Lafayette Development slideshow

updates coming soon!!

Lafayette is moving ahead fast...and so am I. Over the past few days I have had a chance to meet with several people in regards to Jubala. I sat down with the architect and engineers of the project, bouncing several ideas off of them. I left the meetings satisfied, knowing that we were all on the same page. The space has changed a lot and I believe the public will be pleased when the final renderings are finished. If not, then back to the drawing board. We will be incorporating ideas inspired from several places. Think "community." I hope to have a new website soon, or atleast an update to the existing one, because a lot has changed since the oringial site launched. In the meantime I will continue to post layouts, pictures, and ideas on this blog when the files are ready....stay tuned!

Macro - Micro

No - this is not going to be an economics lesson but, like the economy, we can look at coffee from many different angles. Dark vs. Light, South American vs. African, Organic vs. ...not?, Washed vs. Unwashed, Course vs Fine, Regular vs. Decaff, Drip vs. Pressed, Espresso vs. Brewed, Fair trade vs. Unfair Trade (?) <--a subject I will touch on later, Hot vs. Cold, and Macrobrew vs. Microbrew. These are some of the reasons why my passion for coffee continues to grow. There is just so much to learn from a single seed. Maybe that is why the gospels contain so many parables on seeds. Anyways, lets take a closer look into macro vs micro, specifically in the brewing process.

VS

My concept of brewing was once limited to ground coffee, a filter, and an automatic brewing machine. I mean coffee is coffee, everything tastes the same right? I have slowly realized that wasn't the case. I never thought that I would be able to sip a brewed cup of coffee and have an idea of where it was grown and how it was prepared. Well the how it was prepared part is a stretch, but maybe one day. I have learned that there are two basic ways to brew coffee. Macrobrew - large batch brewing, and Microbrew - small batch brewing. Starbucks macrobrews if that helps. For coffee, macrobrewing would be grinding and brewing large batches in those large, stainless steel, commercial machines you typically see at most coffee shops. This is a good technique to use when a shop is busy (mornings) to manage the lines. Americans don't like to wait when they are expecting something quickly. The downside to macrobrew is that some customers get fresh coffee and some get the coffee that was brewed 30-45 mins before they pay for it. It all depends on when you get in line. Microbrew is more of a brew to order method specific to a customers taste. The french press, pour over (post below), and vacuum or siphon pot are ways some shops and individuals choose to use the microbrew technique. There are several reasons as to why I prefer micro over macro. The coffee is always fresh, the customer can choose any type of coffee that is available, there is little to no waste, and most of all it is fun. I mean some people like letting machines do all the work but I don't find much excitement in pushing an orange button and waiting. Microbrew usually involves some hand on action and it is a great way to build community with your customers.

At Jubala we will incorporate both, macro during the morning rush and micro available all day. More than likely we will have a few different stations. Our espresso station to make those tasty shots and latte based drinks, a french press and pour over station (similar to what 3cups does) , and a vacuum pot station (look at video clip in Blue Bottle Coffee post below). These will all be on the front bar counter giving the staff opportunities to engage with the customers. The boring macrobrew machine will be on the back counter to be used during those busy morning rushes (at least that's the idea).

TruBru

I have been looking at a lot of different ways to manually prepare coffee. I have nothing against automatic brewing or using machines to get the job done but there are so many other ways to work with coffee. During my visit to Atlanta I ran into a representative for a simple manual drip system called TruBru. You don't see these much on the east coast, or at least in North Carolina (I can only think of one place), but they are normal out west. I am getting one and putting it to good work!

busy busy

Things have been crazy lately...but have been going great. I have been traveling a lot, meeting a lot of people, and picking up some really innovative ideas, but have not been updating Juballer. I traveled to Atlanta a couple weekends ago for the annual Specialty Coffee Exposition and World Barista Championship. Although I traveled solo for this trip, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Hopefully I will be able to attend next years in Anaheim. I have several posts that I have been working on but haven't published yet. That tends to happen more frequently than I wish.


I did want to share a website that I stumbled across. I have been in contact recently with a group in Colorado called Cold Orange Media. The site speaks for itself, and I think they do great work. They pointed me to a website of a group they have been working with for a few months now. I am still learning more about them, but they seem to have a mission similar to that of Jubala's. Light Gives Heat has two projects, SUBBI and EPOH. The SUBBI project works with a group of 60 women in a village of Uganda paying them a sustainable income to make handcrafted jewlery to be sold in the states. The pictures on the site tell the story themselves and bring back some great memories. I am interested to learn more about the EPOH project. According to the site this is a project with a different village that creates bags, scarves, and textiles. I love people with passion!

Book List

So I just finished reading a couple of really good books. The authors concepts are great for small business entrepreneurs who strive for excellence in their local communities. I especially enjoyed reading the stories of how real people and businesses flourished in their local economies and analyzing the path that made them great.

Small Giants by Bo Burlingham

I especially like Bo's chapter called, "The Mona Lisa Principle," where he describes how every community has its own character. He describes small giants as businesses that are so "intimately connected to the place where they're located that it's hard to imagine them being anywhere else." He goes on to say, "The companies' owners and employees have a strong sense of who they are, and where they belong, and how they're making a difference to their neighbors, friends, and others they touch."

Deep Economy by Bill McKibben

I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with Mr. McKibben is this book, but I still thought it was a good read. He tended to take some of his concepts to an extreme but he still managed to offer rich details of local economies across the world.

STUMPTOWN coffee

www.stumptowncoffee.com

Yes, this is what coffee looks like before it ever reaches your cup....Inside this sweet fruit you find the seed which, when dried, becomes one of the worlds most traded commodity...the coffee bean! We will talk about this in a future post. I did want to introduce a coffee company that I have been following for sometime now....Stumptown Coffee in Portland, Oregon. In fact they are king of coffee with 5 locations in Portland and 2 more in Seattle, Washington. You do not find many places like this on the east coast.

This is one of their Seattle Locations.


I like how they incorporated some graphics of the African farms and washing stations on their wall



This is the entrance to one of their new stores in the lobby of Portland's Ace Hotel


Inside the Ace location


I like the way they used the space around the bar at this downtown Portland location.

2009 USBC

Those that are interested....the USBC (US Barista Championship) just took place in Portland, Oregon over the weekend. The winner is a guy from Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea in Chicago.

http://www.usbc2009.com/index.php

The World Championship and Specialty Coffee Association Conference will take place this year in Atlanta, GA the weekend of April 18-19. I will be in attendance.

blog

This is one of the websites I have been following. The guy is from the UK and has tons of insights into the coffee world. He won the world barista competition in 2007, which may sound nerdy, but is a huge accomplishment. Think of it as the iron chef for coffee....maybe!?!

www.jimseven.com

Step Back

I have been getting a lot of questions about the shop but have noticed that most of the questions have been asked with a puzzling and surprised toned...at least from those that have known me for awhile. Usually when someone approaches me and asks, "You're opening a coffee shop?," I usually end up with a smile and a simple nod...yes. Not because I think it's a funny question but because I know I am about to get hammered with several follow ups. The intuitive look on the faces are great...and I love explaining and sharing what I like to call my coffee passion....That's why I think it serves to take a step back and mention just where this passion came from.

I am currently teaching a Sunday school class to a group of 10th grade guys and this past Sunday we spent some time talking about where our desires come from and what are the things that we are passionate about. Boats, hockey, science, engineering, politics, law, and "I don't know" were the responses. Seven different answers, and I am surprised not one of them said girls. I think they were really thinking hard about their answers. I shared with them the different passions I have had growing up, and the strong desire to go into the medical field when I was their age. That desire stuck with me through high school and into my first years of college...I even finished all the pre-med classes at Wake Forest and ended up majoring in Biology, but never did apply to medical school. While the description of a doctor still fascinates me today, I simply do not have the passion to be a practicing physician. I still have a similar desire but just a different direction.

Desire is a key word in my life. Psalm 37:4 tells me that I should "delight [my]self in the Lord and He will give [me] the desires of [my] heart....but wait, I also have desires when I do not delight myself in the Lord. So where do those come from? I think this verse was a critical turning point in my life. I started to differentiate the desires in my life and gain a firmer understanding of how to sort God's will in my life from my own free will. I had just started my senior year at Wake, and I was supposed to know what I was going to do when I graduated...after all, everyone else did. I was clueless...but I knew I was changing course. I became somewhat independent and began to soak in what the psalmist explains in the first part of that verse...delighting myself in the Lord. To someone who is not a christian, this may be strange, maybe almost even taboo, but to me it was real and still is today. A lot of my desires have been desires that I have created out of envy, greed, idolatry, recognition, or fame. While they are still real desires, they are desires that tend to lead me into dead ends because they cause me to stand on my own understanding of what would be best for me. The last five years, while I've stumbled a few times, I have learned the importance of delighting first then waiting on my desires instead of flipping it and seeking my desires first. With that said, two desires have grown and began to brew in my heart...no pun intended. Africa and Coffee. I was introduced to Africa, specifically the eastern, Sub-Saharan countries, by a friend of mine in high school and have been fascinated with the land and people ever since. I've had opportunities to travel to several of the countries in this region and interact with the people. While on my second trip to Kenya, after the culture shock subsided, I began to take a keen interest in the social and community structures of the country. The people lived on what the land gave them and depended on a strong harvest each growing season. This was where my passion for coffee was ignited. Coffee and tea are the two main commodities exported out of the country each fiscal year and play a large part in the lives of the people. The idea for Jubala Village Coffee is to bring these two passions together. To serve and perfect one of the lands richest commodities while socially helping those that produce it. I hope this helps explain a little bit of why I am starting this venture, but I would still encourage you to ask! After all, it is my passion.