Is it Branding or the Roasting?

If you are a coffee lover like me you probably don’t like the fact that the popularity of coffee has more to do with product branding than the experience of the drink (or the quality of the bean or roasting). Since I’m always thinking of business opportunities on the web (in a grand delusion to escape corporate America) I’ve been intrigued by a few coffee companies (web and local) have used different forms of branding, causes, etc. to take this great commodity and make a decent profit.

Someone recent gave me a bag of this coffee, A Land of a Thousand Hills, which will be brewed tomorrow for me and the wife (and a carafe to take to work friends).  The thing that intrigues me is the work to build a message and niche branding behind the coffee.  I’ve often considered private labeling a local roaster and selling on the web, but haven’t found the right niche.

People love the coffee, but they also love the look of the bag and the story of the coffee.  In this case there is an Environmental, Christian, Help Rwanda Message.  Start helping by buying the coffee.  Most people don’t realize that coffee is what keeps many people in these countries fed.

These guys have a great niche and story… And we’ll see about the quality of the beans tomorrow.

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Update: The roast was Italian, and the bean sized varied.  Like a Sumatra the smaller beans were fairly charred.  I expected to taste mostly a roast profile rather than a varietal one (starbucks effect).  The grind had an unusual distinct smell I couldn’t place until I drank it.  To my surprise I didn’t really taste a dark carmel roast flavor but something that tasted like green tea!  I have to say it is the most unusual coffee I’ve had.  Not being a fan of green tea, it’s not my “cup of tea” so to speak. One of my co-workers (with no prompting from me) said, “Is this tea or coffee?” I showed them the beans to dispel their unbelief!  I’ll have to ask my local roaster for some background on Rwandan coffee.  Thanks Therian for sharing some interesting Joe with an interesting message.