July 2012
7 posts
6 tags
Quality: Knowing Where It Comes From
This is not necessarily about coffee, but definitely about a model the artisan coffee industry has that should be taken on by others.
The great thing about quality is that you know where it comes from. Good coffee from a decent supplier will usually give you more information about where the beans are from than you can possibly process. You can know farmers names, altitude of plants and see photos...
Anonymous asked: I think one thing that chain coffee shops do well is consistency. Or at least, that's the conventional wisdom - that the uniformity of things like espresso machines, staff training (barista and customer service / front of house), suppliers, shop decor etc - mean you'll receive a relatively consistent coffee/ experience no matter which branch of a chain you visit. In this respect, I think...
Anonymous asked: Hi. I enjoyed your post on independents vs chains. I think that, even if a coffee chain were to do all of the things you mention (unique design, emphasis on quality, great service, community focus), people would still head to independents. I think it would be fair to say that there's a degree of distrust in play when it comes to chains that are large and visible, and a feeling that the things...
counter-productive asked: Interesting comments on restaurant coffee, personally I think a top end restaurant with customers prepared to pay more for quality is the place for single origin brewed coffees and a separate brew menu with more emphasis on quality.
9 tags
A thought on independent/chain coffee shops
Independent coffee shops are largely liked because of some of these aspects:
Unique in design
Quality focused
Excellent customer service
Emphasis on local community
Well, what if a chain came out and did all these, as well as serving excellent coffee?
There is much discussion and admiration for independent shops, but what (in the quality coffee scene) wins people over?
I can fully imagine...
10 tags
Espresso Machine vs. Batch Brewers in restaurants
I recently visited a restaurant that served excellent food and was also informed that they were buying in excellent coffee. On inspection of the coffee area I saw a poorly maintained espresso service area - both machine and grinder were far from top of the line, but more than sufficient to produce great coffee on; but the problem lay in the treatment of the equipment in both hygiene and general...
16 tags
Making Coffee at TED Global, Edinburgh 2012
I survived Edinburgh, making coffee for the TED Global 2012 delegates, and came back alive.
It was a pleasure to work with Ristretto and be behind the bar with some of their great baristas. The event was done with a number of partners, supplying brewing equipment or ingredients, and it was great to work with materials supplied by: Alchemy coffee roasters, Mercanta coffee beans, La Marzocco,...
