Thoughts on the Cafe Bombing

Crazy times here. There has been a bombing of buses down the street and around the corner, a bombing of cafe up the street, earthquakes in June, earthquakes in December, and a hostage situation at the local supermarket. And all of this coming in the last half of this year.

The bombing at a cafe up the street has been the most unsettling. The thought that it could have just as easy have been our coffee shop does not sit well with me. There is no defense against somebody willing to do that with no regard for their own life. There aren't really preventive measures that can be taken.

No news is certainly not good news. Nothing reliable or new has come out since the day of. Conflicting reports continue to sweep through what little online reports there have been. No major news agency or media has picked up the story at all. We are left to guess what happened, why it happened, and whether or not it will happen again.

The anti-foreigner backlash has been probably the most troubling. Online some locals have blamed foreigners for this assault or asked for all of us "laowai" or outsiders to leave China or even for us simply to die. There is still deep hate in some people's hearts to say such things in the wake of this tragedy.

New Years Bash at Chicago Coffee

Cafe Bombing - Kunming

Photo by www.salvadors.cn

Earlier this morning, reportedly a man walked into Salvador's Cafe with an explosive device and detonated it. Some are reporting casualties but none of it has been confirmed. Salvador's is a well known cafe just down the street from us. Actually I passed by on my scooter after teaching my class this morning and noticed something of this nature must of just happened. It turns out that it happened only shortly before that time. More information is available on www.gokunming.com.

Merry Christmas!

McD's getting fiesty

McD's has recently been taking a lot swings at Starbucks. This sign was put up directly across from Starbucks HQ. Another had the phrase "large is the new grande." Although witty and very clever, I am afraid the same people that aren't satistfied with the quality that goes along with a $1 burger will be the same people that might not fall in love with a latte from McDonalds.

Best of Kunming- Vote Now!

Only four days left to vote Chicago Coffee Best Cafe of Kunming. Go here for details.

Quest for the Supreme Bean- part three

The coffee cherries at this farm are dried using one of the oldest methods: dry processing. The beans are separated from the cherry using coffee pulping equipment as seen in the background of this first picture.



The cherries are then disposed of and the beans are spread out in the sun to dry. It takes about a week for the beans to fully dry and it is important step in the overall quality of the coffee. If the beans become to dry they will be brittle and break but if they are too moist then bacteria and fungus will begin to grow on them.

Here one of the farmers is sifting through the drying beans to make sure they dry evenly and thoroughly. After the beans are dried another outer shell is removed. Finally, the beans are sorted by size so that the grade of beans can be determined. After this final step the beans are then bag and made ready to be shipped or sold.

Its at this point that we now buy directly from the coffee farm (for local Yunnan beans) or through a third party (for buying imported beans from around the world.) For us we then cup the coffee to test its quality and then roast the beans so they are ready to make into various beverages from coffee to lattes.

Quest for the Supreme Bean- part two

Coffea Arabica
Miles and miles of Arabica coffee trees. Arabica coffee is far superior to the lesser quality of Robusta coffee. Arabica coffee is much harder to grow and cultivate but produces a more supreb flavor and taste. Robusta on the other hand is used mostly in instant coffee.

Arabica coffee must be grown at a higher elevation so a lot of time it is grown on the side of a mountain.

The Lujiang Coffee farm covers most of the mountainside in the foreground of most of these pictures. There are over 30 employed to cover the picking of all these coffee trees.

When coffee trees bloom a white jasmine-like flower appears for a few days and then disappears making way for small green coffee cherries. As the coffee cherry ripens it turns yellow, then red, and then deep red. When it has reached its deepest red it is now ready to be picked. Arabica beans are almost always picked by hand to ensure that every coffee cherry is perfectly ripe.

Unfortunately standards for Yunnan coffee are a bit lower so you can still see about 15% of the cherries that were picked before they fully ripened. Yunnan coffee is continuing to improve as more and more investment is poured into the crop and stricter standards are enforced. Beans of this region in Yunnan are said to have a stronger and deeper flavor than beans in the other major growing regions around the province.

Below you can see another picture of the coffee cherries as well one of a coffee picker way off in the distance.

Quest for the Supreme Bean- part one

On Thursday I traveled west to Baoshan, so that I could visit a local coffee farm. I have been meaning to do this for quite a while but coffee is only in season during the winter so this was the first chance I have gotten since Chicago Coffee was opened. I plan to post more on the trip over the next few days so check back more this week.

It was a fast trip (1.5 days) but it wouldn't be a trip within Yunnan without the obligatory flight delays or cancels. I took a Lucky Air flight, a local Yunnan airline, that was delayed 3 hours. I knew we were doomed once we boarded and began to crawl towards the runaway when they started to move the stairs back up to the airplane door. Sure enough, our plane was broken so we just needed to hop onto a different before we could take off.

Side Note: Lucky Air
Most translation errors or mistakes are funny and sometimes understandable. But come on. Lucky Air. I will grant you that in Chinese everybody loves Luck and it has a little bit of a different meaning than in English. But please I don't want to cruising at 30,000 with a company that just considers themselves lucky. Not exactly a vote of confidence.

Side Side Note: E-cigarettes
Apparently I missed the announcement of the invention of electronic cigarettes. I was baffled when the folks at Lucky Air informed us that cigarettes, cigars, and electronic cigarettes were all banned on board the flight. I thought it must an error in translation since I had not even imagined such an invention was possible. But then I wikipediaed it when I got home and sure enough, the electronic cigarette.

The flight to Baoshan is only an hour but the coffee farm village is about 2 to 3 hours further into the mountains. In fact, it was very close to the Myanmar border, as the Chinese man with the machine gun pointed out.

Upon arrival at the farm, we waited for the tractor to pick us up and take us up the mountain.

These pictures don't do the 40 minute ride justice but hopefully you can get some sense of it

At the top of the mountain it became clear that this was truly in the middle of nowhere. You know you have gone far if even Coca Cola has not yet arrived.

more of the quest tomorrow...

Middle of Nowhere

Any further into the middle of nowhere will have to put me somewhere
~ Lujiang Coffee Farm, China

Debunking Myth #3- Can't teach an old dog new tricks

Perhaps I am that old dog. But I would say that there were many new tricks I have learned from Year One of the Coffee Business.

"Yes" does not always mean "yes" - in fact sometimes it does not mean anything at all

Roasting my own coffee and running a coffee company has tripled my coffee intake and my joy in drinking coffee

I view landlords in a different light

I do not appreciate being threatened but I have learned that I do not easily back down

If given the opportunity some people will gladly down 5 Grande Mochas without blinking

Cooking and baking can be very therapeutic

Hot Brewed Coffee never goes out of season

Confusion is a very strong negotiating tactic

A properly crafted latte can take as little as 52 seconds

Humor knows no language barrier

There is no common ground quite like a coffee shop

Holiday Blend Coffee available starting Dec 5th/6th at Nordica

The festive blend of Guatemala and Indonesian coffee beans features bold flavors with hints of citrus and is paired best with cinnamon and nutmeg flavors and other holiday foods and drinks.

Carrefour Hostage Standoff- Kunming, China

Crazy times in these last few days. In the country a jump to the west from us we had the Mumbai attacks and in the country a skip to our south protesters attacked the airport in Bangkok (the same one we hoped to fly into next month) and down the street there was a hostage standoff at a local supermarket. Yesterday, the Kunming Media and police sources reported that a Chinese man attacked customers with a knife at the French supermarket Carrefour and took a woman hostage. The standoff was ended after 5 hours when a police sniper killed the attacker.
Crazy to think how close to home that is and that Carrefour is often where I go to buy things for the coffee shop and for my home. In fact, in the picture above is exactly where I park my electric scooter. The picture below describes the event in detail so please don't look closely or zoom in if you are distrubed by violent images. images from www.yn.chinanews.com.cn, www.kunming.cn

Intelligentsia Coffee- My 2nd Favorite Coffee Company

Founded in 1995 Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea Inc. brings a passion for coffee and a focus on exceptional quality. This coffee company with three locations in downtown Chicago and one in L.A. has received many awards and their baristas continually perform well in barsita competitions around the world. My favorite coffee shop in the western hemisphere has a simple setup but their roasting, their drink preperation, and the excellent taste of their drinks is anything but simple. Although Starbucks started the coffee revolution I beleive it is Intelligentsia that is perfecting it.

Top 3: Companies

Despite the frustrations of most companies we deal with there are 5 ,err, 3 companies I would like to recognize for excellent service or products.

1. WS Coffee (Guangzhou)
One of the few companies that delivers every single time. Never a fake excuse. Never a delay of shipment. Sometimes they lack complete knowledge of their product but they make up for it by consistently sending us free samples.

2. XinCon Consultancy (Kunming)
XinCon or now ShinCon made a registration process much easier than I could ever have imagined. Friendly and competent staff.



3. Nestle (Kunming)

Props for not putting melamine in their milk. Otherwise I am not sure how we would of been able to keep frothing milk for lattes and stuff. We had a great sales rep. until she moved onto another job so hopefully their service will stay great.

The only cell phone approved by Chicago Coffee

The Pomegranate N508 is the latest phone on the market but does a little more than the average phone.

This phone has a built in slot for coffee packet.

It also has its own water intake tube.

And boom, fresh coffee from your phone. Too bad this phone is only a marketing ploy from Nova Scotia for their pomegranates.

Don't forget the built-in shaver

Coffee Prices might climb 20% by March

A report by Bloomberg pointed to a price increase due to Brazil's production decline and roasters rebuilding of stockpiles. "Brazil's total output of coffee, including robusta and arabica beans, may drop to 40-42 million bags from 45 million bags this year, according to Brazil's Coffee Exporters Council."

Chicago Coffee Friend: Tian FuRong

Friend of Chicago Coffee and Professor at Kunming University received acknoweldgement this week from a local magazine for her bartending abilities. Tian FuRong, 田芙蓉, created and runs a bartending and barista course at a nearby college. I have worked with her a few times to help bloster the coffee and barista portions of their course. It has been great to have the chance to work with her to give students this opportunity.

Cake for the Government

Requirement # 937

Provide 4 cakes and 6 cups of coffee for inspection

Provide 4 cakes and 6 cups of coffee in any container but plastic bags for inspection

Provide 4 cakes and 6 cups of coffee in any container but plastic bags for inspection before 11 AM

Provide 4 cakes and 6 cups of coffee in pizza box and plastic sealed cups for inspection before 11 AM

Provide 4 cakes and 6 cups of coffee in sealed plastic cups and sealed plastic bags for inspection before 11 AM

Provide 6 cakes and 8 cups of coffee sealed in plastic bags and plastic cups for inspection before 11 AM and bag up any dignity and patience you have left and we will dispose of that for you as well

I envisioned that my musings would be solely focused on the raw pure delight of a hot brewed cup of coffee but as it turns out there is a lot of 麻烦 (mafan) or trouble that goes into serving that cup of coffee here. Alas these are my musings about coffee and my experiences of being able to serve that coffee here in Kunming.

In order to get a particular license renewed, we literally dealt with the ebb and flow of the requirement listed above. The reason it has been amended 5 times was because of the different requirements we were given each time we went to the gov. department to turn in our materials to be inspected. It went a little like this: we make the trip to the gov. department, inquire as to what exactly needed to be done to meet this requirement, a gov. official instructs us what to do, we return back to the coffee shop, bake and brew the necessary items, return the follow day to the same gov. department, and finally we are told by the same gov. official a completely different set of instructions.

Adding to all of this was originally their reluctance to tell us what to do for this requirement because A) they weren't 100% sure they were the right department for this inspection and B) the inspection fee was unclear until they conferred and pulled a very large number out of thin air and then quoted us that. I am sure there must of been confusion because of our insistence to do all of this by the book when I am certain that most companies don't even bother and take the short cut. Otherwise, I am not sure how we were only the second company that week to apply out of the tens of thousands of companies that have to also pass this inspection every year.