IdeaBarista

Coffee Talk is Good for Your Brain!

2008-08-12T10:44:00.003-05:00

An article from RealAge says the key to stimulating your brain over a cup of coffee isn't the stimulant in the brew, but your choice of chat...

From the article...
"Whether you engage in conversation with a friend, a family member, or the guy behind you in the express line, keep talking. In a recent study of young adults, a mere 10 minutes of face-to-face conversation about a social issue was enough to boost working memory and mental processing speeds. Chitchat was as good as a crossword puzzle, in terms of brain benefits. In fact, the more people socialize, the better their brainpower -- regardless of age.

Conversation requires us to pay attention, remember what was said, deduce the other person's meaning, and come up with appropriate responses -- some pretty serious mental gymnastics. And when it comes to mental muscle, it's use it or lose it."

Caffeinated Combustion Engine

2008-05-30T00:11:00.002-05:00

Coffee and Creativity certainly go together, but who knew it would lead to a gasoline alternative?

The Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns up used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine and, Viola, a caffeine-powered truck.

Read more about it here and here.

What's Your Starbucks Idea?

2008-03-30T12:21:00.002-05:00

I built my brainstorming/beanstorming business around meeting with people in coffee shops. It was just a natural match to create ideas over coffee and conversation.

Starbucks was (and is) one of my favorite locations for this process because of their commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit, so it came as no surprise when I saw a small promotional piece in my local Starbucks to visit a microsite dedicated to collecting ideas on improving the Starbucks experience from their best resource -- their customers.

Kudos and congrats to Starbucks for making this move. It's certain to benefit both the company and the customers.

$14 Experiment in Customer Service

2008-01-27T18:33:00.000-05:00

Billy Chasen took a free drink coupon and turned it into a quest to find the most expensive drink a person could order at Starbucks. You can read the full scoop here, but in the end his creative caffeinated concoction rang the register to a tune of $13.76. This very expensive Venti was mainly accomplished by adding 13 shots of espresso, and one commenter to the blog post rightly points out that you wouldn't say the most expensive pizza was attained by simply adding toppings -- but this discussion travels down a different path than my own.

I simply think it's impressive that the employee honored the coupon.

Most coupons state they must be presented prior to ordering (Chasen used the coupon after the drink was prepared) and a Starbucks employee states there is a $5 limit to one of these coupons.

According to Chasen report, the employee didn't whine or cry or seek out a manager. "She laughed and comped the entire drink."

When you consider that the drink coupon was originally given to Chasen to make up for a less than desirable service experience to begin with -- this attempt to create the most expensive Starbucks drink could have had the exact opposite effect. Resulting in another bad experience with the company (even though Chasen was kind of asking for it.)

In my opinion, the Barista is to be congratulated for not making a mountain out of a molehill. For is she had raised an issue and caused a commotion over the situation, it would have come across as another bad experience for the customer -- and while the employee would have been "right" the result would have been upsetting a customer who already had one bad experience, and may have chosen not to return. If you prove yourself "right" but lose a customer in the process, being right doesn't amount to a hill of (coffee) beans.

It's About The Howards

2008-01-10T12:15:00.000-05:00

Is one of the qualifications for running the king of caffeinated stores that you have to be named Howard? Do they just throw away your resume if your name is Mike, or Joe, or Don?

The other Howard (Behar, not Schultz) has written a new business book based on the learned leadership lessons of a life among the beans and brew. "It's Not About The Coffee" focuses on the ten principles of personal leadership to which Behar attributes the success of the company -- and there isn't a reference to coffee among them:

10 Principles of Personal Leadership

-------------------------------------------------

1. Know Who You Are:

Wear One Hat

2. Know Why You're Here:

Do It Because It's Right, Not Because It's Right for Your Resume

3. Think Independently:

The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom

4. Build Trust:

Care, like You Really Mean It

5. Listen for the Truth:

The Walls Talk

6. Be Accountable:

Only the Truth Sounds like the Truth

7. Take Action:

Think Like a Person of Action, and Act like a Person of Thought

8. Face Challenge:

We Are Human Beings First

9. Practice Leadership:

The Big Noise and the Still, Small Voice

10. Dare to Dream:

Say "Yes," the Most Powerful Word in the World

Download a complete PDF file of the list by clicking here.

I've just started reading the book, and I have a lot of favorites on the list -- but more importantly, I've selected the one I know I need to work on the most. Ironically enough, it's Principle #3, "Think Independently."

It's not that I personally have a problem with thinking independently, it's the second part of the principle I struggle with: "The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom." I can be such a control freak about the execution of my ideas, I feel that I probably try to give too much specific direction on how to accomplish the implementation. I'm a firm believer in the idea that the best concepts come from 'outside looking in' -- it's just tough to take my own advice sometimes. ;)

Take my advice on this, though: go get yourself a copy of Howard Behar's book "It's Not About The Coffee." It's sure to give you some strategies on which to reflect, and even if you're telling yourself that you already know everything -- ask yourself how GOOD you are at it. And be brave enough to tell yourself the truth.

Learn more about the book, and download bonus content at HowardBehar.com.

Radiating Creativity

2007-11-19T07:46:00.001-05:00

Here's a neat gizmo I found on Boing Boing Gadgets, it's a ceramic food and beverage warmer that sits atop a steam radiator.

Before you get too excited -- it's simply a prototype and not currently for sale, but the comments on the Boing Boing page are encouraging. Even the negative feedback can be used to increase the effectiveness and functionality of the design.

Keep this in mind when working on your own projects.

Why not release an early prototype to a trusted group of product users?

Their feedback (both positive and negative) will tell you what improvements can be made to make your product more popular in the marketplace, and their suggestions will allow you to skip over the need to "fix" things after releasing version 1.0 to the public -- you'll get to jump right to version 2.0 (which is frequently where your competitors enter the market -- releasing their version of YOUR product with all the obvious improvements.)

Haiku. Can you?

2007-10-25T07:27:00.000-05:00

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is holding a contest in order to collect coffee-themed haikus that will be printed on their coffee cups.

All entries must follow the three-line 5-7-5 syllable format of the standard haiku. You can enter once per day until December 1, 2007. Extra points are awarded for entries that address sustainability and environmental issues.

Fourteen winners will be selected to have their poems featured on Green Mountain's earth-friendly hot cups, and will receive a Keurig B60 single-cup coffee brewer and two boxes of K-Cups.

Click here to register your entry -- and feel free to post some of your submissions below. Here's one of mine...

Needs cream and sugar?
You add before tasting it
So, how can you tell?

Wake-up Special

2007-09-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

Folgers is offering free samples of its Gourmet Selections coffee by mail. Consumers can sign up to receive a 1.1-ounce package of coffee in one of four flavors Bistro Blend, Crème Brulee, Chocolate and Vanilla Biscotti at wakeupspecial.com. Online marketing and TV spots support the offer.

Caffeinated Findings

2007-08-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

A friend told me about a DailyCandy-ish website that publishes an email list about food, and wouldn't you know it? Only a couple days after I discover it, they print an article about COFFEE...

from HungryGirl.com...

We recently heard that drinking three cups of coffee
or tea a day could actually help older women sustain their memory. According to
a French study, it's the caffeine that plays the biggest factor in these
findings.

And speaking of caffeine, a separate US study found that a combination of
exercise and caffeinated water (aka coffee or tea) could actually reduce the
damaging effects the sun has on the skin. But don't think that means you can
chug some iced coffee and skip the sunscreen... you can't. Click for more on that.

Their newsletter is well done, and hungry GUYS as well as hungry GIRLS will be equally engaged in the content.

Well Crafted Cuppa

2007-08-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

Creative form and function flow out of this new coffee maker. Shared from the Single-Serve Coffee Blog...

Europe: The WMF 1 Design Object Single Serve Coffee Maker
We're not sure how we missed this single serve coffee maker, but Gizmodo found it recently and it looks pretty amazing. The WMF 1 is a coffee pad/pod-based single-serve coffee machine, which integrates a cup into its minimalist cubic design that's not much bigger than a couple of books. The almost Apple like design can be livened up with your choice of four colors for the lining. After dumping in the water and pressing a button, it only takes a minute to brew your coffee.

Take your cup and fill with water, unscrew the pod holder and insert a coffee pod. Then put a pod in, press the button, and in less than a minute you have a cup of piping hot single serve coffee.

What's interesting is how the WMF 1 is both a single serve coffee maker and a design object. It's meant to look great or we think interesting along with your other design related objects in your design ridden house. We happen to be in that camp, so the WMF actually has us pretty excited. The only thing that doesn't have us excited? You can't use your own cup, but if you do break the WMF cup you can buy a replacement. And one last thing - there's even a video - a must watch and a video game. The WMF 1 is currently available in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, The Nederlands, and Spain.

Via Gizmodo at WMF

Idea Geeks

2007-08-03T09:13:00.000-05:00

Think you got what it takes to be a great big idea geek?

The Geek Squad, those customer service reps behind the counter at Best Buy, is challenging people to come up with the next big idea. The winners of the What's Your Big Idea? challenge will get to attend IdeaFestival to put their ideas into action with help from Geek Squad agents. The event, to be held Sept. 13-15 in Louisville, KY, brings together thinkers from around the globe to explore innovative, imaginative and cutting-edge ideas.
Read more of this story

From PromoXtra

Hot Coffee Cool Links

2007-04-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

A couple hot items from the Single-Serve Coffee blog...

First, the new JavaWand! It's promoted as an alternative to a French Press, and allows you to make fresh brewed coffee without lugging around a coffee-maker.

Seems to have some potential, and at $20 I can't be expected to pass it up. I'm ordering one today and I'll report back on its effectiveness.

Second, a recent episode of On Point with Tom Ashbrook (which airs on Boston's NPR station WBUR) featured the buzz on our favorite caffeinated beverage. They did an on-air coffee tasting, and had interviews with several notables including George Howell, founder of The Coffee Connection, which he sold to Starbucks in 1994.

You can listen to the archived podcast here.

A Super Cup of Coffee

2007-04-16T06:24:00.000-05:00

One of the best comics online (not just my opinion, they win tons of awards) is The Perry Bible Fellowship.

One fine example of the content is the coffee-themed strip that appears below. Follow the link, read a few episodes, and I defy you not to get instantly addicted.

Caffeine Death Match!

2007-04-14T06:29:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder which would kill you first, Coffee or Red Bull? According to the "Death By Caffeine" utility on EnergyFiend.com, for a guy my weight (I ain't telling) it would take 149.20 cups of brewed coffee vs. 200.48 cans of Red Bull to make me croak.

Other interesting findings:

Diet Coke will kill ya faster than Coke Classic
Jolt Cola will "do" you in much more quickly than Mountain Dew
160 cans of Enviga Green Tea would have me Resting In Peace

...And don't even get me started on how KitKat bars are TWICE as deadly as Reese Peanut Butter Cups!

The Blog as a Coffee Shop

2007-03-20T11:01:00.000-05:00

Ken Yarmosh, a fellow Blog Channel writer over at The Duct Tape Marketing Blog Channel, wrote an interesting post about how your blog is (or should be) a coffee shop.

Coffee Shops are places for relaxed chats and passionate debates. A location to plot your next move or plan your next business venture. It's also an ideal setting for business networking and socializing with friends -- sounds a lot like an effective blog strategy to me.

See what Ken has to say on the subject by clicking here.

D-O-N-N-Y NEEDS C-O-F-F-E-E

2007-03-17T08:08:00.000-05:00

Ran across this video today -- "Coffee Song" from Ralph Covert's
"Welcome to Ralph's World" CD set to video in a weird homemade
video mask by AwedJob on Revver.

High Five for Starbucks

2007-01-29T09:48:00.000-05:00

Brandchannel.com has published its Readers' Choice Awards culled from surveying a market-savvy audience from around the world and asking them to nominate the most "high impact" brands.

Although fun to note that Google, YouTube, and Wikipedia also found lofty perches, its a bit predictable. What most folks might not have seen coming is that in both the Global as well as the US & Canada lists, Starbucks scored a #5 and a #4 placement, respectively.

How did Starbucks win such high placement? Starbucks opened 733 new licensed retail stores in the US. between October '05 and October '06. They've cultivated an attitude that it's not merely a coffee brand -- but a lifestyle brand that just happens to sell coffee.

Starbucks also owns and operates "Hear Music." A typical Starbucks only sells a few CDs within their store, but some Hear Music locations feature listening stations that allow users to purchase, download, and burn custom CDs (all while lapping up a few lattes!)

Truly caffeine and creativity at its best.

Elvis Has Left The Building (...to pick-up coffee)

2006-11-29T13:20:00.000-05:00

Ugly Mug Coffee (R) has created Elvis Coffee -- four limited edition Christmas blends in honor of The King's favorite holiday.

With blend names like; Love Me Tender easy roast, Santa Baby smooth roast, Blue Christmas bold roast, and Silent Night decaf -- I imagine these must be from the fat-Elvis in a white jumpsuit era. For those less inclined to coffee, they also have two flavors of Elvis hot chocolate.

Personally, I have to mark this idea "Return To Sender."

Help! I'm Lost!

2006-10-30T13:29:00.000-05:00

Meeting for Beanstorms in coffee shops can lead to leaving behind an item or two. I've lost a few pens, a book, some Post-It notes and a ball cap this way. I've been fortunate not to have misplaced a portable USB drive -- yet! -- but it's bound to happen sooner or later.

Fortunately, I've just read a couple blog entries on one way a person might encourage the return of said item -- a simple request to the finder in the form of a pre-programmed message that is saved to the thumb drive.

The basic concept revolves around the fact that most people will do something if you simply ask them. The pre-programmed pop-up message will invite those so inclined to return your USB drive per the instructions provided. One user has even offered a reward by way of exchanging the returned drive for a brand new blank drive as their ways of saying "thanks."

Great idea, excellent attempt at a one-to-one interaction with the person who happens to run across your lost information.

Follow the link below for a clever idea on how you might get your wandering USB thumb-drive returned to you.

Help! I'm Lost!

Enjoy a WAP-uccino

2006-10-07T15:59:00.000-05:00

Announcing the new Idea Barista WAP site!
What's WAP? Wikipedia defines it as: Wireless Application Protocol (or WAP) is an open international standard for applications that use wireless communication. Its principal application is to enable access to the internet from a mobile phone or PDA.

The Idea Barista defines it as a on-demand way to get instant access to Beanstorming tips on the go. As long as you've got access to a web-enabled mobile phone or PDA, you'll have access to valuable ways to generate bigger and better ideas.

The Idea Barista WAP site contains itty-bitty beans of brilliance especially designed to fit on your cellphone screen, but just like coffee beans they are perfect for percolating a bold brew -- only instead of coffee, you'll be brewing up IDEAS.

To visit the Idea Barista WAP site, just point your phone or PDA to:
http://www.IdeaBarista.com/wap/

Of course, you're free to view it in a regular old computer web browser -- but where's the fun in that??

Caffeination/CaffeineNation

2006-10-01T18:43:00.000-05:00

Here are some found creative applications of caffeine from around the web ~

Big Ideas and All That Jazz

2006-09-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

Nice interview with jazz sax artist Ornette Coleman in today's NYTimes. Access to the article will require free registration, but it's worth taking those extra couple steps in order to read the entire article.

Great quotes from this legendary player on music and ideas...

The music he likes is simply defined: anything that can't be summed up in a common term. Any music that is not created as part of a style. "The state of surviving in music is more like 'what music are you playing,' " he said. "But music isn't a style, it's an idea. The idea of music, without it being a style -- I don't hear that much anymore."

Then he went up a level. "I would like to have the same concept of ideas as how people believe in God," he said. "To me, an idea doesn't have any master."

Ahhh... he strings together words as well as he plays notes on his alto-saxophone.
"An idea doesn't have any master."
Brilliant and inspiring.

From Business Wisdom Brewed

2006-09-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

ChangeThis.com has posted its new update, and my favorite featured Manifesto is from BrandAutopsy.com's John Moore. He's provided a ChangeThis preview of his new book "Tribal Knowledge: Business Wisdom Brewed from the Grounds of Starbucks Corporate Culture."

The book was just released (my copy has already been ordered!), but John's Manifesto provides an electronic Cliff Notes version that can easily be shared with your "co-conspirators of cool."

Keeping in our caffeinated theme, I have MY OWN ChangeThis-Manifesto-in-the-making... but I can't do it without YOU!

Please visit the page linked below and cast a vote for my Manifesto Proposal -- "The Idea Barista: Blending Coffee & Creativity to Brew New Ideas" and cast a vote to get it written. If the topic sounds interesting to enough people, I'll be invited to write a formal Manifesto for ChangeThis -- so click here to read the proposal and cast a vote to have it written.

...and then John Moore can write about its release on HIS blog. ;)

My Dog Is Really Awesome. Are You?

2006-08-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

My Dog (Bella The Idea Dog) "is really awesome!"
So is That Nametag Guy.
Even FurbySays he's Really Awesome.

My buddy Jim Kukral has created a really cool (er... really awesome) new website that allows you to register your name, website, girlfriend, favorite band, movie, or tv show (or whatever other really awesome item you'd like) as part of the AwesomeMillion.com project.

The first 200 awesome things are almost all reserved. Given the viral nature of the idea (and the popularity of similar concepts like milliondollarhomepage.com) you might want to jump on the bandwagon soon.

UN-like the Million Dollar Homepage, a dollar will get you far more than a measly old pixel in the middle of an ugly webpage. A dollar in Jim's AwesomeMillion.com project nets you an exclusive subdomain on IsReallyAwesome.com (i.e., DonTheIdeaGuy.IsReallyAwesome.com). The page displays a personal and official-looking certificate stating that you are "certified really awesome" by AwesomeMillion.com.

A BUCK?? That's cheaper than a greeting card and waaay cooler. Invest $5 and you gain the ability to include a custom link and upload your own 150x150 graphic.

NOTE: I just registered "MyMom.IsReallyAwesome.com" and instantly became her favorite child! (Take THAT, Melinda and Joe!)

Coffee Stain or Nouveau Design?

2006-08-02T06:04:00.000-05:00

Here's a creative caffeinated twist on something usually seen as a negative. Designers Valeria Miglioli and Barnaby Barford have taken your coffee cup's habit of leaving irritating ringmarks on your tabletop and turned it into an artistic experience.

Distributed through the home and gift site, Generate, this set of two coffee cups have patterns molded into the bottom of the mug. This way, instead of leaving boring old circles of spilt coffee, you leave behind floral patterns. The images were even created to link together, so rather than trying to minimize these messes, you can encourage your artistic bent expand your canvas to encompass the entire tablecloth.

If you're playing along at home, from which beans might this product solution have grown? My vote would be for Lima Beans or Magic Beans. A concept created from a normally 'yucky' extension of your product idea (coffee stains), or is it a 'happy accident' that might have been discovered by spilling coffee near a scrapbooking rubber stamp project?

What other beans might apply?