It has been said, "never trust a skinny chef."
My question: Can this idea be transferred to the coffee world?
"Never trust a mellow barista." (The idea being, that a mellow barista doesn't drink coffee, thus he won't have the coffee passion necessary to bring you the god-shot.)
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Post Vacation Thoughts...
Just got back from vacation--Lake Chelan. Not a bad place, though I didn't find any good coffee. Only went to one place, I think is was called "Verve." My capuccino looked and tasted like it came out of a coin operated coffee machine (if you've ever seen one of those...). Well, at least it had caffeine!
The Guatemala Cup of Excellence auction finished this last week with the winner selling for over $50 a bag--a record by $30 or so. This is a good direction. Not that our roastery could carry a coffee of that expense, but it's good for the farmers to see that there is a payback for putting extra effort into their coffee. For years, the big coffee buyers have been low-balling the farmers. Green coffee usually sells for less than a dollar per pound in the country of origin, with exceptional coffees sometimes fetching a price of $2. If I were a farmer, I wouldn't put extra effort into my coffee for that price; But for $50 (or even $5) a pound--yeah, a farmer can easily justify putting extra effort into their coffee.
There's a lot more that I would like to say about this, but to simplify: Amazing coffee is going to be more and more available. Yes, we'll be paying a bit more for it--but who cares. If you want cheap, medium-good coffee, it will always be available, just like cheap, medium-good beer (e.g. Weinhard's). But if you want amazing coffee, that's going to be readily available, too, just like amazing beer is more readily available these days (e.g. Chimay or other Belgians).
Just got back from vacation--Lake Chelan. Not a bad place, though I didn't find any good coffee. Only went to one place, I think is was called "Verve." My capuccino looked and tasted like it came out of a coin operated coffee machine (if you've ever seen one of those...). Well, at least it had caffeine!
The Guatemala Cup of Excellence auction finished this last week with the winner selling for over $50 a bag--a record by $30 or so. This is a good direction. Not that our roastery could carry a coffee of that expense, but it's good for the farmers to see that there is a payback for putting extra effort into their coffee. For years, the big coffee buyers have been low-balling the farmers. Green coffee usually sells for less than a dollar per pound in the country of origin, with exceptional coffees sometimes fetching a price of $2. If I were a farmer, I wouldn't put extra effort into my coffee for that price; But for $50 (or even $5) a pound--yeah, a farmer can easily justify putting extra effort into their coffee.
There's a lot more that I would like to say about this, but to simplify: Amazing coffee is going to be more and more available. Yes, we'll be paying a bit more for it--but who cares. If you want cheap, medium-good coffee, it will always be available, just like cheap, medium-good beer (e.g. Weinhard's). But if you want amazing coffee, that's going to be readily available, too, just like amazing beer is more readily available these days (e.g. Chimay or other Belgians).
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Customer: Ummm... I'd like a 20 ounce, half the sugar-free vanilla latte.
Me: We don't carry the 20 ounce--we feel it's a bit excessive.
C:Well, THAT'S WHAT I LIKE!
Me (in my head): What you like is both sick, and wrong.
Me (in reality): (Condescending smile)I'll make you a 16 ounce.
New Customer: I'd like a half soy, half skim, vanilla latte.
Me (in my head): If only I could summon a thunder-bolt to smite thee!
Me (in reality): That will be right up.
New Customer: We're from _____ winery.
Me (in my head): Truly you have exquisite taste.
Me (in reality): (Condescending smile)
Me: We don't carry the 20 ounce--we feel it's a bit excessive.
C:Well, THAT'S WHAT I LIKE!
Me (in my head): What you like is both sick, and wrong.
Me (in reality): (Condescending smile)I'll make you a 16 ounce.
New Customer: I'd like a half soy, half skim, vanilla latte.
Me (in my head): If only I could summon a thunder-bolt to smite thee!
Me (in reality): That will be right up.
New Customer: We're from _____ winery.
Me (in my head): Truly you have exquisite taste.
Me (in reality): (Condescending smile)
Monday, July 10, 2006
We do not flavor our coffee!
From time to time customers will ask me to describe a coffee to them. I'll say something like: it opens with a citrusy lemon spike, moving into a smooth currant berry and finishes with chocolate. Most of the time I get a blank stare in return, and then I just say--this coffee is good, we like it! Then they buy it. However, sometimes I get the guy who says (and it's always a guy) "whoa, I don't like flavored coffee!" Then I have to explain to him that we would never flavor a coffee; That the flavors I described are naturally occuring; That the only coffee that companies flavor is very, very bad coffee; that only very, very bad companies flavor their coffee (not even the beast does that!). Then they look at me like I'm selling snake oil or something, and only reluctantly pull out their wallet to buy a pound. Sigh...
From time to time customers will ask me to describe a coffee to them. I'll say something like: it opens with a citrusy lemon spike, moving into a smooth currant berry and finishes with chocolate. Most of the time I get a blank stare in return, and then I just say--this coffee is good, we like it! Then they buy it. However, sometimes I get the guy who says (and it's always a guy) "whoa, I don't like flavored coffee!" Then I have to explain to him that we would never flavor a coffee; That the flavors I described are naturally occuring; That the only coffee that companies flavor is very, very bad coffee; that only very, very bad companies flavor their coffee (not even the beast does that!). Then they look at me like I'm selling snake oil or something, and only reluctantly pull out their wallet to buy a pound. Sigh...
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Service before my wake-up juice
I usually arrive to work in a half-dead state--uncoordinated, unable to think.
It takes a strong jolt of caffeine to get me going, and another couple of jolts to bring me up to a productive state where I can think and talk clearly, and in which my hands do what I want them to do.
From time to time though, the shop is busy from the moment I arrive and I have no time to suck down the caffeine. I burn my hands on the steam wand; I slur my words; Customers' orders sound like they're being ordered in an obscure dialect of Portugese or perhaps that African "click" language. It's ugly. (Not the click language--me.)
People have been arriving and ordering just as I'm arriving to work, a half hour before we're supposed to open. I suppose I could just tell them to wait until we're open, but they might just leave with their feelings hurt. We're trying to up business--every order is important in keeping us in the black. So I just tell them yes in my slurry speech, and burn my hands for their viewing pleasure.
I usually arrive to work in a half-dead state--uncoordinated, unable to think.
It takes a strong jolt of caffeine to get me going, and another couple of jolts to bring me up to a productive state where I can think and talk clearly, and in which my hands do what I want them to do.
From time to time though, the shop is busy from the moment I arrive and I have no time to suck down the caffeine. I burn my hands on the steam wand; I slur my words; Customers' orders sound like they're being ordered in an obscure dialect of Portugese or perhaps that African "click" language. It's ugly. (Not the click language--me.)
People have been arriving and ordering just as I'm arriving to work, a half hour before we're supposed to open. I suppose I could just tell them to wait until we're open, but they might just leave with their feelings hurt. We're trying to up business--every order is important in keeping us in the black. So I just tell them yes in my slurry speech, and burn my hands for their viewing pleasure.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
I should have known it was going to be a busy morning...
Three men were waiting outside when I arrived to open the shop today. As I walked inside, a car sped into the drive through. Four customers before I'm even open. Yesterday the shop was dead; Today, a line to the door at 8:00, and cars backed up in the drive through.
I like it busy like this.
Three men were waiting outside when I arrived to open the shop today. As I walked inside, a car sped into the drive through. Four customers before I'm even open. Yesterday the shop was dead; Today, a line to the door at 8:00, and cars backed up in the drive through.
I like it busy like this.
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