It’s not Starbucks — and he’s OK with that | jacksonville.com

It’s not Starbucks — and he’s OK with that jacksonville.com

BODY Unite~ A Pan Roasters Journey 2 Spread Awareness Halted Not Stopped ~

Today as I write this posting, I'm deeply disturbed to have to write this, however these are my feelings. I hope that you understand. The purpose of this posting is not to Bash anyone or company, just to voice my feelings and concerns in hopes that nothing like this ever happens again.In case you are a 1st time reader. Hi My Name is Johnny Milton Jr aka PAN Man aka BaristaOnDutY aka Nashi to many, enough about names. I am a 4th generation farmer, and United States Marine. If you would like to know more shoot me an email, I choose to only let you know of whats relevant at this time for this posting.

All of my friends know me as a person that can be counted on in the time of need, also a protector, a genuinely good friend. I'm probaly one of the most outspoken people in the coffee field, and I have many reasons to be. My passion for coffee is fueled by my desire to not only express my artistic side, but to bring awareness to the consumers of the practices, wages of farmers, and in general be an ambassador for getting fair treatment for the ones that produce such a fine product.

Today in coffee so many people are caught up on buzz words and trendy names, not only paying premium prices for such, but overlooking the Big picture - the farmers. Without the hard work of the farmers not only would coffee be even more expensive, but the average person would not be able to afford it. I mean, you can go buy sub par machined coffee, coffee grown with all kinds of  substances for fast production etc. Then what would be the reason for pushing organic, fairtrade and direct trade. By the way all my coffees are organic, and some fairtrade.

I have been seriously Pan roasting coffee for about 6yrs, in that time I have met lots of grateful people who,  appreciated that  I was roasting coffee the way it was roasted originally and the way it is still being roasted in Ethiopia. I figured I wanted to be a spokesman for coffee, so I must return to the roots of coffee, in order to express coffee truths, and move forward with a movement of coffee conscienceness. Pan roasted coffee is not cheap, for a few reasons, it's very labor intensive, also being a Nano roaster. I pay on average 2X more than the average Micro Roaster, because honesly I can't afford to buy in bulk. Then again what would be the sense in buying in bulk if the coffee just sat around waiting for a hot Pan. I can be honest and say Pan roasting isn't for the faint of heart. I truly love what I do. In all, my goal was to work my way up the chain, and show people what was possible if you had a pan a plan and great coffee.

Here is where I'm lost for words, maybe you will understand, maybe you wont. I appreciate all of your comments of support and or understanding. I feel it is just as important to share with you my pain, because everyone loves to share their happiness. I do know and believe this is not the End, for me only the beginning to something big ahead. For everyone that loves my coffee and would love to be a regular customer, but due to prices you can't afford to - I understand and I hear you. Know that this was my first move in trying to get you those affordable prices. I know that the only way I can make my coffee affordable is to have a Roaster. The biggest thing for me was not to just get a roaster and start roasting coffee and be like the next guy. I pride myself in my uniqueness and my ability to provide great coffee with a Pan, the original way.

A few weeks ago I heard of a Coffee Poetry contest hosted by Roast Magazine. Guess what the grand prize was a mini Ambex Roaster, which I had been looking at previously. I thought what a coincidence. I have a nice poetic flow, my cause is awareness why not give it a shot. All I had to lose was a $10 entry fee and my time. With that in mind I Wrote A Poem entitled  ~ Crop To Cup ~  I felt pressed for time because I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to advance in my coffee so I fired off with what I had. Well I thought first a poem could be pretty and word catchy or it could be real and straight forward. With my thoughts and my cause I put this together :

It Seems, Sometimes I'm Bitter, Sometimes I'm Hard. This Is While I'm Green, It's Safe To Lower Your Guard. As We Journey On A Trip From Crop To Cup, I Feel It's Necessary To Talk About The Downs, And Ups. Before Your Morning Sip, Before You Race Out That Door. I Will Attempt To Open Your Mind, That's What Coffee Is For.
Before Farmers Existed, We Lived Freely, Ran Wild And Spoke Our Own Language. Thanks To Our Discovery We Can Now Speak Yours. Whether Near Or Far, Abroad Or A Tour Coffee Is All Around You, Such A Joy To Behold.
As You Sip Away And Get Lost In Your Cup, Do You Ever Think About How Life Was Before Your 1st Cup? It's Probably Been So Long Ago, That You May Have Forgotten Or Just Plain Out Don't Know.
As We Sit And Sip The Finest Coffees In The Nation, We Sometimes Forget Of The Farmers Occupation, Working For Less Than Minimum Wage, While We Vacation.Never Thinking Twice About Our Cup Of Creation.Forget About Relaxing No Appreciation.As We Gulp Down Our Drink How Often Do We Thank? Or Think Of All The Work That Goes Into Our Drink?
Myself A Slow Sipper, I Like To Explore, And Compare How Beans Differ. Rather Washed Or Dried ,In Their Process, Good, Bad, Which Is The Best? We All Agree The Farmer Situations Are A Mess, Some Abandoning Crops,Settling For Less.
We Say Go Organic, Because It Will Be Much Better, Fair-trade, Direct-trade, Or You Can Do Whatever! Regardless Of What You Do, Or Who You Pay, Know That Farmers Need Our Support Each And Everyday.
Profits Have Been Made Throughout These Years,While Farmers And Their Families Shed So Many Tears.Wondering From Day 2 Day, Pay 2 Pay, If They Will Have To Abandon Their Crop Eventually One Day.
Lets Not Forget Without The Crop There Can Be No Cup.Next Time You Take A Sip Think Of Me, The Bean, The Farmer, As You Hold Up Your Cup |_|B  ~BaristaOnDutY

Well a few days ago I recieved and email, stating that the contest had been canceled due to lack of participation. Well the problem that I have is I participated. I'm uncertian of who else did, I'm sure others feel the same way I do about this contest, however I'm the HEAD of BODY, so I must speak out on this regardless of whether my poem would have won the roaster or not, is not the issue. The issue is that nowhere in the Rules did it state it was based on participation. To me it seems as if the contest was only to get monies to pay for the prizes and make a profit. I would have been more understanding if the rules had stated, it was based on participation. I hold coffee contests all the time. I cant imagine after sponsoring someone or them sponsoring me, me coming back saying I cant give out the coffee to the winners because we didnt get enough participation. For one that makes myself and whomever I'm sponsoring look bad in business practices. Whether or not this posting gets any attention, I dont know, but  I'm voicing my opinions and feelings toward this contest because I feel like it was wrong, and I was wronged. So to the readers and anyone who plans on doing any sort of contest - coffee related or not in the future, you should be clear on your intentions and your rules. I am a Farmer, I am a voice of coffee, and I will defend it with my last breath. I can just imagine how the farmers feel when they are told, going organic is the way. Then changing their crops getting lower yields, but unable to make a living, thus having to abandon crops, or go back using non organic methods, because they get greater returns, and are able to somewhat provide or make a living. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, any comments of support is appreciated. To my loyal fans, supporters, this is just the beginning we shall rise together. This article was written, by me for me, for other participants, for my supporters and for the farmers that still struggle to make ends meet. May GOD, and the force of great coffee be with you   ~Unroasted Coffee Doesn't Get Dranked

At the time of this post Roast Magazine has issued an apology..

BODY Save The Planet ~ A Conscious Coffee Cause ~ Apr, 1- 30- 2010

Here It Is, My Attempt To Do My Part In Going Green. I Could Use Your Help, Who Knows Maybe Together We Can Send A Message. I 1st Off Say That Everyone Always Talks About How Expensive It Is To Go Green, Kind Of Like Eating Right, And Going Organic. Well Today I'm Going To Put My Coffee On The Line. Most Of You Know That I PAN Roast Coffee, Also To Be Exact About 8oz Per Batch, Which Yields About 6oz.

I Recently Started Offering My Coffee In Jars, As A Way Of Being Earth Friendly, Also Helping To Keep Coffee Fresher Longer. I Must Say I Love The Idea, However It's A Bit Risky Shipping Glass. For My Local Clients It Works Well, Because When Their Coffee Supply Depletes I Get Their Jar And Refill It.This Month (April) Figure I Should Get A Early Start!! I Will Be Testing  A Recycling Method. I Would Like To Say At This Time I'm Also Looking Into Purchasing A Small Coffee Roaster, Which Will Allow For The Expansion Of My Cause.

Currently My Pint Jars Of 6oz Sell For $35. It's The Equivalent Of About 4 Pots Of Coffee Depending On How Strong You Like Your Coffee.Some Question The Price, However From A Price Per Cup Perspective It's Quite A Deal, Not To Mention, My Beans Are Hand Crafted PAN Roasted,There Is A Bit Of Art ,Skill & Time Involved, Most Of All My Love And Passion 4 What I Do. I'm Not Here To Be A Salesperson, Only To Fill A Need If There Is One. I Believe In My Cause So I'm Going To Sacrifice My Time For This.

If This Proves Successful, Once I Get My Mini Roaster My Prices Will Be More Competitive, To The Going Markets Rates So You Can Say I'm Doing 2 Things At Once With My Go Green Save The Planet Initiative. Right Now I'm Going To Be Refilling Used Coffee Bags, Depending On The Success Of This I May Extend It To Plastic Containers. This Cause Is More Or Less To Raise Awareness, Because Honestly I Feel The Big Companies Can Implement This Program More Easily And Readily.We Could All Benefit From Reusing Our Coffee Bags Even If Only 1 Time. As I Said This Is My Cause And I Believe In It.

I'm Going To Offer 2 Programs For 6-8oz Of PAN Roasted Beans With Shipping Included Will Be $20. For 12oz Of Coffee It Will Be $35 With Shipping, Also If You Send 2 Separate Bags I Will Refill Both With 2 Different Coffees.If Ur Feeling Really Green Send 3 Bags N $50, I Will Not Only Supply 8oz Per Bag, But Will Donate Or Purchase Use $5 Towards One Of My Friends Of Coffee Businesses To Purchase A Gift, Maybe More Coffee, Maybe Something Hand Made, To Do A Giveaway, After The Recycling Is Done. .TBA Subject To Programs/Products Available After The CCC.  Here Is The Good Part And Instructions. For Regular Coffee Bags, You Will Be Required To Wipe Them With A Damp Cloth Inside To Get The Oil Residuals Off. If You Are Using Plastic Containers, Jars Feel Free To Use Soap N Water. I Personally Prefer The Coffee Bags, Because They Have The Degas Valve Already In Place.

I Have A Regular Home Sealer So Coffee Bags Will Be Resealed As Well. I Currently Have 3 Ethiopian Coffee Offerings Yirgacheffe ,Limu N Harrar, On A Note State Your Coffee N Desired Roast. Keep In Mind The Offerings Will Be Based On Availability, But Know You Will Be Getting Some Of The Finest Coffee On This Side Of The Sun.For Some Reason You Don't Write Your Preference ,I Will Take It Upon Myself To Create! Thank You! For Any Questions Regarding This POST, Please Feel Free To Contact Me Directly @ godbod@baristaonduty.com . I Can Invoice Via Pay Pal Or You Can Send Payment Along With Ur Recyclables. If This Posting Interest You, Please Forward To A Friend. Thanks For All Your Continued Support.. Ur BODY Committed To The Coffee Cause ~ |_|Body Go Go Green Send Me Those Empty Bags To Be Refilled!

|_|D Coffee Credits |_|B

Check/Money Order
Johnny Milton Jr / BaristaOnDutY
P.O Box 4
Folkston, Ga. 31537

Coffee ~ Man Vs Machine ~ So U Think U Know Coffee ? |_|B

The purpose of this post is to try and shed some light on a few perspectives about coffee. It seems now everyone wants to be a coffee reviewer, enthusiast, connoisseur or what have you. I think it's great that so many people have such an interest in such a complex element. Yes coffee is an element, which planet are you from? When approaching coffee one must take the simplest approach to properly evaluate findings. As a saying goes KISS Keep It Simple Silly. I point this out because, the more complex one makes a coffee review, the harder it will be for a coffee to receive a favorable rating. Forbid a coffee receives less than a favorable rating and it's the fault of the reviewer. I always say the bean is not to blame for the way it turns out. Keep that in mind when cupping or tasting a new coffee. I'm not a coffee reviewer I evaluate coffee based on a few basic principles.
Because I roast using a PAN, I have a close up perspective with the bean , not to say better, just more intimate. I say which makes the process that much more vulnerable to flaws. Like with regular roasting temperature can affect the outcome of the roast, as can the amount or batch load you are roasting. For smaller batches it's extremely important, because with a PAN you can under or over roast with literally the blink of an eye. Just last week I was in a roasting session, afterwards I did my normal cupping. I was displeased with my results, because  my coffee was average in taste. To be honest a man with a PAN and average beans is unacceptable, kind of like whats the point in the extra sweat if your gonna produce norm or sub-par beans. After considering all that I had learned about PAN roasting I was baffled, because one of my sessions turned out excellent.
It's no secret Ethiopian Harrar has been most reviewed and also the favorite for lots of people, however my Ethiopian Limu is no slacker. It really depends on the person, honestly of my 3 primary offerings it would be hard to favor one over the other, each of them I prefer a different method, also depending on my mood. Now on to the fun and educational part of this posting, I hope you are paying close attention, because this is very crucial. MOB= Make Or Break. I normally brew in a commercial brewer, otherwise french press, espresso, pour over, open cup etc. I received a small 5cup brewer from my Mom a few weeks ago. I use it more because I don't have to brew a whole carafe now and I can usually drink a pot in less than an hour, after all it's just 5 cups right? Normally I keep a a fresh stock of coffee around so fresh coffee is never a problem. I had brewed a few pots prior to Friday and the lil 5cupper has served me well, however I must note that all the coffee up until Friday was properly degassed, and about 1-2 weeks old. Now anyone that knows about coffee unless you have a train palette your probably wont enjoy coffee right after being roasted, that's why they recommend  24-72hrs. Personally I have and do drink coffee just as in Ethiopia fresh out of the PAN, but there are lots of variables that can dictate the flavor in a coffee. As far as Ethiopian style coffee the beans are ground fine, also the beans are normally smoky in flavor with oily appearance. When the coffee is brewed it's nice n body, but also served with sugar, salt or butter. I don't want this to get into a Ethiopian Ceremony so I will proceed with the lesson.
Some coffees can be roasted light med and dark, while others can only be roasted a certain way to bring out the fullness in flavor of the bean. I certainly try to stick to a bean that is versatile. Just the same as some beans can be roasted different levels and also produce a great beverage, the same as with a grind some coffees can withstand  different levels of grinds as well, without extracting the bitter or the stay on your tongue piercing taste. Now lets take a look at brewing methods, because all brewing methods are different, some are similar in basic principals, but have their own uniqueness.Unless a person knows what they are looking for in a coffee, it's kind of like doing a blind taste test. Here is where it gets tricky, say you use a regular drip pot or a french press. I use these 2 examples because they are the most commonly used. Now lets say you ground your coffee too fine for the regular drip pot? Well the 1st thing is some coffees can be ground finer than reg drip grind, and produce a nice cup of coffee. What about the coffee that can't? Well one must then know what he's looking for in that coffee, or else it can yield a bad result.
I like to think that most roasters cup their coffees and wouldn't just send bad coffee on purpose to a reviewer or a client. I'm not saying that every coffee you get is going to be great, but I want to put things in perspective. I have 2 commercial grinders that I use. Well the last thing you would look for in the coffee is to not be ground properly, I mean that's what machines are for right? Wrong machines have to be tweaked and maintained, just as us humans. It so happened that my grinder was off a tad, so my regular drip was over extracting my Harrar, which really made for a sub-par cup, however with the Limu it was as pleasant as could be.
Because I'm A PAN roaster, the 1st thing I do is point the blame at me, due to temperature, amount of beans in my batch anything but a malfunction in a machine right? Well this is why it's so important to know what your'e looking for in a coffee, also being able to identify something is wrong, and being able to find the problem. So in reviewing  a coffee lets assume every coffee you get it perfectly roasted when you get it. No that doesn't mean you have to like every coffee you try, it just means attention to detail. Had I been reviewing that particular coffee it wouldn't have gotten a favorable rating from me, I'll be the 1st to admit that I feel I'm more coffee than anyone I know, but I make mistakes just as all humans do. The important thing is to be open when tasting a coffee try it a few different ways, after all it is coffee. Just trying a coffee in the french press to me is just like saying we are all the same. Well I know that's not true, because I'm the only one hold this PAN down. I will be posting another follow-up to this post. Sorry for the length of this, some times it's hard to say what needs to be said when I have coffee on my mind. Enjoy and happy reviewing! |_|B   

A Reflection Of My Coffee ~ A Better Understaning Of Ur BODY~

People coffee for many different reason. I for one coffee 1stly for myself, because of my love with not so much as the beverage in itself, but it's very existence as a bean(being). Everything in the world has a purpose, no matter how big or small one thinks of another persons purpose. We all exists to fulfill our very own purpose. Sometimes along the way of fulfilling our purpose we are accompanied by people or things along our journey to fulfillment.
Coffee for me is my conduit.My ultimate goal of helping as many people along my journey as possible coffee is my voice as I am its voice, we are one in the same as a complex bean a complex BODY that both have purpose. As with many things in life people tend to have hobbies pastimes or just things that intrigue them to want to know more about an element of life. I find that as a blessing and a curse all in the same, some people because of excitement, new discovery or personal reasons and hastiness may voice an opinion about coffee or whatever their passion is without fully understanding. Which can lead to misinformation. Misinformation in my passion (Coffee) is unacceptable, kinda like think before you speak.
You will hear this many times. This is not my hobby. This is not a get rich quick. To me it's a business, a business of my life and my purpose. Coffee is my conduit and I embrace coffee because it's also my testimony. Tread lightly when you talk about coffee for it is sensitive to all the elements in life as I am as well. I may be inclined to protect my sacred means of communication with all mankind. Nothing hurts coffee more than misinformation,and hype, coffee is simple yet complex. Analyze your purpose in in life in coffee. I say this to brokers, buyers, roasters, reviewers, an everyone in between if this is not your passion, I will exploit you and run you off the face of coffee.If you are unsure about something in coffee, ask, ask many questions there are no dumb questions. When coffee is misrepresented it hurts us all in the end. I am here to defend coffee, and all that it cant do for itself. Keep your hobbies at home. Coffee is my home, I'm here to educate all that want to learn. That's what the BODY is all about, please know this.
I am a Farmer, I am a Fisherman, I am a Hunter, I am a Marine, I am A Poet, I am a Calligrapher, I am a Artist, I am a Painter, I am a Philosopher, I Am A Son, I'm A Husband, I'm A Father. I Am Coffee. Please Think B4 U Speak Of Me, If You Do That U May Be Coffee 2 C|_|