Aldo Coffee Company

Molly's Expected to Drive Business

Melanie is quoted in this article from the Trib on Molly Brannigans, which will be opening in Mt. Lebanon in the next few days.

The Irish carpentry crew which had been putting in the finishing touches has mostly left, having done a masterful job of bringing a touch of Dublin to Mount Lebanon.  But that didn't stop them from calling us this morning to to say hello from Yonkers, NY, where they're working on a new project.  We will miss their páirt and it's nice to know they miss us.

Speaking of Irish, one of Rich's favorite bands from his hometown area - Black 47 - is at the Rex on Friday.  Of course, that's also Tango Night here at Aldo Coffee Co.  But for anyone - and particularly you lads still working over at Molly's - who'd rather go reeling and rocking than tango, Larry Kirwan and band put on an awesome good time.  Hoist a pint for us.

TFC: Monday, February 28

Varietal:  Organic French Roast

Flavored:  Vanilla Cinnamon Swirl

Always keep a hot cup of Aldo Coffee in your car for an emergency.  It makes a great handwarmer.  It can melt the ice that's making your tires spin.  And you can use the steam to defrost your windshield.

Coca-Cola Japan to Be Powered By Coffee & Tea

Their culture has a long history of finding ways to use everything at their disposal for greater purpose.  And now Japanese innovators have figured out a way to use coffee and tea residue as an energy source for Coca-Cola.

As Pittsburgh is one of the leading US cities in per capita coffee consumption and we have great university research capabilities - along with an urgent need to find new industries to bolster regional employment - something like this might be an opportunity to jump on.

Or maybe we could start selling our used grounds to the Japanese on eBay?

TFC: Sunday, February 27

Varietal:  New Guinea

With seedlings from the Jamaica Blue Mountain region, cultivation of coffee began in Papua New Guinea in the late 30's. It offers full syrupy body, balanced snappy acidity, and wonderful complexity. Some say it is reminiscent of what Jamaica Blue Mountain used to taste like.

This was first time we've offered the New Guinea.  Rich had a cup this afternoon after having already had several cups at home - it wowed him.  Not easy to do.

Flavored: Cherry Chocolate

Coffee Good for Your Liver

Now you have another reason to drink coffee.  It reduces your risk of liver cancer.

We'll add that the study was done in Japan where few people drink drinks decaf.  And caffeine has been proven to have antioxidant characteristics.  So this may mean that only caffienated coffee offers the health benefits. 

But, we're happy with any news that something so good is actually good for you.

What Price Fair Trade?

A number of our customers ask about Fair Trade Certified coffees we offer.  Many of the varietals we offer by the cup are Fair Trade Certified, although not all are.  All coffees we have for retail sale with the word "Organic" on the label are also Fair Trade Certified.

Among the Fair Trade Certified coffees you'll find on sale here are:
- La Perla de Oaxaca (TM) Organic Mexico
- Organic French Roast
- Organic Nicaraguan "Mira Flor"
- Organic Sumatra Gayoland
- Nepenthe Organic Blend

Last year, the Wall Street Journal published an interesting article about how some retailers jack up the price of Fair Trade goods.

We don't charge more for Fair Trade Certified beans.  The different beans we carry for retail sale cost us different amounts - some varietals are 10%-20% more expensive than others.  But the price to you is the same regardless what it costs us.   

To know whether the coffee your buying is Fair Trade Certified, look for this label:

There are numerous sites which offer more information on the definitions and guidelines for earning the Fair Trade Certified label.  We think the Global Exchange explanation is an accessible place to start if you're interested in learning more on the subject.

TFC: Friday, February 25

Varietal:  Columbian Tres Santos  (one of our favorites)
Flavored Coffee:  Raspberry Brandy

And, as usual, our fantastic Aldo Coffee House Blend, a medium roasted and bodied blend of  Central American beans and our  Aldo Coffee Decaf Blend,  a darker roast that is decafinated using a Swiss-water process instead of chemicals.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

Both Melanie and I look forward to Opening Day each year.  And while the Pirates' fortunes haven't been all that great recently, the current team is fun to watch and PNC Park is still the best ballpark in the country.

Since the Steelers lost before we could launch our "Alan Fanecannoli" and there's no hockey, we were thinking of potential tie-ins to the Pirates.  But the Pirates' players names don't really fit in with anything we're offering. 

The best we could come up with was renaming the Sfogliatelle the "Josh Foggliatelle".

Any ideas?

(P.S. Submitting "J.R. House Blend Coffee" doesn't count.  He's on IR for the year.)

TFC: Thursday, February 24

Varietal:  Organic French Roast

This roast produces a very dark colored oily bean which is full of body and vigor, possessing a desirable charred flavor. Certified Organic and Fair Trade.

Flavored:  Chocolate Cherry

Btw, since we didn't get around to posting yesterday's featured flavors, they were Colombian Tres Santos and Vanilla Swirl.  In case you had an office pool going and needed to know.

Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils Front Page News in Riyadh

Our local Blue Devils merited two mentions on the front page of Arab World News on February 20, 2005.

Check out the right column under "Arabic Sport".

Either some editor needs training on Boolean search string commands for pulling their global news feeds, or Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils girl's basketball is a larger world phenomenon than we thought.

Note: it's a cached page on a third party site, so link may not work soon.