Thursday
Dec032009
Old Blogs
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 10:02PM September 14
Twists and Turns
Somehow my office services dept (had to give it a name) has now jumped to No 1 in my sales. Some months back I installed 3 Saeco SG200 machines in an office of 200+ people. These are vending style machines which are an upsized version of the Saeco Automatica line. My espresso now feeds these people on a daily basis. A 4th machine is now going into a second company. While the investment is high so is the return. How did I get here? My original goal for Evergreen was to get the best coffees and roast them for Canada. Now that this has happened I welcome the the monies which will enable me to get these great coffees sooner rather then later.
Whats the point of this post?, well if you're looking for a an office environment friendly machine and you are not hip or rich enough to afford an office barista these machines are a great comprimise. In life we learn to be patient a bit while maintaining a winding path towards a goal. Later
August 18
Coffee bins
Had a nice chat with someone in the coffee business the other day, he said he laughed when he saw bins of coffee in coffee shops, and this inspired this blog post, with few exceptions this coffee is likely even more stale then coffee in sealed valve bags. I like other people in the business have bins for coffee but I use these for blending coffees e.g. making my espresso or when I run out of rubbermaid containers when I am roasting large orders. While they look great and give the illusion of freshness quite the opposite is true. Ask your favourite shope how old the coffee is in their bins and make your choice. If your cafe has limited amounts of coffee on display in bins and similar then this is good sign but do not be afraid to ask how old the coffee is.
March 19
Growing the business
Here some thoughts if anyone is reading this. A lot has happened since my last post, my little company has grown slowly but surely. I like being on a first name basis with all my clients, most of which are local. I am struggling with the amount of coffee I want to keep on hand so that it turns over a fresh as possible. To that end I have kept the selection on the lean side. I have to please the FT/Organic crowd and the people whom want the convential coffees, this has also crampled the selection on both sides. As my customer base increases this problem will disappear.
On the economic front we are now in a turmoil globally but their are signs of a bottoming out. The CAD dollar is showing signs of a recovery. This will enable me to head south of the border for some bags of coffees I cannot get up here.
I also selling Saeco equipment but I ran face first into the aforementioned crash in the economy. But I will persist and get my little showroom built, for those in the Saint-Lazare/Husdon area of Quebec contact me for a personal consulation.
Here's to spring arriving and a promise of more frequent and meatier posts. I will be at the Ste Anne Market again this year and will appear at the Boox N beans (Ste Anne) 1 year anniversary for coffee demos and some live roasting.
November 06
CAFE Scene in Montreal
Thought it timely to add a short list of must do cafes in Montreal.
Espresso specialists - but they do much more.
Cafe Myriade (Mackay - across from Concordia)
Cafe In Gamba - Park Ave
Cafe Art Java - Mont Royal
Cafe Veritas (old city) - I haven't actually been there yet but I have heard good things.
There are lots more but I believe to be the leading cafes right now. All these cafes have opened in recent weeks or at most the last year or two.
July 06
Selling at Organic market
Well this past Saturday I took a small second step in Evergreens history, I sold freshly roasted coffee at a local market which 'unoffically' calls itself an organic market. I did ok for a first day but would have doubled my sales had I had organic/fairly traded coffee on hand. Well the application is on its way to the transfair organization. I witnessed first hand the power of this movement. Kudos to transfair. Until next week
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