 3pm at Gimme! Coffee Roebling Street, Brooklyn.

Barista Nation SF, TNT NYC, and Knockbox Classic

2013-02-01T18:27:24Z

January 2013 has been an awesome, albeit, exhausting 31 days full of coffee events. Above is "Team Gimme Scorpions" - Alex, Sarah, Gabe, and Victor at the Knockbox Classic in New York City (more on this event below). Other beginning-of-the-year highlights:

I traveled to San Francisco for the second annual Barista Nation SF January 18-20. My trip coincided with the Good Food Awards and on Saturday morning I skipped out from Barista Nation to walk around the Good Food Awards marketplace. The marketplace was packed with producers sharing their Good Food with hungry attendees. This year, Gimme! Coffee received their third Good Food Award for Finca San Luis La Gloria.

I returned to the Barista Nation event in time for lunch to eat a sandwich and listen to Katie Carguilo of Counter Culture Coffee in New York City talk about her experience at Barista Competition events followed by a discussion lead by Devorah Freudiger of Equator Coffee and Alex Littlejohn of Verve Coffee entitled "Cafe Job to Coffee Career." I then headed upstairs to be a part of Anne Nylander's discussion "Standards and Expectations." We were a small and diverse group which made for an interesting discussion because we all approach Standards and Expectations in a different way at our jobs. Many of the other table leads on the panel where trainers like me and it's interesting to hear the different ways we incorporate the SCAA standards and best practices into our company standards and policies.

TNT NYC hosted their monthly Latte Art Throwdown at Everyman SoHo on January 24. Gimme! had four Baristas competing in the head-to-head throwdown: Jeffrey from Lorimer St., Victor from Mott St., and Gabe from Roebling St. It was cold outside, but inside the atmosphere was cozy and warm.

The Latte Art TNT was a great warm-up for Knockbox Classic - Empire City hosted by Matt and Anna at Joe Pro Shop on January 27. I captained a team of Gimme Lead Baristas, one from each store. We all had a ton of fun and took home the Heart gift bag for the "I like the way you grind" competition where we had to grind as much coffee as we could in six minutes using a Hario Slim hand grinder. One of our favorite Gimme fans, Leo Tam, was there to cheer us on and he took these great photos of the event.

As I look ahead at my calendar filled with more amazing coffee events to come like the NERBC on Feb. 20-22, Coffee Fest NYC in March and the SCAA Expo/USBC in April, I can't help but think back to the discussion I had back in San Francisco with Anne and the other Barista Nation attendees.

Specialty Coffee by definition is coffee that receives a score of 80 or higher on the SCAA Cupping Form as graded by a SCAA credentialed Q Grader. By that definition, it might seem that Specialty Coffee is an exclusive product, and rightly so. But the industry around this product--the companies that source and serve it, the people who make it, and the customers who drink it--is inclusive. Specialty Coffee, particularly through these community and industry events, invites people who are passionate about great coffee to come together and celebrate their shared passion with each other. How great is that?

Gabe, Sarah and Victor pondering trivia.

Victor "The Hulk" Broadley in the last leg of the milk relay.

Gabe and Victor prep for the Double Bar Bar station.

Alex identified foods commonly used as taste descriptors for coffee in the "Tastes like..." challenge.

Our signature drink had Tuaca, sweetened condensed milk, pomegranate molasses, and seltzer water with shots of Joe's Ethiopia - Camp Cooperative.

Feature - Finca San Luis Wins Third Good Food Award!

2013-01-21T12:56:27Z

Colombia Finca San Luis has won the Good Food Award for the third 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 La Gloria, and proud to be a part of the Good Food Awards mission. We have a very limited supply — small batch of 8 oz. bags — of this outstanding microlot. This year has the added honor of receiving the Good Food Award Gold Seal, which recognizes coffees that are certified organic. Find Colombia Finca San Luis La Gloria in stores and online (see right sidebar).

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 helped sustain Organic certification, price premiums, and international recognition for his coffee. Now, for the third year running, his coffee is a Good Food Award winner. As always, the flavor of this lot is exceptional and reflects the care that Omar takes with his coffee from seed to shipment. This particular lot is characterized by flavors of ripe citrus, grape, apple, and peach.

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.

“This is a very special coffee,” said Colleen Anunu, Director of Coffee at Gimme. “Having the opportunity to work with a passionate producer like Omar and to be able to roast such impeccable green coffee is tremendously rewarding. We are careful, and super attentive, but without the work at the farm-level this level of accolades would never be possible.”

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

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
La Gloria

Photos

Grown With Care at Finca San Luis

Other Pages

The Stimulating Experience

2013-01-19T00:43:58Z

There is no argument. Coffee is stimulating. Some may argue that it's the caffeine that's stimulating, I respectfully disagree. It's coffee that is stimulating. The experience of enjoying a cup of coffee, and everything that surrounds it, is stimulating. Enjoying a good cup of coffee heightens all five senses. Of course, there's the sense of smell; freshly ground coffee, or that aroma when you first open a bag. I am fortunate enough to also have opportunities to smell coffee in its green, pre-roasted, state as well as while it's being roasted at the Gimme! Coffee roastery. Each stage of the beans' life has a distinct aroma and each bean, from a variety of sources around the world, also has a distinct smell. This sense is again stimulated as the coffee is being made and, once again, as the cup is lifted to your mouth (getting ever-so-close to your nose). Whether you experience this over your morning read (which, I hope by now is this blog) or at the cafe with friends, there is no denying that the smell of coffee is up there with fresh cut grass, Classic Old Spice, bread baking and vanilla extract (although I wouldn't recommend smelling all of these at the same time).

Immediately after the sense of smell has been aroused, the taste buds are called to order. Splashing your coffee, whether it be black or loaded with sugar, across your tongue is what consuming this popular drink is all about. With the right coffee, roasted and prepared right, your tongue will take on a personality of its own as you sip every hot mouthful. It's also at this point that the true stimulant kicks in: caffeine. In humans, caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant, temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. It is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug, but, unlike many other psychoactive substances, it is both legal and unregulated in nearly all parts of the world. With that said, it is at this point that your other three senses suddenly become more aware.

Your eyes. Your sense of sight. Your vision. How you detect every aspect of making your coffee or watching a skilled barista pulling a shot -- is as stimulating as anything. You look around your kitchen and take in the morning. You glance around the cafe and take in the artwork, hanging on the walls. This is all a part of your coffee experience and your eyes can taste the room as clearly as your mouth can taste that espresso. As the coffee kicks in, your eyes widen and focus and you begin to get motivated as you prepare yourself for your day.

You pour the cup of hot coffee after pressing down on the French press plunger. Your finger deftly inserted into the handle of your favorite (Gimme! Coffee) mug. You run your hand across the counter at Mott Street as you make your way to the other side to grab your cappuccino. You feel the softness inside your gloves as you prepare to step back out into the cold with your coffee. Your sense of touch has been stimulated. The world around you and everything you touch sends signals to your now-sharpened brain. Your every nerve ending has been stimulated by your coffee experience.

You step outside and hear the traffic. You sit at your kitchen table and hear the Gorillaz on your iPod. You listen to the sound of the espresso machine pushing out your Burundi shot. You hear the neighbors next door as they pull out of the driveway and head to work. You hear yourself breath in. And out. It's the start of another day and it has been stimulated. By coffee.

Feature - Gimme! Coffee Releases New Fracktivist Organic Blend

2013-01-16T21:36:58Z

Gimme! Coffee offers Fracktivist Blend. $2 from every bag sold is donated to Toxics Targeting. Help fight fracking in New York State!

Making a Difference for New York

Gimme! Coffee, espresso bar and artisan roaster, recently released an Organic, limited edition "Fracktivist Blend" coffee which supports the fight against fracking in New York State. Two dollars from each bag sold is being donated to Toxics Targeting, watchdog group known for its long-standing efforts to protect the environment in the Finger Lakes and across New York state.

Hydraulic fracturing (also known as "fracking") is a controversial drilling method that has come under fire from New York state environmentalists and community groups because of the risks it poses to the water supply. Gas companies' recent efforts to expand fracking from nearby Pennsylvania, where it is already taking place, to New York's Marcellus Shale, have intensified the fight.

“There's Way Too Much At Stake”

“Coffee is our livelihood, and coffee is 98 percent water, so if we don’t have access to good water, that’s a problem,” said Kevin Cuddeback, CEO of Gimme, during a recent interview with Fresh Cup Magazine. “But beyond coffee we’re human beings, and if companies are nonchalant about pollution, there’s going to be a shortage of potable water. It just seems like there’s way too much at stake to go running into allowing fracking because a few people have dollar signs in their eyes—the potential cost is everyone else who’s dependant on the natural resources that we have. This is our way of thinking globally and acting locally. The issue is worthy of us as an organization doing what we can to promote awareness of it in the general population.”

Toxics Targeting was selected from over a dozen possible organizations to receive the funds since it has a long track record of successful environmental advocacy and has been a leader in the fight against fracking. Gimme! Coffee is pleased to be working with Toxics Targeting to educate our customers about Marcellus Shale gas fracking hazards and participate in key public policy decisions about protecting public health and the environment.

“Fracktivist” is available in stores by the bag, online at the Gimme! Coffee web shop and wholesale for restaurants and businesses.

Gimme! Coffee offers Fracktivist Blend. $2 from every bag sold is donated to Toxics Targeting. Help fight fracking in New York State!

Making a Difference for New York

“There's Way Too Much At Stake”

“Fracktivist” is available in stores by the bag, online at the Gimme! Coffee web shop and wholesale for restaurants and businesses.

Buy Now

Fracktivist
Organic Blend

Homebrewing ala Chemex

2013-01-10T15:30:02Z

This blog post is written by Toby Maxwell, a forever-Barista who competed in the Brewers Cup last year. The picture above is of Toby (right) and Gimme! Coffee's Tyler (left) after the Brewers Cup, just when we were about to drive back to Ithaca. Watching Toby and Tyler brew with calm confidence was an awesome result of all the hard work they put into training for the event. Toby found time to write this post while studying Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry at UC Davis, no doubt over coffee. Toby competed with our El Salvador Miralvalle and he spent hours in the lab fine tuning his preparation technique, one phrase I remember hearing was, "I want the lime to hit first," which seems like a passing phrase, and easy enough, it's a top note, right? But that's the amazing thing about coffee, you can use your skill to allow the coffee to unfold in the way that best describes it. The other amazing thing is Toby knew that coffee better than anyone in the world, every coffee lot is different and Toby got to know the personality of the Miralvalle like no one else, it became known as "Toby's coffee." Here is a great breakdown on the brewing of a Chemex by Toby:

"In search of the perfect cup of coffee brewed at home I have been using the Chemex, a simple, manual and therefore tweakable brew method, to experiment with as many parameters as possible when making coffee by hand. It is a way to make my morning coffee ritual dynamic as well as to produce better and better coffee for myself at home.

Experimentation began by trying to discern the nature of extraction. I brewed a Chemex and separated the brewed coffee resulting from the preinfusion, 1st, 2nd and 3rd minutes. The order of extraction for flavors is well documented in espresso, and as I found, follows the same general principle in the chemex. Flavors come out in the following order: sour, sweet/creamy, bitter. Understanding that can give clues to how to make adjustments for an ideal extraction. Below are the parameters that I have considered and what I found that they influence.

Filter
The filter for the Chemex is part of what gives the coffee a smooth, silky mouthfeel. The intended filters are thicker than a regular coffee filter, the result is that nearly all suspended solids are filtered out giving a smooth clean mouthfeel and yielding a delicate cup. Titanium filters and cloth filters are also available that allow more grit through, changing the extraction and texture.

Dose/Grind
These two parameters are interrelated, and so can be discussed together. Both dose (amount of coffee used) and grind affect brew time and therefore the time of exposure for water to coffee as it flows through. The basic principle is that due to the increased surface area of finer grind, the time required to drain is longer, and thus a coarser grind will drain faster. Changing the dose will also affect the total extraction time, a larger dose will also increase the drain out time and a lower will subsequently decrease it. Play with this balance to achieve an ideal brew time (~ 3 minutes) as well as to understand how they change the flavor. You could try a fine grind, but lower the extraction time to 2 minutes, or a coarser grind and raise the extraction time. The same brew time with different grind/dose ratio will not yield the same cup of coffee!

Temperature
Ideal extraction temperature is ~195-205º F, this will influence solubility of the flavor compounds, and will be very specific each time you brew. I like to just try to do the same temperature every time and keep it at ~200º F. Having a pouring device that maintains temperature well keeps this factor constant. Signs of under extracted coffee due to cool water would be watery, slick, lacking depth. Signs of over extracted coffee due to too high of a temperature would be burnt, toasty, lacking top notes.

Preinfusion
I brew my Chemex by weight, on a kitchen scale. I add between 2 and 3 ounces of water carefully (for ~30 grams) to the dry grounds, just enough to wet them. This exposure releases gas trapped in the grounds and helps to open the pores of the grounds allowing for ideal extraction of the flavor compounds. The grounds puff up and "bloom." The size of the bloom will change depending on the freshness of your coffee, a coffee a couple days off roast would have a large bubbly bloom. We generally recommend aging coffee, usually 5-7 days off roast for optimal flavor.

Pour Method/Frequency
My method is to pour right in the center of the grounds, and slowly spiral outwards. I also use the 'heartbeat method' when brewing a chemex; I add about 7 oz (~200g) water at a time, let it drain almost completely and then go for the next addition. Pouring gently can dramatically influence how your grounds settle and will affect the entire extraction. Whatever you choose to do, observe your process so its repeatable and link your process to your finished results. Could you explain it to someone so they could duplicate it? Take into consideration weight, time and color of grounds.

Stir Method/Frequency
I like to stir, some people don't. Stirring adds energy, which increases extraction of the coffee at the point of contact. After understanding the nature of the extraction of flavors, stirring can be very interesting. A stir can bring out aspects of the coffee that are extracting as the stir is applied, i.e. an early stir could highlight bright, sour flavors. One note though, I have trouble stirring at home because it often causes the grounds to collect in the bottom of the filter due to my imperfect grinder. Depending on how you pour, this could also be adding agitation to the coffee.

Finish
When standing water is no longer visible, I pull the filter out. Give the coffee a quick swirl so it is properly mixed, and enjoy! A pre-warmed cup is always a great idea too.

My go to recipe for 1 large cup:

Coffee: 30 grams (I recently measured a level quarter cup of whole bean coffee to be ~22 grams, though this is variable)
Grind: Slightly coarser than for drip machines
Water: ~17 oz/500g @ 200 degrees

Directions

Pre wet filter with excess water, allow to sit in the chemex to warm the glass before brewing, but don't forget to pour it out first!
Add 30 grams ground coffee to Chemex
Bloom/Preinfuse! Add 2-3 oz water slowly, completely covering grounds, wait until the bloom starts to settle (~20-30 seconds).
Break bloom from center out, adding 6-7 oz hot water, if you want, stir immediately with a few very gentle stirs with a warmed spoon.
When water level is almost below grounds, add the last 6-7 oz water and give another gentle stir.
Pull the filter as the water level drops below the level of the grounds, give a quick swirl, taste!
Brewing time should be between 3 and 4 minutes.

Tips:
Scales/Weighing
One of the best ways to increase consistency in brewing is to add water by weight instead of by volume. A good scale will also help by allowing you to measure coffee beans accurately, small changes in weight sometimes lead to huge changes in flavor!

Grinder
A burr grinder will change your life! Compared to the blade grinders that are seemingly ubiquitous at home, it will give a much more precise grind size and will greatly improve coffee flavor and extraction. Hand grinders are great and portable, electric can be costly and large, but are easier and generally more consistent.

Coloration
Knowing the right color to look for is a good way to help know if your parameters are good. Stirring can help develop good coloration, but it is also a result of perfect grind/dose to water ratio.

Flavor
Try adjusting grind first, then fine tune with dose. Flavors associated with restriction are: syrupy, slick, dried, condensed flavors, burnt, deep, flavors seem far away. Flavors associated with a more open brew are: acidic, watery, juicy, refreshing, muted flavors, too close, toasty, brighter, lively. Try to find a nice balance, moving in the direction you need to balance your cup.

Coffee Preferences
Chemex produces a very clean cup highlighting the delicate characteristics of the coffee, is not ideal for everyone, but most people find it incredibly delicious. If you want a more bold cup, then the thick filter might rob you of the sediment and oils you were expecting! These parameters can be more or less applied to any other coffee making technique!

Last important note, I think everybody should know that Wikipedia cites the Chemex as James Bond's preferred brew method for coffee, as seen in "From Russia with Love." So, if you want to brew like 007, try a Chemex.

The Cafe Experience

2013-01-10T14:39:24Z

I am lured by the buzz at Gimme! Coffee State Street. The din. A steady audible hum of conversations. Each weaving into the other and creating a pulse-like sound in the cafe sitting area. Discussions over lattes that are impossible to single out but are clear as water at each table.
In the far corner is the accountant. I know this since I've known him for years. He, like many, setup office and meet clients over hot cappuccinos and fresh-baked pastries. He rarely wears a tie and is usually joined by two other Ithaca businesspeople. They are about to blast onto the scene with their new business idea. Accountants work in one long annual cycle, are instrumental to anyone starting a business, and I am certain that coffee is a big part of what keeps this economy moving.

In the opposite corner is the writer. His name is Lance. Free Lance. He is working on his great American novel in one window and paying the bills for his Fall Creek apartment in the other. His paying gig is writing copy for a high-tech firm. His usual love scenes are replaced with instructions on how to assemble cash registers. Those two scenes, to him, are not too unlike each other. He toggles between windows just in order to keep his sanity and to make sure the creative juices don't cease up. The occasional shot of espresso helps.

Next to him, and a potential mate but neither knows this, is the artist. The woman in the scarf leaning over her sketch pad. She glances up at the face of the older couple across from her, tourists, and registers each line of their years of smiling in sharpened #2 pencil. She is on page 30 of a 45-page sketchbook and is never sure if she is happy to finish the book or if it will make her sad, as if she is saying goodbye to a loved one. Her coffee sits on a napkin that is adorned with doodles surrounding the cup base; creating a customized coaster.

Seated along the window is that lonely man. Or is he? Sipping his Americano, his eyes focus past the glass and onto the street. There is a New York Times open in front of him but he never seems to look down. He is me.

Walking though the front door are two construction workers. They are tearing up a nearby street, searching for that valve that gave way during a recent cold snap. They are dressed in Carhartt, head to toe, and have come in every morning ordering the same large cup of Leftist. Black. As recent regulars, one of them is certain that the Gimme barista is getting a crush on him, since she memorized his complicated order: large coffee. Black.

Our baristas, which is the Italian word for bartender, are always moving. In control. Like machines running machines. They know everything there is to know about pulling a shot and they work hard at always perfecting their art. It's never enough to simply pour a drink, it needs to be worthy of Instagramming. If espresso drinks could be held horizontally, each one would be a work of art. And the Gimme! Coffee baristas are each a Michelangelo.

Some customers come in for that black coffee to go. Some come in to purchase bags of coffee for themselves as well as for gifts. Some come in and seem to never leave. And through it all and throughout the day there is that buzz. The din. The sounds of a busy cafe on a cold winter day.

Gimme! Coffee has three espresso bars in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State and three espresso bars in New York City (one in Manhattan and two in Brooklyn). They are all an integral part of each neighborhood they occupy.

Introducing Gimme! Coffee's New Lab Series in New York City

2013-01-07T14:54:04Z

Have you ever wanted to know how to brew a Clever at home? Or have you ever wondered if grinding your coffee just before you brew it makes that big of a difference in the taste? Or are you just interested in some free coffee? Well, consider this a standing invitation to attend our Lab Series every Wednesday at 3:00 pm in our Roebling St. Training Lab (107 Roebling St at N6th St. in Brooklyn).

Each Wednesday, our Trainer and experienced Baristas will be hosting events that explore different aspects of coffee from the importance of water quality, to palette development, and much more. The events are open to the public. No RSVP required. Below, you'll find the schedule for the next 3 months. And check back to our blog for a weekly recap!

January 16: Cupping and Wholesale Info. Session

Daralyn, our new Wholesale Account Rep., will be hosting an introductory cupping for potential Wholesale customers. This is a great opportunity to meet Daralyn and get more information about our Wholesale program.

January 23: Good Food Awards Finca San Luis Tasting

For the third year in a row, Gimme! Coffee's La Gloria from Finca San Luis in Colombia is a Good Food Award Winner! Come taste this amazing coffee and learn more about our relationship with producer Omar Arango.

January 30: Coffee Adventures with Daralyn

Daralyn will be sharing her experience as a coffee professional in NYC through this series within a series - Coffee Adventures with Daralyn. Start the journey with her on the 30th.

February 6: Fracktivist & Water Tasting

Brewed coffee is 98+% water. In this lab we'll be sampling our Fracktivist blend brewed with different types of water and exploring the relationship between good, clean water and great tasting coffee.

February 13: Why I Love Coffee

For Valentine's Day, we'll be celebrating our love affair with coffee. We'll be tasting coffees we love!

February 20: Coffee & Chocolate Pairing

Lots of folks compare coffee to wine, but coffee has a lot in common with chocolate as well. Come taste artisan chocolate next to Gimme! Coffee. What could be better?

February 27: Palette Development (Sugar)

Have you ever heard someone describe coffee as "sweet"? In this lab we'll be tasting different types of sugars on their own and in coffee to explore sweetness in coffee.

March 6: NERBC Demos - Tentative

In anticipation of the Northeast Regional Barista Competition, Zoey and Sarah will be previewing their competition routines for friends, customers, and co-workers. Your support would be much appreciated.

March 13: Grind & Freshness

Do you grind your coffee just before brewing or get it ground at the store? Do you think it makes a difference? Come to this tasting to get some answers.

March 20: TBD

March 27: TBD

April 3: Honduras

Zoey will be returning from Honduras where she will visit coffee producers and enjoy a much deserved vacation. Come taste some great coffee and hear about her trip.

The Cupping Experience

2013-01-02T15:16:17Z

A few days prior to getting hired at Gimme! Coffee, I was invited to a cupping event. Not knowing what to expect or what to wear, I showed up dressed in my usual black over black and soon discovered that was the dress code. Only wished I had remembered my scarf. Gimme! Coffee holds weekly cuppings at their labs in Ithaca and Brooklyn and the public is invited to attend.

Within a few minutes, I was given the drill (most likely for my benefit since the others seemed like expert cuppers) on what the hour and a half session would entail.

A cupping is like a wine tasting. For coffee fanatics. I've never considered myself a coffee fanatic but I do love good coffee. Having recently gone vegan and also having given up many other decadent foods and lifelong habits over the year, coffee has maintained its rightful place in my life. I do love good coffee but did I actually know why? And did I know what made a good coffee good?

A cupping event allows participants the opportunity to sample coffees from around the world through all five senses. Of course, the two most prominent ones are: taste and aroma.

The first pass at a cupping you're asked to sink your nose into the cup of grounds and sniff stiffly (being reminded not to exhale or sneeze into the cup). The aroma is intense and you immediately begin to wake up. Continuing around the table, you smell each cup of grounds and jot down notes about the experience: citrus, nutty, and smoky. A nearby tasting wheel helps "guide you" on what will become an endless array of adjectives describing aromas and tastes as the day unfolds.

Once everyone has had a chance to smell the dry grounds, the host will soak them in hot water and start the timers (four minutes until you're invited back to experience an even more intense aroma sensation called "breaking the crust"). In the meantime, participants circle the table once more and smell the now wet grounds taking even more notes on the varietal qualities of coffee aroma.

In the back room, at the State Street Lab, I was one of a dozen or so participants milling about a large round table littered with samples of roasted coffee beans and short ceramic mugs filled with freshly ground coffee.

Then, using a special cupping spoon and a three-flick-wrist-move, you "break" the top of the floating grounds (the crust) and are dealt an intense aroma that is unlike anything you've experienced and unlike the first pass altogether. What may have started as "chocolaty" now becomes "buttery" as the hot steam fills your olfactory senses.

Round ended and the host skims the top layer of grounds and invites each participant to slurp a mouthful of delicious brewed coffee. And I mean slurp. The noisier, and more violent, the better. This technique allows for all the coffee flavors to explode into your mouth and the tastes truly come alive: sweet, mellow, mild, tangy. Finally! Coffee being tasted as it was meant to be tasted. In its purest form.

At this point it becomes evident as to why Gimme! Coffee has such a loyal following. The coffees are each so unique and flavorful and the people, who work so hard at bringing these flavors to the public, really know what they're doing. As a cupping may become a once a month event for me, the staff at Gimme do this nearly every day in pursuit of introducing the perfect bean to the perfect cup.

Needless to say on that particular day, tasting a dozen different blends and single-origin coffees a dozen different times, I really began to feel the effects of the caffeine. Which is why I probably should have listened when the instructor said we could spit out the coffee after each taste.

At least I was wide-awake enough to write this blog. ~ E

Gimme! Coffee in Ithaca (State Street) holds weekly cuppings that are free and open to the public every Saturday as does Gimme! Coffee on Lorimer Street in Brooklyn. For more information, visit www.gimmecoffee.com.

Photos - God is My Way...or "The Highway"

2012-12-06T19:43:47Z

Back in August, I was an observer at the first ever Burundi Cup of Excellence. One day, after a battery of intensive cupping sessions, we boarded a bus and headed from the city center to the highlands.

View the full gallery

Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck Kettle Is Here

2012-11-30T17:37:53Z

The newest product from Bonavita, the variable temperature gooseneck electric kettle, will improve your home pour over brewing routine. No more stove top kettles. No more electric kettles with cords that just come close to your desired temperature. Achieve the exact water temp for your manual brew needs with this affordable, sleek kettle we use in our own cafes. Available now in stores and online for $89.99.

Features:

Gooseneck spout for precise, steady pour control (essential for pour over brewing)
Variable temperature allows for exact temperature for coffee brewing or tea extraction
360 degree cordless kettle - set on/remove from base from any angle
6 preset temperatures or set yourself from 140° F up
Heats up 1.0L room temp water to boiling in 5 minutes
Temperature hold for 1 hour
LED display shows current temp, accurate to +/- 2° F
Count-up timer for accurate coffee extraction or tea steeping
1.0L (33.8 oz) capacity
Brushed stainless steel finish
Auto shut-off
Commercial UL certified
AC 120V 60Hz 1000w
1 year manufacturers warranty

Apple + Coffee

2012-11-27T16:06:51Z

Fall is here and going and to celebrate the season we hosted an apple and coffee pairing. Two simple things, one perfect pairing. Emma, a Barista at State St came up with the idea. She was inspired by tasting how different each coffee was and when she went home her boyfriend would bring home different varieties of apples and violá! The seed was planted. We loved the idea of taking two things that people generally have one taste association with, yeah apples tastes like apples and coffee tastes like coffee, and expand how we perceive their flavors by playing off of one another. Both coffees and apples are simple and complex, we looked at acidity, taste, sweetness and physical sensations, such as a juicy apple made you thirsty for a juicier drink, to mix and match them. Here were our pairings, all apples were late harvest apples from Indian Creek Farm.

Margil and Guatemala Chajulense Clever. As we were tasting the Margil a very specific flavor description came up, that had also been brought up a couple days before in a lab, fresh pumpkin guts. The timing with Halloween may have swayed us toward this description but once we tasted fresh cut pumpkin in the Margil we had to check our cupping notes to see which coffee summoned the same response. The pumpkin-pear, caramel and popcorn (seriously) finish in the Margil made us want a coffee you would hold in a mug to warm up your hands and the tip of your nose while taking comforting sips with the changing leaves.

Ashmead Kernal and Honduras Linda Vista cold brew. This was the extreme pairing. The syrupy, liquid chocolate-caramel cold brew balanced the grass scented, sour, crunchy sweet-explosion the Ashmead Kernal brought to the pairing. The apple had the top and middle notes, with almost warming qualities while the coffee grounded the pairing with a cooler temperature and syrupy, boozy end.

Northern Spy and Leftist espresso. A perfect pairing, both were balanced and balanced each other. We used this as an example of rhythm between items. One of the elements of pairing we wanted to highlight was the rhythmic pattern between food and drink, when you felt compelled to take a sip or a bite, and how they danced together. We've all experienced this, certain pairings "go down fast," like hot coffee and an apple fritter, while others are savored over long periods. We thought these two bounced perfectly together, the aftertaste of the apple worked seamlessly into a sip of espresso and vice versa.

Spitzenburg and Honduras Las Penitas Chemex. The apple was delicate, sweet and balanced with tastes and fragrances of honeydew, kiwi and banana . It wasn't very juicy, almost like chewing on sugar. We wanted to pair it with something juicier and sweet, but also balanced and delicate. Las Penitas, with rich berries, starfruit, guava and a delicate jasmine finish was perfect as a chemex allowing the fruits and acidity to shine by holding back the most amount of sediment through it's thick paper filter and letting the true syrupy body show itself.

Roxbury and Guatemala Atitlan Chemex with Kone filter. This was fun, we brewed the Atitlan in a way to mimic the apple. The Roxbury was pillowy soft, with spearmint, lilac and cotton candy. It played with the breath in particular way, where flavors were exposed with a delicate exhale, the phrase, "breathes infinity flowers," came up in the tasting. We took the Atitlan, a clean, crisp coffee with light floral and citrus notes and brewed it through a Kone filter, allowing a small amount of sediment through, to give it a pillowy mouthfeel.

Suntan and Kenya Gatomboya French Press. You weren't expecting that, where you? We thought the suntan had an understated intensity and we wanted to play around with this concept, so we took one of our juiciest tropical fruit filled coffees and mellowed it out. Like a miniature circus under a cotton blanket.

Gimme! Coffee Wins 2013 Roaster of the Year!

2012-10-22T17:34:36Z

From Roast Magazine:

"Roast Magazine's Roaster of the Year award recognizes companies that roast coffees of superior quality, exemplify a dedication to sustainable practices and employee education, and demonstrate a commitment to the coffee industry, among other criteria."

"Gimme! Coffee of Ithaca N.Y., and New York City, claimed the top spot in the large (macro) roaster category, which includes companies roasting more than 100,000 pounds of coffee each year. Gimme! Coffee gained the title for its commitment to a healthy environment, community and business, and for committing to the growth and education of the individuals in the company."

"This award honors our hard-working staff and coffee producers, as well as all the customers who have supported us in our commitment to sustainability and our continuing search for the most beautiful coffees in the world," said Amina Omari, Managing Director for Gimme! Coffee. "With 300,000 pounds of coffee roasted this year, we look forward to an even better year to come."

Each year Roast Magazine selects both a micro and macro "Roaster of the Year" that recognizes companies that roast coffees of superior quality, exemplify a dedication to sustainable practices and employee education, and demonstrate a commitment to the coffee industry. Other considerations include the company mission, innovations in roasting, marketing and business practices as well as the overall quality of the coffee. Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, of Olympia, Washington, was the recipient of the "Micro Roaster of the Year" award.

Gimme! Coffee has garnered similar awards and accolades for its roasts in the past and continues to define new ways in which to perfect their products. Available by the cup at any of their retail locations, by the pound in-store or online, and wholesale for restaurants and businesses, Gimme! is committed to a higher quality product; while building and sustaining relationships with their sources.

We are incredibly honored to accept this award, and we owe so many thanks to our coffee producers, our customers, our community, and our talented and dedicated staff. Thank you for supporting us and joining us on this amazing coffee journey for the past twelve years; here's to many more!

A Central American Adventure

2012-09-13T21:00:15Z

Above, Aida Batlle inspects a bed of coffee cherries undergoing processing.

The mornings are getting cooler, the sun is setting a little earlier, and Labor Day festivities signal that Fall is just around the corner. Fall, for many reasons, always brings to mind the harvest. As a nation, we celebrate the harvest in November, but we are starting the celebration early this year at Gimme! with a crop of great coffees from all over Central America. We have two delicious coffees each from each of three Central American coffee-producing countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Above, Juan Francisco Pira surveys the nursery at Finca La Providencia de Atitlán. The volcanic mountains of Central America are the ideal spot to grow high-quality coffee. The soil around these volcanoes is extremely mineral-rich and contributes these minerals to the coffee. Several of our Central American coffees are grown on the slopes of volcanoes. In Guatemala around Lake Atitlán, a lake formed in the crater of a collapsed volcano, Juan Francisco Pira has been working to revitalize La Providencia de Atitlán. In El Salvador, Aida Battle is working with the Hill family at Beneficio Las Tres Puertas to do the same thing to their farms on the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano. Tablón Ocho and Guachipilin are from two farms that are part of this revitalization program and carry the prestigious title of Aida Batlle Select.

In Honduras, coffee farmers like Joel Gúzman and Jorge Arturo Benítez Miranda are always looking for ways to stay on the cutting edge of coffee cultivation. Our Director of Coffee, Colleen, met them both through the Cup of Excellence competition and we've been consistently impressed with the excellent coffee they grow.

For Joel Gúzman at Finca Linda Vista, one of the biggest challenges he faces is getting his coffee from the trees on the slope of a steep mountain-side to his mill at the bottom. The slope is too intense for vehicles or mules, so Joel built a pipeline that transports the harvested cherries from the hands of his pickers straight to the mill. Growing excellent coffee is hard work, but now it's a little bit easier at Linda Vista because of Joel's innovative approach.

Jorge Arturo Benítez Miranda has been working on coffee farms since he was a young boy. His father, Natividad, has won the Honduras Cup of Excellence in the past, so Jorge has big shoes to fill. Now in his early twenties, Jorge is already an experienced coffee farmer, but he is interested learning more about how manage farms at high altitude with cool temperatures and lots of rain. Jorge is ready to carry the torch for the next generation of coffee farmers in Honduras. We are so pleased to be able to work with him. His ambition inspires us.

We are excited to offer you these coffees because they delicious! So much more so because they are grown and processed by people who are looking for ways to increase the quality of life in their communities as well as the quality of their coffee. We admire and share their values.

In addition to brewing at home, here are all the different ways you can enjoy a Central American Adventure at one of our cafes:

Guatemala Guaya'b: Daily Brew both hot and cold; Single Origin Espresso at our Roebling St. location in Brooklyn.
Guatemala La Providencia de Atitlán: Premium Brew hot and cold; Clever
Honduras Las Peñitas: Premium Brew hot and cold; Clever
Honduras Linda Vista: Premium Brew hot and cold
El Salvador Tablón Ocho: Clever
El Salvador Guachipilin: Daily Hot Brew

And, of course, all of these options are available as whole bean on our retail shelves and through our website. We look forward to celebrating Fall and the amazing fruits of the harvest across Central America with you!

Video: Finca San Luis & The New Mill Project

2012-07-18T12:54:16Z

Meet Omar Arango, see his farm, and learn more about our Finca San Luis Organic Coffee and the New Mill Project that you're supporting with every purchase!

More video: Finca San Luis Good Food Award.

With Every Bag, Support the New Mill Project at Finca San Luis

2012-07-06T14:56:55Z

Omar Arango is rebuilding his mill at Finca San Luis, and we're all pitching in to help! For every bag of Finca San Luis coffee sold, we're sending an extra $2 directly to Omar to help with the New Mill Project -- that's in addition to the premium prices we already pay him for his delicious coffee. This is a major step for Omar and his farm, and we appreciate your help in making it happen!

About Milling Coffee
Coffee grows inside cherries; in other words, each coffee bean grows like a pit in the center of a sweet, pulpy fruit that is about the same size and shape as a regular cherry. Soon after harvesting, the pulp must be stripped off the coffee bean, and the bean must be dried thoroughly. The mill -- also called a beneficio -- is where this happens. If there are any delays, the pulp may begin to ferment, creating off-flavors in the bean and reducing the quality of the coffee. The most consistent farms (including Finca San Luis) have their own mills on-site, so that they can process the coffee cherries promptly after harvest.

At Finca San Luis, prompt milling is especially important because of the rainy, humid micro-climate. At most farms, harvest happens only 1-2 weeks out of the year; at Finca San Luis, Omar harvests year-round, sending out pickers every day for weeks at a time. In addition, the high humidity means that the coffee needs to be run through a mechanical drier in addition to a drying period on raised beds. Currently, beans have to be packed and transported to an off-site facility with a mechanical drier.

The advantage of this microclimate is that it allows Omar to pick selectively, track individual microlots, and maintain the highest quality in every batch. However, there's a disadvantage, too: because Omar is harvesting constantly, he has to keep more people on staff and he wears through his equipment much faster. These things drive up his cost of production and make his farm far less efficient.

The New Mill Project
All these factors -- the weekly harvests, the rainy microclimate, Omar's drive to produce the best Organic coffee in Colombia -- mean that the farm's mill needs some extra TLC. Omar's New Mill Project will replace, and rebuild all the components of his mill. With funding help from Gimme! Coffee and Virmax Cafe (our parter exporter), Omar will...

replace the depulper, a machine that removes the outer layer of cherry pulp from the coffee bean. Dull teeth can break the bean, exposing it to a variety of defects. The new depulper will ensure the physical integrity of the beans.
fix/replace broken drying beds. Omar uses these drying beds to track individual micro-lots of coffee.
build new fermentation tanks and improve the layout of the mill. Improvements will include a new augur to transport beans between the top and bottom floors, and other fixes that will speed processing time and reduce labor.
purchase a new mechanical drier. This machine will allow Omar and his crew to do their work more efficiently, cutting out the lag time of transport and the manpower for packing and travel.

When the New Mill Project is finished, Omar will have a more efficient mill that can handle his frequent harvests, increase his yield, and make his farm more sustainable over the long term.

About Finca San Luis
This is our third year working closely with Omar Arango and Finca San Luis. Back in 2009, Director of Coffee met Omar, toured the farm, and began a trading partnership we're continuing to build together. Omar grows a handful of different varietals, and He treats all varietals with the same careful picking, washing and drying practices and keeps them separate for individual quality assessment. In the three years since working together Omar's farm has renewed its Organic certificate, received price premiums for his micro-lots, and won two Good Food Awards.

We have two lots of Finca San Luis in stores now, and both include a $2 direct contribution to the New Mill Project. The first is a 16-bag lot blending different varietals. This lot This particular lot is characterized by fruit and floral flavors, with a crisp citrus accents and a solid sugar base.

The second lot is unique even for Finca San Luis; it's a 2-bag lot from the La Gloria subplot of the farm. La Gloria is a section of Finca San Luis that has proven to produce some of the highest quality coffee of the farm. In fact, it is some of the highest quality coffee that we have seen from Colombia, period. It's an extremely small lot, so if you're interested in trying the La Gloria you'll have to come visit of our stores to get it -- it's that good.

Photos - Summer Is Here

2012-05-23T19:17:44Z

Just a few things to make your summer even better... Now back on the menu, Blended Mocha, Raspberry Scream (with homemade raspberry syrup, upstate only for now) and Blended Vanilla Latte.

View the full gallery

Photos - Burundi Ngozi Rugabo

2012-04-15T14:53:11Z

Burundian coffee is up-and-coming. Burundi has struggled with political and ethnic violence since its independence in 1962, but a UN-brokered peace agreement in 2003 has paved the way for a new constitution and a period of peaceful growth. In October I traveled to the region hoping to build new relationships with farmers and exporters dedicated to producing exemplary coffee.

View the full gallery

cuppow (ka-pow), n.

2012-04-06T19:35:52Z

1. a BPA free plastic lid that turns an ordinary canning jar into a spill-proof travel mug
2. suitable for both hot and cold beverages
3. 100% recyclable and Made in the USA

We've combined a wide-mouth canning jar with the Cuppow to make your coffee drinking on the go even easier. An affordable alternative to cheap travel mugs and wasteful paper cups.

Get your jar/lid combo today at any Gimme! Coffee store for only $11.95.

Ecuador La Libertad Organic: New Coffee From the 'New Colombia'

2012-03-13T15:33:42Z

Photo: The view from Quilanga. Photo provided by Virmax.

La Libertad is our first offering from Ecuador, an equatorial country located in the north-western nook of South America, bordering coffee powerhouse Colombia. Grown by 18 different small-holder producers from the tiny village of La Libertad in the southern province of Loja, this lot is just 2,250 lbs (15 export bags) of Organic, shade-grown, and bird-friendly coffee whose quality far exceeds the Gimme standard.
I classify this coffee as a true 'washed mild', meaning that the cup profile is unmistakably sweet and clean, with no flavor surprises. What you should get is a cup balanced throughout all aspects: from the honey and brown sugar aroma, to the ripe candy-like cherry tangerine, and vanilla flavor, a gently tapered clean finish... all complimented by a full, soft body.

Photo: The "quality rainbow" of coffee cherries. Photo provided by Virmax.

La Libertad comes to us from our partners, coffee guru exporters Virmax Café. Based in Bogotá, Colombia, Virmax works in regions as far north as Huehuetenango, Guatemala down to Caranavi, Bolivia. Working in partnership with Virmax, we are able to bring you amazing coffees like Colombia Finca San Luis, Colombia Las Mingas and Guatemala Providencia Atitlán. They not only discover some of the highest quality microlots in Central and South America, but they actually put in the time, capital and energy to educate producers and producer groups to grow, harvest and sort their coffee for quality premiums. This is exactly how we are able to offer La Libertad to you.

Alejandro Cadeña, managing director of Virmax Café, has been working with one of the most advanced producer cooperatives in Ecuador, called FAPECAFES, since 2006. Still, they've only just started seeing the return on both quality and yield in the past few years. Ecuador is no easy country to work with on the large scale, given their economic struggles since the late 1990's, and high labor rate due to the fact that their economy is dollarized, but Virmax works on the small-scale to find willing producers who want to gain notoriety and market access by putting in the extra effort on the production level.

Photo: Typica seedlings in the coffee nursery. Photo provided by Virmax.

"Ecuador is Colombia of 20 years ago," Cadeña recently explained to me, the indication being that the infrastructure of Ecuador's coffee industry is well behind its neighbor. The lack of investment into quality coffee production has meant that plants are sometimes producing 80% less than their capacity. Still, what is being produced is purchased at base, or below base, prices as the majority of coffee produced in Ecuador is low quality Robusta and natural processed coffee for the soluble market (instant coffee). With this as the general theme for Ecuador's coffee production, it becomes difficult to make the extra effort in quality production seem viable for a majority of producers.

Working from the ground up, Virmax Café has been visiting producer groups more than 4 times annually, and has employed on-site quality managers to continue educating growers on techniques and standards. Since their initial investment into cooperatives since 2006, they have seen volumes quadruple and the average price for coffee increase 100% from $2/lb to $4/lb... well above standard Fair Trade price.

Photos - ...And A Good Time Was Had By All.

2012-02-10T15:09:23Z

Last weekend, we celebrated the Good Food Award with Winners' Flight tastings in Ithaca and Brooklyn.

View the full gallery

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!

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

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

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.

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 $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 - Roebling Street Cafe 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.

Gimme! Coffee News

Photos - Tour Our Upstate Cafes

Paircafe Taste Science and Gimme! Coffee

Photos - Behind the Bar at State Street

Photos - I'd like to introduce myself. . .

Tasting at Espresso 77

Photos - NYC Experience

Lab Series Update for NYC

Photos - Cupping Training in Sumatra

Finger Lakes Lab Series Begins

A Visit to Dana's Workshop

A Tasting Experience

What I Love About Coffee

Wholesale Cupping - Brooklyn

Barista Nation SF, TNT NYC, and Knockbox Classic

Feature - Finca San Luis Wins Third Good Food Award!

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

The Good Foods Mission

Colombia Finca San Luis Is Good Food

The Good Foods Mission

Buy Now

Photos

Related Pages

Other Pages

The Stimulating Experience

Feature - Gimme! Coffee Releases New Fracktivist Organic Blend

Making a Difference for New York

“There's Way Too Much At Stake”

Making a Difference for New York

“There's Way Too Much At Stake”

Buy Now

Related Pages

Homebrewing ala Chemex

The Cafe Experience

Introducing Gimme! Coffee's New Lab Series in New York City

The Cupping Experience

Photos - God is My Way...or "The Highway"

Bonavita Variable Temp Gooseneck Kettle Is Here

Apple + Coffee

Gimme! Coffee Wins 2013 Roaster of the Year!

A Central American Adventure

Video: Finca San Luis & The New Mill Project

With Every Bag, Support the New Mill Project at Finca San Luis

Photos - Summer Is Here

Photos - Burundi Ngozi Rugabo

cuppow (ka-pow), n.

Ecuador La Libertad Organic: New Coffee From the 'New Colombia'

Photos - ...And A Good Time Was Had By All.

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!

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!