Coffee History: The Coffee House Awakens Pt. 2

Not so long ago, in a coffee shop, on the High Street of Paisley... 

A blog was released concerning the origins of this fascinating beverage called coffee. We discussed goats eating cherries and getting hyper. We saw monks throwing those cherries into fire and accidently creating coffee and coffee roasting. We observed how the spread of Islam and coffee went hand-in-hand. Following on from that, we spoke about the first coffee houses and touched upon the invention of espresso. This meant that coffee could be brewed faster, meaning convenience for customers and more sales for coffee houses. In this blog, we will look at the expansion of coffee houses and a glance at the specialty coffee scene.... 

Episode III: Revenge of Chain Coffee 

What is referred to as the ‘second wave’ of coffee is often attributed to Dutch roaster, Alfred Peet, who was the son of – incidentally – a Dutch Roaster. Peet initially worked as a buyer and taster for numerous coffee and tea companies. His journey in coffee and tea brought him to the USA. Dissatisfied with the poor coffee served there, he decided to roast his own and serve in his own coffee shop. And so, the long-established US chain, Peet’s, was born. 

There were three men who were inspired by what Alfred Peet was doing and came to him for mentorship. These men were Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. These three men would then go on to found one of the world’s largest coffee chains.... As said chain expanded, their success led to a popularity in similarly styled coffee shops. 

There is a divide in opinion of chain coffee shops and large coffee corporations. I will cover that in another blog. What I will say for them is that they have helped in the establishment of modern coffee shop culture, introducing more people to an affordable beverage that requires little time to make. Something that can be enjoyed whilst conversing with friends; over an out-of-office business meeting; whilst trying to get some homework done; or even on-the-go. 

One can understand the reasoning behind strong customer bases within the chain coffee scene: you go in, receive excellent customer service, have a good cup of coffee. Go to another city for work/on holiday and a coffee shop of the same name is there – you go in and have the same experience. There is a degree of consistency, which leads to returning customers and the building of a reputation. The problem is that as such places expand, they become less focussed on the quality and ethics of the coffee produced and more about meeting the customer demand. This is where independent, specialty coffee shops – and what we call the ‘third wave’ come in... 

Episode IV: Specialty Coffee – A New Hope 

Since the 1970s, roasters began experimenting with different roast profiles, highlighting unique characteristics of the coffee. Instead of focussing on how man. As the coffee industry has expanded, so has the horizon of focus. Going beyond the bean, we now look at ways we can improve things, such as sustainability and ethical sourcing, whilst providing the best quality coffee from around. There are now many independent specialty coffee shops across the world. Instead of firing out lattes left, right and centre, each drink served is made to highlight the flavour and quality of the coffee. Different brewing methods were also being developed and utilised to highlight certain characteristics of each coffee. They began serving from devices such as cafetiere, V60, AeroPress, Chemex etc., opening the customer’s eyes to a whole new world of coffee they never knew existed. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, following the popularity of espresso, many coffee shops began to emerge across the globe. Upon his travels to America, Dutch Roaster, Alfred Peet, was dissatisfied with the quality of coffee produced their and began roasting his own coffee, setting up Peets’ - one of the first coffee chains. Inspired by his work, three men sought Peet’s mentorship and went on to establish their own chain. This chain would go on to become one of the world’s largest and popularise coffee shop culture. In the 1970s, roasters began experimenting to highlight unique flavour characteristics. This was the birth of specialty coffee. The focus would then shift from number of sales to quality of product, ethical sourcing, and sustainability. Various brewing methods were also being used, highlighting distinct characteristics from each coffee. This has opened the doorway to a whole new, exciting world of coffee and who knows what might come next? 

I hope that you have learned something from this two-part series – not just my love for Star Wars and puns! Join us next time where we will be starting a new series! If you have any questions or have something you want us to write about then please, do let us know!  

Simon Burnett