So I wanted to set the record straight on a few things. Not because I need to strengthen my ego (really it’s ok) and not to boast, but because we live in a world that at times seems to be controlled by the Ministry of Misinformation, full of those that actively wish to deceive and those that are well practiced at the sin of omission (deadly, right?).

Over the past decade Intelligentsia has introduced a number of ideas, concepts and practices to the Specialty Coffee Industry. It is my hope to illuminate when and where each of these things began.

Direct Trade

We were the first of any roaster in the world to codify the system of Direct Trade as a purchasing model with clear guidelines that reward quality and pay increasingly better prices to coffee growers around the world in a clear, transparent, traceable, model. Our first coffee purchased this way was La Maravilla from Huehuetenango, Guatemala in 2003. The vast majority of our coffee is now purchased this way. Other roasters in the US and around the world have adopted this model. Most of them call it Direct Trade too, some with good intentions and execution and others without (see Ministry of Misinformation above). We hope those doing it right continue to do so and those doing it wrong decide to do it right.

Seasonality

We first introduced our In Season initiative to the world of Specialty Coffee in 2008 at the SCAA show in Minneapolis. We were the first roaster in the world to have a clear set of parameters that defined green coffee seasonality as it relates to how far a coffee is off its harvest. Since that time a lot of other roasters have introduced seasonality into their offerings or are considering doing so. If this is done effectively, consumers will no longer perceive coffee as a commoditized “box of cereal” but rather as the marvelous, valuable, seasonal produce that it really is. This can only increase the perceived value of the coffee as well as the actual value of the coffee and will reverberate from source in the form of better prices to the producer all the way to the consumer who will be willing to pay for freshly harvested in season coffee.

The Micro-Lot

We introduced the term and the concept of the Micro-lot to the Specialty Coffee industry public for the first time in November of 2005 with our Colombia Cauca Almaguer Micro Lot produced by Alciabiades Garcia. This revolutionized the industry on many fronts from the specificity of lot separation, to the prices that a grower would be paid for a coffee to what the consumer would be willing to pay for coffee. Although Cup of Excellence offered this idea in the form of an auction, we pioneered it as an ongoing part of a successful Direct Trade buying model. Many roasters, exporters, and importers worldwide now offer Micro-lots on a regular basis.

Latte Art Throwdown

For a $1 entry fee on a rambunctious Friday afternoon in our lunchroom in Chicago the idea of the Latte Art Throwdown was born. Andy Wickstrom took my money that winter day. We sprung the idea of one pour, under pressure, for prize money during the SCAA show in Long Beach in May of 2007 at our Los Angeles Roasting Works amidst a lot of wine and beer and Taco Zone tacos. Since that time the concept of the throwdown has taken on many forms worldwide, but certainly hearkens back to an evening that is hard to forget in some ways and hard to remember in others.

Each of these except for the throwdown have the potential to change in a very positive way how growers are remunerated for their coffee as well as how the consumer perceives and values and in turn is willing to pay for coffee. Not a bad record for the past decade. Lookout next decade.

It has been awhile. In my attempt to actually do this more often, I will keep my posts shorter and more digestible.

So since you last heard from me, we’ve signed a lease for another coffeebar in Los Angeles and also for a spot in San Francisco for an impending Ecco move. More about these as they develop. Each should be operational in 2010 and both will present some clever twists versus what has been done before.

2009 ended surprisingly strong. I think 2010 will be a very good year and that the next decade will see great coffee gain its rightful place in the world. The start of the year is jam-packed for us. We have in-house and regional barista competitions and we will be involved in the TED conferences. These events are then followed by our 2nd Annual Extraordinary Coffee Workshop, which will be held at the end of February during the height of harvest in El Salvador. This year the attendees will include almost all of our Direct Trade growers from Central and South America as well as East Africa and the Pacific. We’ll have all sorts of information heading your way from El Salvador during the event.

And while I know it’s a bit late, Happy New Year!

If you have ever traveled to Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, France, Portugal), Latin America or particular parts of the American South (New Orleans without Katrina damage), you have been to spots that are decaying in a way that somehow makes them lovelier. These areas may be a bit worn, but they seem to possess an inherent wisdom that newer places that are scrubbed and more antiseptic may not. They reflect time passing, not as negative, but as an advantage where knowledge is gained, food is savored, children are revered, and things are more romantic and soulful. They are places where old friends and former foes may meet after battling long and hard. These are places where out of the corner of your eye you may catch God and the Devil (or saints and demons if you believe in such things) having a conversation.

I had a conversation of a similar sort recently (actually, my blogging has been infrequent and it was a couple of months ago) on a blustery night in Chicago at North Pond just prior to the close of the last decade. It was a dinner attended by a Mr. Duane Sorenson and yours truly. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I asked Duane if it was OK to write about this, and he said it was fine.) Before anyone jumps in here and says the attendees both have considerable egos (the accusation has been made of both of us and may hold some degree of truth) and that a comparison to saints and demons is unfounded, this mention is related to what others have foisted upon us and not what we believe ourselves. As for who is saint and who is demon, it depends entirely upon one’s point of view.

So where did the conversation go? It was surprisingly pleasant. As the years accumulate and the beautiful decay sets in (which I really do think applies to people as well), wisdom and experience piles up and perspective changes. As much as we are fierce (in a positive way) competitors, we are pursuing similar things in terms of where we hope to see coffee go, both as it relates to what happens at source as well as how coffee is presented and perceived here in the US and around the world. We discussed the positive changes that are taking place and how the public’s mind can be transformed cup by a great cup of coffee. We agreed that a lot has changed, but that there is still a long way to go.

We commiserated about what it means to be successful and how it makes you a target of mean-spirited barbs from people who have never met you and know nothing about you or your company. The woeful rise of the keyboard warrior and the anonymity of the Internet can make people forget their manners.

We talked about our kids and how much we love them and everything was right in the world for a moment.

Later in the night, we headed off to the Violet Hour (if you are reading this, live in Chicago, and haven’t been, you should go; if you aren’t in Chicago, it is worth the plane ride) for a closing cocktail on a fine evening. We ran into a surprising number of Chicago and Los Angeles culinary royalty. (If you ask me about it, I’ll tell you.)

I dropped Duane off and we agreed we should do this again sometime.