Thanks so much for the good feedback! To address some of your points...
I have already talked with a number of people I know (they are all either experienced, current or former full-time barristas, or they are just good ol' espresso elitists), and they are going to come in with us and help us do tastings and adjustments. I have not nailed down which roaster we are going to use, but I know it will be a local or trans-local company. When we choose, I fully plan on bringing in one of their experts to assist us in the finer points of their blends. Even though I am not a huge coffee drinker currently, I know that I will develop a taste for it. I will never be an expert at it...mainly because my sense of taste is not that great. But, I do believe that with the level of support (and the horde of taste-testers willing to lend their taste buds), I do believe we will be able to get it to a good place even if I am not a true expert myself. I understand your point about not knowing if other people are experts even if they say they are...but then my thought would be that no one really knows for sure haha. I guess my qualification for an except is someone who has been making coffee like this professionally for years or with intense passion and critical observation. Ultimately, the only "experts" I am concerned with are the ones that decide whether they will shop with us or not.
With the Appia, I feel like that is the biggest I want to go at this time. I hope and expect that we will get to the point where a higher end machine will be viable and needed, but at this point, I am not willing to risk that much capital. I know how important first impressions are, and that it is better to give people the best possible out of the gate. Honestly, we have a baby coming (self employed, so paying expenses out of pocket), and I have always tried to avoid debt as much as possible. This is the machine that we could afford while not putting our family at risk, so this is the route we went.
Another aspect that goes into the overall quality and "perfection" of the art is that, to be honest, the population around us are not the most educated in the finer points of niche food/beverage culture such as this. Based on my growing up here (in the Midwest...not too far from farm country), I feel like I know the people pretty well. I would guess that 90% of the people would not be able to tell the difference between really good and outstanding. In my town, Starbucks is the pinnacle. McDonald's coffee is on the nicer end, and gas station coffee is the default. Heck, there were a few people when I told them of our plans, they said we would be better off just getting a gas station cappuccino machine, because people loooooove that. :-/ Would we have customers able to tell the difference in consistency between the Appia and the nicer one? Probably...but they would likely be few and far between.
As you said, there definitely is a certain amount of romanticism we feel about the whole process...and that is definitely something we have had (and continue) to talk about. We know it cannot be about having the warm fuzzies...because just like in our other businesses (especially the photography biz), something that you love eventually does become work. But, if we do proceed, it will only be because we are fully committed to going for it.
As for the blended drinks, why is that something you would avoid? I know you mentioned about more labor...I can see that. As for the people it attracts...not sure what you mean by that.
thanks again! I will definitely read through your posts.
Joel
I am already doing a bunch of reading, and once I have specific questions that I cannot find answers for, I will ask. Thank you so much!
