In the Grinder - Our Daily Coffee Weblog

This past weekend in Portland, Noah and the rest of the BGA Executive council strapped on their aprons and got behind the bar at some of Portland's best coffee shops.  The BGA Executive council was in Portland for the annual Leadership Summit.  The point of events like this is to get creative like minds together to help plan the future of the BGA and SCAA as a whole.  Here is a video highlighting all the guest barista shifts!

Café Imports is proud to announce that we have two new outstanding people joining our team.  Joe Marrocco, formerly of Kaldi's Coffee, will be coming onboard as a Sales Associate.  Joe’s extensive background in training, customer support, barista skills, and sweet facial hair make him an invaluable part of our team moving forward.  Joe brings the perspective of a roaster, barista, and fast growing business trainer to the table; speaking that language is something our customers undoubtedly will benefit from.  We all look forward to having Joe here.  

Our second new hire is Gabe Dunn, formerly of Red e café in Portland and all around world traveler.  Gabe is coming on as a customer service rep, handling incoming calls and assisting the sales staff.  In addition to being an extremely talented barista at Red e, Gabe has done some really exciting things in the coffee world, including a biking trip through South America.  Gabe is fluent in Spanish and a very talented cupper.  We ran Gabe through the ringer here at the Café Imports Q certified lab, and he passed with flying colors.  Did I mention Gabe also has a sweet mustache?  Between Gabe and Joe, our facial hair street cred has increased by 200%. 

Also, have you met Matt Brown yet?  He has been here for about two months now in a customer service position.  You probably have talked to him on the phone.  No, not Matt Hupton, Matt Brown, Matty B, B-Dog, or Matty Ice, as he is affectionaly known here.  Matt came to us from Dunn Bros here in Minneapolis, and has been a huge help in this increasingly busy office. 

If you are headed to BGA Camp Pull-A-Shot next week look out for Cafe Imports team members Noah Namowicz and Joe Marrocco.  Noah will be teaching a Seed to Cup class as part of level 2 BGA certification, and Joe will be there as a Chapter Rep.  If you are headed down, shoot Noah or Joe a note and let us know so we can say hi!

Do you like to run?  There will also be a 5K at camp, and it should be pretty awesome.

Next week is sure to be a week to remember in Santa Barbara, we hope to see you there!

This upcoming Tuesday October 25th, we will be hosting a COE Rwanda Cupping at 10AM.  All are invited and encoured to come cup some of the best coffees out of Rwanda this year. 

Please RSVP to jamin@cafeimports.com at least 24 hours in advance if you plan on attending!