Freshness and Fruit

Just a really quick, random post while I finish my breakfast during my 30-mintue break at work.  Drew from the office came by this morning and we pressed an 8-oz pot of Tanzania AA that had been opened since last Thursday (9 days).  Surprisingly, there was still a TON of fruit in the cup.  Orange-caramelly goodness.  Indicative of the origin? Or was this a singular event?  It was just stored in our normal triple-layer valve bags, with a clip on the top after it was opened.  I’ve had coffees opened up a day or two before, with huge drops in acidity and floral notes, but didn’t notice anything substantially different with this coffee compared to what I’ve tried last week from the same bag….. Way to go, 49th!

Time’s fun when you’re having flies. (Kermit the Frog)

It’s been a long time since I wrote on here, and tons of things have come and gone since my last post. 

Congratulations firstly to Colter, who placed 0.5 points out of the final six at the WBC.  It’s easy to look back now and say that one additional second would have meant a top-6 finish and a chance to compete for the title, but it’s never as black-and-white as it may seem in hindsight.  His performance went very smoothly, and I’m sure he’s happy with his personal accomplishments.  That’s not to say that he won’t keep pusing himself…

Toronto 2007!  I’ll be there, and so will Colter.  I’m hoping to drag my trainer, Sammy Piccolo, along for the ride, but we’ll see how that goes.  Training has been going slowly but steadily.  Committments at Park Royal are balanced with my time at the training facility at 49th Parallel.  I was encouraged by the comraderie and competitive spirit of the entrants in the Western Regionals, held just last week in Vancouver.  I’m looking forward to seeing as many as possible in Toronto, plus Matt Lee and his new space.  No parties until after the finals, eh?  Haha…

The launch of the Esmeralda has been an incredible success, with Park Royal enjoying an average sale of 10-12 cups per day.  That’s nothing, though, compared to the 30+ cups that Hornby averages daily!  The public’s reception to the news of a $15 cup of coffee has been better than I expected, with most being incredulous rather than distainful or disgust.  Most who have tried the coffee have told me that it was their first cup of straight black coffee in quite some time.  Most are latte and americano drinkers; I hope that this cup would truly “change the way they taste coffee,” as it says on our table displays.  It’s not expected for customers to have as developped a palette as some of us in the coffee industry, but surprisingly many have picked up on the citrus or floral notes immediately upon sipping the coffee.  Most remark that it has more of a pleasing “tea” aroma and taste rather than the bitter or burnt brews that North American coffee has become known for.  Tasting a cup of regular coffee in a hotel lobby just yesterday reminded me of this notion.  As Vince said, “I can smell that from here!” when I asked him if he wanted to try a sip.  The greatest success that I found in my store from selling the Esmeralda was not really the point of the sale itself, but the customer’s desire to taste more coffees.  There’s nothing better than introducing our full line-up of single-origin offerings following the customer’s Esmeralda experience.  I don’t expect everyone to walk away purchasing a $150 half-pound bag of the Panama, but several have taken a couple bags of Tanzania Rumuva or Organic Brazil Camocim to experiment and taste at home.  And who knows where this little introduction of the world of specialty coffee will lead them…?

I’ll try to write my next post within the week…