When I woke up today I had no idea I’d be enjoying espresso at both Seattle Coffee Works and Tougo Coffee. How did I end up at these two coffee shops? I saw an announcement on Facebook and one on Twitter.
The first message I saw was from Tougo Coffee on Facebook.
Let me decode that message. [...]
The Seattle Times ran a second story on coffee house pricing today that used quotes from this blog. The story is titled Coffeehouse customers steamed about higher prices. The point that seems to be lost from all the feedback I’ve received is that I’m not in the industry and don’t understand why prices are going up. I’m [...]
With all the talk about pricing lately, I thought I’d share my thoughts on 2 different coffees. My latest article on INeedCoffee is The 2 Best Cups of Coffee I’ve Ever Had.
Is it really taboo to be honest about seeking certain flavor profiles at different price points? I don’t believe there is always a direct [...]
It appeared that Zoka Coffee no longer lists their coffee size as “per bag“. It now states “12 oz“. This is a nice conclusion to the post I Call Coffee Shenanigans – The 12 Ounce Pound.
I love the Espresso Paladino blend, but 12 ounces is not a pound. Hiding that fact or stating it is [...]
After yesterday’s link from the Seattle Times, I got an interesting comment from Luke about coffee and commodities.
The majority, if not all, of these roasters do not purchase coffee from the commodity market. Many of the roasters (notably Stumptown and Intelligentsia) on this list pay the highest (far beyond commodity prices) on average for exceptionally [...]
I have received and declined a few offers for free tickets to the 2009 Coffee Fest held here in Seattle later this month. People always seem shocked to learn that I am not going. I figured I’d explain in this post my motivation for not attending Coffee Fest this year.
In 2007, I attended both the [...]
Unemployment is rising. People are saving more and spending less. Restaurants that were once packed are now empty. The one exception, at least here in Seattle, are coffee shops. Coffee seems to be the one thing consumers will not cut back on during tough times. In the past year several new coffee shops have opened [...]
Some coffee roasters are attempting a trick to pass on price increases. They are switching from 16-oz bags to 12-oz bags. This in itself is not a problem if you are honest with your customers. Zoka Coffee is the latest roaster to switch from 16-oz to 12-oz bags. However, I don’t think they are being [...]
Is anyone else tired of how the blogosphere hyperventilates after every Starbucks press release? Coffee sites that claim to dislike Starbucks are all too eager to spread everything Sith Lord Schultz says. Because I’ve run INeedCoffee since 1999 and this site since earlier this year, I get asked about different things Starbucks does frequently. My [...]
Nicholas Cho wrote a phenomenal Washington Post op-ed, Your Local Coffee Shop: Courtesy of Starbucks? He refers to coffee’s “Third Wave,” a term that is growing increasingly popular among coffee fanatics. Cho credits Trish Skeie with coining the Third Wave term, which goes something like this:
1st Wave
Coffee was “consumed” with little concern for its quality. [...]
