At this special time of year we all make an effort to re-connect with old friends and often have the opportunity to make new ones at what seems to be an endless stream of functions. I think the expression "Hallelujah" was possibly coined by an exhausted individual who screamed the word at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve, thankful that a relentless holiday party schedule had finally come to an end.

The Bellissimo staff will be going in many different directions for personal get-a-ways during the holiday season, so our offices will be officially closed from Christmas Eve until January 5. But don’t worry, if you really need to contact us, we’ll be checking messages.

All of us at Bellissimo and The American Barista & Coffee School would like to send our thanks and holiday well wishes to all our friends and associates — we hope 2009 will be a wonderful year for all of you.

Because of the crazy financial situation the country has found itself in this year and the forecast that 2009 could be even worse, Bellissimo has developed a seminar to help coffee retailers market and manage their businesses with greater efficiency. The Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar will travel around the country, with the first three stops in Portland (Jan. 10-11 & Jan. 31-Feb. 01), Seattle (Mar. 21-22) and San Francisco (Spring 2009).

In today's harsh economic conditions, coffee retailers need to take a proactive and educated approach to business, Even though a retailer may be selling a quality product, he or she will need to do more than that to ensure increased sales and overall business success. We developed the Ultimate Coffee Profitability Seminar to give retailers the tools they need to increase sales through effective marketing and the skills to manage the financial side of their businesses in today's unforgiving economic climate. Chris Legler, who has vast experience and knowledge of finance, specifically tailored to the coffee industry, teaches the seminar.

Bottom line — there is no one in the coffee industry that can help you more than Chris Legler. At the end of this interactive two days, owners and managers will leave with a true understanding of how to operate more efficiently and increase sales.

If you have any questions call us at 800-655 3955 or visit our Website.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We only choose one day to give thanks for the many aspects of our lives that deserve this thought each and every day.

As a company we are thankful for the rich friendships this industry has given all of us.

I just returned from my last overseas business trip of the year, which feels great. Not that I haven’t enjoyed traveling to Central America, Europe, Russia and the Far East, but enough is enough.

I will say that this last trip was the most enjoyable business trip I have taken in a very long time. I loved Hong Kong, and China in general, which is an amazing country. That part of the world is hungry for specialty coffee, and the very nature of their culture will not allow them to do anything that is not nearly perfect. Striving for perfection is seen in every facet of life there: the hospitality, hotels and food are all five-star. The Coffee Fest Trade Show, though slow, provided an excellent chance to bond and establish life-long friendships with many in the industry whom I knew only peripherally before — a bonus I never expected. We also opened some major doors that may provide some very interesting results in 2009.

And then there was Manila. The Philippines was truly one of the coolest places I have ever visited. First, in my opinion, the sheer beauty of the islands equaled that of Tahiti. The people of the Philippines are beyond wonderful. Maybe — no, not maybe — these are the nicest and warmest people I have ever met. We are doing some major business with a company there, which was my reason for going to the Philippines after Hong Kong. A bonus was playing some rooftop tennis on grass courts at my Manila hotel and eating crickets, which were surprisingly tasty. I am very excited about returning to both China and the Philippines again next year.

Matt and I sat in our hotel room on election evening (morning in Hong Kong) and watched the results... and what we can all hope and pray will be the dawning of a new day for America!

It has been a busy two weeks at Bellissimo. Besides outlining new business strategies and forming new alliances for 2009, there has been a lot going on here in Portland.

Last week we were one of the sponsors of a fundraiser for Cafe Femenino — a wonderful organization that both empowers and financially helps women in coffee growing regions. It was a full evening at the Bagdad Theater, and many coffee professionals came from out of town to attend, including David, Tamara, Tom and LeeAnne from Coffee Fest Tradeshows in Seattle. Tina Michaud, of Allied Services based in Minnesota, happened to be in town for a few days and joined us at the event. The theater was packed, and the fundraiser appeared to be a huge success.

Last night I attended another charity event Bellissimo was involved in. We’ve been working with Ayn Hotchkiss and Angela Zagarella of the Portland-Bologna Sister City Association, whose mission is to foster a cross-cultural relationship with Bologna, Italy. The event featured Italian food and wine, and a silent auction, to which Bellissimo donated a consumer class for up to six people.

Both of these fundraising events were for worthy causes, and it is a good feeling to give back in other ways than by just writing a check.

I recently returned from Moscow, where I attended a coffee tradeshow, and I must tell you it was a very long nine days. My hosts could not have been kinder or more helpful, but the days were long — I was usually at the convention center early and some days I spoke twice. The four-day show was equivalent to our National Restaurant show and had a very large coffee offering.

Russia in 2008 is quite amazing. I had the chance to spend time with my friend Andrey, a former student at the American Barista & Coffee School. He spends half his time in Moscow and the other half in Mauritius, where his unbelievably beautiful coffee bar is almost ready to open. I was lucky he was in Moscow at the same time I was. He spent an entire day playing tour guide. We saw Red Square, Lenin's Tomb and, of course, the unbelievable churches. Moscow has officially been named the most expensive city in the world, and it is not uncommon to spend $400 on dinner for two and then walk out of the restaurant and see a Lamborghini, Bentley, and Ferrari on the street in front. It’s quite mind boggling, really. One coffee chain I visited charged $5 dollars U.S. for a shot of espresso, $12 for a five-ounce cappuccino and $30 for a small pot of tea... need I say more?

The coffee business in Russia is booming and also a bit of a mystery. It feels much like the industry did in the United States about ten years ago. There are a few large chains in Moscow and some of their stores were quite impressive — modern and beautiful, as was much of the city.

It was nice to have my priest :-) along — Jose Arreola — as well as Sonja from Iceland...The experience is one I will never forget.