MARRG News

Here is some more fun with MARRG.

Well everyone its me Paulley A.K.A. Uncle Grumpy. I have been asked to put up some pictures from past MARRG events. I will only put up a couple for each event. If you have any problems with this take it up with Brian.

Well lets start off with the event we had out at Jamie and Kristens:

This is where most of the fun took place.

As you can see five star accomedations.

We always have the best coffee. Even if its coming out of the custom smoke stack.

We always have good food.

We even have light entertainment. Who can tell me what ran out of the fire?

We are always surrounded by great people with a passion for the liquid bean. Even if some aren't right in the head.

Just saying!

We do have some education at these things.

Now mind you this event was our laid back event. We spent time in kayaks rowing to a winery.
Spent time learning roaster maintenance.

Tried many new coffees and great food. Who could forget the "Monkey on a Dog".

I want to thank the hosts for the wonderful event

Thank You Jamie and Kristen!

This year's annual SCAA show is within driving distance of MARRG. Without tipping our hand too much too early, Russ, Paulley, and I are working on some unique transportation to Atlanta, a la the Merry Roasters. The official show dates are 16 - 19 April. Anyone interested in carpooling/motorcading (we may need some interference run with certain law enforcement jurisdictions) get in touch with us and we'll see what we can work out. There may not be safety in our numbers but there can definitely be savings if we all cram into a hotel room or two. The SCAA has also made the event much more affordable this year, so check it out and give some thought to attending.

There is also a symposium being offered the 15th and 16th of April before the show kicks off. I was really interested in attending until I saw the price tag: 1k. Buuuutttttt, if marrg was to pool our money, say 20 people kick in $50.00, we could send one person to crash the symposium and hopefully wreak some havoc. Well, actually, I'm hoping to have our representative gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and then present a summary at our June meeting (Russell's idea). If there can be some havoc wreaking included, just bring a slide show to the Roaster's Training with you. Info for the symposium: http://scaasymposium.org/about_symposium.aspx

Russell and I both agree that Kristin should be our representative at the symposium. Soooo, marrg is "wookin' pa nub in all da mong paces" and hoping we can pull this off. Feedback, riffs on the idea, pledges to send Kristin in among the industry lions and tame their asses, etc. - just drop me an email.

Brian
bbabcock@marrg.org

Greetings! Here are the latest updates for the June 20 - 22 Weekend:

Add your t-shirt size to your registration. Kristin is designing Large Marrg t-shirts to be part of your coming to the gig. If you didn't see Large Marrg, she's well, pretty large.

Friday night's opening event will be a beer banquet! Instead of making the trip with 30+ people to cram in for a beer tasting at the Vintage Cellar, we're going to bring them to Deet's Place. I'm going to try and get six or seven local businesses to each prepare a single course for our dinner (I reserve the right to serve beanie weenies as a course. It's all about the beer it's paired with right?). Keith and crew at the Vintage Cellar will take the menu and pair up beers. We will sit down to dinner at 6pm at Deet's Place, and yes, I will have extras of the featured beers so that anyone liking them will have a chance to get some. Roast Magazine is also once again the keg sponsor, so we will have back up.

I am working on having two working coffee roasters for practice during free times. Worse case we have the IR-7 in the shop to play with. Javalytics is loaning us a roast degree analyzer for us to experiment with.

I bought a 1/2 pig for the Saturday night bbq that is being butchered tomorrow. We'll have plenty of tenderloins and steaks to pair with the mustards KZ will be featuring during her Flavor Dynamics class. If you're a vegetarian or anti-pork, you need to remind me so that we have something for you on the grill Saturday night.

I need commitments by next Friday night so that I can give Virginia Tech time to prepare, our gracious Sponsors time to prepare, our support team time to prepare, and me time to have a nervous breakdown.

Rev

Hey all, just a quick note from the website guy about current and upcoming changes.

The forum is back up, moved to a new place on the site, and (hopefully) spam-proof now. You can get there by clicking the Member Login link here or on the home page, then clicking the "Post to the MARRG forum." link on the Member Center page once you're logged in. Your member login and password should get you into the forum the first time you go there, and if you check the automatic login box, you shouldn't have to log in again on later visits unless you use a different computer. Please check and update your forum profile information when you log in, because it's almost certainly not accurate now. If you don't have a member login or you've forgotten your password, just drop me a line at webmaster@marrg.org and I'll send you your info.

Also, the Member List and Sponsor pages are in progress and will be up shortly. If you're a member or a sponsor, and you have a logo that you'd like to have shown on the site along with your listing, please attach it to an email and send it in. GIF, JPG, or PNG file formats are best. If I can get the logo straight from your website, just let me know where I can find it and I'll do a direct download instead.

And finally, it was great meeting you all in Blacksburg and I look forward to seeing everyone again at future events. Keep in touch...

John
webmaster@marrg.org

After talking to the local businesses that will be hosting our evening activities, the schedule has been shifted, upgraded, re-sized, up-sized, remodeled, and customized for your enjoyment:

Friday evening reception will be from 5-7 pm at the London Underground Pub in downtown Blacksburg. This place is truly a 'third place' for our community and they are excited to have the opportunity to whip up some custom-made appetizers and let you throw some darts.

We will then drive over to the Vintage Cellar for a 7:15 'closed to the public' beer tasting (we'll have a chance to browse and buy after the tasting. This store is one of the top beer and wine stores in the nation). After this we can socialize back at Deet's Place, go out for a late dinner, or go out on the town.

Saturday after classes end, Blacksburg Tobacco will be hosting us at 5:30 for an informal cigar tasting and discussion. This should last about an hour and then we'll head back to Deet's Place for the BBQ at 7. Roast Magazine is providing beer and Blacksburg tobacco will be joining us outside to continue the cigar discussion. They are quite excited for the opportunity to discuss the similarities between our industries as it relates to flavor nuances, how we identify them, and how we describe them.

Brian

Here's the registration form. I apologize for the format uglies but I don't have the attention span to pretty it up. Just cut and paste and then email it to me. Hope to see you in three weeks! --Brian

OUR SPONSORS:
AMBEX ROASTERS
BLACKSTONE COFFEE ROASTERS
CAFE IMPORTS
COFFEE HOLDING COMPANY
EASY CHAIR COFFEE SHOP AND BOOKSTORE
INTELLIGENTSIA
ROAST MAGAZINE
SWISS WATER DECAFFEINATED COMPANY

Mid-Atlantic Roasters Group
2nd Annual Training Weekend
June 8-10, 2007
Deet’s Place at Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Registration Form

First Name: ___ Last Name: _______
Job Title: _____ Company: ________
Address: ______________
City, State: ______ Zip Code: ___
Business Phone: ___ Other Phone: _______
E-mail (I will confirm registration): ________

Admission is not limited to professional, working roasters but please keep in mind that the majority of participants are. Workshops and other activities will be geared towards those with a basic knowledge of coffee roasting and specialty coffee.

Registration fee is $75.00 which includes all workshops and classes, two nights lodging in a two person suite style dorm room at Virginia Tech (yes, you get a roommate), a light dinner Friday night, breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, and BBQ on Saturday night. If you elect not to stay both nights, or at another location the registration fee still applies and will go towards the other expenses of the training weekend. Sponsors of our beer and wine tastings will be offering items for sale, which will be your responsibility if you choose to purchase.

 I will be staying Friday and Saturday night in the Virginia Tech Campus Dorms
 I will be staying only Saturday night in the Virginia Tech Campus Dorms
 I refuse to relive my college days and I will take care of my own lodging

Please email registration forms to bbabcock@marrg.org so I can get tentative numbers to University Housing and Dining Services. Mail checks to:

Mid-Atlantic Roasters Group
Brian Babcock
7695 Bradshaw Rd
Salem, VA 24153

The tentative schedule for the weekend:

Friday:
5 – 7 pm Check in at Deet’s Place.
7pm Welcome reception downtown Blacksburg at the London Underground Pub (bring your darts)

Saturday
8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast at D2 (upstairs from Deet’s Place)
8:30 – 12:00 Cupping for Defects by Intelligentsia and Blending for Roasters by Summa Caffea
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch at D2
1:00 – 5:00 Dairy tour of Virginia Tech’s Dairy and Sensory Skills ‘Test’ from The Cupping Handbook
5:00 – 5:45 Snack Time at Deet’s Place
6:00 – 7:30 Beer Tasting at Vintage Cellar
8:00 – Last Person Standing BBQ and Night-time Bocce at Deet’s Place

Sunday
8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast at D2 (upstairs from Deet’s Place)
8:30 – 12:00 Decaf Coffee by Swiss Water Decaf and Cupping for Roasters by Summa Caffea
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch at D2
12:45 Check-out and go home or stick around and help with the left-over BBQ and keg

For further information and the inevitable questions email bbabcock@marrg.org

Arrive Friday 8 June at any time to Deet's Place on the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. 'Official' beginning reception will be downtown Blacksburg about 7 pm on Friday and ending Sunday early afternoon. Classes will include:

- Cupping for Roasters and Blending for Roasters. Presented by Terry Davis of Summa Caffea Academy and Ambex Roasters.

- Cupping for Defects presented by EJ Dawson of Intelligentsia Coffee.

- Decaffeinated Coffee presented by Jodi Foutch of Swiss Water Decaf.

- Dairy Tour of Virginia Tech's Dairy Operations

- Sensory Evaluation Exercises from Virginia Tech's Food Science Division.

- Saturday night BBQ/Beerfest with Pork BBQ from Blackstone Roasters

- Networking and general fellowship with other professional coffee roasters.

- An introduction to a monthly online cupping lab for professional roasters.

Cost will be $75.00 which will include Friday and Saturday night lodging in Virginia Tech Dorm Rooms and all meals from Friday night's reception until Sunday lunch. To register or get more details, email bbabcock@marrg.org or mail your check with estimated arrival times and contact information to Mid-Atlantic Roasters Group at 7695 Bradshaw Rd, Salem, VA 24153

More information and sponsor information to follow.

Brian

February 1st
• Travel day
• Gather at hotel throughout the day
• Cupping and scoring of Flor de Cana

February 2nd
• Load bus and start journey at 10am
• Lunch and dry mill facility tour and hands on exercises consisting of
o Racking/turning of the coffee on the drying patio
o Work with the initial sorting machine
o Get a chance to hand sort on the final sorting belt
o See how the coffee bags are assembled and marked
o Watch the mill in operation

• Finish journey to Selva Negra
• Check into rooms, clean up, nap,
• Meet for dinner
• Evening discussion group

February 3rd
• Breakfast 8am
• Extensive farm tour part 1
• Lunch
• Extensive farm tour part 2
• Free time
• Dinner
• Evening discussion group (foreman)

February 4th
• Breakfast 8am
• Coffee picking
• Lunch
• Cattle farm trip – view intensive pasture ranching style and view the cacao tree crop
• Hiking/trails
• Dinner
• Evening discussion group – review and wrap up

February 5th
• Breakfast
• Load bus and head to the airport.

Extensive farm tour will cover the following
• The general property
• Compost
• Organic fertilizer production
• Organic vegetable gardens for the restaurant
• Workers housing, medical building, school, and baseball field
• Methane gas production unit
• Coffee mill
• Tourism aspects (chapel, restaurant, cabins, conference center)
• Cheese production unit
• Livestock (chickens, quail, pigs, and cows)
• Sustainable energy production operations
• Green houses and flower production
• Lots more…….

February the first, four Mid-Atlantic Roasters are arriving in Managua, Nicaragua for a four day visit to Selva Negra Estate. We will be touring the milling facilities, picking coffee, touring the farm and witnessing all of the hard work that goes into getting us this organic coffee. Pictures and detailed report from the trip will be given on our return.

I believe there are still a few spots open if you want to make a last minute trip. You'll need to meet us in Managua on the first and spend a night at the hotel airport. From there, Selva Negra picks us up and takes care of everything until they drop us back at the airport on Monday the fifth. Email me for more details.

Brian