As you can tell, I love coffee. I also love tattoos, although it is difficult to find the two together. I very rarely see a coffee tattoo that either looks good or has been done well. So, I went on a quest over the great World Wide Web. After tireless hours of surfing over all the hipster’s favorite sites, I’ve found my winners.

Personal fav needs to be the small brown latte art on the foot.

The blog is back!

 Let me personally apologize for this blog’s absence from the blogosphere over the past months. Of course, in the absence, the coffee world is rocked in several occasions: McDreamy buys a coffee chain and Starbucks wades into politically dangerous territory.

Patrick Dempsey buys Tully’s coffee.

Can McDreamy get any dreamier? Yes, yes he can by single handedly saving countless jobs and investing in the best product in business: coffee. Tully’s declared bankruptcy at the beginning of this year with many competitors vying to be it’s savior. With Starbucks as a main competitor, McDreamy swooped in and officially bought Tully’s coffee. The coffee chain will remain with the same name, just a more devastatingly handsome owner at the helm.

McDreamy sat down with a reporter at Time Magazine and discussed his opinions and motives for buying Tully’s. You can read the full interview here. How does Dempsey attribute the financial problems of the coffee chain? Growing too quickly. Why does he like the business so much? He loves coffee too. Oh McDreamy, you just went up significantly on my list.

Vote For Starbucks

Howard Shultz has some serious cajones. Not only is he single handedly masterminding what it is to rule the coffee world, but he is also a political activist. While some might think that the coffee giant has no business voicing his opinions on our political leaders and current policies, Schultz takes it all in stride. Most recently, he’s garnered some significant media attention for his comments on his shareholders and whether or not they agree with his values.

Earlier in March, Schultz made his stance very clear. He personally supports gay marriage, so much so that the National Organization for Marriage has asked those who support traditional marriage to boycott the company in hopes to make a difference. When Starbucks shareholders compared the earnings to what they might have been if there was no boycott in place, they questioned Schultz: does apathy on political issues help our bottom line?

Schultz made it very clear with his reply.

““If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much,”

Many media outlets took that to mean that Starbucks shareholders must hold the same beliefs and values as its CEO. That is not the case, Schultz believes that if shareholders are unhappy with the return on investment then they are welcome to sell and cut their perceived losses. I personally believe in Starbucks as a company, but that does not mean that I necessarily hold the same values.

Bottom line: Starbucks is a company that cares more about the numbers on their spread sheets and the hard cash that comes into each store. They care about the health and well being of their employees, they believe in the creativity of their customers, and they believe in the freedom for both of these classes to be themselves and live their lives the way they choose.

Happy February my coffee connoisseurs.

I hope the holidays treated you well and you soaked up as much gingerbread and peppermint flavored coffee you could. I’m sure during this past holiday season that many of you frequented Starbucks, Caribou, Dunkin Donuts, or any of the multiple chain coffee stores across the nation. But I am here to remind you how precious independent coffee stores can be.

They are very much like the lottery. You can either win big or spend large amounts of money with very little in return. In my experience, I’d bet on them, most times as a customer, you win big.

The Product

Independent coffee shops have an advantage in their product. It can be superior to larger chains because they have more freedom and less red tape to fight through in the creation, development, and delivery of their products. Instead of focusing on consistency store by store, each independent shop must only deal with consistency between its baristas. They have the power to create individual drinks that can either make or break an independent store.

Since they have minimal stores to focus on, they are able to take freedoms in their machinery as well. I’ve noticed that most independent stores are able to have manual espresso machines, therefore giving them the ability to create drinks that standardized coffee shops cannot. Cuban shots and customized espresso that include spices, salts, and sugars are just a few things that give manual espresso machines an edge over automated machines.

The Service

This category could easily be a tie between independent and chain stores. Chains have the bigger advantage of more time and resources dedicated to training and the development of customer service. I do believe that independent stores had a great need for customer service, and therefore place more emphasis on it with their valued patrons. In my experience, independent coffee shops memorize my name and drink quicker than that of chain stores. On the other hand, I know the level of customer service to expect when I walk into any brand named store.

The Mission

Whether the mission of the store is to profit or for the general advancement of the good name of coffee; the mission of each shop permeates everything it touches. Between the product, pricing, and execution, the mission of the store should be its reason for existence. If a store’s mission is to merely make a profit, it can easily be recognized in the quality of the product. Most independent coffee shops are not created to make its owners millionaires. It is a passion that is normally nurtured into a store and it’s mission is reflected in the care for the products and services it provides.

With everything considered, independent stores are able to pay more attention to the finer details of their products and services but as a consumer, you are guaranteed a consistency in quality with a brand named chain store.

Macchiato, cappuccino, and cortado. There are several different ways to make each but there is always controversy as to which is the correct way. I personally enjoy seeing each different ones and notating which I prefer best. I recently found a coffee company based out of Chicago, Illinois that I particularly took a liking to their training videos. Not only are they incredibly skilled baristas, but their equipment and procedure are impeccable. I’ve selected some of my favorite videos for you here to watch, to finally put to rest the correct way to make the following drinks.

True Macchiato

Cappuccino

Cortado

It’s like when Facebook changes their layout again, you never know how to work it like you did before. Starbucks has done just that, they have changed again and I am here to gently guide you in the ways of working and navigating through the new Rewards program. You may call me Captain.

News flash: Starbuck’s free drink coupons from the Reward program are going mobile; and well that’s not even that half of it. Not only can you redeem your rewards through your smart phone, you can also redeem them for free drinks and food. I know, mind-blowing. But hold on, it gets more intense. Not only do you know have to worry about losing paper postcards, you now will be getting an email alert as to when you’ve earned another sweet fifteen.

&& the best news of all: sweet fifteen now only takes twelve stars. Thats rights ladies gentleman with gold cards, every twelve stars equals a free drink/food coupon. What could take you daily drinkers a little more than two weeks to earn, you can now do in as little as a week and a half. Congratulations and let the caffeine addicts nationwide rejoice.

To redeem your free drinks or food, it is now as simple was walking up the register and informing the barista that you have a reward and would like to use it. Then, using their terminal, they enter in and and swipe your card or scan your phone and you no longer need to worry about losing a postcard.

Now, not everything is gold and shiny. There are some drawbacks to the new and revamped Rewards program. Things that I will miss and admit have saved me money in the past. So long are the days of getting free syrups and soy with your gold card. An understandably wise business move by Starbucks, they will now be enforcing the marginal increase in price for these glorious add ins.

soy: 60¢

extra syrup: 50¢

Despite the bummer of now having to pay for my peppermint in my white mocha, I think the upgrades to the program are beneficial and wise move. Still have questions? The illustration below is straight from Starbuck’s website or simply go and ask your local Starbucks, baristas are always up to date on latest procedures and promotions!

Most of you are probably somewhat familiar with coffee’s most recent machine giant. Keurig, from Green Mountain Roasters, is certainly worth writing about. Keruig machines produce over two and half million drinks across the nation and makes up about 6% of everyday brewed coffee. The benefit of the Keurig is summed up in one word: convenience. No more waiting every morning for your Mr. Coffee machine to brew the four or eight cup pot. No more measuring out coffee grounds and needing to wash the coffee scoop every day. The Keurig allows you to make your morning ritual that much more hassle free.

There are many imitations. Mr. Coffee has a pod maker out, Starbucks recently released their own single use espresso maker very similar to the Keurig. But what makes Keurig so successful? It was the first. It was the first of it’s kind to break out into the market and make a change to the coffee industry and for that is has been rewarded with substantial sales and a mighty product.

You can buy a Keurig just about anywhere. Amazon, Meijer, Walmart, Target. I’d advise buying at a bulk store such as Costco or Sam’s Club. Not only will you get the machine at a discounted price, it often comes with a K-cup starter set. It’s like getting a new car with a full tank of gas, it’s always a bonus for your money. Keurig makes all sizes; smaller for your desk at work or medium sized for the every morning use on your kitchen counter. Plus, there is a whole slew of fantastic Keurig related accessories.

While Keurig certainly has it advantages; the ease, varieties, and speed, it also has it’s disadvantages. Each K cup is made of plastic, which can equal tons of wasted plastic filling our landfills. The benefit of using a regular brewer is that both the coffee grounds and filter are useful in gardening and compost. You can easily recycle them to better the environment, unlike Keurig’s K-cups.

But all in all is it worth it? I’d say yes. I am a proud owner of a Keurig, I bring it to work every weekend for our Saturday coffee parties. It is worth it to me because my Keurig is used for more than coffee, it creates community. Hey, that is what coffee is all about sometimes.