Blue Moon

Dailass Nalwamba, Zambia's 2012 Barista Champion.

Zambia's first and only American-style cafe, the Blue Moon, is an ongoing source of pride for InHouse Design which developed the Blue Moon brand.  This week the Cafe is hosting a number of different TV crews as they document Dailass and Miariam's preparations for the World Barista Championship (and Gourmet Coffee Expo) in Vienna, Austria.  Dailess competed in the Africa Championship in February, placing 3rd and has high hopes for her European debut.  Here are a few photos from the tasting and coaching yesterday.

  Dailess presenting to the three sitting judges (this judge refused to be ON camera, opting instead to stay behind the lens!)

For the competition the baristas have 15 minutes to prepare and present their espresso (4 shots), 8 cappucinos, and 4 specialty drinks.  While preparing the drinks they must explain to the judges what they have prepared and the tastes they should be evaluating.  Dailess is bringing a 100% Arabica from Munali farms and Marika's Gourmet Zambian Coffee Roaster which has strong lemon notes and a hint of dark chocolate.  As explained by a certified judge from Marika's Coffee, the barista is evaluated for their preparation, explanation and knowledge of their coffee (amongst other things).  If the judge tasted cherry and caramel it means the barista has missed the mark.

The specialty drink Zambia's star barista is presenting is an iced espresso with macadamia nut milk sweetened with the tiniest bit of honey.  Two agricultural products of Zambia are, you guessed it, macadamia nuts and honey.  It's a lovely and refreshing drink and is of course presented beautifully in a hand blown glass and crushed ice.  (See some photos from our visit to Cilla's Macadamia Nut farm!)

 

 Dailess doing her post-presentation interview for MUVI TV.  Tomorrow she'll practice again in front of the ZNBC crew for the news and for "Kwacha Good Morning."  With all the press, she's clearly comfortable in front of the camera and had great, intelligent answers to her interviewers questions. It'll be fun to see these features hit the big screen.

The superstar, getting feedback from the judges.  She's so proud to be representing the Blue Moon Cafe, her country and female baristas everywhere!  Good Luck Dailess!

THIS JUST IN:  Catch Dailass Malwamba's performance as competitor #40 (of 54) in Vienna

Curious?

Please tell me you are at least a wee-bit curious?

Yes? 

That's the idea.

This InHouse event promotion poster has three elements to pique your interest.  Can you spot them?

1 - a new take on an iconic design

2 - an odd relationship between a piglet and dodgeball

3 - a mysterious secret coded message (that black and white box)

The InHouse Explanations:

BEFORE I go into the explanations, I have some bad news for all Dodgeball fans of Lusaka.  Don't get your tube socks and sweat bands out just yet...the Big Man just issued a temporary Piggy Pardon and this incredible event has been postponed.  Before you go and cry about it, just think of all the time you'll have to brush up on your skills (a la Napoleon Dynamite) and your Dodgeball movie trivia.  Plus, that little piggy is only going to get yummier.  Back to the task at hand: 

1 - During the second World War the British Ministry of Information produced the now-famous "KEEP CALM and CARRY ON" propaganda poster (with the Imperial Crown of King George VI, not with a piglet) to increase morale.  It was the third in a series and while 2.5 million copies were printed, the distribution was limited.  The original designer is not known and the Crown copyright expired in 1989.  It was virtually unknown until an original poster was discovered in a second-had bookstore in 2000 and it became and instant hit in the design community.  There are new and contested efforts on behalf of a private UK company to establish trademark over the image but has been so widely distributed, used and parodied that it's difficult to say where their efforts will lead them.  

While we wait for the lawyers to hammer this out, for now, it's reasonable to assume that the idea of the "Keep Calm" image is one we can all enjoy free of copyright restrictions.  (It is interesting to note that the legals battle began some 11 years after it became widely popular to the point of now being cliche.)

2 - Our version of this famous poster carries the mark of a piglet and says "Keep Calm and Play Dodgeball." And while the original poster is red...this version is dodgeball red.  The "fine print" finally offers an explanation: the event is a combination lunch feast (PIG ROAST) and Dodgeball Tournament.  It took a few tries to figure out how to put these two very different events onto a single poster.  By the time you get to reading the information, you should already be mentally assembling your team and marking the day in your planner.  There is a second, equally curious version:

This version (same elements, same colors) is for a different crowd...one that will instantly recognise a dodgeball but wouldn't necessarily be drawn in by the "Keep Calm" message of the other poster.  

3 - The secret code, otherwise known as a QR or Quick Response Code.  This is not really a 'new' thing at all.  QR codes are 2D versions of a bar code.  It was first used in mid 90's by the automotive industry to track vehicles along the production line.  A subsidiary of Toyota owns the patent rights but has chosen not to exercise them.  In the last few years use has expanded to other industries.  Most recently, it's caught on in advertising. 

If you have a smart phone, you can quickly and easily download a QR app and your phone can 'read' the code and take you directly to the website (or in this case the Blue Moon Facebook "event" page) where you can instantly access even MORE information about the event.  In MadMen advertising lingo, the QR Code can take a consumer deeper into the 'conversion funnel.' Which means a company can get the observer that much closer to being a customer/client by eliminating the need to remember a website address, a phone number, a company name, or...you get the idea. Just scan and click and you're right were we want you:  deep in the conversion funnel. 

That sounds unpleasant but it's actually pretty darn cool.  It's a first for Lusaka -- even cooler.