This Week in Coffee; Tuesday 10th of October '23
I'm in Bulgaria this week on Holiday and researching the coffee scene here. Sofia is one of the most amazing cities in Europe and an extremely underrated destination for food, coffee, and culture.
If you have any recommendations for places I should visit then please do reach out.
And now, the news.
The Big Three
Givi start promoting their upcoming "Grindmaster"
Link
As it stands, this grinder isn't currently for sale and there's no given date which is a really unhelpful marketing strategy. However, after a cold holiday beer for mental clarity, I decided the grinder was so good-looking I should include it even after marketing shenanigans. No price is proper naughty too.
Not only is it pretty but this is the first grinder (I know of) to use in-built ion technology similar to what Acicia launched a few months ago. Givi calls this 'plasma technology' but subatomically it's the same thing. At this rate, we may be allowed to retire our water spritzers!
Elsewhere we've got a large, swappable, flat burr set and scales that are built into the base. Stepless adjustment is a nice touch and RPM adjustment is a gimmick (happy to be persuaded otherwise). Personally, I think they only include RPM adjustment because it's so easy to implement with these modern motors.
These look awesome but with a really odd marketing approach. The call-to-action on the website is to give them your email, then you receive no notification and end up in a Facebook group which requires approval to enter. Even then, it's unclear what you're meant to do!
Hold tight and I will bring updates as they come.
Ally Coffee Launches ‘Rooted in Coffee’ Podcast
Ally Coffee is a global supplier of green coffee and has recently launched its new podcast series. We love to see more coffee media and I'll likely subscribe on Spotify to hear me.
Short Summary of the latest episode using ChatGPT:
In this YouTube video, Diego Campos, the 2021 World Barista Champion and Brand Ambassador at Cafe Amor Perfecto, discusses various aspects of the coffee industry with hosts Nick Castellano and Officer Ricardo Pereira of Ally Coffee. Diego reflects on his journey as both a competitive barista and coffee producer in Colombia. He highlights the challenges the coffee industry faces, such as egoism, the competition culture among baristas, and the need to portray coffee producers more accurately in the market. Diego emphasizes the importance of collaboration, sustainable practices, and recognizing the true value of coffee producers. He also touches on the role of language in the industry and suggests that competitions could consider competitors using their native languages. The conversation explores the potential for positive change and greater inclusivity within the coffee industry.
Kaffelofic Partners With Showroom Coffee to Distribute Home Roasters
As of writing, these aren't sold out in NA but I will expect them to go that way eventually. I have never personally used any kind of home roaster and I don't think many enthusiasts ever will.
As many readers will know, freshly roasted beans require a resting period of at least ten days before they are ready to be ground (due to elevated CO2 levels) and this means that home roasting is still very limited. It also means that any IG video you've seen where someone roasts and then immediately grinds beans is done simply 'for the gram'.
For this reason, I find it hard to see how home roasting machines will take off in the market but perhaps I will be proved wrong.
Everything else
David Beckham showing off his Marzocco Linear Mini (and ECM V-Titan?) via Reddit
Snoop Dogg exits coffee company months after it launched via Page Six