Counter Culture Coffee Opens Atlanta Regional Training Center
Posted: 06-01-2007 : ATLANTA, G.A.

Atlanta, GA – Counter Culture Coffee today announced the opening of a new Regional Training Center in Atlanta’s historic King Plow Arts Center, at 887 West Marietta Street NW, Suite m210. The center will primarily serve as a regional focal point for Counter Culture’s cutting-edge coffee education and training program for culinary professionals, grocery staff members, and baristas. In addition, the center will be open to the public every Friday at 10:00 a.m. for a weekly coffee “cupping,” a century-old method of tasting and evaluating coffee akin to a wine tasting.

“This is an exciting step for us, and we’re enthusiastic about becoming a part of Atlanta’s growing, diverse culinary community,” said Brett Smith, president and co-founder of Counter Culture Coffee. “In Atlanta, as we’ve seen in other cities, there has been an increasing interest in coffee’s origins, the craft of the barista, and coffee’s role in sophisticated, elegant cuisine.”

Counter Culture’s ongoing education and training program includes a variety of labs, classes, and seminars taught by the roaster’s team of experienced coffee specialists. Current classes include Beginning Espresso, Intermediate Espresso, Brewing Fundamentals, Comparative Cupping, and History, Buying & Origins. For more details, including registration information, please visit the Education section of www.counterculturecoffee.com.

“We hope that our training center will not only become a valuable and useful resource for Atlanta’s food and beverage professionals, but also a hub of knowledge and community for Atlanta’s growing population of passionate coffee consumers,” said Peter Giuliano, Counter Culture’s co-owner and director of coffee. “Our public coffee cuppings have been a great success at our Durham and Charlotte training centers, and we hope for the same level of interest in Atlanta.”

Counter Culture’s fresh-roasted coffee may be found in the Atlanta metro area at businesses including Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge, Nikolai’s Roof, Woodstock Coffee House, and area Whole Foods Markets. Please visit us at Booth #634 at Coffee Fest Atlanta, June 1-3, in the Cobb Galleria Centre, and please also join us Saturday night, June 1, at 7:00 p.m. for our Atlanta Regional Training Center Grand Opening Party!

Founded in 1995, Durham, NC-based Counter Culture Coffee pursues coffee perfection with a consuming passion. The company partners directly with producers at origin to import and roast premium coffees for high-end restaurants, gourmet stores, coffee shops, groceries, and consumers with discerning tastes. In 2006, Counter Culture Coffee was named one of the top three boutique roasters in the United States by Food & Wine magazine, and was named ROAST magazine’s Roaster of the Year in 2004. For more information or to order coffee, please visit www.counterculturecoffee.com.