Making the Perfect Pot of Coffee

This week my folks sent me some freshly roasted coffee from their favorite coffee roaster in Altoona, Iowa (where they live).  The roaster, The Coffee Barn, is run by a great guy, Carl.  When I was roasting, he and I would trade ideas and thoughts periodically.  Now that I'm not roasting, I drink his coffee whenever I have the opportunity.  The coffee is a Dominican Gold that he roasted on Feb. 8, 2010, so it is still within the sweet spot of prime flavor (the bag of Yirgacheffe is pictured below, because the Gold bag of the Dominican didn't photograph as well).

This morning, I decided to do his coffee right and busted out the French Press...  instead of dealing with trying to clean out the drip pot which requires running vinegar through it, checking temperatures, and trying to track down the paper filters. (We use a reusable filter on a regular basis, but the flavor can be a bit off with it.)  I ground the coffee just before adding it to the press. Our regular coffee grinder died a few months back and it is killing me to use the little whirligig model because its so inconsistent, but it works for daily coffee and until I round up the $359 for my Rocky Rancilio (or settle on $140 for a Capresso Infinity) it will have to do.  My wife had received an electric tea kettle for a gift and I used it to boil the water then transferred it to press (the slight loss in temperature from boiling to cool pot makes it perfect for extracting flavor from coffee!), added four rounded scoops of ground beans, stir, and let it set about 6-7 minutes.

It came out perfect.  If you haven't tried the French Press method, I urge you to try it.  It makes a world of difference (and as an added bonus clean up is dramatically easier).

National Coffee Association Coffee Consumption Study

The National Coffee Association has released their annual coffee consumption study and there weren't many surprises this year.

Everyone knows its a tough year economically for a variety of reasons, and that was reflected in the study. While consumption overall has remained steady (54% of the overall respondents), gourmet beverages are down (14%, down from 17% in 2008) - likely driven by a decline espresso drinks (5%). However, coffee made at home is up significantly (7% growth in the last year). Interestingly, traditional coffees are also down.

So, as the economy tanks, people are more likely to make their coffee at home. Not surprising: as folks look to stretch their dollar, they recognize the value of making coffee at home instead of purchasing it at a shop. But those who used to buy lattes and other espresso-based drinks on their coffee break, aren't likely to start drinking low-end coffee made at home. This is an opportunity for small roasters and those in the grocery business that can provide high quality fresh beans.

Another interesting trend that may be contributing to coffee consumptions trends is the increase in freelancing. According to CNN Money, freelancers working at home have grown to 26% of the U.S. working population, up from 19% in 2006. While coffee shops are often used as meeting places by freelancers, in-person meetings are not likely happening every day, but coffee consumption does... at least in my office!

Your morning cup-o-joe.

I'm a coffee snob.  I admit it.  I roast my own coffee, ran my own coffee roasting company for a while, and I've been in tasting coffee in "cupping" sessions many times before.  So, when I read that Eight O'Clock coffee won top honors from Consumer Reports I was skeptical.

But the marketer in me did wonder: is it so hard to believe that Eight O'Clock coffee could actually produce high quality coffee, just because of its chosen distribution channel? 

Well, its certainly hard to believe, but not impossible, I suppose. 

As a market researcher, I question the testing process that CR uses. I suspect that either one of two things are going on here:
1) CR is testing as the masses drink it - buy it off the shelf regardless of how old it is and dump it in a coffee maker that was cleaned sometime last summer

2) It's seems like slightly flawed testing to run a comparison between high-end brands, like Caribou, Kickapoo, and Peet's, with Eight O'Clock coffee if you are going to abuse the coffees in the same way, since they are not meant to be used in the same way (sort of like testing the comfort of slippers vs. high heels because they both go on your feet).

Let me explain what I mean by "abuse"...  there are two things that have a huge impact on the flavor of coffee once it hits the store shelves: age (when was it roasted? when was it ground?) and how clean is the coffee maker that you make it in.  (Ok, you other coffee snobs know the roast, the beans chosen, the packaging, the quality of the water, the grind fineness, and the temperature of the water also can have a huge impact on the flavor, but these are for a later discussion.) 

Basically, what we've got here is a test of convenience coffee.  By that I mean coffee that is available easily in the grocery store, has a much longer "good before" date, and is pre-ground, if you believe the picture.  Testing these convenience coffees the way that consumers use them, is completely valid and makes perfect sense from a marketers standpoint.  But from a coffee professional perspective this "test" makes me cringe.  This likely is not a cup of coffee you could buy at a specialty coffee shop, and is not a cup of coffee you would tolerate from a specialty coffee shop.  Though this does beg the question, has Columbia so gentrified their coffee production, that farms are not able to produce the varieties that they once were? Another discussion for another post.

If you are just looking for a basic coffee flavor, then true, almost any Columbian coffee that you buy will fill the bill to varying degrees.  But, you are seeking a truly extraordinary Columbian coffee that has a much more complex taste, then you will probably have to pony up the cash for a fresher coffee, a grinder (which the article does acknowledge at the end), and you will have to actually clean your coffee maker once in a while (gasp!). 

Bottom line, I think this test does tell you which coffee makes a fine coffee for your hurried morning, but I don't believe this test tells you which coffee is better for a more complex and enjoyable coffee experience.

The coffee wars...

Dunkin Donuts is launching a new "taste test" ad that targets Starbucks. This is brilliantly timed campaign showing the results of an independent taste test (well, paid for by Dunkin Donuts, but conducted by an independent 3rd party research company) that shows that Dunkin Donuts won in a blind test of taste.

I say this is brilliantly timed because as the economy continues to slip into "recession" as consumers continue to tighten their belts, pricey luxuries (such as $4 coffee) is likely to be one of the items trimmed back by consumers. If Dunkin Donuts can convince consumers that their coffee is just as good, but cheaper and not an expensive luxury, then they could definitely positioned to see some nice customer conquests.

However, as a guy who roasts his own coffee, I see a huge opportunity to make gains on the financial incentive of brewing at home. There are some other "convenience" costs (cleaning, brewing, etc.), but with some clever positioning and promotion of some of the easy to use automatic machines that make having your coffee ready in the morning (or whenever) easier and tastier than ever.

This is where the value proposition for smaller roasters will really stand out. A cup of coffee brewed at home, even accounting for cream and sugar costs about 20-25 cents. So, the accountants will be satisfied (the "bean counters!" - sorry couldn't resist). The next hurdle will be trying to get over the extra work that is involved, particularly the cleaning process. For marketers convincing people to make the switch to home-brewed coffee will have to be demonstrate how this step is easier than most may expect. There are some larger trends that are also pointing to the success of this move, particularly an increase in homebased businesses (losing access to office coffee, definitely increased my home consumption of coffee).

With that, I'm headed back to the coffee shop (aka kitchen counter) for another cup of perfectly brewed coffee.

Walking away from Starbucks...

I read the (supposed) real reason that Starbucks ad agency walked away from the Starbucks account on Advertising Age this morning. There has been substantial upheaval at Starbucks recently, starting with a return of the original CEO, job losses, and store closures. This is all a result of poor financial performance starting last year. All of this has resulted in Weider & Kennedy (Starbucks ad agency of record) has decided to quit the business... not something typical of agencies.

The reason that the Ad Age article gives is that:

...Starbucks was simply a very frustrating client for Wieden, an agency that other marketers have described as unusually honest in its communication with clients. Other agencies that have worked with Starbucks have felt frustration with the marketer too. Rich Silverstein, co-founder of Omnicom Group's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which did two stints representing Starbucks, said much of the fault lies with the mercurial Mr. Schultz. "He does not appreciate advertising," he said. "Any agency that comes in has one foot out the door already."

The thing is, this may be the reason that Wieden & Kennedy quit working for Starbucks, but its not the reason Starbucks is having problems. The problem is that the "brand promise" of Starbucks is not being fulfilled and that's not an advertising problem... its a coffee problem. Or rather it's an experience problem.

Starbucks growth has been its own worst enemy. As the commoditization of the atomosphere has been spread across the U.S., the folks who first supported Starbucks are now turned off of it. How to fix this? Localization - not advertising. Coffee Shops are one of those businesses that has to fit very specifically with the local market demands. In many ways, Starbucks in Malibu looks and feels the same as a Starbucks in Buffalo, but what do you think? Are people in those two cities the same? If so, put someone from Malibu on a plane to Buffalo in January!

The other part of the problem is the coffee. I have argued that Starbucks roasts are all too similar to each other. A mild coffee gets the same (or at least very similar) roast as a robust coffee giving it a burned flavor. I have also argued that this reduces the quality of the Starbucks coffee itself.

So, Starbucks has found itself becoming a commodity with (arguably) mediocre quality beverages in a tough economic time when "luxuries" like $3 lattes are getting trimmed back. This is not advertising problem - Wieder & Kennedy likely recognized this, and gave up the fight rather than be doomed to failure in Starbucks marketing department's opinion. That would be my guess for the REAL reason they walked away.

Fortunately for Starbucks, Howard Schwartz (returning CEO) knows his stuff, and has taken some steps to try and fix this already. Perhaps he will fully recognize this in time to save your favorite Starbucks store.

The death of Fair Trade Certified marketing?

I read in Brandweek this week that marketers at Walmart, Target, and Starbucks (among other large retailers) "eye Fair Trade Certified as the new 'green'" marketing tool.

As someone who ran/runs a independent coffee roasting company, trying to compete with big chains is always a challenge. The juggernaut Starbucks not only sells many of the same products, but also has more locations and lots of marketing bucks behind that star. However, its not impossible, despite everything Starbucks does well. And, it helps that Starbucks is closing/has closed eight of its stores in the Detroit area, including three in the city itself. One of the ways that I was able to get a favorable comparison to Starbucks (and other big chains or big roasters) has been to capitalize on selling Fair Trade Certified (F/T) products.

Overall, though this article is good news. This will help the farmers (and that is really the point to the F/T certs). "Every small coffee roaster in Bareto or Santa Cruz is important to us, but the reality is a big retailer is like a faucet," said Anthony Marek, spokesman at TransFair USA. "And if you're a drip, that faucet can help tens of thousands of farmers across the world."

As F/T gets pushed out into Target and Walmart (and hotel chains?!?), independent coffee roasters and retailers are going to be put under even more pressure to find creative ways to differentiate their products and to increase their visibility, particularly in the current economy. Lynn Dornblaser, director-CPG trend insight at Mintel asserts that with the downturn in the economy, Americans are likely to be much more focused on their wallets, rather than third world countries. Savvy marketers for smaller shops can use this along with the things that make independent shops great in the first place: location, atmosphere, quality product, customer service.... to capitalize on the downturn.

Just don't rely on F/T as a differentiator.

Iced coffee?

This summer has passed (pretty much... feeling very fall-like these days), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the newest trend in coffee brewing - cold coffee brewing.

Now, I know what you are thinking, and yes, ice coffee has been around for a long time. But it seems that brewing coffee cold has finally come of age. While for most people, they will brew coffee hot as usual, then pour it over a pitcher full of ice. Sure, this works, but Coffee Snob offers a very stylish, albeit extremely slow way to cold brew ice coffee.

Essentially, it brews as the ice melts. The drips fall through the coffee grounds through a spiral tube into a pitcher at the bottom. You are left with a concentrated coffee that you add water or milk and sugar when serving. It's a beautiful way to brew, but slooooooow. Basically by filling a pitcher with ice and waiting for it to melt, you could be waiting for 6-7 hours to cold brew the coffee. Fun, but slow.

I've cold brewed with a french press, with mixed results. Consistency is a major challenge when doing it this way (I don't think I've ever been able to make the same brew twice). Fill your french press with about twice as much coffee as you would normally use. Add cold water, stir, wait. Stir, wait. Repeat. It takes a loooong time - I've left it overnight before, but its better if you can periodically stir the concoction.