Aroma a Washout in more ways than one

john

FC Agree with you there. A tyre kicker today, your bread and butter tomorro. In most cases tyre kickers are miss read . They are actually just doing there homework!! It is getting serious if you are thinking of putting 3 grands worth of coffee gear in ya kitchen. When the average dishwasher is about $1000 and the fridge about $1500. Not to mention the benchspace that the cook will have to do without. You are right again in saying the AROMA gig is T. K's heaven and if you exhibit there you have to be able to service the informed, the uninformed and the missinformed, etc. JD

john

Admin Just realised that this topic is up to 3 pages. Not bad for a gig that was trained and partly washed out. Wonder what page we would be up to if it was a great day??? Also wonder if any of the team from the AROMA gig have logged on and read a bit!! Would be interested to get the wash up on the day from an AROMA organiser!!!! JD

fad

FC Agree with you there. A tyre kicker today, your bread and butter tomorro. In most cases tyre kickers are miss read . They are actually just doing there homework!! It is getting serious if you are thinking of putting 3 grands worth of coffee gear in ya kitchen. When the average dishwasher is about $1000 and the fridge about $1500. Not to mention the benchspace that the cook will have to do without. You are right again in saying the AROMA gig is T. K's heaven and if you exhibit there you have to be able to service the informed, the uninformed and the missinformed, etc. JD

Which Charles, whose stand it was, does admirably. I wasn't trying to imply that having TKs is a bad thing, just that as an unpaid enthusiast it's more enjoyable to talk to someone who is sincerely interested in the differences a high-end machine makes, than someone who wants a machine to go with their decor. Not that I'm ever rude to people in those situations. If they really want a flamingo pink Giotto I'd have smiled and fobbed them off onto Charles There was quite a lot of "emma chisit? oh, ta." but a gratifying number of people were aware of the benefits of an upmarket machine and wanted a demo. Plus more than a couple who started going into topics like HX vs single boiler and the benefits of e61 groupheads. My kind of people. Cheers Paul

Reschsmooth

I don't know what the negative view of tyre kickers is based on. An event like Aroma or any expo will generally attract unqualified 'potential customers'. As such, there is little expectation that your strike rate of getting an on the spot sale will be high. Particularly when you have Charles demonstrating a $2500 machine across from another group selling $120 espresso makers, fruit juicers, etc. To expect Joe Public to fork out over $2000 for an appliance on the spot is misguided (not saying anyone was). The point is, expos are an inefficient method to get sales, particularly compared to word of mouth, but a means of allowing Joe Public know what is available. However, as FC said, that person who asked 'emma chisit?', takes a brochure and walks off might be the person who calls you up in 6 months looking to buy the $2500 Giotto and Mazzer Mini grinder. I have worked a few expos, and have had other forms of open and general publicity, and the strike rate of sales is often quite low. However, I have had some absolutely fantastic clients come out of it. FWIW, IMHO, and other FLA's    ;D Cheers Patrick

john

P On a lighter note. ;D You mentioned the fruit juicers!! A reference book says "The coffee bean is actually the seed or pit, of the round, red 'cherry' FRUIT of a tropical evergreen shrub". I supose no one ventured into the juicer stand to see what they were juicing???? Maybe next year we can meet at the B juicer stand and bring a bag of coffee fruit for them to make a coffeetail out of! Just a thought. :D JD JD

Reschsmooth

What, you mean freshly squeezed coffee juice?  ;D

john

Maybe Kaldi was onto something  ;D

j-pil

yep, too commercialised. don't get me wrong, it's always been partly a forum for producers and manufacturers to get in touch with the market, but everyone having to use dairy farmers new frankenmilk "crema" is bullshit. There are heaps of coffee producers there, why not milk producer?, surely consumers and cafe's would like to see and compare others? i, for one believe that 'crema' is milk for 'baristas' who can't steam milk. it has a sweet thick palate that covers alot of the more subtle flavours of the espresso. sure, it counters the problem of the couple of months a year when dairy farmers milk is thin and crap- but that's the problem in itself. change brands of milk, i use riverina fresh and it is perfectly consistent year-round. i've left the point here, i know

admin

Hi J-Phil - just thought i'd let you know that your comments in the latter half of your message (re: Dairy Farmers' Crema milk) were very relevant to another thread in the Trade page - have copied the para. and posted in 'Milk' thread on your behalf. ciao -A

john

j_pil ??? As many of us are looking for that ultimate espresso coffee experience 8), could you please, let us know where your BAT CAVE is so that we can check it out!! ;D JD

lars

Not sure if this is the right thread to post this on, but someone mentioned the Big 'V' on page 2 of this thread... the latest Hospitality (trade magazine) mentions in an interview with Les Schirato of Cantarella Bros, which owns the Vittoria brand, where he said that 'Cafes are more worried about how much free merchandise they receive, than the quality of the tea and coffee they are serving'... I thought Vittoria was the brand that started the cafe giveaways??? -Lars

j-pil

john, and everyone else too, the 'bat-cave' is mon chery on george st in the city next to the souvenir store by the corner of market st, across from qvb. come on down and get wired without the need for a glass of water

Gonzo

Lars.... no they ddn't quite start it, but they adopted it early on and have made it their own, along with countless sundry items from the great big bag of dirty tricks...these people have trained all our clients to make demands and choose their suppliers on the basis of anything but coffee. Welcome to the real world. So any comment like this from that fella can quite honestly be viewed honestly...with raised eyebrows and suspicion...it's just another marketing ploy I'm afraid, and the wolf himself is "crying wolf". Thing us, the market is growing and slowly maturing, and coming around to bite him nicely on the bum because now his company is not really viewed as a purveyor of fine coffee at all. The Big G. And I choked on my biscottis when I read your post.

Unknown

Hi all! Do any of you know who was the organiser for the prize draw event of this year's Aroma Festival? I've won a year's subscription of "Gourmet Traveller" but it's now October and I received nothing yet   Please send your responses to my email: [email protected]

admin

Hi Joy - organiser is the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority - I think main contact person was a lady called Gilly XYZ? - could also try a PR person - last contact I had was with a lady called Elaine Kelly. Suggest you contact them, or perhaps Gourmet Traveller at ACP (Australian Consolidated Press). Sorry we can't be of much more help, but we chose not to be associated with the Aroma Festival this year. Best regards Admin.