Swiss Water

More changes coming from Everyday Joe's. This one is for our Decaf drinkers.

The most common way to remove caffeine from coffee is through the use of chemicals. Basically the beans are soaked in a chemical that absorbs the caffeine. Then the beans are removed from the chemical and the process starts again until about 99% of the caffeine is removed from the coffee bean. Methylene chloride or ethyl acetate are two of the common chemicals used.

Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a volatile, colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor. Methylene chloride is used in various industrial processes, in many different industries including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing, paint remover manufacturing, and metal cleaning and degreasing. (Thanks OSHA) And some of you may know ethyl acetate is common in nail polish remover and it is also used in insect kill jars.

OK, before you freak out and throw that cup of decaf your drinking across the room in fear and disgust, know that it is safe. After the beans go through the decaffeinating process they are then roasted which is said to remove any remnants of the chemicals. And if that did not get every last molecule of chemicals out the coffee still needs to be brewed, which further "cleans" the coffee. So after the roasting and the brewing the coffee is considered safe for consumption. But there is a better way.

The most common name is "Swiss Water Processed" but others are "water processed" or "natural processed." Here is how it works... Green coffee beans are emerged in pure water that has been super saturated with coffee solids. The water naturally pulls the caffeine from the coffee beans. Then the water is passed through a carbon filter to remove the caffeine and the process is repeated. This is done for about 8 hours until the coffee is 99.9% caffeine free.

Like I mentioned before both methods are safe for consumption. But it is nice knowing that the decaf your drinking has only been through water and not chemicals. And it is also safer for the environment and the people who work to decaffeinate your coffee. That is why Everyday Joe's has decided to support the Swiss Water way of decaffeinating coffee.

Sustainable Social Practices

The Direct Trade talk continues. Sustainable Social Practices are another requirement of Direct Trade. But what does that mean? Well here goes...

This can be distilled to a single essence—is everyone involved in the production of coffee on a Direct Trade farm benefiting? Again, every farm is different. The roaster works with small growers who may farm 2 hectares of coffee and do all the work themselves. The roaster also will work with farms that might employ 300 people during the year. What matters most is that there are good living conditions and the opportunity for measurable economic growth. The roaster avoids trying to determine for the farmer what this really means and prefers to let them tell how things are working. But there are some tangibles to look at. On an medium-sized or single farm the roaster must know what the pickers are being paid, how that wage compares to both the legislated minimums and the average in the region, and whether the workers feel it is a good deal. Are there health services provided? Are there other community services such as education that are financed by earnings from the sale of coffee? On a small farm, the key question is whether or not the farmer is making a living from coffee and earning enough to invest in the health and education of the family. Is there economic progress? There is a big difference between subsistence and development.

That is the jist of it. It is just another step in leveling the playing field in the global economy. Hopefully this will happen more and more in all industries where the 1st world buys from the 3rd world.

This is an exciting direction for Everyday Joe's. One that will help us be better stewards of the gifts we have, both as a coffee shop and as a culture.

Healthy Environmental Practices

In our last post we talked about Direct Trade. One of the benefits mentioned about Direct Trade is the fact that farmers must use "Healthy Environmental Practices." So what exactly does that mean?

It means that the farmer is taking proactive measures to ensure the health of the ecosystem both on and around the farm. If the farm uses irrigation, are they recycling the water? What happens to the water used for de-pulping and fermentation? Is part of the farm being maintained as forest? If pesticide or herbicide is used at all, is it minimized and applied responsibly? These are the questions asked before a Direct Trade relationship is established with a grower. It is not dogmatic, because it is recognized that there are different realities on different farms, but it is essential that every Direct Trade farm is consciously following protocols that preserve the environment.

As mentioned before this is another example of how Direct Trade takes the idea of Fair Trade a bit further.

Direct Trade!

The few readers of this blog will be the first to hear about the new direction Everyday Joe's will be heading. Since we have been open we have been proud to carry Fair Trade coffee. Well we have found something that is better than Fair Trade, it is called Direct Trade.

First let us talk a bit about Fair Trade. Here is what the Fair Trade web site says, " TransFair USA is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. It works with importers and manufacturers in this country to document business practices, providing a reliable consumer guarantee that indicates what coffees, teas and chocolates have been purchased from producers according to international Fair Trade criteria. These criteria are established by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), a consortium of Fair Trade groups in Japan, Canada, the US and 17 European countries. FLO makes annual inspection visits to producer groups on its Fair Trade Register to ensure that the benefits of Fair Trade relationships are reaching the farmers."

The basic idea is that the farmers get paid a fair price for their products and the buyer receives a high quality product. All this is done through a 3rd party between the seller and the buyer. You can read about until your heart's content at http://www.transfairusa.org/

Now we get to Direct Trade. With Direct Trade we take out the 3rd party and the transaction is between the grower and the roaster. This creates something that is better than Fair Trade. For example the price is set and paid to the farmer, not an exporter. And that price is at least 25% higher than fair trade prices.

The close relationship between the roaster and the grower holds the farmer even more accountable to healthy environmental practices and sustainable social practices.

The roaster visits with the farmer at least 3 times a year. Fair Trade on the other hand is only once a year. And with Direct Trade the roaster always visits at least once during harvest to insure quality. And all people involved in the trade must be open to transparent financial disclosure. So everyone knows what everyone is paying and being paid.

Everyday Joe's feels that Direct Trade is much better for everyone involved. And we will continue this discussion with our customers as we move in that direction. The bottom line is the coffee quality and taste will get better as well as the warm and fuzzy feeling we will have from knowing no one was exploited in the process.

Stay tuned. And as always feel free to ask questions.

Do we call it a grey area?

Hello again good people. I sometimes think how nice it would be if life was always black and white. But then again I now what happens when people try to deal with life in absolutes. Right now there is a discussion going on about 144 S. Mason. And the talk has to do with the bulletin board. In the tiny hallway that leads to our restrooms we have a bulletin board for the community to use. As of late the content of what goes up on that board as been in question.

The questions have to do with a coffee shop started by a Christian church having announcements about yoga, meditation, and the like up. As the steward of this space I take the questions very seriously and have not come to any conclusions yet. I also try my best to think objectively and not with my own personal beliefs.

But being that I am human and not a machine my personal ideas and beliefs are going to effect the thought process. I believe ignorance can be a huge factory in this area. And of course fear. The two almost always go together. I wonder if a person who is against yoga has ever taken a yoga class from one of the places that puts up a poster? What information are they basing their opinion of yoga on? The same questions could be applied to any of the posters that are up that often receive a knee jerk negative reaction.

Something else I have noticed here is that when people criticize the art or a poster it is always vague, rarely is it dealt with in specifics. So let me bring up a specific example. (If I dare.)

A few months ago we had an art show that had a painting of the Ying Yang. The main opponent of this piece claimed it should not hang because it is a Buddhist symbol. This is that ignorance thing I mentioned. The Ying Yang is not Buddhist, it is Taoism. Taoism is a form of Chinese philosophy. The Symbol represents the ancient Chinese understanding of how things work. The outer circle represents "everything", while the black and white shapes within the circle represent the interaction of two energies, called "yin" (black) and "yang" (white), which cause everything to happen. They are not completely black or white, just as things in life are not completely black or white, and they cannot exist without each other. And based on that the painting stayed up.

What about the rainbow? Readers of the Old Testament think it means something different than our culture thinks now. Can a church hang the colors of the rainbow?

I like the discussion and I like that people care enough to question what happens here. I just wish they would do their homework first. This is one topic I would love to have people chime in on.

And Just Like That

It is summer. I think that today is the official first day of summer in the world of Everyday Joe's Coffee House. Today the shop was dead. D-E-A-D. The early AM had a few students, those who had one final left today. But that was it. Even less of the county and business crowd. The first nice days of the season will always have that effect. Now begins the long slow season of summer.

I have to admit it is a sad day for me as well. So many friends leaving, some for good, some will return in August. And of course there will be new friends to be made in August. "There is a time for everything."

Let's Start With Some Art

I thought we should start this week's blog by looking at some art. Though this is just a glimpse, you will have to come down to 144 S. Mason to take a look for yourself. And the work of Deanne is much better live and in person. For you see her stuff is has a lot of depth to it. Little bits and pieces of beauty attached via nails and golf tees. As you can see I do not do a good job of explaining it, so just get down here and see for yourself. Better hurry though it will be gone at the end of the month.

The piece is called "Conversation" and is by Deanne Moulton. She can be contacted at deebo987@aol.com

And in other news... it is windy today. People do not want coffee on a windy day. Thursday is normally our busiest day of the week but today has been slow. That is always the case on a windy day. This might have something to do with the fact that most if not all people hate the wind. Why do you think so few people want to live in Wyoming?

After my last post about needing a new espresso machine I have been asked about donations. If your interested in donating to Everyday Joe's you can mail your donation to Timberline Church. We use Timberline for donations for accountability and book keeping purposes. Make the check out to them and put Everyday Joe's in the memo line. It is that simple. Here is the address:

Timberline Church
2908 S. Timberline Rd.
Fort Collins, CO 80525

So what am I missing? What do you dear reader want to know about Everyday Joe's? Fire away and I will do my best to answer.

Excuse Me Buddy, Can You Spare Ten Grand?

Everyday Joe's has a physical heart, we call it an espresso machine. That very special piece of machinary is key to what we do here. It is why people first start coming. It is the device by which we are able to create amazing espresso drinks.

When Joe's opened way back in 2003 the machine was donated to us by shop that had closed, Coffee Connection. The machine had seen many a morning of espresso pulling, we estimate it is around 15 or so years old. We sent it down to the shop and had it overhauled and tuned up. And it got us off the ground. Joe's was very thankful to have such a gift. But now we get to the phrase "nickel and dime to death."

The machine is begining to show its age. And we all fear the day that it just goes down. Hard to have a coffee shop without an espresso machine these days. So we have begun to talk about getting a new machine. Buying a new espresso machine is a lot like car shopping. Used vs. New, Top of the Line vs. Economy, etc etc. And if we decided to buy used it is very much "caveat empto" or buyer beware. Espresso machines are complex with many parts and buying used could come with any sort of hidden problem that the seller probably is not even aware of.

Buying new is always the best bet, except for price. A new quality espresso machine and the needed supplies to install it correctly will cost around $10,000. That is a lot of money. But when I think about how important the espresso machine is to Everyday Joe's, how key it is to keeping us open and keeping us in the community, I think that $10,000 is really not that much. And Everyday Joe's already has roughly $3,000 in the bank so we really only need $7,000 give or take a few hundred.

So thus begins my official quest to get Everyday Joe's a new espresso machine.

The Forgotten Trivia Questions

Amy pointed out that I have not been doing the trivia questions that I mentioned in past posts. Well in my last post, "A Sample For You," I made reference to a fine film. Be the first to name the film and win a free coffee drink (12oz) of your choosing.

Good luck contestants.

A Sample For You

Ok so here is a sample of the type of email I often get:

Hello,

I am in Pennsylvania and am wanting to start a non profit coffee house across the street from Faber College to impact the campus. I was wanting to get some more info on what you guys are doing or any tips in getting started.

John Blutarsky

To be honest I do not even know how to best reply to an email like that. That is a very big question they are asking. I have toyed with the idea of a form letter for these types of emails but then that seems a bit arogant. I do want to help other people and like the idea of more places like Joe's being created around the world. I suspect people do not realize what they are asking. And there is not a book to be found on starting a non profit coffee shop. (yet)

On to other news... The walls of Everyday Joe's are bare. They have been for 4 days now. And we who work here everyday all day hear about it constantly. "Where is the art?" people ask. People have grown to depend on it, to need it. I love it. The art here has become such a part of this place. It is noticed the instant it is gone.

Not to worry though. Art is on the way.

Best Non Profit in Fort Collins

Ok so we are tied with 10,000 Villages.

Just picked up the "Best Of" issue of the Rocky Mountain Chronicle and Everyday Joe's was tied with 10,000 Villages for best Non Profit. I have to admit I was a bit bummed to not get best coffee shop, that honor went to The Bean Cycle. But now that I think about it I think it is more important for us to be seen as the best non profit than it is for us to be seen as the best coffee shop. After all that is our real goal here. Sure we strive to make the best coffee around but more importantly we strive to be a community of loving people doing our part to take care of this place we call Fort Collins. So for Fort Collins to vote us "Best Non Profit" means we are recognized for doing that.

The Return of the Blog

Ok I know the four of you probably thought this blog was done. Well not quite yet. Over the weekend I received a letter that reminded me why I started this blog. It was from a gentlemen in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada who wanted to know all about Joe's because he is thinking of doing something very similar. I get these type of letters fairly frequently so I started a blog to help address all those wonderful questions out there about Joe's. But I am finding I am not a very good blogger. Maybe I should recruit a volunteer to do my blogging for me.

The letter has a lot of good questions so I am just going to pull from it for content. On to the first question...

Do you think it works because of the university culture there? I would have to say yes to that one. The fact that the Old Town area of Fort Collins can support so many coffee shops is proof to that. For a town of around 130,000 people we have an amazing concentration of coffee shops around the intersection of Mountain and College Avenue. I did not see this many when I was in Downtown Seattle. So it works on the basic demand for coffee level.
It also works on a volunteer pool level. Most of our volunteers are university students. A college schedule allows one to give four hours a week to volunteer at a coffee shop.
And it also works on a church in a coffee shop level. (Or coffee shop in a church if you will.) Just today we had some visitors in from the U.K. and they commented on how this is very unusual for an American church. And I have often heard that 144 S. Mason has a very European feel to it. I believe it is the university that allows the people of Fort Collins to be open and accepting of that.
Now does all this mean that Joe's would not work in a college town? I don't know. Maybe one day I will get the chance to find the answer to that question.

Supernatural 2x4's

Look like any place you know? I can just stare into that picture and think about how much it has evolved. How many lives have those 2x4's impacted? I am sure you have figured out by now that those 2x4's support what is now the coffee bar at Everyday Joe's. A counter that seems to have supernatural powers to effect people on both sides. Stand near it long enough and you will know what I mean.

Now we are heading into February and old man winter is starting to show a weak pulse. January is always a slow month at Joe's and this year was no exception. But now that we are getting into the year business is returning. Of course we still need more friends to come back and visit us. I bet you want coffee don't you? Well if it is between 7AM and 10PM on a weekday you should come down and say "Hi" and get that cup of coffee. We miss you. (Even if we saw you today.) (Yes Seth, an organization can miss people.)

A new feature is being added to the Everyday Joe's Coffee House blog. Each entry will have a random trivia question. Be the first to answer correctly and you will win yourself a free 16oz drink of your desire. On to the question...

When George Lucas was in preproduction of Return of the Jedi he used a fake name for the movie so people would not know it was the next Star Wars being made, what was the name he used?

Hey I told you it would be random.

Dickens Out

Honey did we leave the blog on?

Ever be at the movie theater enjoying a movie and think to yourself did I leave the iron on? The though pops out of nowhere for no reason and then all you can do is dwell on it? You know that feeling? That is what I had this morning at breakfast with this blog. I suddenly realized that it had been a while since I posted. Sorry about that. And now your getting a post about me not posting.

Well not entirely. Last night we had our first board meeting of the year. And in my opinion it was one of our better meetings. For the first time in a while it seemed we did not talk about roles and what we are supposed to be doing, we just did what we are supposed to do. There never seems to be enough time in our meetings. It amazes me how complicated something as simple as a coffee shop ministry can be. We decided to give to Southside Baptist Church and Arts Alive for the month of January.

Ok I have to be honest with you dear reader. I am forcing this blog post. I did not sit down inspired with a topic. I wanted to post because it had been too long since I had. And now I am just writing for the sake of writing. So I will stop.

Robbed. Robbed again. Robbed yet again!!!

With this new year bring an anniversary for me. I started as Executive Director of Everyday Joe's at the very beginning of 2006. My first day was January 2nd. In some ways it was a long year but in many ways it was a short year. Mostly it was a learning year.

The transition was a smooth one. I had plenty of volunteer hours as a foundation and also being on the board for all those years it was not entirely new to me. And at the time I had a lot of help from Hannah who was our one paid barista. Most of my first month was spent cleaning and getting the place organized. And at the beginning of February Chris started as the assistant director.

The first big challenged we faced was theft. In late February a deposit turned up missing. And honestly I was a bit naive with that one. I thought that maybe the envelope had been misplaced or accidentally thrown away, something along those lines. But then a few weeks later we got robbed again. This time it was obvious. Someone from the inside who knew how we did things open the safe and took the money and closed the safe again.

This was pretty disturbing but it was important to focus on taking steps so that it did not happen again, and not seeking out the thief. So we bought a small drop safe and bolted it to the floor under the counter. As well as some other security measures. I thought that would be the end of it. But one morning I got a call from Chris who was opening that day telling me the safe was gone. A thief had completely ripped the safe out of the ground. It was a little heartbreaking.

So we stepped up security yet again. And even planned on getting a security system installed. And now people wanted the thief caught. I would like that too but I knew we really needed to focus on protecting ourselves and not going on a hunt. I feel that sort of thing would produce more negatives than positives.

I am thankful that we have not been robbed since. Joe's did lose some of its innocence through all that though. But overall I think we are better having gotten through it. I believe it helped the people of Timberline Oldtown grow closer to Everyday Joe's through the support they offered. They gave much more than was lost.

Boy when I sat down to write here today I did not intend on talking about the thefts. Especially for that long. I'll have to continue with my year in review in the next post. They say it is wise to keep blog posts short.

This Strange Week

Ever notice how the week between Christmas and New Years is sort of strange? How productive are you being this week? Be honest. And for me it has always been a little strange due to my birthday being on the 27th. So I have Christmas, birthday, and New Years all in one week. Not really a good recipe for a normal productive week.

Today is the 2nd time in my life I've had to work on my birthday. The first time was my 21st birthday and I was in the Army deployed in Somalia. There were no real days off while on that deployment. Other than that I have always managed to avoid work and school on my birthday. One benefit to having it so close to Christmas. I am working today because Chris who normally holds down the fort on Wednesdays is on his way to Iowa for Christmas with the family.

I'll admit I was tempted to be closed today. But that would be a bit selfish. Though it has been really slow all day. And we are closing at 6pm this week. When the students are gone we do not have much business in the evenings. So I figured it would be good to give the volunteers a break from working though the holidays.

Now there is snow in the forecast again. The rumors are flying. Today I've heard everything from 2 inches all the way up to 18 inches from customers. Personally I hope it is 0 inches. I have gotten quite used to my nice mild Fort Collins winters. Snow is for the mountains.

Challenges of a Volunteer Powered Venue

Today is Friday the 22nd. The Friday before Christmas. Everyday Joe's closes at 6PM today. This is due to not being able to find a sound tech around any holiday. Joe's is often thought of as a volunteer powered coffee house. What is often over-looked is we are also a volunteer powered concert venue. Joe's can seat up to 225 people and has hosted world touring acts. There are shows almost every Friday and Saturday night. All this is done through volunteers.

Volunteer sound techs who set up the stage, do sound check, and mix the board through the show. Joe's is so thankful to have them. But it is often more challenging to find sound people than to find people to make coffee. So come the holidays we have learned it is better to simply not book any shows. And we also know that without a show there is not reason to be open.

Today we close at six and our coffee making machines will not be turned on again until Tuesday the 26th. So we get a nice long weekend. We hope you all have a Great Christmas and an amazing Boxing Day.

The Blizzard of 2006

It snowed. It snowed a lot.

We shovel. We shovel a lot.

Now we slowly start to begin life again. Just in time for a long Christmas weekend. Everyday Joe's closed Wednesday around 1pm so volunteers would be able to get home safely. And we remained closed Thursday.

My wife and I came down Thursday afternoon and cleared a path on the sidewalk. And to our doors. Old town had a few people out but seemed to be mostly people out just to be out. There was not much getting done in the world we live in yesterday.

This morning I walked in to work because biking, my normal mode, was just not going to happen. I was able to walk down Mountain Avenue without a single car passing me. And when I got into Old Town it was full of dumptrucks, dozers, backhoes, and graders working on the snow. Most sidewalks were clear though some of our neighbors have not shoveled. And after seeing a few people having trouble getting into the sidewalk I cleared a path to the street. So at least our little spot on the world has a path.

Business today has been slow. That was expected. But we have been able to provide coffee to a few souls who ventured out this morning. Now it is sunny and hopefully warming up a bit. Maybe more people will get out as the day goes on.

Latte Art

Just thought I would share some latte art with the world. Made that one Friday morning and happen to have the camera available. And it taste even better than it looks.

More history.

Yes my friends that is 144 S. Mason. Looks a little different these days. Just seeing the front of the building shows how much work went into transforming the space into Everyday Joe's.

And there is more to come. We all love before and after pictures right?