2006 Press Coverage
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San Antonio Express-News - October 3, 2006
Higher prices no grande shock for Starbucks addicts
Read Andrew Hetzel's comments on the effect that Starbucks’ recent price increases will have on the retail specialty coffee market and its consumers.
Art Koenig, 51, once thought it was ridiculous to pay more than $2 for a cup of coffee. Now he is a daily Starbucks customer. The computer engineer, who got hooked after a former employee bought him a frappuccino several years ago, isn't worried about the java retailer raising its prices today - about five cents on most drinks and 50 cents a pound on most of its whole bean coffees.
Read the full article in the San Antonio Express News
Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - October 1, 2006
Coffee's Third Place in New Retail
Andrew Hetzel's October column for Hospitalty News discusses how coffee retailers are benefiting from the concept of a Third Place, as defined in "The Great Good Place" by Ray Oldenburg.
Retail consumers have witnessed an extreme makeover during the past decade; and no, this has nothing to do with your Botox® party last Friday night. Full Article
Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - September 1, 2006
More Great Restaurants Serving Great Coffee
Andrew Hetzel's September 2006 column for Hospitalty News continues from August with additional restaurant profiles and his conclusions.
Last month, we began our two-part article profiling “great restaurants serving great coffee” with descriptions of Zingerman’s Roadhouse of Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Angus Barn, of Raleigh, North Carolina. We now continue with the comments and advice from the owners of two more coffee and culinary gems, this time, from companies that could not be further apart in style and location. Full Article
Nation's Restaurant News - August 21, 2006
Calif.'s It's a Grind promotes quality, comfort in crowded coffee segment
Lisa Jennings of Nation's Restaurant News interviews subject matter expert Andrew Hetzel on the state of America's fast growing coffee chains and speculates on franchisor It's a Grind's prospects of becoming #2.
Long Beach, Calif.- Marty Cox opened the first It's a Grind coffeehouse here in 1995 with the goal of finding a new career after spending years as an office-supply sales representative. Now that his company is operating and franchising 87 It's a Grind units - with plans to reach 135 by the year's end - Cox has a much more ambitious goal for the Long Beach-based company: becoming the No. 2 coffeehouse player in the United States. Full Article
Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - August 4, 2006
Great Restaurants Serving Great Coffee
Andrew Hetzel's August 2006 column for Hospitalty News shares tips from restaurants that are serving great coffee.
Past articles in this series have addressed many problems plaguing the quality of coffee served in America’s restaurants and made some suggestions of the first steps that should be taken to resolve them. We now shift our focus away from the current gloomy state of everyday restaurant coffee reality and move onward to showcase and learn from four rare, shining examples of restaurant coffee excellence. Full Article
Press Release: July 31, 2006
Cafemakers President to Speak at National Coffee Association Fall Education Conference
Andrew Hetzel, president of leading specialty coffee retail consultancy Cafemakers, LLC, will address the National Coffee Association at their annual Fall Education Conference on Wednesday, October 25, at the Park Central New York Hotel.
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
Tea & Coffee Trade Journal - July / August 2006
For Whom the Retailer Roasts, an article by Andrew Hetzel
...for those contemplating the idea of roasting, and whether or not it is a good match for you, Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers, might just have the answer. He walks us through the pros and the cons of roasting, and reviews the thought process in deciding whether roasting is the right option for your business.
Jane McCabe, T&CTJ Editor & Co-Publisher
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Full Article in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
Press Release: July 24, 2006
Specialty Coffee Association of America Appoints Cafemakers' Andrew Hetzel to Training Committee
Andrew Hetzel, president of leading coffee consultancy Cafemakers, LLC, has been selected by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to join its expert committee specializing in coffee training and education.
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Press Release: July 17, 2006
Cafemakers President to Speak at Asia Tea & Coffee Conference
Andrew Hetzel, president of leading retail specialty coffee consultancy Cafemakers, LLC, will speak at the 2006 Tea & Coffee World Cup Exhibition & Symposium, Thursday, September 28, in Shanghai, China.
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
Press Release: July 12, 2006
Performance-based Barista Training Transforms Ordinary Coffee Sales into Extraordinary Profits
Cafemakers introduces BARISTAMAKERS on-location coffee school, providing expert barista training for retail coffee shop chains, restaurants and hospitality business to improve employee performance and coffee quality.
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Press Release: June 15, 2006
Entrepreneur and nationally renowned coffee business consultant Andrew Hetzel releases a free online guide to help independent proprietors build a better coffee shop and compete in direct competition with national chains.
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
Zingerman's Coffee Company Press Release -June 9, 2006
Nationally Renowned Coffee Consultant Coming to Ann Arbor for “Zingerman’s Espresso Boot Camp”
Coffee consultant Andrew Hetzel is coming to Ann Arbor August 18-19, 2006 for "Zingerman’s Espresso Boot Camp," a series of intense espresso workshops designed to benefit retail coffee business proprietors.
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.
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Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - June 1, 2006
Episode II: How to Improve Restaurant Coffee
Andrew Hetzel's June / July 2006 column for Hospitalty News features ideas to help restaurants serve better coffee.
Last month’s article in this series presented the unfortunate reality of a typical fine dining experience: great food, great wine, great service – not-so-great coffee. Like tripping over the finish line of a record breaking marathon run, many of America’s finest and most celebrated restaurants fall short of expectations on the quality of coffee they serve at the end of a great meal. So what is a restaurateur to do when he or she recognizes that this problem exists within his or her own business? Full Article
Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - May 1, 2006
Episode I: A Sobering Reality
Andrew Hetzel pulls no punches in his latest commentary for Hospitality News featuring Coffee Talk addressing issues and offering solutions for coffee in fine and casual dining restaurants.
“Would any of you like an after dinner coffee?” naively asks the young waiter in the perfectly pressed white shirt that has silently materialized out of thin air at the head of our table; blissfully unaware of the dilemma he has just caused for anyone - like me - who loves good coffee. Dinner conversation comes to an abrupt halt as I stare blankly back at our friendly server anxiously contemplating my response. Full Article
April 29, 2006
Java Junkies: Independents Challenge Starbucks
Read Andrew Hetzel's comments in an by Melissa S. Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News about coffee shops coming to the Southwestern US and how they are competing with big coffee shop chains.
Employees from the Ken Batchelor Cadillac Saab Hummer Dealership who ventured into the It's A Grind Coffee House on a recent Tuesday evening didn't care that it wasn't a Starbucks. They just wanted a java boost to get through the rest of the night. Open for almost two months at 11255 Huebner Road, It's A Grind reaps the benefit of Americans' seemingly insatiable appetite for coffee. Full article in the San Antonio Express News
Tea & Coffee Trade Journal - April 20, 2006
Notes from an International Barista Judge
T&CTJ writer and marketing communications consultant Suzanne Brown interviews Andrew Hetzel on his experiences as a judge for international barista competitions.
Andrew Hetzel, principal / owner of Cafemakers, LLC, is a certified barista judge and as such, has participated in regional, national and international competitions for several years. After he observed his first barista competition during a SCAA conference in Anaheim, California, a few years ago, Hetzel was hooked on great coffee and the cabaret of baristas. Full Article in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
Hospitality News Featuring Coffee Talk - March 29, 2006
A Problem of Gastronomic Proportion
Columnist Andrew Hetzel debuts his new series for Hospitality News featuring Coffee Talk addressing issues and offering solutions for coffee in foodservice.
The best restaurant in town has meticulously planned the evening’s entrées; offering only the freshest available ingredients, arranged into an appetizing and visually appealing original creation. Each dish has been thoughtfully paired with a complimentary wine, served by a knowledgeable and friendly staff trained in the art of catering to a customer’s every whim. So, you ask, why is this coffee at this place so awful? With all of the time, money and effort that is invested in planning and execution of every other area of foodservice at restaurants and hotels, why is only “coffee” seemingly overlooked? Full Article
March 5, 2006
Java makers vie for best barista
Welcome to the age of culinary reinvention: The cook is a chef, the bartender is a mixologist and the guy making your coffee? That's a barista. (Except in Italy, where the word technically means bartender.) When it comes to the best barista in the world, it gets a little trickier. More
Photo: Andrew Hetzel Judging at the 2006 US Western Regional Barista Competition
January 2, 2006
The Perfect Cup
Bobby Command of West Hawaii Today
Andrew Hetzel says quality coffee that is properly prepared does not just taste good, it can help Hawaii take better advantage of a feel-good industry with annual U.S. earnings of $9 billion. But surprisingly, Hetzel says it's difficult just to find a good cup of Kona in the land of coffee. Hetzel, founder and owner of CafeMakers, offers his retail consulting services to anyone who is committed to serving good coffee in their retail business. He'll also train baristas to prepare coffee properly for a fine dining experience in contrast to what is purchased at typical fast-food chains.
"Most of the time it comes down to the quality of the product," said Hetzel, who moved to the Big Island in January. "I can help them fine-tune their menu and the taste of their coffee. Customers will recognize the quality of what is being served to them, they'll be happy and everyone will make more money." As the only state where coffee is grown, Hetzel said it is critical that Hawaii's restaurants, coffee shops and hotels serve these beverages properly to make a favorable impression with tourists. Article in West Hawaii Today