Thanks for this follow up! I enjoyed your conversation with Brendan very much. I’m curious about your thoughts on this idea of going beyond just quality when choosing coffee. I could imagine a much more holistic approach that takes into consideration pay, sustainability, etc, but would love to hear what you’re thinking when you say that! Thank you for your work.
Great question! I think how Semilla buys coffee is a good model — they buy all the coffee from whole communities (a lot of roasters buy high-quality lots from a farmer, and then the rest sometimes finds a home somewhere else or has to be sold a different way — and not to say this is a roaster's fault since many small roasteries aren't equipped to buy whole harvests sometimes). I also think extending your reach through community work (Semilla says they buy coffee from whole communities) rather than traveling all over the world to "seek" high quality coffees is also key. We know that investment has a direct relationship to quality, so quality can be built, and I think we can make decisions on who we buy coffee from as simple as, "I'm buying all of your coffee and paying more than what selling off individual lots to dozens of buyers would cost."
I'm not on the green coffee buying side of things, so I also thought about this from a retail level. I and am always surprised how quality is one of the only differentiators on the retail level, but there are a million reasons people go to coffee shops. Maybe you can pride yourself on speedy service, featuring coffees from women producers, having a killer outdoor patio, specializing in signature drinks, incorporating lifestyle branding and merch, creating deep investment in your local community...there are a million reasons people go to shops, and I think we define "best" with "quality" too narrowly sometimes. Also, focusing on these things doesn't mean quality goes out the door.
Thanks for this follow up! I enjoyed your conversation with Brendan very much. I’m curious about your thoughts on this idea of going beyond just quality when choosing coffee. I could imagine a much more holistic approach that takes into consideration pay, sustainability, etc, but would love to hear what you’re thinking when you say that! Thank you for your work.
Great question! I think how Semilla buys coffee is a good model — they buy all the coffee from whole communities (a lot of roasters buy high-quality lots from a farmer, and then the rest sometimes finds a home somewhere else or has to be sold a different way — and not to say this is a roaster's fault since many small roasteries aren't equipped to buy whole harvests sometimes). I also think extending your reach through community work (Semilla says they buy coffee from whole communities) rather than traveling all over the world to "seek" high quality coffees is also key. We know that investment has a direct relationship to quality, so quality can be built, and I think we can make decisions on who we buy coffee from as simple as, "I'm buying all of your coffee and paying more than what selling off individual lots to dozens of buyers would cost."
I'm not on the green coffee buying side of things, so I also thought about this from a retail level. I and am always surprised how quality is one of the only differentiators on the retail level, but there are a million reasons people go to coffee shops. Maybe you can pride yourself on speedy service, featuring coffees from women producers, having a killer outdoor patio, specializing in signature drinks, incorporating lifestyle branding and merch, creating deep investment in your local community...there are a million reasons people go to shops, and I think we define "best" with "quality" too narrowly sometimes. Also, focusing on these things doesn't mean quality goes out the door.
‘there are a million reasons people go to coffee shops’
Oh yes!