Sunday, August 17, 2003


weeping, gnashing, weeping part ii

coffee concentrate products seem the story of the summer, alas.

here we find the founder of respected roaster armeno deep in the process of creating his own coffee concentrate for commercial food-service use.

it has an appropriately scary name, x cafe. like some kind of secret experiment. . .the armeno website boldly proclaims that coffee should be "fresh like bread from a bakers."

so what are you doing here, paul kalenian? your fans are deeply confused when you proclaim how the careful preparation of high-quality specialty coffee beverages is "doomed."

that half the article is devoted to how he recycles his colombian grounds for compost probably tells you something about the way this product tastes.

sure, products like this -- just add 1 gallon to 30 gallons hot water and wa-llah! brown stuff that vaguely resembles coffee -- are great for low-end food-service businesses.

but what about the people who have to drink this stuff? who wants it?

the whole concept stuns me because the coffee industry is going the other way towards better quality, better taste, better preparation.

you make more profit selling specialty coffee over the counter in a cute shop -- anyone ever heard of the US$4.50 starbucks latte? -- than pinching pennies on the low end.

reading the piece, i couldn't help but feel sorry for the elderly prisoners of the old folks' home cited as using this product. they've already objected to this stuff and yet it's being forced upon them.

heavens, you work hard all your life, retire, fall ill, suffer the indignity of a group home and then have to drink this um, stuff, to boot.

rebel, coffee-loving seniors! revolt! demand your real coffee back!

in other news, i'm spending time with one of my favorite authors, mircea eliade. his classic book on yoga should be more widely read by teachers and students both, i think.

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