your key to success in the specialty coffee industry

articles by Bruce Milletto and Bellissimo staff for fresh cup magazine and other publications

Fresh Cup
Arabian Blights by Bruce Milletto:Fresh Cup MagazineWe're Talking Quality by Matt Milletto: Roast Magazine Social Networking by Matt Milletto: SCAA Chronicle Killer Cafe Design by Matt Milletto: Barista Magazine Italy by Matt Milletto: Barista Magazine Carts & Kiosks by Matt Milletto: Barista Magazine Coffee Training with Industry Expert Bruce Milletto: SCAA Chronicle Conference Flashback: SCAA Chronicle, by Matt Milletto WBC 2007 Japan by Bruce Milletto The Land of the Rising Coffee Culture by Bruce Milletto Signing a Lease by Bruce Milletto Your Entire Business is Marketing by Bruce Milletto Your Business Plan by Kris Larson Operational Systems by Ed Arvidson The Fall of Rome, and Now...The Italian Cappuccino Investing in your Baristas, part II: Hiring Training Employees by Matt Milletto Investing in your Baristas, part I: Hiring and Training a Great Team by Matt Milletto World Barista Championship Recap World Espresso Stop: Greece The Long Voyage: Italian Coffee's Route to U.S. Acceptance Café Ambiance Demitasse From Around the World Italy's Cafés: A Retrospective Greek Coffee: The Water is Wide Sharing the Wealth: Using Cross-Marketing to Build Community Profits Business Basics: Perfection-No Less Business Basics: Creating Art from a Pitcher of Milk Business Basics: Who is your customer? Business Basics: Importance of Logo Branding and Promotion Business Basics: Frequently Asked Coffee Questions Business Basics: Internet Marketing for the Coffee or Tea Retailer Business Basics: Why Marketing Works Business Basics: A Retailer's Guide to Trade Shows & Conferences Business Basics: A Drive Through Small-Town USA Business Basics: The Social Science of the Bean

Latest Bellissimo News

Bruce Milletto Comments on Starbuck's new "Independent" Coffee Shop Concept in November Entrepreneur Magazine

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."

Click here to read full article

Bruce Milletto Comments on State of the Specialty Coffee Industry in Business Week

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."

Click here to read full article

07.08.09 | ExtractMojo™ Demonstration Set for July 14 at The American Barista & Coffee School

The George Howell Coffee Company, a leading provider of specialty coffees based near Boston, will demonstrate their brewing control solution, ExtractMoJo™ at the American Barista & Coffee School at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14.

ExtractMoJo™, which won Best New Product in the Education and Training category at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's 21st Annual Exposition held last April in Atlanta, combines an easy to use software application and a specially designed, hand-held digital refractometer that enables users to quickly and simply calibrate their existing equipment to brew coffee that meets high quality, internationally recognized Gold Cup standards with cup-to-cup consistency. ExtractMoJo™ enables all users, both home and commercial, to brew consistently to Gold Cup standards, and not only ensures dependable, high-quality results, but also makes brewing superlative espresso and coffee easy to do.

"ExtractMojo is the most useful tool I’ve ever had to evaluate coffee extraction and brewing parameters," says Scott Rao of Cafe Myriad in Montreal. "We use it at our cafe to program brewing parameters, help train our staff to taste for proper extraction levels, and troubleshoot problems, such as when our grinder burrs are getting dull. Using MoJo we are able to produce the same sweet extraction levels across all of our brewing methods. This is a windfall for ensuring peak flavor profiles for all of our specialty coffees."

The two-hour event is sponsored by the American Barista & Coffee School, 1028 SE Water Avenue, Suite 150, Porland, Oregon, and is open to the public. For more information, call 800.655.3955.

About Extract Mojo™
A Limited Software Trial Download Available Now. In addition, the full ExtractMoJo™ solution is available online where you will find more information and details about the GHCC Universal Brewing Control System, instructions for a free trial download, and the new Reichert r2mini-Espresso and r2mini-Coffee Digital Hand-Held Refractometers.

About The American Barista & Coffee School
ABC’s is the premiere professional school in the U.S. devoted to domestic and international specialty coffee business education and hands-on barista training. At ABC’s, students learn in both a classroom and a state-of-the-art lab the fundamentals of successful coffee business management and proper beverage and food preparation techniques.

About The George Howell Coffee Co.
Founded in 2003, the George Howell Coffee Company continues the tradition of specialty coffee excellence that began when George Howell founded The Coffee Connection in 1974, one of the nation’s first and finest specialty coffee chains. He also co-founded the Cup of Excellence, the world’s first international coffee competition-internet auction.

Essential information for existing retailers and anyone considering a career in retail specialty coffee

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

Matt Milletto Once Again Defends the Independent Retailer on Fox Business News

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.

ABC's Featured in The Oregonian On-line!

The art of the Latte

07.23.08 | Matt Milletto Comments on the Specialty Coffee Industry for Fox Business News


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