Lots of coffee stuff has happened in the past couple weeks. Let’s play catch-up.

Barista Song — Just before this site went down, I received the Barista Song CD from Arizona singer Marianne Murdock. The barista being an underappreciated profession in American song, I was glad to hear of this single devoted to us coffee slaves. It’s a fun, bluesy number with some clever lyrics. Baristi especially should check it out at baristasong.com, where it’s available as a $4 CD or ninety-nine cent MP3 download. Thanks, Marianne!

Caffeinated sex drive — A new study finds that coffee may boost sexual desire in females (as if I hadn’t figured that out already). Caveats: the study was only performed in rats and it may not apply to frequent caffeine users. Still, it’s one more reason to be a barista.

Hat tip to Nikki, who, alas, refuses to drink coffee.

War on caffeine — But one town where the baristas won’t be getting action is Shaker Heights, Ohio, at least if Mayor Judith Rawson has her way. She and the city council have signed a proclamation warning against the dangers of caffeine consumption and declared March to be Caffeine Awareness Month.

The erstwhile Agitator notes that the campaign is run by the Caffeine Awareness Alliance, a non-profit whose founder doubtless finds it quite profitable to get lots of free press mentions for her line of caffeine-free soy coffee alternatives (yuck!). Radley also links to this WebMD article listing the numerous good things coffee can do for you in addition to getting girl mice all hot and bothered.

Cappuccino economics — Tim Harford, author of the recently released book The Undercover Economist, goes undercover at Starbucks to explain why the elusive short cappuccino isn’t on the menu.

CoE and the Clover — The winning lot in the 2005 Brazilian Cup of Excellence auction sold for an incredible $49.75 per green pound. For comparison’s sake, the previous Brazilian record was $13.65. One of the buyers was Cafe Artigiano, who, not coincidentally, will also be one of the first buyers of the revolutionary Clover coffee brewer (see my previous post on it here). For a great post on how the Clover could bring the retailing of single origin coffees to a whole new level, see the latest entry at God Shot.

In Slate, Michael Idov writes about the shattered dream of owning his own coffee shop:

“You know that charming little cafe on New York’s Lower East Side that just closed after a mere six months in business—where coffee was served on silver trays with a glass of water and a little chocolate cookie? The one that, as you calmly and correctly observed, was doomed from its inception because it was too precious and too offbeat? The one you still kind of fell for, the way one falls for a tubercular maiden? Yeah, that one was mine.

The scary part is that you think you can do better.”

The article goes on to describe monetary blackholes, stressful work hours, and a marriage almost destroyed by the business. [Via Radley.]

In contrast, things are looking way up for San Francisco start-up Ritual Roasters:

…[In] his wildest dreams, [Jeremy] Tooker never would have imagined life could be this sweet: he and business partner Eileen Hassi — who became buds while they both worked for Torrefazione — opened Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco’s Mission District on May 12, 2005, and have spent every minute since riding a wave of popularity that’s been strong, swift and something mighty, even by San Francisco standards… Tooker and Hassi, knowing full well the little neighborhood needed a shot of espresso — good espresso — and fast, took the risk on the high rents of San Francisco. The gamble, obviously, was a good one.

… It’s hard to do anything new in San Francisco, with so much good food and innovative design already in place, indeed, with a population so accustomed to quality. Perhaps the reason Tooker and Hassi have done so well — the lines at Ritual are routinely out the door, and they bust through 250 pounds of roasted beans every week — is because they brought just enough of the Pacific Northwest into Northern California, thereby distinguishing themselves but with enough sense to serve it on a platter of cool.

The full story is in the current issue of Barista Magazine, not currently online.