What exactly is Gourmet Coffee?

by Charles
(Tempe, Arizona)

QUESTION:

I work in a small office and a couple of people insist we buy coffee beans in packages that say 'gourmet coffee' on the label. Myself, I don't see any difference with coffee that isn't described at gourmet coffee. Is there a difference? What is gourmet coffee?

ANSWER:


Charles, hi

Thanks for the question.

Basically, you're right. When a bag of beans is described as being gourmet coffee, that is no guarantee of quality.

One would hope that any coffee roaster who did call its coffee 'gourmet' would be selling you 100% Arabica beans, and that the quality of the original green beans was high.

But there is no regulation or even agreement as to when and if the term should or shouldn't be used.

In North America the term can be traced back to the 1960's when Alfred Peet began to shift people's attitudes about coffee. Before he opened his first gourmet coffee store in California in 1966, most people's idea of coffee was a cup of joe from the local diner.

Nobody thought about the origin of the beans or even cared how they had been roasted or brewed. Coffee was a generic beverage.

Alfred Peet began to change attitudes about coffee and then, as we all know, Starbucks picked up on the same idea and completely transformed the coffee business.

When we use the term gourmet coffee today, we are simply talking about that shift in perception from "any coffee will do" to "I'm interested in the origin, quality and roast of the coffee I buy".

You can learn more about this on our gourmet coffee page....

If you want to know more about Peet's, they are still going strong. Here's the Peet's Coffee web site.

Nick