[conspire] Coffee

[Nick Moffitt]

Rick Moen:
> Quoting Luke S. Crawford (lsc at prgmr.com):
> > Personally, I think roasting is the key;
> 
> I think you're right.  The key difference between the vendors I admire
> (e.g., Peet's, Graffeo) and those I find regrettable (Starbucks and a
> bunch of others) seems to be care in roasting and freshness of beans
> after roasting.

The problem with Starbucks was specifically a business concern, for a
while.  The scent of over-roasted beans is marvelous, and that
particular potpourri would bring in customers.  Once they'd taken a sip
the money had already changed hands, and most of them were dousing
everything in milk and sugar anyway.  So there was a business incentive
for Starbucks to consistently burn their coffee.

I've read that this practice is one of the things that occasionally gets
tweaked by well-meaning executive management whenever the public "loses
faith in the brand" or however they say it.

I used to call the Starbucks aroma their "new-car smell".

> Intriguing thought, roasting one's own green beans.  Might try that.

The Seattle coffee craze actually started with people from my parents'
generation roasting their own in their hot-air popcorn poppers.  There's
a moment where you see a single wisp of smoke, and then you have to
quickly kill the power and dump the batch out, but it was a really
popular trick in the 70s and 80s.

Some folks used to mix in cacao or cardamom pods.

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