Commentary by Josh Longsdorf
"It's not just a 'cuppa Joe' any more" headlined a local paper recently followed by a smaller headline "Imported beans, sculpted froth to mark newest area coffee house". The article was about a new drive thru coffee location opening in flint. The owner promised in the article to out-starbuck Starbucks. Whether or not he can do it remains to be unseen however he does go on to say that he promises "froth" that can be sculpted to the customers like. He also uses the whole article to attack Starbucks with sayings such as "Starbucks just isn't gourmet enough". Now I've said it before and I will continue to say it till I die or starbucks does. The problem in this industry is not Starbucks it is the indies that offer below par coffee and drinks to their customers. At least I can be sure that if a new customer goes in to a Starbucks for the first time they are getting the same consistent coffee as the person before. Who knows what they will get at the indie maybe something that may make them never want to try coffee again. Now this new location featured in the article is going to be a drive-thru only location, at least to start. I can only assume to keep up with that kind of volume they will be using an automatic, maybe a semi-automatic if they are fast. The owner of this new location goes on to state that their shots are pulled between 18-24 seconds which is the proper way to pull a shot. Sounds like consistency to me. I guess the thing that bothered me was that the guy constantly stated how is the end all and be all of coffee for the area when I know there are at least two other shops that can at least promise me consistent shots.
While I'm on the subject of how the industry is portrayed I would also like to take a shot at the bigger names that have recently made the national media. Now I'm not saying that the articles haven't been interesting but could we get just one good looking picture of a latte for once. I mean for the most part just about any barista reading this could pour a better looking rosetta with a blind fold on. Heck I've seen better looking lattes come out of Starbucks.
So if you've taken the time to read this then you are probably guessing I'm bitter. DING DING DING!!! We have a winner! I know I could have just skipped to the point but then you would have nothing to laugh about (mainly me), so here it is. The media is the largest opportunity that the non-coffee drinkers of the world get to learn about our industry. So if you are an indie new or old and someone is doing an article on you, don't attack Starbucks. Instead go in to detail about the quality of drink you can offer and how that separates you from the below par shops and by detail I mean more than sculptable froth. As to you bigger names, when you get the chance to pour a latte for the media have one of your star baristas pour it so that I don't have to look at a Mongoloid rosetta while reading the article.
6 Comments:
your right media is the key to changing perception. slowly they will catch on. I think part of the problem lies within the industry and how it portrays itself. How can coffee expect to be taken seriously like wine when it is run by non-professionals (most of whom will still talk like they know everything about coffee)in a very non offesional atmosphere. How often do you go to wine bar with half assed decor, used equipment and are served by bar tenders who don't drink? most shops don't have adequate brwing equipment for their coffee and do not use the correct dose or grind for there coffee. how are they going to show the media what it can be if they can't present it properly? Most often coffees served are blends or generically labeled origins. Coffee needs to sold specifically by lot crop season, producer etc. just because most Merlot sucks does that mean there aren't specific vitners and vintages that are exceptional? Is a Guatemala Huehuetenango from Rio Azul going to taste the same as one from Finca El Injertal, El Injerto or Vista Hermosa? No. But the way the industry (shops and roasters alike) present it as just a generic commodity. When the industry takes itself seriously maybe the media will start to also. In other countries it is easier for coffee to be given some consideration. I was i China recently and Coffee there is dining experience that would be compareable to wine bars in the US. You are seated, served water, givin a menu with an array of single origin coffees to choose from as well as other coffee based beverages. And then they go and make you one 5.5 oz cup. for which you pay around $2.50-$4.00 USD. If you want more you order another. I've heard Japan and South Korea are very similar in their approach. But there is hope for the media, keep an eye out for the March 2006 issue of Food and Wine Magazine they will hopefully be conveying the message on a scale that makes your local paper insignificant. Their should be some very good coffees highlighted in that issue ;)
So, which big name is pouring these abomination rosettas for teh media?
yeah, who are you talking about?
-zak
i do bitch a lot about bad drink pictures in ads. i am more than willing to pour a nice rosetta for a Krups ad or the like. i'm sure it pays well. i saw one that said "coffee perfection" and under it was a picture of a cap that looked like it had bubble bath on the top of it.
also, i totally agree with miguel about marketing coffee more like wine. we try to provide as much info as possible about our coffees to the customers. a lot of it, (screen, process, alt), is lost on them i think. but they still walk away with a little new-found respect for coffee nerds... and maybe a little more knowledge than when they walked in.
You know I need to start paying more atention to wine labels and see what is normally listed. there are a few things that i think are definately important for the consumer to know when it comes to coffee.
1) crop year/ harvest time (might be surprised how many roasters are selling old crop baggy coffees.
2) Processing method. particularly with origins like Brazil, Ethiopia, Sumatra and India.
3)farm/Co-op name. In general a good farm will produce a similar profile year in year out, it won't ever be exactly the same, but similar. Consumers should find a farm that produces coffees in a style they like.
4) Roast degree. There needs to be more industry standardization in respect to this rather than just obscure names. perhaps something simple with naming and agtron ranges: very Light: (100-85)
Light: (85-70)
Medium Light (70-55)
medium (55-45)
medium dark (45-35)
Dark (35-25)
Very Dark (25-0)
or something along those lines
5) grade. In most origins the top grade should be the one consumers should lok for but in many countries these are based on been size and have little to do with quality (Supremo, AA). Some like SHB or SHG have a little more significance. others like grading sytems in ethiopia may be pertinant. (you shouldn't be interested in a grade 5 Yirgacheffe, but a grade one isn't necessary going to be better than a grade 2) With Sumatra grade 1 should be mandantory, other things like douple picked, triple picked, japanese prep, super prep etc should be listed and may give some idea of what to expect but in themselves don't mean one will taste better than the other, but in general a triple pick should be a cleaner cup than a standard grade 1.
6) info about farm and cup profile. most wine labels have something to this effect on the back
7) Varietal, don't know how i forgot this as it makes quite a difference as to how a coffee can taste. The specialty coffee industry has done a great job promoting 'Arabica vs Robusta'. Too good of a job imho. completely discrediting robusta coffee and in the minds of the consumer making them think the arabica automatically equates to good coffee (it is intersting to note that around 70% of the worlds coffee production is arabica and even most canned brands are comprised of mostly if not all arabica.)
something similar should be done to educate consumers about different varietals. Almost every great coffee i've had has been produced from heirloom varietals like Bourbon and Typica, Geisha, or from growing regions that only have heirloom varieties -Ethiopia, Yemen, Sumatra. When it comes to hybrids some are certainly more of interest to quality oriented consumers than others, SL28 in Kenya -SL795 in India, while most catimor types should be avoided. (i've noticed that a few espresso blends that claim to be 100% arabica seem to be using catimors, interesting) Consumers should be educated about this because it makes a bigger difference in cup profile than many other factors. example would be the Geisha varietals grown in Panama, they cup signifcantly different than other panamanian coffees. they are brighter and more citrusy. In fact they cup incredibly similar to Yirgacheffe coffees - which shouldn't be to surprising since the geisha variety is originally from ethiopia. the Panamanian government is looking to expand production of this variety and promote it so it is something that consumers will need to consider a few years down the road.
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