So TEDx Brisbane is almost here and they have just released the Speaker List and it is a cracker. This is going to be a great TED event and right in our back yard. Very sad if you are a TED fan that missed out. I can sympathize with you as Urban Grind in partnership with Di Bella Coffee is sponsoring the event with free coffees for attendees which means that I will be lucky to see any of the talks on the day. I am honoured to be able to support such an event as this but have you seen that speaker list? It is going to be an inspiring day. And we have Carl Lindgren & Paul Fairweather to thank. They have done an amazing job putting it all together.
If you do have a ticket. Be sure to get there early and register first. Once registered you can head down to the Ideas Worth Spreading Tent and get a free coffee. Coffee will also be offered free for both morning tea and lunch time breaks.
To get in the mood for TEDx you could check out this amazing talk by Aimee Mullins. Such an amazing women.
“Adversity is just change that we have not adapted to yet.”
I just read a short story about throwing a surprise birthday party on a train. It made me so happy that my eyes watered and I wanted to share it with you too. The idea of strangers in a small room like a train carriage reminded me of Urban Grind – Paddington and West End. I am going to suggest it before you do. Urban Grind on a train carriage could be very cool. Anyway, one of the things I always tried to do at Urban Grind was to start conversations. My best Urban Grind days were the ones where I could stand back and look at the room and everyone was so engrossed in conversation that it was noisy and I didn’t matter. And honestly the worst days were the ones where the room would be full but virtually silent – uncomfortable. No energy, lifeless.
Have you heard of the Café Todra? It’s a coffee like a Latte but in a glass 2 thirds the size. Same amount of coffee as a latte just less milk. Basically the same flavour just a little stronger. It’s my coffee of choice. I drink it as a Soy Todra. It’s a coffee that any coffee maker could stumble upon but the name Todra has a small story behind it.
The story actually starts years before Urban Grind when I worked for another cafe that served a long standing coffee in the same size glass but they were over extracting the coffee by half filling the glass with expresso before topping up with milk. It seems that many cafés do not understand what ‘espresso based’ coffee means. For me it is 25-30mls of coffee poured over 20-25 seconds. Those numbers can vary depending on the coffee and the preferred method of the coffee maker but all good coffee makers will agree that there is a point where there is nothing more to extract from the grind. To continue pouring is to simply pour dirty water over good coffee. So I started pouring true espresso based coffee and put an end to the over extraction. I know I was onto something when a customer walked in and said, “I have been ordering the same coffee from this shop for 14 years and that was the best ________ that I have ever had.” It became my coffee of choice then.
Jump to the first week of Urban Grind opening and some climbing friends drop in from an overseas trip to play chess and drink coffee. I asked them what they would like and they ask me to make them what ever I drink. I return with 2 coffees to find amazed looks on their faces as they quickly explain to me how for the last 3 months they have been rock climbing in a place called Todra Gorge in Morocco drinking the very same coffee every morning before climbing. The name Todra was adopted. Though we don’t use it anymore, the phrase ‘Please do not ask for Decafe as refusal may offend.” was coined 5 minutes later when one of the climbers made the joke. He said I could use it, and I did until Nestlé said I couldn’t.
For a long time now I have been very proud that Urban Grind has been successful but for longer than many might realise I have also been aware that Urban Grind has been unsustainable. In retrospect only, that would seem like things for Urban Grind are not good but in fact they are better than ever. Urban Grind is in my heart and if you know me well enough you will know that it has been a personal journey for me, not just a business. And it’s not over yet.
So as you might be aware by now Urban Grind New Farm closed it’s doors at the end of 2009 and will not be re-opening at the beggining of 2010. It’s time for a break and a regrouping. In simple terms this is not the end of Urban Grind. It is going to take us a little while to regroup but we are working on our return and will be back better than ever.
I have learnt a lot from my mistakes over the years and along the way I have discovered other directions in which I want to take Urban Grind. I can’t wait to re-open Urban Grind and show you what I am talking about. In the meantime I will keep this website/blog going. I will also be working at the Di Bella Factory which is going to be great. Obviously I love Di Bella coffee as I have been serving it for about 8 years now. I also have a good friendship and a great respect for Philip Di Bella so I look forward to working more closely with him.
For me Urban Grind is more than just trying to make great coffee. Of course that is really important as anything less would be just embarrassing, but for me Urban Grind is a way of life and an experience that I want to keep having. Only one thing has made this experience as wonderful as it has been and that is people, and the amazing relationships we were able to have with them. From the single moments with a stranger that have taught me life lessons, to the life long friends we made, Urban Grind has been about the interaction of people – community. To all in this community I am most grateful for your help, your willingness to interact, your bravery to be yourselves and to challenge yourselves. There would not be enough pixels on this computer to properly thank everyone that has meant something to me over these years. But to Rachel my loving partner, Urban Grind would have never been without you. To Adz, Brendan, Carl, my brother Dan & Sophie, in particular – Thank you. To so many more – Thank you.
Education is important and as my son will be starting his school-based education in a little over a year I find myself with a keen eye for discussion on the topic of education quality. I was lucky enough to leave school thinking that school failed me but those not so lucky more often leave school feeling like they failed school and this belief one way or another can set you up for life.
So I have tried to flog a little mini doco called The Story of Stuff for a while now and if you have not seen it yet please do… it’s relevance will be around for too long I think.
But the hot topic at the moment is Cap & Trade or some variation of that. At first I thought it was a very good idea or at least a good place to start. Now I am pretty sure it is not a good idea and fear that it might in fact be a very bad idea. I would love to hear your thoughts but first please watch the video Cap & Trade, made by the same guys that made The Story of Stuff.
So most people that know me know that I am not a big fan of Christmas. For so many years it was not a great time for family as we seems to fight every year though that is much better these days. I love the holiday but I would have a holiday for your birthday if I could. I am not religious though I would be if one could truly train to be a Jedi Knight. And when it comes to gifts it was special when we were kids and our parents would have to save all year just to buy us gifts for christmas, the rest of the year was spent waiting for christmas. But now most kids including the big kid in me can have his christmas whenever he wants. And now that I like to think about the planet and how we waste I can’t these days look past the waste that Christmas can be. This is going somewhere… but before it does and while we are on the topic of waste… please, please buy locally made or from your local small business, fairtrade, eco friendly or not at all. So my point… is to show you how the whole world can reduce (read eliminate) the use of wrapping paper.
I was recently emailed this wonderful letter that turns out to be from one of Michael Leunig’s books called The Curly Pyjama Letters. The short version goes like this:
“What is worth doing and what is worth having?” asks Vasco of his friend Mr. Curly.
“It is worth doing nothing and it is worth having a rest”, advises the sagacious Mr. Curly. “In spite of all the difficulty it may cause, you MUST rest Vasco – otherwise you will become RESTLESS!”
For me this translates into sitting down and drinking your coffee in house. Take-away is so popular these days as we are all in such a hurry to get to work etc, but surely we all deserve at least 20 minutes to sit, think about our day (or not), enjoy your coffee and rest. If I can’t convince you I am sure Mr. Curly will…
More voting to be done if you have a couple of spare minutes. This time we have been lucky to be nominated in a couple of categories for the map magazine 2009/2010 eat drink awards. Best Coffee is obviously the one we would love to win. So if you think we are the best you can vote for us here. Thanks.
Today is Blog Action Day when bloggers all around the world are encouraged to write about a single topic worth highlighting and this years topic is Climate Change. A topic overwhelmingly chosen by participants, which means that this is not just another climate change campaign organised by a small group. People want to talk about this topic. So what do I have to say about Climate Change.
I have been thinking about solutions a lot at the moment so instead of trying to get your attention on the dangers of man made climate change I thought I might point you to a positive story of man made climate change that you might find even more unbelievable. What ever your position on climate change I am sure you will find this story amazing, inspiring and empowering. Sure we as humans have the capacity to destroy our environment but we also have the capacity to repair it. Now if we could just all be big enough to accept the responsibility the way Willie Smits has.
By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, biologist Willie Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans — and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” - Buckminster Fuller
