Routiki and Rouge Roastery are wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and a wonderful 2008!
Our holiday hours are:
Closed 12/20 - 12/25
Closed 12/31 - 1/1/2008
We will be roasting on 12/27 and 12/30.
Happy Holidays!
Dave!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Spamming?
I have been exploring ways to easily set up Beanmail - the Rouge Roastery e-newsletter. While there are a variety of services for this, many are shadier (is that a word?) than others. The reputable email services recommend that I do a "double opt-in" which will comply with all CAN-SPAM laws ("can-spam" is always written in capital letters, which makes me think this is an acronym for something, but I don't have a long enough attention span to investigate what the acronym is for... probably something arcane that will my head hurt anyway).
I think I've found a service that I'm going to use, but I only have a short list of emails to send to anyway. And I suspect the double opt-in will trim that substantially. This makes me wonder if its worth the cost to do it with the service, or if I should start on my own and subscribe to the service later. The biggest advantage to using the service is that the html emails will be already set and can be tested in a variety of different email hosts - including POP programs like Outlook. I won't have that ability if I do it on my own. I probably would not do an html email in that case.
So, here's the question that I have, if you receive a e-newsletter that is not in html format from a local place that you have frequented, would you read it or discard it without reading?
How long is too long for a non-html email? (I'm assuming this post would be too long, but if its half this size is that too long still - a challenge, because I tend to be wordy!)
Thanks and if you want to be added to Beanmail, let me know! The first edition is headed out soon...
Dave!
I think I've found a service that I'm going to use, but I only have a short list of emails to send to anyway. And I suspect the double opt-in will trim that substantially. This makes me wonder if its worth the cost to do it with the service, or if I should start on my own and subscribe to the service later. The biggest advantage to using the service is that the html emails will be already set and can be tested in a variety of different email hosts - including POP programs like Outlook. I won't have that ability if I do it on my own. I probably would not do an html email in that case.
So, here's the question that I have, if you receive a e-newsletter that is not in html format from a local place that you have frequented, would you read it or discard it without reading?
How long is too long for a non-html email? (I'm assuming this post would be too long, but if its half this size is that too long still - a challenge, because I tend to be wordy!)
Thanks and if you want to be added to Beanmail, let me know! The first edition is headed out soon...
Dave!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
New samples on the way!
Just ordered some samples of some new coffees, including a couple "monsooned" coffees from Java and India. I also am trying a Kenya AA Maywal, which is supposed to have an intensely citrus taste.
I also picked up a Guatemalan Robusta to try in a stronger espresso blend. I have not been very pleased with my blends so far. My goal for the next couple weeks are to refine them and come up with something that will really knock your socks off.
Want to be a guinea pig? I'm toying with the idea of setting up a cupping and espresso tasting. Not sure where, but perhaps at the roaster in Dearborn Heights (yeah, its really just my old house, but the only thing left there is my roaster, so why not call it like it is??).
Dave!
I also picked up a Guatemalan Robusta to try in a stronger espresso blend. I have not been very pleased with my blends so far. My goal for the next couple weeks are to refine them and come up with something that will really knock your socks off.
Want to be a guinea pig? I'm toying with the idea of setting up a cupping and espresso tasting. Not sure where, but perhaps at the roaster in Dearborn Heights (yeah, its really just my old house, but the only thing left there is my roaster, so why not call it like it is??).
Dave!
Friday, November 09, 2007
America's liquid shortage.
Water is 99.9% of the contents of a cup of coffee. Because of this, (and other "basics of life", "ecosystem survival", and "fun to swim in" type reasons) having fresh water is a particular concern to me, so this quote from the Detroit Free Press caught my eye:
"I don't think I'm being too alarmist about this," said Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican. "Do not look to the Great Lakes to solve the nation's water problems."
Her Michigan colleague on the House subcommittee on water resources and environment, Grand Rapids Republican Vern Ehlers, predicted what might happen if anyone attempted a water grab.
"I would suspect we'd call up the militia and take up arms," Ehlers said. "We feel that serious about it."
Nope. That doesn't sound alarmist at all, but on a related note, perhaps I should buy a gun....
Dave!
"I don't think I'm being too alarmist about this," said Rep. Candice Miller, a Harrison Township Republican. "Do not look to the Great Lakes to solve the nation's water problems."
Her Michigan colleague on the House subcommittee on water resources and environment, Grand Rapids Republican Vern Ehlers, predicted what might happen if anyone attempted a water grab.
"I would suspect we'd call up the militia and take up arms," Ehlers said. "We feel that serious about it."
Nope. That doesn't sound alarmist at all, but on a related note, perhaps I should buy a gun....
Dave!
Costa Rica coffee plantation visit!
So, for those of you keeping track, I got married a couple weeks ago and Julie and I headed to Costa Rica for honeymoon. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and I'd go back in a second. The forests are wonderfully rich (hence the name, Costa Rica = "The Rich Coast") and the people are intensely friendly.
Anyway, I won't go into everything we saw (though we did see a volcano erupt and I talked to a monkey), but we did go explore a coffee plantation. Unfortunately, it's the wrong time of year for harvesting, but we did get to see some ripe cherries and we saw every step of the process.
Probably one of the most interesting parts was seeing the cultivation of new coffee plants. When you plant the seed, it pushes the seed up the plant out of the ground, so you have these big coffee beans on stems sticking out of the ground. The leaves fold out of the center of the coffee bean. These have to be kept from direct sunlight, but needs lots of water, so they are kept in the shade and watered often (not a problem in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica... lots of rain helps!).
Once the plants are planted, it takes about 3 years to produce fruit (the cherries that have the coffee inside). So, this isn't an instant gratification type project.... Once the plants bloom, they all bloom at the same time and last only for about a day, the blooms wilt and fall off, leaving you with the start of the cherries. Once the cherries turn a dark red, they are ready to be picked. The cherries, by the way, taste a lot like a red pepper.
There is no mechanical way to pick coffee, so its all done by hand. This is not pleasant work. First of all, coffee is only ripe for a short period (a couple days) before it goes bad, so when its picking season, you have to pick, rain or shine (and it's mostly rain in this part of the country). The plants draw all kinds of insects, including a type of ringworm. Coffee plants grow to about 5-6 feet high, so there's plenty of bending, stooping, and stretching. It truly looks like miserable work.
Once picked the coffee is dumped into a machine that shucks the bean out of the fruit. From there the bean is washed to remove outer layers and then spread on a big cement pad to dry... except, it rains a lot, so beans are often laid out on racks in a big greenhouse to dry. After 3 months (or so) of drying, they are run through another machine the breaks off the outer brown husk to reveal the green bean that we all know and love.
The plantation I visited grows several different varieties, though I did not end up buying any of their coffee. The coffee had a very hearty body, with strong fruity overtones (think strong Cabernet wine type flavor) but all of it was old at this point, and the flavor revealed this to some degree. I'd buy some year when its fresh again, but I really enjoyed meeting them and seeing the plantation. If I had to do it all over again (and hopefully, I will!), I'd definitely go a few months after harvest, so the coffee had enough time to dry and hit its peak.
Dave!
Anyway, I won't go into everything we saw (though we did see a volcano erupt and I talked to a monkey), but we did go explore a coffee plantation. Unfortunately, it's the wrong time of year for harvesting, but we did get to see some ripe cherries and we saw every step of the process.
Probably one of the most interesting parts was seeing the cultivation of new coffee plants. When you plant the seed, it pushes the seed up the plant out of the ground, so you have these big coffee beans on stems sticking out of the ground. The leaves fold out of the center of the coffee bean. These have to be kept from direct sunlight, but needs lots of water, so they are kept in the shade and watered often (not a problem in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica... lots of rain helps!).
Once the plants are planted, it takes about 3 years to produce fruit (the cherries that have the coffee inside). So, this isn't an instant gratification type project.... Once the plants bloom, they all bloom at the same time and last only for about a day, the blooms wilt and fall off, leaving you with the start of the cherries. Once the cherries turn a dark red, they are ready to be picked. The cherries, by the way, taste a lot like a red pepper.
There is no mechanical way to pick coffee, so its all done by hand. This is not pleasant work. First of all, coffee is only ripe for a short period (a couple days) before it goes bad, so when its picking season, you have to pick, rain or shine (and it's mostly rain in this part of the country). The plants draw all kinds of insects, including a type of ringworm. Coffee plants grow to about 5-6 feet high, so there's plenty of bending, stooping, and stretching. It truly looks like miserable work.
Once picked the coffee is dumped into a machine that shucks the bean out of the fruit. From there the bean is washed to remove outer layers and then spread on a big cement pad to dry... except, it rains a lot, so beans are often laid out on racks in a big greenhouse to dry. After 3 months (or so) of drying, they are run through another machine the breaks off the outer brown husk to reveal the green bean that we all know and love.
The plantation I visited grows several different varieties, though I did not end up buying any of their coffee. The coffee had a very hearty body, with strong fruity overtones (think strong Cabernet wine type flavor) but all of it was old at this point, and the flavor revealed this to some degree. I'd buy some year when its fresh again, but I really enjoyed meeting them and seeing the plantation. If I had to do it all over again (and hopefully, I will!), I'd definitely go a few months after harvest, so the coffee had enough time to dry and hit its peak.
Dave!
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sponsorship
Rouge Roastery is helping to sponsor its first biking event! The Tour de Troit on September 15, 2007.
We'll be there makin' fresh Papua New Guinea coffee for the masses to enjoy. We being myself and my lovely future bride, Julie, who has so gratiously offered to help with this.
I'm picking up new coffee making equipment tomorrow (which is a pourover bunn coffee maker that will brew directly into airpots). I am a bit concerned that this won't be high enough volume for the event, but you do what you can with the equipment you have and that's about all I can do.
The tour itself is a nice 35 mile bike ride that draws several hundred riders into the depths of Detroit. It is a beautiful ride through downtown and the urban jungle that lies in and around corktown.
It is sneaking up on me, and with everything else going on, I don't have a lot of time to put together everything I'd like to have for it. But we'll be there, with coffee in tow... Should be fun!
If you are going, look for us and come have a taste of what really fresh coffee tastes like!
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1475441
Dave!
We'll be there makin' fresh Papua New Guinea coffee for the masses to enjoy. We being myself and my lovely future bride, Julie, who has so gratiously offered to help with this.
I'm picking up new coffee making equipment tomorrow (which is a pourover bunn coffee maker that will brew directly into airpots). I am a bit concerned that this won't be high enough volume for the event, but you do what you can with the equipment you have and that's about all I can do.
The tour itself is a nice 35 mile bike ride that draws several hundred riders into the depths of Detroit. It is a beautiful ride through downtown and the urban jungle that lies in and around corktown.
It is sneaking up on me, and with everything else going on, I don't have a lot of time to put together everything I'd like to have for it. But we'll be there, with coffee in tow... Should be fun!
If you are going, look for us and come have a taste of what really fresh coffee tastes like!
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1475441
Dave!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Coming to Berkley...
All signs point to Rouge Roastery moving to Berkley, Michigan (official move date TBD).
I'm hesitant to call it "official" because there are still a lot steps with the potential to derail the process (no building yet, financing not yet confirmed, no permits approved yet), but things made a significant move forward this morning.
This morning, I started working with the Downtown Development Authority to find the appropriate space to be able to expand product offerings, and be in a space that has both good foot traffic and a "cool vibe" to it. Met this morning with a member of the DDA and we tossed around a bunch of different options and partner opportunities that could prove very interesting. This in addition to bank meetings last week have proven that not only is the idea viable, but its now even likely! I'll have more details on our progress shortly, but the aim is to financing in place and renovations started by November.
In an ideal world I'll be roasting with a new higher-capacity roaster by Thanksgiving. That's a pretty aggressive time-table, particularly considering my wedding at the end of October that has me a wee bit pre-occupied.
One other thing that came out of that meeting is a connection to a commercial real estate broker who can act as my agent in finding the right location. I plan to meet with him in the next couple days that that will help keep the process moving (more on this later).
Your roastmaster general,
Big Dave!
I'm hesitant to call it "official" because there are still a lot steps with the potential to derail the process (no building yet, financing not yet confirmed, no permits approved yet), but things made a significant move forward this morning.
This morning, I started working with the Downtown Development Authority to find the appropriate space to be able to expand product offerings, and be in a space that has both good foot traffic and a "cool vibe" to it. Met this morning with a member of the DDA and we tossed around a bunch of different options and partner opportunities that could prove very interesting. This in addition to bank meetings last week have proven that not only is the idea viable, but its now even likely! I'll have more details on our progress shortly, but the aim is to financing in place and renovations started by November.
In an ideal world I'll be roasting with a new higher-capacity roaster by Thanksgiving. That's a pretty aggressive time-table, particularly considering my wedding at the end of October that has me a wee bit pre-occupied.
One other thing that came out of that meeting is a connection to a commercial real estate broker who can act as my agent in finding the right location. I plan to meet with him in the next couple days that that will help keep the process moving (more on this later).
Your roastmaster general,
Big Dave!
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Bank vs Realtor!
I consider myself a pretty savvy guy when it comes to getting info. I generally know where to look and who to talk to. However, I am completely puzzled when it comes to what order to do things for expanding and moving Rouge Roastery.
I have talked to the bank about getting money to expand and find retail space. At first they were very discouraging, but then they tell me they are having a meeting regarding my plan and will be in touch with what I need to provide. Not sure what that means, but clearly something is going on without me. I'll need to rectify that.
I have talked to a few realtors about buildings or space that I like, but having not gotten financing from the bank, I have no idea how much I can afford (Catch 22?). I know what you are thinking... "Big Dave, what's your business plan say??" See, though, that's the thing. I wrote the business plan to fit what I need. I can create it to show MORE money for MORE building, if I need to.
It's all very confusing. But in the end, if any of you are interested in investing in a business that is sure to be profitable...
I have talked to the bank about getting money to expand and find retail space. At first they were very discouraging, but then they tell me they are having a meeting regarding my plan and will be in touch with what I need to provide. Not sure what that means, but clearly something is going on without me. I'll need to rectify that.
I have talked to a few realtors about buildings or space that I like, but having not gotten financing from the bank, I have no idea how much I can afford (Catch 22?). I know what you are thinking... "Big Dave, what's your business plan say??" See, though, that's the thing. I wrote the business plan to fit what I need. I can create it to show MORE money for MORE building, if I need to.
It's all very confusing. But in the end, if any of you are interested in investing in a business that is sure to be profitable...
The Yirg is Back!
After a bit of a delay, the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Organic is back! I picked up a Fair Trade variety this time to do my part to help (ok, so, truth be told, I would have picked it up earlier, but just found a supplier with it).
The Yirgs disappeared for a time and the new crop was supposed to arrive in late May, but I haven't been able to get my hands on any since June. I haven't heard about any weather issues with the new crop, but they have been difficult to find. Fortunately, an all new supplier came through for me with a fresh new crop! The word is it has GREAT body and brightness. I can't wait for it to arrive and test it out myself.
At the same time, I picked up a new Timor Peaberry Maubesse FT for testing... I have high hopes for this one, as it sounds fascinating. Plus many of you know, I already love most of the Indonesian coffees. This is a new one to cup. I would love to be able to contribute financially to the farmers in this beat up little country.
Back to roastin',
Big Dave!
The Yirgs disappeared for a time and the new crop was supposed to arrive in late May, but I haven't been able to get my hands on any since June. I haven't heard about any weather issues with the new crop, but they have been difficult to find. Fortunately, an all new supplier came through for me with a fresh new crop! The word is it has GREAT body and brightness. I can't wait for it to arrive and test it out myself.
At the same time, I picked up a new Timor Peaberry Maubesse FT for testing... I have high hopes for this one, as it sounds fascinating. Plus many of you know, I already love most of the Indonesian coffees. This is a new one to cup. I would love to be able to contribute financially to the farmers in this beat up little country.
Back to roastin',
Big Dave!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Kona Blends getting stronger
For those of you who may not be as familiar with Kona coffee, its a coffee from Hawaii that has a very unique and outstanding flavor. I've been checking out some different Kona's and found one that I think will be spectacular, but the cost is high. Konas are often blended to help reduce cost (and, yes, often increase profitability). RR offers a 50% Kona blend for about $26/lb and a 100% Kona for $39/lb.
So, just as I'm about to place an order for a new Kona bean that is sure to knock your socks off, I see this little tidbit from the Pacific Business News (2/18/07):
Until next time, I'll keep the roast alive!
So, just as I'm about to place an order for a new Kona bean that is sure to knock your socks off, I see this little tidbit from the Pacific Business News (2/18/07):
The Kona Coffee Farmers Association, one of three major associations of Kona growers and the one most opposed to 15 percent blends, says regular citizens are signing up to join its battle. In the newly-distributed February issue of its newsletter The Independent Voice, the association said more than 1,000 people nationwide signed an online petition in just three days after it was posted.The petition asks for support of House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 661 in the current session of the Hawaii Legislature, which raise the minimum allowable level of Kona coffee in Kona blends from 15 percent to 75 percent.
The Hawaii Coffee Association and the Kona Coffee Alliance oppose the 75 percent minimum, warning that it's not clear what would be the economic impact of such a sudden change to the industry.
The Kona Coffee Farmers Association says its members push 100 percent Kona coffee and asserts that both of the other groups have boards dominated by marketers of Kona blends and growers who sell to those companies....
This will have a direct impact on the Kona product that I'm considering. I think before I order more I may wait to see how this shakes out in the legislature... unless I get a bunch of orders for it now... {ahem, hint}
Until next time, I'll keep the roast alive!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
New RR website coming!
It's been a long process from when I got the layouts and designs. There is a lot of work that goes into a website. Just doing the writing (content) is a small part of it and I've learned more than I could ever want to know about secure websites, connecting to the post office for shipping and a variety of other things having to do with various connections.
But its all coming together an in just a few days we should be seeing the fruits of all this labor paying off.
But its all coming together an in just a few days we should be seeing the fruits of all this labor paying off.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Does coffee reduce Type 2 Diabetes? Perhaps!
"Coffee drinkers have a substantially lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who abstain from the beverage, a new study shows.
This "striking" protective effect was seen in former coffee drinkers as well, Besa Smith and co-investigators at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla report.
"The growing body of literature definitely suggests strongly...that there is something there," she told Reuters Health in an interview. Just what that something is isn't clear, but it's probably not caffeine, she said, because the effect has also been observed with decaffeinated coffee."Source: MSNBC News 11/1/2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The first from The Rouge Roastery
... and the Rouge Roastery came to the rescue of those bored with corporate coffee roasted sometime in the last year.
How stale is your coffee?
How stale is your coffee?
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