foreshadowing

This picture was taken at the La Marzocco factory in Firenze. At least twelve 3-group and nine 2-group machines to be made from the subjects of this photograph.

Delicious.

I reside in Arlington--part of the Southeastern United States

“In Atlanta, the heat and humidity for a significant part of the year can be debilitating. Before air-conditioning, people got used to it with modifications in their behavior, namely, doing as little as possible. This held for people of all social ranks and was, in fact, a traditional feature of modern culture. People compelled to do hard physical labor would do as little as possible as slowly as possible, but so too would insurance claims adjusters and bank presidents cooped up in offices. Since doing as little as possible tends to produce less of value to human society, it would be fair to say that the climate of the southeastern United States was not naturally hospitable to advanced civilization. Air-conditioning, or “comfort cooling,” as the industry likes to describe its product, made modern life possible in that part of the country…In contemporary Atlanta, one need only sweat making the journey from a given parking lot to a given building. Air-conditioning and cars are the primary determinants of life in Atlanta. The city’s utter dependence upon them is assumed if no longer completely conscious.” James Howard Kunstler, The City in Mind

Feelin it.

thoughts on the coffeehouse of my future

I often refer to "the coffeehouse of my future" as I continue to learn the how-to's and how-not-to's of opening and running coffee bars. After six years of working most every job available in your average shop--from counter boy to barista to baker to manager to bookkeeper--and now six months of customer relations work for a wholesale roaster, I've seen too much not to have taken a couple of notes.

There comes a point in a baristas life when making high-quality drinks is no longer optional and the intangibles come into play as "that thing" that will distinguish your shop among all others.

Ask me six months, a year, ten years from now and this list will have grown and changed, but I have a few things that have kept popping up recently that I wanted to record at least for my own reflection at a later date.

1. Live where you work
Ask me more about this one and I may go on a tirade about New Urbanism, sidewalks and the decline--and now, hopefully, rise--of american community life. Be specific about coffee and I'll go into the following:
First off, you'll save a lot of money. I don't know how many owners and baristas I've encountered that spend into the hundreds of dollars each month in commuting to and from work and buying meals because they are stranded away from their own kitchen and stove. Bad deal.

Second, if your customers live in the shop's neighborhood, they openly dislike and distrust the fact that you don't. They'll share it with everyone they know. They might not carry this prejudice into their reviews of your product or even stop coming, but they won't be happy. And they'll make that known.

Third, you can't get a feel of your customer base by living inside your store. "My customers say they want X" Honestly, your customers don't really know what they want and neither do you. You can only get a feel for this by exploring the street you are on and getting to know the stories and histories of the community you are serving. Shop at the grocery, eat at the deli, drink at the bar. And then turn around and offer them what they need rather than what they think they want.

2. Serve
While that last point may have come across as somewhat low on humanity, the coffee industry is ultimately a service industry with an emphasis on serving. Thankfully we are not simply vending machines and God help us if we are all shooting to model our stores after a Burger King or a Taco Bell.

Don't ever lose sight of the role of the evangelist--the good messenger. Oh, to open the eyes of the blind with that Yirgacheffe or Macchiato. While we possess such great knowledge, we must judge our educational efforts by both the honors student and the kindergartener. A wise man says, "love your enemies." The enemy here is sometimes seen as "a future customer" with dollar signs in the eyes of the business owner. This is not the way of love and should not be the way of our industry.

Sustainability doesn't end at paying a fair price to a farmer or having confirmation that pesticides didn't touch this plantation. Self, don't advocate sustainability if your own life is not so. Fairness, equality, justice. In my business? In my family? In my community? In my life? Fight for justice at home and abroad. Serve your employees. Serve your customers. Serve your producers.


I actually had a few more things that have been on my mind, but all this preachy preachy has sort of worn me down. Self, don't forget.