Hi guys!
I'm not going to name any places, because I don't want to harass them or anything.
Anyways, last year I was on a cafe crawl during a day trip. After talking to a few locals at several different cafes, I was led to this place where they sold "expensive but good coffee". At that time I never had anything that was more expensive than what we sold at the roaster (first specialty coffee related job I had) I worked at, so I check it out.
The place only sells Geshas. That already checks out price point for me.
But the place doesn't list what Geshas they're selling.
It's a tier system, where I can choose from:
A – $30
B – $50
C – $100
D – $170
E – $300
These are prices for half a wine glass.
I go with B because I know this is a one-off and why the hell not.
Out comes this.
Guy tells me it's an "Amber brew" he invented and I'm even more puzzled. It tasted good, like, a nice Strawberry note, but it reminded me of the staple Columbian Gesha we had at the roaster I worked at. Good but like. Not $50 good IMO.
What did I experience??
The thing has puzzled me every time I remind myself of it.
The counter made it so I couldn't see what the guy was doing, but I know he was using a french press.
I know Geshas are inherently expensive due to labor, care, scarcity and partially name value, but has anyone seen an operation like this? I had the aforementioned Columbia Gesha that was really nice, that we sold for 18 Euro per 250g bag, and the HIGHER END was 45 Euros for 250g. Since then, I've had 80 Euros for 150g, and 50 Euros for 200g.
Each time I think, "what the hell WAS that, then?" And what I drank never came close to the others I had.
Also, does anyone know what this Amber brew could possibly be? Like, did this guy just brew 5 grams of Gesha in 88 degree water? Is it just eccentric just to be eccentric?
Again, I don't want to dunk on whatever the guy is doing, and people can have coffee however they want as long as they enjoy it and feel like it's worth their money. (This place also has pretty high reviews) I just have never seen this anywhere else, and it's been wracking my brain since. Even if it's just "It's just expensive to be expensive", I think I just need that confirmation.
This is more of a post I had to get out of my system, but I'd definitely love to hear what other people think.
Cheers!
by enpitsukun