Join us at the Handsome Coffee Roasters Arts District coffee bar and roasting works, with supplies graciously sponsored by Visions Espresso Service, for a night of cupping coffee from roasters all around the world. We can’t release a list yet, and who knows what our government’s lovely Customs processing has in store for our table, but rest assured, we’ll be trying some lovely stuff not commonly slurped in the United States.

International Delight is Friday, May 25th at Handsome Coffee Roasters (582 Mateo Street, LA). The event is free, open to the public, and goes from 6pm until 7:30pm. After the event, we’ll be moseying down the street to Villain’s Tavern (1356 Palmetto Street) for a big LA coffee folks get-together drink-together. You are invited to the bar with us, and then maybe later to Canter’s Deli.

Roasters! If you’re interested in contributing coffee, and can ship internationally by May 25th, please contact us at coffee@sprudge.com.

Marc Gunther, a seasoned journalist with past bylines in Slate, CNNMoney, FORTUNE and elsewhere, has turned his professionally unbiased lens towards the specialty coffee world in two fascinating new features this week. First, Mr. Gunther provides some birds-eye overview on the recent split between Transfair (now Fair Trade USA) and FLO, or Fairtrade Labeling Organizations, an international heading for fair trade operations.

“This is an exciting moment in the Fair Trade movement’s history because it’s a chance to revisit our purpose, our goals and our practices,” says Ben Corey-Moran, the president of Thanksgiving Coffee Co. , a socially-conscious artisan roaster in northern California. (Its slogan: “Not Just a Cup, But as Just Cup.”) “But it’s also a very dangerous moment. We could confuse or alienate a lot of consumers.”

Mr. Gunther also interviews Paul Rice, president and CEO of Fair Trade, along with Rodney North of Equal Exchange, the most vocal opponent of this split between FT USA and the FLO. It’s beyond refreshing to read coverage like this provided by Mr. Gunther, who approaches these issues with the cool levelheadedness of a proper business reporter, without a dog in the fight or a pre-formed opinion. This article is a fair, even-handed must-read for your week.

Marc Gunther – A schism over Fair Trade.

There’s another piece on Mr. Gunther’s blog that deserves your perusal. In it, he compares ethical sourcing, social and environmental practices preached by two specialty coffee companies: Thanksgiving Coffee, a family-owned roaster in Mendocino County, CA, and Starbucks, who you may have heard of before. Turns out there’s a common thread uniting both:

The big coffee company and the little one share a couple of important goals. First, they want to win the trust of their customers and, of course, their own employees. One way to do that is by showing them that their coffee is ethically-sourced. Starbucks talks about responsibly grown coffee, citing its Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) Practices, a set of social, economic, environmental and quality guidelines. Thanksgiving’s slogan is ““Not Just a Cup, but a Just Cup.”  Reputation matters, whether you are big or small.

But, even if reputation didn’t matter (and to most customers, it probably doesn’t), Starbucks and Thanksgiving need to devote their attention to the social and environmental practices of their growers, upon whom they depend for a reliable supply of high-quality coffee. If their coffee farmers run into trouble–because of low coffee prices, poor environmental practices or climate change–Starbucks and Thanksgiving will struggle, too.

We suggest you spend time with this feature as well. Can we nominate this guy for next year’s SCAA Symposium?

Marc Gunther – At Starbucks and Thanksgiving Coffee, it’s not just a cuppa joe.

Marc Gunther – A schism over Fair Trade

Revealed in this week’s episode of HBO’s Girls:

…in which he mocks a mild-mannered gal’s “awkwardmarine” sweatshirt, frail eyes hidden behind oversized spectacles, and face-concealing bangs. She quickly crumbles at his mockery-veiled-as-veritas, and suddenly an abrupt throwaway gag tells us more than we bargained for about certain Greenpoint day laborers.

Clip below contains language that’s very PG-13:

Today’s 2012 Panama Esmeralda Especial Auction earned Hacienda Esmeralda an estimated $806,133. You can check out our earlier feature on the auction for a little context, and here’s some highlights from the bidding action:

Top high bid for the natural processed Esmeralada was $66, paid SAZA Coffee of Japan, for one of two lots of Esmeralda’s Mario Natural coffee, harvested in February in the Jaramillo region at 1,500-1,700 meters. This price exceeds the highest price paid in last year’s washed Esmeralda auction, which was $51.50 from the WATARU Group for OGAWA Coffee.

Giuli Coffee Ltd. purchased the other lot of Mario Natural, for a per-pound price of $65.50.

Five lots from two natural processed batches of Esmeralda were on auction; the second, dubbed Colgá Natural, topped out at $37 even, again from the WATARU Group.

All of the Esmeralda natural processed coffees were purchased by Asian buyers, but if you live outside of the Asia, there’s still plenty of tasty, washed Esmeralda headed your way, from buyers like George Howell Coffee Company, Stumptown, Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, The Coffee Collective, and the green wholesale & importers at InterAmerican, one of the largest volume buyers at this year’s Esmeralda auction.

Read a full listing here, via StoneWorks Specialty Coffee Auction.

Correction: Originally quoted total bids at $1,585,416. This was inaccurate.

A Mickey Mouse, to be exact! Something is brewing in Anaheim this summer, where DisneyLand goers and java addicts have a latte to be buzzed about.

The Seattle coffee giant Starbucks has announced plans to open six cafes within the park. The first, Fiddle, Fifer & Practical Café on Buena Vista Street, will have a 1920s Los Angeles vibe, complete with vintage attired baristas and “classic” Frappuccino flavors, like “Honey Sassafras Blended Creme”, “Lime Ginger Phosphate Blended Tea”, and “Moka Java Cinnamon Spice Blended Coffee”.

The breakfast sandwiches and pastries served will also be “of the era”, with with menu items like Canape of Anchovie Tea Sandwiches, Cream of Celery Sliders, Aguillette of Striped Bass Joinville Paninis, Medallion of Spring Lamb Bites, Steamed Marmalade Pudding Cups, and Jellied Tongue Harlequin Salad.

Starbucks isn’t just expanding their coffee offerings into childhood fantasy fun parks: they’ve seen their exposure skyrocket by offering coffee to the International Space Station, with weightless service planned for flights on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Best of all, the company plans to outfit this summer’s line of Goofy costumes with extra room for a little cold brew.

The man accused of throwing hot coffee on a Donut shop worker turned himself in on Monday.

Tuesday morning, David Timbers was out of custody after posting 10 percent of $25,000 bail. The 52-year-old covered his head with a hoodie and held an umbrella as he left police headquarters around 10 a.m.

He wasn’t happy to see NBC10 cameras waiting for him as he walked out with another man.

“You all harassing me like this? Go and find yourselves some real stories,” Timbers said to NBC10′s Byron Scott.

Someone needs to break it to you, Mr. Timbers: your horrendous coffee assault is TOTALLY news. We already chose a schmuck for this week, but that doesn’t make you any less of a schmo. Stay classy, Philadelphia.

The first three drinks are each a representation of one of the major acids. The Old Fashioned will serve as the introduction to understanding citric acid, the Green Apple Highball to malic acid, and the Tamarind to tartaric. A sample of whichever acid the drink represents will be presented along with the drink, so the customer can hopefully gain a deeper understanding of what acidity is.

The Old Fashioned will be a spin on the whiskey cocktail. So I’m going to be using a citrus infusion and am working on making nonalcoholic bitters for it. The Green Apple Highball is one I’m working out some kinks with, but it’s going to have either green apple juice, or a green apple infusion cooked up in a siphon. It’s going to be cut with white cranberry juice, shaken, and served in a chilled glass. The Tamarind Highball will be espresso, tamarind paste, and simple syrup shaken and served in a chilled glass. The Sour will be lemon juice/simple syrup, and espresso shaken with egg whites, served in a chilled glass, with a citrus peel lit on fire and snapped over it for added zest. And the Black Flag is a sweet shaken beverage with molasses, honey, and espresso.

Sounds like one a them froofroo barista competitions y’all been hitching yer donkey cart to as of late. The grizzled old prospector in all of us wants to know, how much for three fingers of something brown? And does this saloon rent rooms? I ain’t had a bath since Tucson.

Boston Globe reports:

The founder of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., who was ousted as chairman for a stock sale that violated company policy, said the transaction was triggered after he was caught off-guard by a swift drop in the coffee maker’s stock price.

Robert Stiller, who also dumped his $50 million stake in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., said in an interview Wednesday that he did not expect Green Mountain’s shares to fall so steeply last week. The decline forced him to sell the shares on a margin call, which happened to occur during a blackout period in which the company prohibits the sale of its stock by insiders.

Weak! No telling what’s become of Mr. Stiller’s shares in the E-Z Wider Rolling Paper company (we’re not making this up). Bob’s major sell-off was reportedly due to his using a stock portfolio as his his main source of income. Then some bankers cruelly harshed his mellow:

Stiller said he received a call from Deutsche Bank on Friday about an hour and a half before the market closed, telling him that he needed to come up with cash or sell shares.

Stiller, who founded Green Mountain in 1981 and served as its president and chief executive until May 2007, said that he is retired and that his stock portfolio is his main source of income. As for reports that he leads a lavish lifestyle, he said he bought a yacht five years ago because he enjoys traveling and being on the water with friends.

“Maybe I shouldn’t do these things, but I’ve worked all my life building this company and it’s been successful,’’ said Stiller, 68. “I want to enjoy it.’’

Roasters the world over have registered and received samples for the annual Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Special Auction, happening May 15th. This year, Hacienda Esmeralda experimented with natural processing for some of their geisha coffees, drying cherry the sun and completing the process in mechanical dryers. The auction will include several lots from two natural batches, the Colgá Natural, harvested from January through March and grown in the Cañas Verdes region at 1,400 meters and Mario Natural, harvested in February in the Jaramillo region at 1,500-1,700 meters.

Natural processed coffees are undoubtedly a very big deal, and producers the world over are experimenting with this method to enhance quality in places that you’d ordinarily find washed coffees. These naturals are sometimes outstanding and can sometimes be disasters – riddled with defects due to any number of missteps throughout the process. This could be due to climate but is more likely due to the lack of experience.

One prominent roaster isn’t afraid to mince words on the Esmeralda Natural lots, on Twitter wrote “The natural processed Esmeralda is fucking disgusting. Why would you screw up a beautiful coffee like that by fermenting it in a cherry?” Some agreed, some disagreed, and some defended the Peterson’s decision to try something new.

Only time will tell how much the experimental lots will fetch. When Esmeralda made waves several years ago, the gesha variety exploded in popularity in Latin America. If the natural lots prove to be lucrative, it could very well send a message to producers that naturally processed coffees are worth the risk.

Last year, Hacienda Esmeralda sold eighty lots, with the top lot of Esmeralda fetching $15,450.00 for six bags, at $51.50 a pound to Japan based WATARU group for OGAWA Coffee.

Panama Esmeralda Auction online at StoneWorks on May 15th. Bidding on all lots start at $10.00 per pound.

It’s safe to say that Mr. Sorenson’s first foray in the food and cocktail world, The Woodsman Tavern, has been a smashing success, having been named one of the 10 best new restaurants in America by GQ, given a full-service love-on by The Oregonian, and endlessly slobbered over by the folks at Eater PDX. Sprudge.com lead writer Jordan Michelman profiled their Campari and burnt cedar take on a classic Old Pal cocktail for Serious Eats on November 22nd, for which he was woefully underpaid, while their innovative vacuum pot hot toddy received an artful, thorough Strand job on November 25th. It all adds up to no shortage of fawning press, and sets the bar pretty gosh darn high for whatever Mr. Sorenson has planned for his new playspace down Division.

More from “Eat Beat” blogger Karen Brooks, who calls Duane an “indie coffee lord” and rightfully points out The Woodsman Market next to the restaurant as a destination unto itself:

For years, Lauro Kitchen and the ramshackle-chic Pix Patisserie stood like mirages in the foodie oasis of car-zooming SE Division Street. Then Pok Pok’s wild success drew attention to what is now Portland’s booming Eat Street, where rock ‘n’ roll ramen, eclectic food carts, Mexican street food, and reimagined family meals mingle with modestly priced stylish eateries.

Sorenson is now among the high-profile and rising star talents making Division a compelling destination.“I’ve lived over here for years,” he says. “I love investing in the food scene on Division. I’m excited to be part of Portland’s food world.”

Mr. Sorenson is currently in Europe, researching concepts for this new restaurant space, but we feel safe in predicting that fine Stumptown coffees will be a component part of whatever he’s cooking up. Stay tuned.