The Legendary NYC Steakhouse Smith & Wollensky serves 40+ years of first-class steaks, drinks and more,
Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse was “born” in 1977 on Third Avenue and 49th St. and prides themselves on their steaks.
Smith Wollensky Steakhouse on the corner of Third Ave and 49th St.
Smith & Wollensky Process
USDA Prime grade beef is dry-aged and hand-butchered in-house to ensure unparalleled quality, tender texture and outstanding flavor.
Smith Wollensky Dry aged steak process
Yes, it’s the slowest, most time-consuming and most expensive way to age beef.
And yes, it’s worth it.
At any moment the Smith & Wollensky team is aging 7-12 tons of beef.
Smith Wollensky legendary steak process
Smith & Wollensky Cuisine
USDA Prime, dry aged steaks are the cornerstone of their menu.
The food and drink are incredible. Well-balanced cocktails. Fresh oysters.
Smith Wollensky’s perfect Old Fashioned
The old fashioned was a well-balanced blend of rye whiskey, bitters, citrus with the classic orange peel garnish.
The seafood was fresh. The oysters freshly-shucked laying chilled on a bed of ice shavings, surrounded by shrimp and the sides of lemon and vinegar seasoning.
Smith Wollensky’s oysters and seafood platter
The filet mignon was incredible – juicy, tender, with a pink, medium rare center and a seared edge.
Smith Wollensky’s filet mignon
Smith & Wollensky Service
The waitstaff was friendly, knowledgeable and very prompt. Occasional visits and quick to make menu suggestions for mains, side dishes and pairings.
Smith & Wollensky Ambiance
Smith & Wollensky carry on the traditional steakhouse. Proud of their legacy and the “old school” feel that comes with it.
Smith Wollensky’s crowded bar
Hospitality
Smith & Wollensky have a 40+ year tradition of excellent food, excellent ingredients, a truly legendary dry age process.
In addition, their barstaff, waitstaff and full team are truly passionate culinary experts.
It’s easy to expect a near-perfect dining experience from them.
Smith Wollensky Steakhouse
For their menu and more, visit: https://www.smithandwollenskynyc.com
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Thanksgiving in NYC: the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s… [Recipe here]
This Thanksgiving in NYC, the perfect stuffing bread DOES exist – and it’s brioche. As in St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
No Thanksgiving spread is complete without a hearty stuffing. While add-ins are a matter of preference, choosing the right bread is crucial. One underrated choice is eggy, rich brioche – and with St Pierre Bakery, you don’t need to go to France to get it.
Thanks to its butter and egg content, St Pierre’s Brioche Loaf provides the perfect balance of crisp toastiness while remaining soft and creamy inside, while its lightly sweet flavor adds a decadent quality that can still lean savory. Attached below is an approachable recipe for stuffing allowing for all the craveable crunch for the whole family with minimal effort required.
St Pierre Brioche Thanksgiving Stuffing
By @BrandiMilloy
Ingredients
1 loaf St. Pierre Brioche Bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, just the leaves
1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 small apple (granny smith works well), peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut brioche bread into 1” cubes and bake for about 10-15 minutes until toasted.
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Meanwhile, into a pot over medium high heat add butter until melted. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until everything starts to soften, about 7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Into a bowl whisk together the eggs, herbs, apples, mushrooms, and salt and pepper. Add your cooked vegetables and mix to combine.
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Pour mixture on top of toasted bread and stir to combine. Bake stuffing for about 45 minutes. If your stuffing starts to get too brown, cover until finished baking. Enjoy!
As America’s favorite brioche brand, St Pierre’s products are widely available via grocery stores nationwide as well as Walmart.
The Rise of Mushroom Coffee: A New Era in Health-Conscious Brewing
In today’s health-focused culture, where wellness transcends mere goals to become a lifestyle, mushroom coffee is emerging as a leading trend. This innovative beverage combines the classic energizing effects of coffee with components often linked to the reputed benefits of medicinal mushrooms. Such a blend makes mushroom coffee a more mindful, health-oriented option for daily consumption, resonating especially with those who weave wellness into their daily routines.
Image courtesy of Freepik
The uniqueness of mushroom coffee lies in its ability to enhance the usual coffee experience by potentially offering additional benefits. For those who find regular coffee too acidic, mushroom coffee presents a more stomach-friendly option. Additionally, it incorporates adaptogenic mushrooms, which are believed to help the body better manage stress. This attribute makes mushroom coffee especially enticing to wellness enthusiasts and those seeking a natural way to support their body’s stress response.
The Rise of Mushroom Coffee, Image Courtesy of Freepik
Finding a coffee that delivers on both taste and health promises can be a daunting task. Leading the initiative is More.Longevity & Wellbeing with its Coffee Superfood Blends. These products are meticulously developed, selecting each ingredient for its quality and scientific backing, ensuring they contribute effectively to the blend. Flavors such as Salted Caramel Vanilla and Mocha are designed to mask the natural earthiness of mushroom, making the beverage more enjoyable while enhancing its appeal. The addition of adaptogens and essential vitamins in the blends aims to support overall health by boosting immunity, enhancing energy, and improving mental clarity.
The Rise of Mushroom Coffee, Image Courtesy of More.Longevity & Wellbeing
The company’s commitment to radical transparency ensures that consumers receive a product free from unnecessary fillers and additives, affirming a respect for consumer health and environmental sustainability. This level of honesty and ecological consideration is becoming increasingly important to consumers who prefer products that are both healthy and environmentally conscious.
As the trend continues to carve a niche within the beverage market, consumers are presented with expanding choices. It’s no longer just about picking a brand; it involves selecting a philosophy and a level of quality that resonates with personal health values and taste preferences. The coffee not only invites coffee lovers to rethink their daily mug but also serves as a gateway to a more mindful and intentional morning routine.
Image Courtesy of Freepik
Are NYers falling in love with New Wine? Dancing Wines from Cynthia Russell, Lauren Russell
Are NYers falling in love with New Wine? Dancing Wines from Cynthia Russell, Lauren Russell in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.
The team at Dancing Wines is developing a collection of sensory brands that celebrate life through taste, touch and aroma – inspiring you to find your inner dance and show the world what truly moves you.
Dancing Wines’ red wine trio includes Old Vine, Duo and Estate — three limited-release wines made from hand-picked grapes that showcase the full breadth of the Dancing estate.
Lauren Russell (L) and Cynthia Russell (R) from Dancing Wines Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Today’s conversation with the dynamic Mother / Daughter team Cynthia and Lauren Russell from Dancing Wines ha been edited for length and clarity.
For the full, un-edited conversation, visit our YouTube channel here.
Joe Winger: What is the most important message you’d like to share today?
Lauren Russell: I think one of them is dancing is art and art is life.
Another is love needs no explanation. I think really the thread between those is we’re trying to create a product and an experience that brings people together and invites them to find their inner dance, which is something we say a lot.
So we want to encourage people to find their unique rhythms. And wine is also really lovely because it is a vehicle that brings people together to enjoy a moment and diverse people together.
I think my Mom [Cynthia] can speak to this as well, but one of the things we thought about when first exploring wine was just how daunting the whole atmosphere is around the consumption of it and the buying and using all the right adjectives.
Especially for my generation I feel like there’s a bit of a learning curve. So I think one thing we really want people to take away from the brand is just like, just enjoy it. Love needs no explanation and you can’t drink wine when your mouth is full of adjectives. We’ve created a great wine just for you to be able to enjoy and to describe however you want and enjoy whenever you want.
Source: WeAreDancing.com
Cynthia: Yeah, I think the measures we created we have a beautiful heritage property that the soil and the climate create this great wine. And me being of an older generation where wine was very intimidating, even though I know a lot about it.
And drinking it for a very long time. I’ve lived in France. I’ve lived in California. It’s still when you order in a restaurant, you’re scared. Do I know enough? I’m going to be embarrassed. Is this the right pairing? And what the good news is that wine making in the world has become so sophisticated that if you are buying wine from a place that is special, including all.
Sonoma or France or Italy, the wines are good, they’re really good and all you have to do is be comfortable with yourself and enjoying it. And so that’s what we’re trying to do is take a product that has thousands of years of history as being a part of our culture and make you comfortable with just having fun, enjoying it and celebrating what wine can do to bring people together.
Source: WeAreDancing.com
Joe Winger: You have a really unique story that you restored a vineyard up in Dry Creek. Can you talk about experience and what you learned from the restoration?
Cynthia: We lucked out. It was a Covid purchase. We spent a lot of time as a family together in very small confined spaces drinking a lot of wine.
We [thought we] might end up needing a place where we have more outdoor space and can be together. So we bought this property more as a farm and then discovered that it was a unique part of the world.
Zinfandel grapes have been growing in this small region for over 150 years.
It was called America’s grape back in the time I think [the] 1850s. Okay, we have these vineyards. They’re really old.
There was one owner at this property for 60 years, an older Italian gentleman. And a lot of the area is multi generation, fourth generation Italian families who came over and cultivated this grape.
We never intended to make wine and yet we were scared to let this history and heritage die.
So we took classes and tried to figure out, can we make wine?
It’d be such a shame to let this history go in this special place.
We made a great discovery, which was that you don’t have to be an expert on wine. You just have to have great soil and a great climate.
Then we launched from there.
Source: WeAreDancing.com
Lauren: We’re always towing the line between the respective tradition and traditional winemaking and the land and all of the old vines and creating something new.
She [Mom, Cynthia] always brings a lens of respect for the older generation and ways of life and what wine has meant to her throughout her life.
I’m always pushing the other direction. We always land somewhere in the middle.
You’ll see that in the brands, it has really playful branding and packaging. But, our winemaking is a bit more traditional. We’re a sustainable vineyard but we have old vines and we respect what the land has to offer and what it’s been offering in that region for a long time.
It creates a better product and brand for us because we get to cater to both audiences.
Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Joe Winger: You have a collection of sensory brands. Can you talk about what that collection is, what inspired the idea, and what we should be looking for?
Lauren: All of the products have been and will be inspired by the backdrop of the vineyard.
When we talk about wine, we talk about this kind of multi sensory experience, whether that’s aroma or where you’re having it, who you’re enjoying it with.
We came into wine knowing that it was going to be not just about taste or smell, but about the holistic experience of what wine could do for someone.
Sort of the thread between all of our products are taste, touch and smell. Again, like finding your inner dance and allowing you to express your personality.
We’re launching a trio of fragrances, which are loosely inspired by the terroir and the vineyard.
Cynthia: We have a fresh perspective on Sonoma. Every time we arrive, we have this nose full of these incredible senses:, the smell of moss, crushed grapes, barrel, fire and oak.
Yeah. So we’re like, wow. Every time we arrive, we’re like, wow, this is really cool.
This is so distinct and unique and just elevates your experience of being there.
We are going to bring more experiences to the brand when we can, like having an artist in residence, creating visually beautiful contributions.
We have an art collection there that inspired us to bring art to the brand. It’s largely from a diverse group of artists from the West Coast who are very colorful and young and also push boundaries. So our idea with the senses is like we’re trying to This is a brand that you enter into our world and you get to experience people and life in a way that’s very unique and bold and
Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Joe Winger: What are both of your backgrounds outside of wine?
Lauren: I was raised in Connecticut and went to Dartmouth for undergrad, was a creative non-fiction writer, so always had that storytelling bent.
After school, I worked at a lot of businesses in marketing. Uber Eats, Refinery29, right before the pandemic, I worked for AB and Bev that was my first kind of foray into alcohol.
Then during COVID, I got my MBA at Columbia. We all got this massive reset of our priorities. I come from an entrepreneurial family. This opportunity arose
Cynthia: We’re a family who really believes in experiences. I have dabbled in many different areas. I went to Scripps college. I actually was a dance major until I was not. I became an international relations major. I lived in France for a while. Then moved to New York City and worked for JP Morgan trading stock, money market securities.
I didn’t find that was my passion, so I went to Harvard Business School and I got a master’s in business. Then I worked for American Express where I started a weekend travel program. It was a little startup within the travel segment of American Express. I got my “sea legs” of starting a business.
I quit that business because I had kids, then I started my own mail order company then I decided again, that maybe I needed a little more education.
I went back and got a doctorate at Columbia in organizational leadership.
I have a consulting firm on the side where I consult leaders and organizations about how to handle complex challenges in a complex world.
So my daughter [Lauren] gets through business school and we decide to marry all these wonderful experiences together and create something really new and unique.
Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Joe Winger: Let’s talk about your wines.
Lauren: We launched with our rosé which is really beautiful. It’s an intentional rosé. From our Primitivo grapes and we harvested them early and intentionally for rosé.
It has this really beautiful distinct, watermelon, almost Jolly Rancher aroma, and it’s really playful and full, but also dry. And it’s been a really big hit so that was a fun debut for us.
We just launched our trio of reds, and what makes them unique goes into the story about the restoration of the vineyard.
We’re still learning our land and learning from it.
We chose to harvest from different blocks and treat the wines in a similar fashion and bottle them separately to see what personalities they expressed.
One is the Old Vine Zinfandel, which is from our oldest head trained vines which is the deepest, moodiest, richest wine. It’s really lovely.
Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Then we have an estate wine, which is actually from Primitivo, a different word for Zinfandel. That one is a bit lighter.
Then we have a third, a duo which is a blend of both. And so it’s really helped us to understand. And they are quite different.
They’re obviously all Zinfandels in their expressions, but they’re all quite different.
People say Zinfandel is like a map of the land and I think that’s really true here. Which is super cool.
But we have two forthcoming sparkling wines because I think it really speaks to our ethos about being playful and to my generation.
Cynthia: It’s really fun for us because being on the East coast, Zinfandel is a really unknown varietal and we think it’s underrated. Californians know it’s been around for a long time. It has a lot of possibilities with food. And so what we’re trying to do is bring to light this really good wine and do it in a slightly different way.
We pick ours earlier, trying to have it be less jammy, juicy, heavy; lighter, less alcoholic than some of the more traditional Zinfandels that are on our street.
That’s really trying to address the changes consumer changes.
Our wines are chillable, super easy to eat with most any food, especially ethnic food, spicy food.
2022 was our first vintage. 2023 is already in barrels and we’ll be bottling that in probably in March. But it’s going to be a little different because the climate was different that year.
The rosé was just a fluke. Our winemaker wanted to try a Zinfandel rosé. Most people love it. It’s so distinct and unique.
Our 24 Rosé will come out in March. The reds will come out in the early summer. We’re going to bottle the sparkling in January, but that will be at least a year until you’ll see that. The pétillant naturel will probably be launching at about the same time as the rosé
Credit: https://instagram.com/DancingSonoma
Lauren: What’s fun about having both an early release sparkling and a [second, additional] later release [sparkling wine] one is going to be lighter, more effervescent, maybe geared towards the younger generation and the other will have that toastier champagne flavor.
Joe Winger: Do you have a favorite wine and food pairing?
Lauren: This one’s so hard. Rosé and oysters or any seafood is just awesome. Sparkling wine and a burger is one of my favorites.
In terms of red, when I think of Zinfandel, it’s Thanksgiving foods. It speaks to the hominess in our story. Bringing everyone around the table. Kind of experiential pairing.
Cynthia: Yeah, that resonates with me.
We have a lot of ethnic food, so it holds up really well to spice, to sweet and sour, salty and sweet. So it’s great with Indian food, Mexican food. Apples in your pork chops.
A burgundy is usually killed instantly by those kinds of flavors. It’s too fragile.
[Ours] is not fragile, but it still has so many nice aromas and flavors to enhance whatever you’re eating.
Lauren: It’s great with pizza. Pizza and a nice glass of Zinfandel
Source: WeAreDancing.com
Joe Winger: What’s something magical about Sonoma that you learned through this journey?
Lauren: True of both Zinfandel and Sonoma it always has this underdog energy to Napa. One of the hidden gems, we wake up really early and drive to the Redwood forest to watch the sun rise through the trees.
We eat a burrito because we have terrible burritos in New York.
There’s an amazing food community, 3 Michelin star restaurant, chefs, farm to table.
Cynthia: The distinct part of Sonoma is how important nature is to everyone there. It’s not just about wine. It’s incredible nature.
We both traveled a lot, lived in a lot of places. I’ve never seen such natural beauty in such a small area.
Lauren: That’s what the idea of our products is too. We have to bring people here in some way, differently than just having them taste the wine.
So as many dimensions as we can bring people into that realm to experience [00:29:00] that it’s like definitely the dream.
Joe Winger: Whether it’s social media, website, or other ways, what are the best ways for our audience to find and follow Dancing Wine?
Lauren: We have our website, which is wearedancing.com. We also are on Instagram, which is at DancingSonoma.
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NYC Craves 10yr Flavor: Rich Caramel, Full Bodied Vanilla, Spiced Rye: Bulleit 10-Year Aged Whiskeys
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Launches New Rye 10-Year-Old Permanent Expression and Unveils the ’10-Year Aged Whiskeys’ Range
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey proudly announces the launch of Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old, the latest addition to its permanent portfolio of exceptional whiskeys.
Bulleit 10-Year Aged Whiskeys
This new expression joins the acclaimed Bulleit Bourbon 10-Year-Old, forming the foundation of the new Bulleit 10-Year Aged Whiskeys range.
Together, these age-statement whiskeys reflect Bulleit’s commitment to crafting premium, bold-flavored whiskey while continuing to innovate to bring an expanded portfolio of whiskeys to consumers and trade.
Bulleit is building on its rye leadership with the launch of Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old. The new whiskey maintains the flagship Rye’s iconic mash bill—95% rye and 5% malted barley—and is aged for a minimum of 10 years in new charred American white oak barrels, enhancing the balance of smoothness and spice that defines Bulleit Rye.
Expect rich caramel and toffee notes on the nose, with hints of buttery rye.
The palate delights with pear-like fruitiness, dry oak, full-bodied vanilla, and a spiced rye finish that lingers.
Bottled at 91.2 proof (45.6% ABV), it’s an impeccably balanced pour that showcases the best of rye’s signature boldness.
In recognition of its quality, Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and scored 98 out of 100, receiving Gold Outstanding Spirit making it one of the top-rated American Rye Whiskeys at the 2024 International Wine & Spirits Competition.
The launch of Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old comes during a period of growth for the rye category, where its distinctive, spicy profile has fueled a resurgence over the last decade. Bulleit has been at the forefront of this revival since 2011 when its flagship Rye helped to ignite the modern rye whiskey category. Recognizing the growing demand for innovation and more unique offerings, Bulleit developed its multi-award-winning Rye 12-Year-Old limited release in 2019, a standout that was celebrated for its age statement and accessibility. The 2024 edition of Rye 12-Year Old was equally lauded, winning a Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Similarly, Bulleit Bourbon 10-Year-Old offers a high-rye recipe that delivers a smooth, complex drinking experience. Toasty oak aromas with vanilla and sweet dried fruit lead to a palate of spice, caramel, and a refined finish that highlights the whiskey’s depth. Bottled at the same 91.2 proof, it continues to set the gold standard for high-rye bourbons.
Jenika Newsum, Senior Brand Manager at Bulleit Frontier Whiskey said “Our Bulleit 10-Year Aged Whiskeys showcase the bold, spicy rye-forward flavors that define our brand. Each expression is a testament to the meticulous craft of aging and our relentless drive to push the boundaries of American whiskey. We’re excited to introduce these whiskeys and look forward to unveiling even more innovations that reflect our commitment to whiskey craftsmanship.”
The release of Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old follows the launch of the Bulleit American Single Malt and Batch 8 of its Barrel Strength Bourbon—two expressions that exemplify the brand’s dedication to pioneering the whiskey frontier through innovative aging, finishing, and flavor exploration.
Over the years, Bulleit has amassed accolades for its Rye variants. Bulleit Rye has earned significant recognition, scoring 96 out of 100 at the 2023 Chilled 100 Spirits Awards, a Gold Medal at the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition, and a Platinum Medal at the 2022 ASCOT Awards. These wins complement the Rye 12-Year-Old’s Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and join Bulleit Bourbon 10-Year-Old’s impressive haul of awards, including a Platinum Medal and Best Straight Bourbon at the 2023 LA Spirits Awards, a Gold Medal and a score of 95/100 at the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition, a Gold Medal at the 2023 New York Wine & Spirits Competition, a Gold Medal at the 2023 SIP Awards, a Platinum Medal at the 2022 ASCOT Awards, an Outstanding accolade at the 2021 International Wine & Spirits Competition, and a Double Gold Medal at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old is now available nationwide for consumers 21+ with a suggested retail price of $49.99 for a 750ml bottle. The whiskey is packaged in the iconic Bulleit bottle, with a light green label that prominently features the 10-year-old age statement.
No matter where or how you decide to enjoy Bulleit Rye 10-Year-Old, Bulleit reminds consumers 21+ to please remember to taste and serve responsibly.
About Bulleit Frontier Whiskey
Bulleit, founded in 1987, is one of the fastest-growing whiskeys in America.The brand attributes that growth to bartenders and cultural partners who have adopted it as their own. The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey portfolio is distilled and aged in the Bulleit family tradition, using a distinctive high rye recipe, which gives them a bold, spicy, yet distinctively smooth taste.
The award-winning Kentucky whiskey most recently won a Double Gold medal for Bulleit 10-Year Old and Gold Medals for Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In 2017, Bulleit celebrated its 30th anniversary with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art distillery located in Shelbyville, KY.
Constructed with a focus on sustainable practices including natural habitat protection, water conservation and local ingredient sourcing.
In 2019, a Visitor’s Centre at the Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville opened to share our modern, technological, and sustainable approach to making great whiskey.
In 2021, Diageo opened its first carbon-neutral whiskey distillery in Lebanon, KY with Bulleit being the first and leading brand being produced at the site. supplementing existing production at the Bulleit Distilling Co.
For more information, visit www.bulleit.com or follow @Bulleit on Instagram.
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DOC NYC ANNOUNCES JURY AWARDS FOR 2023; Big Winners Mediha, Total Trust
DOC NYC ANNOUNCES JURY AWARDS FOR 2023
DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, revealed the 2023 award winners for its juried U.S. Competition, International Competition, Metropolis, Kaleidoscope, Shorts, Short List: Features, and Short List: Shorts sections, as well as the #MyJustice Film Award (complete list below). The festival’s Audience Award winner will be announced in the coming days.
TOTAL TRUST RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION GRAND JURY PRIZE
The awards announcement comes on the eve of the closing night of the festival’s hybrid 14th edition. DOC NYC’s online screenings run through November 26, with some 90 features available to stream across the United States, including eight of the festival’s award-winners and more than 100 of the festival’s short films, including all six shorts award-winners. Many of the award winners also have in-person screenings in the final two days of the festival.
For a full schedule of available films, see www.docnyc.net. Ticket and pass information is below.
LUCHA: A WRESTLING TALE TAKES METROPOLIS GRAND JURY PRIZE
For DOC NYC’s competitive sections, five juries selected films from the festival’s U.S. Competition, International Competition, and Kaleidoscope sections, as well as its long-running Metropolis and Shorts lineups, to recognize for their outstanding achievements in form and content. The Short List: Features program—a selection of nonfiction films that the festival’s programming team considers to be among the year’s strongest contenders for Oscars and other awards—vied for awards in five categories: Directing, Producing, Cinematography, Editing, and Score, with a Directing prize also awarded in the Short List: Shorts section. The Short List awards were voted on by two juries of filmmaker peers. New for 2023, the DOC NYC U film student screenings were restyled as a competition.
ZINZINDURRUNKARRATZ WINS KALEIDOSCOPE GRAND JURY PRIZE
JURIED AWARDS, FEATURE FILMS
U.S. Competition: The jury selected from among 10 new American nonfiction films in this section.
Grand Jury Prize: Mediha, directed by Hasan Oswald and produced by Hasan Oswald, Annelise Mecca, Fahrinisa Campana, Alexander Spiess, and Stephen Nemeth. (World Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “Mediha is a person and a film that you will think about long after it ends. Hasan Oswald’s portrait of Mediha, one of many women and children survivors of the ISIS orchestrated genocide against the Yazidis, is a truly collaborative project in which Mediha tells her own harrowing story, and finds her own activist voice in the process. The film shines a light on the trauma of war and the difficult struggle to overcome it, while exploring the psychological complications of captivity of these women and children. This extremely careful and nuanced portrait of the experience of different generations of women resonated deeply with us. We are proud to give the U.S. Competition Grand Jury Prize to Mediha, and we sincerely congratulate the talent and courage of the team in bringing this story to the world.”
Available online through November 26.
Special Mention: Happy Campers, directed/produced by Amy Nicholson. (World Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “Amy Nicholson’s Happy Campers is a truly cinematic film with a strong directorial sensibility and a genuine auteur’s stamp that celebrates, mourns, and memorializes a beloved working-class seaside refuge about to undergo redevelopment. The film beautifully captures the life, spirit, and charm of the Inlet View Campground. The U.S. Jury chose it for special mention as the film is a genuine delight to watch in today’s turbulent times.”
Available online through November 26.
Jurors: Violet du Feng (Emmy-winning filmmaker), Meredith Kaulfers (EVP of Current Production, Imagine Documentaries), David Winn (Head of the News & Documentary Emmy Awards)
Films featured in the U.S. Competition section: 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, The Cowboy and the Queen, Happy Campers, How to Come Alive With Norman Mailer, Mediha, Obsessed With Light, The Riot Report, Shaken, Taking Venice, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow.
International Competition: The jury selected from among 10 new international productions in this section.
Grand Jury Prize: Total Trust, directed by Jialing Zhang, produced by Knut Jäger, Michael Grotenhoff, Saskia Kress, Jialing Zhang. (U.S. Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “Courageously told with spectacular access, Total Trust speaks to power in its story of the stifling effect that Chinese government surveillance has on its citizens–while also highlighting the voices of resistance. Though the film provides a wealth of new insight into the regime’s policies, the judges were even more captivated by its use of character and emotionally rich scenes to reveal the human consequences of surveillance society. They commended its delicate balancing of the personal and political, notably contrasted in the claustrophobic sense conveyed in the small spaces occupied by its characters and wide shots capturing the massive spectacle of state displays. This is a film that not only explores government’s monitoring as an issue, it skillfully demonstrates its repercussions, particularly on the children who will inherit its legacy. Citing its bravery and artistry, the judges bestow Total Trust with this year’s International Jury Award.”
Available online through November 26.
Special Mention: Al Djanat – The Original Paradise, directed by Chloé Aïcha Boro, produced by Frédéric Féraud, Aïcha Boro, and Faissol Gnonlonfin. (U.S. Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “Beautifully crafted and edited, Al Djanat – The Original Paradise, follows filmmaker Chloé Aïcha Boro as she returns to her homeland, Burkina Faso, after the death of her uncle. The judges praised Boro’s engaging and seamless tracing of conflicts—family, political and philosophical–in a story that’s both specific and personal yet deeply universal.”
Available online through November 26
Jurors: Michael Graversen (filmmaker), Ruchi Mital (producer and founder of Solani Media), David Siev (filmmaker).
Films featured in the International Competition section: Al Djanat – The Original Paradise, The Caravan, Dalton’s Dream, Dancing On The Edge Of A Volcano, The Dmitriev Affair, The Home Game, Le Spectre de Boko Haram, Neirud, Someone Lives Here, and Total Trust.
Metropolis: The jury selected from among eight films in this section, which is dedicated to stories about New Yorkers and New York City.
Grand Jury Prize: Lucha: A Wrestling Tale, directed/produced by Marco Ricci. (World Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “The story of four members of the Taft High School women’s wrestling team, the Bronx-set Lucha: A Wrestling Tale landed the Metropolis Award for its compelling characters, sense of community, and intimate, but not imposing, approach to the verite style. The judges were especially impressed with the way the film doesn’t shy from the difficult realities faced by the young women, who are allowed to struggle and show their flaws – making them more powerful. Director Marco Ricci follows the story over the course of three years, which allows us to witness the characters’ growth and change, but we never sense intrusiveness, as the film instead bravely lets its moments play out, even the toughest ones.”
Available online through Sunday, November 26.
Jurors: Giselle “Hush” Bailey (filmmaker), Julia Solomonoff (filmmaker and chair of NYU Tisch Grad Film), Amanda Spain (VP of Longform Acquisitions, MSNBC Films).
Films featured in the Metropolis section: Ashima, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, Diversity Plaza, Holding Back The Tide, Lucha: A Wrestling Tale, Nathan-ism, Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story, and Scooter Laforge: a life of art.
Kaleidoscope: The jury selected from among five films in this section, which showcases essayistic and formally adventurous documentaries.
Grand Jury Prize: Zinzindurrunkarratz, directed/produced by Oskar Alegria. (New York Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “In Oskar Alegria’s dreamlike documentary Zinzindurrunkarratz (a brilliant onomatopoeia word) we journey with the filmmaker through a Basque countryside that is transformed into a metaphysical landscape as he attempts to retrieve memories using an old camera. Alegria encourages us to contemplate the distinct dichotomies between past and present, rural and urban, haptic and cerebral. In this way, the film comes together somewhere amidst Alegria’s mind, the screen and our consciousness. In the process, we find ourselves in an ecstatic awareness of the way that silence, sound and image can be together and apart, always transforming. Both entrancing and poignant, Zinzindurrunkarratz made us ponder what constitutes a film, and closely observe our perception. For all of these reasons, we recognize it as the winning Kaleidoscope film at 2023 DOC NYC.”
Available online through November 26.
Jurors: Irena Kovarova (film programmer, producer and writer); José F. Rodriguez (senior film programmer, Tribeca Festival), Lynne Sachs (filmmaker and poet).
Films featured in the Kaleidoscope section: Grasshopper Republic, Megaheartz, The Walk, A Wolfpack Called Ernesto, and Zinzindurrunkarratz.
SHORT LIST: FEATURES AWARDS
DOC NYC’s Short List for Features puts the spotlight on 15 documentaries representing the best of the year.
Directing Award: While We Watched, directed by Vinay Shukla.
Jurors’ statement: “This superbly crafted story of a broadcast journalist in India who is battling a tide of disinformation uses intimate cinematography to drive a gripping dramatic tension. The story is local and yet completely universal. As the film progresses we are reminded that struggles for freedom and protection of truth are occurring all around the world. For its elegant yet painfully perceptive storytelling, the Directing Award goes to While We Watched.”
Available online through November 26.
Producing Award: While We Watched, produced by Vinay Shukla, Khushboo Ranka, and Luke Moody.
Jurors’ statement: “This film seeks the truth behind the veil of politicized ethics, ideology and propaganda. Against the backdrop of a crumbling newsroom, we witness exceptional courage and perseverance day after day. Despite death threats and condemnation, we find a vulnerable and beautiful vision that holds both craft and story close. The Producing Award is presented to While We Watched.”
Available online through November 26.
Editing Award: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, edited by Terra Long and Lawrence Jackman.
Jurors’ statement: “To bring the life, times and work of a fearless American original to the big screen, it takes a rich, deep and wild visual language. The unfettered imagination on display in this film’s editing beautifully evokes the vision of the woman at its heart. The Editing Award goes to Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
Cinematography Award: The Mother of All Lies, cinematography by Hatem Nechi.
Jurors’ statement: “Shooting a tightly focused personal film about a family is difficult; capturing big political events in a compelling way is just as demanding. But when long-ago public crimes poison the home life of three generations, making the connection visible is a virtuoso achievement. For the evocative image-making—of faces, of memories, of re-created, revised and rebuilt history—that makes the political vividly personal, the Cinematography Award goes to The Mother of All Lies.”
Available online through November 26.
Score Award: The Eternal Memory, music by Miguel Miranda and José Miguel Tobar.
Jurors’ statement: “The heart-piercing and unforgettable score for The Eternal Memory exhibits the type of playful togetherness we imagine is at the core of all eternal romances. As we journey through this world, the score is one continuous movement and an expressive thread, crafted with intimacy and delicate respect.”
Special Mention for Editing: The Disappearance of Shere Hite, edited by Eileen Meyer.
Jurors’ statement: “This film weaves together a cinematic tapestry that is as elegant as its protagonist. The result is an immersive story that reveals the true story of a woman the patriarchy tried to erase. For its lyrical creativity, a special mention for editing is presented to The Disappearance of Shere Hite.”
Jurors: Su Kim (producer), Mary Manhardt (editor, professor and consultant), Dawn Porter (filmmaker and founder of Trilogy Films).
SHORT FILM AWARDS
Shorts Competition: All new short films playing at the festival were eligible for the Shorts Grand Jury Prize, with the exception of DOC NYC U showcases and Short List: Shorts selections.
Grand Jury Prize: Mountain Man, directed/produced by Arun Bhattarai. (North American Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “The beautifully crafted, observational Mountain Man impressed the jury with its intimate and almost fable-like story of a glaciologist in Bhutan who regularly leaves his family behind to trek into the country’s sacred mountains to measure the rapidly melting glaciers. With a subtle approach, and an inter-generational lens to this one family’s tale, the jury noted how filmmaker Arun Bhattarai thoughtfully brings the audience a story about climate change and our global interconnectedness to this urgent issue.”
The 2023 winning Short film qualifies for consideration in the Documentary Short Subject category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run (provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules).
Special Mention: When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad, directed by Bohao Liu, produced by Bohao Liu and Gene Gallerano. (NYC Premiere)
Jurors’ statement: “Exquisitely shot and artistically styled, When A Rocket Sits On The Launch Pad earned the judges’ admiration for its insightful depiction of the hurdles and challenges that Chinese culture places in front of a typical teenage girl.”
Mountain Man screens online as part of the Shorts: Our Climate/Our Crisis program; When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad screens online as part of the Shorts: Changing Tides program; both are available through November 26.
Jurors: Aurora Brachman (director/cinematographer), Nick Canfield (filmmaker), Debra McClutchy (filmmaker and archival producer).
Short List: Shorts: DOC NYC’s Short List for Shorts highlights 15 documentary shorts that the festival’s programming team considers the year’s leading awards contenders.
Directing Award: Ayenda, directed by Marie Margolius, produced by Marie Margolius and Connor Schell.
Jurors’ statement: “Thrilling but never sensationalized, Ayenda traces the story of the members of a girls soccer team who flee their home country of Afghanistan—and the Taliban—to continue their pursuit of the sport. The judges praised the filmmaking as elegantly observed and empathetic, commending director Marie Margolius for the intimacy achieved in her interviews, as well as their cinematic execution. The danger feels imminent, and the action unspools humanely, a credit to both the artistry and directive of Margolius and her team in crafting an honest testament to the girls’ bravery.”
Available online in the Shortlist Shorts: New Beginnings program, through November 26.
Jurors: Mark Becker (director, story consultant and editor), Katja Esson (filmmaker), Tyler Walk (editor).
DOC NYC U Competition. DOC NYC U features ten short documentaries from students across the five boroughs. Restyled as a competition for the first time this year, this year’s program featured finalists from Brooklyn College, Columbia University, Hunter College, The New School, New York Film Academy, Pratt Institute, and the School of Visual Arts.
This year’s inaugural competition was adjudicated by veteran documentary and TV series director and producer R.J. Cutler, founder of This Machine.
DOC NYC U Award: I Told You So, directed by Malak AlSayyad and Amaan Stewart, produced by Malak AlSayyad, Amaan Stewart, and Loren Townsley. (Columbia University)
R.J. Cutler’s statement on the selection of I Told You So for the DOC NYC U Award: “For its deep empathy, its boldly personal yet universal honesty, and its unleashing of the power of cinema verite storytelling.”
Available online in the Shorts: DOC NYC U – Portraits program, through November 26.
Special Mention: It Smells Like Springtime, directed/produced by Mackie Mallison. (Pratt Institute)
R.J. Cutler’s statement on the special mention for It Smells Like Springtime: “For its poetic cinematic power, as well as its stunning use of visual and aural landscapes.”
Available online in the Shorts: DOC NYC U – Rebirth program, through November 26.
Subject Matter: DOC NYC partnered with Subject Matter to present a $20,000 grant from Subject Matter to 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, directed by Tarek Albaba, to support the film’s audience outreach and impact efforts, along with a corresponding grant of $20,000 to Our Three Winners, a nonprofit organization that is addressing the topics featured in the film. DOC NYC audience members joined Subject Matter in supporting Our Three Winners with over $4,000 in donations at the world premiere of the film.
#MyJustice: DOC NYC partnered with Odyssey Impact® to present the #MyJustice Film Award to Breaking Silence, directed by Amy Bench and Annie Silverstein, and produced by Amy Bench and Monique Walton. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize and an Odyssey Impact National Social Impact Campaign, and is made possible with generous support from Paramount/Content for Change Academy.
Odyssey Impact® Statement: “For a female-directed, short documentary
giving viewers, by way of a healed relationship between a deaf father and hearing daughter, a unique insight into the incarcerated deaf community and an inspiring father’s quest to help others and reunite his family. The film reverberates with kindness and compassion that drive towards advocacy for the communication challenges faced by prisoners with hearing disabilities, gives hopeful opportunities for prison reform and healing for families and people carrying unresolved trauma. Breaking Silence’s urgent and uplifting delivery earned it top prize this year for a stand out social justice film with a clear call to action to inspire change.“Breaking Silence” is available online in the Shorts: Inside and Out program, through November 26.
TICKETS AND PASSES
Festival tickets and passes may be purchased at docnyc.net/tickets-and-passes.In-person Screenings:
Closing Night (South to Black Power) screening: $30 General Public/$25 IFC Center Members
Other festival films: $20 General Admission/$18 Seniors & Children/$16 IFC Center Members, unless otherwise noted.
All screenings in the Short List: Features, Short List: Shorts, and DOC NYC U sections, as well as all Monday-Friday screenings starting before 5:00pm: $13 General Admission/$10 IFC Center members
Online screenings:
$13 General Public/$9 IFC Center MembersPasses and Ticket Packs:
Online Film Pass $250
Grants access to all the films screening on the festival’s virtual platform, November 8-26.Online Shorts Pass $49
Grants access to all short films screening on the festival’s virtual platform, November 8-26. On sale November 1.Five-Ticket Package for Online Screenings $50
Ten-Ticket Package for Online Screenings $90
A package of 5 or 10 online tickets at a special discount price.DOC NYC PRO Day Pass $125
Grants access to a single DOC NYC PRO day-long programming track, plus complimentary access, space permitting, to the Festival Lounge for that day, including the day’s Breakfast and Happy Hour.SPONSORS
The festival is made possible by:
Leading Media Partners: New York Magazine; The WNET Group
Major Sponsors: A&E IndieFilms; HBO Documentary Films; Netflix
Supporting Sponsors: National Geographic Documentary Films
Signature Sponsors: 11th Hour Racing; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Consulate General of Canada in New York; Frankfurt Kurnit; Hulu; NBC News Studios; National Geographic; NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment; Participant
Signature Media Partners: The New Republic; WNYC
Event Sponsors: Amazon MGM Studios; Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP; 30 for 30 / ESPN Films; Fox Rothschild LLP; Impact Partners; JustFilms | Ford Foundation; Kickstarter PBC; MTV Documentary Films; Odyssey Impact®; Portrait Creative Network; Prestige Custom Awards; Reavis Page Jump LLP; Screen Nova Scotia; Subject Matter; SVA – MFA Social Documentary Film; Telefilm Canada; Village East by Angelika; Wheelhouse Creative
Friends of the Festival: Agile Ticketing; CineSend; DCTV; Fever Content; Posteritati; Ptex; Shiftboard
DOC NYC is produced and presented by IFC Center, a division of AMC Networks.
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Your Coffee Should Taste Better, shares Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee
You’ve Got Your Coffee All Wrong, shares Maurice Contreras at Volcanica Coffee
Just about everyone has their coffee preferences. But the truth is, most of us aren’t enjoying coffee the best it can be and we don’t even know it. The beans, the grinding, the flavor (or lack thereof).
And before you ask, nope, good coffee doesn’t need to be expensive. Actually most great coffee is more affordable than the bad stuff you’re currently drinking. True story.
But I wanted to get answers and advice from a coffee expert, so I had a conversation with Maurice Contreras from Volcanica Coffee.
Maurice Contreras, Volcanica Coffee
Native Costa Rican Maurice Contreras started Volcanica Coffee to import excellent-tasting coffee from volcanic regions, such as his homeland, to consumers. He started the company in his garage and now operates a coffee plant near Atlanta with 20 employees, including his wife and two adult children.
What is your favorite thing about coffee?
My favorite thing I like about coffee is really the flavor. That actually was how I got started. I’m from Costa Rica and for a long time I would do annual trips with the family. It was a family vacation. One of our trips we did a coffee farm tour. And just got to learn about coffee. And this is back in 2004. One of the things that dawned on me is how coffee in Costa Rica was so much better than coffee in the United States. I just didn’t understand why a 3rd world country had better coffee. The quality of coffee in the United States has really come down over several decades. So that’s when I thought that there was an opportunity to bring better tasting coffee or specialty coffee as it’s known today to the United States. That was really how it got started. It really was more about the flavor and just enjoying the richness of a Costa Rican coffee.
Is there a simple reason why first world coffee just isn’t as good?
Yeah, the general sense was because it became more of a highly produced, big production, big coffee house; and I’ll tell you a quick story. A lot of people don’t know this, the word Maxwell House, it actually is a chain of hotels. Some of them are still in existence. And so Maxwell House started from the Maxwell House Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. They served breakfast and they had really good coffee and it became really popular. It became very famous, and then eventually it became its own brand Maxwell House, and then it ended up getting acquired by corporate conglomerates. And that really good tasting coffee just turned into [not-great] coffee.
So that’s really what happened to coffee in the United States. At one time, back in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, people would really appreciate good coffee and then just kind of lost sight of what good coffee was.
From a coffee lover’s point of view, what would you say to convince them to give your coffee a try?
That coffee really is an enjoyable drink to be appreciated and enjoyed for the flavor of what it is. It’s not just something to wake you up. But really coffee and all the different varieties, there’s a lot of flavor notes, a lot of different flavors to be enjoyed. A lot of it depends upon the different regions. My recommendation is try it out and get some good coffee with some flavor notes that you enjoy. Like, for example, Ethiopian coffees, they have a lot of berry notes, a lot of fruit tones, even red wine notes. Some of those things can really open up people’s perspective on coffee.
Before we jump more into coffee, I wanted to ask you about your background as far as the work you did before Volcanica Coffee
My career was in marketing specifically I was in the wireless telephone industry. It really was just about creating a brand. I was part of the startup team at TracFone Wireless which is now a part of Verizon. I was the National Director, I created the brand. In fact, there’s still a lot of things in the brand that I created. I had a passion for marketing.
It was kinda like, “Hey, gee whiz, what if I created my own brand and just created a business?”
And so I actually was on a hunt for a couple of years thinking what would be a good business? And then I just kind of stumbled on coffee because it was staring me in the face.
There’s such a message in there. The success you’re currently riding is because you took industry knowledge of marketing, a personal passion for coffee, and took the risk of putting them together in a business start-up.
Yep, that’s true. It was a risk because I was making a good living, I had a young family, I didn’t wanna affect any of that. It was something part-time, working nights and weekends, that’s how it all started out. I
How did your family feel about that? Was there anxiety?
It was definitely a struggle and I loved spending time with them and being with them. But part of how I resolved that was I would just wake up early in the morning and spend 1-2 hours before I had to go to work doing this. I didn’t want to neglect my family and I didn’t.
There’s so many people out there who aspire to take those steps and they always find reasons not to, but you found a way. When people are drinking your coffee, they’re not just drinking delicious coffee, they’re supporting someone who took a huge chance, who followed his passions.
So segueing to the actual coffee part now.
Your website mentions coffee regions and how the region’s soil contributes to the taste. A lot of our audience who’s into food and wine will realize the terroir aspect is very familiar to that.
Can you pick two or three regions and explain their soil and how it contributes to the taste?
I’ll start with African coffees. Their soil is very unique. Coffees from Africa tend to have a lot of berry notes, a lot more flavor of fruit which is very unique and very different compared to coffees from Indonesia.
Indonesian coffees tend to be lower in acidity. Acidity provides flavor but they’re still very good tasting coffees, even though they’re lower in acidity.
Also the coffee in Indonesia, Sumatra, for example, Papua New Guinea, and even Hawaiian Kona coffees, those tend to have a lot of boldness. When you taste the cup, your mouth just tends to [recognize] that bold flavor, which you don’t get in African coffees. So those are a couple examples.
So really it is like old world wine versus new world wine. A noticeable difference in mouth feel depending on what region you’re going after.
When people ask, Hey, what kind of coffee should I buy? I always ask, what kind of flavors do you like? Start there. Then for people that are experimenting, try different coffees from different regions.
You mentioned that you’re from Costa Rica. So tell us more about the Costa Rican volcanic regions.
It’s the most popular coffee growing region in Costa Rica, the Tarrazu area, which is very mountainous, goes up to 5,000 feet above sea level south of San Jose. Very steep.
The coffee beans, because of the volcanic soil, have a lot of flavor. It’s a very mild flavor, but very flavorful as well. And because of the elevations, the beans are also very dense. They’re a harder bean. In fact, there’s a designation strictly hard bean that is used in the industry because of that.
Being from Costa Rica I came here [to the U.S.] when I was a baby. My mom would tell stories about how she would assist with her father, which is my grandfather, in the harvest. Because my grandfather was a teacher, he would work out in the rural areas of Costa Rica where the coffee bean farmers worked. They would assist during harvest time with picking coffee beans off the tree. There was the connection going back a couple generations in our family.
There has been a coffee influence throughout generations of your family.
Yes. For decades, maybe even a century, coffee was the number one product for Costa Rica. Today it’s tourism.
I’m glad you brought up tourism. We cover a lot of travel. If somebody wanted to visit Costa Rica, maybe even a specific coffee lover, is there a place you can recommend to come visit?
One of the farms that we work with actually has an Airbnb right on their plantation. We’ve had several customers that have made trips there and have gone and stayed at the house. It’s gorgeous.
More people are working from home and making coffee at home. A lot of us making coffee wrong. Can you just walk us through step by step the best way to grind and brew your coffee?
The single largest improvement in the freshness of your coffee is by grinding your beans at home. A lot of people don’t know this: buying ground coffee, because it’s in smaller particles, tends to deteriorate very quickly. So you’re not enjoying the best of what coffee can be.
So first of all, grind at home and it’s the type of grinder.
We recommend a burr grinder. The other type of grinder is a blade grinder, which is a cheap type grinder, which does not do as well as a burr grinder.
Second thing is you wanna match your grind type to how you’re brewing. So there’s different levels, how fine or how course you want the coffee. If you’re doing a French press, you want to have a coarse grind. The opposite spectrum is an espresso grind. It’s almost like very fine sand. So if you had coarse coffee and an espresso maker, you’d have a bad cup of coffee. And the opposite too. If you had a French press where you’re using espresso ground coffee, you would not have a good tasting coffee. A lot of it has to do with the extraction and this is the chemistry behind coffee.
Then in the middle of that would be like a traditional drip grind, which most people have which is a medium coarseness of a grind type. That works best to pour over or a drip grind.
Once you buy the equipment, you’re saving quite a bit of money by doing this all at home. More value and quality out of doing it at home?
Oh yeah. A cup of coffee outside can cost $3-6. At home, 50 cents per cup. Plus you’re controlling the flavor, how hot it is and how fresh it is.
How many cups do you think the average coffee person drinks per day?
The average is between one to two cups per day. Wall Street Journal says 66% of Americans have had coffee within the last day.
So with volcanic, you’ve mentioned low acid. Tell us more.
Low acid coffee is actually a natural occurrence. There’s no additives that need to be added, at least we don’t add anything to our coffee. It’s just how it’s sourced. How it’s brewed also affects acidity.
So for example, the cold brew method tends to lower the acidity of coffee. Even more than if you brewed it traditionally in a drip grinder. It benefits people who suffer from acid reflux; and different types of indigestion abnormalities can benefit from low acidic coffee just because the pH is a higher number.
We have a lot of customers thanking us because they could not drink coffee before they heard about our low acid coffee, so now they can drink coffee again.
We have a blend of different coffees called the low acid coffee, plus 12 or 15 other coffees that are also rated as low acid. We rated them, we’ve done the pH levels on all of them, and all of them fall into that category of being lower in acidity.
Volcanica has built up a really strong community on your social media avenues. What have the results been like?
We’re on all the major socials: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok. It’s very easy to find us. We take customer feedback really seriously. We’re always looking for input and ideas.
We’ll get a request [to] carry a type of coffee or coffee from a region and we’ll always look into it.
We offer 100% customer satisfaction. We take returns, even when the customer just didn’t like a coffee, which is no fault of ours.
When someone does suggest a new bean, a new region, is that an easy outreach to investigate, or is that a whole process?
It is a whole process.
What’s a great online shopping strategy for finding the right coffee beans?
Align yourself with a brand that has a quality product. Look at customer reviews, their roasting technique. Then it’s a matter of what type of coffee do you like? What flavor notes? Something mild? Berry notes? Lower in acidity?
So I go onto your website to buy some beans. What’s a safe way to pick a bean that I’ll probably enjoy?
We carry over 150 different coffees, which is a lot. Visiting our website you have to know your preferences. Having some [filtering/search ] tools out there would be beneficial to people helping the selection process, that’s actually on our roadmap for the future.
Part of the reason why we have 150 coffees is because we’ve been listening to our customers over the years.
Tell us something about Volcanico Coffee that not everyone knows.
We love to give back. We’ve been blessed, we’ve been very successful, so we donate 1% of our website sales to an organization called Charity Water. They build water projects in impoverished communities around the world. This year we’re actually sponsoring a well in Ethiopia for a particular town. We know that we buy a lot of coffee from Ethiopia and we’d love to give back to them.
What is the future of coffee?
The future of coffee is specially curated lots. We call them our “Private Collection”. Farmers that are actually fermenting their coffee with mango, peach, different types of fruits. We have a few of them right now. We’re hoping to be carrying more in the near future.
Our audience is listening right now. What would you like them to do?
If you’re interested in finding out more about coffee and experiencing coffee, start exploring. We offer a great cup of coffee. Great different flavors and varieties. We even offer decafs, flavored coffees, something for everybody.
Website: https://volcanicacoffee.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gourmet.coffee.beans
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VolcanicaCoffee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volcanicacoffee
