A Better Presence

In an effort to better position Cafe Evoke and Cafe Evoke Catering in our market, we planned a photo shoot with the ever great Sam Olson at 611 Creative in Oklahoma City. We are super excited to get this shoot underway as it will allow us to create ads, banners and images for the website that really fit what we are about. Here is a bit about the shoot. Shots Expecting There are several different shots that we need to get taken during the shoot. Here is quick list: 1. Product - these series will be mainly of our product - coffee, espresso, latte art shots, syrups, teas, etc. Anything that we serve will be featured in this set 2. Equipment - this will be featuring all of our equipment - from brewers to espresso bars. We need this for many reason but we hope to have pictures for our info kits so that clients have an idea of what they will be getter 3. Action - Batistas pulling shots. Simple and sweet 4. Head Shots - this is for the band side of us! Ah, a Cafe Evoke Band? No, really. We have been lucky enough to get some press lately (for a separate post later on) and we need to be able to have photos to send to the publishers. We want our pretty faces in the news you know! This set will be short and sweet and will feature the people who work with us and also Jenni and I. We are trying to set the bar for coffee catering - not only in Oklahoma but in the US. To get there, we have make a presence for our selves. To get the idea across that coffee and espresso is art, we need an artistic photo shoot that really lets the images speak for Cafe Evoke Catering. We have one chance to impress our clients - the first impression. Having photos and ads that do not meet up to our expectation or design will not cut it. We want people to see our images and know they are working with the best. I will have much more on this the first part of July. This is just another way we are solving this puzzle! Presence in our industry. Presence in our Community. A premier specialty coffee catering company. ...be bold

A Referral Worth Dessert

We love our customers - ones that have used us several times, ones that have used us once, ones that invited us to the casino or bar afterwards, ones that think we have better espresso drinks than Starbucks, ones that like our latte art, ones that like to help us pack up, ones that leave good tips, ones that order 5 iced mochas with whipped cream.... ..but ones that really stand out in our heads are those that tell their friends! So, in honor of all of those friends that do tell everyone about Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company - we have finally launched our referral program and it is sweet! I really wanted to use "awesome" or "fantastic" but, well, "sweet" just works so much better and on so many levels! Cafe Evoke Catering wants to buy all of our friends who refer us to a new client dessert and coffee for two to Coco Flow in Oklahoma City. What a great deal! It is pretty simple, really. I will explain it all: Why it Works: At Cafe Evoke Catering, our ultimate goals are clear and straight forward - 1. To bring the best in specialty coffee and espresso to events all across Oklahoma and 2. Exceed our clients expectations in service, quality and production. We know that our customers will talk. We understand that they will talk about our services whether it was great or the worst they have ever had so we have to make the best impression we can. If you love something, you are sure to talk about it and we want to harness that and also tell our customers "thanks" for taking the time to mention us to their friends - people they trust us to serve. We also understand that it takes a lot for a person to put their recommendation on the line. We can assure each of our clients that if they recommend us, their friends will get the same 5 star treatment they received at their own event. How it Works Past clients are all eligible for this program - from now on! All that has to happen is for our clients to tell their friends and family about Cafe Evoke Catering and how we helped make their event a success. Once their friends and family give us a call and book Cafe Evoke Catering for their own wedding reception, rehearsal dinner, birthday party, office meeting, bridal shower, afternoon tea or just for the fun of it the referrer will be on their way to desserts for two at Coco Flow! So simple! We are basically trying to make our clients part of our family - booking events, telling Oklahoma about specialty coffee and spreading our word! I have talked often about word of mouth marketing and that is what we are really trying to embrace right now. We have tried print ads and info kits but have found that the best way to reach our market is by having people talk about us. I will begin tracking results and will post to let you know how things are going sometime down the road. I am sure there are many other things we can come up with that follow the same path as this and we will find them. I think this may be part of that puzzle of "f's I was talking about the other day. We are still working towards the solution but feel that we are cutting away at it! We have one other thing to talk about soon that goes along with our attempts at solving the puzzle. I will talk more about it in a week or two when I have the details nailed down. Let me know what you think and if you have other suggestions! ...be bold

What is the answer to this puzzle?

We have been working almost 3 years on Cafe Evoke Catering. With each month that goes by, we find ourselves wondering what we are missing. What is that one thing that will push this idea over the top? That one thing that will allow Cafe Evoke Catering to stand on the mountain of coffee caterers as being an asset to our industry, our niche and most importantly our community? We know that the idea of a coffee catering business is a great one. We have seen other companies take it and run with it. And, as I have talked about before, what is more specialty than specialty coffee catering? There is this little brain teaser that has been haunting me lately. It is one of those that you know the answer is right there you just can't get to it. If you have not tried this, here is your chance to really understand what I am talking about. In the below text, how many "F's" do you see? FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. I have taken this quiz before and even knew the answer but time and time again, I come up with the wrong one! That is what we are talking about! We know that the answer to the formula for a successful coffee catering company - dedicated to being a leader in the specialty coffee industry - is right in front of us. We just need to focus in and find out what it is. Is it new package options? Is it a new way to promote the business? Is it a different way of thinking about coffee catering entirely? New marketing material? New ways of naming our packages? A street team? What?? So, in the coming weeks, we will set out to try and figure this out. I say this like we will have the correct answer - we won't. It will be trail and error. It will be market tests and research. One way or another, we will beat this teaser and realize that the correct answer is 6 F's in the puzzle - every time! ...be bold

The History of Cafe Evoke (Part 5)

This is a multi-part series discussing the history of Cafe Evoke -- from the time I started this blog to today. The posts are rather long which is why I am breaking them up into several parts. I hope these posts have given you some background for our company and this blog. I am trying to space them out a bit so that it does not get "dry" and hard to follow. This is Part 5 of a multi part series we are calling The History of Cafe Evoke. You can find other editions here: 1, 2, 3, and 4. Remember, these are quick highlights from the past 4 years. There are many more great posts in the archives if you ever get bored. Also, if you have questions about what we were thinking, doing or hoping for or over anything I have mentioned, please leave a comment and we will answer everything you ask! So, at this point. Cafe Evoke Coffee Catering is on the map and pulling espresso. We had lots of problems getting business insurance for our company which took up quite a bit of time. We finally got that taken care of by our great new friends at State Farm Insurance. The rest of June consisted of marketing, farmers markets, and business planning. Things got pretty slow for Cafe Evoke (the coffee house) through the summer. By September, we were only watching one commercial space and that was a pretty long shot at that point. Cafe Evoke Catering was moving along and we spent some time creating a formal written plan focusing on the catering operation alone. The new catering plan was completed the first part of October, 2006 and we felt that the foundation was set for that aspect of our business. I then began getting emails from big coffee companies asking that I try out their new coffee lines and post a review. I did several of them over the course of the next few months. November threw us a curve ball. We had to deal with the rough Bozeman winter and how that interacts with coffee equipment in a trailer. Let me tell you - cold wins. Our equipment froze in our trailer for the first time and we knew we had to do something to solve our problem. That started what ended up being a years worth of headache with the equipment company and service crew. We did end up getting it all fixed up and found a great place to pull it indoors each day to keep it clean, dry and at room temperature. We also had a chance in November to get the trailer decked out in Cafe Evoke Catering attire and by the end of December, we were planning our booth for two upcoming bridal fairs. Things were moving for Cafe Evoke Catering by the end of 2006 but the coffee house somewhat took a back seat as we worked to market and plan and nurture this niched catering operation. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, oklahoma, oklahoma city The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

The History of Cafe Evoke (Part 4)

This is a multi-part series discussing the history of Cafe Evoke -- from the time I started this blog to today. The posts are rather long which is why I am breaking them up into several parts. Let's get back to it on this windy Oklahoma Thursday. This is Part 4 of a multi part series we are calling The History of Cafe Evoke. You can find other editions here: 1, 2 and 3. Remember, these are quick highlights from the past 4 years. There are many more great posts in the archives if you ever get bored. Also, if you have questions about what we were thinking, doing or hoping for or over anything I have mentioned, please leave a comment and we will answer everything you ask! Let's back up a bit. Many of you are now familiar with Cafe Evoke Catering - Oklahoma's premier specialty coffee catering company. Well, the idea was planted in march of 2006 for Evoke Catering to be Montana's premier specialty coffee catering company. There were many reasons to start the catering operation but I think the main reason was because we feel that what is more specialty in coffee service than setting up a full blown shop in someones living room? We had to begin changing a few things on our website and with our logos to reflect Cafe Evoke Catering. We also had to begin getting paper work in order with the city and state and learn what it means to be a caterer. This was tough because coffee caterers (at the time) were very new and unprecedented for many health departments. As you know, these guys do not like change, new stuff or having to figure out how you fit in to an already confusing tangle of rules and regulations. By the end of March, we released our logos for the catering company. Simple, clean, and to the point. Purchasing equipment and conducing research for the cafe began to run hand in hand. For the first time, we were beginning to feel like stuff was happening. We had to learn how to juggle getting our cafe started while at the same time launching our new business - Cafe Evoke Catering. The Catering operation began to take the upper hand with a long list of to-do's that had to be completed. By the end of April, things were really moving! We had the trailer and our cart and things felt good. While we knew we had a long way to go, having equipment in hand seemed to make everything feel real - finally. The beginning of May brought about the final details - the nitty gritty stuff for Cafe Evoke Catering. We had a TON to do - pricing and event details, equipment installation and prep for our first event on May 22nd, 2006. By the end of May, Cafe Evoke Catering was running smoothly and we were happy with the progress we had made. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, oklahoma, oklahoma city The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

A Quick Side Trip

Just a quick side trip today from the series I have been written so profoundly named The History of Cafe Evoke. I hope that the series is not to mundane and that those of you who missed the past 4 years of this blog are having a chance to get caught up - at least a bit. Going through this blog has been like going through old yearbooks. You know the feeling. You read notes that made so much sense at the time of authorship that now seem simple and out of touch. You see pictures of times that bring back crazy memories - even as specific as what song you listened to during the event. I'm telling you, it is good to get back to your roots sometimes. But then again... So, quickly, a bit about what we are up to right now. There are a few major thing we need to get in order going forward. The main thing, get my laptop fixed. We are about to embark on a few projects where having a viewable screen will be handy. I will talk more about that once we wrap up the History series. We also just rolled out an all new Summer Menu for Cafe Evoke Catering. It will be sent out with this month's newsletter so if you have not had a chance to sign up, please do so! We would love to keep you up to date on things that have been going on! Also, keep an eye out for our upcoming advertisement to be in Central Oklahoma's Perfect Wedding Guide. Cafe Evoke Catering is currently the featured wedding professional on the site. So, there will be a lot of fun stuff coming up probably by the end of this week that we want to tell you about. News from the entire Cafe Evoke family will be shared as we pave the way to our future in our new community - Oklahoma City! Thanks again for reading this blog. Your comments/questions/answers/complaints are always welcome via email or by using the comment section. ...be bold Related Links: Follow Us on Twitter Cafe Evoke on Facebook Cafe Evoke on Myspace The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

The Coffee and Tea Festival (#17)

Thanksgiving is over and it is time for the Coffee and Tea Festival. We had 2 submissions for this week -- thank you. Because of the holiday and events leading up to it, I did not have a chance to look around for others but the two we have are great. Post about this festival on your own blog and let us grow this thing. Here we are.. Do you enjoy a good cup of coffee? A lot of people do. Coffee is one of the most widely consumed and one of the oldest beverages in the world. There is nothing like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee to stimulate your senses. Unfortunately, coffee has had a bad reputation and has been associated with unhealthy habits such as smoking and eating fast food. However, recent studies have shown that coffee can actually be good for you, helping decrease the risks of several diseases including Parkinson’s and Diabetes. David presents Why Should I Give Up Coffee? posted at Worldwide Success. Don't worry, I think he is all for coffee! It is also interesting how we are now seeing many studies on coffee. We all know that tea has these same characteristics but coffee, too? Nice. We like coffee in our house and enjoy plenty of it. Most weekday mornings at approximately 4:50 AM, you’ll find me emptying the moist grounds from the day before into the trash container. Over the course of a year, I’m convinced that I’ve disposed of at least one or perhaps even two curbside trash bins full of coffee grounds. That’s a lot of grounds being trucked off to the landfill. Here’s my penny-wise tip of the week. Did you know that coffee is good for plants? Ah, I'm glad this is being brought up. Nina Smith presents Coffee Grounds in the Garden posted at Queercents<. I have long been interested and excited to see how people line up at the doors of their local shop after hours to pick up the used grounds. This is not only nice to the environment because it keeps trash down, it also helps grow green things. My buddy over at Progress Coffee in Austin always gives his away and I think all shops should do this. Do you know any shops that do? Leave a comment and tell us how cool it is. Well, that will do it for this weeks edition. Thanks to everyone who submitted and please keep the posts coming. The more we get, the more we can all get to know each other and these great industries. If you find anything that should be included, please pass them along! As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form or click on the ad on the left side-bar of this blog. It would be great to have a Coffee and Tea Festival about coffee shops and tea rooms. Do you have a favorite? Write a post about it and include a picture and get it to me for the next edition. I will keep bringing this up and hopefully we will have something going before long. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. ..be bold Tagged: coffee and tea festival, blog carnival, espresso, coffee, tea

The Coffee and Tea Festival (#16)

Ah, the time as come again for the Coffee and Tea Festival. We had 2 submissions for this week -- thank you -- and I also added a couple. Hope you enjoy it. Post about this festival on your own blog and let us grow this thing. Here we are.. Loni presents No More Good-Byes posted at Finding JOY in the Morning. All coffee shop owners want to have this story. While it is always hard to close the doors, isn't it your dream that when it is time to say good bye, people are sad to see you go? This was a nice little post for you. Raymond David Salas presents Jason Winters Tea posted at ZenChill - Power Tools for Mind, Body, and Soul. Here is an interesting read. Everyone is always talking about the health benefits of tea -- check those story out. Larry posted this story over at the all new Arizona Coffee Forum. this article was borrowed but a great read on the quality of coffee. There has been some nice discussion about this over at the Arizona Coffee Blog if you are interested. Well, that will do it for this weeks edition. Thanks to everyone who submitted and please keep the posts coming. The more we get, the more we can all get to know each other and these great industries. If you find anything that should be included, please pass them along! As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form or click on the ad on the left side-bar of this blog. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. ..be bold Tagged: coffee and tea festival, blog carnival, espresso, coffee, tea

Folgers in Review

I know, this has been a very long time coming. I received an email several weeks ago asking if I would be willing to try Folgers new gourmet coffee. I said sure. Keep in mind that there are many things I look for in coffee -- freshness, Fair Trade/Organic Certified, whole bean, non-flavored, and interesting or an "all day drinker" as I like to say. I also entered this "taste test" with a few pre-opinions which I tried to not let get in the way of what I think about coffee. Folgers sent me three different coffees to taste: Morning Cafe, Lively Colombian, and Vanilla Biscotti. Here is what I thought. It is important to keep in mind that there is a very large varity of coffee available. From Robustas to Arabicas to blends, there is a coffee suitable for every person. While I have my own thoughts about what makes a great cup of coffee, I have learned that what I like is not always the first choice of others. When I received this box of coffee, there was the same plesant aroma that I get from our current roaster. I was impressed with this as I normally do not pick up on these types of flavors with past Folgers coffee. I opened each of the following bags and they each had a very strong (but nice) scent that made you feel at home. The following were my frist, very rough, thoughts about the coffee. I mentioned above about some opinions I have on coffee and what I feel is important, namely: Fair Trade Certified, Organic Certified, Fresh, Interesting, All Day Drinkers. Here are my thoughts.. I tried the Morning Cafe blend first. Folgers says that this blend is light-bodied with a clean finish and a delicate, bright taste and aroma. I had this in the evening -- will that change my opinion of it? Just kidding. When it first hit my tough, I was impressed. It did taste a bit "stale" but way better than what I have had from them in the past (which is not much). I was very disappointed with the after taste however. It left me feeling like I needed to brush my teeth which did not make me feel good about the coffee. I never have and probably never will like flavored coffee. Sorry Folgers, your did not change my mind either. I was not impressed with the coffee palate as all I could taste was vanilla. Folgers says this has a smooth vanilla flavor and a smooth finish. Sounds good to me -- I still do not like flavored coffee. The Lively Colombian was probably the best of the group to me. Folgers says this brew is distinctively rich and full-bodied and consists of 100% Colombian beans. I first tried it and was pleased but again, the after taste stole the show. What is it about this type of coffee? What I love the most in a coffee is what it leaves me with -- memories, ideas, passion, creativity. This did not leave me with much. Folgers is roasting 100% Arabica beans which is nice and two of the three selections were sent in whole bean form which was very nice -- great job. What about a Fair Trade Blend (or two or three)? What about an Organic blend? I did not see as much of a difference between the two non-flavors as I would have liked but a large step as been made from the previous offerings. Thanks for that. I also heard from a comment on this blog that: Folgers (Proctor and Gamble) buys beans from Vietnam, which recently declared 89% of its beans sub-standard. I just posted on this, and there's a link to a great article on the horrible toll the coffee industry -- funded largely by the Big Four roasters -- has taken on Vietnam. Do you know anything about this? Have you tried this new coffee? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment! ..be bold Tagged: espresso, coffee, bozeman, montana, folgers, gourmet selections, cafe evoke, coffee catering