Giving Hope with Barista Training
Photo by Jules Frazier
Being a competent barista means carrying a craft with you wherever your travels may lead. It means steady employment in most cities as coffeehouses increase in number. But for many disadvantaged kids, the basic knowledge and opportunity to gain barista skills is not readily available. Now that's all changing, thanks to the Youth Barista Training Program in Seattle, Wash. The Youth Barista Training Program, run by YouthCare and FareStart, both non-profit organizations, will seek out 6-8 underprivileged young students per eight-week session, and train them with hands-on barista and customer service instruction; employment and job readiness training such as resumé writing and interviewing; job placement after the program has ended; and case management where the young people will receive shelter, counseling, healthcare, and more.
The project is being funded by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle King County, along with the assistance of the Starbucks Coffee Company, which is donating an extensive list of equipment for the program and has agreed to interview graduates for possible hiring. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) will also donate resource books, videos and posters from its capacious library. By June of 2004, the Youth Barista Training Program plans to graduate 75 students and speed them down the caffeinated road to gainful employment in the world of specialty coffee.

A Real Head Case
November 4, 2003, was a dark and misty day in Mashpee, Mass. Mark Corkery, reportedly on medication for mental illness, sat behind the wheel of his 1997 Ford Taurus, moments away from what police later described as "a bad day" and "a comedy of errors." At some point, and for reasons that are somewhat obscure, Corkery cracked the windshield of his Taurus with his head. But this did not slow him down. In fact, it only seems to have precipitated further distress. Subsequently, he rear-ended Lori O'Brien, sitting stopped in her Jeep Cherokee at a traffic light. The jolt from the collision spun the Jeep in the air and knocked loose the gas tank. That would be enough mayhem for most people, but Corkery was just getting warmed up. Frantic and confused, he fled his wrecked automobile and attempted to jack the next available car, a Mercedes-Benz piloted by 57-year-old Jean Ridino. Here, Corkery was met with a surprise. Sitting at Ridino's side were her daughter and a mug of piping-hot tea. In a last-ditch act of self-defense, Ridino threw her scalding mug of tea in Corkery's face. "Get out of my damn car now!" she screamed wildly, then clubbed him with the coffee mug­where else, but on his already much-abused head. Soon after, police arrived on the scene and arrested Corkery. Ridino emerged unharmed, as did her daughter and O'Brien­unfortunately the tea's fate was sealed. But Corkery's "bad day" wasn't quite over yet. After being ushered into the police cruiser, and apparently filled with the urge to submit his skull to more injury, Corkery thrust his dome through the cruiser's window. Calming herbal infusion anyone?

Tea Industry Faces More Violence
Falling prices and poor labor conditions continue to plague India's tea industry. Workers often live in poverty and work tirelessly for meager reward, resulting in a catalytic and often temperamental relationship between labor unions and the workers they represent. The Dalgoan Estate in West Bengal, India, witnessed the most recent example of this turbulence. According to The Times of India, 19 workers on the estate were burned to death on November 6, after a group of over 100 workers set fire to the house of their labor boss, Tarakeswar Lohar. The incident stemmed from a dispute over workers hired from outside the region. An official from the India Tea Association called the tragedy "a classic example of irresponsible trade unionism for which the industry suffers." Around 30 tea estates have closed in the West Bengal region, most of which are under the union supervision of CITU, a Marxist-backed trade union. Lohar was the leader of the Cha Bagan Mazdoor Union, supported by CITU. The ongoing clashes between laborers and labor management has been one of the factors causing a severe decrease in India's tea exports over the past year, from 99.83 million kg to 71.54 million kg. As for the violence that jarred the Dalgoan Estate, 106 people were arrested on charges of rioting and arson. Government officials believe it was an isolated incident and are investigating.

The New Show in Town
Photo by Kenneth R. Olson
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) sanctioned Regional Barista Championship, which has been spreading all over the country, has just found another new home. The first ever Southeast Regional Barista Championship will be held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on January 24­25 at CLASS, a state-of-the-art cooking school. Competitors should expect the same caliber of skill and artistry that appears at all the events and should plan to show up with their best performances yet. The winner of this competition, which is sponsored by Counter Culture Coffee, will represent the southeast region in the National Barista Championships in Atlanta, Ga., in April. Also, look forward to Fresh Cup Magazine's coverage of future and past barista competitions in upcoming issues. As always we will stay on the cutting edge of this industry and further the cause of specialty coffee worldwide. See page 47 for future barista competition listings.

Gambling on Fair Trade
Proctor & Gamble (P&G), the world’s leading coffee seller under the familiar labels of Folgers and Millstone, recently decided to add fair-trade-certified coffee to its list of products. The announcement has received mixed reactions from smaller companies within the industry. Some are happy to see P&G step up to the coffee crisis plate; others feel that the proclamation is little and late, and possibly disingenuous with P&G resembling a child who traces the Mona Lisa and presents it as his or her own. Mass.-based Equal Exchange, the current leader in fair-trade-certified coffee importing, has couched its critique of P&G in the form of a challenge: If in 2004 P&G can at least match the small Massachusetts cooperative pound for pound in fair-trade-coffee sales, Equal Exchange will donate $25,000 to one of its farmer cooperative trading partners in Latin America. Equal Exchange currently imports almost three million pounds of fair-trade-certified coffee in a year. P&G imports close to five hundred million pounds of coffee each year, so its projection of two-to-three million pounds of fair-trade-coffee equals less than one percent of its entire import volume—a negligible quantity and a large reason for Equal Exchange’s challenge. Whether or not P&G is jumping on a profitable bandwagon or simply acting out of the kindness of its corporate heart is unclear, but Equal Exchange has done the right thing by encouraging the megalithic company to ante up.


Feds Call the Shots
Benjamin C. Cottle was once the proud owner of an espresso stand in Anchorage, Alaska­once, being the operative word. Cottle purchased the espresso stand from the local paper for $12,500, intent on starting a business and putting in an honest day's work. Regrettably, honesty was not his strong suit. The funds with which Cottle purchased the espresso stand had been feloniously obtained. Cottle, a former employee of the Loomis Fargo Company, an armored car service, had stolen the money­and $37,500 more­in order to buy the stand. Even though his heart may have been in the right place, the LAW doesn't bend for good intention. U.S. Marshals caught wind of Cottle's dirty dealings and the missing $50,000. They then seized the espresso stand, and it remains in their possession. In the end, Cottle pleaded guilty to bank theft and lost his dreams of owning an espresso stand. He now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Marshals are awaiting the trial's outcome to decide the fate of the espresso stand. So if you are in Anchorage and a mysterious, dark-suited, opaquely sun-glassed man serves you a cappuccino with a dauntlessly straight face, don't be alarmed­it's just law enforcement, hard at work.

Spotlight on Signature Drinks
Photo courtesy of Casper & Gambini's
Barista: Alain Ajourie
Coffeehouse: Casper & Gambini's
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Honors: Voted Best Signature Drink by international coffee judges during the Lebanese National Barista Championship in November 2002.
Drink: The Matrimonial Coffee Drink
Description: A shot of espresso topped with freshly prepared coconut milk & organic homemade vanilla cream.
Contents: One espresso shot, 15 ml coconut syrup, one ounce coconut milk, one ounce vanilla parfumé.
Preparation: First, pour the coconut syrup into the glass, then prepare a fresh shot of espresso shaken with 2 ice cubes. Once the espresso is cool, pour espresso over the syrup. In a shaker, mix vanilla parfumé and coconut milk with six ice cubes, then pour gently over the espresso mix and enjoy.
Inspiration: "Inspired by the natural phenomenal union of men and the charm of women. I have combined the slight bitterness of coffee with the sweetness of vanilla and the brightness of coconut milk to develop the most exquisite Matrimonial Coffee Drink," says Ajourie.

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