The most popular camping vans ever manufactured are now available for rent. Go green and see the Great Northwest, Eastern Washington, North Idaho, or Western Montana in a customized Dragonflyvan™. These classic Vanagon Campers have been completely refurbished and are in top mechanical condition. Check out their website, or stop by…they are right down the street from the roastery.

Marco has worked for many months coming up with a new espresso blend and finally it is here…

We have spent hours roasting, blending tasting to get the perfect blend.  It is dark, bold, rich and chocolately. Check it out today…it will blow your mind.  Available now on-line.

By the way, marco has been slaving away to create this perfect blend and who knows what will happen if you dont buy it.  we might have to send him back to the coffee farm in Brasil for another few months to work on his mustache.

The Magic Lantern Theatre has reopened in Spokane.  Check out their great selection of awsome indie films, and they are now serving DOMA coffee.

The Magic Lantern Theatre • 25 W. Main Ave, Spokane, Washington • (509) 209-2383

Check out their website for details on what’s playing.  (www.magiclanternspokane.com)

A couple of years ago I was fortunate to stumble on a great magazine/newspaper called Off-Piste. I drank the kool-aid and have been a follower since. Great photos, solid articles and real product reviews. What more could you ask for ?  Well, as a matter of fact, I thought of something. My wife Rebecca was looking for some new skis and I thought I’d ask someone who could make some valid recommendations. It turns out Dave was in the middle of new product testing on Mount Hood and for some reason he took the time not only to answer my email, but gave me really valuable detailed info on three or four different skis. Lets call it good insight without being swayed by free product or advertising dollars. You see, there is very little advertising in the magazine or on the website. Which should give us all even more reason to support STUFF LIKE THIS. So if you’re a skier, or know a skier or want to be a skier, subscribe to this magazine, even though you can get it for free at a number of different outdoor shops. And support the few folks who do advertise in the mag because I’m pretty sure Dave wouldn’t take those ads unless he believed in the product.

There is a good chance that before the first snow fall you might see an Off-Piste Blend of coffee. In the meantime, if you subscribe to the magazine by September 1st, 2009, I’ll send a bag of coffee. FREE. Dave and I will work out the details.

-terry

(the following is from www.offpistemag.com)

It is no secret that I am a coffee snob. I am also fully addicted. If I miss my morning cup, I get an afternoon headache, guaranateed. The pursuit of excellent coffee is a fun pastime and, sometimes when travelling, a prerequisite to getting the day rolling.

I have my favorite coffee sources. One is Oso Negro in Nelson, BC. These guys roast a mean bean and serve up a super fine Americano in the café in Nelson. Closer to home, there are several regional (Portland) and local (Hood River) roasters who do a fine job as well, but I am always interested in good independent coffee roasters. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Back in April, upon returning from a hut trip to Powder Creek Lodge, I received a package in the mail from a coffee roaster in northern Idaho, called DOMA. Needless to say, I was stoked to get unsolicited coffee in the mail. Better yet, their coffee is excellent and the owners are skiers. Turns out, Terry, owner/chief roaster, is a fan of Off-Piste and the coffee was a thank you for publishing the mag.

So, there I was back in April blissed out from a week of powder touring with several pounds of killer coffee waiting at my doorstep – simple things for simple folks, right. Well, the coffee gift lead to several e-mail exchanges and more coffee blends to test. We worked out a little coffee roasting ski beta trade program. Now, months and pounds of coffee later, I am here to tell you about my favorite blends of coffee from DOMA.

I have three top picks; Urth, Dominic’s Blend, and my ultimate favorite, Chronic. Terry is doing it right over at DOMA and if you are hankering for a new blend or need to mix up your coffee supply with some fine, small batch, craft roasted coffee, you should check these guys out.You will not be dissapointed.

Last Saturday DOMA and Lindaman’s partnered up for a breakfast and coffee tasting.  Using their new Brew Bar we showcased 4 different coffees while eating some amazing breakfast items.

Be sure to check out the Brew Bar next time you’re on the South Hill. You can pick your coffee and they will brew you an individual cup.

Lindaman’s is located at 1235 S. Grand Blvd., Spokane, WA 99202 – (509) 838-3000.  Their new hours are: 7am Mon-Fri (Coffee Bar, pastries, bagels, etc); 11am-9pm, Mon-Sat, Restaurant/Bar.

DOMA is launching our new website with a contest.  Check out the poster for more details (it will get bigger if you click on it).  Free coffee for a year?  Good enough?  Remember, we still trade coffee for vinyl or schooling us in pinball…

Check out the DOMA Coffee Roasting Display at the Moscow Food Co-op. DOMA is donating 10% of the sales from our Ürth Blend coffee back to Backyard Harvest.  Awesome display and custom printed bags by Dreyer Press.  This is an excellent group.

Check out Backyard Harvest website for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

I just spent 9 days in Guatemala as part of a Cooperative Coffees team in the CRS Cafe Livelihood Project.  This is a three year project which aims to improve production practices (organic and shade farming), increase productivity and yields and increase quality.  We are working with groups in Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico.

This was Guatemala. I left Spokane at 5:30 in the morning.  After 36 hours, touching down in 6 states, a steamy night in Miami, some great Cuban food and a large quanity of rum I made it to Guatemala City (my bag did not).  From the airport, I headed straight to Transcafe offices to meet up with Bill, Tripp and Maty from Cooperative Coffees and Luis from CRS.

Cupping at TransCafe

I made it just in time for the last part of a cupping. We got to use the excellent cupping lab there and see the operation of a major coffee exporter.

Then back to the car for the three hour ride to Lake Atitlan and San Lucas Toliman where we would meet up with the farmers and the rest of the group. Our group consisted of representatives from 5 different producer cooperatives, about 30 people in all.  We visited 2 different farms (San Lucas Toliman and Santa Anita) and were bringing the producer groups together to share their knowledge with each other about the farming/production side of coffee.  Our Cooperative Coffees team was there to look at local roasting operations and offer feedback and suggestions, to teach a cupping workshop with all of the producers and offer suggestions to improve quality.  We also shared with the producers our experiences in cupping, roasting and marketing Guatemalan coffee.

From the hotel at San Lucas Toliman

We stayed in a great little hotel near the Lake in San Lucas Toliman.  Bill, Caleb, Tripp and I shared a room where I demonstrated my ability to snore loud enough to be heard three rooms away.  I think that at some point during the second night, Tripp was considering smothering me with a pillow.

This is the roof where Tripp slept the third night.

the roof

Even though he slept only a few hours over three days, he was great.

We looked at the coffee farm and beneficio at San Lucas Toliman.  Then we checked out their manual, wood-fired coffee roaster.  Very hands-on, very artisan…oh, and did I mention 90 minutes per batch.

wood-fired roaster at San Lucas Toliman

Did some workshops, drank some Gallo (the beer, not the wine), ate pupusas, took a boat ride, more workshops and then headed out to Santa Anita.

Santa Anita was founded in 1998 by a group of ex-combatants from the 36-year armed conflict in Guatemala. With a loan from the national government land fund (Fondo de Tierra) as part of the country’s peace accords signed in 1996, the group bought a farm in the municipality of Colomba, Quetzaltenango. The organization is Fair Trade Certified and its members’ farms are all certified organic. Cooperative Coffees purchases their annual production of one-half container. The group is currently working on a roasted coffee project for the local market.

Here we took part in workshops for starting coffee from seed, grafting (el injerto), making organic compost (bokashi) and worm compost, planting and the processing systems on the farm.  We also toured their roastery and saw their grinding/packaging operation.  They just received a truckload of new coffee plants.  They are also starting a nursery operation where they can produce these on-site.

Minchu with new coffee plant

Minchu with a new coffee tree, ready to be planted in the afternoon.

lots of coffee plants, still green though

nursery operation and Minchu with his daughter

kids at Santa Anita (they took this picture!)  and explaining el injerto

after the injerto demonstration (l)…..back in the day when the members of Santa Anita didn’t grow coffee.

Rigoberto from Santa Anita explaining the roasting process.  Last day at Santa Anita.

Lots of cupping at the offices of Manos Campesinas.  They have a great cupping lab, and sample roasting set up.

Maty, Caleb and I taught taste characteristics, flavor and aroma notes, and how they are affected by different roast levels.  Then we explained how a formal cupping works.  We split the group up into 3 smaller groups, so everyone could have a chance to participate in a cupping. Only a couple of the group members had ever been in a cupping.

Thanks to Benjamin and Miguel of Manos Campesinas.

Finally another day of workshops, meetings and summing up.  By the end, I think, everybody learned alot about everything from seed to cup.  This is a 3 year project, so this is just the beginning.  I was a bit sad to have to leave.

It only took me 36 hours to get back to Spokane (including another night in Miami).  I had hoped to make it home with at least 1 bottle of Cuban rum… but Miami was really hot.