Map2Cafe.com

Grounds for Hope

Map2Cafe — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:31:16 +0000

We all know that growing coffee is hard labor and how the people working in the field and there families can be affected by a poor season. I recently came across an organization called CoffeeKids that provides support to some of these families.

Coffee Kids staff works with local organizations in Latin America to create programs in education, health awareness, microcredit and food security in coffee-farming communities. These efforts allow coffee farmers to reduce their dependence on the volatile coffee market and confront the most pressing community needs. Because every coffee-farming community is unique, every Coffee Kids project is unique. What is common is an attitude of respect for all people’s values, cultural integrity, intelligence and ingenuity.

If you wish to learn more about Coffee Kids or Donate; click on the picture below!

Economics of Coffee

Map2Cafe — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:31:08 +0000

Coffee is an important commodity and a popular beverage. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day. Over 90% of coffee production takes place in developing countries, while consumption happens mainly in the industrialized economies. Worldwide, 25 million small producers rely on coffee for a living. For instance, in Brazil alone, where almost a third of all the world’s coffee is produced, over 5 million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over 3 billion coffee plants; it is a much more labour-intensive culture than alternative cultures of the same regions as sugar cane or cattle, as it is not subject to automation and requires constant attention.

Coffee is also bought and sold as a commodity on the New York Board of Trade. This is where coffee futures contracts are traded, which are a financial asset involving a standardized contract for the future sale or purchase of a unit of coffee at an agreed price. The world’s largest transfer point for coffee is the port of Hamburg, Germany.

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is the main intergovernmental organization for coffee, bringing together producing and consuming countries to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation. It makes a practical contribution to the world coffee economy and to improving standards of living in developing countries.

On the ICO web site you will find a wealth of information about the economics of coffee as well as statistics, daily and historical price of coffee futures. You may click on the map to view more information about ICO.

Intelligentsia Coffee for iPhone

Map2Cafe — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 03:04:17 +0000

It is true that there now apps for everything! Even coffee shop brands have their apps for iPhone. There are numerous coffee related apps; but the one from Intelligentsia is really well done. Its design is very appealing and with good content. If you are a fan of Intelligentsia coffee; it is a great way to keep up with news and information about their coffee offering. To read the review of Intelligentsia on our site follow this link: http://bit.ly/cLpH8L

Here is more information about the app:

The Intelligentsia Coffee application allows you to view the current coffee offerings with details from Intelligentsia Coffee (www.intelligentsiacoffee.com). Additionally, you are given step-by-step instructional illustrations and descriptions for preparing coffee on multiple brewing devices. An integrated brewing timer with alerts ensures that your coffee will be perfect every time. Share coffees with your friends via email or Facebook or leave feedback about coffees for others to view. Directions, information and maps about Intelligentsia locations will help you to find the best place to grab a cup of coffee on the go.

Click on the image to view more information about the app and download it from iTunes!

Le Café – Oldelaf et Monsieur D

Map2Cafe — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 07:09:09 +0000

A video and song dedicated to all coffee lovers. This must have been written especially for me. It tells the tail of someone working day which is highly stressful and how coffee helps him go through the day; but also ruin it as his high consumption of coffee makes him do crazy things! This is just brilliant and had to be shared with all our coffee fans.

Click on the picture to watch the video!

(PS.: The song is in French)

Ultimate Barista Challenge 2010

Map2Cafe — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:42:47 +0000

10-12 November 2010, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China

An international gathering of the best Baristas attending from China and national champions from Korea and USA. Professional competition for coffee barista to duel head to head in the following categories: Latte Art Challenge; Espresso Frappe Challenge; Espresso Cocktail Challenge.

Click on the picture for more information about this event and it’s organizer!

A Barista on your IPhone!

Map2Cafe — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:42:59 +0000

How about that! A Barista at your disposal where ever you are. The Barista app for IPhone helps you get that perfect cup each time. The new Basics tab in Barista contains a video demonstration of the basic steps of using a home espresso machine. Also included are two short videos that show you how to pour a rosetta and a heart using nothing but a shot of espresso and a jug of textured milk.The new Extraction Timer drops down at the push of a button when you’re viewing the instructions for any of the espresso-based recipes, helping you achieve the perfect shot.Finally we’ve also improved the user experience of reading the recipes which now have collapsible points, so that you can choose either condensed or detailed instructions.

Click on the image below to open the ITune link:

Espresso Everyday Wherever You Are!

Map2Cafe — Sat, 15 May 2010 04:55:42 +0000

Are you addicted to your morning coffee? Do you need that shot of caffeine to get you going in the morning? Do you find that hotel coffee absolutely awful? Then here is the perfect accessory for you to load into your suitcase when you travel. With “Twist” from MyPressi you can create that perfect smooth shot of espresso where ever you are around the planet. Never again will you have to go through your day with that feeling of emptiness and the horrible idea that you will have to start your day drinking the instant hotel coffee. Twist is easy to use and you will have that perfect cup every time.

Click on the picture below to watch the video and see how easy it is to use…

MAP2Cafe is back!

Map2Cafe — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:44:32 +0000

We are back with more cafes and new features. We now offer a worldmap on our home page to make it easier for you locate cafes and view at a glance the various parts of the world we have reviewed cafes for you. You can zoom in and out; you can click on the bubble and see ratings and pictures, you can click on the link and see the detailed review. On the cafe listings we have also added streetview where it is available; it will give you a 360 view of the cafe and its surrounding. We plan further enhancements over the coming weeks; so watch this space.

Over the holiday period and in recent weeks we have visited several cities and reviewed some of the best cafes. Expect to see cafes from Chicago, Dubai, Nice and Monaco to be added in the coming days.

Don’t forget when you travel and spot a good cafe to visit MAP2Cafe and share your reviews with our community of coffee lovers.

Enjoy your coffee and live a good life!

Happy Holiday Season!

Map2Cafe — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 09:57:40 +0000

MAP2Cafe wish to all it’s fans a Happy Holiday Season!

MAP2Cafe was launched 6 months ago and has since received thousands of visits and good press coverage. We now cover 125 of the best cafes from all corners of the planet from mega cities to small remote locations. We plan to continue to grow our content and hope that by our first year anniversary we will reach 250 cafes.

We will soon be releasing an upgrade to our site MAP2Cafe 2.0 with a world view map and lots of new interesting feature. We welcome your feedback; do not hesitate to write to us.

Don’t forget you can stay in touch with all the updates and new listings through our toolbar which you can download from our home page. The toolbar has some new feature; such as access to your social network Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn right from your Ie explorer or Safari; yes our toolbar is now MAC compatible. Alternatively; you can follow-us from our Facebook fan page or on Twitter.

We wish you all a Happy Holiday Season and New Year 2010! May this New Year be prosperous to all and full of joy.

Love your coffee; Love MAP2Cafe!

Our gift to you; click on this picture to learn how to prepare a coffee that looks like that!

Mario Hardy Rouma Bhautoo

Founder Co-Founder

MAP2Cafe

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Map2Cafe — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:23:33 +0000

Ethiopia is believe to be the birth place of coffee and Ethiopian have a very special way to celebrate and drink this elixir of life. Ethiopia’s coffee ceremony is an integral part of their social and cultural life. An invitation to attend a coffee ceremony is considered a mark of friendship or respect and is an excellent example of Ethiopian hospitality. Performing the ceremony is almost obligatory in the presence of a visitor, whatever the time of day. Don’t be in a hurry though – this special ceremony can take a few hours. So sit back and enjoy because it is most definitely not instant. Ethiopian homage to coffee is sometimes ornate, and always beautifully ceremonial. The ceremony is usually conducted by one young woman, dressed in the traditional Ethiopian costume of a white dress with coloured woven borders. The long involved process starts with the ceremonial apparatus being arranged upon a bed of long scented grasses. The roasting of the coffee beans is done in a flat pan over a tiny charcoal stove, the pungent smell mingling with the heady scent of incense that is always burned during the ceremony. The lady who is conducting the ceremony gently washes a handful of coffee beans on the heated pan, then stirs and shakes the husks away. When the coffee beans have turned black and shining and the aromatic oil is coaxed out of them, they are ground by a pestle and a long handled mortar. The ground coffee is slowly stirred into the black clay coffee pot locally known as ‘jebena’, which is round at the bottom with a straw lid. Due to the archaic method used by Ethiopians, the ground result can be called anything but even, so the coffee is strained through a fine sieve several times. The youngest child is then sent out to announce when it is to be served and stands ready to bring a coffee cup first to the eldest in the room and then to the others, connecting all the generations. The lady finally serves the coffee in tiny china cups to her family, friends and neighbours who have waited and watched the procedure for the past half-hour. Gracefully pouring a thin golden stream of coffee into each little cup from a height of one foot without an interruption requires years of practice.