Archive for 2008
Closing off an eventful year – farewell 2008
2008 will be remembered for years to come as the year in which the credit crunch hit the UK and took down a number of banks, high street businesses, household names (including Woolworths, Adams Kids etc) and contributed to one of the biggest surges of unemployment in living history. None of these events have dented [...]
Barista Training with Absolute Coffee @ Ristretto in Wimbledon
I’ve been offered a fantastic opportunity to meet Youri Vlag, Barista Trainer @ Absolute Coffee, who will be training a number of people tomorrow at the Ristretto premises near Wimbledon. I am passionate about coffee education and this will be a good opportunity to see Youri in action and to get behind different types of [...]
Caffe Culture 2009
Caffe Culture 2009 is being held on 20 & 21 May 2009. This might seem like a long way off, but not if you are planning to exhibit. If you are then you should already be looking for inspiration for your stand, securing sponsorship from key suppliers and planning your marketing campaign. Is this your [...]
CommonGrind: Tales from the Driptray – Podcast 3 – out now
The CommonGrind Podcast – Number 3 (October 2008) has been uploaded tonight. Following the early success of podcasts 1 and 2 (available on download from http://www.commongrind.co.uk), narrated by Chris Weaver with Ash Porter as a guest host and the dulcit tones of Steve Leighton at Hasbean* for the cupping portion, this podcast has been eagerly [...]
Iberital MC2 Grinder – used by 5M Coffee Company
Due to the popularity and stability of the Iberital MC2 grinder in the UK consumer market we have made a decision to use the doserless version for our home coffee training. Where a client already has a grinder, they will be trained on their own equipment, using the Iberital MC2 grinder as reference after dialling [...]
Gearing up for launch
We’re a few steps closer to launch now and have several modules of the Coffee Academy in place. We’ve been busy learning more about the home coffee machines our clients will be using and putting steps in place to manage the demand. October will be a busy month for us, tidying up the website ready [...]
Flat White’s on the menu
Recently we’ve noticed that Flat White’s have been appearing on the menus at independent cafes we visit. Most are surprisingly good although on occasion they could be considered more like a cappuccino than a true Flat White. In New Zealand and Australia the Flat White is the norm and outsells both Cappuccino’s and Lattes. How [...]
Coffee Photography
In October we will be launching our Coffee Photography service. Full details can be found at http://photography.5mcoffee.com Special Introductory Offer: All 2 and 3 hour Coffee Photoshoots booked and paid for prior to 30 October 2008 will receive a free A4 Box Framed Canvas (worth £25)
Back up your data
As your coffee company takes shape and starts to grow you will amass a collection of images, documents, sound-bites, videos that are worth keeping. I plumped for a 500gb Western Digital ‘My Book’, for approx £69, with 2 years warranty and a host of backup trial software options (although I will use Ghost to capture [...]
Using networking forums to gain advice
If you are new to business then networking with others in a similar position can help to gain answers to questions that are playing on your mind. In the UK 2 forums stand out, FreeBusinessForums and A1 Business Forums. We’ve covered Coffee Forums already and many of you are already members at Coffee Forums UK [...]
