Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

Blog News: Spirituality Forum

The Spirituality Forum page has been updated with an article that will no doubt be added to in the days and weeks to come.

Editorials: A Lil' Bit of Everything

WARNING: There will be too many ideas jammed into this blog post.  I've been thinking a lot lately about economic justice and related topics (I know, sexy, sexy stuff).  It seems like every time I open my Facebook home page, some new criticism of President Obama, Winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Price, is being voiced.  I know that the difficult economic environment has impacted many--perhaps even most-- more than it has me.  Still, I'm detecting a vibe that makes me highly uncomfortable.  In too many instances, people seem to be lashing out in anger at those less fortunate than themselves.  Opposition to President Obama's initiatives, whether in health care or other areas, may stem from dislike of the idea of redistribution of wealth.  Well, maybe we're only focusing on some of the ways we redistribute. 

I just redistributed $20 by getting gas.  I have to do that to get to work, but mostly to get out to Mequon--where I write this--to the hiking trail, coffee shops and other activities I enjoy.  If this were Germany, there would be an S-Bahn (suburban metro railway) that would get me out here.  As nearby as Chicagoland, a weekend Metra pass allows unlimited riding for $5.  The Metra system extends into Wisconsin.  Though slow advances seem to be being made in Milwaukee-area transit, it remains in the Pleistocene compared to other regions of its size.  Attitudes are formed by talkers such as Mark Belling.  I don't hate Belling, but he's in the Mark Belling business.  I'm in the Mike Miller business.  You, dear reader, should be in the (insert your name here) business.

Now why, oh why, would Mark Belling be against transit?  Because if we had good transit, you might be in a fast-moving train at 5:30 p.m. instead of stuck in traffic listening to his show while getting angry and constipated.  Hello?  I'll be the first to admit that I often lack common sense, but that sure seems like common sense to me.  I'll also be the first to admit that I'm not exactly a financial wizard, but it seems odd to sit in one's car listening to the radio so that advertisers can suggest ways to spend your money--so that they can buy more advertising time.  I've been listening to a fair amount of radio lately, mostly in the evening while at work.  Kessler's Diamonds is a heavy advertiser and has been for years.  Now, this isn't an attack on Kessler: his folksy ads are endearing, though annoyingly omnipresent, and reading the biography of Richard Kessler, he actually sounds like a really cool guy--the kind I could look up to.  But again, he's in the Richard Kessler business.  I'm in the Mike Miller business.

If I'm sitting in my car listening to ads for Kessler's, who am I working for?  To what end is my life?  To put gas in my tank, I send money to Saudi Arabia and other governments with whom I disagree.  To buy a token of my love to give to a significant other, I'm supposed to give money to Richard Kessler.  Even though he's a really cool guy, I don't think he needs any of my comparatively modest income.  To be honest, I think it would make a lot more sense if society's custom were to give $10,000 in cash to your significant other.  (Please don't consider that an offer and try to take me up on it.)

Wanna be in business for yourself?  I don't pretend to have the answers, but I can share some things that have worked for me.   If you occasionally get out of your car and walk someplace, you're actually accomplishing several things at the same time.  You can check transportation, health care, and entertainment off your list.  It'd be interesting for some more numbers-oriented person to put a dollar value on walking.  I believe it would be substantial: consider fuel savings, accident prevention, savings in public works projects, and health care costs not incurred due to the preventive value of exercise.  That's money going back into your own pocket.  No radio programs or commercials are going to tell you that, because no radio programs or commercials are going to tell you to do anything that's in your own financial interest.  (OK, Suze Orman is probably an exception!)

So, to get back (somewhat) to my original point--I'm not worried that President Obama is going to redistribute some of my money to black people who might spend it on 40-ouncers or worse.  That notion is a divide and rule strategy being perpetrated by the powers that be.  Americans wisely saw through that strategy in electing President Obama.  If we exercise similar wisdom in our everyday financial decisions, consumer choices and other actions, we will be a society of stronger and healthier individuals.

Web/Tech: Stone Creek Launches New Website

This week, Stone Creek Coffee launched its new website, which, in my opinion, is just about the best I could imagine.  It's decidedly generous in terms of well-written descriptions and decidedly lacking in das Blinkenlights and useless gewgaws.

Mequon: Snapshots: Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters

I'm catching the tail end of the Fiddleheads roasting launch party at the location on N. Port Washington Rd. in Mequon.  I've enjoyed meeting and chatting with a lot of great people.  At age 36 and as a semi-seasoned observer of the local coffee scene, It's rare that I'm really and truly blown away by an event.  The spacious cafe was packed with a standing-room only crowd when I arrived at 12:45, about fifteen minutes before the announced end of the event.  I wasn't aware that Fiddleheads had such a loyal coffee following; since I always have been here on Saturday around noontime, I'd formed a stereotype of the cafe as mostly a lunch place--albeit a very comfortable one!  That's one of the main reasons why I was so excited to hear the news of the launch of this ambitious new coffee program.

This was a coffee tasting, after all, and the taste of the coffee surpassed my high level of excitement.  Three varieties were being sampled: the Costa Rica La Dama Tres Rios, the Ethopia Harrar Gorecha, and the Papua New Guinea Kuta.  Steve, the roaster, has sent me home with two samples of beans that will fuel a late-evening work session tonight.  (Not all at once, of course!)

And to think I get to do it again the next two Saturdays! 

Retail Coffee: Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters

I'm all kinds of excited about the news I just posted about Fiddleheads roasting their own coffee.  There are many reasons, the most obvious being that it gives me something to write about.  Not only that, it's news I don't have to chase: it's taking place where I'm active anyway, along the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.

With the advent of a new roaster in the Milwaukee area comes a new, different take on coffee, just as Fiddleheads has provided a different take on the cafe experience than other roasters.  From the consumer's standpoint, the more diversity and the more options, the better.

Also, I'd been worried that the specialty coffee industry--particularly in Milwaukee and surroundings--was inextricably linked to the fortunes of the 1982-2007 boom, and that even businesses with "coffee" in their name were pulling away from that line of business.  Thus it's good to see an ambitious new coffee program being launched. Without a doubt, the coffee business is a dynamic one, and it'll be interesting to see how this new addition changes the landscape.

Press Releases: Fiddleheads to begin roasting its own coffees

Fiddleheads to begin roasting its own coffees

Kickoff events highlight “Start Fresh” campaign

 

THIENSVILLE, Wisconsin – (September 30, 2009) – Fiddleheads, a well-known name among café coffee drinkers in Ozaukee County, will begin roasting its own coffees that will be sold in its cafes and available to consumers and wholesale customers via the Internet. 

 

“Since 1996, Fiddleheads has been serving quality coffee at its three cafes,” says Mike Wroblewski, co-owner of the new company, Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters.  “Now we are enhancing the quality and freshness of our coffees by doing our own roasting.  It gives us greater control over the coffee-making process and quality, and enables us to expand the brand worldwide with the finest coffees you’ll ever savor.”

 

Nationally, in conjunction with announcing the company’s roasting business, Fiddleheads will also launch a new website,  www.fiddleheadscoffee.com.  The Start Fresh campaign highlights the company’s custom-roasting philosophy.

 

“With our focus on roasting, we will be selecting only premium coffee beans from the finest farms around the world.  Then our beans are masterfully roasted to bring out the maximum natural flavors,” Wroblewski says.  “In addition, we guarantee that all on-line orders will be ‘roasted to order.’  That’s how we define freshness and set ourselves apart from the competition.” 

 

To celebrate the new company, events will be held at the three Fiddleheads cafés in Thiensville, Mequon, and Cedarburg.  The events are free and open to the public.  At each of the events customers will have the opportunity to sample a selection of Fiddleheads coffees - from Brazil Carmo de Minas, to Guatemala Las Crucitas, to Sumatra Lintong.   In addition, there will be a drawing for a top-of-the-line coffee maker, the Mocca Master Thermal Brewer.  Cookies and pastries, and juice for the kids, also will be provided.

 

Dates and times for each Start Fresh event are…

 

M E Q U O N

Saturday, October 3rd | 11 am – 1 pm

10530 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI 53092 | 262-241-8819

T H I E N S V I L L E

Saturday, October 10th | 11 am – 1 pm

192 South Main Street, Thiensville, WI 53092 | 262-238-8737

C E D A R B U R G

Sunday, October 11th | 11 am – 1 pm

W62 N605 Washington Avenue, Cedarburg, WI 53012 | 262-376-1366

Current Affairs: President Bill Clinton Global IQ Test | William J. Clinton Foundation

These are issues that should--and must--be addressed from the pulpit. I won't stop looking until I find one that does.

President Bill Clinton Global IQ Test | William J. Clinton Foundation Shared via AddThis

Press Releases: Dunn Bros Coffee October Sweepstakes

This press release comes from the folks at Dunn Bros Coffee, which has three or four Southeastern Wisconsin locations (I thought there was one on W. Ryan Rd., but it's not showing up on the corporate website):

In an effort to bring the customer to the coffee and reward Costa Rican farmers for their efforts to produce coffee fairly, responsibly and in an environmentally sensitive way, Dunn Bros Coffee will soon be offering customers an experience of a lifetime.  During the month of October, enter to win an all-expense paid trip for two to Costa Rica.  The grand prize winner and a guest will travel with Dunn Bros Coffee franchisees and company staff to visit coffee farms and production facilities in Costa Rica. 

Dunn Bros Coffee RoastmasterRewards loyalty card members may swipe their card between October 1^st and 31^st in order to be entered into the sweepstakes.  The more a guest uses their RoastmasterRewards card, the more chances they have to win.  Paper entries are also accepted. 

The sweepstakes is open to legal residents of Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.  Must be 18 to enter.  The grand prize winner will be announced in late November. 

For more information, please visit www.dunnbros.com/sweepstakes.asp or contact your local franchise owner at (262) 264-0529.

Snaphsots: A Walk Through Downtown Milwaukee

Saturday, I had an appointment to donate blood at the Blood Center of Wisconsin.  I thought I would try walking it, which I'd never done before.  I am thoroughly depressed by the experience I had.  I've been a Downtown Milwaukee lover all my life--when I was 11 and 12 years old, I would sneak on the bus without my parents' permission.  Before that (and occassionally afterwards), my Grandmother would take me from her home near 42nd and Hampton.  It was the highlight of my life back then.  Saturday, I stopped at the Grand Avenue--it's amazing that on a Saturday afternoon like back then, the mall was always hopping, 25 years ago (it's depressing that that was 25 years ago, but that's another story!).   The food court had just a scattering of diners.  It looked a bit like a corporate cafeteria at some random off hour.  Even 15 years ago, I remember going there on a weekday evening to console myself being dumped by a girlfriend, who shall (ahem) remain nameless, and seeing it more lively than it was today.  A decade or so ago, I'd often stop for a burger and malt at the Saz's location in the food court (the food was pretty unforgettable, but not as much as the poor woman behind the counter, who had come kind of neck muscle tic).

My overwhelming impression was that considering that Milwaukee has roughly the same population as Frankfurt, Germany, almost everything that conceivably could have gone wrong must have gone wrong in order to bring our city to this point.  This includes policy, demographics and factors such as crime.  It's amazing to think that when the Grand Avenue opened in 1982, the economy was in the tank and had more or less been there for a decade (I'm too young to remember that, but that's what I gather from reading comparisons of the current recession).  If it had only attracted the scraps and leftovers of the 25-year boom that followed, it presumably could have survived and thrived.

Editorial: Burning Fossil Fuels is Ungodly

I'm becoming increasingly impatient with the failure of Christian churches, especially those of a more conservative bent, to address one of the most pressing moral issues of our time: human despoiling of the environment by burning fossil fuels, particularly as this is reflected in our automobile-centric society.  Today, while walking the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, I stopped at the Speedway in Cedarburg for a snack.  On top of the gas pumps were signs promoting a website called Our Energy Voice.  It's significant that this was in Cedarburg, as that municipality is typical of one that is seeing increasing flight from Milwaukee County.  Those who have made the move likely view their cars (or, more likely, trucks, minivans or SUVs) as their ticket to freedom from the urbanity they escaped. 

I, too, find Milwaukee County unappealing in many respects--particularly compared to its northern neighbor--and think that's an important factor in this discussion.  Urban boosters either don't see the problems or try to cover them up.  However, more than freedom from any kind of undesirable surroundings, I value freedom from my car.  I value my car and the freedom it gives me to, say, go to a pleasant shopping center in the Chicago suburbs or (especially) to Pike Lake.  However, I wish efficient public transportation were available to get me there.  My Japanese-engineered car has provided me years of faithful service with almost no maintenance, but I know that when I spend too much time in it, I become mentally and physically unwell.  (Everybody knows that you don't want to get hit by a car or get in an accident, but cars are unhealthy even when used as intended.)  I also know that despite its highly fuel-efficient performance, in order to fuel it, I have to funnel money away from what I'd consider higher and better uses.

As a Christian, I want to use as much of my income as possible to promote and further the Christian worldview.  Obviously, as a human being, I fall short of this standard.  However, those who might wish to crowd out the Christian worldview--if not defeat it entirely--are busy spending their money doing just that.  In that light, I find it remarkable that there would be a commuter church in downtown Milwaukee to which people drive from the far suburbs.  Though not necessarily wrong in and of itself, this should at least be an occasion for pause and questioning.  The fuel for the long drive costs a lot, even if not as spectacularly much as a year or two ago, and much or most of that gas money ends up going to unsavory governments abroad.   (Personally, I'd also consider the domestic oil industry folks pretty unsavory, with their windfall profits and all.)  The high-margin large vehicles the churchgoers drive likewise mean profits for US automakers--who still can't seem to stay off the public dole.  

I want to resolve to devote as much of my income as possible to making an impact for God, and I encourage and invite fellow Christians to do the same.  In my case, giving to my church and church body is one answer, but by no means a complete answer.  In addition, I want to seek out and support those who have the Christian moral courage to call the great issues of our day by name, and not play it safe by hammering on issues that affect relatively few.

Oh, and by the way: I went to the CVS across the street for my snack.