Happy Thanksgiving...

...from all of us at Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company. Eat Simply, Waste Simply and Spend Simply this holiday season. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, thanksgiving Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

Topeca BaristaCup '08 | Tulsa, Oklahoma

This has been a season for barista competitions in Oklahoma it seems. The Topeca BaristaCup '08 is the latest on the docket happening December 6th @ 10:00 am in Tulsa Oklahoma. While the flier is correct - barista from our part of the state will also be heading to Tulsa to compete. I am trying to find out who all from OKC is heading up but I did hear that at least one or two are planning on it. No one from Evoke at this point but hopefully we can begin sending people real soon. So, if you are in Tulsa, this is something that would be worth your time. You will see why we have such a great time doing what we do and get a glimpse into the crazy and great world of specialty coffee. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, Topeca BaristaCup Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

"Coffee Caterer Blends Beliefs into Every Cup" by John Williams

Several months ago I got a call from a reporter with The Oklahoman asking me about Organics, Fair Trade Coffee and what we were doing to "be green" with our business. We talked for a bit and a week or so ago, my grandfather called to say that he saw the article. Here is a scanned image of the article: I tried to find the link to the online version but it appears that this article was not on their website. The article also featured my friend Melody from Coffee Slingers in OKC. I thought John did a nice job with the story but I did have one correction: I was quoted talking about a way to monitor that farmers are getting paid fairly but the article seems to reference back to organic certification and not Certified Fair Trade for that portion of the talk. While most certified Fair Trade coffee and tea is also certified Organic - the Organic certification has little to do with fair pricing or trading practices. Overall, we were happy to be a part of this discussion. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, The Oklahoman Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

Oklahoma WineFest 2008v

On Saturday, November 15, 10 am - 8 pm, a great event will be taking place at 50 Penn Place in Oklahoma City. The first annual Oklahoma WineFest will be featuring wines from 25 wineries from across the state and is sure to end up being a huge community hit! Not only are we at Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company - excited about a great community event like this, we are excited to bring the best in specialty coffee to the festival as well! Yes, we will have a coffee bar set up all day long for you to enjoy. So, even if you are not a wine drinker, I assure you that there will be plenty of stuff going on other than sampling wine. Live music will be included from artists Scott Keeton & the Deviants, Heartland Express, Dolce and Annie Ellicott and all the stores in the chic 50 Penn Place will be open to all. The Festival is also featuring several workshops ranging from Wine Tastings and Food Pairings to collecting and growing. Here is a bit about the event from their website: Come rain or shine! Workshops begin at 9:00 am, shops open at 10:00, and tasting begins at 11:00. Sample wines from 25 wineries, take in a workshop, or have a bite to eat while enjoying live music on two stages, like OKC’s popular Scott Keeton & the Deviants. Get a great start on your holiday shopping with an eclectic collection of 50 Penn Place shops and galleries, vendor booths, wine accessories, jewelry, wine cellar systems, and more. And if you prefer a faster pace, Jeff Gordon’s 2002 season Daytona and Talladega NASCAR will be at WineFest and will be auctioned off on eBay in conjunction with the festival. Come Celebrate Oklahoma Wines! Come Celebrate Oklahoma! Are we a Grape State or What? Wine workshops are 45 minutes each, and will be offered more than once on Saturday, beginning at 9am * Wine Tasting – with 2nd level sommelier, Ian Clarke, of the cutting edge, Red PrimeSteak Restaurant. * Amateur Wine Making – with David Martin of Deer Creek Vineyard, and vice president of OklahomaWines.org * How to Build a Wine Cellar – with Jonathan Kuhlman, Wine Cellar Innovations * Food and Wine Pairing – with Kurt Fleischfresser of The Coach House * Wine Collecting – with Scott Duncan of Covenant Financial Services * How to Grow Grapes in Oklahoma – with Andrew Snyder of Sand Hill Vineyard, Chapel Creek Winery, Redlands Community College, and President of OklahomaWines.org. This is going to be a great event that you will not want to miss. For more information, please visit OklahomaWines.org. You can also purchase tickets to the VIP Party, the Festival or the Workshops online here. We look forward to seeing you at 50 Penn place on Saturday! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, Oklahoma WineFest Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

South Central Regional Barista Competition Results!

I finally got to see the score card from the recent South Central Regional Barista Competition and it looked like a great turnout! Here are the results that Nick Cho posted on Barista Exchange: There were two people that I was hoping would get on the leader board - Isiah from DoubleShot Coffee in Tulsa and Jason Heagar from EspressoTrainer.com in Lubbock, Texas. While Jason did not get to the finals this time around, Isiah - in his first competition - came in at 4th place over all. Great work! This is great for Oklahoma coffee as this is the first time that anyone has competed in anything like this. This means that coffee in Oklahoma IS worth trying and worth thinking about. Great work to everyone that was involved. I have heard great things about the event and look forward to the future of it. Who knows, maybe sometime soon you will be reading about a barista from Evoke getting their hands dirty! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, South Central Regional Barista Competition Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

Election Day 2008

Did you? Be sure to get out and vote - no matter who you are voting for, your voice is important! Don't know where to vote? Check out the Vote411 Website and you can find out where to go. It is in our hands now. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering, election day 2008 Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!

Elton Kauffman | 1932-2008

A bit of a personal note for today... SELINSGROVE - Elton Roosevelt Kauffman, 75, of 5 Park Ave., went home to be with his Lord and Savior at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008, at his home. He was born Nov. 9, 1932, on 11th Avenue, Shamokin Dam, a son of the late Raymond and Florence (Bailey) Kauffman. He was born on Election Day and was named after President Roosevelt. On Jan. 4, 1954, he married the former Delores E.R. Blazer, who survives. He was a 1950 graduate of Selinsgrove High School and served four years in the Air Force during the Korean conflict. Early in his life, he had been employed at Champ Hats and Tioga Feed Mills, both in Sunbury. He retired in 1997 after 30 years with Weis Markets. He was a member of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Selinsgrove, where he served as the children's coordinator for 30 years, the Bible school director for 17 years and was the past president of the administrative council. He taught Sunday school, sang in the choir and participated in numerous other church activities. He was a life member of the Hummels Wharf Fire Company and served on the Hummels Wharf and Selinsgrove Sewer Authority for 25 years. Elton was an avid hunter and fisherman. He had played baseball for Sampson Air Force Base and for the Shamokin Dam Blue Jays, as well as slow-pitch softball for the Selinsgrove Moose and Plaza House teams. He enjoyed traveling and had visited all 50 states and Japan. In addition to his wife of 54 years, he is survived by two daughters, Cindy Inch and husband, Jerry, with whom he had a special bond, of Selinsgrove, and Patti John of Bozeman, Mont.; four grandchildren, Tammy Leitzel and husband Jeff of Richfield, Kyley Hoffman and husband Nathan of Mount Pleasant Mills, Jennifer Duncan and husband Jason of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Justin John of Bozeman, Mont.; five great-grandchildren, Trevor, Stefan, Nathaniel and Evan Leitzel, all of Richfield, and Natalie Grace Hoffman of Mount Pleasant Mills; and one sister, Freda Pauline Zerbe of Selinsgrove. He was preceded in death by one sister, Geraldine Baker. Visitors may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday and 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, followed by the funeral at 11, at Christ Community United Methodist Church, Fisher and Park roads, Selinsgrove, with the Rev. Barry C. Robison officiating. Burial with military honors will be in Shreiner's Cemetery, Selinsgrove. Contributions may be made in Elton's memory to SUN Home Hospice, 61 Duke St., Northumberland, PA 17857, or to Child Evangelism Fellowship, 318 Cedar St., Middleburg, PA 17842. Arrangements are by the V.L. Seebold Funeral Home, 601 N. High St., Selinsgrove. Published in The Daily Item on 10/31/2008 I did not know him long - 5 short years - but it was easy to feel part of the family from day one. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke catering, Oklahoma City, coffee catering Add us on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter!