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Everyday brings a new challenge and a new opportunity. Some days find us in the warehouse, and days like yesterday find us in the recording studio. Beginning tomorrow, we will be running a radio commercial on 620 KPOJ. Having never done this before, it was a bit of an adventure. We wrote the copy, refined the copy, changed the message, and then stuck Augusto in front of the microphone yesterday. It's a 30 second spot and will be airing every morning between 6-9am.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Caffeinating the Airwaves
Everyday brings a new challenge and a new opportunity. Some days find us in the warehouse, and days like yesterday find us in the recording studio. Beginning tomorrow, we will be running a radio commercial on 620 KPOJ. Having never done this before, it was a bit of an adventure. We wrote the copy, refined the copy, changed the message, and then stuck Augusto in front of the microphone yesterday. It's a 30 second spot and will be airing every morning between 6-9am.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Cup of Excellence Update
It's December which means that the annual Brazil Cup of Excellence Competition is wrapping up. The Cup of Excellence competition has been held in Brazil since 1999. All coffee farmers, large and small are invited to submit their best coffee samples. Each coffee goes through a very rigorous blind tasting, first by a national jury, and then a jury of international experts. In recent years over 1000 farmers have submitted their coffees, so it truly is a huge competition.
Since it's inception, our family has routinely been one of the finalists (top 30) - a feat unmatched by any other family. We actually won the Cup of Excellence in 2004, and while we didn't win it this year, Fazenda Cachoeira placed 16th!
What is even more impressive is how the samples from Fazenda Cachoeira are gathered. Most farmers selectively harvest coffee cherries, placing only the best-of-the-best in a separate lot to submit for competition. Our Uncle Gabriel harvests the cherries in the usual manner. He then samples all of the different lots from the farm and selects the best lot to submit for competition.
This difference may sound insignificant, but this is hardly the case. Gabriel believes that by refusing to selectively harvest, the samples and your placement in competitions reflect the quality and consistency of your coffee - not your ability to pick the perfectly ripe coffee bean. It is for this reason that our family has placed so well and done it on a consistent basis. Some in our family would probably consider this practice stubborn - but we agree with it and feel that it provides an honest testament to the quality of coffee we grow.
Since it's inception, our family has routinely been one of the finalists (top 30) - a feat unmatched by any other family. We actually won the Cup of Excellence in 2004, and while we didn't win it this year, Fazenda Cachoeira placed 16th!
What is even more impressive is how the samples from Fazenda Cachoeira are gathered. Most farmers selectively harvest coffee cherries, placing only the best-of-the-best in a separate lot to submit for competition. Our Uncle Gabriel harvests the cherries in the usual manner. He then samples all of the different lots from the farm and selects the best lot to submit for competition.
This difference may sound insignificant, but this is hardly the case. Gabriel believes that by refusing to selectively harvest, the samples and your placement in competitions reflect the quality and consistency of your coffee - not your ability to pick the perfectly ripe coffee bean. It is for this reason that our family has placed so well and done it on a consistent basis. Some in our family would probably consider this practice stubborn - but we agree with it and feel that it provides an honest testament to the quality of coffee we grow.
Wednesday Deliveries to Markets
So a couple days ago I loaded up the van with all our wonderful Brazilian coffee varieties and headed on a route to a bunch of the markets that carry our coffee. It takes a while to get around Portland but it was rewarding to see that our coffee is moving off the shelves and needs constant re-stocking.
You learn lots when you start a business, but the grocery scene was a surprise to me. I expected they would call us to order coffee, we’d deliver it to the back somewhere and they’d stock up the shelves… Ah, only if it was that easy. No, instead we are the ones that have to keep a close track, visiting the stores regularly, taking inventory, and stocking the shelves our selves. And while it's a lot of work, it's also very rewarding to see the demand for our coffee grow!
You learn lots when you start a business, but the grocery scene was a surprise to me. I expected they would call us to order coffee, we’d deliver it to the back somewhere and they’d stock up the shelves… Ah, only if it was that easy. No, instead we are the ones that have to keep a close track, visiting the stores regularly, taking inventory, and stocking the shelves our selves. And while it's a lot of work, it's also very rewarding to see the demand for our coffee grow!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Nossa Familia going Postal!
How many times has the postman handed you a $20 when delivering your mail?!? Well, funny thing is it happens every couple months at Nossa Familia Coffee!
The postman stops by everyday with mail and to pick up the online coffee orders of the day. So one day we offered him some samples and he has been hooked ever since! So one day I said hello and a thank you for his hard work, when he pulls out his wallet hands me a $20 and says, what will this buy? So the next day when he picked up the packages there was special one for him.
The postman stops by everyday with mail and to pick up the online coffee orders of the day. So one day we offered him some samples and he has been hooked ever since! So one day I said hello and a thank you for his hard work, when he pulls out his wallet hands me a $20 and says, what will this buy? So the next day when he picked up the packages there was special one for him.
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