Open Days at JGC

Open Days at JGC

Last Friday, we had an open day. We didn’t charge a penny for a really big reason. Over time, the UK coffee business has grown and also become expensive. What we haven’t done as an industry is offer people access to what we do. Come and taste things, have an opinion. We don’t need you to like or love anything! In some ways, I love it when people really dislike a coffee, or they don’t know if they dare to admit that this coffee tastes blackcurranty or whatever…

During our day, we had the perfect number of people. Some wanted to slirp and spit (also known as cupping), some got hands-on and brewed espresso-based drinks, and one couple drove 270 miles (round trip) to come and hang out and “just” be part of what we do for the afternoon. A certain Porsche officinado was amongst us too. This was close to the record, but was trumped by a young lady who had come over from New Zealand. Admittedly, she hadn’t come all that way for the day! To me, these days are bigger than me or us; they are a great insight into what coffee means in other people’s lives.

You only ask someone to open a bottle of wine if you are paying for a flight in hospitality, or by the glass, but when or where can you do that with coffee? Generally, you can’t without buying a bag or a cup and in our part of the world, most (not all) coffee shops run a house coffee and a decaf. In terms of mindset, one could argue this is risk-averse.

Open days at JGC are to help customers make informed decisions when they are buying coffee. Selfishly, I want to share coffees that excite me, but they are and will always be niche. If we don’t share these gems, the UK coffee business may end up being ordinary and samey, in the same way that some other developed countries have.

If we make coffee too safe, it will end up as a pure commodity. Little more than a financial transaction. The small human stories, rare and unusual processing, varieties and characteristics and relationships will lose their appeal, and commercial ordinary will be the future, seasoned with milk. It is already here (to a degree), I know.

All independent High Street businesses are under pressure, like never before. It is a really tough time to take risks and buy expensive new lines. Retail (coffee for home) is a place where customers have access to a world of variety now, as not many retailers can afford to keep a broad range of products on the shelf, because they are perishable. Perishable = risk.

In the mix, we have had to absorb some big increases in green coffee since last Summer, in particular. One of the big decisions we have had to make is “How liberal/ giving should we be?” If we were in the shoes of some, we would walk away from a relationship after 10+ years, because a producer has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capitalise. We are not pure capitalists and have stuck with it, but the playing field is still far from even. I have closet issues (also known as not writable) about how lovely our industry says it is and what it does.

As always, coffee has to fit in with how we live and, relatively, what we can afford. I am of the mind that coffee at home can be simpler, less expensive and better than drinking coffee out, in general. This is, unless you need to start charging yourself with wild rent, rates, wages and national insurance.  I still urge you to drink coffee widely as it can be great when you drink coffee out, particularly when your grinder has broken, and you’re travelling. I won’t be forgiven for this lightly. More stories for another day.

Until the next Open days at JGC.