If you didn't already know, people who love their espresso and coffee drinks really love their espresso and coffee drinks. Their allegiance to machine manufactures is equally as strong as well. Best sellers become that way because they fit a need and a want for a broad range of people. However, once in awhile, a machine comes along that many people wouldn't consider, but those that do take the step to purchase it fall in love and continue to buy them as each new model comes into our hands. No machine proves this more than the Saeco Royal line of machines.

13.2x15x17.7 (L x D x H) seems like a large machine, and it is. There is no getting around the fact that this machine is one of the bigger residential Super One Touches we carry. At 33lbs, it's not a lightweight, either. The size alone is one of the primary reasons that this machine is attractive to a very faithful group of consumers. While you can find many smaller machines with a fair bit of options, the Royal HD8930 is so chock full that it would be an engineering miracle to make it any smaller (here's to hoping for a smaller size in the next redesign). Like those that came before it, the Royal maintains capacities that put most machines to shame. The bean hopper can hold 12.4 oz (nearly a pound) of beans, while the water reservoir holds just over half a gallon.

The Royal HD8930 is the first of the Royals to feature a true one touch system, allowing it to dispense the milk and coffee portions of a drink during the same brew cycle. The last model had a separate Cappuccinatore and steam wand to produce the froth and steamed milk. Just insert the frothing cartridge into the front of the machine and hook up the included stainless steel vacuum sealed milk carafe, and let the machine do the work so you can easily enjoy a latte or cappuccino. The carafe holds a substantial .5l of milk, and keeps it cold for a few hours. It also has a built in hot water wand for tea, hot cocoa, or to make your favorite soup quickly and easily.

With adjustments available to the grinder, dosage, volume, temperature and milk options, there are literally hundreds of different ways to make a drink. Everyone will be able to find a configuration that makes their perfect cup of coffee. The dosage options range from 7g of coffee to 11g of coffee, so that your drink will be as light or rich as you would like. The buttons for each drink are easily programmed. Like many machines, simply hold down the drink button to put it in programming mode, let it brew, and when the desired amount has been dispensed, press the same button again to have the machine remember the setting. From then on out, every time that function is used, it will produce the same volume unless stopped manually, or reprogrammed.

The conical burr grinder makes quick and quiet work of fresh coffee beans, while being able to be adjusted to 7 different grind levels – sure to be able to accommodate whichever quality beans you choose to use. One of my favorite features of the new Royal is that it can be set to grind a serving of coffee as soon as the current drink is finished. That way, there is no waiting for when you press the button for the next drink.

Its ability to produce over 100 cups a day means that it can find a home in an office or light commercial application as well. The large reservoir, bean hopper and giant drip tray allow numerous people in an office to enjoy café quality drinks with only an occasional need to refill or drain. It is not NSF approved, so if the Royal HD8930 interests you for a small café or restaurant, make sure to check with your local authorities before purchasing.

There is no way to argue that the Saeco Royal machines have always been incredibly capable and reliable machines. People absolutely adore them. The Royal Super One Touch machine is no different. With features found in higher priced machines, legendary performance, and near limitless customization of drinks, the Royal HD8930 is hard to beat.

I like to compare the Saeco Intelia Focus espresso machine to Jaguars… Like the Jaguar, the Saeco Intelia Focus is beautiful, shiny and smart, as you can see in any of these pictures.  It also likes to keep itself clean (like the Jaguar).

The Intelia brews using a 15 bar pump and features a pre-brewing function (it pre infuses the coffee which means the coffee is wet prior to brewing to aid in extraction) to enhance the flavor of your favorite beverage whether it be latte, cappuccino, espresso or long espresso.  This machine has a hot water option which dispenses out of the wand for tea, hot chocolate or oatmeal!  The dispensing spouts on the brew head slide up or down from 2.5 through 4.5 inches.  The footprint is rather heroic at approximately 10”W, 13.5”H, and 17.5” D.  A grinder adjustment key & pre-ground coffee doser scoop, water hardness test strip, descaling solution, brew group lubricant and cleaning brush are all included in the box.

The coffee grounds drawer, water reservoir and drip tray are all located on the front face, they pull out for cleaning or refilling water. The grounds drawer holds about 10 pucks and the water reservoir holds 1.5 liters or just under 51 ounces. The right side of the machine opens up, which is where the brew group and residues drawer are found, they come right out and rinse off. The Intelia will need to be descaled regularly as all espresso machines should be. It's really a snap! Just push the Calc Clean button and the nice control panel will prompt you for all of the steps. The pannarello wand slides off and should be rinsed after each use.

The Saeco Intelia Focus is simply a wonderful espresso machine! It pre-brews, automatically cleans & descales, has an adjustable ceramic grinder and it is energy efficient. And, it sure does make drinks fast… Just like the Jaguar XKR-75!

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world following crude oil and when it comes to its top producers the USA doesn’t even come close. What we do have however is Kona Coffee, a rather prestigious and sought after variety of gourmet coffee grown only in the Kona District of the Big Island of Hawai’i where the rich volcanic soil and climate create favorable conditions for coffee growing. In addition to producing world famous coffee, Kona farms have become popular destinations for tourists in Hawaii.

These days however, conditions haven’t been quite so comfortable with the discovery of an infestation by the Coffee Borer Beetle, an insect native to Africa which, according to the State Department of Agriculture causes roughly $500 million in damage to the coffee industry. After many years it has made its way to Hawaii to wreak havoc on the Kona crop.

The beetle gets its name from the way it bores its way into coffee cherries to reproduce. Given that the insect is native to Africa, it has no natural predators in Hawaii and is an invasive species. Since its discovery, Kona farmers have done what they can to combat the pest like setting up traps and spraying plants with insecticidal fungi (i.e.: Mycotrol O) and more recently, a specialized solution designed to help protect plants against infestation was developed by a company called Symbiotic Solutions and their consultant, a man named Gaillen Wraye. The solution holds an advantage over the traditional insecticides used because as opposed to being a topical spray, it enters the plant and strengthens it from the inside. Some farmers who have adopted use of the juice have reported seeing decreases in the amount of coffee lost to the beetle.

Additionally, the Hawaiian state government has been fighting to keep the infestation from spreading to other islands and coffee growing regions. To that effect, they have issued quarantines on the transportation of unroasted coffee beans, coffee plants and plant parts, used coffee bags, and coffee harvesting equipment.

In spite of efforts to prevent further spread of the beetle however, it remains at large as a threat to the existence of Kona coffee. Recently, farmers have turned to the government for help, with Hawaiian legislators pushing for nearly $1 million to support the effort to eradicate the beetle, requesting $500,000 to help research and develop means to prevent and treat infestations and another $330,000 help mitigate the costs to farmers who have been forced to combat the beetle.

The loss of Kona coffee would impact more than just the people who drink it. The livelihoods of many farmers and their families have been thrown into jeopardy by the crisis. The harsh reality is dawning upon many that only those who are vigilant and take action against the beetle will be able to salvage their farms. It is my sincere hope that the government realizes the peril faced by the Kona coffee industry and lends a hand in putting an end to this conundrum.

Please excuse the lengthy title, and I don’t expect many of you to be particularly familiar with the Harris + Hoole coffee chain, but don’t worry, you will be. Coffee culture is as big a part of society in the UK as it is here in the States, and similarly, there’s no shortage of coffee drama in the UK either. Harris + Hoole is a chain of 10 cafes in the UK that opened up in 2012, identifiable by their trendy interiors and little guy feel, aka, they aren’t like Starbucks.

For the average coffee drinking citizen, Harris + Hoole must have seemed like a great alternative. Founded and operated by the three Tolley siblings, coffee entrepreneurs and down to earth people, how could one say no? That is, until their secret got out. Enter Tesco, the third largest retailer in the world and rumored 49% shareholder of Harris + Hoole. The company’s CEO, Nick Tolley, claimed that Tesco would have little to do with day to day operations and the Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke made a claim that the Harris + Hoole brand had its own value and that it was the Tolley’s business and that they (Tesco) were merely helping them to realize their potential.

Needless to say however, people felt duped. Their lovely indie coffee shop was actually funded by a huge retailer, and to great effect mind you, as there are plans to open an 11th H+H store in Whitstable in the UK. Many people have now claimed that they wouldn’t have had anything to do with Harris + Hoole if they had known Tesco was involved from the beginning. That, and the majority of the backlash the company has faced was due to people have felt that they were mislead, that a corporate behemoth was masquerading as a family owned coffee chain.

Bear with me now as I segue to our next topic of discussion to events taking place here in the US. I’ll admit that reading about the whole Harris + Hoole situation was interesting to me on its own, but a recent development has got me thinking about it even more. When I found out that the Denver based coffee distributor Boyer Coffee Co. had just named former Walmart executive Mark Goodman as their president and CEO it got me thinking. According to Pamela Boyer, the daughter of the company’s founder, Goodman was hired as a result of her father’s wishes to find a “...professional executive that could lead Boyer coffee to the next level of growth...” At the moment, Boyer is a roaster and distributor that operates out of an old schoolhouse that was converted into a cafe and roasting facility. Also, Boyer’s cafe is incredibly charming.

So for a recap, Boyer is a local roaster in Denver, family owned, operates out of a delightful converted schoolhouse, and just hired a former Walmart  executive to help “lead Boyer coffee to the next level of growth.” When the Tolley family needed money, they turned to Tesco. With a former Walmart executive in charge Boyer Coffee Co. it’ll be interesting to see where they might turn. Might the Boyer family turn to Walmart under Goodman’s guidance to acquire the resources to grow and expand their company?

While all of this is me speculating, I couldn’t help but notice some of the parallels in the circumstances. Will Boyer Coffee Co. become the next Harris + Hoole? And more importantly, would people accept a chain of cafes owned by Walmart? Can specialty coffee blend with big business? The Tolleys did it, it’ll be interesting to see who else throws their hat into the ring.

Coffee and Soda, I’ve written about them before, and probably will again because I’ve found that tea pertaining to coffee has a tendency to now and again coincide with what’s going on in the world of soda. It would be hard for anyone to deny that coffee has become increasingly more popular in the US within the last few decades. With cafes like Starbucks popping up on every corner, and home baristas taking the plunge into the world of specialty coffee, it’s no surprise that as we drink more coffee, we’d be drinking less of something else. In this case, that something is soda.

Now, while all of this makes sense, something about these former soda drinkers might surprise you, most of them are young people. People between the ages of 18 and 24 are among those who have begun substituting coffee for soda. Looking at this demographic, the first thing that comes to mind is college students. I know that in college I guzzled coffee like I had a wooden leg, and I haven’t stopped since. Cafes suit the “on the go” lifestyle of college students and as we become more and more conscious of our health, alternatives to sugary drinks become even more attractive. In my last article regarding coffee and soda, I took a look at a press release from the American Academy of Neurology, linking increased soda drinking with an increased risk of depression, and increased coffee drinking with a lowered risk.

The last, and possibly the largest facet to trend is the rise of coffee culture, which is a global phenomenon. Among our own citizens as well as those in India and China, more and more people with disposable incomes (middle class young people primarily) are flocking to cafes for a place to sit back, socialize, and sip on a latte. Why else would Starbucks be pushing so hard in the Asian market? And, according to a graph published in The Atlantic Magazine, soda revenues have decreased rather steeply from 2005 to present, whereas coffee revenues have been steadily increasing.

Declining revenues don’t mean that soda is going away forever however. New alternatives to traditionally buying a 12 pack or a 2 liter at the store, such as the popular Soda Stream, provide people with a means to still enjoy soda in a more affordable and environmentally friendly way. The point is, people still drink soda, and still enjoy soda, despite the dangers associated with it and the efforts of some politicians to better control it. The beverage as a whole has come under a lot of scrutiny lately, scrutiny which has caused it to be shunned in favor for coffee (in some cases).

I can’t say I’m super surprised by things happening the way they are, I’m actually quite happy about it. Personally, I don’t drink that much soda, and with all I’ve been reading lately, I’m just fine with that. At the end of the day, there’s really only so much you can drink of anything, and in my case, I’d prefer it was coffee.

The results of this year’s Good Food Awards were a pleasant surprise for us Rochester, NY residents, with our very own Joe Bean Coffee Roasters’  Nicaragua Don Roger direct trade coffee being selected as one of 15 finalists in the coffee category.

For those of you who didn’t know, the Good Food Awards are the result of a collaboration of farmers, journalists, grocers, and producers involved in the food industry through the organizational efforts of Seedling Projects, an organization dedicated to sustainable food. The key criteria required of entrants is that their product reflects a commitment to environmentally and socially sustainable food.

The Nicaragua Don Roger coffee is grown and processed by a one Mr. Roger Mairena whose high standards and incredibly well maintained farm allowed him to produce some award winning coffee. As for the aforementioned Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, they’re a local coffee roaster and cafe located at 1344 University Avenue right here in Rochester. In any case, it’s always nice when somebody from the local community is recognized for what they do. Bravo, Joe Bean!

The names are in! 14 coffee houses have been selected to participate in the preliminary round of the America’s Best Coffeehouse Competition for the Eastern Region. The competition is one of many events under the umbrella of Coffee Fest, which is a series of specialty coffee events and tradeshows that originated back in 1992. This particular competition sets out to find the top three coffee houses in the Eastern Region of both the United States and Canada. This year, the following coffee houses were selected for competition:

• Barbaric Bean Coffee Roasters, 48 Main Avenue, Ocean Grove, NJ.
  
• Bold Bean Coffee Roasters,869 Stockton Street Suite 1-2, Jacksonville, FL.
• Coffee Tea and Me, 421 Main St, Melrose, MA.
• Lalajava Coffeehouse, 290 W. Main Street, Northborough, MA.
• Molten Java,213 Greenwood Ave, Bethel, CT.
• Mudhouse, Downtown Mall, 213 W. Main St., Charlottesville, VA.
• Muggswigz,137 Walnut Ave. NE, Canton, OH.
• Mugshots Coffeehouse,1925 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA.
• Nolita Mart & Espresso Bar, 156 Mott Street, New York, NY.
• Peregrine Espresso, 660 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC.
• Phoenix Coffee Company, 1700 East Ninth Street, Cleveland, OH
• Red Velvet Cafe, 1188 Hill Road N, Pickerington, OH.
• Thinking Cup, 165 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.
• Town Hall Coffee, 358 Montgomery Ave, Merion Station, PA.

What happens next? There will be a 30 day period of fan voting and secret judges and shoppers visiting each of the coffeehouses, after which the 14 contestants will be narrowed down to 8 on February 14th. Head on over to the Coffee Fest website to cast your vote for your favorite coffee shop in the Eastern Region!

With the New Year comes new goals and like many, I’m aiming to get fit and drop a few pounds. For me, it‘s all about making exercise a priority and changing my diet to opt for healthier versions of the things I consume on a regular basis. This year, I’ve started off in full force at the gym and in the spirit of healthier alternatives, I’m drinking Skinny Lattes.

A regular 8oz. latte has 150 calories and 70 calories from fat while an 8oz. Skinny Latte has only 90 calories and 0 fat calories. This one small change in my diet is saving me 60 calories per day. That might not seem like much, but it adds up to 21,900 calories per year!

A Skinny Latte is made with espresso and non-fat milk instead of whole or 2% milk. If you want to add some flavoring and keep it skinny, you can add sugar-free syrup in place of regular syrup or flavoring. Monin Sugar-Free Syrups have 0 calories while regular syrups add about an additional 100 calories to your drink.

Check out my video to see how easy a Skinny Latte is to make!

Anybody with a latte habit can tell you how expensive it can get, but what if you didn’t have to pay for your coffee, just your time? Russian entrepreneur Ivan Meetin turned this concept into a reality with his chain of cafes where people are charged based on how long they spend in the cafe and not the amount of coffee they drink. From a business standpoint, it makes pretty good sense though. For many people, the coffee is secondary to the welcoming environment of a cafe, where you can generally find things like free wifi, plush furniture and a cozy atmosphere.

Part of the reason coffee chains like Starbucks have taken off now in India and China is the appeal of having a place to go to spend time with friends or simply to get out of the house and relax. For somebody who drinks a lot of coffee paying for just the time might be a pretty sweet deal actually.