Caribou: "We don't like to punish our decaf customers."

I had the chance last week to chat with Brett Struwe, fellow Roasters Guild member and Director of Coffee Operations at Caribou Coffee Co. The topic was Caribou's relatively unique and ground-breaking move 5 years ago to upcharge $.1o for a cup of decaf coffee. It says it plain as day on each menu board. Decaf whole bean bags get an upcharge of $1.00.

I asked Brett why. He answered that there was a strategic decision made at the time that they would upgrade the quality of their decaf offering. To them, that meant serving only water-process decaf and toll-decaffeinating green coffee they sourced from trusted vendors (i.e. instead of buying "off the shelf" decaf from a decaffeinator). To cover the costs of this quality upgrade, they had to charge more. A standard "upcharge" per cup and per pound seemed simplest. "Seems to be working, or we wouldn't be doing it, " Brett said.

He commented further on how they are dedicated at Caribou to offering a certain level of quality, even if it means they lose a percentage of the market. Then he made the comment that was so perfect I had to ask if I could quote him in my blog, "we don't like to punish our decaf customers."

Thanks Brett and the crew at Caribou!

The magic of pour-over

If attendance at Coffee Fest Seattle seminars was any indication, pour-over service for brewed coffee is a very hot trend. All three seminars (there was one each day) sold out faster than any CoffeeFest seminar in its history. Speculation abounds about why this trend is here now - is it because owners and consumers loved what the Clover machine did for single-serve brewing, and have been trying to replace it ever since it was acquired (and subsequently shelved) by Starbucks?

Whatever the reason why, it is good for decaf drinkers. First, the quality of our "freshly brewed coffee" really is on par with the regular coffee the cafe is serving. No more getting the stuff that's been sitting in an airpot, or worse yet, on a burner, for hours. Second, there is suddenly potential for soon seeing more variety and quality in decaf offerings on the menu. Since cafe owners no longer have to squirm as they pour gallons of un-consumed, expensive decaf down the drain, they can start using that money to invest in buying, storing and marketing higher quality and more variety.

It made sense in the 24-cup brewer world to limit a cafe's decaf offering to one, generic, crowd-pleasing decaf coffee. In many cafes, it was the only way to economically offer decaf at all. But now with pour over, the beans aren't brewed, they aren't even ground until someone is about to drink them. So why not buy 2 or 3 different types? Why not go for quality in the cup that equals the quality of the regular coffee? Store the little gems in pre-measured, sealed cups and they'll be fresh for a few days.

Need ideas of where to get high-end great tasting decaf? Green sources include Artisan Coffee Imports, Shrub, Cafe Imports, Royal and others.

Marketing Great Decaf

Presenting at CoffeeFest Seattle last month was fun because it was also educational. Even as the presenter on marketing decaf, I was able to learn a lot! In my seminar "Don't Ignore the Decaf: How Decaf Can Improve Your Bottom Line" I presented ideas for roasters and cafe owners, and they in-turn shared some exciting things they are doing out there already.

Of course, I shared a list of my marketing ideas: don't compromise on quality, don't assume you know how much your customer will pay for it, educate your customers about the added-value process that decaffeination is, etc. At the end, I had a list of promotional, tactical suggestions meant to start some brainstorming, for example: target the older population, hold a decaf cupping, use "coffee lovers" coupons to encourage passionate coffee drinkers to not stop late in the day, just because they've had enough caffeine.

The ideas from the audience were even better! The one cafe owner had started a "Baby Club" in his cafe -- the nursing and expecting moms all enjoy and rave about his decaf. One roaster does regular coffee "tastings" at his customer's premises - a grocery store. They often do a blind tasting with one of the coffees being decaf and they are surprised how often the decaf wins. They've won more than a few new decaf customers this way.

CoffeeFest Seattle

Seattle, WA - it's true! There are espresso cafes and "walk-ups" nearly every 20 yards when you're downtown Seattle near the convention center. I enjoyed my first visit to CoffeeFest Seattle, Oct. 29-31. It was a fun distillation of the coffee industry, with a distinctly heavy dose of the "thinking of opening a cafe" crowd amongst the attendees. Among the exhibitors, it was, not surprisingly, a terrific group of very high-end coffee roasters, importers and retailers, primarily from the Northwest -- the region with the highest coffee consumers after Norway!

What was unique this year was probably the fact that it was Halloween. Here's a photo of me pulling shots for the latte art throwdown at Victrola Coffee Roasting Co.'s fun Halloween party on Saturday evening. You can also see the "winning cups" and one of the competing baristas (I was NOT a contestant, just a volunteer!)

The Decaf Scene at CoffeeFest Seattle

On the decaf scene, the CoffeeFest Seattle crowd showed themselves to be exciting and distinctive!! Mercanta (an importer) had a direct-trade Honduran decaf on the cupping table. Cafe Umbria had decaf espresso to serve from their gorgeous espresso machine and luxus style booth. For the first time, this coffee-loving attendee was able to get a great decaf espresso at the show!

Quality is in the cup

Ann Arbor, MI -- good to be back. My nose, mouth and entire body found the week of intensive cupping and the sensory tests nearly overwhelming. The Q Grader course was worth it however -- thanks to great instructors and a uniquely diverse and fun bunch of people who made up the class. Main learnings -- 1. one must rely on the cup, not certifications, grades or descriptions given by others. 2. learning to accurately score what one cups correctly is going to be a challenge. Takes lots of calibration opportunities. I'm pretty good at awarding a coffee when it's good. What's tougher for me is "dinging" a coffee when it's not living up to specialty grade.

My feedback on the course -- there should have been more "drills" on specialty vs. non-specialty coffees, and then the test. Line up 3 cups of Colombians that score 78-79 and 3 more that score 80-81, score them and discuss. Then do the same with Indonesians, East Africans, Centrals, etc.

4th Day of the Q Grader Exam

Long Beach, CA. SCAA headquarters (also CQI headquarters). Just finished the 4th day of the Q Grader exam. There's 10 of us in the class, an instructor (Kelly Amoroso) and an assistant instructor from Korea, Paul Kim. We're all exhausted at this point in the week. It's as tough as they say -- I'll have to re-take several parts. But well worth it -- I'll be a more educated and confident cupper regardless of whether I get the certificate this time around.