When form doesn't follow function

Kelsey

On the weekend some family from Brisbane dropped in, having picked up a bag of 'Driftwood' from Driftwood & Dandelion.

Their packaging is a beautiful continuation of the incredible style and sophistication of the establishment. It's also a prime example of form over function.

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Also, how the hell am I supposed to keep this sealed now?!?!

Brett_H

I've had the Driftwood recently and I enjoyed it. My favourite purchased roasted beans in recent memory was the Cosmorex Yirgacheffe. Hold on thread stealer... What's ya point... My point is that its great for us home roasters to keep trying pro-roasts so we keep expanding and refreshing our ideas, palates and flavour spectrums. I like this one a bit hotter more like 94-95 despite the barista at D&D saying it was best at 92-3. I dont doubt that he was absolutely correct but it was fun to try different temps and i really liked it warmer at the group head. It was noice, different.... Enjoy mate!

derrilex

I'm surprised the bag doesn't have a bow tie on it or some other strange costume. D&D is a great joint, real Alice in Wonderland stuff. Pete & Penny are definitely putting it all out there that's for sure. :thumb: PS, get the name right will ya Kelsey :stir 😃

mycuppa

Ah yes - my pet topic - packaging. I think what Penny and Peter have done looks fantastic and is clearly a differentiated product. As someone who has to face a daily barrage from the "know-it-all smarties" intent on letting me know I really should wake up to myself and pack their coffee in ziplock bags................. and................ whilst I'm at it, make it a really small bag so I can open one every day or so to be really convenient for me personally, but don't you dare think of charging me $0.01c more than the bulk 1kg gusset bag price, etc. Not having a shot at you K.........but for all those OCD-stale-coffee-phobia-suffering folks out there, once you open a pack of coffee, there are many types of containers that can be used. I sometimes wonder if people ask the butcher for a portable freezer to keep their meat fresh.

askthecoffeeguy

Try folding the top of the packet over a few times once its opened and use a bulldog clip to hold it all in place ...

Koffee_Kosmo

At least the relatives are educated enough to get you good beans Kelsey :thumb:

Kelsey

Brett H wrote:

I've had the Driftwood recently and I enjoyed it. My favourite purchased roasted beans in recent memory was the Cosmorex Yirgacheffe. Hold on thread stealer... What's ya point... My point is that its great for us home roasters to keep trying pro-roasts so we keep expanding and refreshing our ideas, palates and flavour spectrums. I like this one a bit hotter more like 94-95 despite the barista at D&D saying it was best at 92-3. I dont doubt that he was absolutely correct but it was fun to try different temps and i really liked it warmer at the group head. It was noice, different.... Enjoy mate!

Good advice Brett - I'm finding it a little lacklustre at the moment, although tightening up the grind has helped. I'll give it a hotter temp and see what transpires.

mycuppa wrote:

Ah yes - my pet topic - packaging. I think what Penny and Peter have done looks fantastic and is clearly a differentiated product. As someone who has to face a daily barrage from the "know-it-all smarties" intent on letting me know I really should wake up to myself and pack their coffee in ziplock bags................. and................ whilst I'm at it, make it a really small bag so I can open one every day or so to be really convenient for me personally, but don't you dare think of charging me $0.01c more than the bulk 1kg gusset bag price, etc. Not having a shot at you K.........but for all those OCD-stale-coffee-phobia-suffering folks out there, once you open a pack of coffee, there are many types of containers that can be used. I sometimes wonder if people ask the butcher for a portable freezer to keep their meat fresh.

This is the only occasion that I've received bought coffee in a non ziplocked bag, except perhaps Costa of Noosa and I've tried to purge that from my memory entirely! I mean, I've bought beans all over the place so this has come as a complete surprise - if it was more common I would have one of those Coffee Vaults... in fact, I've been considering it just to keep the SO happy about the ever expanding coffee clutter.... No offence taken Jeff. :thumb:

askthe coffeeguy wrote:

Try folding the top of the packet over a few times once its opened and use a bulldog clip to hold it all in place ...

Exactly what I've done. Except I have those fancy plastic things designed just for that purpose.

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

At least the relatives are educated enough to get you good beans Kelsey :thumb:

Oh they know alright, they know!!

mouse_75

Hi Kelsey We generally run the machine at 93.5, so I would up the temp if you are at 92. Please let me know how you find it at the higher temp. I believe the idea behind the bags was that it was a refill for the amber jars we sell (refill the jar at the cafe or take a bag to fill at home etc). If you don't have a jar we normally recommend putting them in an airtight container in your pantry. Matt.

Kelsey

Thanks Matt, much appreciated and it's awesome to have you here. Don't get me wrong, the form is sensational! As a designer I love it. I've got plenty of opaque sealable bags around and I transferred to one of those. The higher temp (94) has definitely been beneficial. Do you also find a slightly tighter grind and slightly higher dose to be beneficial? Doing that has made a huge difference to my appreciation for this roast. I'm not sure if this is the intended experience, and my sense of taste is not great, but it's now vibrant without bring overly bright, has some deep tones (cherry, perhaps?) and has a medium body rather than the fairly thin body I'd initially experienced. I look forward to trying this again when I'm in Brisbane next!

mouse_75

Nice to be here 🙂 Long time lurker. We dose 23gm into a 20gm VST ridge less basket, and generally target a 36-38gm beverage weight. That said, it's more a guideline rather than a strict recipe. Always telling the gang to go by taste rather then numbers! Please say hi next time you're in, hopefully will get to meet before my move south. M.

Kelsey

Will do Matt, I look forward to it.

RichardM

mycuppa wrote:

I sometimes wonder if people ask the butcher for a portable freezer to keep their meat fresh.

Interesting you say that. When over in Japan, whenever I bought something cold (such as deli meat and the like) they would put a tiny little ice brick in it to keep it cold. When I say tiny, think the size of two 50c pieces side by side. Their packaging is nuts though. Wife bought a jumper, and it was wrapped in a chux style cloth, then put in paper, then put in a paper bag, then a plastic bag, then a shop sticker over the plastic bag to seal it (it was a real shame that she was buying the jumper because it was cold outside, and she wanted to wear it immediately).