mycuppa wrote:
I disagree - there are all sorts of little tastings and events running in places - finding them is the key. We are getting OT.............yes we agree tasting of a product that is ready to consume, versus a product requiring considerable ancillary variables and equipment are completely different...............include the whole post...... Everyone can sample fine coffee - you certainly don't need to attend a "coffee and biscuit" event.
Very well said, and its only the tip of the iceberg of the discussion if that is the direction the discussion is going to take, and I am very well aware of the hours we spend at local shows sampling with clients and being driven to distraction because the greatest majority of them are not really interested at all, just looking to get a free larh-tay from our stand (even if its only a sample size) instead of paying for one at the concession at the end of the trade hall. The academics of the discusson are one thing, and the realities are another quite different thing, particularly because by far the greatest percentage of retail market clients are not well educated enough in coffee at this stage despite they think they are. This is NOT a derogatory statement it is a statement of fact, and most good roasters are in the business of educating their clients every single day whether it is done through cuppings or simply by word of mouth every single time the clients come in to buy their beans or to look at coffee machines, because that is when you find out that what they are romantically annunciating to you (about buying a machine and making their favourite coffee at home) is way off mark. In fact, it is at the time that a client recognizes they want to buy a coffee machine, that a roaster or supplier gets their best shot at educating that client and when they buy a machine (and grinder), from you, they invariably return to buy your coffee, have a positive memory of the experience, and you can become their favourite boutique roaster by way of the total service package & experience you provided to them. Different roasters will have their own approach, but mine simply comes down to...sell the machine and you sell the beans. This starts the process of education, they take a class, eventually spreading their wings and starting to sample the offerings of others, and the ball rolls on. We've been running coffee classes for close to 15 years....and the big positive in all this is that the explosion of interest in all things coffee has raised awareness and grown the market in a huge way even if there is a long way to go. This is quite different to wine where when you open the bottle, and as long as the wine has been treated properly and hasnt for whatever reason gone off, you get to experience what the wine maker intended for you in a quick and direct manner. Instead, when you open a packet of coffee, you re-manufacture it through whatever your modus operandi and level of skill is, in whatever coffee machine you have in whatever condition, with whatever level of skill and understanding you have of the importance of the grinder. Then if you didnt from the beginning get involved with a specialist coffee and equipment trader, you can turn an award winning blend into bitter dish water. Then you can blame the roaster, or your tools, more often than you would blame your own understanding and level of skill in the process. Not so in wine. Right off topic now 😉 Rgdz, A.
