Bottled Water redux

Last year I posted on this blog about bottled water.  You can read this by clicking here.  I described a particular phenomena that I find absolutely horrifying.  The so-called Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.  The Patch is a huge mass of plastic crap that is circulating permanently in a natural current called the Pacific Gyre.  It is visible from space and twice the size of Texas, maybe larger.

The gyre captures garbage that finds its way to the ocean. Once in the gyre, garbage can remain “in circulation” for decades.  After awhile the sun breaks down some of this plastic and after many, many years these particles disappear from view.  However, additional garbage is introduced into this system at a higher rate than it disintegrates, so the situation is growing even worse with time.    

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Most people who are familiar with competitive cooking shows like Iron Chef have a good idea what WBC-sanctioned barista competitions are all about.  They are highly charged extravaganzas where aspiring barista superstars can take on their peers and emerge as the toast of the entire specialty coffee world.  What’s more, the recognition is there, not just for the top placers of the WBC, but for winners of the National and Regional championships as well. The winners from these competitions have been known to go on to sponsor products including equipment for making coffee. Klaus Thomsen, the 2006 WBC winner, co-produced and promoted a home machine on the basis of his uber-barista notoriety.  Winning a major barista championship is often seen as a ringing endorsement for a particular coffee or a local Third Wave cafe.  Think Billy Wilson, Think Stumptown Coffee. Think the Albina Press Cafe in Portland Oregon.  When you are that good at preparing coffee, the coffee you use, or the cafe where you work is of extreme interest to your fellow coffee geeks. The details of your coffee universe may also be of interest to those considering opening a new cafe or re-railing an existing cafe to a higher level. Your talents are admired and desired!

But the road to coffee fame and fortune is not short.  By the time a barista champion has reached the top tiers of competition, they are the veterans of countless smaller competitions and have put in hundreds of hours of practice & preparation.  Their coffee making skill is honed so is their dessert-making ability.  Why desserts?  Because creating a winning high-scoring signature drink these days requires knowledge that goes well beyond coffee basics.

So what do you have to do to get there? 

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Are you opening a cafe or planning to in the near future?  if you are, then I may have the perfect location for you:  right next door to Starbucks! 

Pictured here is a location that is actually available right now.  It offers the opportunity to go head-to-head with the industry’s Goliath–and your new store is smack in the heart of Seattle.  The Dragon’s lair, if you will!

At first this may seem utterly counter-intuitive.  Who in their right mind would open a competing cafe next to the biggest, most successful specialty coffee retailer in the world? A company identified as one of the most powerful brands on the planet by Brandz.  

The answer of course is You!  And especially if you plan to open a Third Wave Cafe–with a focus on quality products and training, and a hands-on approach to preparing coffee and serving customers.

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For me the question of affordable luxury leads down a winding, scrambling, path of discussion around the word “luxury” itself. Like any conversation about coffee this discussion is also hopelessly mired in considerations of culture and society.  The United Nations defines the “forced isolation” of human beings as a form of torture, in certain cases.  Extended periods of isolation can lead to neurosis, resulting in severe mental illness or even death.  In contrast, traditional coffee rituals are social acts.  They bring people from a community or family together in often elaborate, though usually informal, ceremonies in which the beverage is prepared and shared according to prescribed methods, sometimes handed down through generations. This does not make coffee rituals an antidote to anything.  But it does make them a key part of healthy human behavior. In this context, the word luxury doesn’t seem to fit. The type of social ritual surrounding the preparation and enjoyment of coffee — and I would argue even when coffee is prepared and served in a commercial setting – is not really optional human behavior.  It is a fundamental requirement for living well. 

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Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of accompanying my brother (Russ) on a Direct Trade sourcing trip to Nicaragua. Being the espresso machine geek I am - I’m generally in Italy, so this was a treat for me. Something that I wanted was a first had experience of Direct Trace sourcing vs Fair Trade purchases. Was there really a difference and what was it? Read the rest of this entry »

Specialty coffee has long struggled to be a good environmental citizen, notwithstanding the advent of the Solo Traveler cup and lid. One reason is that the industry over time has become uncomfortably connected to a broad range of disposable paper products, items that are likely to end up in landfills and sometimes as litter. It seems as long as customers demand the convenience, cafes continue to supply them with paper cups, plastic lids, and wooden stir sticks, while offering reusable alternatives when possible.However, this state of affairs doesn’t sit well with many cafe owners and their environmentally attuned staffs. They fret and fuss, feeling the measures they’ve taken are not really good enough, especially if so many customers find it impractical to adopt the greener solutions offered. Finding a better way remains one of specialty coffee’s greatest challenges and frustrations. The impetus, especially on the Third Wave side of specialty coffee, where enlightened mindsets roam the earth, is to acknowledge reality, to be aware, and do the right thing. It is never to hide or deny–or just let it slide. This is one of the characteristics I especially love about many of the individuals in our industry. The intentions are well-placed, so improvement is bound to follow. Read the rest of this entry »

“Coffee, c’est la mode. Or at least that’s what it seems to be at the moment, the rage of the day here in Seattle. The label of Seattle as the “Coffee Mecca” has been bestowed upon us and drilled into our minds. It’s like we’ve been programmed to purchase these energy-boosters at excessive daily rates. Fashionable in this urban setting is to walk about flaunting your cup of Joe; this cup gives you the appearance of ambition, sophistication, and flair; it is an accessory to one’s wardrobe. This is especially true for young-career driven women and men too. This cup can enhance one’s image because the thought of caffeine makes one think of the individual consuming this beverage as a hard-working, sleep deprived soldier in today’s society. A lack of sleep is a sign of power and hard work, dedication, success, and ambition to one’s career and work; and by drinking coffee, it is a sign of the need to heal the sleep-deprivation of the hard worker from their arduous work schedule, to boost their more awake-state for the individual to keep working. So, why not add a caramel macchiatto to your everyday wardrobe?– Sena”

I recently came across this critique of speciality coffee’s role in the lives of real people. I wonder if Sena is right in suggesting that the primary purpose of specialty coffee is to provide a caffeine jolt and a fashion statement for urban careerists? Is there any truth to her observations? Or should these ideas be dismissed as a wild misinterpretation of what is going on in the industry? When I’ve discussed these views with others inside and outside the coffee trade the responses have usually focused on the role of work and career in modern living, specifically the lack of balance in this area. Not coffee. Most people seem to think that coffee plays only a small part in this equation and maybe none at all. Would getting rid of coffee bring balance and perspective to people’s lives if they are determined to lock themselves in a cycle of earning and spending that enslaves them to a job or lifestyle? Clearly, there is a larger cultural question presented in Sena’s critique that focuses on many features of our society’s landscape, including consumerism and the inflated material expectations of individuals. But what about the coffee? . . .

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Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Tom Knudson, published an important story recently in the Sacramento Bee called “Promises and Poverty”. This story highlights the inconsistency between the claims made by coffee companies operating in the coffee growing regions of Ethiopia and what is in fact really going on there. The story focuses on Starbucks’ social mission, but the discoveries and lessons probably apply to almost everyone purchasing green coffee in poor countries.

For some people, “Promises and Poverty” could serve as an “I told you so” about Big Green, and perhaps even feed cynicism around corporations like this. However, the story also speaks to an issue that goes far beyond the intentions of any single company, even one as big and influential as Starbucks. This reading of the story highlights the difficulty large organizations seem to have deploying aid resources effectively. In some cases, their efforts to improve economic conditions can actually lead to serious environmental damage and real cultural harm. “Promises and Poverty” should raise red flags and lead to discussion around whether aid programs are best adminstered by large corporations, governments, or NGO’s. . . or if there is a better way.

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Within the walls and halls of specific cafes around Seattle, around the country, and even Canada, something verging on a Revolution in mind and action is occurring. This revolution is based on paying attention to the finer details of coffee preparation, but it also includes pouring time, energy and resources into developing awareness and formulating action around social and cultural issues–issues that we might ordinarily think go beyond the role of the traditional coffee house. Developments in this direction are happening with remarkable intensity, and cafes focused on this are beginning to show up everywhere, while some old favorites are transcending their previous practices to emerge anew. Its not just those of us who love great coffee who stand to benefit either. It is the whole world. The coffee individualists who carry the banner for this new movement are usually well-informed. In addition to cafe operators, their number includes baristas, equipment developers, and commentators. The most active of these are totally engaged. They are pushing the boundaries at all levels, including the standard ones around coffee preparation, equipment and new culinary experiences around coffee. But there is even more to it than this. Read the rest of this entry »