Tag Archives: consumer

Opting In

By James Hoffmann | Published: January 13, 2010

Restaurants have a complex set of rituals, etiquette and laws governing the interaction between the establishment and the guest. Jeffrey Steingarten (and I wish I could quote it but my copy is out on loan) talks about how the best waiters are so good that they become invisible. Plates arrive, glasses are filled and [...]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged Cafes, customers, design, layout, opt-in, selling coffee, service | 13 Comments

Thoughts after a public cupping

By James Hoffmann | Published: June 7, 2009

I’ve really enjoyed the discussion going on after this post. One comment that stuck in my mind was Aldo’s Fazenda Kaquend COE Vs Maxwell House experiment. It definitely affected some decisions I made when I was choosing coffees to take with me to a public cupping I did in East London as part [...]

Posted in Coffee, Opinion | Also tagged brewing, coe, Coffee, cupping, london, Origin | 21 Comments

Brewed coffee and the UK

By James Hoffmann | Published: May 30, 2009

This is something of a summary of the short talk I gave at the Allegra Strategies UK Coffee Leader Summit a week or so ago. Please also bear in mind that this talk was directed at the UK market specifically so won’t necessarily hold true for other national coffee cultures.
For me this talk was a [...]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged article, Barista, brewing, Coffee, drinks, economy, Espresso, history, innovation, italy, london, marketing, pricing, quality, tradition, trust | 42 Comments

Decaf

By James Hoffmann | Published: February 2, 2009

Stumptown are the source of one of my most troubling coffee experiences, one that still haunts and nags at me today.
No one in the coffee industry really likes decaf. We excuse its taste, we get annoyed at how fast it stales, we treat it as a second rate coffee experience. I was in that camp [...]

Posted in Coffee, Opinion, Roasting | Also tagged customer, decaf, Opinion, stumptown | 18 Comments

Morning coffee

By James Hoffmann | Published: January 18, 2009

I have a confession to make: I used to, in a very snobbish way, hate the idea of a coffee being an “after dinner coffee” or a “morning cup”. I thought it was one of those really stupid ways of selling coffee – like how supermarkets use the word “strength” to communicate how dark a [...]

Posted in Opinion | Also tagged brewing, Coffee, cupping, drinks, Espresso, promises, roaster, Roasting, trust, varietal, wine | 17 Comments

Diversity Vs Identity

By James Hoffmann | Published: January 11, 2009

I’ve tried to avoid writing about the current economic climate, and the outlook for coffee in 2009, and using the two “c” words that lost any meaning months ago.
Nonetheless it has been interesting to see what they industry press are writing about, what advice is being offered, what strategies are being deemed wise. A word [...]

Posted in Coffee | Also tagged Coffee, customers, diversifying, identity, pricing, promises, quality, sales, starbucks, tonx, trust | 15 Comments

The wine model doesn’t work

By James Hoffmann | Published: January 7, 2009

I think everyone in coffee knows deep down this is true. The wine model only works for wine, we can’t transplant it to coffee and expect some immediate understanding and increased sales of quality coffees.
First and foremost – we don’t drink coffee like we drink wine. Broadly speaking we buy wine in two [...]