Cuvee Coffee

It is an exciting time of year. This is the time when new crop Centrals roll in and we get to re-experience coffees from our long term farmer partners and in some cases taste some new (and possibly potential long term partners) coffees. The other thing that is exciting is the Cup of Excellence auctions. As a company, we have solid relationships in Costa Rica and El Salvador, so we did not seek to purchase any coffees from those auctions. Honduras, however, is another story. There are some really amazing coffees in this country with many varietals and micro climates. In the past, a lot of this coffee has ended up going over the border into Guatemala. Things are slowly changing and the beauty of these coffees is starting to be recognized. We are actively searching for some great coffees from this relatively unknown region so stay tuned for more info and specifics. In the mean time, we will be hosting two cuppings. The first will be for any coffee professionals that are interested in purchasing coffee. Either from us or directly through the auction. This means that coffee roasters and coffee shops are welcome to attend. The second cupping will be post auction. This cupping will allow anyone interested in coffee the opportunity to learn about the auction system, and each coffee. We will also have all of the auction results so you will be able to brag to your friends that you tasted the top coffees and they sold for x-dollars per pound. We have a FaceBook Event set up and a press release will be going out as well. Contact us with any questions.

I saw a very interesting thing on the news the other day. The reported claimed that nearly all of the "negative effect of caffeine" studies were done on smokers which caused many results to be negative. Now, there are reports popping up about the health benefits or positive effects of caffeine. Here is a recent one from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/health/nutrition/26best.html?_r=2&em

This was forwarded to me by a friend. I have not read the book, but did glance over it. There might be some good info...and it is free!

From Business Opportunities dot Biz:

"I found this on Google Book Search. It says that it's a limited preview, but the entire book is freely available.

The manual delivers literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline your business..."

By Elizabeth Godsmark, Douglas Robert Brown, Lora Arduser Published by Atlantic Publishing Company, 2004

From Business Opportunities Weblog.

http://www.business-opportunities.biz/?p=19259

I got an email from a gentleman named Donald.

http://www.franchisedirect.com/information/franchisewhitepapers/coffeefranchisereport/109/667/

I looked through this report and I think that there is some valuable (and positive) information about coffee in the US. I appreciate the information and if you own a coffee business or are thinking about owning a coffee business, it is worth reading. Like my father used to always tell me, "The more information you have, the better decisions you will make."

This report is obviously very "franchise friendly" so do keep that in mind while reading. I have to say from my personal experience that coffee house franchises are usually some of the worst coffee houses I have visited. Let me quantify that...they usually have very beautiful build out, some colorful menu board, lots or pretty posters and table tents, sofas, nice chairs and tables...you get the idea. Then there is the equipment. Most of the time, it is a more budget friendly espresso machine, grinder and brewer. But there is almost always a top of the line blender on the counter...maybe two!

Let me step back a minute and tell a short story about my most recent coffee franchise visit. I stopped into a brand new place in Dallas (I will leave the name out as it really is not relevant to the story. You can insert any coffee franchise you would like). The interior was as I described above. I looked at the espresso machine and the oily coffee in the espresso grinder and thought my best bet would be some drip coffee. I asked about their house blend drip...not be a coffee snob, but because I was trying to make a decision between it and single origin that proudly used "Fair Trade" as its only descriptor. The guy tells me he does not know about the blend, but someone else might. That person wasn't sure so 2 more people came over to see what was happening. Now I have 4 people standing in front of me trying to come up with some sort of description while an older woman (who I have to assume was the franchise owner) was keeping her distance and pacing back and forth, staring at me like a UFC fighter right before a match. I finally just decided to get a small house blend and move on. As for the coffee, I took a few sips and passed it to Dan who took a few sips. We re-tasted when it cooled then dumped it out...enough said.

My point is this. The draw to a franchise should be:

1. The brand - problem is that aside from Starbucks, there really is not a power brand coffee franchise.

2. The system - when you get a franchise you get a manual, but it is usually vague and very, very thick. There might be some good stuff in there, but all of that information is available and usually for less than a franchise. Places like the American Barista & Coffee School have some great programs. You can learn what you need and make your own manual, which can be much more valuable.

3. The training - My experience has been that the "training" you get from a coffee franchise is usually worse than bad. Specialized training from your roaster is usually much more substantive and cost effective.

4. The products - problem is that you are locked into what the franchise dictates and even if you want to buy a better espresso machine, like a La Marzocco (shameless plug) you can't. Even if you want to change coffee, you can't. If you want to make up your own marketing material, you can't.

I have seen some franchises that have great success and the franchisee is generally happy. I have a friend who owns 2 Chick Fil-A stores and they are and amazing business model. I have not yet met someone who has been happy with a coffee franchise. In my personal experience, I usually meet people that become unhappy with the company or lack of support and feel like they could have done better on their own and saved the royalty.

One of the really great things about Austin is the "local" vibe. Keep Austin Weird is all about supporting local business. So what gives with the Austin Chronicle readers choice? Best Coffee...STARBUCKS?! Who are the people giving the feedback? Where do they find them? Does someone stand outside of Starbucks and ask the people coming out, "Who has the best coffee in Austin?" I have not seen this, but someone also told me they had a best latte art category. Now, I think this is pretty cool considering that 5 years ago no one knew what latte art was (here in Texas). The big problem with this, as I am told, is that the award went to a place where some dude etches a lion face in a sub standard latte-type drink. Are you serious? Best latte art is an etched drink?

So what does this really mean? After a quick scan of the winners, I have to say that a lot of the choices are totally understandable. You can easily argue that your favorite (insert type of food) restaurant is better than one of the readers choice winners, but all in all there are some worthy choices (for the record, I LOVE Uchi so I am a bit biased). But when it comes to coffee, there is not even a mention of any of the best specialty coffee shops in town. And do I need to go back to the latte art thing, really? This means that there is still a lot of education that needs to happen. As far as I have seen the Texas coffee culture mature over the past 11 years, there is still a long way to go.

Austin Chronicel List http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Awards/RestaurantPoll/?Year=2009&Poll=Readers