If specialty coffee stops being "different", then it's no longer specialty - it's a commodity. I'm reading the "Best of Jimseven 2004-2015" [1] book, where the

If specialty coffee stops being "different", then it's no longer specialty - it's a commodity. I'm reading the "Best of Jimseven 2004-2015" [1] book, where then-blogger, now-Youtuber [2] James Hoffman explores his own journey starting a cafe. And, in it he talks about the original marketing challenges of positioning a specialty cafe: > What those of us in specialty coffee offer isn’t necessarily unilaterally better coffee, but among our offerings are different lots of coffee someone will probably enjoy more than what they’re drinking > My concern is that when our tone implies we have something better, because we think what they are drinking is terrible, then we're likely to have them become closed rather than open to trying something new and better. James concludes that calling specialty coffee "better" is counter-productive, and that specialty coffee should instead market a "diversity" of experiences. As nondescript cafes like Blank Street rise in prominence - that means that baseline coffee expectations of society have increased, from gas station sludge to robot-brown-water. But, "better" doesn't mean "specialty." There's still room for cafes that offer different experiences - like a nice Sey roast. Specialty is best defined by "different" or "unique". And, what qualifies as "different" may be a moving target. And, that's ok - not every cafe can maintain a unique experience and not every customer wants a challenging cup of coffee. You can have a great cafe without superlative-inspiring brew. Let's face it - the customer service of a local cafe impacts people's experiences far more than the particular coffee they're served. [1] https://tenshundredsthousands.com/products/the-best-of-jimseven-2004-2015 https://tenshundredsthousands.com/products/the-best-of-jimse... [2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ