Just the other day, we released a video outlining some of the reasons why Whole Latte Love is "the" coffee destination on the Internet, and it got me thinking. Having worked here for close to a year now, I've been involved with several projects aimed toward improving our customer's experience when using our site, and seen just how dedicated our staff is to make shopping with us as pleasant as possible. But besides our low prices and huge selection, there are a few other reasons why we should be at the top of your list as far as coffee is concerned.

Did you know that Whole Latte Love is an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau? And that we have an A+ rating? Have you seen our active coffee community? Participated in one of our contests? Tuned in with Marc and Morgan for a look at all new products? Read our Weekend Brew newsletter? Oh, and did I mention our blogs? There's a whole world for you to explore! But, if you're really just here for the shopping, you can save time and money with our I-DEAL$ feature, while our Compare-O-Matic can help you find the machine to meet your exact specifications.

To sum things up, we've got great deals, great selection, and we'll support you before, during, and after your purchase! Whole Latte Love really is the place to be when it comes to coffee!

Show us some love! Like us on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter, and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Rochester 12-28-2012 Whole Latte Love Coffee Compare-O-Matic - There are many different ways to say coffee around the world and many different coffees that are blended, roasted, ground and prepared to please specific tastes and palate desires. We are providing a cross section of what's available to give you over 300 choices to enable you to brew the best tasting coffee to fit your desires.
To help you make great choices, try new flavors and spend your money wisely we have made over 200,000 entries in 72 categories and sub-categories in our database to help guide you in choosing the coffees that will enable your coffee brewing machine to produce the absolute best drink it can for your taste, budget and social conscience.

Further we have tailored a Coffee Compare-O-Matic to provide you a way to look at coffee characteristics side-by-side. You can compare up to 6 at a time by clicking the "Compare Now" check box under the coffee listing and then clicking the red "compare" button at the top of the page.

That will bring you to a side-by-side display of what we know about the coffees in these categories:

Products
Here you will see the product name and price along with icon buttons to add to your shopping cart or delete from the current compare session. The product name is a hyper-link that when clicked will take you to the full product description page.

Flavor Notes
Information gathered about the aroma of the coffee as it is brewing, It's initial taste, how it feels on the palate and in your mouth, and the finish or after-taste.

Roast Profile
What we know about the type of roast: Light, Medium, Dark and any shades in-between.

Best For Brewing
Some coffees at specific roast levels are better for certain methods of brewing than others. Further many Roast Masters design blends to be better for particular brewing methods and grind settings.

Coffee Condition
Defines whether the coffee is whole bean, pre-ground or packaged as a pre-ground single-serving.

Coffee State
Whether it contains caffeine, or is decaffeinated and whether it is flavored.

Package Profile
This category is specific to sampler packages we have assembled to give you a one-click option to buy several types of coffees at once. We define the Package Type, (like Premium Espresso Coffees), List the Brands, and describe each coffee in the package by weight, container, condition and roast if known.

Special Attribute
There are many special attributes associate with coffee and we have defined several like Single Origin or Swiss Water Processed Decaf, WE will grow this category as we find other special attributes that significantly affect the quality and taste of the coffee.

Awards
If we know it we will post any awards that the coffee may have garnered.

Coffee Botanical
Here we will post what we know about the Species, typically Arabica, Robusta or Liberica or a combination of both, and the Varietal like Arabica Bourbon.

Coffee Packaging
Descriptions of the container, like a bag or tin, and the weight of the coffee it contains or the single-serve portion count. Some listing will include optional packages for buying case lots.

Coffee Type
Descriptions of what the Roaster will let us know about the beans used. Whether the coffee is 100% Arabica or a blend and any significant characteristics like Jamaican Blue Mountain, Kona, Mocha java, or Peaberry.

Coffee Origin
Includes information that the Roaster will release about the source of the beans, the actual farm or grower, where the coffee is roasted and what country we import it from.

Social & Environmental
While there characteristics seldom affect flavor they are important for defining the known social aspects of the coffee. Like a pedigree it may define any certifications it has.

Kosher
What we know about the coffees certification as Kosher.

Review
Here we include any industry recognized coffee review information we find plus ratings from you, our Customers.

Please jump in any try out the coffee Compare-O-Matic and give us any feedback on what you like or don't like about it, how you would improve it and what other information you would like to know about coffee. We have committed to constant improvement of the functionality of the Compare-O-Matic and the data we collect. We will add new information as it becomes available and keep tweaking the Compare-O-Matic features to make it the richest possible experience for you. Please, holler back!!

Hi everyone! Nick here with a brief tutorial on how to use our site's newest feature, I-Deal$. To get things started, first you'll need to find a machine that's been bundled with other items, like the Gaggia Classic here.

To open I-Deal$ you can click on one of two locations pictured below.

The way I-Deal$ works is that on the left you've got different categories of items to choose from while you do your selecting on the right. All of the categories have been custom made by us to only include items compatible with your purchase, saving you the hassle of having to leave the page and go search the site for what you're looking for. Additionally, we've added discounts to tons of items when purchased together called the "Bundle Price." When you add an item, the "My Selected Items" category will update and the total cost of your bundled package will update. I-Deal$ also calculates the total dollar amount saved when purchasing bundled items.

When you click on "My Selected Items", the page that loads allows you to alter the quantity of the items you've chosen or deselect them before adding what you want to your cart.

When you add your chosen items to the cart they will no longer appear in the "My Selected Items" category and instead appear in our updated Mini-Cart, where you can further modify the item quantities and checkout.

Watch a video tutorial about I-Deal$.

Hello, Whole Latte Love Lovers. I was on the phone the other day with some of you and realized that as much as I was going over machines with customers, I was also going over the terms we throw around. The espresso lingo can be confusing and terms can sometimes be counter-intuitive to a layman. So, I’ve decided to put together a glossary of common terms to help you decipher the espresso talk. Here is the first part of the espresso and coffee-related dictionary:

Backflush – The main process of maintenance for a Prosumer-level machine. Using a blind filter basket or backflush disc, the water pressure is pushed back into the machine, agitating any scale, mineral or coffee build up loose, and then kicking it out of the machine via the three way solenoid valve. In a regular household, it should be done weekly, alternating between backflushing with and without a cleaner like Cafiza.

Brush – A cleaning instrument used to clean different parts of an espresso machine.

Base – A stand for the grinder and espresso machine that usually has a storage drawer and/or a built-in knock bar. We have bases for Pasquini, Rancilio and Gaggia machines and grinders.

Blade grinder – A coffee grinder that has two or four blades that spin around chopping the coffee beans to a small size. Blade grinders are ok for drip coffee, but since the process causes a lot of friction, blade grinders can alter the flavor and aroma of coffee and are not recommended for espresso.

Burr grinder – A coffee grinder that uses two notched rotating burrs to grind the coffee into specific sizes. This is the preferred method for coffee and espresso grinding, because it significantly reduces heat transfer and produces better grind uniformity.

Ceramic burrs – Burrs made out of ceramic are relatively new. They can last twice as long as the ones made of steel. Ceramic burrs are usually flat. The advantages are three fold: durability, noise reduction (they are a few decibels quieter than their steel counterparts) and thermal control (they transfer less heat to the beans).

Conical burrs – These burrs are conical in shape; the beans start at the top of the cone area and grind downward—through the burrs and into the narrower section. As the beans progress through the burrs, the grind gets finer and finer. Smaller conical burr grinders for the home, such as the Maestro Plus, are ideal for drip and French press grinding. Larger commercial conical burr grinders, like the Mazzer Kony, provide much more surface area and can create a consistent grind for espresso brewing.

Coarse grind – Larger-sized coffee grounds, used primarily for drip, French press and vacuum brewing.

Bar – Measure of pressure, equal to 100,000 Pa, really close to one atmosphere (101,325 Pa). Espresso is brewed between 8 and 9 bars; you will constantly see pump ratings varying from 15 to 19 bars, depending on the brand.

Blank shot – Sometimes called a blind shot, this term refers to running water through your group head to either warm the entire system or, in some cases, cool the boiler down.

Boiler – The part of an espresso machine that holds the water as it is being heated for brewing or steaming.

Brew group – Where the “magic” happens in a super-automatic machine. Once ground coffee is added, it is then tamped, water goes through the grounds to extract the beverage and the final product is delivered into the cup. Afterwards, the used grounds, or puck, is expelled into a dreg drawer.

Bypass doser – In super-autos, the feature that allows you to use a different pre-ground coffee and bypass the grounds from the beans in the hopper. A bypass doser is the ideal feature for users who brew both regular and decaf.

Commercial portafilter basket – The part of the semi-automatic espresso machine that holds the coffee. The commercial part refers to the fact that it is non-pressurized, and the coffee itself is what the pump pushes against to create the necessary 8-9 bars for espresso brewing.

Bottomless portafilter – A specially augmented portafilter that has the bottom machined off. There is a two-fold reasoning behind the augmentation. First, it can be used as a teaching instrument; if you grind and tamp correctly, the brewed espresso will form into a single stream as it is being extracted. Second, a bottomless portafilter gives you the ability to hold a triple shot (21g).

Brewing – Any process of putting water through coffee grounds to produce a drink.

Cold brew – A different way of brewing your coffee, using cold instead of hot water. It’s usually done in a bowl or large bottle in the fridge and takes between 3 and 12 hours to complete. Cold-brewed beverages are stronger than drinks made using conventional methods. Cold brewing is famous in the Louisiana area and it’s gaining popularity with the new Hourglass brewer.

Carafe – The “pot” the drip coffeemaker brews into. There are two types of carafes. The glass one is usually accompanied by a warming plate and a thermal carafe, which often features double-walled metal. The metal ones do need to be preheated, but they can retain the coffee’s temperature for hours after brewing.

Americano – A drink that mimics a cup of drip coffee, minus the bitter edge. Generally a double shot of espresso (2-2.5 ounces), with 3-4 ounces of hot water added (adjusted to taste, of course).

Cafe con leche – Similar to a latte, this drink uses steamed milk and has a 50/50 ratio between the brewed espresso or coffee and milk.

Café crema – Similar to an Americano, this drink also mimics drip coffee. But, instead of adding hot water to the espresso, you over extract and run 4-6 ounces through a regular amount of grounds.

Cafe lungo – This drink is shorter than a Café Crema, but longer than a shot of espresso. It usually has a volume of 3-4 ounces.

Cappuccino – One of the most classic and loved espresso-based drink. Traditionally it is a double shot of espresso, with 4-6 ounces of frothed milk, adjusted to taste of course.

Coffee – It felt wrong to leave this off the dictionary, but we don’t really have to define this do we? It’s the bean of the coffee cherry that gives us all of these wonderful drinks and concoctions when dried, ground and brewed.

I’m a bargain shopper and I love it when customers find great deals on our Website. But, there are a few money-saving tricks that some people miss when they buy on wholelattelove.com. It’s really a shame because the savings are actually very substantial. If you don’t want to miss out on a great deal, check out my “shopping secrets” below:

Buy in Packs
I consider our packages to be the most-often-overlooked deals on the site. You could save over $100, in some cases, by simply buying your products in a bundle. Our Grinder and Machine Packages are a must-shop, if you’re in the market for a home coffee bar. Every single package on this page has been discounted from the original price. If the espresso machine and grinder you’re looking for is available as a package, you probably shouldn’t be buying them separately. Also, our Gift Center is a treasure trove of bargains. Browse through the products in this section and you’ll find generous discounts as well as many packages that include free gift-with-purchase items. 

Prepare to be Wowed
Started at the height of the shopping frenzy, during last Christmas, our Wow of the Week survived the holidays and continues to host different weekly deals. You’ll find everything from coffee to espresso machines, grinders, accessories and more. But beware; these deals are only active for seven days. When the countdown clock hits zero, at noon on Friday, time has run out for that week’s specials. New Wow of the Week items are posted at 12PM EST every Friday, so make sure you tune in to get first dibs on the deals!

Shop the Sale
You can save up to 50% on the products in the Sale Section. Espresso machines, grinders, coffee makers, coffee, tea, parts, accessories and packages are all represented in this section. Our sale page is updated regularly; be sure to check back often for the latest specials.

Stay in Touch
Have the latest coupon codes, sales and specials sent directly to your inbox by signing up for a Whole Latte Love account. Every edition of our monthly newsletter includes a coupon code for site-wide savings. We make it a point to keep our members up-to-date with the newest deals and exclusive coupon codes. Coffee lovers should also consider joining us on the Whole Latte Love Spot, facebook, and twitter.

What’s your favorite way to save at Whole Latte Love? Do you have a saving secret to share with your fellow coffee lovers? Post your thoughts here!

Tho
Writing Department

Choosing the right espresso machine for your business is going to be one of many important decisions you will need to make. Having the right machine to meet your needs will play a critical role in how successful you are. Our website is set up to help you get the right machine by looking at a few criteria; what type of business you are, how busy you will be, and how well trained your staff will be in regards to making espresso.

The first step is to define what type of business you are.

Coffee shop - A business that primarily will generate revenue through the sales of coffee and espresso based beverages. You may also sell other products such as food, desserts, and even ice cream. Your location or brand will be based on the quality of your specialty coffee drinks. Your shop should be a destination for people to satisfy their coffee craving. Highly skilled baristas should be present.

Café – A café is more about a total food experience. Coffee and espresso help to make a café desirable, but the menu and ambiance are also critical to a cafes success. In my opinion, cafes are attractive for a guest looking for a quick meal, which could include wine, artesian bread, or unique appetizers. Coffee in the right café can make up a good portion of the sales, especially if it is quality coffee.

A Restaurant –Restaurants offer a complete and varied menu as well as table service. Everything is set up to give the customer a chance to dine. I think of a restaurant as a place that takes reservations, and may have a waiting area that enables patrons to wait for a table. Coffee usually is the last part of the meal and it is important; however it typically does not represent a large percentage of total sales.

Now that we have defined the type of business you are, let’s look at the volume of your espresso sales. Anticipated volume is going determined based on a variety of factors. Make sure you take hourly sales, daily sales, and peak hours into consideration. This of course is a hard number to determine but your business plan should define total volume of sales, and from that you can extrapolate a good idea of espresso sales. From there you should be able to get a good grasp on hourly sales.

Espresso based beverages as a percentage of sales will be highest in a coffee shop, lower in a café, and lower still in a restaurant. Our commercial website breaks down the hourly capacity into three different categories – 0-50, 50-100, or more than 100 cups per hour. If you know you will have intermittent rushes and your daily sales suggest a 0-50 hourly sales machine, it is recommended that you step up to the next level of 50-100 so that you can handle those peak volume times effectively.

The type of machine you will need is also going to be determined by your employee’s skill level. Let’s look at how we define skill level. The skill level is broken down into three categories as well- low, medium or high. Let’s define each one as it applies to espresso beverages.

Low – Employees may have some basic knowledge regarding espresso, but lack training in creating espresso based beverages. They generally will not know how to grind, tamp or brew a shot, nor will they be able to consistently steam milk correctly to make the drinks. The current training program does not focus on making employees Baristas. Barista of course means a professional trained in the art of espresso.

Medium – They may be able to tell the customers about all the different drinks and may even be able to make the drinks. Consistency and quality may be difficult to achieve. They should have some experience in brewing a shot or steaming milk.

High -Employees are well versed in all aspects of espresso beverages. They can talk about espresso with passion. They can pull consistent great shots. They also can steam milk correctly and may even be able to do things like Latte Art.

Now that you have an idea of the potential espresso volume and the skill level of your employees, our website can be used to narrow down your machine choices. Machines are broken down into two main categories: traditional or super automatic.

Semi Automatic –Or what I like to call a traditional machine. You will need to know how to grind, tamp the coffee in the portafilter, lock it in the machine and brew your shot. You, also, generally will need to steam your milk using the steam wand. Traditional machines require the most skill. In my opinion if you run a coffee shop and you think you can train your employees to be baristas, this is the way to go. These types of machines require constant training and employees should be tested and monitored to make sure they can make great espresso based beverages.

Super Automatic – This means the machine is automatically doing some or all of the work in making the espresso or the espresso based beverage. There are two kinds of Super Autos a one step or two step.

One step - the machine makes the whole drink, from start to finish all you do is push a button.

Two step - the machine will make the shot and the staff will need to steam the milk using the steam wand.

I would recommend a one-step super automatic if you have a café or restaurant with untrained baristas, but still wish to serve consistent drinks. Depending on your needs, one of the following machines may be well suited for your business:

Grimac La Valentina - One group traditional machine. This model would work best in a small coffee shop or café making less than fifty cups an hour. It does take skill to operate this machine correctly. You can simplify the brewing process by using espresso pods.ESE pods will help streamline espresso extraction and may make the Grimac suitable for restaurant use as well. I would not recommend this machine in a café that does more than 125 espresso drinks in a day chances are you may have peak hours or rushes and that would require a bigger machine.

La Marzocco - Two group traditional machine. This machine is well suited for a coffee shop or a busy café serving 50-100 cups an hour. This would be a tough machine for a restaurant as the skill level required to create consistent drinks is vey high; but in the right hands it is an amazing tool.

Schaerer Coffee Art - A two step super automatic. This machine would work well in a café or restaurant experiencing medium to heavy traffic (50-100 cups and hour).. It is unique because of the engineering, which allows you to steam milk for lattes or foam milk for cappuccinos at the touch of a button. The Coffee Art has a automatic feature that will automatically shut off when the desired milk temperature is reached. It requires little training as the machine will brew a great shot; you push a button and get perfect milk; all you need to do is assemble the drink. This is an easy to use machine, even for inexperienced baristsas, it will deliver very consistent beverages.

Concordia IBS 4 - Super automatic One Touch Machine. This machine is perfect for any size restaurant or a café. It would work best in a place making more than 100 drinks a day. It does not require special skill or training and makes amazing drinks at the touch of a button. Specialty beverages such as hot chocolate, mochas, iced mochas chai tea or flavored lattes and cappuccinos can be made effortlessly using the Concordia IBS4. This machine makes amazing drinks, but is best used in a multi tasking environment, where the staff needs the ability to push a button to get a completed drink from the machine.

I hope this helps you understand how to use our website to determine what machine best fits your needs. As you can tell, there is a lot that goes into deciding what kind of machine to purchase for your business. For specific recommendation based on your personal needs, please call me direct 888-411-5282- ext 5196

Mark, Commercial Sales

Have you tweeted yet?

Probably the coolest thing I've come across recently is the new phenomenon of Twitter. It's never been easier to get in touch with so many people all at one time, and in so few words.

What's Twitter, you ask?
It's a place where people come together – electronically. On Twitter, you follow anyone you like. When you choose to follow someone, every time they post a tweet, it shows up in a list, or stream on your Twitter home page. If they choose to follow you, your tweets will show up on their page. I've seen this used from figuring out when to meet up for coffee to the latest in health news (this just in: even WebMD is calling coffee a health food!). And now it seems just about everyone is Twittering – I'm even talking about companies and celebrities. We already have a bunch of followers, and I'm enjoying what's discussed by everyone we're following.

It's all about communication....
The other cool thing about Twitter is how you get in touch with one person in particular. There are two ways of directly talking to someone. Imagine speaking to someone in a room full of people. You don't mind if someone overhears what you're saying, because it may be beneficial to them. That's what someone's doing when they say "@" in front of the person's name. While it looks like any regular post to anyone else, it will show up highlighted to the person it's meant for. Or, say you want to ask a question in private. All you have to do is type "d" in front of the person's name, and it will directly message them. This means the message went only to them (or back to you). I think features like this make Twitter a great resource or hangout for everyone.

If you have a Twitter account, join us!

Have you checked out our RSS feed yet? If you missed our blog about RSS, learn the basics here. If you're ready to see RSS in action on your own computer, read on!

You're probably aware of what bookmarks are when it comes to browsing around on the web. However if you're not, when you 'bookmark' something, you're adding it to your own personal list of the websites you'd like to visit again. Subscribing to an RSS feed is exactly like bookmarking another page. However, if you're looking for a different way to organize your 'feeds', some browsers and email programs do things differently.

Internet Explorer
On IE there is a location specifically for RSS, called Feeds. When active, this list is located in a smaller window, to the left of the page you're currently viewing. The number of unviewed updates appears next to each feed, just like in Safari. If the Feeds window isn't open, you can bring it up by clicking on Tools, then Toolbars, and then Feeds. This window stays active until you close it.

Firefox
This browser is one of my favorites because it seems to think on the same wavelength as me. Whether or not I'm on the computer, I like to keep everything organized and right where I need it. When I subscribe to an RSS feed in Firefox, it asks me if I would like to add it as a 'Live Bookmark'. A Live Bookmark becomes its own menu in Firefox. When you want to see the latest RSS update, clicking the Live Bookmark reveals a list of all the updates, with the newest at the top. Now you can check out the latest updates without leaving the site you're on.

Safari
Adding an RSS feed in Safari is just like adding a bookmark— the difference is when the RSS feed updates. If there are new headlines you haven't viewed yet, Safari shows the number unviewed next to the name of your bookmark, so you know when there's something new.

Email
Some email programs like Apple Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird have RSS built right in. When you add an RSS feed to one of these programs, each update shows up like an email— with the headline as the subject.

I know there are other browsers, and feed-readers out there, so if I missed one you were especially interested in learning about, please let me know!

Greetings from the web cave!

Nowadays, you would think getting an idea across the web would be easy enough with so many forms of communication available. There's email, forums, newsletters, chats, instant messages, and more. In the more advanced world of the web you can even communicate in the form of pictures, videos, podcasts... the list goes on! But in the overabundance of mass mailings, interactive advertisements, and not-so-official newsletters, how can we stay up-to-date without being misinformed or overwhelmed?

Don't get me wrong; I love getting the latest deals from my favorite stores. I look forward to other sites' monthly newsletters and their articles. It's just that sometimes I don't want to sift through the forwards from my siblings to find the one coupon for 20% off the one product I need to have, or that great recipe I saw last week. If only there was a way to get updates and specials in a simpler form that's easier to manage.

There is a solution, in fact. And it's so easy, "simple" is its middle name. I'm talking about RSS, a.k.a. Really Simple Syndication.

You may have heard about RSS in passing. Maybe you've seen that little orange square and thought, "Gee, that looks cool... what does it do?" Picture this: all the latest news from the New York Times laid out in a list of headlines. Simply click on the one you want to read. No fuss, no flailing, just find it and click on it like an electronic table-of-contents. RSS is even nice enough to sort chronologically, so the latest updates are always at the top of the list.

Let's talk about how you view this list.
There are many ways of viewing an RSS feed, from browsers to email. If you're using a browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer, you'll be brought to a web page with a list like I mentioned before. You'll see a brief description below each headline so you can choose the ones you want to read, and the date and time of when it was posted. You can bookmark this page for viewing later. The best part? This page automatically updates.

How does this help you stay in touch with us?
Whole Latte Love actually has two RSS feeds. One for this blog, and one for our entire site, both located on the right-hand side of our site. Look for that little orange button and subscribe! Each time a new blog entry is posted, the RSS page will update with the latest entry at the top. If you subscribe to the Whole Latte Love website RSS feed, you'll be kept up to date on the latest specials and newest articles, all without having to search through the site for them. It's like someone already cut the coupons for you!

Want a fancier way to get your RSS updates? You don't have to stop at web browsers. Next time, I'll talk about other ways to control how you see the feeds. It gets even simpler from here.