Listen two these two tracks and let me know what you think.

The Civil Wars- Falling

Twilight Hotel- When Wolves Go Blind

Yet very different…

Fair Trade Discussion at Santropol Coffee

For the last few days I was in Montreal. While I was there I visited our coffee roasting friends at Santropol Coffee. They have a relatively small coffee roasting operation, but are doing phenomenal work in their community. While I was there meeting with James Solkin (Director of Business Development)we spoke about many topics, but for the most part it was about the upcoming year and the world of Fair Trade.

Future of Fair Trade

Currently, the standard of Fair Trade is being questioned. In many ways, the Fair Trade world is going to be split down the middle. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but James at Santropol Coffee mentioned a great article. It is a snapshot of the Fair Trade world today and a look to its future. Merling Preza who is president of CLAC/Small Producers Symbol (www.tusimbolo.org) and a key member of PRODECOOP, Nicaragua, is quoted in this article. Fair Trade Proving Anything But in Growing $6 Billion Market

Response from Fair Trade Canada

When we posted this on the Just Us! Coffee Facebook page, we received the following response from Fair Trade Canada:

“Just some quick notes to say (1) the Burkina Faso cotton story has been debunked, (2) the cocoa situation was mischaracterized, (3) same with the soccer balls. Also, Fairtrade International wrote a… strangely titled response to this article as well: http://www.fairtrade.net/single_view1.html?&cHash=5391963d3a35a398a99fd205355b68ec&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=266”

What do you think?

Photo sourced from: Felix Marquez/Bloomberg

One of my biggest pet peeve’s about quality restaurants is their lack of quality coffee and tea. You enter a quality restaurant, with tasteful ambiance, and beautiful presentation. Every last part of your restaurant experience is carefully executed until it’s time for coffee and tea.

When you order your coffee or tea it comes to the table and it’s name brand grocery store (Nabob or Tetley etc.). For some reason, many chefs neglect to source quality coffee and tea. The world of foodies now demands that quality coffee and tea be served in restaurants, but not all restaurants have jumped “on board.”

Recommendation to Restaurants

For restaurants, I encourage you to select a number of single origin coffees, one’s that pair with your selection of desserts, just as you would pair wines. You don’t need to have espresso beverages, but if you want to, make an effort to train your staff how to use the machine. Drip coffee and milk is not a substitute for a cappuccino; if your machine isn’t working properly just tell the customer (yes, this happened to a friend of mine).

To Customers

Customers, I urge you to not settle, when you receive bad coffee or tea in a restaurant tell the restaurant that it was not a nice experience and when you have a great coffee or tea experience in a restaurant, tell them, hell, tell everyone.

Ok, I am done my rant, have a nice holiday everyone!

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment…

1. St. Phillips Bakery, Maple, Ontario

St. Phillips is our family favorite for Italian bakeries. My family has been going there since I was very young. It’s baked goods and veal sandwiches are tasty and authentic Italian. Inside there is a deli, large baked desserts section, bread section, espresso bar area, and a full selection of panini’s, pizzas, salads, etc.-there is also a lovely seating area. In the summer they have exceptional Gelato too!

We often order their cakes for birthdays and eat lunch their after I get off the plane.

Photo of pastries we bought.

My favorite is the location in Maple on Major Mackenzie, but their other location  on Rutherford Road is almost identical.

2. Sam James Coffee Bar (SJCB)

By recommendation of Matthew Bourassa a talented barista at Just Us! Coffeehouse, Wolfville, I headed down to the Annex to check out this coffee shop.

When you first enter you notice that there are only three stools in the place and no washroom- the place is built for efficiency/commuters and has lots of standing room. One person takes your order and Sam pulls espresso shots. I had a macchiato (espresso shot ‘marked with milk, not the Starbucks version) and my parents had cappuccinos. Sam put incredible care into every shot he pulled and all three drinks had impeccable latte art (see below).

The espresso came through the milk nicely and had lush blueberry notes. I am very content and would reccomend SJCB to anyone wanting to get a great cup of coffee in Toronto.

It should be noted that it was just before close and 10 people showed up behind us to order drinks. Sam James Coffee Bar definately have a lot of fans, in fact when I mentioned we went to SJCB for coffee while at the Local Buttons, Anne (Co-Founder of Local Buttons) said that it was her favorite coffee spot in Toronto.

3. Local Buttons- Trunkshow

Local buttons is a social enterprise started by two social entrepreneurs. Namely, Consuelo McAlister and Anne Pringle.

“Co-founders Consuelo and Anne are innovators and environmentalists working to incorporate ethics, environmentalism, human rights and fair labour standards into global capitalism. Local Buttons strives to expose and make readily available ethical alternative purchasing markets within the Toronto community, in essence creating avenues for conscientious consumption” – Excerpt from Local Buttons

A couple of months ago, Anne and Consuelo went to Haiti, formed a partnership with INDEPCO (a Haitian textile and embroidery co-op), designed and worked with tailors to create vests out of recycled suits and dress shirts, and are now selling them in the Toronto market.

Yesterday, Anne and Consuelo hosted a trunk sale to sell their line of vests and I was lucky enough to acquire one. They are classy and elegant, but have edge and can be sported as “streetstyle.”

Their line of vests will soon be available in the Distillery District. (See video below for details)

For now, they have a website localbuttons.ca and are also available through Twitter and Facebook 

Here is an interview featuring Anne and Consuelo on Global:

Leslie Feist’s new ‘Metals‘ album. Here’s a clip from CBC’s Glenn Gould studios. I highly recommend  this album.

Having a successful company’s “recipe” doesn’t guarantee the success of yours, there is always an “x” factor. That ingredient or number of ingredients that separates your organization, ideas, thing, from those who wish to replicate it.

So don’t be afraid, share your recipe of success, it’s the “x” factor and execution that really make the difference for successful companies.

Inspired by Rework and my dear friend Becky J.

I think I will try and get some friends together to do something for this awesome international event on September 17th. Anyone interested in holding an event in Wolfville, NS?

About a year ago, when I was trying to figure out how to connect Acadia University events with local events I approached the two of them. We reached an agreement, where I would help them develop their business plan and in exchange they would provide a feed of all events within a 10km radius of Wolfville; thus, What’s On At Acadia (Redandblue.ca) was born as a website to connect Acadia University students with local events and a central location for all Acadia events.

Today, I have been taken on as the Sales Manager. ValleyEvents.ca so far has been a 100% a volunteer based project, however, with not enough volunteers and a large amount of events needing to be moderated every day,we have to find money to hire someone.

We have setup an Advertising program and are looking for local organizations to jump onboard. If you are interested in supporting ValleyEvents.ca or you know of an organization that would be a good fit, please contact me at
duncan@valleyevents.ca

I found out that humidity has more of an effect on an espresso shot than air temperature because coffee is hydroscopic (absorbs moisture) The temperature will not affect the espresso like the humidity, however, it is important to avoid exposing the coffee to any high temperatures until brewing.

Luckily, our talented baristas at Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op are trained to be able to taste the espresso and adjust the grind accordingly to achieve a smooth full-bodied shot.

Mmm. I am very awake now!

As coffee is highly affected by humidity, you should never keep coffee in the fridge. Fridge’s are humid and the coffee is porous, it will take in the humidity and “lovely” smells of your fridge.

Sources:

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/espresso/potential.htm

Doug, Head Barista, Grand Pré, www.justuscoffee.com