I had a weekend filled with amazing coffee experiences. It began with a barista jam at Roast Coffee Company. There, I had an opportunity to sample coffees from roasters such as Stumptown, Olympia and, most notably, Milwaukee's own Anodyne. All reminded me of the thrill of big-league coffee, which I've been largely depriving myself of so far this year in an attempt to save money. Anodyne's roaster, Steve Kessler, provided me with samples of two of their varieties, the Nicaraguan Pacamara Natural and the Ethiopian Sidamo Grade 3 Natural.
Monday, I actually formulated this thought: "Man, it's been a while since I had a mediocre cup of coffee." Yeah, I should never think that. Jump cut to Alterra on Prospect, where I was all excited about trying their current $15/lb coffee, the El Salvador Miralvalle Pacamara. It was being offered as both the strong drip coffee of the day and as single-origin espresso. The drip coffee was lukewarm and had been held too long. (This wasn't close to closing time, it was about 6 p.m.) The espresso was worthwhile, however. Tonight (Tuesday), I've stopped at Bayshore to try it again and see whether last night's experience was a fluke. It was, in the sense that the coffee had indeed been held too long. The fresh version is much better. Still, I would peg this as a $10-a-pound coffee. I'm not going to fork over the fifteen. Plus, wouldn't you want to make sure that the brewed version is as good and fresh as possible as a way of promoting sales of the whole bean coffee?
I also note that during the time I've been sitting here, a fairly loud rap song played with the words "shit" and "ass" clearly audible. I think that regardless of my personal feelings, that is just a colossally bad business practice. I grew up two blocks from here, and sometimes I really question whether Alterra has its finger on the pulse of North Shore life and sensibilities. Though I'm sure they have the financial figures to argue against me, even if the money is rolling in faster than they can count it, that doesn't mean it will be five years from now. The loss of Fiddleheads as a wholesale account is significant in the North Shore/Ozaukee County area. After all, that is where a high proportion of affluent target consumers live.
To make a long story short, I see cracks in the foundation here. I'm not just saying that to have something to write about or to draw attention to myself. Search unmoderated forums such as Facebook and Twitter. As I've written on Alterra's Facebook fan page, no matter how well-deserved the laurels received are, the competition never sleeps--especially not in the coffee business!
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