All Occasion Catering Training

This morning we had a wonderful time with All Occasion Catering employees training them in the fine art of espresso. They have now included Vienna Coffee Company espresso drinks into their repertoire of available services.

For more information about catering for an event please contact 865.579.1128. They would love to serve you.

WEEKLY DEAL: Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving we'd like to offer you the chance to tell us what you are thankful for. By either responding to this blog or by coming to the roastery and telling us what you are thankful for you can receive a free 2oz Pumpkin Pie Spice sampler pack!

Here at VCC we are thankful for many things, but currently our biggest Thanksgiving blessing are these two little ones... Molly and McKenzie...

Christmas Coffee

Looking for a gift to warm the body and soul this holiday season? Try one of our six holiday flavors. Each year we add a new holiday flavor to our selection, and this year's flavor is...
drum roll please....
Christmas Cookie.

With a special label on each bag, these coffees are perfect for any coffee lover or for after dinner delight. Interested in what the labels look like? Check out our website....

Coffee Vocab: BITTER

The best way to sharpen your descriptions of coffee you enjoy or dislike is to know the tasting terminology...
You have already learned acidity in one of our previous posts, now on to bitterness. Bitterness is one of the four basic tastes, perceived at the back of the tongue. This flavor is present in low-quality or over-extracted coffees (it must have not been a Vienna Coffee Company's coffee). The term is often, incorrectly used to describe burnt flavors.

Webster's describes bitter as...
being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable and suggestive of an infusion of hops

So if your current coffee gives you a bitter taste in your mouth, don't become bitter yourself...
try Vienna Coffee Company's specialty coffees!

"bitter." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 20 November 2008

IT'S HERE! 35 kilo roaster

WOW! This has already been an eventful week for Vienna Coffee Company and it is only Wednesday; two new babies yesterday and a new 35 kilo roaster this morning.

Mid morning, 3 large boxes were transported into the VCC roastery carrying pieces of our new roaster ready for assembly. With an excited buzz in the air, John started taking out each part delicately piece by piece. As he pried the sides off of the boxes his eyes lit up and his mouth was drawn up in a huge grin like that of a young boy opening his gifts. The anticipation of this monster machine (in comparison to our current roaster) has been mounting for weeks, and thank goodness it has finally arrived.

Unfortunately, due to the busyness of this season, we will not have the roaster in working condition until after the holiday season, but we will keep you posted as soon as it is. We'd love to have you tour the roaster as soon as we have it up!

New Addition to the Vienna Coffee family!

On Monday November 17th, Molly and McKenzie Sharpe were born in Chattanooga, TN! Owner and roastmaster John Clark is now, for the first time, a grandfather... lovingly called "Pops" by the grandbabies. If you are interested in following the footsteps of their life check out their blog...
http://www.sharpedesigns.com/blog/

COFFEE INDUSTRY NEWS: Starbucks net income drops 97%

For news on the coffee industry...

New York Times stated on Nov. 10, 2008, "In a sharp economic downturn, fewer people are in the mood to indulge. On Monday, the chain reported net income dropped 97 percent, capping a turbulent year in which the company tried to get ahead of the economic slowdown by closing stores and laying off employees."

Also, "Starbucks is now slowing the proliferation of its stores, which made it ubiquitous in American cities, but also a source of comedy to many. The company plans to end the 2009 fiscal year with 225 fewer company-owned stores than at the beginning of the year."

For whole story click here.

On a side note, if going to Starbucks each day is getting hard for you, Vienna Coffee Company invites you to make your own specialty drinks at home with our selection of Espresso coffees. We also are a supplier of at home espresso machines. Likewise, supporting the small local coffee shops around you is always a big help to your local economy, especially during the economic downturn!

(These are images of Grounded in Maryville, Tennessee and Brown Cup Coffee Co. in Lenoir City).

Youth Appreciation Week

In celebration of Youth Appreciation Week, we'd love for you to check out Coffee Kids. 

This organization's mission is to "help coffee-farming families improve the quality of their lives." To achieve this mission Coffee kids staff works with local organizations in Latin America to create education, health care, micro-credit, and community based programs for coffee farmers and their families. These efforts allow coffee farmers to reduce their dependence on the volatile coffee market and to confront the most pressing community needs. Check out their website for more information.

WEEKLY DEAL: Holiday Memory

In preparation for the holidays, we would love to hear about your holiday memories. If you comment on this blog about one of your fondest, exciting, strange, sad, wacky, etc memories you can receive a free sample pack of VCC coffee!!!

For example, this memory was a huge thanksgiving meal we had while I was living in Cincinnati. A bunch of my friends came together and had a potluck thanksgiving feast. Ummm... good food, good friends! We actually got bmx guys to cook... Now that's a huge deal!

Let us know about your holiday story!

VCC earns score of 100 by Tennessee Depart. of Agriculture

  On November 6, 2008, Tennessee Department of Agriculture came to inspect Vienna Coffee Company's facilities and roastery.  Due to VCC stringent health code rules and cleanliness, VCC earned a score of 100 out of 100 on their Food Establishment Inspection. VCC has always earned very high scores on all of their inspections, and this just adds to the list of 100s they have previously scored.  We wanted to congratulate our wonderful staff for keeping up the tradition of safety and a healthy working environment.

MONTHLY SPECIAL: Pumpkin Pie Spice

What do you think of when you think of November? Election? Thanksgiving? Pumpkin Pie? Well if you think of the last two then you are thinking in the same direction as VCC. This month for the Thanksgiving season we will be offering as our Monthly special Pumpkin Pie Spice flavored coffee. Any time this month you can get a free 8oz bag of Pumpkin pie spice coffee if you buy $20.00 worth of VCC products online. Find out how...
Likewise, if you come into the roastery the Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee is on sale!

We also want to take this time to thank all of our old and new customers and the East Tennessee community for supporting us. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a message about what you are thankful for!

La Armonia Hermosa coffee has arrived!!!!

Through hard work, sweat, and multiple warehouses, La Armonia Hermosa coffee has arrived to East Tennessee. This direct trade coffee from the farmers of Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala, was brought to Maryville by the mastermind behind the operation Les Stoneham. Through his will power, fund-raising, and coffee knowledge, Les was able to get high quality coffee for a fair price for the farmers from the small co-operative that he is aiding in developing in Guatemala.

Les also sets up trips for interested parties to go down to Guatemala and be involved in the coffee growing and coffee processing process. In fact, the exact coffee that was delivered from Santa Maria de Jesus, Jamie and he had a hand in processing while in Guatemala. If you are interested in knowing more about this project check out their website or email Les@laarmoniahermosa.com. Check back on here for more updates. We will be roasting and cupping the coffee in the next couple weeks to find what kind of roast will bring out the best qualities and flavors of this unique coffee.

WEEKLY DEAL: Bring in Costume Picture

We hope you had a safe and fun Halloween weekend! To keep in the spirit this week, if you bring in a picture of yourself wearing your Halloween costume, receive a free 2 oz sample coffee pack of your choice!