Double Purpose

Rosetta
Originally uploaded by espresso_lover.

This post started out by trying to put down my thoughts about the waves coffee has seen over the last hundred years but I don't think it can be put any better than Jimmy has put it on his blog. We really need to show consumers what they are missing by approaching coffee as something that needs to have hazelnet syrup and chocolate power added before they even try it. There is still a majority that have the same drink that gets modified the same way at the same time every day. The challenge being possed is one that the 4th wave barista i.e. Geir, Sam, Jimmy and other passionate baristas out there must face. Mainly educating customers to know what they can expect from a latte that doesn't involve spooned dry bubbles on top. Helping consumers understand what goes in to preparing a cup, from growing to drinking. People still think wine is complex! Once they begin to understand coffee they'll see how simple it really is and how important it is becoming to have ambassadors for coffee, much like a sommalier. (is this how you spell it???)

The point I guess i'm trying to make is that we are in a very exciting period at the moment, and need to be the driving force to lift the bar of customer expectations. I'm no pro-barista yet but on the small scale Peter and I run our staudent cafe on a tuesday night and we still have mochas and other sweet options but when a customers asks us for a recommendation i'll say a latte every time and usually encourage customers to go for a latte no matter how much extra money we could make from mochas. I am looking forward to being a barista in the 'real world' and my plans for life involve having my own cafe. I have a lot of learning to do before then but I have not spoken to one barista yet, no matter how pro I conceive them, that thinks they have no more learning to do. This constant learning curve excites me for the future. Both mine and the furture of the coffee industry.

The other purpose of this post was to put out a thank-you to companies like Starbucks, as they have done a great job in getting customers as far as 'specialty' coffee. Now we need to go to the next step. Starbucks will always exist, they do some things well. I tried one of there new drinking chocolate things the other day (Chantico, I think) and it was divine. I also bought a cup from them (pictured above with a rosetta I poured this morning). It is a very good cup, maybe over pricied but my art has improved 10-fold just with the use of this cup. More pictures will follow soon.

So to close this overly long post I'll say it is important to life the bar and push our limits when trying to educate the consumer. However we need to maintain realistic expectations and try not to get into a comparitive cycle of criticizing other companies that may choose not to follow. Who knows, Starbucks may pick up it's act and follow us in our espresso journey for the betterment of the planet!

So here's to my new cup and saucer! (They are pure white and only say starbucks on the bottom!) And to the future of coffee and educated customers and hopefully an even more cohesive and supportive generation of baristas!

Scott

Apologies if this seems idealistic and incoherant! I'm finding it hard to put what I think into words, and i'm really happy with my new cup so i'm feeling kinda bad for being anti-*$'s!