January | February 2021
From the Publisher
The founder and publisher of Roast magazine, Connie Blumhardt has spent 25 years in magazine publishing and has worked in the coffee industry for the last 20 years. Connie brings the same passion and commitment to this industry journal that is present within the roasting community.
With each issue, Connie brings insight and inspiration to the pages of Roast with this column.
Connie Blumhardt, Publisher
“IF A MAN WILL BEGIN WITH certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” Sir Francis Bacon wrote this bizarrely prophetic sentence 500 years ago, and I find myself contemplating it at the dawn of this new year.
It would be remarkable if my column could inform you with certainty about the upcoming changes in our industry as the world crawls out from under the barrel of the Covid steamroller. However, the good sir and father of the scientific method would remind me that it is far better to start with skepticism, then observe and deduce conclusions over time. With that process in mind, here are a few of the questions I will be eager to examine this year:
• On in-home coffee consumption: Will the incredible growth in home grinding, brewing and consumption continue once retail shops reopen? Or will high-end espresso machines and burr grinders join the Peloton and the Sprinter camping van for sale on the curb as people crave “third space” social interaction? Will online sales of roasted coffee beans continue to increase as other options return?
• On consumer tastes: Has home consumption permanently changed how consumers appreciate coffee? Will the office coffee market ever recover? I have the same question about restaurant coffee sales.
• On the business of roasting: Will the coffee supply chain suffer more significant disruptions due to a variety of factors (Covid spread in producing countries, climate change, pests and rust, and other unknown sources)? Will roasters be able to quickly pivot between online home sales, wholesale and retail as the world struggles forward in a “two steps up and one step back” dance? Will there be a return to in-person marketing and events, or will budgets be permanently altered to reaching consumers online?
I am a naturally optimistic person, and even with the ongoing struggles in our industry, I see positive forces moving us forward in the new year. I believe that pent-up personal and business capital will gather momentum through the year. I believe that there are scores of talented people who have either been sidelined or are on hold, treading water, but are ready to develop new products and projects. The breakdown of traditional ways of doing business will provide fertile soil for the sprouting of new ideas.
I look forward to this new year with cautious excitement and a questioning spirit, and hope you do, as well.
With regard,
Connie
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