Forget beer, iced coffee kegs are the hottest new trend

Goodbye, K-Cups. So long, afternoon Starbucks runs.

The latest trend to hit New York offices is the iced coffee keg — an idea pioneered by Queens-based Joyride Coffee Distributors.

From startups to fashion, law firms to finance, more and more New York companies are rethinking the water cooler — and are abuzz with the company’s cold-brew keg delivery, one of the few of its kind to exist.

Launched by brothers David, Adam and Noah Belanich, Joyride provides deliveries of artisan coffee grounds, tea and 5-gallon kegs filled with concentrated cold-brew coffee to offices like the social news and entertainment website BuzzFeed — whose staffers were first rewarded with a Joyride iced coffee kegerator in 2013 after the site hit a company-wide goal.

“I knew everyone would love it, and we couldn’t pass it up,” says chief of staff Jamie Urso. “It’s still a huge hit in the office, even over the winter months.”

Over the past year, Joyride has grown from five to 15 employees and doubled its delivery fleet — and it’s still growing. Youngest brother Noah recently moved to San Francisco to start a Joyride office there, where 30 of Joyride’s current New York clients have satellite offices.

But Joyride didn’t start out delivering coffee kegs to cubicles: The brothers originally conceived the company as a mobile food truck slinging upmarket frozen yogurt. The van hit the streets in the summer of 2010, and the brothers decided to offer Stumptown coffee to keep customers coming during the winter months. In 2011, after rising customer demand, the trio expanded the business to bring craft coffee to offices.

“People drink coffee in three places — home, work and a cafe,” Adam explains. “[But] you can only get good coffee in two of those places.”

Indeed. After just one month, office deliveries outpaced the amount of java being served from the truck.

In November of that year, Joyride sold its food truck and decided to focus on roasting artisan coffee to order, grinding and delivering it to offices. Since the brothers made cold-brew concentrate for their food truck, they packaged it in growlers. The following summer, some customers were ordering so much cold-brew that they couldn’t fit it all in their fridge.

“They said they wanted more, but they didn’t have space for it,” recalls David.

At the time, coffee shops were installing iced coffee kegs for internal use, so the brothers decided to replicate them in the office.

Joyride’s first kegerator was installed at Gawker last May — and the media company’s kept it ever since. It even maintains a website where workers can check if the keg is empty or not.

It’s been a hit with other companies, some of which redesign their office spaces to accommodate the kegs. Colleen Quinn, office manager at Shop Architects, says when her firm was designing a new office space, they made sure to plot a spot specifically for Joyride’s kegerator in the common area.

“It is absolutely a treat for people,” she says. “The product is very strong and meant to be diluted at a one-to-one ratio with water or milk. I think our staff is drinking it practically straight, giving them a significant buzz.”

Quinn says the cold brew tap has toppled the water cooler as a gathering spot — and it’s a hit with clients who visit the office, too.

“It’s a popular place to take a five or 10 minute break and check in with other teams and staff members,” she says.

It’s even cut down on the need to run out for a cuppa joe.

“People seem to take coffee breaks in-house now, taking a walk to the common area to make a coffee and chat for a moment before returning to their desks,” she adds.

“We’re bringing the cafe experience to the office,” says David.

Via:  NY POST

Blossom showers raise hopes of higher coffee production

Widespread blossom showers in major coffee-growing regions in south India have raised hopes of a better crop this year. Most of the growing regions in Chikmagalur, Kodagu and Hassan districts of Karnataka, which account for 70 per cent of India’s coffee production, received good rain in March and April.

Planters say satisfactory blossom showers in these two months is crucial for a good crop, adding the growing regions, except parts of south Kodagu, received 20.3-25.4 cm of rains. Going by current trends, the 2014-15 coffee crop could stand at about 310,000 tonnes, a 10-11 per cent rise compared to last year.

While the Karnataka Planters Association (KPA), an organisation of coffee growers, has estimated the harvested crop for 2013-14 at 280,000 tonnes, coffee traders have estimated it at 290,000 tonnes. The Coffee Board is yet to come out with its estimate for the harvested crop.

“The growing regions have, more or less, received satisfactory rains. Currently, the plantations are in the pinhead development stage. The conditions are favourable for the robusta crop and, compared to last year, when we witnessed very high temperatures during April and May, the situation is better this year,” said Nishant R Gurjer, a coffee grower and former chairman of KPA.

He added though it was premature to estimate the production for this year, current conditions pointed to a better crop than last year. Production for 2014-15 could be about 310,000 tonnes, he said, adding what had dampened the picture was a white stem borer pest attack at many growing regions.

“As this year is an ‘on-year’ for coffee, robusta production could stand at 230,000 tonnes, while the output of arabica will be about 80,000 tonnes,” Gurjer said.

Analysts say a better crop in India will not have any significant impact on Global prices. Usually, Brazil, which accounts for the majority of global coffee production, dictates global prices. For this year, the prospects of a worse-than-expected crop in Brazil, owing to prolonged dry weather in that country, have led to an upward momentum in prices. Arabica prices for July delivery stand at 183.90 cents a pound, compared with 125.97 cents a pound in December 2013, a rise of 46 per cent.

“The price impact will be negligible, as coffee prices are dictated by Brazil. Indian coffee growers have already seen a price rise of about 50 per cent to Rs 11,000 a bag (ex-farm gate) since Brazil reported its crop for 2014 would be lower than expected. Higher production in India will not have any significant impact except the fact that exporters will have a little more to export than last year,” Gurjer said.

Via: Business Standard

Is Cold Brew Coffee Better?

Like switching your climate-control thermometer from heat to A/C, there's always a distinct tipping point every spring when you switch from hot to iced coffee. I look forward to this moment with just as much glee as the arrival of cherry blossoms and the shoving of winter coats to the back of the closet.

And these days, it's easy to assume that good iced coffee means cold brew. Right? Third-wave coffee shops trumpet it, gourmet shops feature bottled versions, and making batches at home with a toddy is a pressure-free way to keep you in iced coffee all week long.

Everyone's heard the spiel about cold brew's lower acidity and smoother taste. I'm obsessed with the way cold brew is strong enough to take ice without getting watery and tangy enough to take to half-and-half like a duck to water. (And they tend to be a bit cheaper than my previous go-to summer order, the iced redeye).

But does cold brew always mean better? My local coffee place just started serving cold-brew iced tea, and though the barista proudly announced that their white and oolong varieties were steeped in water for 16 to 18 hours, they tasted like tea-scented ice water. Turns out cold brew may not be as infallible as I thought.

Here's what I learned from Anna Utevsky, Coffee Director at Joule in Raleigh, NC:

Heat can make your drink better: "Some of the brighter more aromatic compounds you find in coffee don't dissolve in cold water," says Utevsky. Cold water tends to draw out the sweeter base notes in coffee, while hot water essentially cooks as it extracts. "It transforms the flavor notes and aromas of the solubles into a more nuanced product," she explains.

If you like your coffee (or tea) without milk, choose your beans wisely. Cold brew tends to be lower in acidity, more viscous, and sweet, while hot-brewed coffee can showcase brighter, more floral notes. "Right now for our cold brew we are using Counter Culture's La Voz from Guatemala, a sweet, juicy coffee with notes of pink grapefruit and toasted almonds. But for our iced coffee we are using Reko, a washed coffee from Ethiopia that is floral and tea-like, and all of those subtle qualities wouldn't be released if it were brewed with only cold water."

You can still chill your caffeine source fast, even if it isn't cold-brewed. Japanese-style iced coffee is brewed hot directly over ice, so you get the best of both worlds -- flavorful coffee and near-instant iciness. "The basic idea is to create a slightly concentrated hot brew, extracting all the aromatic compounds hot water releases and have that drip directly on to ice, chilling the coffee immediately and locking in all the aromatics," Utevsky says.

Try out Utevsky's Japanese-style iced-coffee method at home: For a pint glass of iced coffee, start by measuring out 150g (5oz) of ice with a Chemex or a Melitta-style cone and 30 grams of coffee ground slightly finer than you would for brewing the coffee hot. (If you don't have a scale, one level tablespoon of ground coffee is approximately 5 grams.)

Brew the coffee using 250g or 9 oz of off-boil water (about 200-205 degrees). Make sure the hot coffee brews directly on to the ice. The finished product should have almost 100 percent of the ice melted. Serve over fresh ice.

Via: Huffington Post 

Deer Crashes into Upstate New York Coffeeshop

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Customers at a popular Hudson Valley coffee shop had a rare jolt with their java.

A young deer burst through the front door of Hudson Coffee Traders in Kingston on Tuesday morning, shattering the glass and halting everyone's daily grind while authorities attempted to trap the animal.

Shop owner Donna Brooks tells the Middletown Times-Herald Record that patrons looking for their daily pick-me-up quickly picked up their belongings and headed outside.

Inside, the doe hung out near the back of the shop and stayed fairly sedate for about a half hour until animal control and Kingston police arrived. Animal control officials were able to safely corral the animal and it was released back into the wild.

No one was hurt.

Via syracuse.com 

Not all who drink their coffee black know this: You put cream in coffee to keep it hot. Cream first cools coffee just enough, then forms an insulating layer of fat molecules across the surface to hold in the heat that's left.

Most non-dairy creamers are made from coconut oil, a substance very high in fats.

In the Caribbean, coconuts are more common than cows. The morning coffee is often taken with coconut milk instead of the dairy product.

The eggshell your great-grandmother threw into the coffee pot was intended to settle the grounds and had nothing to do with your daily calcium requirement.

Coffee grounds kept in an open jar will help absorb odors.

The aroma from coffee can help reduce nausea. Some people enjoy the smell of coffee but dislike the taste.

Leftover coffee can be frozen in ice cube trays, then used to cool hot coffee, add to iced coffee, or cool other beverages.

Scientists tell us a beverage's thirst-quenching-quotient depends on high water content. Coffee ranks fourth behind plain water, club soda, and iced tea. Other beverages in descending order are: diet cola, pre-sweetened Kool-Aid, beer, ginger ale, and milk.

Courtesy of  specialtyjava.com