Monday, November 9, Celebration Restaurant  (4503 W. Lovers Lane) will be hosting their monthly Dinner with Dialogue event. This one is important to us because of the topic that will be covered, ”Saving out Local Farmers’ Markets and Sustainable Agriculture in Texas.”  

Ed Lowe (owner of Celebration Restaurant) and Angela Hunt (District 14 councilwoman) are hosting this event and it is open to anyone. Guest speakers will be Pamela Walker, author of Growing Things to Eat, and Michael and Debby Sams, owners of Full Quiver Farms and Dairy.

The optional dinner will begin at 6 pm and end at 7 pm.  The presentations will last from 7 pm until 7:30 pm.  The dialogue will begin at 7:30 and the floor will be open for your questions and concerns.

To make reservations you can either call (214) 351 – 5681 or email Ed Lowe at edlowe@celebrationrestaurant.com.

We will be serving coffee at the Kessler School Pumpkin Patch and Street Fair tomorrow, October 10, from 9 am – 3 pm.  This is a fun event for any age and all donations will go to The Kessler School.  It will be located at The Kessler School (Kessler Park United Methodist Church) at 1215 Turner Ave.  A few of the events that you can participate in are purchasing a pumpkin, pony carousel, a petting zoo, face painting, enjoying good food from local vendors, and much more.  We hope to see you tomorrow!

I’m posting a letter that has been sent out concerning Local Farmers’ Markets.  It was written by Clyde Greenhouse, of Kessler Cookies (and me).  This is an important local issue for small business owners. 

Recently, the Celebration Restaurant Farmer’s Market was shut down by the City of Dallas for lacking the proper permitting.  And according to the manager of the food protection division, they intend to ‘root out’ other similar local Farmers’ Markets, like this one. 

The problem is this City Staff is supposed to be our servants.  They’re paid, by us, to benefit the public.  Often, they do this well.  But these Farmers’ Markets have been very popular, and the City Staff now finds itself in direct opposition to what the public seemingly wants.  It’s not feasible nor practicable for these markets to meet the permitting requirements, that were drawn up with nothing like them in mind. 

The claim is that they are protecting our food from a ’strong possibility’ of cross-contamination and from wide-spread outbreaks of bacteria, etc.  Protection? Who defines ‘protection’, and when we need it?  Strong Possibility? Honestly?  How many small local farmers’ markets has this been a problem for?  And where do we draw the line on how much protection we need?  Can the city shut down my neighborhood backyard barbeque because I left my ketchup in an ice cooler as opposed to mechanical refrigeration.

Of course we want these markets to be safe!  Our business depends on that.  But at these markets, the owner and farmers are there…  they are present.  This isn’t McDonald’s or Tom Thumb, where the person serving you has no clue about the food they’re selling.  If you want to know how the farmer’s eggs have been stored, then ask him, or watch what he pulls them out of.  If you are not comfortable with his answer, then don’t buy it. 

Further information on the subject:

Celebration Market Info and Petition

Dallas Shutters Rogue Farmers’ Markets

Dallas News Article

Enough of my ranting… Here’s the letter, followed by short list of City Councilpeople,  please take some action with us:

Save a Local Farmers’ Market & Save a Local Small Business!

As small business owners in the City of Dallas, local farmers’ markets have provided us with an economical means of reaching potential customers in a very volatile business climate. As traditional methods of selling decline, local farmers’ markets have paved new avenues and bestowed a closer connection to customers. Going beyond the one-on-one with consumers, shopping at local farmers’ market benefits local businesses and strengthens our local communities. When you buy produce and products directly from a farmer or vendor, they benefit by cutting out cost like transportation and middle-men. These cost savings are reinvested in our local economy.

But now, local farmers’ markets are in danger of being shut down in the City of Dallas, as our antiquated permitting process has not caught up with the way we live today…locally. Please contact your City Council member and ask them to “quickly develop a permitting process to save our local farmers’ markets” and help save local small businesses.

Thank you for your support.

Clyde Greenhouse

Kessler Cookie Company

Shannon Neffendorf

Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters

District 1 – Councilwoman Delia Jasso  (214) 670-4052

District 3 – Councilman David A. Neumann (214) 670-0776

District 14 – Councilwoman Angela Hunt (214) 670-5415

District 2 – Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano (214) 670-4048

District 13 – Councilwoman Ann Margolin (214) 670-3816

This Sunday, October 4, will be Bolsa’s last farmers market of the year.  Bolsa is located at 614 W. Davis St. in Oak Cliff.  The market will begin at 11 am and last until 4 pm.  We will be giving away free samples of our Burundi and Guatemala Huehuetenango coffees.  You can also purchase a bag for $10.  Come check it out and support local businesses.

The Dallas Observer just released their Best of Dallas awards, and they announced that the ‘Best Cup of Coffee’ in Dallas is right here in the Cliff (of course, we already knew this!).  The award went specifically to the blend we created exclusively for Bolsa, ‘the Bolsa Blend’. 

We’re happy to be supported by a great local restaurant like Bolsa, and we’re thrilled about the award.  Thanks Dallas Observer!

We sold out of our limited Yirgacheffe Offering in about 17 hours!  It went quickly… We just roasted it this morning and it will be delivered tomorrow.  Keep your eye on our blog for future limited offerings. 

Yirgacheffe is a region in Ethiopia that is known for some of the best coffees in the world.  For those that don’t know, Ethiopia is the motherland of all coffee plants.  Every coffee plant in the world today, from Indonesia to Guatemala, can trace its roots back to Ethiopia. 

Since there is an extra Tuesday between our subscription deliveries this month (September is a 5-Tuesday month), we thought it would be a great time for another limited offering.

This is a special offer of two very different and very good Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffees.  One is a “Washed” Ethiopia Yirgacheffe from the Oromia Co-op, and the second is a “Natural” Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Worka.  What we want to do is give our customers a chance to taste different processing methods of two excellent coffees from the same region.

Processing is what is done immediately after harvesting to prepare the coffee to be shipped and roasted.  The “washed method” is the most common and it involves using water to immediately remove the fruit mucilage from the coffee seed.  The “natural (or dry) method” leaves the fruit mucilage on the seed for a short time while the coffee is being dried; this allows for the seed to absorb more of the fruity sweetness from the surrounding coffee cherry.  When it is done well, it typically results in various loud fruit flavors in the cup of coffee. 

The ‘Washed Yirg’ is a bright cup with lemon tea and spice notes, while the ‘Natural Yirg’ is heavily fruity, with peach, coconut and berry notes.  The washed and the natural have medium-good bodies with clean aftertastes.  They are both excellent beans in their own regards. 

Because we want you to taste the different processing methods we’re offering a special if you purchase them together.  A half pound of both beans is $18.  If you would just like to try one or the other the cost is $10 for a half pound of either bean. 

We will take orders until midnight, Wednesday September 23rd, and we will roast this coffee on Thursday for delivery (or pick-up available) on Friday morning.  It is first come, first served, and if you send payment after we have already sold out, you will be fully refunded.  Remember, last time we sold out of our Panama offering in 25 hours!

If you would like to pay with check or cash, just send me an email: Shannon@oakcliffcoffee.com.

For Oak Cliff Delivery:

Yirgacheffe Double Pack – ½ lb. of Washed, ½ lb. of Natural – $18

Ethiopian Washed Yirgacheffe Oromia, ½ lb. – $10

Ethiopian Natural Yirgacheffe Worka, ½ lb. – $10

For Shipping outside of Oak Cliff:

Yirgacheffe Double Pack – ½ lb. of Washed, ½ lb. of Natural – $23 (shipping included)

We will be back to work this Saturday and you can find us at Celebration Farmer’s Market.  The market is located in the parking lot of Celebration Restaurant (4503 W. Lovers Lane) and will last from 8 am until noon.  Last time we participated we sold out of coffee around 11 am!  Come early if you want to enjoy a free sample or to buy a bag ($10).  We will be offering our El Salvador and Rwanda coffees.  We hope to see you tomorrow.

From time to time, Jenni and I receive an envelope in the mail with a short note and newspaper clipping from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.  Her parents reside in Lubbock, and whenever her dad sees anything that might be of interest to us, he mails it our way.  Typically it’s a photo or story about someone we know, but most recently he sent us an article, by Jim Hightower, on a new concept that Starbucks is rolling out in attempt to ‘be local’.  This is just one of many ‘throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks’ corporate strategies they have executed in the past few years. 

Let me go ahead and say, I know many Starbucks’ bashers in the coffee industry, and I do not consider myself one of them.  Firstly, because I do not view them as direct competition to our business, as Starbucks competes more with the likes of McDonald’s than local high-quality roasters.  And secondly, because they helped to start the specialty coffee trend (before they diverted) that local roasters, like myself, are trying to implant and turn into something that is more than a trend. 

Now back to Mr. Hightower’s article, he explains that Starbucks, with their latest maneuver, is trying to fake authentic ‘local feels’ that many independent coffee shops create.  He asserts that it will fail because you cannot fake local.  According to Mr. Hightower, Starbucks hired market researchers to investigate and steal ‘community personality’ in other local coffee shops. 

He ends the article by contrasting Starbucks’ local approach with his nearby Starbucks, in Austin, that is adjacent to a Jiffy Lube.  He quips that it is seemingly functioning in a ’symbiotic partnership’, which he calls a ‘poetic juxtaposition’.  The article is good and it poses an interesting question about the local movement, “Can you fake it?”  I am not sure I agree with the assertion that it is doomed to fail.  I have witnessed and read of uncountable ’successful’ corporate deceptions in the coffee industry, and if anyone can pull it off, it is Starbucks.

Stay with me… this ties into my Labor Day trip, I promise.  This past weekend, Jenni, Blaise and I went to the Hill Country for a friend’s wedding, and we decided to extend it by a day or two and take our first mini-vacation since going to Panama last June (on a work-induced vacation).  You can imagine my excitement when, after blowing past our hotel’s exit, I hit a quick u-turn right in front of this poetic juxtaposition:

Jenni and Jiffybucks

While in Austin, we were able to break away from the local Jiffybucks to visit some authentic coffee shops (which everyone should do when in Austin), so I’ll leave Starbucks alone for now… 

In Austin, many people know of Caffe Medici (which was good), but I had my first taste of two other shops that I really enjoyed, in particular.  Little City is on Congress near the Capital and Once Over Coffee Bar is on South 1st Street.  Rob, the owner of Once Over, was buzzing behind the bar, and he showed a much-appreciated intentional and methodical approach to his coffee brewing. 

Little City roasts their own beans (which will always get points in my book) and Once Over uses Cuvee Coffee (as does Caffe Medici and seemingly half of Austin’s coffee shops).  These two shops are definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in Austin.

Because of the Labor Day Holiday we will be spending time with our family and friends this weekend.  This means that we will not be participating in any of the farmer’s market that we are typically involved in.  The markets that are happening this weekend are Celebration Farmer’s Market (Sat. 8-12) and Bolsa Farmer’s Market (Sun. 11-4); you just won’t be able to get any OCCR coffee while shopping at them.