What’s in Your Cup?

I like coffee. Correction – I love good coffee. And I also pay attention to branding.

So, how are the coffee companies doing on their branding exercises?

Ignoring the supermarket/mass market brands (Folgers, Maxwell House, and the like) which bear some resemblance to coffee but carry no interest from a branding perspective – or a drinking perspective, for that matter – I’ll give a few thoughts to coffee brands I actually like.

Starbucks - blah, blah, blah, everyone’s talked about Starbucks. I know, I know. But credit must be given where it is due – they turned coffee into an experience. They “branded” coffee into the realms of fine beers and wines, with various beans and roasts, highbrow terms, etc. Fact is, most of the coffee just tastes good, for those of us that prefer stronger flavors to amorphous swills. And their pioneering use of the Starbucks debit card was brilliant. These people have continuously found ways to build user experience around their brand, and the dollars keep ending up in their tills. I wish they’d open one up in my town.

Dunkin’ Donuts – growing up in the Northeast, I’ve always known about DD. Their coffee was always reasonably good, and they were the donut/coffee shop for the blue collar set. Get a big joe and cruller and go pound some nails!

Some years ago, they came out, in some markets, with a Dark Roast that was pretty darn good – then they killed it. Boy, was that stupid (personal peeve). Their new campaign, however, “America runs on Dunkin’”, is pretty good. With that phrase, they’re preserving their more “functional” identity, but they are slowly moving up the food chain into a higher quality niche, with cappuccino drinks, etc. I still stop at DD’s, without shame, though typically feeling more at home when there in denims and a flannel shirt. However, on a recent trip into New England, I made a stop at Tim Horton’s, a donut shop migrating down from Canada. I have to give their coffee a higher rating than DD!

Then there’s Krispy Kreme. These people actually have pretty good coffee, though their core message and branding is around the donuts. Fact is, decades ago when I went to college in the South, KK’s were viewed as budget gut-fillers. Then, someone turned their shops into an experience, where you could – until about 2 weeks ago – get a free one “Hot Now” as they rolled off the line. I can’t believe they stopped that great marketing strategy! We used to drive 1 mile (each way) out of our way on trips to Connecticut just to go to KK, since the kids love the experience as much as the adults like the coffee. Now….we’ll see.

And now, two surprise entries. Not big, well-known chains. What is our workaday, regular morning coffee? Kirkland (from Costco). Incredibly affordable in those 3-lb. cans, and consistently good. Not great, but quite good enough for the daily fix. From a price/benefit ratio, can’t beat it. No cool logo, no great tagline, no catchy campaign – just solid performance. Sometimes I’ll mix in some Eight O’Clock dark roast just to make it a bit heartier.

Then, my all-time favorite coffee – Mill Mountain. From a little group of coffee shops in central Virginia. Mill Mountain Blend is roasted and ground on site, and it is strong. Walk around downtown Roanoke at the right time, and the olfactory branding experience is almost irresistible. I’m sure there are hundreds of places like this – the bags may be plain, and the branding identity undistinguished, but the joe sells itself after one sip. I’ve been known to go to extraordinary lengths to get a few pounds of Mill Mountain smuggled into New Jersey so that I can have a few fleeting weeks of peak Java experience before, sadly, having to return to more pedestrian sipping…

Top Hops – Sam Adams

When I saw this, I didn’t know whether to laugh, admire the brilliance – or whip out a credit card and buy.

I guess I’ll give them full credit for trying to advance the image of craft beer by creating special highbrow glassware – if you’re going to try to make beer more like wine, why not imitate the vessels of consumption?

I am an unabashed fan of micro-breweries, and tend to shun mass-market swill. And the king of the micro-brew movement is Samuel Adams. I guess I shouldn’t say “king” and “Samuel Adams” together, actually…

For many years I have enjoyed and recommended Sam Adams – they are creative, high-quality, and their beers are almost universally great. Sam on draft is particularly wonderful. I recently picked up a new offering – a six-pack called “Longshot,” featuring 3 different beers crafted by homebrewers who entered a contest to create their own brews good enough to be packaged as a Sam Adams special offering. The guy in charge at the liquor store couldn’t say enough good things about the Ale – and he was right. I love dark, strong brews and this one had a rich caramel-y flavor. Longshot – a great way for Sam Adams to create further “engagement” with its audience!

On the Palate: 4_20_07

This weekend, it will be a reprise of a recipe we thoroughly enjoyed a few weeks back, for Beef Burgundy. This was a fairly easy recipe, even for a novice like me – all you need is time, for the meat to simmer to a delightful tenderness. The sauce was phenomenal, and I suggest you make more than you need, because it will be in demand for leftovers (hint: this goodness on an open-faced sandwich is incredible).

Suggested wine: a hearty red, such as this Bleasdale Meritage (Cabernet/Shiraz) from Australia. A very tasty combination – you can detect the structure of the cab, and the pleasant fruitiness of the Shiraz. Available from the Wine Library, a great wine store in NJ. You can order on-line from other states, of course. Warning: if you walk into the bricks-and-mortar store, you WILL walk out with way more bottles than you planned – and you’ll be quite happy about it (great prices, tremendous selection)!

Welcome to: It’s a Pleasure

I’m Steve Woodruff. I make recommendations for a living (that’s what consultants do!)

Over the months, I’ve regularly included, in my blogs and e-newsletter, recommendations of a more “After Hours” nature – wines, music, and other wonderful gifts that are created to be enjoyed. Instead of having those thoughts scattered about, I decided to launch a new site to document my explorations, and hopefully, share with you some good discoveries along the way.

Of course, we may encounter some losers too! But that’s part of the fun of the journey.

I’m trying to prepare dinner once a week (usually Friday) to give my bride of 26 years a break from meal prep (she’s a great cook, by the way!) So, I’ve decided to try a new recipe each time (thank you, allrecipes.com!), and hopefully, we’ll unearth some winners. We like to have a bottle of good and reasonable wine on Fridays as well, so we’ll share recommended choices that work out well. And maybe steer you away from some that don’t work out so well!

It’s a pleasure to have you along for the ride!