Virtual Cups o’ Joe : Moorpark entrepreneur successfully promotes his roasted coffees on the Internet.

For years Patrick Bock traveled with Renaissance fairs selling international foods and coffee drinks to Elizabethan revelers. Today he is a merchant in another realm altogether--cyberspace.

Bock, 39, opened California Coffee Roasters in Moorpark this year and launched an accompanying Internet site to offer fresh roasted coffee beans to the growing online masses.

The entrepreneurial switch from the Shakespearean to the futuristic came about after Bock decided that 15 years on the Renaissance circuit was enough.

“I used to generate enough money from the Los Angeles and San Francisco fairs to be quite happy,” he said. “But I wanted to see what else is available in the retail sector.”

Located on High Street, the brick-and-mortar version of California Coffee Roasters is part espresso bar, part restaurant. The kitchen is leased by Ramon Rodriguez, who prepares light breakfast fare, plus salads, sandwiches and traditional Mexican foods. Bock also concocts a number of hot and cold blended coffee drinks, such as Mocha Madness, Black Forest and French Kiss.

While he competes for local business with a few other coffee bars in Moorpark, Bock’s primary focus is to carve out a wholesale niche through sales in the burgeoning Internet market.

“The Web site provides a lot of exposure,” he said. “Amazingly, a majority of my business is coming out of the East Coast. I have people ordering coffee from New Hampshire, New York and Maine. There is no way I would ever have the type of advertising budget needed to reach those areas.”

Bock offers an array of regular and decaffeinated gourmet coffee beans. Among them are Espresso blend, French roast, Brazilian Santos, Columbian, Tanzania Peaberry, Golden Sumatra and Kenya AA.

Individuals can purchase the coffees at the same wholesale prices offered to other businesses. A pound of California Coffee Roasters beans, depending on the variety, generally sells for $5.95 or $6.95. Specialty coffees are more expensive, like Kona Fancy from Hawaii ($17 for one pound) and Jamaican Blue Mountain Estate ($28 for one pound).

Bock imports green beans from various coffee-growing regions around the globe and roasts them on site in Moorpark. His stainless steel and brass roaster is something like a high-tech clothes dryer.

The beans are placed in a rotating drum, which heats from 390 to 450 degrees, depending on the desired roast. The roasting takes about 10 minutes, followed by a brief cooling period in another rotating drum.

Ever wonder how flavored coffees, such as Vanilla Nut or Butter Rum, are created? A small amount of highly concentrated syrup is applied, after roasting, while the beans are still warm.

“I roast all of my coffee to order,” he said. “I don’t have it sitting around in bags or barrels for weeks at a time. I get an order, [then] I roast and ship it out the same day.”

DETAILS

California Coffee Roasters is at 313 High St., Moorpark. Hours: daily, 10 a.m to 8 p.m. Call (805) 553-0930 or (877) 543-1110. Coffee beans of many types can be purchased online at https://coffee-roasters.com.

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71 Palm Restaurant, under the proprietorship of chef Didier Poirier, will host a winemaker’s dinner Wednesday, featuring the wares of Buellton-based Sanford Winery.

Bruno D’Alfonso, Sanford’s winemaker since 1983, will be on hand to discuss and field questions about the evening’s wines.

The courses and accompanying wines are:

Smoked salmon tart with sour cream, sauteed onions and salmon caviar, with Sauvignon Blanc (1998);

Baked Alaskan halibut over opal basil pesto mashed potatoes with preserved lemon vinaigrette, with Chardonnay, Benedict Vineyard (1997);

Roasted lamb chop stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and foi gras with fava bean and pearl onion sauce, with Pinot Noir Barrel Select, Benedict Vineyard (1996);

Goat cheese terrine with baby spinach salad, with Pinot Noir (1997);

And fresh peach cobbler with Nutella sauce, with a yet-to-be-announced surprise wine--possibly a champagne.

The winemaker dinner, which will be served upstairs in the restaurant, will begin at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $45. Regular menu service will be available downstairs. For more information or to make reservations, call 653-7222.

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The Chart House restaurant chain, which has a location in Ventura, on Wednesday will start a monthlong promotion to highlight seafood harvested from the waters of the South Pacific.

A changing selection of several species will be prepared, including opah, lehi, uku, opakapaka, onaga, mahi mahi and ehu. Patrons will have three choices as to how their fish is prepared--with miso glaze, macadamia nut crust or ginger crust.

Fresh fish are to be air freighted to the restaurants each day of the promotion. Jack Stevenson, general manager of the Ventura restaurant, said two or three different fish will be available each evening.

“It just depends on which fish are caught on any given day,” Stevenson said.

The “Tropical Wave” promotion is part of an attempt to redefine the chain, Stevenson said, which has been known primarily as a spot for prime rib and steaks.

“We’re changing our focus to be more of a fresh seafood restaurant that serves prime rib and steaks,” he said.

Ventura’s Chart House is at 567 Sanjon Road. Hours: Mon.-Thur., 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Fri., 5:30-10 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 5-10 p.m. Call 643-3725.

Rodney Bosch writes about the restaurant scene in Ventura County and outlying points. He can be reached by calling 653-7572, faxing 653-7576 or e-mailing rodney.bosch@latimes.com.