Inclusivity in Specialty
“If everything is special, then nothing is special” - James Hoffman
Sometimes on my day off, I head to the Coffee House to catch up with my friends and colleagues. Being at the roastery more nowadays mean I spend somewhat less time on the shop floor, and it’s what I miss most - working alongside the team, being in the rush and the motor skills of making drinks over and over as customers queue for their coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I love working at the roastery, getting deep into the behind-the-scenes. The other thing is the opportunity to drink many (MANY) coffees from other roasteries and over time, I got to thinking about the industry as a whole. I just want to note that what I write from here are what I have seen from my own lenses and personal experiences, which I wholly invite an open discussion.
A few weeks ago, I met up with my fellow coffee friend, Joe at Coffee House. Joe is an experienced barista, huge coffee enthusiast and competed in various competitions such as Coffee Masters at London Coffee Festival and UK Brewers Cup Championship 2022. Outside of that though, he would come by Coffee House to visit the team, share some coffee bags (sometimes coffee beans in vacuum-sealed bags, which can otherwise look like a dodgy drug deal to the outsider) and just spend some time with us. We sat down and was having a chat about the competition and how it went, which led to some interesting insights. I watched the competitions this year and noticed that a lot of the coffees used were varietals that are rare, low yield and expensive. These coffees would then be roasted only for the competitions and generally, once all the coffee is used, that’s pretty much it. I have been to some coffee shops who sell competition coffee, often marketed as limited edition. However, it does beg the question - will it taste the same way as when it was brewed during competition? Having competition coffee is one thing, but every other factor such as brewing technique and brewing method is just as important. Are the baristas showed how to brew exactly the same way it was during competition? What is the expectation in charging a steep price?
I had thoughts about whether competitors use coffees that are sold in local coffee shops. At Gentlemen Baristas, my favourites change from the Bowler (the mellow, go-to coffee for any time during the day), the Propeller (the experimental, fruit candy juice) or the Racer (an adventurous booze of a coffee). All of these are available off the shelf, are fantastic coffees and with a variety of different taste and flavours to choose from, and would easily appeal to the masses. Joe did exactly that for his coffee. He used coffee from Intermission, bottle filtered water and various ingredients found in your local supermarket. For equipment, simple Hario pour over kit and a trusty Brewista scale and pouring kettle he uses daily at home. On social media, there would be an overload of posts and information about exclusive coffees used in competitions. When reaching out and asking where to one could taste and drink the coffee, it isn’t available as it was only for competition. What does that mean for the future of competition, that only expensive coffees are the gateway? Isn’t specialty coffee’s aim to be inclusive, available and accessible to the masses? It may be that my perception is still young and am yet to explore the deeper aspects of the industry as a whole, but as mentioned these views are my own and based on my current experiences.
Specialty coffee is no doubt a huge impact in the way we see coffee as an industry - the aim to be transparent about where coffee comes from, the people behind-the-scenes, how coffee is presented to the masses whether it be in coffee shops or competitions. To be clear, of course we can and should continue to experiment with coffee and showcase different types of coffee, but I think we can do more to be approachable and inclusive to the masses.
