


Bruce Milletto, CEO of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup and a leading industry watcher, thinks the company's motivation is more basic: Starbucks is returning to its roots as a comfortable "third place," a living space that goes beyond the home and the office. "People want to have ‘their' coffee bar, and they want to have ‘their' coffee," says Milletto, who remembers when Starbucks was a hip chain of four or five shops. "Starbucks has realized that's a niche they're no longer filling."
Bruce goes on to say, "Once you have thousands and thousands of stores, it's difficult to have consumers look at you in the same way," Milletto says. "I think in coffee, the small independent will always win out if it's doing a fantastic job."
Though the recession has hurt some coffee sales, it hasn't ended
Americans' move toward higher-quality coffee, says Bruce Milletto,
president of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup, which provides consulting and
training to the industry. "Our taste buds have memories," Milletto
says. "Once you drink a really excellent cappuccino, it's very hard to
go back even to a chain store that may be using automatic machines."
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Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup, the specialty coffee industry's leader in consulting and the production of award-winning coffee education and training DVDs, including “Espresso 101,” “The Passionate Harvest” and “Advanced Barista Training: Extreme Pours, announces the release this June of its new training DVD, "Training with the Champions."
"Training with the Champions" was filmed over the course of a year at the American Barista & Coffee School in Portland, Oregon and is the first training DVD in which regional, national and world barista champions share their passion and skills one-on-one with the coffee world.
The DVD will be approximately 45-minutes, with each champion barista sharing his or her techniques and philosophy of coffee and espresso, as well as what it takes to be a champion. The DVD is edited in a documentary style and is an extremely effective training tool.
Featured are 2006 World Barista Champion (WBC) Klaus Thomsen of Denmark and three former United States Barista Champions (USBC): Matt Riddle, Bronwen Serna and Phuong Tran. Northwest USBC champions Kyle Larson and Billy Wilson are also included, along with Cup of Excellence judge Stephen Vick, who is featured in a special cupping section. Making appearances are long-time barista competition judges Sarah Allen, editor of Barista Magazine, and Brent Fortune, owner of Crema Bakery and Café of Portland, Oregon.
"I have seen most of the excellent baristas featured in the DVD compete at the last few United States Barista Championships (USBC) and at the World Barista Championship (WBC) in 2006 in Berne, Switzerland," said Bruce Milletto, president of Bellissimo and the film's director. "We couldn't have gotten a better group together to share their enthusiasm for coffee and teach eager baristas how to excel at their craft. It's gratifying to see those working as baristas today striving for the best. This DVD is for them."
"Training with the Champions will retail for $69.95, with volume pricing available. Pre-order before June 15 and save $20. Click here to order and watch a trailer. For more information, call 800.655.3955 or visit espresso101.com.
Starting a Coffee Shop Business Podcast
Produced by Startingabiz.com | June 30th, 2009
Bruce Milletto, president of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup and founder of the American Barista and Coffee School, offers his insight about how to start a coffee business to podcast host Matt Thomas of StartingABIZ.com. Bruce offers expert advice about getting started, choosing a location, picking the right coffee and espresso equipment, and more. [24 minute podcast]
Click here to listen to Starting a Coffee Shop Business Podcast
For the second time in two months, Matt Milletto, Vice President of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup and Director of the American Barista & Coffee School, defends the independent retailer on NATIONWIDE TV! As Matt says, "No, it is not all about price but quality." Click here to view feature on Fox Business News.
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