Paul Basett Coffee

bean_scene_2day · August 2006

Hi. Does anyone know much about Paul's brand of coffee. Spoke to him on the phone and he is sending some samples. Would love to know what others think about his coffee... looking for a great brand for my Tassie cafe. Looked at oomph but it seems to be a little timid. Didn't mind Karmee. The search is on.

FreshCoffee2 · August 2006

This could be considered a conflict of interest (for me as a roaster to reply to this question), but why Paul Bassett coffee? Is he a real roaster, or one of any number of ontropeners (sorry, Sunday arvo & red wine, cant be bothered spelling) who wake up in the morning, get someone to contract roast for them, and an instant new brand is born? Why not go direct to the roaster instead? They're the roasters blends not the fella who puts his name on the packet. Instead of plugging into someone elses brand name and/or perceived image, why not work on your own. You could have the bean_scene_2_day special/secret blend....it's your cafe...it's your livelihood...it's your goodwill...what's that got to do with Paul Basset or anyone else for that matter? Volunteering my own very good product here most of which in addition to tasting very good indeed, is "ethically excellent" in that most of our blends contain a large proportion of sustainable/fair trade movement beans....and you can call it whatever you like but may I suggest, beenscene2day special/secret blend. Roasted especially for you.....very exclusive indeed! Over to you. Regardz, FC.

DoubleRistretto · August 2006

actually Bs-2day - FC has a point; i think PB is roasted by Rio in Adelaide - why don't yuo just ring them, or even get FC to roast for you and brand it yourself, like he suggested?? dR

mattyj · August 2006

Paul actually did a whole heap of roasting and blending before the WBC, through Toby's Estate (I think). If you're in tassie, you should also check out some melbourne roasters. From what I hear, St Ali do a good job.

Gonzo · August 2006

It would be better if we didn

sketchy · August 2006

Hi I think you should try several different coffees until you find one or two you like and then try them on your customers. You can always put in a third grinder and do a special blend of the day or a fair trade coffee so then the customer has the choice. There is no point having a blend of coffee that your customers don't like no matter where its from or who it is from. LE

mattyj · August 2006

It would be better if we didn

Unknown · August 2006

If I were starting a cafe I'd select the coffee I serve based on; 1. Freshness - is the roaster local? Can I get regular supplys of FRESH coffee. Coffee reachs peak flavour 24-48 hours after roasting so 3 deliveries a week of fresh coffee is a nice aim. 2. Taste 3. Ethics - Fairtrade and the like are a nice idea. I saw a quote recently that I think translate nicely to the coffee biz... "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten"

FreshCoffee2 · August 2006

On the basis of the original question regarding supply to a cafe business, I would like to reply to the last post: " 1. Freshness - is the roaster local? Can I get regular supplys of FRESH coffee. Coffee reachs peak flavour 24-48 hours after roasting so 3 deliveries a week of fresh coffee is a nice aim." Freshness yes definitely, but I am going to disagree on the rest of the above. Coffee that "young" can often result in a foamy, bubbly dark tan coloured crema and brew with woody character. 99.9% of cafe staff wouldnt understand it or want to and will simply complain to the supplier. We prefer to let the coffee settle for longer than that irrespective of the differences that could be managed depending on the individual blend iteslf. Overservicing by offering any more than one delivery per week is an administrative/operational business nightmare, & is an extremely "costly" (not just in terms of monetary value) service to extend to clients. " 2. Taste" Definitely but is very subjective and influenced in the end by the expertise of the espresso machine operator. I would extrapolate this further, by mentioning that it is a brave supplier indeed that sends samples away to potential clients without sending his own barista out with it to make sure the coffee machine & grinder are set up the way he wants it to be, in order to present his blends as they should be for the clients adjudication. Otherwise, sampling can backfire on the supplier big time. " 3. Ethics - Fairtrade and the like are a nice idea." Yes but subject to quality, availability, & the rest of the total service being provided by the coffee bean supplier. If the rest of the service is no good, who cares if he supplies fair trade movement coffee. "...I saw a quote recently that I think translate nicely to the coffee biz... "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low cost is forgotten"." I like it but remember that by far the greatest cause of bitterness in the brew is through mis-management of the total coffee brewing system by inexpert operators at the cafe end, and not from the coffee bean supply.

Unknown · August 2006

My thinking is that the more you appeal to what your customer thinks(and discovers) is a good coffee, the more business you'll do. Fresh, local, fair trade, organic coffee has a nice ring to it, don't you think? It's not surprising that some roasters are happy for cafes to serve week old coffee - it's convenient for them. However I suspect the customer is not getting the best when it comes to flavour. Admittedly, I've never heard of any roasters delivering 3 times a week so that's probably a "he's dreaming" idea. I've had 4 hour old coffee and it blew my mind in its flavour - no sign of crazy, scary, what-the-hell-is-this 'bubbles' - just rich, thick crema and delicious coffee. The above is not written to offend, just adding my thoughts and experience. Obviously there's more to it than fresh and local etc...alot of cafe owners don't see things my way or there would be alot more, much better coffee around! The quote shouldn't have been included in my first post - didn't really add anything and I think it was taken the wrong way. Getting baristas that know what they're doing and giving them decent equipment to use is vital.

scottie · August 2006

Hello Why do people say stuff about a guy they know very little of, Pauls skill, knowledge and experience go well beyond a lot of people I have meat in the industry and that includes roasters. Pauls coffee is far more than a name on a packet, in fact what drove him to supply a blend probably came from constant frustration of the quality of coffee around. I have found that a lot of baristas are obtaining a far more educated pallet than many roasters and as a result start learning about roasting and blending. Case and point - Paul got something like 97% in the judges sensory skills test at WBC in a test which 80% of prospective judges failed some of which are roasters. Please avoid the Tall Poppy Sindrome, he has achieved what he has achieved because of a lot of hard work researching and practicing, which has continued long after WBC 2003. If you want my opinion, which you may not. But look for someone who has skill, knowledge, experience and is willing to offer it. Approach a supplier be them a roaster or someone like Paul who works closely with a roaster cupping and blending. And start to pick their brain, find out how much they know and how much they are willing to pass on. Do your research, and find someone who is genuine about your best interests. If someone acts as if they know a lot and can offer you the world, stear clear. In my experience the people with the most skill and knowledge will say they still have a lot to learn. And then you get talking to them and you realize they know far more than most. Once you have finished searching, keep searching. Scottie

bean_scene_2day · August 2006

I have to agree with this last post. I wasn't after information about someones skill and knowledge, something that only the person concerned knows and and can judge for themselves. I find it hard to believe that only a roaster can be an expert on roasts - infact a really good barista must know plenty about a particular roast off coffee and I doubt a wbc crown means zilch - it seriously means you must know something. As someone who knows I have plenty to learn about coffee, I know I make ok coffee but it isn't enough for me. I want to make f..ing good coffee because at the end of the day, what else is there. Money or knowing that there is always just that bit better you can acheive. If Paul puts his name to something, it would only be because he beleive in it and a barista only serves up something they believe in... I know I get frustrated with the big companies who mass produce - I know I don't want to be someone who just produces coffee and count the money. I get frustrated because they don't really care or will be bothered to take a little time to teach you something about their product or care enough about how you are presenting it! I doubt Paul would put his name to a coffee roast and not care about who or what was serving it up too customers. I doubt I would.

Gonzo · August 2006

what? u r making the selection of a coffee supplier far too hard. 2 much thinking about domestic relaetd stuff, not enbough about business stuff. The two cant co exist easily and it aint rocket science. Stop worrying about stuff that's only complicating what should be s very simpole issue. Some people have alerady made good suggestions the veryb best one is to go & see your local roaster again. G.

coffee_head · August 2006

Some people have alerady made good suggestions the veryb best one is to go & see your local roaster again. G.

Tasmania wouldn't have any local roasters - not good ones anyway. Duh!

takeaim · August 2006

Here's a list of Commercial Roasters in Tasmania, taken from another forum linked below. Oomph! Coffee - Hobart Coffee Republic - Launceston Croplines Coffee - Launceston Tascaffe - Hobart Tasmanian Coffee Roasters - Hobart CoffeePlus - Hobart http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/worldregional/australasia/238368?LastView=1155894996

coffee_head · August 2006

Been in Launceston for a while so I know some of these brands: Oomph coffee is ok but is padded out with robuster beans. Full crema but weak as... mind you the old fuddy type in Tassie love it weak. Coffee Republic roast their own blend and sell wholesale to the public. Same with Croplines. Their coffee sure hit you between the eyes but i doubt they sell to cafes. From a travelers point of view, mainland roasters are miles ahead.

FreshCoffee2 · August 2006

Cleints should try not to be too short sighted. If they dont work with their local roasters and give them a go, how can the roasters be expected to give the clients what they say or think they require? This is very self defeating. If the roasters stock blends dont suit, who says they cant make up a blend to suit? How do we know one roaster or another wont supply wholoesale or to other cafes if we dont ask? Who's to say they dont want more business or may change their "policy" if approached, especially if they like what the new cafe wants to do? Whether there is any robusta in a blend or not is not really relevant. If they are going to make a signature blend for the client, the client can specify they dont want any robusta. In any case there is good arabica and low quality arabica, and there is good robusta and low quality robusta. The proof is in the flavour, whether it contains robusta or not. Dont ask whether there is robusta in there....ask to taste. Realisticaly, the state of the cafe industry at this point still leads me to generalise that the expertise of the person operating the machine is still the most likely variable in affecting the end character of the brew of the blend being sampled. Therefore I reckon that anyone that wants to start a new cafe venture should allow the roaster to brew their own sample on their own equipment (at their roastery) for the prospective cafe owner to try, rather than rely on the character of a roasters "brand" coffee as sampled anonymously in one cafe or other. How can we expect local roasters to give us what we want if we dont give them a go? If they wont work with you then by all means look elsewhere but it would be a pity not to have given them the opportunity first.

nzroaster · August 2006

Oomph coffee is ok but is padded out with robuster beans. Full crema but weak as... mind you the old fuddy type in Tassie love it weak.

Don't knock Robusta unless you are extremely knowledgable in the roasting industry. I don't personallyuse it but i have worked with and tasted great blends that incorporate it. Don't be too quick to put Oomph down. Carlos is a great roaster and the amount of medals they won at both the Sydney and Wrest Point Festivals this year is testiment to the quality they strive for!!!

coffee_head · August 2006

Don't knock Robusta unless you are extremely knowledgable in the roasting industry. I don't personallyuse it but i have worked with and tasted great blends that incorporate it. Don't be too quick to put Oomph down. Carlos is a great roaster and the amount of medals they won at both the Sydney and Wrest Point Festivals this year is testiment to the quality they strive for!!!

Not knocking it just giving my point of view. It is made weakly - it is similar to Lavazza which is also weak. Mind you, perhaps it is the various cafes fault with there expert coffee makers - dolly birds who got the gig because of their big milkers - that hurt brand. Mind you - you could serve up the worse brand, sell it for $2 bucks and the public would drink it.

Bon · August 2006

I've found most cafes use a mild blend though (at least in theory

). I'm not sure as I've never tried any of Oomph's stuff, but I think Oomph! would do a blend or two that is stronger? Just because one blend is mild/weak doesn't mean it's bad either - just not to your taste. When I make my family/friends a coffee, sometimes even a weak latte or flat white is too strong for them depending on how strong the beans I use are.

taz · August 2006

Tasmania really only has a small number of good coffee places. Some are just rubbish and serve weak milky coffee which is a joke. Anyone who is serious about a career in coffee should get out of Tasmania while they can. Get into the real world.

nzroaster · August 2006

Tasmania really only has a small number of good coffee places. Some are just rubbish and serve weak milky coffee which is a joke. Anyone who is serious about a career in coffee should get out of Tasmania while they can. Get into the real world.

Sounds like you follow the "if it's too hard, don't bother" rule. Not a great way to look at things. I roast and wholesale in semi-rural queensland (not many good coffee shops here either). Point if you want to be a market leader it will be difficult regardless of where you are.

Unknown · August 2006

nzroaster - I can't believe you started closing Sunday's the same weekend I happened to be up that way, was looking forward to visiting for months! - where's your work ethic? What's the chemistry set up for? I agree with nzroaster. Do it your way, where you want and give it your best.

taz · August 2006

Sounds like you follow the "if it's too hard, don't bother" rule. Not a great way to look at things. I roast and wholesale in semi-rural queensland (not many good coffee shops here either). Point if you want to be a market leader it will be difficult regardless of where you are.

Nope. Just a realist. Lived in Tasmania to long to know nothing changes and never will. There are far better opportunities outside of this dump.

nzroaster · August 2006

nzroaster - I can't believe you started closing Sunday's the same weekend I happened to be up that way, was looking forward to visiting for months! - where's your work ethic? What's the chemistry set up for? I agree with nzroaster. Do it your way, where you want and give it your best.

Sorry mate, I work 6 days 70+ hours as it is. I am finding people just don't want to work these days unless its on their terms($90/hr, mon-thurs). We are currently trying to rectify the Sunday thing. The chemistry sets are our collection of Vac-pots by Hario. They make a great cup and myself and employees start the day with one every day. They make a great clean cup and we discuss what the coffee tastes like/ inspires/ feels/ etc. It is great when i hear my kitchenhand answers a customer with "oh yes, the Costa Rican has a great dark cherry flavour which reminds me of......."

askthecoffeeguy · August 2006

why not take the opportunity to work with a local roaster, one which you admire (I suggest that you visit them all, and pay to try their product), settle on one which you like / and / or think that you can work with, then work on developing a relationship with that roster. That way when something goes wrong at the very least you have local expertise to call upon. You may even be able to deliver valuable feedback to the roaster in terms of developing your own blend (although I'm all about single origin these days!) after all, its much easier to jump in the car, or, better still, on the pushie, and head down to the roasting facility to have a nice warm cuppa and a good old chat, that it is to fly, to try and iron out any differences you may have besides, long distance relationships are hard work at the best of times for my money, keep it local, and keep it real ACG

taz · August 2006

I just hate the number of places producing coffee flavoured milk and charging $3.00 plus. Whats the point of this and it doesnt provide you with a buzz. :o Paul Basett coffee might be good and you get a name by being good which he has. I thought he gives his customers training which would be well worth buying the product for.

FreshCoffee2 · August 2006

Taz, "coffee flavoured milk" is what milk coffee is. There is a much larger proportion of milk in the brew than coffee if it has been made well. If by this you mean that the total brew in the cup or glass tastes too milky, then that is the way the milk coffee has been made by cafe staff. It's not the "fault" of the roaster whose beans the cafe is using. Overly milky coffee is one extreme of the spectrum. If the espresso machine operator goes to the other extreme, you end up with a very *bitter* brew. I dont know about others but if a well balanced coffee is out of the question, I prefer milkyness to bitterness. This doesnt require an answer, but how on earth can someone from the mainland give training to individual cafe clients in Tasmania? Regardz, FC.

askthecoffeeguy · September 2006

Taz, how on earth can someone from the mainland give training to individual cafe clients in Tasmania?

Maybe they can communicate with them psychically? ACG

taz · September 2006

Whats with this Paul Basett thing :o is it because he is a success. I bet he is the sort of guy who puts 100%+ into everything he does.

Gonzo · September 2006

I'm sure he puts 100% into his own business just like many others, but I think u have it round the wrong way. On re reading all the replies, think u will find the general drift here is to think not about what the pb name might be able to do for your business if u jump into his bandwagon but rather, what you (he who started the topic) can do for yourself in collaboration with roasters (who shouldn be dismissed on the basis of tassie cultural cringe) in your own area. G. unashamed supporter of local industry wherever possible

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