16 May 2008

cans on the western hemi

my first bite of corporate world came in the color red. today I sat in on one of Coca-Cola's monthly internal lecture series in which they showcase someone they work with. Today it was Dr. Andreas Illy. It's easy to find ins to Coca-Cola living in Atlanta. Many of their folk wander unassumingly into our shop every day, and certain conversations lead me into this particular lecture hall at Coca-Cola HQ today.

I sat their as possibly the only non-coca-cola employee and listened in on illy and coke's (together, they create ILKO) plans to infiltrate japanese and american markets with canned coffee (info from coke here). ive seen my fair share of canned coffee while living in fukuoka, and it's undeniably a huge market to attack in the states. Illy's chilled coffee, "cappuccino", and "latte machiatto" are things to look for in the near future. they even tried to talk my ear about getting some in a cooler at octane. right.



What I found most striking was Dr. Illy's persistence on brand taste consistency. Doing eveything in their measure to eliminate the barista to create the same cup every time. He feels that there are "just too many variables" for the barista to calculate to create a good cup. So, he create these super automatic machines that are even, in his opinion, still flawed.

Within this desire for consistency, he claims that they have just one blend. "Everyone has so many blends and, i dont know, it just unnecessary." They have one blend, nine origins, that they create "direct relationships" with and pay "premiums" for these coffees. He says they work with these farms one on one to ensure quality, and if quality is not produced then they will not buy it. Does this mean they just don't buy the coffee and leave them high and dry? I'm a little confused on this bit.
regardless, it's like a can of coke. you open it up and it tastes the same every time. no canned kenyans or yirgs. just illy every time.

so yeah, it was a little weird. weirdest part seeing a photo of someone that looks just like you when they pull up the slide with "target consumer" written in giant red print. here i am, sitting within the highest crops of coca cola in a tower in downtown atlanta, when just an hour earlier i was cupping coffees at the counter culture training center and talking about ways of making new coffee brewing methods openly and transparently. it just felt so... contrived and slightly evil.

drink up, kids.

14 May 2008

mustaches for may!

hey all you bearded or possibly bearded folk!

donate your face this month to help your favorite coffee-related non-profit! Get your friends to sponsor your beard growing skills for the month ($5 a pop), and then shave it into a styled mustache for the last week.

Rock a stache for a better and less douchier cause.

06 May 2008

love potion number nine

and, like how one might feel after having planned a wedding or waited for a college admissions notice, i have completed a weekend at scaa/usbc in minneapolis. just a quick thanks to all of the amazing people i met this year who offered such incredible feedback and support throughout the entire thing. also a huge congrats to everyone who competed. this was a remarkable group of people to work with and learn from, and I was honored to share a room with them for a few days.

photos and memories to follow.

01 May 2008

I think I have bitten off more than I can chew.

My body aches from moving 75% of my house yesterday, and today I will fly to Minneapolis to partake in a weekend of coffee-loving goodness. The sequence of leaving an extremely pleasant week at Volta to driving five hours home to moving all day to repacking for the competition and then leaving on a plane will sum as a week to remember in the span of my younger years.

Small things remain on my checklist, but their size is easy to swallow: Grinder brush, plastic baggies, heat resistant spatula. A spoon.

It's time to get on the plane and realize everything I've practiced for the past 6 weeks. See you suckers in the twinssss.