Experience Kenya AA single origin coffee freshly roasted and brewed to order in a personal french press or pour over. A light coffee that lights up a palate from the front to back. Committed to local business, this week's coffee is roasted at Chazzano's in Ferndale, MI. The coffee goes perfect with a sea salt chocolate chip cookie from Avalon in Detroit. 
July 27, 2010
May 31, 2010
Mr. Espresso: Emilio Lavazza
Emilio Lavazza
Emilio Lavazza, who has died aged 78, helped to spread Italian coffee culture around the world as head of a family-run business which now sells coffee in 90 countries, including Britain, the United States and even Brazil (the country where, as the song recalls, they have an awful lot of it already).
(Published: 6:51PM BST The Daily Telegraph May 2010) An old-style entrepreneur, he began working in 1955 in the business founded by his grandfather Luigi in 1895 in Turin. It was Luigi's idea to blend coffees from different sources, skilfully balancing delicate aromas and flavours.
Known as "Mr Espresso", "The King of Coffee" or (to his employees) simply "Signor Emilio", Lavazza drove – with Ernesto Illy, who for many years ran the Trieste-based Illycaffè company – a postwar boom that spread the technique of making espresso coffee to an international audience.As a young man Emilio started out delivering ground Lavazza coffee door-to-door to restaurants around Turin. By the early 1960s the firm was the first in Italy to have introduced vacuum-packed grounds. To promote the product, Lavazza initiated award-winning campaigns featuring celebrities such as the singer Luciano Pavarotti and the film star Nino Manfredi proclaiming the company's slogan: "Lavazza Coffee: the more of it you down, the more it picks you up".
To this day, the company prides itself on its stylish publicity, and produces an annual calendar with occasionally risqué images shot by world-class photographers like Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz and Finlay MacKay.
Vacuum packs were not the only innovation. At a coffee laboratory in Turin, Lavazza developed coffee capsules for single-shot brewing and other technical advances in roasting and vending. In the 1980s the company began opening "real" Italian coffee bars across Europe, with subsidiaries in Britain, France, Germany and Austria as well as the United States. Lavazza's personal mission was to beat back American-based chains such as Starbucks, and his company most recently ventured into the Indian market with the Barista coffee chain.
Emilio Lavazza was born in Turin in 1932 and lived there all his life. An intensely private man, he instinctively avoided the public eye. The company is still privately owned, and a fourth generation of Lavazzas are among the company's senior management.
He became chief executive officer (after his father's death) in 1971 and chairman (on the death of his uncle) in 1979. At the helm he maintained the family strategy of seeking beans ever further afield – according to the company, it is today the sixth-largest purchaser of green coffee beans in the world.
He also consolidated the company's grip on the domestic Italian market with products such as Lavazza Gold and Grand'Espresso which, with its cheaper varieties, accounted for almost half the coffee sold in a country where the drink is a national obsession.
An enthusiastic sports fan, Lavazza once reportedly turned down the presidency of his local football team. His company was a sponsor of the 1998 World Cup in France.
In a rare interview with an Italian newspaper in 2003 Lavazza spoke of his passion for fishing, jazz, and collecting toy soldiers – of which he amassed so many that storing them became a bone of contention with his wife. He was also a connoisseur of murder mysteries, and wrote two himself.
Lavazza served several terms as president of the Italian Association of Food Manufacturing. In 1991 he was honoured as a Knight of Labour for his services to Italian industry, and in 1993 received an honorary degree from Turin University.
Emilio Lavazza, who died on February 16, is survived by his wife and their son and daughter, both directors of the company.
May 11, 2010
Win a Lavazza A Modo Mio coffee maker
1 lucky winner will receive this
fabulous prize
Competition ends on Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Even if you lead a busy life, it’s important to make some ‘me time’ in your day and many of us enjoy it with a cup of coffee.
Did you know that in moderation (no more than 4 to 5 cups per day), coffee can count towards your daily fluid intake?
Here’s the chance for you to win a stylish Lavazza A Modo Mio premium coffee maker so you can enjoy your ‘me time’ with the perfect cup of coffee, whether you prefer a full-bodied espresso, cappuccino or a creamy latte.
The prize also includes a range of delicious Lavazza coffee capsules, from smooth and creamy Dolcemente Caffè Crema to aromatic and velvety Magicamente Espresso.
May 3, 2010
Coffee with Robert Di Niro costs $8500
An Authentic Espresso Experience in the heart of Detroit? Priceless.
Tribeca Film Festival co-founder, Robert De Niro speaks at the TF, TFFV Party during the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival at The Smyth Hotel on April 27, 2010 in New York City.
It was an offer he couldn't refuse. Famously reticent Robert De Niro will share a cup of coffee with an auction bidder who paid $8,500 for the privilege of some face time with the "Raging Bull" star. There was no word on whether the winner can call him Bobby.
The two-time Oscar winner donated the sitdown - and a pair of all-access tickets to his Tribeca Film Festival - to benefit the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.
Ethel Kennedy, matriarch of her branch of the Kennedy clan, persuaded De Niro to contribute this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the cause.
The center continues the human rights work of her husband, assassinated during the 1968 presidential campaign.
March 25, 2010
Historic Lavazza TV Adverts
TV SPOTS
These are to convey the art of making and drinking coffee in short stories.
The spotlight is on a cup of Lavazza espresso, which has always been a protagonist of daily life in Italy. Coffee becomes history, in an entertaining, iconoclastic, ironic and irriverent sequence of adverts.
The most famous spots that have created the history of Italian communications. All the advertising campaigns from 1950s until today: from Carmencita to Manfredi and Solenghi, from Forattini to Bonolis.
Choose the years you prefer and… happy viewing! Click Here
February 15, 2010
What your coffee says about you.
Coffee snobs can find more than froth and sugar at the bottom of their cups - personality lives there as well.
While strolling out of a cafe on the way to work, that cup of coffee in your hand is actually emitting hidden meanings to passers-by.
In their new book, The You Code, body language experts Judi James and James Moore decipher what our caffeine preferences reveal about our self esteem, stress levels and even sex life.
THE ESPRESSO DRINKER - James and Moore describe the espresso as "the unfiltered cigarette of the coffee drinking world". Espresso drinkers tend to be moody, hard-bitten and hard working. They are into leadership and fast goals. They don't suffer fools but are hard living and prone to "night-time shenanigans, followed by a rather louche attempt at day time repair". The espresso drinker can be an experienced, exciting and consummate lover but is not known for reliability or unswerving loyalty.
THE BLACK COFFEE DRINKER - This type is all about minimalism and takes a no-frills, direct approach to life.
The black coffee drinker can be quiet and moody but prone to brief bursts of extroversion. "A difficult but potentially rewarding friend, colleague or partner," James and Moore conclude.
THE LATTE DRINKER - Typically metrosexuals or cuddly-toy collectors, latte drinkers are pleasers with an overwhelming compulsion to be liked. A latte drinking boss will use a baby voice to tell you off.
By taking a dark and dangerous drink and turning it into a comforting milky bedtime beverage, James and Moore say, latte drinkers reveal that while they may want to come across as hot shot contenders, they have an immature side.
THE CAPPUCCINO DRINKER - What's not to like about the extroverted, optimistic cappuccino drinker? Like their drink, cappuccino drinkers are all froth and bubble, bored by detail and liking - but not obsessed with - material objects. "Freud would have a field day here," write James and Moore. "Cappuccino froth gives the tongue the mother of all workouts and is all to do with the physicality of the experience rather than the basic consumption of the beverage." The cappuccino drinker enjoys sex but is easily bored by an unimaginative partner.
THE INSTANT COFFEE DRINKER - These are cheerful, straight forward types, who like a laugh and live by the maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". But instant coffee drinkers can be unadventurous in their careers and need to let others see the hidden depths in their personality. The no-nonsense instant coffee drinker is allergic to pretentious behaviour, say James and Moore, and they are likely to keep their socks on during sex.
THE DECAF SOY MILK DRINKER - A self-righteous eco-warrior and attention seeker with a tendency to be picky, fussy - and squeamish in the bedroom. What's more, this faux choice implies a pretentious, high-maintenance type who wants what they can't have and is disguising their true personality. "If caffeine gives palpitations and cow's milk brings you out in spots there's little hope for you in the cockroach society that is city dwelling", James and Moore conclude.
THE FRAPPUCINO DRINKER - Flighty and shallow, the frappucino drinker will try anything once - especially if a celebrity has done it first. They fancy themselves trend setters but send out the message that they are someone who favours style over substance. The frappucino drinker's relationships often last as long as their drink choice, according to James and Moore.
January 25, 2010
Supporting Independent film. Putting the Indie Back in Sundance.
LOS ANGELES — Can Sundance’s new director redefine not just the festival but also the entire independent film industry?
The Sundance Film Festival kicks off its 26th installment on Thursday, and people are chattering about all the usual things, from which films are hot acquisition targets (“Blue Valentine” is a good bet) to whether this would finally be the year that the celebrity sideshow dies down (unlikely).
But veteran festivalgoers are also chewing over something more meta: this might very well be the most important Sundance in years.
For the first time in two decades, America’s premiere film festival has a new director, John Cooper, and his primary goal has been to shift Sundance sharply back toward its arty roots. “Less commercial, more independent” is how he sums up this year’s selections. While the roster is still stuffed with stars, Mr. Cooper may have accomplished his goal. Movies on the whole are tougher and smaller. There are fewer studio premieres. In a move many call long overdue, Sundance will introduce a section called Next, focused on “low- or no-budget” films.
With the struts kicked out from under independent film — a parade of studios have shuttered their indie divisions — Sundance’s decisions have more potential than ever to have an impact on the genre, industry veterans say. This enormous, unexpected responsibility comes partly from a power vacuum. Harvey Weinstein no longer leads the independent film pack; the big buyers that remain, like Fox Searchlight, have been hammered in recent months.
December 30, 2009
WSJ: Coffee protects againsts cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease.
Good News in the Daily Grind
Your Coffee May Have Some Health Perks, but Can Brew Trouble in People With Certain Conditions
By MELINDA BECK
To judge by recent headlines, coffee could be the latest health-food craze, right up there with broccoli and whole-wheat bread.
But don't think you'll be healthier graduating from a tall to a venti just yet. While there has been a splash of positive news about coffee lately, there may still be grounds for concern.
This month alone, an analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who drink three to four cups of java a day are 25% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who drink fewer than two cups. And a study presented at an American Association for Cancer Research meeting found that men who drink at least six cups a day have a 60% lower risk of developing advanced prostate cancer than those who didn't drink any.
Earlier studies also linked coffee consumption with a lower risk of getting colon, mouth, throat, esophageal and endometrial cancers. People who drink coffee are also less likely to have cavities, gallstones, cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, or to commit suicide, studies have found. Last year, researchers at Harvard University and the University of Madrid assessed data on more than 100,000 people over 20 years and concluded that the more coffee they drank, the less likely they were to die during that period from any cause.
But those studies come on the heels of older ones showing that coffee—particularly the caffeine it contains—raises blood pressure, heart rate and levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in blood that is associated with stroke and heart disease. Pregnant women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day have a higher rate of miscarriages and lower birth-weight babies; caffeine has also been linked to benign breast lumps and bone loss in elderly women. And, as many people can attest, coffee can also aggravate anxiety, irritability, heartburn and sleeplessness, which brings its own set of problems, including a higher risk of obesity. Yet it's just that invigorating buzz that other people love and think they can't get through the day without.
Why is there so much confusion about something that's so ubiquitous? After all, some 54% of American adults drink coffee regularly—an estimated 400 million cups per day—and coffee is the second most widely traded commodity in the world, after oil.
For starters, the vast majority of coffee studies to date have been observational, in which researchers examine large sets of data over many years, looking for patterns in peoples' habits and their health.
But subjects don't always remember or report accurately on how much they drink. Cup sizes can range from 6 to 32 ounces; caffeine loads can vary from 75 to nearly 300 milligrams. Loading up with sugar, flavored syrup and whipped cream can turn a no-fat, almost no-calorie drink into the equivalent of an ice-cream soda.
Even carefully constructed observational studies that correct for such variables can only find correlations, not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. There may be other, hidden reasons why people who drink a lot of coffee have a lower risk of illness—such as jobs that provide a steady income and access to health care, exercise and healthier food. Conversely, "people who don't feel that healthy may be less likely to drink six cups of coffee a day. ... It's just a possibility," says Jim Lane, a psychophysiologist at Duke University Medical Center who has studied the effects of caffeine for more than 25 years.
Risks Disappear
Indeed, many studies from earlier decades that linked coffee drinking to a higher risk of cancer were apparently detecting related habits instead. Once researchers started adjusting for study subjects who also smoked cigarettes, the additional cancer risk disappeared.
"When I went to medical school, I was told that coffee was harmful. But in the '90s and this decade, it's become clear that if you do these studies correctly, coffee is protective in terms of public health," says Peter R. Martin, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University and director of the school's Institute for Coffee Studies, founded in 1999 with a grant from coffee-producing countries.
Still, many researchers believe that the only way to draw firm conclusions about something like coffee is through experimental trials in which some subjects are exposed to measured doses and others get a placebo, with other variables tightly controlled. When that's been done, says Duke's Dr. Lane, "the experimental studies and the [observational] studies are in very sharp disagreement about whether caffeine is healthy or not."
Harmful Effects
His own small, controlled studies have shown that caffeine—administered in precise doses in tablet form—raises blood pressure and blood-sugar levels after a meal in people who already have diabetes. Other studies have found that caffeine and stress combined can raise blood pressure even more significantly. "If you are a normally healthy person, that might not have any long-term effect," says Dr. Lane. "But there are some groups of people who are predisposed to get high blood pressure and heart disease and for them, caffeine might be harmful over time."
Epidemiologists counter that such small studies don't mirror real-world conditions, and they can't examine the long-term risk of disease.
The prostate-cancer study, for example, compared the coffee-drinking habits of 50,000 men working in medical professions with their incidence of prostate cancer over 20 years, and also took into account family history of prostate cancer and how frequently they had screenings. Roughly 5,000 of the men developed prostate cancer during that period, including 846 cases of the most advanced and lethal kind. But the more cups of coffee the men drank, the less likely they were to be in that most lethal group. "You can't do a randomized controlled trial on men starting in their 20s and following them until they are old enough to get prostate cancer," says lead investigator Kathryn Wilson, a research fellow in epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. "For some of these questions, observational studies are the best we are going to get."
As for diabetes, at least 18 studies have found that drinking three or more cups of coffee a day is linked with a lower risk of developing the disease. The more such findings are repeated, particularly with different populations, the stronger the evidence is.
Beyond Caffeine
In both the prostate and diabetes studies, the health benefits were found for caffeinated as well as decaffeinated coffee, suggesting that some other component in coffee is responsible. Coffee contains traces of hundreds of substances, including potassium, magnesium and vitamin E, as well as chlorogenic acids that are thought to have antioxidant properties.These may protect against cell damage and inflammation that can be precursors to cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease.
One theory gaining credence is that some of those beneficial components may counterbalance some of the harmful effects of caffeine. For example, while caffeine keeps people awake in part by blocking adenosine, a brain chemical that brings on sleep, the chlorogenic acid in coffee keeps adenosine circulating in the brain longer.
And while caffeine seems to boost adrenaline that primes the body for action, coffee itself may have a calming effect. Even the aroma of coffee beans can help ease stress in rats, researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea showed in a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry last year. Chlorogenic acid also slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal, which may counteract caffeine's glucose effect.
Benefits Cloaked in 'Mays'
"It's a yin and yang effect," says Vanderbilt's Dr. Martin, an addiction psychiatrist who also notes that former alcoholics who drink coffee are more apt to stay sober than those who don't. Even though these studies are just associations, he says, "they may provide leads for us to better understand some of the most common illnesses that affect mankind as well as developing ways to treat them. But everything is cloaked in 'mays.' "
Most researchers agree that there isn't enough evidence about the benefits of coffee to encourage non-coffee drinkers to acquire the habit. And no one has come close to finding a recommended number of cups per day for optimum health. People's reactions to coffee are highly individual. One small cup can give one person the jitters while others can drink 10 cups and sleep all night.
At the same time, people who love coffee probably don't need to worry that they are harming their health by drinking it -- unless they already have high blood pressure or are pregnant or are having trouble sleeping, in which case it's prudent to cut down.
Even Dr. Lane, who thinks the risks of caffeine outweigh coffee's potential benefits, concedes he drinks several cups a day. "Why do I do it?" he muses. "I ask myself that question ..."
—Email [email protected].
July 14, 2009
Are you ready?
Detroit's First Espresso Bar in
Conjunction with Italy-based
Lavazza Coffee Set to Open
AMB Groupe, Shanghai. MNB & Associates, Detroit.
The Chez Zara concept will be opening in the
heart of Detroit at 1201 Woodward Avenue in the historic and newly-renovated S.S.
Kresge building. Founded by Detroit-natives operating from Shanghai, there are
already plans to open an expanded-concept in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
An espresso bar by definition, yet eclectic in character,
Chez Zara is the first to introduce Lavazza coffee to Detroit, a world-renowned
coffee company founded over 110 years ago in Turin, Italy. Imported and
ethically-traded, Lavazza is the symbol of quality Italian espresso around the
world. Light salads, homemade hummus, and sandwiches infused with influences
from around the world will also find their way to the menu.
Ideally located just one-half block south of Campus
Martius, and with available outdoor seating along Woodward Avenue, Chez Zara is
your new favorite escape. Before work, during lunch, in-between meetings, or
even a simple pick-me-up during the day, let us invite you to experience a true
Italian espresso experience unlike any other.
About S.S. Kresge Building: Over 100 years ago the Kresge Building first opened to the public. In 1899 Sebastian Spering Kresge introduced the concept of selling quality goods for 5 to 10 cents. The 5 and 10 store opened in downtown Detroit as a pillar of retail. The Kresge company grew into the K-mart corporation. In 1982, the Kresge Department Store closed. In 2009,
Detroit real estate investor and restaurant owner Dennis Kefallinos, owner of the building, launched a major renovation to convert the building into an upscale bazaar of specialty shops. “I’ve got a lot of determination and a unique concept,” he said. “And there’s a lot of demand for a destination spot in Detroit right now. You have to go back to the original ideas, this is how retailers got started in the 1900s. Retail is something that’s missing in Detroit”, he said. “I’m looking for tenants with a vision like mine, those who see that this can be a great city again.” The 5 and 10 will also be reopening this summer, owned and operated by Kefallinos’ company.