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Permalink Reply by John P on July 9, 2009 at 3:50pm

I agree with the idea. This isn't a new idea, as a number of roasters have been doing this already, but it is an idea that should be adopted. While I don't give out percentages, we always tell our customers what our espresso is comprised of, both in house, and on the information with the bag.

For example "Today's espresso is "uma vez" It means "once" in Portuguese. It's a three bean blend primarily made of Brazil Cerrado, and Yemen Mokha Mattari, with just a hint of high grown El Salvador. In the cup it's complex bittersweet chocolate with cigar spice notes and hints of tangy berry."

And we do that with every customer on every espresso or espresso based drink.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Flory on July 10, 2009 at 6:41am

I agree with Shawn (and John) that this is a good idea. John has the right idea about the concept: it is a marketing tool use to enhance the consumer's perception of an aura surrounding the coffee. Knowing the country of origin helps to add to the excitement and mystique surrounding the beverage.

Does it give away most of the formula? Certainly not. Shawn actually covered that well in his blog and he hit on all the points I was going to make:
1. The uniqueness of a roasted bean is the result of roasting, not necessarily the bean's origin.
2. Different areas and farms in a given country produce vastly different beans.
3. All processed foods (even a chocolate bar) already list their ingredients without giving away trade secrets.

Shawn went into much greater detail about these and other points. His article was well thought out.

Finally, Shawn. who lives and works in Hawaii, was responding to a proposed Hawaii state law about labeling. Shawn's idea, which is "a revolution in the way coffee blends have been sold for hundreds of years," was only a local response. But, like you, I feel there is a universality in the concept. I think it is a good way to pique the interest of the consumer and increase sales. No trade secrets will be lost.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on July 10, 2009 at 7:49am

I'm all for it when it comes to things like "Kona Blend" or the other crap that commodity roasters pass off on unsuspecting customers but for an espresso blend or other blend that makes no specific claim of origin I don't think a roaster should be compelled to share bean origins.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on July 10, 2009 at 2:33pm

Jason Shipley said:

I'm all for it when it comes to things like "Kona Blend" or the other crap that commodity roasters pass off on unsuspecting customers but for an espresso blend or other blend that makes no specific claim of origin I don't think a roaster should be compelled to share bean origins.

Agreed. While I personally like seeing bags with the blend components clearly spelled out, I don't feel like roasters should be required to divulge their blends. The real issue in this case isn't roasters having secret blends, it is roasters labeling their blends in a deceiving manner. Its an origin-name control and authenticity issue, and I think the proposed legislation addresses the problem in a far better way.

Kudos to roasters that do list their origins. Even if the only ones reading the label are coffee geeks and the competition :)...

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on July 10, 2009 at 10:16pm

I have to take issues with some of Shawn's assertions. Laws are not written to "help protect our honest members of the industry" but rather, force the less than honest companies into some semblance of civil interaction - and the Kona Kai scandal of the 1990s is a great example of this.

What should be noted abut HB931 is that it is applicable only within the State of Hawaii. The current 10% minimum Kona requirement means nothing once that coffee has left the Hawaiian Islands. Outside of Hawaii, a "Kona Blend" could literally mean one bean in any quantity of coffee or simply just the name. No other state (or the Federal government) has issued standards regarding the labeling "Kona Blend" outside of Hawaii.

Shawn's urging of the percentage disclosure is an interesting one that follows along the lines of current trade regulations for foodstuffs in the United States. Look at any label and you'll find a list of ingredients. That list of ingredients is mandated by law to be listed in order of greatest quantity to smallest. Want to know what ingredient is the greatest in a food product? It's the first one listed. Simple without divulging exact recipes.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on July 11, 2009 at 7:25am

Jay, good points. It would be good to see comprehensive federal origin controls for agricultural products in the US.

The descending order listing is useful, but wouldn't really help in this case. I can toss 10 Kona beans into a bag of Brazil and the label would look the same as a 60/40 blend: "Brazil, Kona".

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