The always interesting Matt Kramer uses the news that Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Starbucks and other coffee vendors are embracing lighter roasts to point out America’s tastes are changing. Not a shocking conclusion, but it goes directly to a wine bottom line.
As the marketing mavens of Starbucks have discovered, the American palate is seeking an alternative to heavy flavors. Are we becoming—dare I say it?–more nuanced? By golly, I think we are.
For whatever reason, this reminded me of something Italian winemaker Antonio Terni said in The Accidental Connoisseur: “I will only say that Americans like too much in the glass. There’s always too much going on. Other than that, if we’re living on Planet America, that’s not necessarily the fault of Americans.”
If you check out the comments after Kramer’s post you’ll see not everybody agrees with him and this seems to piss off the ones who do. (And you thought pettiness was confined to beer blogs.) I’m enough of a fan of Kramer’s writing and way of looking at things to own a couple of his books, but I ended agreeing with some of those commenting. He seems to be saying that outsized is obvious, lighter is nuanced. The implications are, well, obvious to even those of us who are simple.
I’m guessing that Kramer wouldn’t find nuance in a glass of Bell’s Hopslam. In which case I’d refer him to Malcolm Gladwell. Drink 1,000 glasses and get back to me.
Lighter is only nuanced if you ignore the greater bombast of the strength of these coffees. I recall this marketer’s swing back 20 years ago. Tanzanian Pea Bean everywhere. Funny how the consumer’s taste change right when the branders run out of things to say about the last big thing. Expect next to hear how this generation of light coffee has as no more or less caffeine… because they are putting fewer beans in the grinder.
If anyone wants to do a focus group with some “too much in the glass” guys (beer-wise), have them give me a call.
He’s been calling for lighter wines since at least 1994 — he’ll be right someday. He’s mistaken about Intelligentsia Coffee, though, in terms of flavor intensity correlating with the darkness of the roast. Intelligentsia is often overwhelmingly strong and intense. Really, when you use what all the gourmet coffeemakers tell you to use for a cup of coffee — two tablespoons or more for 6 oz. of liquid — you’re going to get intensely flavored coffee, and the depth of the roasting doesn’t matter. So Starbucks and Peet’s doing a light roast doesn’t necessarily correlate to a more delicate, nuanced cup of coffee.
I like what Terni says, though, about the rest of the world not having to follow the U.S.’s lead, esp. as it pertains to beer. Let traditions flourish, and changes to tradition arise from those traditions.
Thanks, Bill, for the coffee update. Beyond my expertise.
An interesting analogy is how the West Coast version of ales hoppy and pale evolved to paler in order to accent hop intensity.
Agree with Bill on the coffee. Intelligensia’s house blend is a very light roast, but you get an amazing array of flavors that vary from subtle to intense. One thing you’ll get in light roasts is a lot of acidity.
Which leads to my next point. Starbucks didn’t create a lighter roast. Look at the beans. They are probably on display at one of your 30 local starbucks. They are just as dark as all the other coffees they sell. Taste it. It tastes like the same level of roast, just lighter intensity.Like it was watered down. Which is exactly what they are doing. Either using less coffee to brew with, or adding water at the end. Less coffee, same price, more profit. Customers think they are getting something new so everyone is happy.
So even if the mega corporations that have their finger on the pulse of the general public say our tastes are changing, they still try to trick us into having to buy something.
Turned this into a coffee discussion. My bad.
In regards to beer. There is room for nuance and bombastic flavors. Same as in music. I love Sworn Vengeance, but also spend hours listening to Beethoven piano sonatas.
“In regards to beer. There is room for nuance and bombastic flavors.”
Same point as I was going to make — and why not? I love it when thread posters at BA can’t fathom that I like Munich Helles and Barley Wine — they’re so, so… different!
That said, if diversity of beer (and coffee) is the deepest ignorance gets in the world, bring it on — we can argue all day… and have another beer.
Several months ago, I read a NYTimes restaurant review in which the reviewer used the phrase “hugely flavorful”. That stuck with me. What are extreme beers other than “hugely flavorful”? (I’m using “flavorful” in a neutral sense.)
Although I’m not familiar with his writing, I agree with what Matt Kramer wrote (in general) and thought the first response was pretty bizarre.
I don’t know if Americans prefer darker roast coffee or it was just pushed on us by companies like Starbucks—and thereby became the default. I’d say good old, sweet diner coffee is as popular as it ever was.
“In regards to beer. There is room for nuance and bombastic flavors.”
Totally agree with this. There’s certainly plenty of room for both in my cellar, as long as they are well made. After all, both extremes require skill to make, since in either case a balance still has to be maintained.
There does however seem to be (particularly in the world of small brewers) an emphasis these days on extreme hop rates and ramped up alcohol levels. Some of these products are quite good. Others, though, leave me wondering what brewing mistakes they’re trying to hide behind an insane hop bitterness.
I’ve probably suggested it before, but I can’t help but wonder if twenty years down the road, the next big NEW thing is going to be a pale, mellow and subtly sweet lager or ale made from malt and corn (or rice). You know…like all of those historical, “traditional ” American beers from the 1950’s. 😉 LOL.
Professor – Obviously, bombastic is relative. Boulevard Single Wide IPA is 5.7% ABV and 57 IBU. Schlafly Dry Hopped APA is 5.9% ABV and 50 IBU (but circulated through flowers, which seems to add oomph).
These are intense if you grew up drinking helles in Bavaria or Rolling Rock in Everywhere, USA. But IPA Lite compare to Sierra Nevada Torpedo or Stone IPA.
Flavor-wise they are proof that less can be more. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I don’t see the point of bombastic beers. If I want to drink something bombastic, I’ll have a Scotch or a jenever or vodka. I drink beer for pleasure, not to take an amusement park ride.
Having recently tried the “blonde” roast at Starbucks (what a cute name), I can attest that it just tastes like they put less coffee beans per cup in the brewer. Their normal roast is over-roasted and burnt-tasting so I guess this might win some more people over, but both are mediocre coffee at best.
Beer wise, nuance is still king in the US, if you can call bland, yet, overly-sweet adjunct lagers nuanced.