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Atlas Holiday Hours
| Date | Atlas | Continental Terminals NJ | The Annex | The Green Room | Paris Brothers | Jordan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday May 24: | Open | 8am-3pm ET | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| Monday May 27: | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
Breaking News
8, Nov '12 - It's been an exciting week here at Atlas! We have more than stupendous election results to be giddy about... We have two new fantastic arrivals from East Africa! Rwanda Dukundekawa and Burundi Calico are
1, Nov '12 - Safe wishes to all of our friends on the East Coast. For those with coffees in Continental Terminals NJ, latest reports say that they're doing their absolute best to get their systems back up and running. Still no power there at the warehouse, so no pickups and shipments until Monday Nov 5 earliest. We'll keep posting updates as news comes in, and continue to hope the best for a speedy Sandy recovery.
15, Oct '12 - Atlas is hard at work putting new systems in place to meet the reporting requirements of whichever certifying agency our customers have elected to register with. We need your help! Please email us and let us know your FLO or FTUSA ID number, and to whom you are reporting. Thank you!
Atlas is officially independent!
After fourteen years in business, Atlas Coffee Importers is now 100% owned by founder Craig Holt. Check out the press release for more details.
15, Oct '12 - Atlas is hard at work putting new systems in place to meet the reporting requirements of whichever certifying agency our customers have elected to register with. We need your help! Please email us and let us know your FLO or FTUSA ID number, and to whom you are reporting. Thank you!
8, Oct '12 - We've had an unbelievable autumn so far here in Seattle. Something like 76 consecutive days without rain, still hitting the low 70s regularly, leaves a turnin' and just a touch of a chill in the air. One of the best times of the year in our fair city, to be sure. Nicaragua and Honduras microlots finally arriving is something else to be thrilled about! Give the office a call to learn more about stellar offerings from our partners in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, as well as fresh arrivals from Ethiopia and Rwanda.
11, July '12 - Summertime has arrived in Seattle! It's a little freaky sometimes how quickly the season switches on. July 4 was spectacular, and every day since has been delightful. Our hearts go out to our friends around the country dealing with triple digits and forest fires. Lots of great coffees on the water, so stay tuned for updates on arrivals from East Africa and Central America.
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| C.A. Mar-Apr12 |
8, June '12 - A few members of Team Atlas visited Central America back in March & April 2012. Check out these photos online for a closer look at some of our favorite producer partners in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Along with having two tons of fun, we got some excellent work done. Be on the lookout for fresh new arrivals from Cafe Pacas and Cuatro M Cafes in El Salvador, COCAFELOL, COCAFCAL and COMSA co-ops, and Beneficio San Vicente in Honduras, and Beneficio Las Segovias in Nicaragua!
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| Ethiopia Feb12 |
4, June '12 Atlas has donated three of our wonderful, soon-to-arrive Western Ethiopia coffees to the 2012 Grounds for Health Green Coffee Auction. Proceeds benefit an incredible organization, and these coffees are sure to be some of the best we'll see this year. On the topic of Ethiopia, a few photos from Chris' February trip are online now. Have a look-see!
29, May '12 Ethiopia Kaffa Forest has arrived! This is one of most exciting arrivals of the season yet, so if you're looking for a dazzler to liven up your menu, be sure to give this coffee a try. Atlas scored the arrival 89 pts on the SCAA scale, notes: "juicy, green melon, guava, lemon balm, anise, exotic." This washed coffee is a blend of three co-op members of the Kaffa Forest Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in western Ethiopia, statistcal data may be found here, and it's Fair Trade certified to boot!
11, May '12 We've had a fantastic week here at HQ, finally getting caught up after a terrific few weeks of SCAA Expo related visits and activites. We've had a few fun coffees come in, delicious fresh crop arrivals from Las Capucas, Honduras (FTO/RA certified,) and Santa Elena Estate in Tarrazú, Costa Rica (both fully washed and pulped natural miel.) Sunshine's supposed to continue and 70+º all weekend!
1, May '12 - Happy May Day! Atlas is pleased as punch to be working with international develoment agency TechnoServe on a number of our coffee sourcing projects. TechnoServe has developed a brilliant system for organizing smallholder coffee farmers that they've dubbed the "CPU," commonly known (as in computer parlance) as a Central Processing Unit. While smallholder farmers all over the world may produce excellent coffees year after year, the consistency can be variable and often times the farmers' coffees aren't represented well to the specialty market. TechnoServe's CPU model collects cherry from smallholders for centralized wet processing and drying on raised beds, then markets the coffee using the name of the community nearest to the CPU. The result is uniformally processed, consistent cupping coffees with a previously unattainable level of traceability. Keep an eye on our offer list for upcoming arrivals from Technoserve CPUs in Tanzania and Ethiopia.
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| El Salvador & Honduras Jan12 |
27, Feb '12 - Check out photos from Chris' visit to El Salvador and Honduras in January! El Salvador highlights include visits to Cafe Pacas' farms El Talapo & la Guachoca, and Cuatro M's Beneficio El Manzano. In Honduras, COCAFELOL in Ocotepeque and brief stops in Santa Rosa de Copan & Santa Barbara with Beneficio San Vicente. While heavy December rains were a major blow to El Salvador's production, we're seeing some of the best quality in years from our partners there. We're already seeing some early shipments from Honduras on the water, and are looking forward to excellent arrivals!
1, Dec '11 - Craig's PNG trip report's online! Get yer learn on and have a few laughs here.
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| PNG Nov11 |
Tasting Notes Online!
At long last, we now have tasting notes online for all of our wonderful coffees! Click here to take a look, or you can navigate there from the "Products" button on the side bar to the left, OR you can find a link to the tasting notes at the top of our Seattle and New Jersey offer lists.
Market Update
Click here for charts on FutureSource.com
Q Grader Course
July 30 - August 3, 2012
Atlas' cupping lab has been certified as an instructional facility by the SCAA and CQI! We will be offering regular CQI Q Grader Exam and prep courses, in addition to Atlas' own line of intensive roasting and cupping workshops. Our first Q Grader Exam course sold out in just a few weeks, so be sure to register for this course now while there's still space available. email info@atlascoffee.com if you're interested in receiving information about upcoming courses, and we'll be sure to contact you with updates.
Fundamentals of Green Coffee, Roasting and Cupping
Come and join the fine folks from Atlas and Diedrich for three days of in-depth study and practicum, Tuesday September 18th through Thursday September 20th. This is the third year that Diedrich and Atlas have been offering this intensive course together, covering the essentials of green coffee cultivation and processing, roasting, cupping and blending. If you're just getting into the world of coffee roasting and want to start off on the right foot, or if you're a seasoned pro looking for some advanced training to further your knowledge of coffee, this class is guaranteed to leave your head filled to the brim with new info and experiences.
If you're already planning on coming to Seattle for the Coffee Fest tradeshow Sept. 21st - 23rd, this is the perfect opportunity to spend a little extra time beforehand sharpening your roasting and cupping skills. Registration for this workshop is $1,000 per person for the three days, which includes pastries with our morning coffee, as well as lunch each day.
Registration for these workshops is limited, so please call or email to reserve your space. We're looking forward to seeing you soon!
Please call us at 800.701.5211 with any questions or to reserve your place!
Cupping Calendar
Cup of Excellence Cuppings
Atlas is happy to host cuppings of the winning coffees from the prestigious Cup of Excellence competitions. If you're planning on bidding on coffees in the Cup of Excellence auctions, and would like to save yourself the time roasting the samples, setting and cleaning up your own cupping, we would like to invite you to join us in our lab for a cupping and discussion of the competition coffees. Not only are these group cuppings an excellent opporunity to taste the best coffees each producing country as to offer, the experience of cupping with professional peers can be enlightening and educational as well. The dates and times for each of the cuppings are as follows:
We're in the process of scheduling more cuppings. Check back soon!
If you'd like to join us for any or all of these cuppings, please RSVP and we'll put you on the list. Our lab can accommodate up to 15 cuppers, so please get in touch soon to reserve your space. We would like to encourage all those interested in cupping these coffees to sign up as quickly as possible. Baristas and roasters who would like to expand their familiarity with these origins are especially welcome. We're looking forward to seeing you in the lab soon!
December 2010 - Sumatra & Japan
Chris recently spent a few weeks in Asia visiting with producer partners and roaster clients. Atlas helped to build a quality control lab at Permata Gayo Co-op's facilities in Pondok Baru, Aceh, and the main purpose of Chris' visit was to train PGC's staff in proper sample roasting and cupping procedures and protocol. Have a look at photos from the trip, and check out Chris' trip report to read more about his time there.
February 2009 - Ethiopia, Dire Dawa & Addis Ababa
Craig and Chris spent a week and a half teaching a Q Grader workshop in Dire Dawa, taking in the sites around Harrar and meeting with exporter partners in Addis Ababa. Be sure to check out photos and videos from the trip, if you haven't already. Chris' trip report goes more in depth on what he and Craig were up to in Ethiopia, as well as providing a brief summary of the new commodity exchange system and the effect that it is having on availability of specialty coffee in Ethiopia.
September 2008 - Malawi, Mzuzu & Blantyre
Chris spent a few weeks in Malawi working with coffee producers in Mzuzu, and coffee cuppers in Blantyre. Take a look at photos and videos, and see Chris in the Blantyre newspaper!
July 2008 - Colombia, Huila, Monserrate
Check out photos and videos from Atlas' recent visit to Monserrate, Huila, Colombia.
Trip Archives
Click here to check out Atlas adventures from years past.
Pacamara Roasting Guide Now Available!
The El Salvador Coffee Council was kind enough to send along an absolutely brilliant document they've put together on the genetic history of the Bourbon and Pacamara coffee varietals, which includes their recommended roast profiles for both sample roasting and production roasting Pacamara coffees. Check it out! Most of the Pacamara-specific info is from page 6, onward. Also be sure to take a look at the results of our cupping of the Pacamara and Maracaturra varietals from the El Salvador and Guatemala Cup of Excellence competitions below.
Atlas Barista Workshop Wins!
Atlas' first ever Advanced Barista Workshop took place in our lab this past Spring with wild success. The goal of this workshop is to give baristas an opportunity to learn in depth about green coffee cultivation and processing, cupping and the physics and chemistry of espresso brewing, as well as the practical skills of espresso preparation, milk steaming and latte art. Champion Latte Artist Reid Hickman joined us as a guest instructor for the afternoon, and wowed the barista students with his pouring prowess. Check out youtube.com for a video of Reid & the class, and read the glowing testimonials from our students below:
- "Very Knowledgable and helpful!"
- "Would/will send other employees. Eight hours well spent."
- "It's nice to see common theories and practices shared across the industry. Thank you for a fun and informative day."
- "The course seemed to cover all aspects of necessary knowledge for a barista."
- "Awesome!"
- "Chris rules!"(actual quote)
Those of you who have visited Atlas HQ pre-2007 know that
half of our building, until very recently, was practically useless to
us. Six months of noise, dust, demolition and renovation have given
rise to a state-of-the-art roasting, cupping and brewing lab. Like a
Phoenix from the ashes, our new lab is one of a kind, and prepared to
handle any challenge.
Contact us for information about upcoming training courses or to schedule a private or group training on the topic(s) of your choice, from green coffee to barista skills.
Thanks for stopping by!
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1402 NW 85th Street
Seattle, WA 98117 U.S.A.
1-800-701-5211 -toll free
(206) 652-4880 -office
(206) 652-4881 -fax
info@atlascoffee.com