Good coffee? Wear clothes

Outdoorsy type? Love coffee? This is for you!

The Aerobie is a coffee maker that can be right there with you when the sun rises outside your cozy tent in the wilderness. Speaking as someone who hikes and backpacks in the beautiful Northwest, I can say that I enjoy going somewhere now and then where there is not one single Starbucks in the vicinity.

On the other hand, a good bold cup of coffee would be nice.

Their website claims this is a coffee and espresso maker, but from what I've read in reviews, it is not an espresso maker. I mean, does it look like an espresso maker?

If you have already given your favorite hiker a copy of Driven to Espresso, this would be a great Christmas gift. And if you haven't already given him or her a copy of Driven to Espresso, I think you should get that instead.

A red hot drive-through business in Louisville

Sondra Powell and her brother, Jason Powell, own Red Hot Roasters, a premium, small-batch, USDA-Certified organic coffee roaster and drive-through coffee stand in Louisville, Kentucky.

Sondra's involvement in the coffee industry began when she and a partner started a wholesale roasting operation in 2006. The original idea was to open a drive-through, though, and they added that a year later. It was Louisville's first drive-through coffee stand.

Both of the businesses are in a converted Ashland gas station which allows them the space to roast their own coffee as well as have a drive-through business. Sondra sometimes finds herself roasting, packaging, and pulling shots practically at the same time. Besides this multi-tasking efficiency, there are some unique features that this combined business present, not the least of which is that they are able to sell coffee to customers who prefer to make their own coffee at home. These are more or less the two markets that the "giant green mermaid" is in, but Sondra and Jason don't have the burden of providing a cafe setting for the laptop crowd.

Entrepreneurs planning to open a drive-through know that zoning and permit processes in each community differ and there are usually some nuances that need to be discovered. In Red Hot Roasters' case, their drive-through is in a business zone that doesn't allow drive-throughs, but because the building they renovated had an existing drive-through window, they were "grandfathered in" and replaced the old delapidated window with a new one.

In terms of the economy duldrum we are all in right now, Sondra reiterates what many drive-through owners have told me, that many of her customers are now unemployed, so business has slowed down from time to time. Plus, unlike the Seattle area, Kentucky, just like many other regions in the country, had record high temperatures during the past two summers. Basically, as Sondra says, "If you're getting up at 9 in the morning, you're not getting a cup of hot coffee, when it's 90-degrees outside. You're getting a Red Bull or a Mellow Yellow."

Here is where the dual sales approach of their business may come to the rescue. Much of their afternoon business is customers who pick up a can of their coffee from the drive-through window to make at home or office. Their coffee is also sold at several retailers around town, and is served at several restaurants as well. It is also available for online orders at redhotroasters.com.

As a coffee roaster, Red Hot Roasters has received recognition far and wide, not just in Louisvile. They have been featured nationally on CNN, Money.com, and in Marie Claire magazine, and recently did an event for the Breeder's Cup, hosted by Bobby Flay from the Food Network. Clearly they have a premium coffee and a unique offering. Perhaps part of their success is that, as Sondra says, they listen to their customers palette, rather than try to tell them what they should like.

Climate change threatens coffee supply

Wait, did I read that correctly?

Here is an article regarding Starbucks' concern over the threat of climate change to the worldwide supply of coffee. They consider it a "threat to a food item many people can't live without." I couldn't agree with them more! The only thing that may be worse would be a threat to chocolate (cocoa) production. Oh no! That's being threatened too! Scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture are warning that it may become too hot to produce cocoa in Ghana and the Ivory Coast of Africa, where most of the world's supply of it comes from.

This climate change issue is getting personal. Retreating glaciers, polar bear extinction, rising shorelines. Ok. But reduction in coffee and cocoa production is something I think we can all agree is not insignificant.

Jim Hanna, the Starbucks' sustainability director, will travel to Washington on Friday to brief members of Congress on climate change and coffee at an event sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists. I suspect many of those at the briefing will have a cup of coffee on the table in front of them, too, because I can only imagine how much I would need coffee to keep me awake during a briefing from concerned scientists.

Go Starbucks! Don't let it happen!

Coffee with a purpose

I have read in several articles that the coffee industry is recession-proof. Even during the recent rise in wholesale and retail coffee prices, consumption has increased. This is a remarkable testimony to the depth of our need for coffee.

So, it is not at all surprising to me to see new coffee stands still popping up in the Northwest. I recently passed one in Enumclaw. After driving a few blocks past it, I had to turn around and drive back to it. The sign on the stand said Mission Creek Coffee - Coffee with a Purpose, and I just had to know what the purpose was!

It turned out that one of the owners, Walt Pulliam, was there and happily outlined his goals for the business.

Mission Creek Coffee is donating five cents to Fisher House for every cup of coffee-based drink, tea drink, or blended drink that they sell. Fisher House is a nationwide nonprofit organization that helps military families by providing a home away from home for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and Veterans Administration medical centers. You could compare the Fisher Houses with Ronald McDonald houses in some respects. Mission Creek Coffee is helping with the Seattle location in particular. Besides the monetary donation they are making, they also provide coffee, a coffee blend of their own that comes from Wilkeson’s Buono Coffee Company.

Mission Creek Coffee has the goal of opening more coffee stands that will be adjacent to military bases with military spouses as primary candidates for baristas. Walt says, "We are also looking for a charity that deals with homeless women veterans with kids. The need is increasing, and to date we have not heard of one nor found one through our online searches." I am sure he would appreciate an email if you know of one.

To learn more about Fisher House you can visit their website.

Mission Creek Coffee is located at the corner of Farman Road and state Route 410 in Enumclaw.

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