Alterra Coffee Roasters News

Humboldt Café now open!

We are proud to announce the upcoming opening of our ninth café coming soon to the Riverwest neighborhood of Milwaukee! On Saturday, December 15th, the Alterra café on Humboldt Boulevard  opened its doors, joining neighbors Loop Yarn Shop and Alterra Baking Company in our new building across from Pumping Station Park. In addition to freshly brewed coffee, the café serves soups, salads, and sandwiches, and a wide selection of teas, espresso-based drinks and baked goods made daily from scratch. Alterra is honored to be a part of the neighborhood and we look forward to many years of of serving the Riverwest community. We hope that you'll stop by for a visit!

2999 N Humboldt Blvd - MAP
Milwaukee, WI 53212
414.292.3320

Monday-Friday: 6:30am -10pm
Saturday: 7am-10pm
Sunday: 7am-10pm

2007 Holiday Gift Boxes are Here!

This year, we've got something to satisfy everyone on your gift list. Check out our gift boxes, coffee subscriptions, and more when shopping for your favorite coffee lover. Not sure what your favorite coffee lover loves? Try our Half-Pound Holiday Sampler, featuring three excellent single-origins together with the 2007 version of the always popular Holiday Blend. For that budding activist in your family, we offer the Fair Trade/Organic Sampler with a half-pound each of four different certified organic coffees, all of which are produced by Fair Trade Certified coffee cooperatives.

You can also give the gift of coffee all year round! Try a 12- or 6- month coffee subscription, and every month we'll ship a pound of coffee to the recipient of your choice. Choose from regular, decaf, or Fair Trade options, all of which represent a variety of growing regions while highlighting some of the best coffees of each season.

Some other great gift options:

The Trio Gift Set includes a half-pound of our Holiday Blend 2007, teamed up with one pound of our homemade granola, and a tin of Alterra Hot Cocoa Mix.

Alterra Gift Cards can be used to buy anything from any one of our retail locations.

Alterra Wear t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, caps, and more!

Click here to see our full selection of gift items.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Milwaukee "Buy Local" Weekend

Alterra Coffee is proud to be one of the founding businesses of a group called Our Milwaukee, an organization formed with the goal of making Milwaukee a more sustainable community. Our Milwaukee is an alliance that advocates for locally owned businesses that provide a genuine, quality experience in celebration of our community's unique character.

Help us to celebrate Milwaukee's unique character by buying locally this weekend, Saturday, December 8th and Sunday, December 9th.  Why buy local?

* For every $1 you spend at a locally owned business, more than 68¢ remains in Milwaukee. For every $1 spent at a chain business, only 14¢ is recirculated.

* Locally owned businesses maintain Milwaukee's unmistakable style.

* Enjoy the strong & vibrant community you helped to create by buying local first!

If you're interested in learning how you can help promote local, visit www.OurMilwaukee.net.

JT and Jenny G place in top ten at Seattle Latte art competition

Justin Teisl and Jennifer Gartman, both baristi at Alterra at the Lake, took third and ninth places, respectively, at the international Millrock Free Pour Latte Art competition, held at the Coffee Fest convention in Seattle earlier this month. A skill practiced in cafes around the world, latte art is characterized by the creation of elaborate designs, such as rosettas and hearts, produced while pouring steamed milk into an espresso base. Producing these beautiful patterns requires precision and an advanced level of expertise that can take years to perfect.

The rapid growth of the specialty coffee industry over the past fifteen years has led to various competitions, including the annual U.S. Barista Championship. An increase in prize money also helped to raise participation levels, doubling the number of competitors to fifty at this year’s Coffee Fest Seattle. Sponsored by Millrock and presented by Barista Magazine, the latte art competition held at the convention featured baristi from the U.S., Canada, and Japan. 

When asked about her impressions of competing on a national level, Jennifer commented, “I am so pleasantly surprised with how well I did in the competition. Having less than a year of experience as a barista, I was intimidated, but thankful to even have the opportunity to be in Seattle. Humility, a non-competitive nature and pretending I was in the café ended up working in my favor. I was reminded that at Alterra, we are being encouraged to treat coffee, machines and people in the best way. “

Congratulations, Justin and Jenny!

Coffee Camaraderie

Every year, there are more and more opportunities for competitive baristas and coffee geeks to meet, greet, and mingle.  Coffee Fests, barista competitions, and conferences bring passionate espresso slingers together so they can sharpen their skills, learn the latest coffee buzz, and form new friendships.  Alterra Barista Trainer Justin Teisl has experienced this "coffee camaraderie" firsthand while attending barista and latte art competitions in Las Vegas, Seattle, Kansas City, and Chicago.  It was at Coffee Fest Seattle in October 2006 when he first met fellow competitor Hiroshi Sawada, and the two have spent the past several months exchanging e-mails, photos, and postcards.

Hiroshi hails from Japan and is opening his own café in Osaka this spring. He contacted us shortly after the Seattle competition to order an Alterra t-shirt and share some pictures that he had taken at the Millrock Latte Art Competition, where he and Justin first crossed paths.  Hiroshi even visited four of our cafes last month while in the Midwest for Coffee Fest Chicago at Navy Pier, and Alterrans were as welcoming as ever - Roaster Shawn "Roscoe" Bigelow shared a press pot with our new friend and Justin invited him into the the Prospect Avenue café cupping room to practice latte art before the competition. (Hiroshi told us that Japanese dairy is different from the milk we use here, hence a different kind of pour.) After he returned home, he was kind enough to send us this photo of the Alterra coffee and Japanese milk he used to pour this beautiful rosetta latte...thanks, Hiroshi!

Gift Boxes for the 2006 Holiday Season Are Here!

This year, we’ve got something special to satisfy everyone on your gift list.
Check out our coffee samplers, subscriptions, gift cards, and more when shopping for your favorite coffee-lover.  Not sure what your favorite coffee-lover loves?  Try our Half-Pound Sampler, featuring three excellent single-origins together with the 2006 version of the always-popular  Holiday Blend.  For that budding activist in your family, we also offer the Fair Trade/Organic Sampler with a half-pound each of four certified organic coffees - all of which are produced by Fair Trade Certified cooperatives.

You also can give the gift of great coffee all year round! Try a 12- or 6-month coffee subscription, and every month we'll ship a pound of coffee to the recipient of your choice.  This selection of coffees represents all of the major growing regions while highlighting some of the best coffees of each season. 

Some other great gift options...

                              

• The Mug & Coffee Set consists of one half-pound of Holiday Blend 2006 and a 15oz. ceramic mug featuring the Alterra Fair Trade logo.

• Alterra Gift Cards can be used to buy anything at our seven retail locations!

• The Trio Gift Set includes a half-pound of Colombia El Castillo, teamed up with one pound of our homemade Alterra Granola and a tin of Alterra Hot Cocoa Mix.

• Alterra Wear t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, caps,  and more…

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Alterra Coffee in Chiapas, Mexico

                 

Follow Alterra representatives to Chiapas, Mexico, as they visit members of the Kulaktik Cooperative.  Alterra has been purchasing organic/Fair Trade Certified coffee from this group since 1998 and still "gives back" 25¢ to the farmers for each pound of coffee sold (on top of paying Fair Trade prices), which is invested in quality control efforts as well as in the cooperative's infrastructure.

Alterra Baking Company Gourmet Truffles

Looking for a treat that can leave you speechless? Our latest offering from Alterra Baking Company fits that description. We now offer a selection of hand-rolled, gourmet truffles at all of our cafes. Using only 100 % natural ingredients, these little indulgences are made using Belgian couverture chocolates and our own crème fraiche, made from fresh cream and buttermilk. We currently offer the following selection:

• Mint
Made from real mint leaves and 61% dark chocolate.

• Mexican
Saigon-cassia cinnamon and chili powder with 55% dark chocolate. This mixture is then rolled in a thin layer of shredded coconut.

• White Indian
A surprising flavor combination of house-blended curry powder, orange, heavy cream, and white chocolate, all rolled in ground pistachios.

• Crème Fraiche
Technically a bon-bon, the center is made from homemade crème fraiche and 61% dark chocolate, then enrobed by hand in a layer of pure dark chocolate.

Health News for Coffee Lovers

Don’t you just love it when something you do every day turns out to be good for you? According to a new Harvard study outlined in USA Weekend magazine, we can now find even more reasons to enjoy a daily cup of coffee (or two, or three). The study revealed a number of health benefits enjoyed by regular coffee drinkers, including lowered incidence of Parkinson’s disease, decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, and protection of the liver. There was also evidence that some longtime coffee drinkers have no increase in heart attacks, as well as less risk of death associated with heart disease. Good news for all of us coffee lovers, so drink to your health!

To read the article in USA Weekend and view their scientific sources, visit usaweekend.com.

Alterra's Dark Sumatra takes on the World!

A long time customer recently sent in a note that I thought I would share with everyone. Thanks, Lisa, for the great e-mail and photos of our Dark Sumatra Gayoland - Organic/Fair Trade and its, and your, visit to Bremen, Germany.
Here is what Lisa had to say....

"Airfare to Germany ....$1000.00
Money spent on beer while in Germany ......$200.00
Money spent on shopping in Germany .....$200.00
Alterra Coffee in Germany ....PRICELESS!!!!!!"

Well, that just about says everything. To all you other loyal Alterra Fans out there, send us your stories and pictures of Alterra coffee hanging out in new places and we'll post them! We always love to see happy coffee drinkers, no matter what part of the globe they happen to be on.