CoffeeFEST 2006 :: Day 2

Yesterday was day 2 at this years CoffeeFEST trade show -- the first day the floor was opened and classes were being conducted. While I did not get to many of the classes yesterday, I did attend Matt Milletto's (of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup)How to Hire and Retain Great Employees. It was a great class and I enjoyed getting tips that will allow us to have the best staff. He talks about how to conduct interviews, place help wanted ads, train, and manage your staff of baristas and cashiers. We then spent several hours walking the floor and making plans for today. There were a few things that really jumped out to me which I will be spending some time looking at today. Here are a few things: 1. Mojo Trailers out of CT is a company that custom builds coffee vending trailers. They have a great look and quite a bit of storage on the inside. They come fully equipped if requested and would be great to add to the Cafe Evoke Catering line of packages. It would allow us to do large events and things in other towns in Montana. I will write a post about this with all of the details and how it could be a great opportunity for us. 2. CoolCorC is a company out of Memphis that uses the left over cork from wine corks to make cup sleeves. This is a great product and keeps us from having to use paper products for our cups. This is a brand new company and they are still working on pre-assembled sleeves. 3. Greenware produces plastic cups and lids from corn materials that are fully compost in municipal and industrial facilities. In about 50 days, these cups will be completely gone if in the conditions that are right for composting. These cups have met stringent scientifically based specifications and have been certified by the bodyguard Plastics Institute. 4. And for those that are coffee lovers -- I got to see, try, and love the Clover. This is like a French press for a coffee house allowing you to brew coffee one cup at a time. What a great machine (more on that later as well). We are excited for today as it will be our last for this year. We are participating in a cupping today which will be great and we will be heading to a few booths to talk and get samples. This has been a great show and we are feeling excited and ready to be back in Bozeman to work on our business and spread the passion about our products and services. ..be bold Tagged: coffeefest, trade show, coffee, espresso, cafe evoke, coffee catering, seattle