Last week I went into the Starbucks on the corner of Yonge & Davisville to check out their in-store marketing, motif, etc. I was thrilled to see that they have the Clover coffee brewing system in place. For those of you unfamiliar with it, in a nutshell you choose the premium, or 'rare', as they call it, beans that may best fit your palate. A large dose of coffee, usually around 40 grams, is used for a Tall coffee. Disclaimer: I didn't take official notes, it might have been a short. Anywho, I chose the Kenya because the crop has been quite good of late and knowing that Starbucks prefers to roast dark, I expected to get the brightness of a classic Kenyan. The lowdown is that it was excellent. Brewed with no filter so that you get the full mouthfeel - think more like a french press but not having to worry about a lot of sediment. Oily texture but in a good way and I have to say by far and away the best coffee I have ever had from Starbucks. Yes, it is pricier but if you are going to spend $3.50 and decide on not going the latte route, it is really worth it. Just make sure to drink it black so that you get the full aroma, mouthfeel and aftertaste without cream or sweetener.

The system itself is definitely set up for mass market with funky tubes for each exotic coffee type. I have to put in at least one drawback to give a legitimate review and that is to not roast everything so dark. In fact, Kenya is the perfect example because with a lighter roast I would have experienced bursting citrus and the aftertaste would have been more cleansing on the palate, doing those Kenyan beans that much more justice.

Even still, amazing to introduce to the masses a system and accompanying selection of coffees that are far closer to the strength of the coffee's origin than Starbucks has ever done before. Great work and I am excited to try the Honduras and Rwandan! Cheers, Fraser

OK I am a self-admitted Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop/Dreamweaver geek. I can draw stick people on paper but like to take design and apply it in a useful way. So while working with Velvet Sunrise Coffee Roasters, I noticed that most independent cafes sell roaster-branded coffee bags. Why is this important? Well, the roaster 'cups' or 'taste tests' many coffees from many different origins. Each coffee is cupped having been roasted at different levels. Based on the results as well as the feedback from the cafe owner, a decision is reached on the coffees to be served as espresso, medium brew/dark brew and sold at retail.

My pet peeve was that so many independent cafes have clients buying roaster-branded coffee at their location when the roast is often custom to them. They should promote THEIR business, NOT the roasters. It's fine to have a bit of co-branding but people come to their neighbourhood cafe because they are loyal, the atmosphere and great products and service. So when that customer consumes at home, the cafe deserves the credit.

For example, working with The Mad Bean. I was able to use Illustrator and they were able to increase their brand awareness by moving their name and their product into client homes. If Starbucks brings their brand into your home, the independent cafe should be doing the same. 

So I found a 'Steampunk' theme image at the request of the owner, which is in keeping with The Mad Bean's overall branding. I adjusted the image in Illustrator and came up with 4 separate labels for the in-store sales.

Illustrator Examples:


Labels Created to go on black matte bags:



So if you are an independent business or private label, make sure you are getting your own name out there rather than simply acting as a distribution channel that builds the brand value of other companies. Cheers, Fraser