Coffee's Past Live

First person tweets, momentous and mundane, from coffee history, myth, and legend. [email protected]

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

“If specialty coffee is so special, why is only 9 percent of the country drinking it every day?”

Director, Public Relations
National Coffee Association
August 5, 2001
San Francisco Chronicle

#whatadifference17yearscanmake

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

The Staub method requires four flattening pushes, and no tapping of the side of the basket. Each flattening push rides an edge of the tamper along the inside of the basket in order of opposing quadrants - north, south, east and west.

#strategictamping2000

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

The price of coffee should not be based on the size of the raw bean. As we've discovered with new coffees grown at high altitudes, smallish beans can provide superior tastes. I believe price can be based on what we call the "cup test" if widely adopted.

#sizedoesnotmatter

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Saint Dominique now produces only 15m lbs of coffee where it had been 88m lbs before the revolt. But other coffee growing countries have nearly made up the difference in just 4 years. How then does Java justify attempts to sell coffee for $18 per picol of 125 lbs?

#NotGonnaPayIt

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Today, the new Captain General of the Captaincy, Mendonca, honored my family with a gift of coffee seeds. Sao Paulo is a land of sugar, but we will plant the coffee seeds in our garden in Jundiai because I'm told the flowers are beautiful.

#SantosIsASugarPort1797

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Today I received warrant from colony and crown, King and kin, to ʄell coffee here in Boʄton town, and I have a paper licenʄe with my name, Ms. Dorothy Jones, as certification I am a woman of trade as of this very day, 1670.

#AnyCoffeeAsLongAsItsDutch

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Some people thought our mermaid was a little risque but we liked it. Then we bought our first delivery van and made a large logo for the side. The larger the logo, the larger the "risque elements." So we had our designer update the logo. #StrategicallyPlacedHair

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Our client, Maxwell House, wanted an ad about oxygen being the enemy of freshness. It's all over the news how they just put Capone in jail, so I wrote about oxygen: "This racketeer attacks coffee as soon as it comes from the roaster."

They loved it!

#BecauseRacketeerCapone

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Our country is the mother of coffee and we’ve been telling the story of goats for almost 2000 years. When Europeans tell the story, they get 2 things the wrong: The name was “Kalli” and we were roasting coffee for hundreds of years before white men reached Kafa. #Kafaesque

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Spain, England, Napoleon, they all make gestures, or halfhearted attempts to reverse the slave revolt and bring slavery back to Santo Domingo. 60% of Europe's coffee comes from this island. When white planters like me are gone, where will their coffee come from?

#CoffeeFindsAWay

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Last year, 1849, Americans consumed 8.5 lbs of coffee each while we Europeans consumed just 1.5. Everyone drinks coffee in America. In Europe it is only the rich and tradesmen. If Europeans start drinking 8.5 each, we would consume all coffee grown in the world. #IsThataThreat

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

While everyone on the board agreed, we needed to appeal to the members to help save the association, not everyone agreed I should be part of the effort. "What would I say to people?" they asked.

"I'll say I fucked up, now how much money can you give?" #ThatsWhatHeSaid

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

They said it would never happen but 1973 will mark the year everyone saw the writing on the wall. Consumption of instant coffee nearly matched consumption of regular coffee. Soon, we will rule the world.

#NoBecauseMrCoffee

[Yuban Coffee @YubanCoffee_]

@CoffeePastLive This was a great bit of history to read and it was even better to read it while sipping on a cup of fresh brewed Yuban! #NewLookSameYuban #YubanYuletide

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

We wanted to be the Specialty Coffee Advisory Board, you know, like the Milk Advisory Board (Got Milk? Don't Need It!).

But eventually somebody pointed out that we'd be "SCAB." So we went with Specialty Coffee Association of America instead. #DontPicket.

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

With the passengers safely ashore and the ship on the rocks but still afloat off Point Bennett, I took some crew out with the salvage boat. I didn't know how long we had so I told them to remove the most valuable cargo first. #SaveTheCoffeeSaveTheSilver

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

When he asked me if I believed in destiny, I started thinking of California and how much I was going to miss her. #CounterOffer”

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

War in Europe has practically ended imports of coffee from Latin America and those coffees are now flooding the U.S. Prices have dropped 40%. The Pan American Coffee Bureau calls for a temporary export quota system among coffee producers. #ICALongTemporary

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

The depression has caused some in the coffee industry to turn to unfair business practices. We, the 1935 committee for the Code of Fair Practices, declare unfair practices include disparagement of competitor’s products and offering free equipment. #DependsOnYourDefinitionOfFree

[Coffee's Past Live @CoffeePastLive]

Though it has been my honor for 2 years to serve as editor for the 25 year old, "Spice Mill," I am happy to announce I will become the editor of the 3 year old (and more focused) "Tea & Coffee Trade Journal" ... for a time anyway. #UkersCallMeBill