#2 Why do we need another Coffee Blog?
Why do we need another coffee blog?
To answer your question simply, we don’t. Better people than I (not to mention many) have given it a go and I would wholeheartedly endorse their own synopsis on coffee and the state of the industry before my own. A great many of them hold degrees or have at least undergone some form of formal science education, I have not.
What I do believe I can offer that the others haven’t is a regionally specific one, I don’t claim to have all the answers but I love the Brisbane cafe scene and I love observing it. I also love sharing my ideas around coffee. A lot of which I’m giving away for free via this website,
It’s mostly opinion pieces and I don’t want to make money off it.
What I aim to do is generate a much more in depth conversation on the merits of coffee, the coffee culture movement’s advantages on society and how we can improve it. I still find an unwillingness to open up and examine the elements of good hospitality and often we fail to see common trends within successful business that could save us the pain of making common mistakes for ourselves, both within our business and within our coffee making.
Take filter bars for example, most business owners do not invest sufficient gear into this area, but also I see even less investment in training. We then see a trend of the ones that did buy the brewers, scales, filter pots etc. but insufficiently trained their staff and then failed held up as shining examples of why “filter coffee isn’t taking off”. I knew that bar wasn’t going to work before it started because there was an obvious disconnect between what was served, what was expected and what your staff have been trained to make. This goes both ways, staff training can be free, many baristas will reach out and find the information they need online, if only they are given the exposure to that culture.
Filter bars are slow, they need extensive working and discussion before installation of a comprehensive setup and then all of your staff needs to be on-board about extraction and how to achieve it with the various brewing devices you have chosen to use.
At its best a filter bar should look easy and accessible, in having a dedicated filter station you primary objective is thus: You should be using it to encourage customers to purchase home brewing gear, and it should be seen as a support place for any of their questions as they become regulars. Just like this blog a filter bar really isn’t aiming to have a huge queue out the door at 9.00 am, its aiming to engage discussion about coffee quality and expectations.
I can’t say this enough: anything that generates discussion around coffee is positive, and moves the industry forward. I use the word coffee here not the sacred ‘specialty’ mocker, while I grudgingly admit specialty does indeed encapsulate the coffee movement of third wave and our need for a generally higher quality, easily traceable product I also shy away from using it. Specialty shouldn’t be about specific drinks but should be inclusive of anyone who seeks to receive a drink they deem as ‘good’, by their standards.
From a business owner point of view: any espresso shop can be made to perform better (and yes to answer your next question this does mean making more money). I can’t guarantee that a business is in a good spot, or that it will return a profit. But every coffee shop can be made to push more kg’s out and if an eye is being kept on percentages this can be used to return a business to break even or profit. However there are no secrets here, only by finding out what works with other businesses will your own business succeed. Like every industry you are unlikely to thrive if you don’t keep your finger on the pulse in regards to changing landscapes, demographic and emerging technology. I’m not talking about copying the competition either I’m talking about genuine scrutiny of your marketplace and what they need. The coffee movement at the moment is full of people who see customers as needing to follow trends set and dictated by the workers, this is not the case. We are basically paid up to continue our own drinking habits by what they are choosing to drink. This is why as the scene grows we see an astonishing amount of ‘everyday Joes’ becoming disillusioned and turning to machine coffee and office pods. Not only are we repeatedly failing to scratch a community itch we are also raising the price of the beverage we arrogantly have deemed acceptable to serve. A double whammy of condescension and overpricing! But that’s another post.
Latte Art Smack-downs, Public Cuppings and Key Speaker Talks are also a great way to generate general coffee discussion, I genuinely find the latter in Brisbane draw a more enthused and engaged crowd than Melbourne. This blog is the result of many long and philosophical conversations I’ve trapped other hopeless baristas in at these events. I apologize to those intrepid, brave people for always listening to me. This blog provides me with a less intrusive format to present my musings and for those of a kindred spirit to read them. Again, as long as it generates discussion it’s a positive thing.
Keep brewing, Cal