Is it bad that I sometimes think the tasting notes comes off a bit pretentious?! 😅 I'm sure there's an art form to it just like wine tasting...but sometimes I'm like c'monnnnn....
Yes! They totally can be! Especially because tasting coffee is really hard and they make consumers feel like they’re supposed to taste really specific things that even expert tasters can struggle with.
I personally enjoy seeking out specific tasting notes, I do it for cocoa, tea and coffee. But it often feels like western coffee brands strive to enforce tasting notes and single sourced claims to drive prices and to appeal to our consumer egos. I did a bit of research into Ethiopian coffee and time and time again I noticed Ethiopians seem less fussed about putting labels or pointing out single sourced information. I wonder how you feel about 'single sourced' coffee beans Ashley.
I'm not an expert on this specific issue, but I think in Ethiopia there's a lot less individual estate ownership (not to say there isn't any) so most coffee is sold through cooperatives or by region rather than single farms. But I'm not sure if that's by choice or if by custom, government regulation, or the abundance of coffee that grows in Ethiopia. I'd need to do some research on this to get an exact answer.
Exactly this! But it's still sold to consumers as "hey! these companies are good and you're good by buying them!" It's just another version of greenwashing.
It's so unfortunate that we are seen as so gullible. Thanks for writing about it and shining light on such. I need to remember to share this on instagram in a timely fashion, it is of great interest to many and a great opportunity for others to protect themselves from this manipulation.
I am currently writing my second book about coffee, and it's all about learning to taste coffee and coffee flavor . . . and it was all prompted by how ineffectively the industry at large communicates about flavor (I am a writer and have worked in marketing, so this is a particularly big gripe of mine).
I write from a consumer perspective and attempt to bridge the gap between professionals and consumers, and boy, this is a big gap!
The book encourages people to enjoy/savor coffee even more by tasting consciously, but part of that, I'm finding, is dismantling the shame you mention in your newsletter. And part of it is providing context, like, "yes this is truly chaos, and here's why I think so, and here's what these things probably mean, and here's what you can actually latch on to, etc." Consumer education / expectation is actually way up in other industries (wine, beer, whiskey, cheese, even steak), but coffee has yet to crack that communication code.
Anyway, I have lots of thoughts, but I'll spare you. :)
Is it bad that I sometimes think the tasting notes comes off a bit pretentious?! 😅 I'm sure there's an art form to it just like wine tasting...but sometimes I'm like c'monnnnn....
Yes! They totally can be! Especially because tasting coffee is really hard and they make consumers feel like they’re supposed to taste really specific things that even expert tasters can struggle with.
I just completed a Barista intensive in Paris, and everything we learned about tasting coffee and cupping was based on oenology 😂
I personally enjoy seeking out specific tasting notes, I do it for cocoa, tea and coffee. But it often feels like western coffee brands strive to enforce tasting notes and single sourced claims to drive prices and to appeal to our consumer egos. I did a bit of research into Ethiopian coffee and time and time again I noticed Ethiopians seem less fussed about putting labels or pointing out single sourced information. I wonder how you feel about 'single sourced' coffee beans Ashley.
I'm not an expert on this specific issue, but I think in Ethiopia there's a lot less individual estate ownership (not to say there isn't any) so most coffee is sold through cooperatives or by region rather than single farms. But I'm not sure if that's by choice or if by custom, government regulation, or the abundance of coffee that grows in Ethiopia. I'd need to do some research on this to get an exact answer.
And B-Corp unfortunately now looks like a club of rich kids patting each other on the back for being so wonderful ...and nothing more.
Exactly this! But it's still sold to consumers as "hey! these companies are good and you're good by buying them!" It's just another version of greenwashing.
It's so unfortunate that we are seen as so gullible. Thanks for writing about it and shining light on such. I need to remember to share this on instagram in a timely fashion, it is of great interest to many and a great opportunity for others to protect themselves from this manipulation.
I am currently writing my second book about coffee, and it's all about learning to taste coffee and coffee flavor . . . and it was all prompted by how ineffectively the industry at large communicates about flavor (I am a writer and have worked in marketing, so this is a particularly big gripe of mine).
I write from a consumer perspective and attempt to bridge the gap between professionals and consumers, and boy, this is a big gap!
The book encourages people to enjoy/savor coffee even more by tasting consciously, but part of that, I'm finding, is dismantling the shame you mention in your newsletter. And part of it is providing context, like, "yes this is truly chaos, and here's why I think so, and here's what these things probably mean, and here's what you can actually latch on to, etc." Consumer education / expectation is actually way up in other industries (wine, beer, whiskey, cheese, even steak), but coffee has yet to crack that communication code.
Anyway, I have lots of thoughts, but I'll spare you. :)