For what its worth.

While the industry cries a flat white cannot be $5 forever and always, the consumer argues, why not? 

In a broad sense, I agree with the comments about rising costs, the industry players providing breakdowns, and the sentiment that it goes beyond the cost of what is in the cup.

Derelict began as a result of two phases. Firstly, “Those who made Wellington great have built their cafes, and roasteries, taken a bow and checked out.”

I get it; you cannot innovate forever, and building something worth selling is a success.

My second point is that there has been a huge catch-up in the industry, so much so that, “Good coffee is everywhere, from the hardware store to the servo, but good isn’t great”.

3rd wave or specialty-grade coffee is everywhere, anywhere that a shop has two square metres and a staff member who can spare 4 hours to become a “trained barista”.

Big companies have conditioned consumers to demand “organic coffee” and “fair trade” without anyone explaining what these terms mean. 

Let us break it down.

Your 12oz flat white has approx. 4.6g of dissolved coffee material.

All the while, big petroleum has distracted you from the 19g of synthetic fertiliser applied to the pasture to produce the 300ml of milk in that cup (source: Statistics NZ 2019 Census).

Why? It is easier to exploit farmers in developing countries for “organic" leverage than it is to pay for organic milk produced in New Zealand. 

Or simply, corporate greenwashing.

In my short career in specialty coffee, the scope has evolved beyond hot fluffy milk and pretty patterns, to the ability to serve coffee from one farm, experimentally processed, with an amazing story of the passionate people behind it. Yet so many know more about the flavour of their cronut than the origins of the blend they’re serving, unchanged since 2005. 

Coffee is a traded commodity, though we talk of specialty coffee vs commodity coffee. When was the last time that was articulated to the customer? When was coffee last treated as more than a vessel for caffeine? 

If coffee is expensive and is a treat, what is being done to make cafe coffee a memorable experience again? 

Nobody looks to see if it was John or Bill who baked their loaf of Vogels this week before they bought it, so why should it be accepted that coffee from the same cafe is different from one barista to the next, when we benefitted from such advances in science, technology and technique?

We have all the flavours of the rainbow, yet an abundance of imbeciles mixing them to make a familiar taste of brown. And even then, it's different from one cup to the next. 

In an industry of professionals, some of whom are 4th and 5th generation in their craft, we are the weakest link, we want to be paid the most, though we take the least care of those who came before us.

What am I trying to say?

Professionalism and pride, are what make a coffee worth $8. 

Crying that cost has gone up isn’t enough when the economy of scale model works for big petroleum companies who areproviding a comparable product. Rewind to when Wellington was a world leader for coffee, the cafe scene offered something unique, and valuable as a result.

In my humble opinion value comes from offering something above and beyond the benchmark, consistency, knowledge, varied offerings, and atmosphere. 

Cost and value are not the same. 

Closing thoughts:

If your barista cannot articulate where the coffee is from, it's not worth $8. 

If your coffee shop has more flavours of cronut than coffee offerings, it's a bakery.

If the coffee you serve is seen as just a vessel for caffeine, put it in a can. 

If you wouldn't accept the dishie cooking your steak, don't accept just any fool making your coffee. 

Being a barista is a profession that is being diminished by its industry and that's a disgrace. 

Specialty, it's in the name.