Seattle Coffee Works

We were invited to demonstrate some Slow Bar contraptions on King 5. Check out the video.

Our good friend Coffee Hero recently brought up the topic of coffee prices (again – this was a topic almost exactly one year ago.) While he praises our prices and I agree on some points, there are a couple of things that might benefit from clarification.

There are really three types of coffee prices:

1. Roasted whole-bean coffee behaves  like a commodity in the consumer market. The price of this commodity is spiking right now for reasons involving seasonal speculation, reduced harvests due to fungus, low levels of coffee reserves in the US, and concerns about hoarding overseas. As a result of this market spike, Folgers raised its prices by 10% earlier this  summer. In cafes and grocery stores, the price of whole-bean coffee is going up by $0.50-1.00 per pound on average. This will affect not just the low-end but also higher-end coffees, like Peets. It will also affect Fair Trade certified coffees.
2. Super-premium coffees, such as our exclusive Direct-trade coffees from Guatemala (Finca Chicaman, Finca Aurelio y Lorena), cost more than commodity-traded coffees to begin with. Direct-trade coffees are mostly sold at a fixed price; their price will not be affected by the commodities markets this year. Likewise the auction coffees sold through the Cup of Excellence and other such programs. Those coffees are in a class of their own that is decoupled from commodity pricing.
3. Coffee drinks. It is true that the cost to produce one very rich espresso shot (23 grams of coffee grounds, that’s a serious triple shot) has gone up by roughly $0.03 because of the recent increase in coffee commodity pricing. Big deal. This should not make anyone raise their prices. But please understand that when you’re buying an Espresso you’re buying a service, not a thing. Most of the cost to provide that service is not contained in what accountants call the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). What you’re really buying is a nice stopover in a leak-proof, well-lit, comfortable cafe in a location you like, not to mention free WiFi, a comfy chair, free filtered water and clean, fully stocked toilets. And then there’s the barista who keeps the doors open, pours your drink, and maybe even lights up your day. Believe it or not, friendly, super-premium baristi like the ones at Seattle Coffee Works do NOT grow on trees.

So, I think it’s legitimate for roasters to raise the price of whole beans. For Ethiopian coffees, which are even more expensive this year than last, every roaster in town has done that. But increasing drink prices based on the increase in green bean cost is disingenuous. If cafes want to increase their drink prices, they could point to other factors:

• health insurance has gone up 20-30% this year alone;
• aggressive taxation by strapped local governments – we just submitted our paperwork for the personal business property tax of King County, a tax so arcane that in good times the government wasn’t even trying to collect it. It cost us hundreds of dollars in filing costs, probably more than the actual amount of the tax;
• increased difficulty of raising capital (the bailed-out, subsidized big banks are even more tight-fisted now than last year!);
• increased price of milk.

For us here at Seattle Coffee Works, the current coffee commodity market provides one more reason to move toward more direct-trade and to ditch a system of price discovery that just doesn’t fit gourmet foods like super-premium coffee.

In the meantime, thanks for the kudos on our $1.82 espresso ($2 including tax). That hasn’t changed in the nearly four years of our existence – hey, we just had an anniversary! We’re not planning to change prices anytime soon. Especially not during a recession. So come on in, let’s drink some super-premium “cof” – that’s coffee, without the added “fee.”

[Photo credit goes to the most amazing, unflappable, wonderful friend: MANGO POWER GIRL (Mohini Patel Glanz) -- check out her stuff here and here.]

Post Scriptum (Oct. 3, 2010): A friend sent along this link to an article I’d missed. A bunch of coffee commodity analysts seem to think that coffee prices are peaking this year with no basis in supply. It’s mainly about the fungus infection in Colombia and some other speculative reasons. In 2011, they’re predicting a hefty surplus of Arabica coffee. All those coffee chains raising their drinks prices pointing to green-coffee price increases? Not funny, not in a recession. Check out the article I missed.

Every day, at least a couple of our customers ask if we carry fair trade or direct trade coffee. (We do.) In fact, we’re closing in on 100% direct trade coffees in our signature espresso Seattle Space blend, which will make us the second coffee company in the country to do so.

There are so many folks out there claiming the moniker of “Direct Trade”. While it may be hip to slap “Direct Trade” on a label this year, for us Direct Trade (or any other name you want to give it after you read through the end of this post) is an important long-term strategic decision.

First off, let me mention the obvious: many roasters, small and large, have practiced Direct Trade for a long time, maybe centuries. For instance, I am thinking of our friend Dave Stewart who co-founded Stewart Brothers’ Coffee which became the well known Seattle’s Best subsidiary of the mega Seattle coffee chain. Dave has been importing direct from his in-laws’ farm in Costa Rica for a long time. He doesn’t call it “Direct Trade” but in effect it is more Direct Trade than some other “Direct Trade” labeled coffees out there. For lack of imagination, I am also thinking of Peet’s Coffee who’s been doing some sort of “Direct Trade” for longer than some of us have been alive.

What does Direct Trade mean for Seattle Coffee Works? It means a long-term relationship between the coffee grower and the coffee roaster, in which the farmer visits the cafe (as Aurelio Hernandez, one of our partner farmers in Guatemala, did last week), and, the roaster regularly (at least once a year) visits the farm.

The most important aspect of Direct Trade is that farmer and roaster work together to improve the quality of the coffee that gets to your cup. For that to happen, the relationship between both must be close and one of mutual respect.

Direct Trade is not a charity event but a straight business model: As the quality of the coffee improves, the price for the coffee goes up. The price goes up because there will be always a limited supply of truly great coffee, and better coffee generates more demand. All three, grower, roaster, and discerning consumer win. It’s that simple.

When possible, Direct Trade pricing is independent from the vast and speculative fluctuations in the global coffee commodity market, giving both grower and roaster more predictability and security. With our smaller Guatemalan producer partners we’re now starting to set the prices for coffees we’ll be buying in 2011.

Better prices for the coffee enable better lives for producers. If Direct Trade doesn’t translate into sustainable farming practices all around – I mean: no pesticides or herbicides, bird friendly farming, limited or no use of synthetic fertilizers, and, perhaps most importantly, fair wages and humane living conditions for all involved – then it’s not worth doing. A better price paid for the coffee should go a long way towards making sustainability possible. Given the high initial investment (travel costs, export and import fees, lack of economy of scale) only a sustainably run farm is worth pursuing for any roaster who has any business sense.

Fair trade, on the other hand, is pegged to commodity prices, which is why it works well for large- and huge-scale coffee companies. Direct Trade and Fair Trade are not in competition. They are two very different business models, one with a built-in emphasis on small scale and quality, and the other with an emphasis on improving lives on a very large scale. It wouldn’t be economical for a large-scale (think millions of pounds of coffee per year) company to enter a relationship with Aurelio who produces about 300 pounds of coffee a year. On the flipside, if a small coffee company like us didn’t raise the bar on quality we probably shouldn’t be in business.

The producer of our Brazilian coffee, Ipanema Farms, is a large-scale farm which has poured a lot of resources into producing large quantities of super premium coffees. They can choose their certification because they’re a well-run business which is treating all its partners very well: workers make better money, the farmland has been sustainably used for over 200 years. And yet the folks at Ipanema have a laser focus on quality. And they’ll produce just about any coffee we ask for. They are just as much partners as Aurelio is.

We’re in the business of providing superior coffee to our customers. There will always be a much larger market for less-than-superior, but quite possibly still drinkable!, coffee in which it is relevant and important to know that the coffee came from an ethical source – even if we might never know the exact source.

More than any label or certification, we live by the mantra of “know thy producer” because we, and the growers we work with, stand behind our coffee *personally*. We don’t romanticize the hard life of small-lot coffee producers. We don’t shout our certifications from the rooftop. (I don’t know about you, but my BS sensor goes off pretty quickly when I hear anyone flaunting the latest “in” label.)

We are in the business of selling the best coffee we can possibly imagine - and by “we” I mean the baristas and cashistas and roaster (me) at Seattle Coffee Works, and our partners in Guatemala, Brazil, and soon many more spots. Because working together is better and a whole lot more interesting! By the way, Aurelio is in town for two months, so stay tuned for when he’ll stop by the cafe again.

Friends, we have been growing a lot. Knock on wood.

Our growth hasn’t been miraculous – it’s been the result of a lot of passion and a lot of work.

When last year we always worried about how to have enough work for everyone to make a living, this year we’re more worried about how to get it all done.

We need some help!

Here’s the kind of things we need help with:

Managing and nurturing a few of our most exciting small businesses.
Manage roastery operations, a fast-growing mail-order business, and be a face for the company. (This is  an odd mix of marketing, operations, creativity and detail-oriented execution – you better know why you’d like to do this one!)

In one day, we might encounter any of these kinds of tasks:

• answer a call from BBC London with poise and authority;
• respond to an online customer who’s wondering where her package is;
• set up a new coffee offering in the cafe and online;
• swiftly and effectively respond to an event organizer who’d like to pre-order 400 pounds of coffee, ground for flat-bottom filter, with a customized label;
• pack 500 bags of coffee, because the person who’s usually doing that is on a much-earned vacation (you have to be able to rally some help for that one – a winning personality helps!);
• plan, prepare, and execute an ad campaign which will create 3,000 mail orders within a couple of weeks;
• sweep and mop the floor.

Cashista-ing / Barista-ing.
We’re a somewhat unusual coffee house. Everyone on the team gets to play with amazing coffees. Everyone has a voice. Everyone sweeps the floor.

On any given day we might run into these challenges:

• explain how we survive, nay: thrive, amongst the 999 corporate coffee walk-throughs around town. (This might happen any number of times on any given day, and even when you’re on number 10 it must sound as if you’re explaining for the first time;)
• make some amazing coffee by taking great care about each step in its preparation (if you don’t know much about coffee that’s fine – but you must be extremely eager to learn everything you can about this ambrosia!);
• taste almost every cup of coffee before your customer gets to taste it, and make it again if it’s not excellent;
• professionally, cheerfully, energetically lead a coffee tasting with four groups – one corporate team from Procter & Gamble, one party of ten family members celebrating their great grandmother’s 101st birthday (the great grandmother is there, too!), a small group of tourists visiting from Tokyo; and a tour group from Texas taking a peek at Seattle on their way to the cruise ship to Alaska (they voted for the presidential candidate you hate the most, twice);
• assemble sandwiches;
• do the dishes;
• sweep and mop the floor.

Managing the cafe at 107 Pike Street.
This one might seem like a far shot. First of all, we have a cafe manager, she’s awesome and not going anywhere anytime soon, so no need to rush. But if you think you’re born to manage a mid-size little coffeehouse operation and grow it grow it grow it, then please do step forward. No rush but we’re dead serious: we do need another cafe manager.

Here are a few examples of things you might need to be able handle to be a star store manager:

• one refrigeration unit or another breaks, or two at once, on the hottest and the busiest day of the year (you calmly get someone to help, pronto!);
• one of the team members is sick – you get the call at 6am. You’re in the store at 6:30am to cover for the poor soul;
• you puzzle out the schedule for next week. One team member has had something come up, you have another five emails or notes from other team members as to their scheduling needs, you know that a two-day weekend is a must for everyone, including yourself, and you make it all happen;
• you notice that we’re buying more pastries than we’re selling; you make a call and adjust the pastry order;
• oh, man, you notice so much. You might notice that a team member is having personal trouble – check-in required; your day is busy, you’re the boss;
• sweep and mop the floor.

Ok, friends, that’s the short of the long of it. If you know anyone (including yourself) who might be interested, send ‘em on down. (They should read that blog post about our unique process first though.)

I should mention a couple of things that would pretty likely be show stoppers: we noticed that while cigarettes and coffee go together really well, it’s hard for smokers to taste the fine differences in coffee – probably doesn’t make us a great fit for you if you smoke (you’d miss all those delicate flavors). And, yes, it’s retail: lifting 50lbs or so happens all the time; we’re open 363 days a year, including Sundays and Holidays (and that means certain times are just not ok for a vacation).

And, did I mention?, everyone mops and sweeps the floor. It’s fun for us. And you?

Coffee Drinking Man is taking a brief rest. Many friends of our café have noted that his arm, which normally moves up and down as he “sips” from his coffee cup, is bound in a sling. Yes, our very own 14.5-foot tall Coffee Drinking Man needs a break. Constructed by City Lights Sign Company, Coffee Drinking Man has been experiencing slight muscle fatigue from tirelessly sipping his cup of coffee for over 365 consecutive days. His arm, gripping his orange cup, lifts and lowers every 45 seconds, which translates to around 788,400 cycles per year.

The “muscle fatigue,” as diagnosed by the experts at City Lights Sign Co., lies simply in a simple bounce. Drinking Man has an internal motor that powers his 50-lb kinetic arm to rise and fall. As the motor fights gravity to raise his arm, it also struggles to apply a break to lower his arm as well. In the transition between the rise and the fall, his arm bounces which places a strain on the rod that connects his arm to his body.

In short, gravity works.

Back at the drawing board, City Lights Sign Co. is working on a stronger motor and a less stressful mechanism to power his arm. The goal, says City Lights, is to find the right gear combination to fight the bounce by keeping equal pressure on the rod that holds his arm in place.

Drinking Man's Motor

Installed one year ago in July ’09, Coffee Drinking Man has become an iconic host for a city known for its coffee culture. Like Seattle Art Museum’s Hammering Man, who pays homage to the working class, Coffee Drinking Man honors the gathering of people over coffee and the burgeoning influence of coffee in culture and society.

We’re optimistic Drinking Man will make a full recovery. Last November SAM’s Hammering Man underwent a similar procedure and, after a successful surgery, is persistently hammering his 15 hours a day again. We’re confident Coffee Drinking Man will emerge from his procedure healthy and ready to sip from his cup by the end of the summer. Just in time for a good cup of coffee in Seattle’s cool autumn weather.

They were all from El Salvador. Oh, El Salvador…

#1 Apaneca Ilamatepec Suiza: Sweet tobacco, tart dried fruit and rich earth.

#2 Apaneca Ilamatepec El Ausol: Lots of high notes - very tart and sweet with a bit of creamy earth.

#3 Alotepec Metapan La Matanita: Tart, nearly shrill approach leading into earth & chocolate, though slightly out of balance.

#4 Apaneca Ilamatepec San Isidro: Tangy cherry & woodsy earth, dark chocolate, and a light finish.

#5 Apaneca Ilamatepec Los Andes: Tropical fruit, sweet cream, tobacco & dark chocolate. Great balance and nice, round mouthfeel. Delicious.

We tasted the Atlas Importers coffees again. These were the same coffees as last week with the same roast dates, and another week’s aging. Looking over the two sets of notes, it seems that the week’s age made a big difference to me in most cases.

FTO Cascadia Blend (decaf): Creamy, rich & nutty. Round & sweet.

Guatemala San Pedro La Laguna: Dusty. Earth & chocolate, with a slightly bitter finish.

Costa Rica Santa Elena Miel: Earth, wood & baking spice. Dusty finish.

Costa Rica Cerro Paldo: Creamy tropical fruit leading into a chocolate and baking spice finish. Delicious.

Costa Rica Cloza Estate: Sweet tobacco, chocolate & caramel finish.

El Salvador El Toreador: Rich & sharp, a little caramel sweetness though acrid on the finish.

We tasted some great single origin coffees from Atlas Importers, which were surprising and delicious:

FTO Cascadia Blend (decaf): Mellow. Nutty, creamy earth.

Guatemala San Pedro La Laguna: Smooth & sweet. Lemon candy, nuts & baking spice.

Costa Rica Santa Elena Miel: Tangy & sweet. Dried berries & dusty earth in great balance.

Costa Rica Cerro Paldo: Creamy and hearty. Lemon, smoke & toasted nuts.

Costa Rica Cloza Estate: Tart & funky. Spice & cream spiked with dried tropical fruit.

El Salvador El Toreador: Dusty. Earth, baking spice & toast.

Welcome friends and welcome foes
Welcome you fools, and you sages.
Welcome you thinkers and you laborers,
Men and women, young and old.

We gather to taste of that divine nectar,
That permeates the air with its fine fragrance,
That dances on our tongues like a tango,
That sings to our pallets of symphonies unheard,
Yes, coffee is all of this,
This and much more.

For there is mystery here…
From farmer to roaster to barista,
Passion is channeled into attentive labor – this bean desires care.
And care we give it, as much as we’re able,
Not because we have created this thing,
But because we know the glory it has to give,
And so we tend to it – meticulously, tenderly,
As a mother to her child,
That it may be birthed into its fullness,
That wonder we are here to enjoy.

So drink you fighters and you lovers,
Drink you cynics and you hopeful,
Drink you orthodox and you heretics,
Drink you conservatives, and you liberals.

Join us in this most human endeavor,
As we delight in this gift—
From Creator to all humankind,
Dissolving the boundaries which separate us,
And forming community where we thought we had none.

It is precious,
It is beautiful,
It is coffee – Let us drink!

At the occasion of our Panama Esmeralda Tasting & Fundraising event on May 18, 2010.
Pictures by Joya Iverson.

We tasted most of our blends that day instead of the usual single-origins, and it was a great opportunity to try them all side by side. Here’s what I tasted:

Seattle Space: dried raspberry/loam/smoky chocolate

Mellow Seattle: dried apple/toasted walnut/nutmeg & cream

Emerald City: toasted bread/dark-roasted nuts/dark chocolate

Molly’s Blend: caramel/firewood/baking spices

Seattle Sunrise: toasted nuts/cream

-Delicious!