So after reading my email I see SCAA will be addressing the single-serve market at the symposium. Since many of us will be on the outside looking in on this conversation, I figured why not have one here.
I'm not so interested in the Via, K-Cup and pod machines for home use, in fact I believe these do a tremendous disservice to consumers and in the case of a K-cup specifically, create a ton of excess trash. If they disappeared to the shelves of Odd Lots or Ross, I'd be just as happy.
In retail settings we see a wide array things from low-tech and classic up to the fabled Clover. The new Trifecta is generating some conversation but will it prove to be a commercial success? Tru-Bru and various knockoffs are popping up everywhere, Clever gets kudos and bashers, Chemex, a "new-old" option has vocal detractors and supporters. Vac Pots, single serve french presses, flannel socks and elaborate glassware that can turn your shop into an alchemist's lair or make it look like the local bong shop.
With each brewing method there seems to be a million and one "THE way to do it" with very little standardization. Elaborate counterclockwise stirring rituals with old growth bamboo harvested only during the blue moon and carved by 15th generation woodcarvers, up dosing to an extreme, imported water kettles with NASA engineered spouts, greatly variable extraction times, temperature variables etc. (forgive the hyperbole, but it ain't far off)
In some ways it is a clash of cultures in our industry. There has been a neat, orderly way to achieve a standard. Pretty much the debate was: Bunn, Fetco or Curtis? Now we have what amounts to a no-holes barred race to the sweet spot. As is often the case in our industry, people have a strong opinion.
Is the vanilla of a drip brew with an airpot a thing of the past? Can outlier brewing methods become the standard-bearers?
What methods do you count as your favorites? What do you consider an abomination? Do you see single-cup as flavor of the month or is it here to stay? Which methods are most accessible to your average guy who makes coffee at home during the 15 minutes he has to get dressed and out the door?
Questions from a guy who wakes up to a french press (I know, a real sin in this day and age)