BCCY Archive New York - USA

The Real Irish Coffee Champion

He gets it!

"Whenever you talk about making money out of coffee, you've got to consider it's not about a commodity, it's not about purchasing coffee from your supplier, it's not about a machine, but about how you create that experience when the consumer comes to buy the coffee," says Irish cafe consultant Hugh Gilmartin.

He continues: "You have to focus on taste, so you have to brew it properly, but you also taste with your eyes. you need to make sure it looks good and you provide a good service."

I wish every coffeehouse and restaurant in the U.S.A. would accept these principles. what made me accept this consultant, Hugh Gilmartin, as my personal savior was this statement: "Coffee is a cuisine, as opposed to a commodity. you don't have the waiters making the starters [appetizers] in a restaurant, so why do you have them making the coffee?"

I would love to beat all the fine chefs of New York over the head with this quotation. . .too many times have I spent US$200 on a fancy dinner at a top-notch restaurant only to have the busboy try to cobble together my after-dinner coffee. . . aaaggh.