Hi Everyone, I like Coffeefest and look forward to see you all and talking coffee and equipment.

My first exposure to the specialty coffee community outside of my local training was at coffeefest. I saw some of the latte art competition going on there and was able to sit in on some great lectures that helped me grow in my knowledge/skill as a barista. I look forward to this year in Chicago greatly!

Hello everyone. It has been great working beside and forming friendships with many of you. For those of you that I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting or befriending, I am looking forward to it. See you in our (WEBbeams') back yard in February. Don't Forget your cold weather gear!!!

By the way, which one of you was handing out chocolate covered beans for Halloween? Cruel trick for a kid - Good treat for me....

Ahh.. Coffee Fest '03. I received 3rd place against Sammy Piccolo in Latte Art contest. We were in a small side room with well dressed Italian machine salesman laughing at how serious we were. Look how far it's come in such a short time. Big event, big money. Sammy started competing again, maybe I should too.

Thanks, Matt for the invite to Coffee Fest Friends (and *greetings* to all you Coffee Fest Friends!). Looking forward to reading some discussions, and lovin' the comments.

We are living what Duane talked at CF by opening a couple of Brevita units in Austin next month. Will be blogging all about it in a while....

Thanks for inviting us Matt. Coffee fest has really help our company bring the independent and small chain cafes together with a Wi-Fi solution that rivals that of the giant corporations. This industry is full of some great people and one of our goals is to get them the best network solutions to enable them to keep spreading that greatness.

Also, we send a "shout-out" to all of you that have had a positive influence on our company (if you have to ask, we are probably talking to you). Without your support we wouldn't be able to meet - let alone help - all the wonderful people that we do. hope to see you all in Chicago. Best Wishes!

Hey Matt. I really enjoyed attending ABC. I would highly promote it to anyone whos is listening. The informaton i picked up definatley has started to pay off already!!

TTYL

love the web site http://coffeefest.com

I work for an Italian Coffee Roaster in Seattle. I am a salesperson, a student of coffee, and an educator. My job is to bring in new customers for the company that I work for, on a regular basis. Once the customer comes aboard, my job is to find ways to help their business grow.

What do I get out of Coffee Fest?

I enjoy meeting new people at Coffee Fest. In addition to conversing with friendly prospective customers, I take time to develop a team of networkers who, like me, are interested in exchanging leads and referrals. I do this at each coffee exhibit and it always pays off in new sales for me.

Also, I like to exchange ideas with others and pass on any new ideas to my customers. Additionally, I enjoy finding new information on coffee that will advance my education as a student of coffee.

Aw, coffeefest friends. you hold a dear place in my heart...and a strange pavlovian sore feet reaction when I think of you.

Thats hilarious.

Hey fellow coffee fest attendees! My name is Dustin, a recently returned US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. I now import and sell CIVET COFFEE aka KOPI LUWAK, which I started as a Peace Corps project for the tribal coffee farming community I was assigned to work with. We buy our Civet Coffee direct from the farmers, giving them a high price for this extremely rare coffee, without the middlemen or brokers to split their profits.

If anyone is interest in buying Civet Coffee or Kopi Luwak unroasted/roasted beans or even packaged pure or blended civet coffee please contact me. This is the rarest coffee in the world, it was started as a Peace Corps project, and continues to support a sustainable livelihood for the tribal community of Ifugao Province, Philippines.

Heather, I know your sore feet pain. I threw down thirty bucks at the shoe insert booth at coffeefest because my feet were pulp. I think a foot massage booth would kill at the convention.

The reignition for passion and detail in the industry!

I love both SCAA and Coffee Fest for different reasons, but one of the reasons I like Coffee Fest is that because it's smaller, there's more time to hang out with the community.

as a newbie to competitions, who wants to summarize as a competitor: what do i have to do to compete?(in the latte art competition) i really would like to participate in February, but i really hate being up front of a lot of people..... any thoughts?????

Hey just wanted to say that I look forward to the Fest this Feb.
I look forward to the connections that will be made there and the fun that will be had. :)

See ya there!

(Pretty quiet around here.) I must say that I loved the Fest this year (as if there was any doubt) and I look forward to trying to make it to future events so I can meet more of you wonderful people in person. :)

I miss the coffee fest exhibition last time in HONGKONG, it is really a pity for me. Hope coffee fest could come to Hongkong or Shanghai again soon.

i always like coffee fest show. Good networking. See you at coffee fest Seattle

Thanks for the invite - I really enjoyed myself and check out my coverage this week of CoffeeFest 2009 Las Vegas at www.celebritychefconnection.com and click on "Current Videos" - there are interviews and photos (download them please!)

Thanks for the invitation, Matt. I could use some help adding a little intro to coffee at our tea education site if anyone wants to help, see my profile to contact me. G Gastelu, Publisher, The Tea House Times

Great stuff. I saw you as we were waiting in the elevator hall at the Bellagio for the Splick It party. I kinda left early. I'm sorry I didn't say hi. I can tell you and your dad are quite the celebreties. :) Well, take care.

Absolutely loved the coffeefest. First time for us. Learned a ton and look forward to going every year and having more of our employees attend too. It is inspiring!

Hey everyone.
Looking forward to Coffee Fest Seattle. This will be my first time in Seattle and was wondering if anyone who knows the area would be willing to show a "tourist" around a little bit. At the vary least I would like to know a couple of people before I get there. Msg me, let me know.
Thanks!

Hi Cherie,
I used to live in Seattle three years ago, and wouldn't mind giving you some pointers on where to go around town. I'll be there for te trade show, and probably for a competition, so keep in touch!
ART

As a first-time Seattle visitor, I found Coffee Crawl online and booked it for Monday after the show. It was great and I highly recommend it for first-time Seattle goers and anyone else who wants some basics on the Seattle coffee story. 1.6 miles with 3 coffee tastes and 2 chocolate/sweet drink tastes for ~$20

CoffeeFest was great too. I went to the Chicago Fest as a first-timer. Was good to revisit some vendors and take even more classes this time around.

Might attend in NY in the spring too.

Coffee Fest really needs to happen two times a year. One for the timing of the USBC championship comp. and the other just for Industry displays and locals. I have had many in my shop ask if everyone is welcome. Coffee and the passion is for everyone and Seattle is a birthplace of sorts.

Joseph,
You should check out North West Roasters Group. We meet twice a year for education and socialization. It's a great group with alot of experienced professionals in it.

Justin,
Dang, I missed this last one. I will book mark and PDA this group though.

We have exhibited at all three Coffee Fest Shows a year for about 10 years. I also teach several classes on espresso at each Coffee Fest. I enjoy both the exhibiting and the teaching parts. It is a great way of paying back to the coffee community for all the learning I got when we started the business seventeen years ago.

For all of you who are following this thread.. I took Dr. Johns class on "Blending for Espresso" a couple of Coffee Fests back. I highly recommend this class. I can't say I am really good at blending for espresso because of the class but I CAN say I have a way better understanding of the factors that come into play and what to shoot for when blending. I would and will take this class again just to refresh and spend time with a master craftsman.

Hey Everyone..

Many of the Coffee Fest exhibitors have free (until Feb 15) admission coupons to Coffee Fest NYC. This year's NYC show is shaping up to be "hot", so spread the word...

Hi All, Jeffrey is right - contact me at mike@selbysoft.com and I'll shoot a free pass over to you (no obligation - don't even have to stop and say hi!).
Mike@SelbySoft.com

Hey everyone -

If you are attending Coffee Fest Meadowlands, sign up for a chance to win $$! Pacific Natural Foods is hosting the 2nd Top Cup Challenge Series. Check out the event page, it is really fun, and there is a high chance of winning. 6 total cash prizes!! http://www.baristaexchange.com/events/top-cup-challenge

Rachel,

We're looking forward to live-web streaming interviews with the winners if that is a possibility?

Jeffrey J Kingman, CEO
Chalkboarder

and Voice of Coffee Fest Online

Jeff - I definitely think we can arrange that. Depending on the number of applicants we get - the event will end at around 4 something on Saturday... We announced the winners shortly after on Saturday. Let's talk offline once the event is closer, I will have a better idea as far as timing goes.

** Also, we just locked in Heather Perry as a judge - she is also the MC for the Milrock Latte Art Event that takes place before the show opens!!**

Rachel - Sweet!

Our "beancasters" for live-streaming the Latte Art competition are David Heilbrunn and my biz partner Bill Bridgmon. Bill was half of the radio personalities on the FIRST morning drive-time radio program in the country down in Florida.

Just a reminder, send in your applications for the Top Cup Challenge taking place in conjunction with Coffee Fest Meadowlands. The event is on Friday and Saturday from 1-4... Its your chance to show your skills and win some cash too! Up to $600. Check out the link below and download an application.

http://www.pacificfoods.com/foodservice/whats-new-fs/top-cup-challenge

Greetings from Coffee Fest....everyone enjoying the show so far? I have been very impressed with the staff here at the Expo Center! They have been very nice and quick to get things done.

Have a great weekend!

Wishing I was there...!!!!

Who's going to Minneapolis?

Just a reminder, send in your applications for the Top Cup Challenge taking place in conjunction with Coffee Fest Minneapolis. The event is on Friday and Saturday from 1-4... Its your chance to show your skills and win some cash too! Up to $600. Check out the link below and download an application.

http://www.pacificfoods.com/foodservice/whats-new-fs/top-cup-challenge

I have my registration materials but they did not contain a map of the Minneapolis Convention Center Coffee Fest show floor.
Is there anyone who can suggest a place to check from time to time to meet with folks we've met here and other fora??
~Richard

Looking forward, to seeing everyone this year at the show. I will be in booth 1022. come by and say Hi.

Looking forward to seeing all of our Coffee Fest groupies, friends and family at the show. It is going to be a great weekend!!!

gelato anyone?! Oscartielle 12 pan gelato case for sale cheap! asking
only $6,000, obo, needs to go fast! e-mail me
badgerbrewexpress@hotmail.com

I'm even throwing in the waffle cone maker!

Chicago

Who's going to Chicago next week for Coffee Fest?

We will be exhibiting, booth # 619-621.  Please come by and we will be happy to make you a double Malabar Gold Supreme.  I will also be teaching three classes on espresso, one each day.

 

Hope to see you all there.