Life After Coffee

Green Mountain Coffee Roaster is a New England icon. Their coffee is served in everything from restaurant to gas station here in New England. Founded in 1981, today Green Mountain is the nation’s largest seller of double-certified Fair Trade organic coffee. Recently I had the opportunity to try two of Green Mountain’s Fair Trade Organic offerings.

Green Mountain’s Organic Sumatran Reserve is an appealing coffee with an earthy richness you could expect of an organic coffee from the beverage’s birthplace. This is a pleasant, medium bodied coffee which, while it doesn’t disappoint in the cup somehow left me wanting more. A decent floral nose is the highlight of this coffee and, though the flavor is somewhat earthy the aftertaste is clean and smooth.

The roaster’s PBS Blend is a Mexican coffee with an interesting story (see their site for details.) I found this coffee rather disappointing. While the coffee was smooth with very little acid and no bitterness it also lacked any defining flavor. A hint of caramel was all I could discern from what was otherwise a surprisingly ordinary cup of coffee.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has a large catalog of coffees. Through the gourmet coffee revolution they have become ubiquitous in New England and, while I was not impressed with the PBS Blend, the Organic Sumatran Reserve is a good coffee for those shopping for a Fair Trade organic coffee.

Unfortunately Green Mountain has adopted the all too common industry trend of cutting back their bag size. Currently their coffees are offered in 10oz bags, both of these being between $7 and $8 per bag on their website. This equates to around $12/lb which, while not unreasonable, is a premium price for coffee. Part of this is undoubtedly due to the coffee being Fair Trade, the end result of which is the farmer seeing more of this money.

Conclusions: Despite the premium price, those looking for a good organic coffee should enjoy the Organic Sumatran Reserve but a lack of richness or any defining flavor left me disappointed with the PBS blend.

dining, food, coffee

Blanchard’s Coffee Co. is a small, relatively young, family owned coffee roaster in Richmond, VA. Started less than two years ago they are already well on their way selling their coffee both mail-order and in area supermarkets.

But the proof is in the cup. I recently got the chance to try several of Blanchard’s coffees. Here’s what I thought.

Blanchard’s Tanzanian Peaberry is an outstanding coffee. Well balanced with a good body, this is my type of coffee! It is rich without any taste of smoke or burn.

Ethiopian Yergacheff was also excellent with a medium-light body. I would recommend this as Blanchard’s best all-around coffee of the ones I tasted. Low acid and hints of florals make for a superb cup.

Brazilian Daterra Sunrise nicely rounds out the roaster’s offerings as a light bodied, very smooth coffee. Many light bodied coffees lack complexity and flavor but this one is a notable exception. With practically no acid the coffee has a very clean finish that will leave you wanting more.

Blanchard does a monthly decaf coffee and the one I got to try was a Columbian Decaf. It is a good representation of Columbian coffee with a medium body and good flavor. While not overly complex this decaf doesn’t sacrifice flavor and I would recommend it to those relegated to decaf.

Unfortunately Blanchard’s House Blend didn’t match the quality of their other coffees. The bean was very dark and oily suggesting it was over roasted and though it was not ovely bitter in the cup it had a smoky, burnt flavor. There was no real depth to the flavor of the house blend and I really thought it was not very good.

Blanchard’s Coffee Co. is turning out some fantastic coffee. Roasting small quantities they roast their coffee within days of shipping and their attention to quality shows through in their product.

With the single exception of their House Blend, this coffee is outstanding, and how can you beat a roaster who says on their about page: “If you are in Richmond, come share a cup of coffee with us and watch us roast!” I love these small roasters.

coffee, food, dining

Why would you want to follow a true bonehead through a chapter of his life in corporate America? Because it’s hilarious.

In the book “The Management Secrets of T. John Dick: a truly professional novel by Augustus Gump” we are taken into the world of the title character, the Marketing Manager of SuperPumps, Inc. Marketing Manager at a company like SuperPumps, a flagging pump manufacturer, is a tough job, but T. J. is committed to its success. T. J.’s unique gift of organization (his secretary can quickly find any needed files in his office) and vision (two words, “mission statement”) make him a great leader in his own mind, but perhaps his greatest strength is pointing out what his greatest strength is… which is just about everything according to T. J.

“One of the secrets behind my management success is to keep a very tidy desk. I always emphasize the importance of this to my team and make sure to set an example with my own desk. Half an hour each morning and evening arranging papers, writing utensils, calculator etc. is time well spent in my opinion, and American business would run more smoothly and efficiently if more people realized the value of a tidy desk.”

We’ve all hear of the Peter Principle which proposes that an employee will rise to the level of their incompetence. Unfortunately the Peter Principle falls short in describing the main character of “The Management Secrets of T. John Dick”. To do proper justice to this character we would need a new principle, the Dick Principle. The Dick Principle would have to state that “Once an employee has exhausted their advancement in accordance with the Peter Principle it is possible, largely due to a lack of proper accountability in upper level positions, for them to advance even further and faster.”

A quick and fun read, “The Management Secrets of T. John Dick” won’t teach you how to be a more effective manager, but it’s sure to amuse those who deal with the absurdity of corporate culture. If you need a corporate executive to laugh at that won’t get you fired, T. J. is here for you.

book, books, book review, humor, office humor, management, corporate, funny

What do you get for the geek who has everything? Of course! Their very own USB Missile Launcher! But is it really worth it? Yes! Read on and find out why.

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Pros:

• Roughly 12 foot range
• Accurate within a foot or two even at range
• 180 degree pan
• Limited but reasonable tilt control (about 30 degrees above to five degrees below level)
• Fires three darts one at a time
• Soft foam darts are safe around the office
• High quality molded plastic construction
• Free Mac software better than included PC software

Cons:

• Couple second delay between clicking “Fire” and actual launch
• Batteries required (3xAA)
• Included software does not allow for simultaneous pan and tilt (movign diagonally)

Details:

The USB Missile Launcher came to me from the folks at KlearGear.com who have quite a line of toys and gadgets appropriate for the office. They sell the USB Missile Launcher for $55 which I consider a fair price for a toy this cool.

It comes quite attractively packed… the type of thing that you wouldn’t be able to keep on shelves in the right locations. It would make the perfect trade-show giveaway for the same reasons. Have a stack of three or four of these at your booth and you’ll get some attention (hell, at the price just give away a dozen.)

The USB Missile Launcher was equally impressive out of the box. The unit quickly pans through 180 degrees and tilts about 35 degrees. The PC software that ships with the unit is limited to only moving in one direction at a time, while the free Mac software allows movement in two directions.

You can fire one missile at a time and the missiles shoot out with surprising speed, propelled by a small spring which is compressed when you load the missiles. Both software versions suffer from a second or two delay when firing. I have a feeling this is a limitation of the device, but it’s the only major flaw in what is otherwise a great piece of office artillery.

The launcher is solidly constructed and the darts have held up well for me. There is nothing with the unit or on the KlearGear site about replacement missiles, but I’m sure if there’s a demand they’ll become available.

This is a great office toy and would be a great gift idea for anyone who regularly engages in cubicle warfare. At a cost of $55 from KlearGear.com the USB Missile Launcher is one of the most unique toys you could get someone this holiday season.

I had hoped to get a couple videos up of the launcher but haven’t been able to get any I’m happy with. Perhaps it’s time for a new digital camera.

Thanks to the folks at KlearGear.com for giving me the chance to evaluate the USB Missile Launcher.

cubicle, warfare, office, office toy, office humor, work, fun, usb, robot, robotic, computer, toy

Stan left an excellent comment on my review of the Toddy cold brew system and mentioned the site CoffeeReview.com.

They’ve got reviews of hundreds of different coffees and some great reference on coffee. Check it out.

Thanks Stan for a great comment!

coffee, review, food, cooking