Deft. Coffee Roasters. » coffee industry

Slow Coffee

Dave — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:08:24 +0000

Here is an acknowledgment that coffee, very much like all other agricultural (seasonal) products, are the result of keen human endeavors. That the distance between consumers and producers has obscured any clear appreciation of the stories it takes to bring anything of quality to the world.
It’s a call to slow your pace and appreciate where your morning ritual has come from, who it has come from, and take into account it’s place in the world.
You can find out more at the links below.
Slow Coffee
The Institute of Slowness

Kudos to 1000 Faces Coffee. It’s awesome to see this sort of involvement in coffee culture.

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Oh, one last thing, really…

Dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:45:39 +0000

One thing I meant to write but forgot to add at the end of that last post was, was that the griping that is abounding all over the place only shows that what what the inventors, developers, marketers have all created is not just their own thing. It has taken on a life of it’s own, and the people who have participated in it’s life so far feel (deservedly) attached to that. And that does mean that the idea has a life of its own. Beyond Starbucks… beyond clover…

So even though it sucks right now, and is going to impact the course of specialty coffee – how exactly I am not certain – they had the right to do what they did. And good for them. So, but probably, in a way no one is seeing at the moment (well, 1 person is, but he or she is diligently working in secret, at an accelerated pace…) it will eventually be good for everyone. Remember that Starbucks is at least indirectly responsible for George Howell’s founding of the Cup of Excellence program. And that is a greater deal for specialty coffee than 1000+ Coffee Connections were ever going to be.

Half-baked, and foggy.

Dave — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:55:40 +0000

Starbucks and Clover, a revisit…

The two things that trouble me the most about Starbucks purchasing the Coffee Equipment Company are that the system is now proprietary to Starbucks and that Schultz is pretty hazy when it comes to defining quality coffee.

The proprietary thing. Oh where to start. It’s not clear if Starbucks will sell to other roasters or cafes that don’t use their coffee, but given their track record, I doubt it pretty heavily. So that means that all the smaller roasters and cafes who are truly at the forefront of coffee – that were either using to planning on using the clover to bring customers along that exploration with them while respecting the pace that the majority of customers keep while honoring the things we know about serving coffee the best it can be – are going to be put on serious hold. There just isn’t another device like it that I am aware of.

That said, I don’t believe that the Clover was/is the magic pill. By all accounts, it is a finicky beast to get set right, differnt for each coffee, manual attention. Sound familiar?. And without a doubt, it simply won’t make mediocre coffee better than it is – and I think that I remember a post on http://godshot.blogspot.com/search?q=clover that stated that it actually highlighted it’s problems due to it’s clarity. Vacuum pot coffee does this.

A lot of the discussion I am seeing has talked about how the clover will no longer be a point of differentation to cafes who have them – and obviously it won’t be an avenue for any other independent cafes. I don’t really want to get into a branding discussion, partly because my interest in the clover was more altruistic and educational than differentiation from other cafes.

Simply put, it was the best way to offer a variety of coffees and educate customers on how to perceive various coffee flavor profiles with a low entry point. Only the most expensive coffee broke $10/cup. But exquisite coffees that retail around $50/lb end up being $3-5 for a cup. An easy entrance with little risk and large payoff in loyalty and engagement with my customers.

And this is where I think that Schultz is caught in a confusion between “returning to Starbucks roots” and actually regaining (sic) any integrity in third wave speciatly coffee. He’s speaking marketing, not coffee. Check this out:

“This acquisition will provide us with an opportunity to give customers individually brewed cups of some of Starbucks most exotic coffees,” said Schultz. “In my over 25 years with Starbucks, the Clover machine unequivocally delivers the best cup of brewed coffee I have ever tasted.”

and this:

Starbucks challenged its coffee and roasting teams to create the world’s most exceptional coffee blends. The result of those efforts is the new Pike Place Roast. Beginning in mid-April, this unique new coffee will be brewed in every U.S. company-operated store every day, giving customers a unique, consistent and fresh brewed coffee experience.

Within the same speech, he is pushing individually brewed exotic coffees and and a concept of “the perfect” cup. An idealized notion of coffee that doesn’t jive with the reality of the best coffees available. In fact, as people on the edge are learning more, as growers are getting better and better, we are realizing that what we thought was an origin profile doesn’t stick. Minas Gerais is not the same as coffees from the Cerrado. Huehuetenango is not the same as a Coban.

But that is what Howard does. He and his company romance the idea of coffee. The idea of the cafe experience. But in the end, I have no confidence in their true desire to actually develop those experiences. They want to craft the experience in your mind before you even enter the store so that you are already convinced of what you are going to get. And as long as you are not surprised, you will get it cause that is what you believe.

And yeah, that’s something that we all do. Stumptown does it quite well. Intelligentsia does it too. Ritual, Blue Bottle, Ecco, Victrola… and cafes do it. The thing about the places I mentioned is that they actually back up the image they provide. They put an enormous amount of effort into carrying out what they say they do – as opposed to crafting their words to make it seem like they do – with enough effort so it isn’t obvious how much bloat in in their organization.

And that is the thing that is the most disappointing about this sale. With everything I know, the clover isn’t going to the mechanism that it could have been in the progression of consumer coffee. It will be this beautiful thing that is caring an okay product. Form and content won’t be in sync. And it will be half-baked. Granted, it will at least bring the notion of individual coffees to a hugely broader public. But I just don’t see Starbucks being able to communicate much about them, their history, or anything. That just isn’t really core to their brand identity. The unveiling of their new mark (co-initiated with Conservation International – who should be able to do a great amount of good with this partnership, btw) is an indication of that.

Oh, and the announcement of their new espresso machine, something like a uber-super automatic… and they still don’t have very interesting espresso. I mean, when was the last time you really wanted to get a double in an starbucks? Is brewed coffee going to be any different in their culture?

That’s pretty much all I wanted to say.

OMG. WTF? Starbucks buys Clover (Coffee Equipment Company).

Dave — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:33:53 +0000

First I read this. And I thought, well, if Starbucks wants to put Clovers in their stores, then, I support that. it puts money into a company that deserves to expand. It puts a machine that can be used to help educate people to the variations of different origins, estates, lots, etc in a huge number of stores. Places where asking what an origin is (to the barista) is just a return of blank stares. I am fully aware that it isn’t going to change the mediocrity of their coffee, just as (re)training their baristas for 3 hours isn’t going to turn their shops into a place to go for an exquisite ristretto mean to be savored. But Starbucks isn’t the bottom of the barrel, either.

But then I read the link he pointed to. And my heart sank. Oh shit. Starbucks didn’t purchase a bunch of clovers – which would likely have pushed the price down, making it more reachable to the micro-level, third-wave (insert term of choice) specialty roasters and cafes that really really lust after these things for the sole purpose of being able to present amazing coffees better. They went out and fucking bought the company. I agree with Tom. This is a sad day for specialty coffee.
I guess we all have to start saving for something like blue bottle’s siphon bar.

Memories of Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca Vista Hermosa espresso

Dave — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:43:44 +0000

When I first met Edwin Martinez, he called me up asking if I’d be interested in trying his coffee. My first impression (don’t take this the wrong way Edwin) was that he was quite a bit older than I. It was the way he talked, with such grace and wisdom. He wasn’t frantic. He was certain of what he said. And he was generous in a way that I have really only encountered with people who have lived many lifetimes.

Without knowing what I was going to get, but knowing that at the time, I had almost no central american coffees (his farm , Finca Vista Hermosa, in Huehuetenango, Guatemala) I thought it was a good idea to meet. It was clear from what he said that he was as interested in finding out what I was doing as he was in selling me coffee. In other words, he was more concerned that if he sold me coffee, he would be selling it to someone that was going to continue to take car of it as he would. I respect that immensely.
So one Saturday, late morning, we sat down and chatted. The first thing I remember when I actually met him was woah. He’s like my age. Crazy. Anyway, we talked for probably an hour and a half… And thinking back to that conversation, I feel that the most important part of that conversation was about the nature of the relationship that we were forming. It was about trust, and equitable trade.

And I should point out that his coffee was pretty amazing as well… I still have such fond memories of how complex, clearly fruity it is. A true expression of it’s own land. It’s not exactly simple, but it approaches you much like Edwin does, calmly with a lot of history rolling around inside. I as very intrigued when he told me that Barefoot was using his coffee as a single origin espresso, and how it could hold up to any blend. I was (and am still) unable to justify blends if the intention is to produce and roast coffee of the utmost caliber. And the idea that I might offer exclusively single origins, even as espresso (which was the one method where I was, at the time, willing to compromise that position) was soo cool. In the end, I didn’t all the time, but in hindsight, I should have.

Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about when I got to this illustration. I’m not sure when I made this, but I think it was a little before I began carrying Edwin’s coffee.

[here is a transcript in case you can't read my writing (which is highly probable]
Guatamalan (sic) Huehuetenango Finca Vista Hermosa

Very Smooth – sweetish crema -> is okay not a lot of crema…

crema — sweet but not tremendous amount… more like mango than straight sweet – that slight tang of fruit acid juice.

Good body – but could be a lighter roast – slightly chalky

a real interesting, mild espresso

[I want to point out that at the time I wrote this note, I was serving Malabar Gold as espresso, which is pretty much the opposite when it comes to amount of crema. I was young, what can I say?]

Follow up on Carlos and Edwin

Until next time around…

Dave — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:48:37 +0000

Ernesto Illy, one of the truly greats died Sunday. We all owe him a great debt for his accomplishments. He will be missed. Illy’s homepage has a link to leave a message for him.

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What makes good coffee good… exceptional?

Dave — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:51:56 +0000

I haven’t written in a while – things is been crazy busy and I haven’t taken the time to get anything posted – and so this is jsut something that has been on my mind lately: That whether you are roasting for yourself, or professionally, it is not enough to simply purchase good green coffee if you expect to produce exceptional coffee. The purchase of a special lot of coffee from a particular farm (especially if it a a well known farm, such as Panama’s Hacienda La Esmeralda Especial – Geisha) can either be an opportunity to challenge your skills as a roaster to achieve the most beautiful expression of that coffee, or a chance to pose that pedigree on yor bag so that the name of that farm or farmer will make people believe that the coffee they are purchasing is roasted as well as that farm grew it… The decision is rooted in integrity and focus.

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Thanks, Victrola Coffee Roasters

Dave — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 21:16:33 +0000

A belated, but hearty thanks to Keith at Victrola for, well, generally being a great guy who obviously cares about his craft. And to Jen and Chris for creating a business that gives that passion a place to grow. Not that there are any questions about it, but it clearly shows in their cafes and their coffee that they are passionate about what they do. And on top of it, they are very welcoming as well… It just great.

Anyway, I was Seattle last week and had happened into meeting Keith (Victrola’s roaster) on Wednesday when I had a couple early morning hours to get a good coffee…We had a good conversation about coffees, roasting, drum and roaster design and just things. And he was gracious enough to invite me back for a cupping of their Panama auction lot later that day. Sadly, I couldn’t make it then, but he offered to re-arrange his cupping schedule so I could make it back on Friday. I fully appreciate that he was willing to accommodate my schedule – even though showed up right when they were trying to figure out why they had a ton of water pouring down the inside of their walls, and into the roasting room… turns out there was a crazy leak in their ceiling! (I hope that got fixed pretty painlessly…)

So, we cupped some real nice coffeesâ€”particrually their Yirg, a Columbian and a new Retro Mandheling that was quite nice and crisply spicy. I was in between one place and another, so was in a bit of a hurry (turned out I didn’t need to rush, shit) so when I left, I totally forgot that I’d meant to get a lb of the Columbianâ€”it’s sweet, nice nutty balance kinda made be wanna drink it all weekâ€”espically since I haven’t been placing that much attention on Columbians lately… Ahh well, next time, cause I will be back in.

Thanks again and best of luck with that leak.

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Nicaragua Cup of Excellence Auction

Dave — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:33:43 +0000

As a short bit of follow up to The Best of Panama auction dissparity, I am pretty pleased to see that the auction prices in the Nicaragua Cup of Excellence are generally higher, and more evenly spread across the entire auction.
It is great to see that many farms receiving more well more than $5/lb.

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Best of Panama 2007 auction results and then some

Dave — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:15:16 +0000

I posted this on the Roaster’s Guild Public forums as well as here… I am just looking for insight as to why there is such a large gapâ€”one that seems to be wideningâ€”between the winning auction lot of high scoring coffees and the #2. Even when the cup scores are quite close. I say in in the cross post below, but I’ll mention it again. My questions are based on the cup scores, the auction price and a little on the cupping notes. I didn’t sample any of the coffees, and so I wanted to steer clear of commenting about the actual quality of the coffees.

The full post after the more>:

UPDATE: a link to a discussion of this on coffeed.com, including several of the purchasers and at least one of the judges. And another thread where Tom Owens (of sweetmarias) posted a letter from the Cup of Excellence board that addresses the main concern I have (that the gap between 1rst and 2nd auction prices is huge) by changing the price structure of the next CoE auction in Nicaragua.

UPDATE 2: I am searching for a list of the international judges in the Best of Panama 2007 auction.. cause I just noticed that at least one was part of the winning group (?).. A point that I’m not sure what it meansâ€”though it probably just meant that those that knew what they were purchasing bid for it… Willoughby’s states on their website although I don’t know who it was. (Note that they have the cupping score for Mama Cata (MCGC), the #2 coffee, different from the official auction resultsâ€”I don’t know which one is correct, but assume the auction results are the correct score).

Hi everyone.

So. Esmeralda’s lot sold for $130/lb. Mama Cata’s (MCGC) (#2) sold for $11.80/lb. Katowa (#4) was $11.55. And Elida’s #3 sold for $7.50.

I’ve been curious about the outcome of the Panama auction from a few days ago. It goes to more than just this auction. It’s questions more about the direction in which coffee is headed, and how…

Part of this is that I’m trying to understand the large gap between the winning auction price and the next down.. It’s not so much the price, or the steady rise in the winning bidsâ€”if coffee isn’t going to behave like a commodity, but like a quality food, then I think a general ramp up in price should be expected and welcome. I am not an economist, though, and don’t know if this is a fair curve or notâ€¦

What is itching me is that it in the last few auctions with historically high winning bids (Brazil ’05, Panama ’06, 07) ended with the rest of the competing lots’ prices significantly lower than the winner, even with relatively close scores.

To put it in perspective. In the Panama Auction, the average price per pound is skewed by more than $3 if you compare the (simple) average prices with and without Hacienda La Esmeralda’s lot. The average for the entire Panama auction is $7.31/lb. But only 4 lots got above that. Excluding La Esmeralda’s lot, the average price is $4.24/lb. And the bulk of the coffees (19 of the 25 lots) sold between $1.95 and 4.45/lb. Not bad prices given the average price for specialty grade coffee, and especially commodity coffee.

I’m really wondering – and hoping for better insight from some people who were closer to both the auction and the auction system than I was able to be – why (or what theories) is it that there is such a discrepancy between the highest bidding coffee and the rest? There was similar distribution in last years Panama Auction. And in the Brazil CoE too. (The two other auction that come closest to this one.)

I should preface my questions by stating that (primarily) the only things I have right now to base any questions on is the cup scores, cupping notes, and the auction prices. I didn’t cup any of the samples, but in a way, I think what I am asking is more a question about the whole system than whether La Esmeralda’s lot is really so good that $130/lb is justified. Or if Mama Cata’s MCGC lot is worth $11.80. I did look at other auctions from this and the past couple years (Ecafe, CoE) where scores for the top coffees were above 90, and the distribution is not exact, but it is similar.

Anyway, three coffees scored above 90. Two above 95. I would expect those two at least to sell significantly higher than the others but that didn’t happen. Mama Cata (MCGC) was much closer to the #4 coffee (Katawa Organico). I feel, intuitively (expectantly) that the bid prices for coffees scoring 95+ (well, even 92+) should be spread out over that gap. Is that simply unrealistic and wishful right now?

I know that as scores get higher, the relative distance between each score is more logarithmic than linear, but on the other hand, anything over 95 is pretty phenomenal. So is a difference between 96.4 (Esmeralda) and 95.26 (Mama Cata) really a difference of $120? Or does it demonstrate something else.

Is it that there is still such a limited number of people interested in and capable of biding on these lots that only the single best coffee is fought over? Are there simply not enough quality coffees being entered into these auctions? Not enough farms producing this level quality coffee? Is it that the real or perceived market is too small to support that amount of coffee at these prices? Or is the point of entry such that consumers respond more to gold/silver/bronze medals? (i.e. listing Hacienda La Esmeralda (lot #xxxx) is meaningless to a lot of customers without also mentioning that this won 1rst place four years running….) Is it that 100% Geisha (along with prep quality) is worth $120/lb more than Geisha mixed with Criollo?

Thoughts? opinions? experiences?

best

dave

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