Creative baristas will often add some flair to cappuccinos or lattes by cleverly pouring the milk in a way that leaves an appealing design on the surface of the drink. In fact, this simple gesture has become the artistic focus of competitions such as the World Latte Art Championship. Latte art is now going high tech. Steam CC, a start-up and parent company of Ripples, unveiled the Ripple
Blue Bottle to End Wholesale
James Freeman, the founder of Blue Bottle Coffee (website | reviews ), announced that the company will be closing its wholesale business. The company we will wind down their wholesale division in the coming months to concentrate on Blue Bottle's retail cafés and Blue Bottle at Home. On the company's blog, Freeman shared a personal story that contributed to the difficult decision. "On a visit
Americans Spending More on Coffee
A recent report by Reuters drew attention to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that the consumption of coffee in 2015/16 will decrease over current levels. According to the report, U.S. coffee consumption will drop by about 1 percent. The United States is the only country among the top eight coffee-consuming nations that will show a decrease. Overall, consumption is forecast to grow by
Roaster of the Year Competition
Developed to recognize and inspire excellence in roasting, the Roast Magazine Roaster of the Year competition is now in its 12th year. There are two award categories - macro roaster and micro roaster - which are based on company mission, commitment to sustainable practices, commitment to employees and educational practices, coffee quality, commitment to and involvement in the industry, and
June Sample Window Changed
The acceptance window for submissions of samples for the July article “Blends Composed of Two or More Origins” has been postponed to June 20-26. Samples that have already been sent to Coffee Review will be cupped, but any arriving after this Friday, July 6 will need to be resubmitted later in the month. The postponement is owing to Kenneth Davids’ travel obligations. Similarly, new samples for
2015 World Barista Champ Crowned
The 2015 World Barista Champion is Sasa Sestic from Ona Coffee in Canberra, Australia. A total of 49 National Barista Champions competed in the 16th World Barista Championship, which took place over four days in Seattle this past weekend, as part of the Specialty Coffee Association of America annual coffee conference. The World Barista Championship is an annual event for national barista
What’s In a Name?
It would come as no surprise to industry professionals or even your average coffee lover that specialty coffees have become, well, more specialized over the years. Nowadays, coffees are segmented and differentiated by every conceivable measure: by country of origin, farm, varietal, crop year, processing method, micro-lot, altitude, roast, blend... you name it. That's a good thing. It's a sign
April Fools’ Coffee: 100-point O’Ima Lion Farms
Yesterday, in the spirit of April Fools' Day, we posted a 100-point review for O'Ima Lion Farms April No. 1 Natural by San Veritas Roasters. In case you missed it, the spoof appears below: Coffee Review has never awarded 100 points to a coffee. Since 1997, twelve coffees have earned a score of 97 points. Of the twelve, four are geishas, three were Kenyas, two were Ethiopias, two were
Ranking U.S. States by Readership
Yesterday, we shared some Coffee Review readership data by country in a piece called "Where is Coffee Hot in 2015: By Country." Perhaps not surprisingly, the United States is the country with the greatest Coffee Review readership and readership per capita. Today, we take a closer look at how readership and growth varies by U.S. state. Obviously, a big driver of traffic is the population of each
Where is Coffee Hot in 2015: By Country
In 2013, we shared some Coffee Review readership data in a piece titled "Who Cares about Coffee Anyway." It proved popular so we updated and expanded the information in a series of blog posts in early 2014 that looked at readership by city, state, and country. We've updated the data with a quick look at reader data in early 2015. As in the past, we looked at the data three ways: overall
Starbucks: Judging Reserve and Reserving Judgment
The recently debuted Starbuck's Reserve Roastery in Seattle is garnering a lot of attention. Starbucks describes their new venture as an "Immersive Combination of Cafe, Roastery, and Restaurant" that offers the"Rarest of Coffees from Around the Globe, Roasted to Perfection." Roast Magazine and Daily Coffee News have published a couple pieces about it: Inside Starbucks' New Reserve Line HQ,
Coffee in Cuba
MSN recently published an article that lists "The World's Best Cities for Coffee." The piece doesn't offer much explanation for its selection criteria other than a short introduction: "When traveling, coffee lovers need to know where to go to escape the substandard American-style brew most hotels serve. There are cities that define themselves by their coffee culture, and that should not go
How Does Starbucks Rate?
Today, MSN Money Market Watch features an article titled "10 things Starbucks won't tell you." It's an interesting piece that shares mostly negative information such as Starbuck's famous Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL) contains chemicals and artificial colorings but no actual pumpkin. And, the Double Chocolatey Chip Frappuccino has more than 500 calories. According to the article, the first thing
Iselle Not Too Bad?
We heard from Kelleigh and Brandon at Big Island Coffee Roasters. It's great to hear that they didn't get hit too bad: First of all, thanks so much for your concern and support! All in all, we didn't get hit too bad, though we may not have power or steady internet connection until next week. Fortunately, we have a rusty, old generator to power the coffee roasters on! Thanks to our wind
Iselle Makes Landfall in Hawaii
We're tracking the progress of tropical storm Iselle, which is bringing 60 mph winds and heavy rains to the coffee growing areas in Hawaii. According to the Weather Channel, Iselle made landfall at 2:30 a.m. HST about five miles east of Pahala in the Ka'u growing district. There have already been reports of structural damage, trees downed, power outages, and some flooding. Roofs were reportedly
Welcome to Our New Site
Welcome to our new website. If you have visited CoffeeReview.com in the past, the new look and feel will be obvious. We've added new navigation and search functionality to make it easier to find the articles, reviews, and blogs that you are looking for. The website will be faster and more stable. For visitors using a mobile device, the site should be much easier to read and browse. We're
Hawaii Reviews Coming Soon
Our August tasting article, featuring coffees from Hawaii, should post on Wednesday, August 6. Not a lot of Konas – apparently the small Kona farmers who retail their coffees directly to consumers have more demand than they have coffee and so feel they have nothing to gain by risking a review. Nevertheless, we will report on a handful of very fine Konas with their quiet distinction well served by
Meet Our New Mascot – Lani
We're pleased to introduce Coffee Review's new mascot, Lani. Very sweet but, yes, we resisted suggestions to name her Sugar. Coffee has never tasted as good as it does after 4:30 am wake-up calls for potty training.
Melbourne Has the World’s Best Coffee?
According to an article in the Melbourne Herald Sun, Booking.com surveyed more than 1,000 of its users from around the world and determined that Melbourne, Australia has the world's best coffee. Really? This conclusion merits a little closer look. First, at Coffee Review, we always point out that there is no such thing as a "best" coffee and, by extension, no city with the "best" coffee. We
Top 30 Coffees of 2013
Coffee Review introduced 100-point reviews to the specialty coffee industry in 1997. Over the years since then we've cupped tens of thousands of samples and produced reviews for nearly 3,500 coffees. We are often asked, "What is the best coffee?" To which we give the obvious answer: "There is no single 'best' coffee." Of course, visitors to our website can sort through the reviews to draw their
