tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post4774315443576862355..comments2024-03-28T05:01:41.784-07:00Comments on Coffee Contrarian: "Is anyone in line waiting for just drip coffee?"Kevin Knoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02151736463964404979noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post-89677482260491610272013-04-09T10:06:11.913-07:002013-04-09T10:06:11.913-07:00I'm enjoying your post Kevin. I don't mean...I'm enjoying your post Kevin. I don't mean to move the topic away from drip brew but since you were talking about roasting profiles I thought I would chime in.<br /><br />I started out at Starbucks and then moved into the "third wave" coffee movement as a roaster. I have found it extremely challenging to grow my knowledge when most of the "respected" roasters are roasting just into first crack and I still insist on taking the roast to the brink of, (or right into), second crack. That means to the rest of the coffee world I roast "dark" and that this style of roasting is completely disregarded as a way of presenting coffee. Just wanted to say thanks for providing some wisdom and giving roasters like me a different influence to turn to.<br /><br />Thank you!<br />Landon Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456708129227693453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post-74853702301244236912013-04-06T15:42:15.825-07:002013-04-06T15:42:15.825-07:00Thanks for your comments Robert. I looked up your ...Thanks for your comments Robert. I looked up your bakery and the bread looks wonderful (and bread that good is harder to find than great coffee!). <br /><br />I agree with you about the roasting situation. You have to remember that most of the owners and staff at the newer places have come up from a barista culture with no real training in how to cup, source or roast coffee. The distinction between a cupping roast and a production roast dialed into specific brewing methods just isn't there in many cases. <br /><br />I think that what's healthy is to have a wide range of roast styles and brewing methods, but what we see now is a whole lot of people imitating Stumptown, Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia and the like, which means a lot of screamingly acid, overpriced, under-roasted washed coffees from a tiny handful of origins. It's a giant step backwards from the heyday of Starbucks, Peets and The Coffee Connection. <br />Kevin Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02151736463964404979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post-57717953219680805662013-04-06T14:49:54.134-07:002013-04-06T14:49:54.134-07:00I purchased a 12 oz. pack of Nica Maracaturra from...I purchased a 12 oz. pack of Nica Maracaturra from Sbucks and received a free brewing of same in the Clover. Disappointing. Another visit I got a "just" drip coffee, and it was awful. Took the Nica home, brewed it in my trusty plastic Melitta and voila - it's a surprisingly nice interpretation of that coffee. So the Mermaid can still roast well when it wants to. <br /><br />I consider myself "proudly Second Wave". My best coffee memories are from places like the old Santa Cruz Coffee Roasters - succulent Tanzania Peaberry roasted to full city and brewed by the cup by lovely hippies. Now it seems anything roasted beyond first crack is heresy. Sorry, I don't like sour coffee. <br /><br />It seems to me that the one avenue for bringing back the brew is through the mushrooming "Third Wave" joints with their siphons and Harios, but their utterly reactionary approach to roasting I think alienates a majority of us old farts who believe cupping roasts are for critiquing, not drinking. Robert Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00140455725580533192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post-22637022816030393212013-04-05T20:36:11.805-07:002013-04-05T20:36:11.805-07:00When bitter and bland are what's on offer, you...When bitter and bland are what's on offer, you reach for the milk and sugar. It's that simple. Starbucks has done this to themselves, but it wasn't always so. <br /><br />The French Press is Starbucks' most recommended home brewing method, and Sumatra coffee has historically been the company's best-selling single-origin coffee. Yet you can't walk into a Starbucks and order a cup or pot of plunger pot Sumatra. The disconnect between what people inside the company think is excellent and what is sold to pay the bills is quite complete. <br /><br />Look at where the innovation is these days: instant flavored coffee, pod brewing systems, non-cofee drinks. There is no there there anymore, and hasn't been for many years. Removing "coffee" from the Starbucks logo is just a rare example of truth in advertising. <br />Kevin Knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02151736463964404979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804228947196894311.post-34191984902574947122013-04-05T19:28:03.293-07:002013-04-05T19:28:03.293-07:00Kevin,
Sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons S...Kevin,<br /><br />Sometimes I wonder if one of the reasons Starbucks (my employer) cares so little about brewed coffee in stores is because customers go straight for the cream and sugar once they get their cup. More and more customers are ordering grande coffees in venti cups then making a bee line straight for the condiment bar to load up on half & half and Sugar in the Raw. Even when ordering Pike Place Blend (which is as flavorless as coffees come) customers go straight for the cream and sugar. Honestly, I have to pay more attention to ordering half &half and Sugar in the Raw than I do 5 lb. bags of whole beans for daily brewing.<br /><br />It seems to me that no matter how much we invest in our brewed coffee our customers habits are set and we are nearly powerless to change them. I feel like this is why the Clover brewers are so slow to roll out to more stores. I also feel like this is why product innovation has to do with sweet flavors and not coffee. You said that going espresso was a game changer and there is no turning back. I feel like that is what happened to Starbucks. We became all about sweet drinks where the espresso is essentially undetectable, so much so that there is literally more syrup in a venti than espresso. Heck, the logo was redesigned to specifically omit the word "coffee". I mean, we are "innovating" in the coffee category to compete with McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts. I can't help but think that it's too late for Starbucks to employ your tactics. Worse yet, I don't think that is what our customers want. I think our customers are perfectly happy to overpay for sugar and steamed milk, or just keep on dumping half & half and raw sugar into their Pike Place Blend.<br /><br />I would love to see a roaster/retailer have the courage to make it about the coffee as you propose. I can honestly say the best coffee I have ever had came out of my French press at home. I would love to be able to help my customers enjoy properly brewed coffee at home but they would rather just get their caffeine delivered by way of cream and sugar.<br /><br />Thanks for another great blog post. Your thoughts and insights are very inspiring to a coffee lover like me.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com