For other Coffee Thoughts, see my pages in Esquire Magazine’s Eat Like a Man

An extract from a recent interview.
1) Todd, your columns in Esquire last year were controversial to say the least. You railed against “rock star baristas,” over-extracted espresso, the “propaganda” of “single origin Valhalla”, pour-over bars, super-geek roasters, people who take pictures of their coffee with iPhones, and a host of other hallmarks of the Third Wave movement. Third Wavers were none too pleased, including Aaron Ultimo, who told me that he was hurt by those statements. We can get to the specifics of those points later in the chat, but can you address the heated reaction to your columns? Were they misinterpreted? Are coffee people just way too serious? Or did you simply write those columns with a humorous effect in mind, only to find they didn’t quite land as expected

Yes, whoa, those first two articles (of 30) touched off something surprisingly spring loaded in coffee America. The responses were completely unexpected and of two sorts, extraordinarily positive, like way too positive, either that, or death threats or general threats of violence. What surprised me is that the articles were boldly titled “Hipster” and in not “Third Wave” (modern coffee). I love third wave,  I too am third wave.

What the reaction said to me is too many people in modern coffee have embraced the notion that “third wave” means “hipster” too. This is a travesty, since fine coffee should and must survive independent of any momentary urban fashion delusion, don’t you think? After all, fads and fashions always crash, like I say in the articles

Anyway, the first piece was about my observation of the similarities between some of the extreme baristas of the 1980′s (which I was) and some of the baristas today. That’s where “punk rock revival” and “rock star barista” come from.  The second article was about “Extreme Hipster Cafes and Baristas”, those people who take hipster to the furthest reaches of the hipster universe- which Aaron does not do. I’m speaking of those urban lumberjack-esq people whom treat great coffee as some sort of exclusive experience of which they have exclusive ownership.  Aaron and his wife, the folks at Bodhi or really any other Philly café does not appear to be doing this wholesale.

Let me be clear, beautiful coffee is one of the rare democratic luxuries the everyday person has, and for it to be hi-jacked as the exclusive property of some temporary urban fashion I am, and will always be, 100% against. Fine coffee should never be exclusionary, nor should any person be made to feel apologetic if he or she wishes to add a touch of milk or sugar to it, at least without getting unsolicited glares and eye rolls from the urban lumberjack set.

Main Thought – Coffee, after water, is the world’s most popular drink, provides work for nearly 30,000,000 people worldwide and is responsible for a $30,000,000,000 annual flow of commerce from the developed world to the world’s poor. Although 80 countries grow coffee, only a few make up the bulk of the US lucrative specialty market, often due to such things a risky port delays, feeble infrastructure and other risks. It is my aim to help change that, to invite countries like Haiti, Angola, Cameroon and Madagascar etc. to the specialty coffee table. That is what is what drives me.