Fall means specialty coffee....

and that means we're out reminding folks who we are, what we sell and where we sell it. Kohana Coffee has been so blessed this past year. We've broadened our horizons and become a bit more 'main stream'. We love the restaurants, stores, websites and brands we work with - they are some amazing groups. And we love that people are finding us on the internet and buying our coffee that way.

If you see us in Central Market, Whole Foods, Breed and Co, Blue Dahlia Bistro or at Cissi's Market - please come by and sample the coffee as well as chat for a while. You know we love to talk about what we do and why we do it.

Long story short - we thank all of you out there that have been with us this far - your support is making us who we are.

Piper

Kohana Coffee and Central Market

I’m not sure if I’ve said much about the Central Market http://www.centralmarket.com/ stores in Austin, TX, and if not it’s time I did. If you’re not from Texas you’re missing out – period. To say that each time I enter my senses awash with pleasure may sound lofty – but it’s the truth.

Central Market carries six SKU’s of Kohana Coffee in their Bulk Department and we couldn’t be prouder. Not only is CM one of Kohana’s dream stores because we personally love to shop there – but we love working with them too. They appreciate our coffee and support us as a local coffee roaster in a way that makes us feel all the effort is worth while.

If you haven’t met Christina and the bulk crew in the North Lamar store – you should. They know more about what they sell than anyone I’ve ever known. And if you’re at the South (Westgate) store tell Janie and her bulk group we said ‘hey’. They’ve been instrumental in getting Kohana Coffee going there. These people know coffee, rest assured, they’re even taught me a thing or two and I love that.

So take the time to stop in and try some coffee they’re sampling that day. There’s a good chance it’s one of Kohana’s lineup; Brazil Fazenda Alvorada, Mexico Pluma Don Eduardo, Honduras Marcala Especial and Lamar Blend are exclusives to Central Market. Flores Bajawa and Rockin’ Like Austin are big sellers there as well.

One other thing – The Rockin’ Like Austin is so popular they’re moved it up to the Coffee Bar (North store has Lamar Blend as well)! Stop by and try them out – I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Piper

Ted's Take on the Austin Chronicle's Poll results...

The results of the 2009 “Austin Chronicle” Restaurant Poll were announced today. Readers voted for Starbucks as the best coffee in Austin, followed by Jo’s Hot Coffee in 2nd place, and Honorable Mentions were given to Austin Java, Anderson’s, and Teo. The food critics of the “Chronicle” did not recognize any other coffee roasters or cafes in their award category. In 2007, Kohana Blend was selected by the critics as Best House Blend.

I think it’s unfortunate that Starbucks of Seattle should be awarded Best Coffee in Austin. Sure, they employ lots of Austinites and have convenient drive thrus, but is this really the BEST coffee in Austin? There are several local roasters in Austin producing marvelous, fresh coffee in small batches who should be given greater recognition. Micro roasters like Kohana Coffee, buy the finest specialty Arabica green coffee available and deliver it to our local customers like Whole Foods, Central Market, Cissi’s Market, Breed & Co and Blue Dahlia Bistro right after roasting. It’s fresh, it’s bought quickly, and we roast more. There’s no telling when the coffee was roasted at Starbucks. Even their bags in retail stores have expiration dates up to a year later.

Jo’s Hot Coffee is roasted by Little City, a fine small roaster with a café on Congress Avenue near the Capitol. However, unless you know that Jo’s buys it’s coffee from Little City, it’s just “Jo’s Coffee”. Why isn’t Little City one of the top coffees in the Best Coffee list? Austin Java and Anderson’s roast their own coffee too, and they are local. Mr. Anderson is the patriarch of specialty coffee roasting in Austin and deserves to be placed above Starbucks. Teo buys its coffee from out-of-town roasters (Café Piansa) and an Italian roaster (Palazzo) supplies their espresso.

I wish that the food critics and readers of the “Chronicle” were more supportive of the small, local roasters in Austin who produce what we know is really the BEST coffees in Austin. If not, the other large, corporate coffee brands who are competing against Starbucks will make next year’s Restaurant Poll results even worse: 1st Place: Starbucks; 2nd Place: McDonald’s; 3rd Place: Dunkin’ Donuts.

Ted

more on the Flores Bajawa...

Wanted to mention that this lovely coffee can be found on our website http://www.kohanacoffee.com/ under the Medium Roast category or locally in Austin at Cissi's Market (bag), Whole Foods/Lamar (bag) and Central Market (both stores, bulk).

What's up at Kohana?

Well....a LOT!

The Thrill of the Grill event at Central Market/Austin stores was great. We met so many of you there and had nothing but positive feedback to the coffees offered at the CM stores. Exclusive to CM are the Brazilian, Mexican, Honduran and specially created Lamar Blend coffees. They also carry Kohana's Rockin' Like Austin and Flores Bajawa which are big hits. The cold brew was a stand out and worked beautifully as the perfect 'iced drink for grilling occasions' offering. Check out the new display at the Lamar store - Christina Moyer is an artist when it comes to showcasing her products.

Speaking of display, we have one week left for the custom Kohana Coffee surfboard give-a-way contest at Whole Foods/Lamar. Hurry to that store and check out the Northshore Blend, Island Cacao and Flores Bajawa that are part of that end cap display - we take our hats off to the friends at Whole Foods - they have supported Kohana from the beginning and we are very grateful. Whole Foods Lamar carries a large assortment of Kohana coffees located in the local coffee section - you can see the surfboard there as well - BE SURE AND ENTER! The drawing for the contest will be held on 4/29 around 2:00pm. We'll have a full demo set up as part of the movie theme day. Kohana = Elvis's Blue Hawaii - looking for grass skirts and coconut bras.....

This weekend I'm sampling coffee at Breed & Co in Westlake. We're stoked about being there and proud to say that Breed & Co is the only local retailer of our fabulous 100% Kona Estate coffee. They also carry Kohana's Espresso Blend, Kohana Blend, Hawaiian Hazelnut, 100% Hawaiian Prime and our delicious dark roasted Kohana Panama. We'll be sampling the espresso and Kohana Blend from 11am - 3pm on Saturday, 4/25.

And finally, on Sunday, 4/26, I'll be back at Whole Foods Lamar with Victoria. We'll conduct an informative hour on coffee cupping, differences in origin, processes and coffees in general. 'Coffee Talk' begins at 11:00am in the coffee section of the store. Come be with us - we love to hear from you and turn you on to great coffees.

Look forward to seeing you soon - let's talk coffee!

Piper