Thoughts on Compromising

A great post for mulling over from Seth Godin about compromises almost all of us make.

We've learned a lot about coffee over the five years since we first decided to make the leap into coffee.  It's an amazing product.  When done right - from proper sourcing at the farm, to processing, to roasting, to brewing, there is no other beverage that can give you as wide a spectrum of possible flavor combinations.

So it's hard to admit that we do a disservice to coffee every single day we're here.  We don't insist on brewing by the cup.  We don't insist that you drink it black.  We still serve big drinks that are less coffee and more milkshake. 

You are our neighbors and customers.  We're here to serve you.  As much as we'd love everyone to love small drinks and black coffee as much as we do, we realize this is a matter of taste.

A chef once told us that you can't argue with people about pizza or bagels.  Whatever they grew up will be what they think is best.  We suppose coffee is one of those things as well.

We make those compromises because if we didn't, we wouldn't last very long in Mt. Lebanon. 

But there are lines we won't cross and compromises we won't make.  Other than decaf, we will not sell coffee that isn't direct traded or purchased at auction where the farm has received an above market price.  Using coffee from any model that doesn't address both sustainability and quality makes no sense to us. 

Additionally, our emphasis on direct trade (which extends to our Omanhene cocoa and Intelligentsia tea offerings) allows us to sleep better at night knowing that we're not aiding and abetting exploitation of farms and farm workers (or, in the case of cocoa, supporting slave labor).

Hopefully buying your coffee from us helps you feel a bit better about your purchases as well.

This is not to say we won't be trying something a bit more "pure coffee/less compromise" related somewhere else in the future.  We believe there's a market for such a place in Pittsburgh.  We just not sure where that place is yet.  But the rent will have to be cheap ;-)