NEW AMERICAN COFFEE

Four Questions

2011-07-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked a series of questions from a local food beat writer about our business. The writer clearly had thought a lot about our business and the industry in general and seemed to hone in on just the right questions to help anyone from coffee professional to regular customer understand our business and the industry in general a little better. So, here they are:

Q: How does the ROWSTER approach to roasting coffee differ from the typical American chains?

A: First we roast very light. In fact, our darkest roast is lighter than a lot of the national brands lightest roasts. A light roast allows the bean which is really a seed from a coffee cherry to express its true and highest nature. Over-roasted beans are the product of poorly grown, harvested and processed coffee cherries. We want our coffee to taste like the fruit and not like the inside of a roaster. Secondly, as our name implies, we are all about roasting. We study the subtleties and nuances of this culinary craft very carefully. It is truly an art and a science. I have personally roasted over 10,000 batches of coffee. What makes us most different is that we take a very professional approach to the roasting that expresses our desire to always improve, learn and strive toward perfection. Despite my experience roasting I feel that there is still so much to learn. The complex chemical reactions that occur in the bean as the Maillard Reaction and Pyrolysis take effect are impossible to fully understand and measure. Science can only get you so far. The art of roasting fills the gaps.

Q: When did you start roasting commercially?

A: I had been roasting in a Has Garanti 5 kilo drum roaster on my back porch since 2004 for friends and as a "hobby" that got a little out of control. But in 2008 my employer of 10 years fell prey to the economic crisis and I decided to turn my passion into a full time business.

Q: Do you view ROWSTER as a wholesale distributor first or a coffee shop first?

A: The label "Coffee Shop" is hard to shed or break away from. But we are first and foremost a roaster. If we only sold bags for home users we would be very happy. But our mission is to share the best coffee experience in the world with as many people as we can reach and that involves a small but growing number of equally passionate and supportive cafes and restaurants. Our customers are an elite group. We don't sell to just anyone. We don't look for customers. Customers come to us and if we share common values of high integrity, business ethics, professionalism and a passion to be the best then we may be able to do business. More importantly, we look for humility. Humility is required in the service industry and in sales. Humility allows one to be empathetic with the consumer and understand their needs and finally offer the right solution.

Q: I noticed when I came in that there weren't any menu boards (or at least ones that I saw), so how does a first time customer know what there is available for order?

A: We have tried several times to produce a menu that expressed what we were about but found that it actually made the experience more confusing and disjointed, so now we have eliminated them. One problem we identified right away when we built this place was that the Starbucks or fast food trained customer would come in they would bring their past experience at a "coffee shop" with them and project it onto us. Since what we are doing is focusing on the quality from seed to cup and everything in-between we are inherently different from every other option currently mass-produced for the mass-consumer mentality. So we wanted to reverse the trend and project onto the customer a totally different experience right away. By taking away the menu it creates some initial tension but our staff is trained to be very empathetic and read the verbal and non-verbal cues through just a couple of brief questions so that we can identify the customer's needs. Ultimately, we are the experts so we want the customer to stay out of the decision making process as much as possible. Its very aggressive and risky but its the only way to take charge of the customer experience and exceed their expectations.

CUSTOMER SELECTION

2011-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Choose Well

Oprah Can Help

“Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher.” -Oprah Winfrey

Despite how seemingly cliche the above quote from Oprah is, I could not find a better, more succinct expression of the core concept I want to share. Never thought I would be quoting Oprah but she nails it.

Long Ago

Early in my sales career in a different industry, I learned a valuable life and business lesson. That lesson continues to assert itself over and over again in the highly competitive coffee industry. Back then, my sales manager, the legendary John Schrader came to Denver to spend the day making sales calls with me.

Our last stop of the day was to a customer who had routinely been critical of our company’s products, pricing and service. The owner was a “friend” whom I had done business with in a previous position with another company. They were a very busy, successful operation that seemed to have a great reputation. Other sales reps were often prowling their floor, bringing in lunch and entertaining them. Their product profile and volume appeared to be a perfect fit.

But time after time they found fault in something we did and used it as a reason not to do business. Every sales call made me more and more depressed about my company, my sales ability, my support staff, our products, our price. I was beginning to believe what they said about us. Maybe I needed to look for another job? How can I sell these products when such a large and respected company has so many examples of things we do wrong?

So as we sat in the car in front of their office building, John asked, “So what’s the story with this company, why are we here?”

“Well, I explained, the owner is a friend whom I used to do a lot of business with, they do a large volume with all of our competitors and have the reputation as being a great account.”

“So why aren’t they doing business with us now?,” John countered.

“Well, our prices are too high, our service too slow, our products are not diverse enough and they continually show me how our competitors are beating us in nearly every category,” I offered.

“Start the car,” John said.

“Really, why?,” I blurted.

“Kurt, this company is wasting your time. They just aren’t a fit. They are trying to convince you that it is YOU or US, but its THEM. Looks can be deceiving. Only judge a prospect or customer by their results, not by their appearance. If they were a fit, don't you think they would already be sending you business?”
“Yeah, I guess?,” I muttered.

“THEN START THE CAR!,” shouted John. Now getting very excited and agitated. “DO NOT WASTE TIME WITH ANYONE WHO DOESN’T VALUE AND RESPECT YOU AND YOUR PRODUCTS AND YOUR COMPANY! That is BLATANT disrespect. And the worst part is you are starting to believe them. F*@K THEM! Walk away and never look back.”

WOW! I was speechless. But as I pulled out of their parking lot and onto the road, I was nearly overcome with relief, joy, elation. Every fiber of my being knew right then that he was absolutely right.

Turning Point

That was the turning point. By the end of the year I had made “The President’s Club,” the top 10% in the company. Eight years later I had reached #2 out of several hundred. I am not a great salesperson. I’m not particularly motivated by money. I don’t inspire people to jump. Most people who know me would probably shake their heads in disbelief that I was so successful. I just didn’t fit the mold of a high-flying salesperson. That’s because, the mold is a lie. Great salespeople are not persuasive. They have great teams. They are relentless at finding people who not just accept them and their products. They find partners that lift them up.

A good customer will take little of your time or energy, follow your lead, promote you and sing your praises. You will get first crack at all of their business. A bad customer is never happy and takes all of your time. Questions your expertise, criticizes you, makes you jump through hoops. This has nothing to do with your abilities or your quality or your price. It is pre-determined. You knew it all along. But you wanted their business so badly that you thought it would all be different once you partnered up. Wrong.

Stay Vigilant

Coffee holds an amazing allure. Caffeine is an addictive substance. Coffee can get you going in the morning, activate the creative center of your brain, elevate serotonin levels and make you feel that everything is just right, or easy, or that you’ve done all you can to grow your business and you can just sit back and watch. But don’t get seduced. Stay vigilant. Eradicate indifference and passive aggressive customers and prospects at every turn. Find the best and they will lift you up.

What’s Your Niche?

Coffee is also highly fragmented. A lot of roasters and cafes presume that, despite all they know about how different coffee can be, when it comes to picking their customers, they assume it is all the same. All coffee drinkers should drink their coffee, all restaurants should serve their coffee, all consumers should buy their beans. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your customers are an obvious fit, not a reach. They share your values, passion, integrity. They promote your type of product with all their literature--menus, marketing, word of mouth.

Consider the Cost

I still regret a bad customer selection early on that we invested heavily in. Equipment, custom blends, service (even on Sundays). They looked like a fit, they talked the talk but it never felt right. They were often slow and reluctant to pay and, complained about things outside of my control such as their plumbing! To add insult to injury, they eventually fired us. Despite the volume of business, all the hoops we jumped through, cost us all that we had gained. The cost to our morale, lost time and energy, erosion of our brand identity and reputation far outweigh any benefits we could have gained. A bad customer is never worth it.

Now Go!

Keep moving, tune out the criticism, conduct yourself with a high degree of integrity, support your competitors, support your industry, hold no grudges, move forward, remain positive and helpful and you will find the right partners. Then, even if you fail you will have succeeded.

Year 2 Judging the GLRBC

2010-03-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee!

Beefy historic red and brown sandstone and brick buildings anchor downtown like giant paperweights while lighter, airier modern architecture swims out along the lakefront. Reminiscent of Chicago's lakefront except it seems wider, greener, bluer and clean. The bluff and criss-cross of sweeping bridges that weave around each other like the double-helix of DNA frame Milwaukee's best features and present them as though on a platter (of cheese and sausage).

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Schlemiel!Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!"
The people are friendly, genuine, helpful and enthusiastic. Their cafes pair awe-shucks midwestern charm with craftsmanship reminiscent of the days when beer and brats and mechanical inventions were the pride of this city. Hard edges abound and numerous forges and factories mesh nicely with the surrounding architecture and lend a heavy, solid permanence.

The venue, "Discovery World" floats above Lake Michigan and the harbor it overlooks like a seagull suspended in the breeze. Inside, a full size wooden replica of the 1852 schooner "Challenge," hangs from the rafters. Glass walls line the hallways where the competitions 3 bars and judges tables were lined up, giving it a casual and fun feel that allowed regular museum guests to wander up and check out the scene. During calibration meetings with the head judges we watched fishermen working the harbor for Spring Steelhead, headed up the rivers to spawn.

I had the privilege to judge Milwaukee's own Colin Whitcomb from Alterra Coffee. Colin's slightly rumpled shirt matched his irreverent, regular guy performance. He's just the kind of guy you want to hang out with. Fun, unpretentious, loud and confident but not cocky. His delicious signature drink, a peach reduction with Earl Gray tea cream and espresso, was served in a small dish that was not quite cup and not quite plate, giving the beverage a no-nonsense Milwaukee look and feel.

Sacrifice
I couldn't help being impressed with the effort, energy and cost that goes into these competitions. The judges travel at their own expense and pay for hotels, meals and take 3, 4, even 5 days off work and away from family to be a part of the barista competition phenomenon. Most have an amazing passion for coffee, are professional roasters, baristas or equipment dealers who want to learn more, meet other professionals and just plain help out.

Then there are the paid staff who run the event. Representatives from the SCAA, Nuova Simonelli, the sponsor Alterra Coffee, the importers, roasters and other sponsors were there.

Image
As usual, the attendees shared a certain look, dominated by long hair, beards, tattoos, piercings and second hand store clothing. A lot of cafe culture emanates from alternative roots: punk rock, artists, anarchists, etc. While I applaud individual expression, there seems to be a lack of mainstream interest. I point this out because I believe if we are to grow and expand this industry we need to be more inclusive and representative of the broader customer base.

Intelligentsia does such a great job in promoting professionalism that transcends narrow social groups. It is no wonder they do so well in competitions. We stopped into the Millenium Park store on our way home and found the staff to embody the "boy/girl next door" persona. Maybe its a sign of the times, but humility and modesty appears to be the customer service ethos of the day. This trend will only strengthen and continue as those who best connect with their customers will prosper and those who alienate will fail. Eventually, extreme attire, hairstyles and body art will swing back into popularity. But for the next few years modesty and helpfulness will prevail.

There also seems to be mostly white competitors and judges. Men outnumbered women 60/40 and there were only a couple people of color in the whole building. This is not all that surprising but presents an opportunity to expand interest and markets even further.

Is it Fair
Despite some grumblings on blogs and throughout the industry to the contrary, the scoring produces the correct outcomes. Even if there were no standards or scores or protocols and the judges weren't trained professionals with years of experience, I believe the outcome would be the same. Finalists are on another level. The difference between an average competitor and a finalist is like the difference between a high school athlete and a professional. There is no comparison.

Divisions
But I found myself wondering why everyone competes in the same division. The most important thing in developing any league is parity. Professional sports have leagues for every level of skill. This creates an environment of inclusion and respect. Every competitor meets a worthy opponent.

Out of the 50 or so competitors at the Regional Barista Competitions, there are only 5 to 10 that are contenders. Everyone knows who they are. They train all year and may even have a coach. The rules are very specific and continue to expand and become more cryptic for your average competitor to understand. It takes a yearlong commitment to master the basics. I'm not suggesting that all the participants don't enjoy competing. It can be an exhilarating experience for anyone. But the pressure and stakes are so high that for many it is just too much to bear. You cannot imagine how many competitors are unable to serve a cappuccino to a judge without it nearly toppling because they are shaking so badly.

Why not have 3 divisions?

Home Barista
Professional
Master

This would invite more mainstream baristas to participate. A first timer would not feel so much pressure to perform or be so devastated if they fail. Ultimately, the SCAA is about promoting quality specialty coffee. The followers of the competitions are already converted. We are preaching to the choir in these competitions.

Milwaukee Favorites
Here's a couple of my favorite things while in Milwaukee:

Best cup of coffee: Anodyne
Best cafe atmosphere: Alterra @ the Lakeshore
Best fried bluegill and potato pancakes with live polka band: Lakeshore Brewery
Best hotel: Pfister
Best cultural attraction: Public Museum
Best place for kids: Discovery World

Middle Men

2010-02-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

Time to Trade Names?

The expression "Direct Trade" says "we cut out the middle men." But who are these middle men? Middle men like the staff at Cafe Imports or Atlas? People with more experience, knowledge, passion and impact in developing great coffees that perhaps anyone in the supply chain? Middle men like the people who run the cooperatives, warehouses, auctions, exporters, trucking companies, shipping companies, dockworkers, truck drivers, another set of dock workers, warehouses, more trucking companies, importers who devote their lives to traveling the globe, some endeavoring as their life's work to help farmers produce a better crop that yields a better price and that is marketed through exhaustive internet, print, educational workshops, sample distribution, cuppings, delivery, shipment again, accounts payable, accounts receivable, paychecks, question answering, millions of dollars in inventory management...

The list goes on and on. Even if there was such a thing as "Direct Trade" is it really better? Intelligentsia coined the phrase and at the time is was a bold statement that rejected the benefits, and was a rebellion of the control and dominance of Fair Trade, the only game in town for doing better than commodity coffee. And it was a necessary and refreshing break from the oppressive stranglehold Fair Trade had on the coffee community. But we've grown, and I see the future emerging and the past being carried away.

Maybe its time to start celebrating the middle men again? The guys who make it all happen? Maybe its time for a new movement? Now what would such a movement be called?

Rowster Goes to Burundi
We are very proud to continue our support of Michigan State University's work in Burundi by buying specialty coffees processed at washing stations financed and sold through cooperatives financed by USAID with technical assistance given by MSU. Recently our coffee was back in Burundi to show the farmers what their packaged coffee looked like. Since many farmers don't even drink the coffee they produced this was a surprise learning experience and they were proud to display Rowster Coffee from Burundi Bwayi Lot 5 in Bwayi with the green hills and coffee farms in the background.

We are cupping samples of new crop Burundi now and we think you'll like them. The quality has come a long way. Thanks to Anne Ottaway for this photo.

What's in a name?

2009-12-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

When Old is New

1776-1990: Find your passion, start small, swallow your pride, build it by hand, one tiny step at a time through hard work and total self-sacrifice and someday you might...MIGHT have something worth something.

1990-2008: Create a business plan, go to the bank for a loan or find an angel investor for cash, build to spec, open, done.

2009-?: Find your passion, start small, swallow your pride, build it by hand, one tiny step at a time through hard work and total self-sacrifice and someday you might...MIGHT, have something worth something. So how do you name such an endeavor? In advance or let it name itself?

Names and logos are...

CoffeeBar or Coffee Bar?

Roast Works or RoastWerx or RoastWerks?

Coffee Factory or Factory Coffee?

Coffee Industry or Industry Coffee?

Coffee or C?

Rowster or R?

Coffee or Cafe (definitely not Cafe)?

No name at all?

Place name or creative name?

Form follows function?

Artifice and edifice or the thing itself?

More Shenanigans from Brewtbart

The T.S. Eliot. of coffee commentary has another gem on his blog.

Not sure if my mind can comprehend all the innuendo and metaphor but I'm pretty sure he has a crazy high IQ. Most likely Brietbart, conservative media prodigy. I'm a big fan. So hate me if you must. .

Thing 1 and Thing 2

2009-11-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

Thing 1
Been really busy lately formulating plans for my new roastery tentatively called "Rowster Coffee Workshop."
Here's a list of frequently asked questions...
Q: Are you going to have baked goods?
A: No
Q: Is it a cafe?
A: No
Q: How are you going to make money?
A: Roasting, packaging and selling beans.
Q: Where is it?
A: 632 Wealthy Street.
Q: When are you opening?
A: Shooting for sometime between December and March 2010.
Q: What about smoothies, sandwiches, WiFi, muffins, pastry cases, juices, snacks, candy, souveniers?
A: No, no, no, no, nope, no sir, probably not, not likely, maybe.

Thing 2
Found me (thanks Jack) a really funny and refreshing blog from the Right: http://brewtbart.wordpress.com/. Finally someone who questions the coffee world order. While you may not agree with his politics you gotta applaud the revolutionary spirit that is part of coffees long tradition. Check it out.

The Clash

2009-09-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Darling you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let know
Should I stay or should I go?

Always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day is fine, next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should I Stay or should I go?

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's bugging me
If you don't want me, set me free
Exactly who'm I'm supposed to be
Don't you know which clothes even fit me?
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it or should I blow?

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So you gotta let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

Why Is This Song Stuck In My Head?
This blog is not a marketing tool or cynical ploy to craft an image of who I am or what Rowster Coffee is all about in order to entice customers to buy more beans. This is a simple venue for me to pursue "coffee knowledge and meaning." That's why I pull no punches. And I'm here to tell you, on the eve of signing a big lease to expand my business to a bigger, better, sexier, higher rent location, I hear The Clash tune ringing in my ears.

What's An Investment Advisor Have To Say?
I sent my investment guru who studies the trends in the marketplace and mass psychology for the past 500 years (no, seriously...he knows what happened in 1648 and 1872 and 1929), a simple question: "What is the future of Specialty Coffee?"
His answer is at once a relief, a shock, and seemingly totally right. How can you argue with the guy who picked the 2008 market crash and bottom to within one day and a few hundred dollars? His response (I'm laughing to myself just thinking about it):

Dear Kurt,
Specialty coffee has had its ups and downs. A few decades ago during the last era of stagnation, almost no one was in the business, so with less competition it became popular when people began to drink more coffee. Now, there are plenty of competitors so it's tough. A long recession may discourage some and lay the groundwork for another renaissance during the next period of prosperity. Probably it is a good business to buy a couple of years before the end of any era of stagnation, and to sell a couple of years before the end of any period of prosperity. So perhaps you should sell your business in the mid-2030s.
All the best, Steve

What's My Equipment Sales Rep Think?

After explaining for the umpteenth time that no, I'm not a cafe or a coffee shop (nor will I ever be), I'm a roaster. My sales rep, Joe exclaimed, "Oh, That's cool, because cafes are going out of business left and right...My dad had a coffee shop and it was a nightmare..." This from the guy who gets paid if I move forward and buy equipment. Very cool and frank but frankly scary. Just when you think you have it all figured out in your head, two respected people show up to tell you that you are CRAZY to do what you are doing. Hmmm...

This Indecision's Bugging Me
I have a couple more days to think this through and decide where to put the bar and the roaster and whether to use barn wood or tile. Between Mirage, Synesso or Simonelli. There's a lot to think about. Lay low and keep it simple or jump in the game full force? Either way I roast the best coffees in the world and roast them with great care and passion for excellence and which are comparable to anyone's. That's right, ANYONE'S. We cup them all: Intelly, Metropolis, Stumptown, Counter Culture and we are right there in the mix 90% of the time. But just like any other business, sex appeal and image are powerful selling tools. Ask Nike or Intelligentsia. The differences are often in the sizzle and not the steak between many companies out there. Still, we are just entering a long period of stagnation and the market will not be kind to most. The market drives the economy. Value drives buying decisions in tough times.

Stay or go. Those are our only options. Stay posted.

Aged Coffee: Now and Then

2009-09-08T09:32:00.001-07:00

Monsooned Malabar.

The most unusual and outright strange coffee in our offerings. I describe the flavor notes as "saddle leather, peanut brittle, toffee". Those who enjoy it as a single origin coffee are religious in their devotion to the flavor, smell, look of this aged coffee. Monsooned coffees were generally stranded at the port city of Malabar where they sat for the monsoon season under open air, covered docks, bathed in salty ocean air, and steamy 90 degree rains. Or, were simply trapped below deck on a wooden trade vessel on rough seas while rounding Cape Horn, with bilge water and poor ventilation creating the perfect environment for mold to grow.

Recent studies have shown that another Indonesian coffee--Sumatra, gets it unique, earthy, almost limestone like flavor notes, not from being laid out to dry on open, earthen patios with livestock and children running through it, (as conventional wisdom presumed), but from mold. Humidity and mold has generally been the enemy of coffee processing, creating sour and rancid flavor notes that are deemed offensive. But apparently, there are "noble molds" in coffee, just as their are in the wine industry, (Grapes are coated in a naturally occurring powdery looking protective layer of mold, which often saps the grape of some of its moisture and yields a higher sugar content in the late-season harvested grapes for dessert wines such as Eiswien).

So, certain molds can enhance flavors in coffee, despite different mechanism for altering the composition of the beans than the mold on grapes. Malabar coffees today are aged for several weeks on the beach on raised beds to absorb the humidity and rain, then dried for several more weeks, resulting in a swollen, yellowish (as opposed to the typical variation of green) color and light density.

A recent Roast Magazine article by Bruce Mullins quotes a passage from a book, History and Reminiscences of Lower Wall Street and Vicinity, which is a first-person account of the merchants and traditions of New York's premier coffee and tea street.

Let me explain why Java should arrive "brown." When shipped it is very pale, the same color as the ordinary Maracaibo. After being placed in the hold of a vessel, the hatches are battened down as tight as possible. While in the tropical climate the moisture of the coffee evaporates, producing almost a steam in the hold. This moisture condenses on the bottom of the decks and drops on the mats, damaging a portion of the coffee. This damaged coffee is called "skimmings." The steam has caused the coffee to become almost parboiled. After the excessive dampness passes away, the heat causes the coffee to "brown." The browning process is what gives Java the fine flavor. Any other mild coffee going through the same process will also be greatly improved and closely resemble Java in appearance and taste.

With the Malabar, whatever happens inside the bean as a result of the mold creates a razors edge for roasters. Roast it too dark and the light density of the bean will begin to rapidly accelerate the roasting process and become dark and yielding a heavy, oily, bitter flavor profile. Roast too light and the bean will not develop any flavors and retain its hardness. Somewhere in the middle, when carefully roasted there lies a carmelly, nutty, slightly earthy sweet spot that yields a sweet, syrupy, wildly leathery perfumed cup that is interesting and delicious.

Monsooned Malabar as a component in our Milky Way espresso blend. I use Malabar because we can get a light roast to achieve a similar bean density to the dark roasted Sumatra and a medium roasted Ethiopian Sidamo, in the blend. The flavor also compliments the chocolate notes in the dark Sumatra with caramel notes and does not overpower the fruitiness of the Ethiopian. Achieving uniform bean density is important in brewing and espresso preparation to allow even extraction. But there are very few roasters blending 3 distinct roast profiles. Dillano's has their "Black and Tan" but that's the only one I know of. I created this triple blend to introduce customers to the nuances of Specialty Grade micro-roasted coffee without forcing them to sacrifice all of their dark roasted expectations. Plus, the pairing with milk is quite astonishing and can hold up to a taller milk drink.

Can Alt.Coffee Stage a Comeback?

2009-08-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Was just looking at the statistics of the Alt.Coffee group and was surprised to see that Alt.Coffee has been around since 1994. In its first month there were 500 posts on the site. By 2001 the number reached over 6700 for January. But recent activity is sadly back below 500 posts per month.

This is really an interesting factoid that I would like to explore for this post. Alt.Coffee was once the only place online to get any information at all about Specialty Coffee. The "User Group" community really was the first Internet community. Before Yahoo or even Google these obscure groups popped up where people from Helsinki to Plano would geek out about high tech and obscure passions in their own cyber-universe. Along came the fancy browsers and search engines and now social media sites and every one's doing it.

As for Alt.Coffee, this is where guys like Mark Prince got his start. You can see the users tapering off around the time Coffee Geek came along. Now there's Barista Exchange and a plethora of blogs and tweets and Wikipedia articles to educate those looking for something that was basically non-existent before--coffee knowledge.

But I still subscribe and get their updates. Some of the contributors are obviously not as savvy as Mark Prince or James Hoffman and they lack the polish of dyed in the wool coffee pros. But the content is actually quite refreshing. Reading them takes you out of the high-brow pretense that can be a bit off-putting in our current economic state. Instead, you get lengthy scientific discussions about the role of aluminum in Alzheimer's Disease. Or, crazy quasi-macho-geek banter that I really don't understand but usually seems to involve a guy named "Tex".

My suspicion is that these guys are mostly home roaster types who may or may not leave the house too frequently. This isn't to say I don't like them or Alt.Coffee. Quite the contrary. There is something homespun and soothing about this site and you once in awhile stumble across something new such as the Clever Coffee Dripper or the weird trend of people aging their coffee longer and longer, whereas 4 days used to be considered the holy grail. I get my daily digest of posts every morning and frequently scroll through them on my Blackberry while still lying in bed to see if anything catches my eye. Most days its Tex and Zolt insulting each others coffee knowledge, but I still check it out.

Supposing the number of posts has a correlation with the economy, it is quite plausible that for-profit blogs like Coffee Geek could go away and Alt.Coffee will still be around in 6 months or 2 years? But more likely, Alt.Coffee got too crowded and the kings of the forum went off into their own cyber-coffee universes for profit. Maybe the social networking sites or Wikipedia or some new technology will emerge that will render them all interesting relics, curiosities of the past like rabbit ears on a television, and Alt.Coffee will once again rue the day. Check it out.

2009-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

Papa on Coffee

Stumbled upon this quote flipping through Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises:

"Good. Coffee is good for you. It's the caffeine in it. Caffeine, we are here. Caffeine puts a man on her horse and a woman in his grave."

Used to read a lot of Hemingway in College, especially the Nick Adams Stories which were set in Northern Michigan where I frequent.

Coffee Economics 101

2009-06-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Stumped

Coffee is a competitive business. After reading a scathing assault of Stumptown Coffee in the New York Press http://www.nypress.com/article-19910-totally-stumped.html, I was a bit surprised. Mostly by my sympathy for the author. After all, I greatly admire Stumptown Coffee. They seem to have harnessed that ineffable cool factor we all reach for in our company identity. But the article makes some valid points. Mainly, to distrust marketing and image creation of any company who toots its own horn for being virtuous.

Then, I took a look at one of my favorite coffee bloggers rebuttal which defended Stumptown at http://www.tonx.org/ and I was similarly uneasy at outcry and unanimous, unwavering support of Stumptown. Not because I want to hate on Stumptown. I agreed that the tone of the original article quite inflammatory.

My Sympathies

In case you think I'm being unsympathetic, I urge you to accept the plain fact that I think Stumptown and its people are super cool. I have met some of them and they are a class act. The organization has been a model for our industry, pioneering small batch artisan roasting. They embrace the most unique and sometimes old and nostalgic equipment as well as the latest technology to make coffee really come alive and stand out. Their message and ethos is a big, all-encompassing passion for coffee from farm to cup. They support emerging markets such as Rwanda and Burundi, for selfish reason perhaps, but there's a lot of good intention and great results from their pursuit of the next great coffee. They try to elevate great methods by paying a little or even a lot extra for quality, which I find to be a very basic, yet under-represented concept in coffee with Fair Trade and other certification mantras that are a lot of "Greenwashing" and often cynical marketing tactics.

Interestingly, their leader Duane is often referred to an an “artist” and as the article points out the "Coffee Messiah". These are useful labels to describe the fervor which Stumptown followers have for this company. Duane seems to adopting artsy, upscale neighborhoods as his home base, and by harnessing the best and the brightest coffee geeks to scour the globe looking for the next great farm or brewing method. He symbolizes the “Revenge of the Nerds” coffee culture whereby coffee geeks become transformed into rock stars. Yes, as a previous blog has noted, pioneering new frontiers in coffee is art. Just like chefs at the highest level must step beyond tradition and leap into the unknown to make their mark. Coffee pioneers are artists.

Duane's Army

But, when I read all the defenders of Duane, who seem so affronted, insulted, appalled, I feel uneasy again. Supporting a company that does good work is one thing, but abandoning all critical thinking is a dangerous practice. As a contrarian at heart, I tend to look past the hype for some clues as to the true, higher nature of things. Which is what I set out to explore for this post.

History

So I began thinking about this in the context of World History. Hopefully, my age and experience have taught me the hard lessons so that I can make sense of this criticism, this company, the coffee community. What bothers me is the outcry in unison that all seem convinced enough to proclaim the power of Stumptown and others like them to transform the lives of coffee farmers and baristas and the planet Earth into a big, happy, tasty, cool, peaceful place. While these are noble sentiments are they realistic?

Marketing

Every great company starts out with a powerful, riveting vision which galvanizes the employees and customers to some higher cause or brighter future. The article seems to accurately, (if overly nastily) points out that this may indeed just be a bunch of clever marketing. The danger of this kind of message is that it turns a rather decadent indulgence into a form of social activism. Through commerce we can make the world a better place. The idea that we can purge our guilt while indulging in a little excess is frightening. Certainly, making ethical and morally sound judgements in our purchasing decisions is something we all should do. And, lets face it, a lot of great things have happened for Stumptown's suppliers and wholesale customers and employees as a result of this powerful idea. And they should be commended for it. But when supporters roundly applaud everything Stumptown does as the antidote to the "bad guys" (Starbucks, Wall Street, Hummers) I have to call "foul".

When we look closely at our particular place in history and how we arrived here, we may be surprised to see how great coffee is not different from bad coffee or corporate America. It may well be exactly the same thing in disguise.

Shipwreck

We are now clinging to the last few planks of a shipwreck of our Nation's hubris and prosperity. From here we can only look out into the unknown and wonder where this is all going. The last 10 or 20 years of prosperity were probably the pinnacle of fortune, wealth and extravagance in the history of the World. Our excess is eerily similar to that of Jake Gatsby who drove past the ash heaps every day from New York to his mansion in West Egg. From the height of our wealth it seemed frankly far to easy to help the farmers by buying the right kind of coffee. Saving the farmer may prove to be elusive as we begin our descent from extreme wealth into the unknown future.

The Market

Contrary to popular belief, the economy does not power the stock market. The stock market powers the economy. Despite the hard work that goes into running a successful company and the luck and good fortune that those of us lucky enough to have experienced seemed to be, the truth is, it was probably never easier. With big money that came easy from a booming economy and stock market came big investors. The easy money is completely shut off. But make no mistake, IT was the fuel that produced the Hummer AND Stumptown. How else can one explain $20,000 espresso machines?

The Best of Times

As history churns out new era after new era they begin to pile up and repeat themselves. While we may be at the pinnacle of comfort in World History, the last pinnacle, roughly 80 years ago (the average lifespan of a healthy American), was 1929, also known as the end of the Roaring 20's and the beginning of the Great Depression. Another 80 or so years earlier was the conflict between North and South that ultimately led to the Civil War. What will they call our period of hyper-wealth in 10, 20, 50 years?

Wal-Mart or Farmers Market?

Will the future be hospitable to crafty, artisan foods that are high priced? Its nice to think so as displaced and disillusioned workers fight the corporate giants that once employed them as an act of Emersonian defiance. But as savings and easy money dries up, Wal-Mart will likely rule in the future. Farmers markets, artisan roasters and chocolatiers will either find a way to do it cheaper and better or call it quits as fewer and fewer average folk have disposable income for affordable indulgences cloaked in social justice. As I already mentioned, the economy does not dictate the stock market. The stock market (and all markets for that matter), dictate the economy. Pure economists and forecasters without a political agenda are all saying the same thing: a 3 to 20 year Bear Market.

Japan
One bright spot in this landscape is Japan. Having weathered its own real-estate bubble driven 15 year recession, formerly known as the “Lost Decade”, has managed to maintain its commitment to buying super-premium , “ultra-specialty” coffees. Just look at

http://www.cupofexcellence.org/ auction results. Time and again, Japan appears to be buying more than their fair share of high-priced coffees and have been doing so for 20 years, despite their dire economy. But look closely and you will not find much of a coffee culture there. Cafes and their baristas are sanitized, antiseptic, Spartan-like affairs. Their goal is quality and not image or social agenda.

Easy Money All Gone

What will happen when the money runs out? Has Stumptown and others (Intelligentsia, Counter Culture, 49th Parallel, etc.), forged the structural framework to withstand a frugal future? It would take the infrastructure of Starbucks or McDonald's to continue to grow. But those who built their empires on the dime of deep pocketed angel investors and rich uncles will likely have to find real profits to continue. As money gets sucked backwards by the starving beast of capitalism in endless margin calls and fire hoses of revenue get reduced to a trickle we will begin to see a separation of those who have sound financials and a realistic, sustainable business plan from those who just made a lot of noise and created a lot of hype. Time will tell whether Stumptown is the former or the latter. I hope they prove they are the real deal. That would be really cool. But, I must be honest, I have my doubts.

Coffee as Art and Science

2009-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Art vs. Science

For reasons unknown, there is an ongoing discussion about weather or not creating Specialty Coffee is an ART or a SCIENCE. Are roasters artisans, craftspeople or scientists? What exactly do these terms mean and what do they say about those of us who work in the coffee trade? Is there a deeper scatological meaning to the fact that this discussion exists at all? Or, is it just a matter of being one or the other if you work in coffee?

After reading yet another article in the most recent issue of ROAST Magazine which flatters the reader by aligning roasting coffee with artistry and science, I began to think deeply on the matter, as if to apprehend some higher truth or meaning. The notion that we practice our trade under the mysterious and powerful influences of art or the rigors and natural laws of science are comforting. To consider that we come out of the fog and into the light of day with our freshly roasted El Salvador CoE lots and traditional Italian cappuccinos through enlightenment, much like our European brethren who ushered coffee unto the World scene during the Age of Enlightenment strokes the ego.

Rimbaud

Coffee has a long tradition of association with the arts. Its cafes often doubling as art galleries and frequented by musicians and poets. The tradition may have descended from the 19th century French Poet Rimbaud who was said to have drank dozens of cups of coffee per day in pursuit of "derangement of the senses" which produced his epic masterpiece A Season in Hell, published before the artist was 21.

Historical References

Modern day roasters are nostalgic and often think of themselves as craftsmen. The Specialty Coffee Association of America's roasting organization is called the Roaster's Guild, a nod to the trade associations such as stone cutting and carpentry formed in Europe during the middle ages through the late 1800's. The guilds often had fraternal and often religious or ceremonial secret rituals.

Craft

A craft is part art, part science and usually associated with something that is common and practical yet has flair and style. Crafts bring together art and science. Art is expression and creation of something new. Science measures, records, deciphers and allows repetition and predictability. The current state of the coffee industry is a hodge-podge of artists, craftspeople, and scientists. The artists discovering new and exciting possibilities at origin or in their roasting methods and brewing techniques while the scientists measure, calibrate, dissect, repeat. The craft in coffee lies in bringing the art and the science together.

Art is Creation

Roasting coffee starts as an art. You cannot understand the laws of physics and nature without diving in and playing around with them to find out for yourself how they operate together. Once the art develops, observations and repeatability begin to form naturally without textbooks and computer data logging and tracking of roast curves and thermal transfer. Many a roaster claims to be an artist or a scientist but few posses the knowledge that only practicing the craft for many years and many roasts can give you.

Deeper Foundations

Leonardo DaVinci, considered primarily an artist, made many scientific discoveries through his acute powers of observation and ability to record these observations with great artistic detail. Many of his works were frescoes which is essentially plaster. DaVinci took the trade to the highest form of art. Perhaps DaVinci was more of a craftsman after all?

Context

Okay, fine DaVinci is symbolic of the entire Western Civilization and considered one of the greatest artist of all time. So maybe dragging him into this discussion is a bit of a stretch? But perhaps coffee is like many other passions pursued relentlessly throughout our history? The Wright Brothers got the first airplane off the ground, not by following an instruction manual but by experience. The notion of leaving the ground and flying through the air must have been considered crazy to people during that time. And, attempting to build a flying machine was a totally creative expression. Today, passenger jets are built by engineers but the Wright's were craftsmen and the idea of flight was pure art.

Meaning

So the next batch of Ethiopian Sidamo Gerbichu Lela you drop into the roast chamber, the next rosetta you pour, the next ristretto you pull, remember that you are equal parts artist and scientist. A Craftsman (or woman) who comes from a long line of dreamers, tinkerers and inventors who have made all the greatest contributions to Western Civilization. At least its comforting to think so...

Tempurature Profiling for Brewed Coffee

2009-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

At a recent event I had two Zojirushi water boilers plugged in for press pots and Chemex brewers. As the line began to form I soon ran out of water in one and then the next. After refilling them, they began to reboil and I was faced with this dilemma: pour 212 degree water on my City Roast Mexican Natural from Terruno Nayarit or make everyone wait for the water to reach 212, boil, then cool down to 195 degrees, my preferred brew temperature for press pots and, I presumed the Chemex Coffee Brewer. Sensing an urgency in the crowd, I opted to pour. As the 212 degree water filled the filter and saturated the grounds and began to run into the beaker, my second boiler was approaching 198 degrees, so I quickly completed the brew cycle with the final pour at 202.

Once the line abated I sampled the brew and was very surprised to note that this pot had the same great chocolate covered cherry notes as usual, but the body was much fuller, cleaner, more lively and the coffee was more balanced and "complete", a feature I often found lacking in Chemex brewed coffee. I could only faintly taste the papery filter flavor (one of the reasons I do not normally favor Chemex brewed coffee), but it was very minute. The coffee also appeared a bit darker and clearer rather than the slightly under extracted opaque orange color that I also expected in a lower temperature extraction.

I was very surprised and frankly uncomfortable with this discovery, as it upset a very basic presumption that I had held about brew tempurature. This sent me on a quest to better understand water temperature in drip style brewers. In some of my restaurant accounts I have long been struggling with coffee that lacks depth on their brewers yet tastes great on mine. It was my suspicion that most commercial brewers are at pre-set factory settings of 200 which might be best 1.75 to 2 ounces of commercially roasted coffee per half gallon of water, whereby we use 3.25 to 3.5 in our brewers and the 4.4 ounces per half gallon recipe from Lingle's Brewing Basics for press pots and the Chemex.

So I set up a simple experiment. Brew and sample 3 Chemex pots using 3 temperature settings, measuring the temperature of the grounds and the final pot after brewing is complete and comparing the temperatures with the taste to see if there is any relationship. Using a light City Roasted Colombian Tolima, known for its buttery mouth feel, grapefruit-like acidity and nutty flavor at this roast level, and dosing 2.75 ounces for an 8 cup (48 ounce) Chemex, adding 8 ounces of water per pour, allowing 2 minutes between each and recording the tempuratures after each pour, I began...

Chemex #1: 195 degrees Fahrenheit

Pour/Ground Coffee Bed Temp

1/170.4

2/163.5

3/181.0

4/185.4

5/185.2

6/185.7

Final Brewed Coffee Temp: 166.1

Chemex #2: 208 degrees Fahrenheit
Pour/Ground Coffee Bed Temp

1/177.4

2/194.4

3/195.6

4/196.5

5/196.7

6/196.5

Final Brew Coffee Temp: 177.7

Chemex #3: 212 degrees Fahrenheit

Pour/Ground Coffee Bed Temp

1/180.4

2/192.5

3/197.4

4/197.7

5/197.8

6/197.7

Final Brewed Coffee Temp: 175.7

After sampling from each of the three pots I decided that Chemex #2 has the best overall balance of flavor, acidity, body and aftertaste. While Chemex #1 had the most fruitiness and had the most buttery mouth feel it was lacking the mid to low notes. The nuttiness and caramel notes that balance the coffees extreme grapefruit citrus notes and hence nobility were lacking. Chemex #3 was the cleanest cup and may very well be favored by my mother for its bold, dry, classic coffee qualities, it was slightly astringent and over-extracted from a technical cuppers point-of-view. But it certainly was not overly evident or glaring. All of these coffees had great qualities that anyone might enjoy. But #2 was the best due to the nice balance of low, mid and high flavor notes in a clean cup with a lively, full body and velvety/buttery mouth feel.

While this study was informal and lacked many scientific protocols it serves as an interesting observation about brew temperature. We so often hear about "Temperature Stability" as though it were the only variable in coffee brewing. But what about when using a recipe of 3.25 or 4.4 ounces of room temperature ground coffee, per half gallon of water in a drip or Chemex or even press pot style brewer? As my experiment shows, the coffee grounds are always about 10 degrees below the water temperature, even after they have been heated by 3 or 4 pours. (20-30 ounces, or half way through), and the final brew temperature in an unheated, room temperature glass Chemex beaker was another full 20 degrees below that. It is just amazing how much heat we lose and how fast.

The next experiment will have to be a variable temperature brew cycle which was the impetus for this one. Much like espresso manufacturers such as La Marzocco, Synesso and now Slayer are pushing variable pressure profiling, they soon may enter the variable temperature game as well. the drop in tempurature from boiler to ground coffee bed in the first pour is so dramatic that a much higher tempurature, perhaps as high as 230 degrees, could be used for the first pour.

In the final analysis, its not so much about finding the one exact way to brew your coffee. Rather, its about experimenting and learning which approach works best for a particular coffee roasted a particular way and rested for a particular length of time before grinding and brewing with a unique water profile and temperature. All variables matter if you are going for excellence and there is simply no way to ever get there. By trying we learn something new every day.

Judging at the USBC

2009-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

The World Barista Championship begins in just a few days in Atlanta. Past champions have complained that preparing for the competitions has no practical relevance in coffee yet they agree that somehow, the focus and minutiae made them better, smarter, more discerning coffee professionals. I chose to judge the Great Lakes Regional this year because I was curious. There seems to be two camps on these things: those who find Baristas and Barista Competitions an abhoration and those who are sure this is the center of the coffee universe. I went to find out.

Here's a short list of what I learned, both large and small:

The Americas have some pretty incredible coffees--Sure, we've all had great ones but finding that distinct flavor not found in any other coffees in the World, such as Alterra competitor Scott Lucey's Colombian and Intelligentsia's Mike Phillips Bolivian. Super clean from near perfect handling, storage, roasting, grinding, tamping, brewing and explaining opens ones mind to possibilities overlooked until then.

Honesty, authenticity, energy and flow of the competitors is at least 50% of their scores. Sure, finalists did all the technical stuff, their coffees tasted great but the best were more real, like your cousin or best friend. Those at the bottom were often forced, nervous, rushed, and even phony acting or worse. Mike Phillips was like my kid-brother. I wanted him to do well. Even though I was hard on him for a slightly confusing presentation I genuinely cared about him.

Setting the expectation and delivering an experience that meets or exceeds that expectation is the other half. Again, technical skill, presentation, flavor, visual correctness, professionalism are what the scores are really composed of. But when you get to the top, the real deals rise up and the posers get exposed.

Spectators and baristas tend to look a little "piratey". Sorry, you just can't win if you look too crazy. Huge beards and piercings end up making competitors seem trendy and contrived or just plain scary. There were more than a few signature drinks that I was scared of. Intelligentsia's baristas are so darn nice and sweet and friendly and clean and genuine. That's right, Genuine. There are exceptions. Some of the more "creative" folks stole my heart but none of them had the product, the excellence or the game that the pros had.

So, to recap: a GREAT barista might have a super distinctive single origin coffee that is absolutely perfect. It might be extremely unique but there are just no edges that stick out and make one pause. They are honest, authentic, caring, sweet people doing their best to serve YOU. They explain what they are doing and why they are doing it and then DO IT, just like they said, maybe even better. They are clean cut, professional, and you trust them.

Not surprisingly, when put together, this sounds like the perfect employee. If you are a Specialty Food business owner, this is what you should look for in your employees. If you are a barista, server, bartender, chef, these are the qualities that will get you to the top.

Judging is grueling work, requiring focus, concentration and a genuine interest, it is made easier by the 20+ coffee drinks consumed each day. The best part of it all was the people I met. Being around the best of the best is educational, enjoyable and fun. Let's see if Europe stomps on us again this year and get ready for next year. I'm guessing an American coffee will be at the top very soon. Once you get it done right, you only want more.