It’s Complicated
Selling coffee is complicated
That may seem obvious, but it cannot be overstated. On the surface, it’s like selling anything. Acquire green coffee. Roast it. Connect with customers. Rinse, repeat.
Yet behind every step are a myriad of complications. Green coffee is not a raw ingredient available for purchase at a local grocery or restaurant supply store. Green coffee is not grown in a field in Kansas (or any US state, save Hawaii). Green coffee travels a global supply chain subject to everything from weather conditions to political unrest. And that does not even address the historical inequities that still infect the way coffee is grown and traded across the planet. Acquiring green coffee is mired in complications that can take a whole career just to begin to understand.
Roasting coffee probably seems as simple as cooking anything, and this is somewhat accurate. It’s true that some of our most-beloved coffee beans were roasted with no more attention to the chemistry than what the color on the surface could tell. However, the more roasting is investigated by both chemical and sensory science, the more we understand about how roasting creates some of our favorite flavors in coffee. With more information and better technology we can pinpoint what makes each coffee unique and delicious. We can craft cups of coffee with diverse, memorable flavor profiles that give everyone a chance to find something they love.
Then there’s connecting with customers. Coffee brings a lot of assumptions to the point of sale. Some people treat the idea that they’ll love a new coffee like you’re trying to convince them to give up their childhood blankie. Similarly, people who don’t drink coffee are pretty much impossible to convert. In both cases, we’re potentially grating on pride and self-perception, which is almost always a dead end.
Selling coffee is complicated.
Where, in all this mess, is a person supposed to start? No matter how we approach coffee, we’re right in the middle of these complications that hamper the process. We can hide the questions. We can learn the codewords. We can punch up at problematic corporate entities and celebrate small successes. We can even use coffee to do some small bit of good in the world. However, like it or not, the issues persist right alongside our love for coffee.
Beginning in the middle of this contradiction is exactly what defines Aporia (the word and this company!).The irreconcilable love and struggle. The uncertainty of an entry point. The morass of issues to explore: we’re here for all of it. And we hope that as we work through these issues, we can elevate your consciousness of and appreciation for the love and struggle that flow into your daily cup.