Marco.org

Jim of Muddy Dog Roasting Company:

Still not seeing the downside, are you?  Because while you know in your heart-of-hearts it’s a substandard product in every respect, it’s just so damned easy.  And cheap, at that point, too.  And it’s not like you’re gonna use it every day.  Because on weekends, you’re gonna make yourself some Weekend Coffee.  You’re gonna pick up a few French pastries, or maybe some bagels and a shmear, and the Sunday New York Times.  Not every weekend, mind you, because you’re much too busy for that noise.  But maybe every other weekend.  Or every third weekend.  And you’re gonna buy some beans from a guy like me, and grind them with love, and brew them carefully, then savor their (and your) brilliance.  ‘Cause it’s a WEEKEND.

Just one problem.  I’m not going to be there for you.  Neither are my other friends who do what I do.  Because, unfortunately, just like a restaurant that’s busy on weekends can’t make it without at least a couple strong weeknights, we can’t make a living selling you Weekend Coffee three times a year.

I don’t think the market for high-end coffee will ever disappear, for the same reasons that I don’t think the market for coffee shops will ever disappear, no matter how good home-brewed coffee gets:

1. A significant portion of people will always forget, or not have enough time, to make coffee at home.
2. People like going out for coffee. It’s an escape. It’s social. It can be a meeting venue. It can be a work environment. It’s a way to leave work for a half hour that your boss won’t think is unreasonable, especially if you bring some coffee back for your boss.

As long as there’s a market for coffee shops, there will be a high end of that market, which some portion of coffee nerds like me will want to recreate (and surpass) at home.

But this is a great read nonetheless.