For the Coffee Palate Too Refined for a Certain Large Chain - New York Times
Starbucks raised consumer awareness, paving the way for those of us who can do better,“ said Doug Zell, 39, founder of Intelligentsia Coffee, a 10-year-old company in Chicago with 2004 sales of $9.5 million and a 2005 growth rate of 28 percent. A recent board president of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, Mr. Zell said he had little patience with anti-Starbucks hand-wringers. ”I would argue that smaller players in the 1990's who failed when Starbucks came to town drove themselves out of the business by poor execution,“ he said.Nicholas Cho, 31, founder and chief executive of Murky Coffee in Washington, D.C., agrees that Starbucks is beatable. ”If you are in the hamburger business and you can't make a better burger than McDonald's, you don't deserve to be in business,“ he said. ”It's the same with coffee,“ added Mr. Cho, whose retail business, with expected 2005 sales of over $1 million, has expanded sixfold since its founding in 2002.
”Buying beans, roasting them, delivering service, you have to be the best,“ said Mr. Zell, noting that at Intelligentsia, espresso drinks are made by hand by baristas who undergo a certificate-granting, three-month training program. Mr. Zell compares the premium coffee business today to the wine business 25 years ago. Then, he says, most producers blended their wines and one tasted more or less like the next. ”Only when producers opened their minds to single varieties of grapes grown in particular terrains did they start producing quality wines that got customers excited,“ he said. ”That's when the wine business took off in this country.“
...
As Mr. Zell of Intelligentsia Coffee puts it: ”It's just fantastic that I can do what I love and make money at it. I am so grateful to be living like this and not spending my days at some desk trading securities.“
I often purchase Intelligentsia coffee (roasted nearby, but sold elsewhere), and in the summer, at least, frequent the Intelligentsia Cafe on Broadway. They do make good coffee. I personally don't care for Starbucks, I think the beans are over-roasted.
I have yet to take the tour of the Intelligentsia roasting plant, but I would like to, maybe next time an out-of-towner visits....
