Cuvee Coffee

I have never been to Blue Bottle, but hear great things. I did stop into Stumptown while I was in New York a couple months back and I had some great coffee. This report tries to explain what makes specialty coffee, special. I think they did a pretty decent job considering that reporters almost always get it wrong.

Watch the ABC Nightline Video

It is no secret that specialty coffees from Ethiopia can be some of the most interesting, unique coffees. One of my biggest issues the past 2 years has not been the flavor profile, but the poor prep. As a coffee buyer it is very difficult for me to justify the huge premium when the coffee prep is so terrible. Should I just bite the bullet and pay the high price to get that interesting cup character or should I use my money to reward someone else who is putting forth a total commitment to quality...including prep?

I know a lot of roasters tout the natural Ethiopian coffees because of that great fruit forward flavor. I mean, how can you not notice that blueberry or strawberry that completely dominates the cup? Another thing that is great for roasters is that when you have a coffee like that, it is really tough to screw it up during roast. Those fruit flavors will dominate with a number of different roast profiles. The coffee has a very large "sweet spot" if you will. To me, the coffees (particularly the naturals) are safe and an easy way to introduce the consumer to the idea that coffee can be unique. But for me, I will be investing my money into the specialty coffee farmer that is the total package. Once I see some changes, I will gladly re-visit the subject.

Here are some of the issues as described by an importer:
Having experienced many delayed shipments we visited our shippers to assess for ourselves the reasons behind this appalling state of affairs. Below is a statement of the circumstances that have led to such poor contract performance. We believe that since the
Reasons that have resulted in delayed shipments are several and it is possible that some of this information does not come as news, however hopefully this report puts things into some sort of perspective and brings some confidence that the worst is in the past!

Marketing System
The change in the marketing system at the start of this season, whereby coffee started to be sold x-region where the coffee is grown (rather than x-Addis) gave rise to some rather large logistical challenges resulting in a less than smooth marketing of the crop. Delays in starting the selling of the crop, delays in off-loading, loading and problems in finding adequate transport have been plaguing shippers since February. Coupled with increased rainfall and the subsequent deterioration of the roads meant that some up-country storage facilities were closed for several days at a time. Having coffee stored in several warehouses in and around Awassa has proven a logistical headache for shippers having to send trucks from one warehouse to another to collect a couple of hundred bags. In Djimmah, lack of a weighbridge and the very poor state of access roads resulted in multiple delays.

Port of Djibouti
Port in Djibouti bureaucracy and changes in procedures started a bottleneck that took weeks to clear in April; this issue has been well documented and was a very real problem; it delayed shipments with cargo stuck in Djibouti for weeks and shippers strapped for
Cash in Addis. An interesting consequence of the changes in Marketing mentioned in the previous paragraph has been the shortening of the time between harvest/primary processing and the marketing of the crop. Meaning that shippers are carrying stock for longer, putting more pressure on shippers financing.

Shipper Limitations
One of the consequences that came from the suspension of the "6 majors" has been that the shippers that remained active have increased their volumes quite substantially; this has put a strain on their resources, both financial and operational (logistics/transport and processing/storage capacity) and disrupting the flow.

Bags
The increased volumes of coffee offered this season have required additional quantities of export bags which have been in short supply; Relying on imported bags from Bangladesh has not been an alternative since it appears that shippers have not been able to find suppliers that can meet the strict chemical residue limits imposed by the authorities. There have been serious disruptions to local production of bags from power rationing after the new dam labeled has the answer to Addis' electrical power problems turned from panacea to joke when it collapsed shortly after its official inauguration!

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) trade show is one that I look forward to every year. 2011 is even more exciting since it is going to be in Texas! I overheard some grumbling and complaining at Symposium and Conference about having to go to Houston. I have to say that I do understand the knee jerk reaction...if you have not been to Houston lately.

Just to be clear, downtown is way different now than it was back in the 80's. Heck, it is way different than when I lived there just a few years ago. First, the convention center is super nice. Sports centers are very close by with the baseball field and basketball/hockey arena. There are lots of great bars and restaurants as the downtown area, like most cites, has gone through an amazing transformation.

Houston is a fairly large coffee port and then there is also that fact that is is quite a hub for Central and South America. Every time I fly out of Austin, I have to stop in Houston. It is convenient and relatively inexpensive so I anticipate that there will be more coffee producers (from the Americas) than ever before!

There is also the fact that there are some really great coffee people in H-town and they are going to do everything they can to make sure that people know they are true professionals and not step children. Max Gonzales at Catalina Coffee has created a very cool coffee shop and fostered a group of passionate and dedicated barista. I had an exquisitely prepared macchiato there last time I was in town. Last week I had lunch with David Buehrer, owner of Greenway Coffee & Tea. Dave has also been instrumental building a group of dedicated coffee professionals and introducing the public to coffee through his writing about and serving of, coffee.

Houston deserves an event like the SCAA and will welcome the group of coffee professionals that this specialty coffee conference brings. In summary, this is really going to be a great event and I hope that everyone gets here full of excitement...or at the very least, with an open mind. Oh, I also hear that some Texas coffee roaster is going to have a pretty big party (that includes free beer for the first 400 people), but that might just be rumor!

May of 1998 is when it all began. Cuvee Coffee started as a hobby, then turned into a part time specialty coffee business. In January 2007 the dream became a reality as Cuvee was a full time enterprise. Since then we have seen a lot of great things.

When I started this business, I had the silly idea that I could build a coffee culture in the great state of Texas. That idea is now a reality. The foundation is here and the continued development is happening. We still have a lot to do and a long way to go, but it won't take 12 years this time.

I love Top Chef, Iron Chef and the Food Network. This was where I first saw Chef John Besh. I remember avidly rooting for him to win. The reason was simple, his personality. I have never had the pleasure of eating at one of his restaurants and all of the chefs were very talented, but I could totally relate to his humor. Rashelle makes fun of me and calls it a “man crush”, but the reality is that I found his personality to be similar to my own. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to serve coffee at an event for Mr. Besh, here in Austin, Texas. The event was at Parkside (another great restaurant) and there were about 75 people in attendance. I had the opportunity to meet John in person and I have to say that he was no different in person than he was on T.V. He was friendly, funny and extremely approachable. I admit that I was a bit nervous as most of the celebrity-type folks (and particularly chefs) that I have met in the past have been borderline arrogant and left me disappointed. Chef John Besh was the exception to my previous experiences. We chatted about coffee and he mentioned his interest in specialty coffee and “chasing the perfect cup.” I was super impressed with him and his business partner and can say with all certainty that next time I make it to New Orleans (which unfortunately is not very often) I will be making a reservation at one or two of his restaurants!