Third wave, Part religion, part mad science.

Dry_bean.

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/more-than-one-cup-to-savour-20101021-16vir.html

Good tongue in cheek read, love the sentence (Third Wave moves beyond blends and lattes (that's so Second Wave) and treats beans - often single origin - as fruit, like grapes in wine, using methods that preserve their unique flavour profiles. It allows you, apparently, to "read your coffee like a book".  ::)

Then there is this,

http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2010/02/baristas-gone-wild/
Particularly like the quote (Yet the term Third Wave was quickly commandeered by coffee purveyors for self-promotional and marketing purposes. Today, it continues to be pushed to marketing extremes by baristas, espresso machine manufacturers, and the like. The coffee consumer has been shoved aside and is almost entirely out of the picture now, despite the fact that none of this could exist without us. Hence the Third Wave stopped being about how we collectively enjoy coffee; it is now used primarily by people in the coffee business as a competitive weapon to verbally sword fight with each other) Touche. 

DoubleRistretto

Not sure about the 'marketing jargon' but have to say I have no problem with "treating beans - often single origin - as fruit, like grapes in wine, using methods that preserve their unique flavour profiles." - actually, that's what it's all about for me!! dR

Dry_bean.

on 1288338691:

Not sure about the 'marketing jargon' but have to say I have no problem with "treating beans - often single origin - as fruit, like grapes in wine, using methods that preserve their unique flavour profiles." - actually, that's what it's all about for me!! dR

What it's about for me is enjoying and being able to appreciate a better than average cup of coffee without having to think about it, sure I understand the terminology and coffee speak but wouldn't dream of inflicting it on others unless in response to a direct question, even then I've had someone ask an espresso related question, about three words into the reply you can see the eyes starting to glaze, just polite conversation. ::) I also fancy myself as a bit of a wine snob however wine writers and wine makers are responsible for some of the most over the top hogwash ever written on a subject, open a bottle of wine with a friend (my wife and I often do this) and then attempt to match the description on the label with the contents of the bottle, this often keeps us occupied for a full 5 mins before we agree the writer must have been away with the fairies (or smoking something illegal) when he wrote the blurb and the conversation turns to more intellectual matters, like how well the roses are/are not doing. ::) The point I'm making is that unless they are careful the coffee roasters/writers  run the risk of being stamped with a similar label to their wine industry counterparts, in other words a bit of a joke.  

askthecoffeeguy

Third wave is so 2007 - its all about the 4th wave now, "Where the methods of preparation are considered as important as the raw materials themselves! And yes, whilst I agree that its possibly to become entirely verbose when discussing the individual merits of this or that coffee, its also worth noting that there is an under-serviced segment of the market place which expects this kind of running-off-at-the-mouthiticsm! I described a single estate and estate washed yellow bourbon on my specials board today as having aromas of, "tamari almonds and raisin toast on a carob molasses infused palate,' and from what I can tell this is an accurate description As a former sommelier there's a definite crossover between both the coffee and  wine industries - but yes, not everyone wants this indepth and highly subjective level of detail when drinking coffee.  On the other hand there are those who expect this sort of attention to detail when refining your product, and I feel a sense of responsibility as an experienced industry commentator, if not to educate the public, then to at least lay the foundations for opening up a discussion about the particular attributes of a particular coffee Is it a clever marketing ploy? Absolutely! ANd you'd be crazy not to use your marketing savvy to explore these avenues if you're serious about promoting this aspect of your business, its what sets you apart from the other guy! Is it at the end of the day highly subjective? Absolutely! The best advice I ever received in this area was from one of Australia's premium wine importers who said, "Trust your palate - your judgement is as valid as any other." And I've never really looked back... And of course you have to pick your customers: If a truckie walks in off the street and wants a couple of large lattes with two sugars each to go, or another customer is running late for the train - I'm hardly going to discuss the merits of this or that SO coffee with them But if you're in the business as I am of offering up to ten different SO coffees at any one point in time, then you had better know the regional characteristics of each coffee, including the growing and harvesting conditions, and the individual properties which make that coffee unique - and you need to be able to get this information across to the customer in a concise manner And sometimes some purple prose is the fastest way to achieve this Is this waxing lyrical for everyone? No, obviously not Do some customers expect and demand it? Without doubt

admin

interesting discussion you've raised here Db - thought it might also be interesting for readers to review the series that we published online from Emily Oak's 'Specialty Coffee Professional' piece [that I misnamed 'Special Coffee...'] under the Off Topic thread. A