I am now on a plane traveling back to Portland from Phoenix / Scottsdale. After doing some coffee business down in the Valley of the Sun, I attended an advanced course in formula racing at the Bob Bondurant School of Racing, the premier driving school in the country, located in Chandler, Arizona.

Instead of being a teacher I was a student once again, and this time the subject was "racing." Bob’s school was the first of its kind when it opened in 1968, but now there are more than 40 similar schools. I actually had a chance to talk to Bob, and it was interesting to hear him talk about how his competition copied everything he did over the years. He said the key to success is to be the best, and to smile and take as a compliment the fact that those who can’t come up with their own idea are copying yours. While he told me the history of Bondurant, I didn’t tell him I also operated a school.

Now it’s back to reality and time to think about the other part of my life that involves a rush — coffee. I leave for the SCAA Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis on Thursday. Tune in next week for conference highlights.

The Bellissimo staff is preparing to head off to the North Country. As many of you know, the 20th Annual SCAA Conference and Exhibition will be held May 3-5 this year in Minneapolis. We are hoping for a good show and are looking forward to seeing many friends and a lot of companies — many international — that we see only once a year. The entire Bellissimo staff will attend, except for Whitney, who will hold down the office in our absence.

In addition to being exhibitors, many of us will be involved in the conference portion of SCAA show. Matt is an integral part of the SCAA Training Committee, and will be involved in the espresso workshops offered at the show as well as the United States Barista Championship (USBC) held in conjunction with the event. Jared is heading to Minneapolis early to take the USBC judges’ training. I will be speaking at the show twice, giving talks titled: “The 10 Essentials of a Successful Specialty Coffee Operation” and “The Ambiance of Your Café: Creating the Right Mood.” Stacie and Kris will give the Italian women a run for their money on the fashion front.

Tomorrow I am off to Arizona to work with a chain and a coffee company located in the Valley of the Sun. After that, I will take a few days to do something I have always wanted to do… check out my next blog to find out what that is...

We had a great ABC’s class last week and another great one is now in progress…our students are always some of the nicest people... I think Matt and I say that at the end of almost every class.

I went to a new coffee bar/gelateria this morning and had a great cappuccino. Even better, I received the best service I have had in a coffee bar setting in a long time. Over the last few days the weather in Portland has really turned — the city has maybe the nicest spring, summer and fall of any place in the U.S. There are no bugs, and there is often perfect weather to sit outside and take advantage of the great outdoor seating areas that can be found in most of the coffee bars I frequent.

Last weekend, I attended a concert by one of my favorite singers, Tift Merritt. I tried to catch her in Austin the last time I was in the hill country (one of my favorite places on earth), but she was actually playing in San Antonio, and I didn’t have a car, so I missed her. Tift played the Doug Fir, a cozy little spot that is the perfect venue for the type of show she puts on —great alt.country. In about two weeks, another favorite, Shelby Lynne, will be in Portland and the week following the SCAA show, KT Tunstall comes to town. Rock on!

I blogged a while ago about a short film we were producing for Roberto Pregel, the marketing director of Sistema Espresso Italiano in Pomezia, Italy.

After a number of revisions back and forth to Italy, we finally completed a nice little piece that the company that will play at trade shows and in their kiosks in major Italian airports.

The promo is pretty simple (what they wanted), with not a lot of bells and whistles. However, it is a fun three-minute film that shows off their brand while taking the viewer to origin — there’s also some fancy latte art thrown in.

Click on the "Buscaglione Video Montage" in the right-hand column just under my photo to view the film. Enjoy!