September 2017 Newsletter
Being your own boss is a dream for many people, but "livin' the dream" is something else altogether. I've been doing it for over 30 years now, and have no regrets, but I've also had to learn to accept the limitations of the job. As I've aged I've managed to get out from under the 14 hour workdays and seven day workweeks. Holiday time, though, has always been limited to around 18 days maximum, usually at Christmas when the roasters are shut down.
My long suffering spouse has learned to accept this over the last 35 years but this year has put her foot down. We've had an "interesting" year to date, with funerals for relatives, friends and neighbours, so we're probably feeling a bit more mortal than usual. It's also a "special birthday" year, so we've decided to treat ourselves and take a month off together for the first time in over 20 years.
This is because she has her own business, dealing mainly with companies in China, and their holiday dates and ours rarely correspond. We usually get a week here and there among other business related activities. What this means for you, my customers, is that we'll be completely closed from Thursday 28th September to Wednesday 1st November.
The dates include a reminder that Friday 29th September is a public holiday in Melbourne. There will be a November newsletter but I'm not sure about a special yet, a lot depends on shipping schedules and I'll be out of the loop for a month.
This time last year our special coffee was an El Salvador Bourbon, and it was by far the most re-ordered special of the year. I've managed to get another, very similar coffee for this month's special:
El Salvador Capulin Bourbon
$54.00/kg
Intense flavour with sweet tropical fruit and hazelnut in the front palate and a smooth cocoa/milk chocolate finish.
Now, while we WILL be on holidays and staying away from too much that's work related, our travels more or less end when we get to Basel in Switzerland, which happens to be just a 4 hour train ride away from Milan in Italy. And when we get to Milan the largest hospitality trade fair in the world will still be on, the HOST fair. HOST includes the largest coffee related trade show in the world, and I'll be attending.
I've been to a few HOST shows and they are a good indicator of future trends. The first one I went to in 2003 was a predictor of the explosion of E-61 group machines, and the last one I attended in 2011 had strong indications of the rise of "convenience coffees", that is, capsules, pods and superautos.
The preliminary material being sent out from HOST seems to be concentrated on environmental damage and worldwide climate change in coffee growing regions. I expect to see a huge growth in recyclable coffee packaging and serving options, with emphasis on biodegradable pods and takeaway cups.
On the machine side, advanced computerization and control of just about every machine function looks to be the coming thing, starting with the ionic composition of the water entering the machine and flowing on from there. Lots of modern sensor and measuring technology is a given. Look for it in the November newsletter.
Until November
Alan
