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Permalink Reply by R. Justin Shepherd on July 25, 2011 at 5:45am

Damn. Post got lost. This one will be shorter. 

 

Never thought about not offering beans ground. We don't pregrind them, but will grind after purchase if customer asks. In fact, we often ask them if they want the beans ground. I struggle with denying them this... Of course I'm in a market where I just recently eliminated 20 oz. milk+espresso drinks, and it will be another couple years before I get rid of 16 oz., I think. 

 

Wish there were more manufacturers. Wish I knew something about engineering, or knew someone who did, so I could start building affordable entry-level grinders, as well as brewing devices not made in Japan. 

 

As to the "sexyness" I referred to in the post, I'm thinking a brew bar equipped with multiple Ersatas might be a good step — they look similar enough to the other Baratza offerings that it could be a jumping-off point for the "you really can get these results at home" conversation. 

 

And yes, summer is a weird time to be thinking about any of this... slowest months of the year tend to get my brain stirring at the wrong time. 

 

John, my email address is justin@in3rds.com. Would love to know where you're getting your hand grinders. 

 

 

John P said:

Not a bad post. 

 

We're (as in most of us selling) not trying to sell Mini-Mazzer or Anfim Best or even Compak K-Touch (but these are grinders that many of my customers have). We're not pushing too many Vario, Preciso, or Vario-W.  I couldn't stand behind the $60 to $80 grinders out there. They're not terrible grinders. They're just not up to par.

 

It's not a cost issue or a money issue, it never is. It's a "how important is it?", "How important can you make it?", or "How much do customers trust your judgement" kind of thing. For those of you who mistakenly think it's a cost issue, I would guarantee you that those same customers have spent more money on items they use with the same or less frequency than they would use a ~$150 grinder. As I mentioned before. Cellphone, food processor, cooking items, a couple of good dinners or one really nice one, books, music, GPS for the car, etc. 

 

The reason there is a disconnect with many customers is that not everyone has made that leap to clearly understanding the difference between QUALITY fresh roasted coffee and coffee from the supermarket, a chain, or any number of lower caliber local competitors.

 

The first step to lovingly nudge the customers in the right direction is to make the need for a grinder obvious. And the obvious, and correct, solution is to only offer whole bean coffee ... fresh roasted of course. (or fresh and shipped immediately from your roaster).

 

[RANT] I have a huge problem with any place that says anything about quality, Third Wave, progressive, yada yada... and then proceeds to sell ground coffee. Charlatans. Either you understand what happens to coffee after it's ground, or you don't. Or worse, you don't care about the customer, you care about the sale. Ugh. [/RANT]

 

So the next step is to offer adjustable burr grinders for sale. Now what you offer is up to you, but lets say you offer a tiered approach, The Hario hand mill, a Baratza Maestro+, and a Baratza Vario. For the one-two cup a day drinker, the educated coffee novice, and the enthusiast who needs a grinder for both espresso and coffee. You are looking at $50, $129, $429. From a marketing standpoint, this is golden. Three choices is best. Most people looking for a simple grinder will buy the Hario, those looking for an electric will buy the middle priced one at $129, and this will seem quite reasonable next to the higher priced option. The enthusiast will buy according to their needs. Money will never be an issue as they may have a $200 Technivorm or a $1000+ home espresso machine.

 

If you only offer one grinder, whatever the price, it's more difficult to sell. Although from my experience, a solid hand grinder is easier to sell, and a better value, than a mid priced $60 electric because of portability and lack of space-sucking on the counter. 

 

That's our approach. We haven't added the Vario yet, wanted a good excuse to have the new one for myself first. In the past two and a half years we've sold about 24 Baratza grinders Maestro and Maestro+ and about 50 ceramic hand mills. We sell so many hand mills because we buy direct from the manufacturer and can offer them for a lower price than the Hario or Kyocera (same grinders, but branded). We tend to sell a lot more electric grinders in the Fall through early Spring. Summer, not as many. I think it's hard for people to start a hot beverage ritual in the Summer.

 

As you alluded to in stressing the importance of grinding to your customers, it's about educating them. Education doesn't happen in one day. But it needs to be consistent and comprehensive messaging. You need to believe what you tell your customers and you need to practice it by what you do and what you offer in terms of coffee and equipment (if you choose to offer equipment). 

 

It's our job as coffee professionals to LEAD our customers. They are coming to us as experts. Care enough to guide them. They will follow.

 

 

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