SCAE and YOU!

For non-TMC members to ask questions and offer comments

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SCAE and YOU!

Postby Steve » Mon May 22, 2006 10:06 am

as consumers what do you think your SCAE should do for you? What standards or services should they offer. I know there are a few in the trade here or thinking about joining it, so what should they do for you what would you want (ideal world stuff).

I'm being lazy as I'm going to a meeting on Wednesday, and want you guys to come up with the stuff I should talk about.

For instance if there was a consumer membership that was cheap but gave you access to some of the info and benefits of being a member would that interest anyone? If so what would you think is fair?

Thank you :)

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Postby KevinH » Mon May 22, 2006 11:01 am

If they could come with any sort of program to increase esprosso quality in coffee shops that would he huge, even something half arsed that would be disapointing to us lot would be a huge improvment. Something like the Cask Mark used in UK pubs might be worth looking at.
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Postby wallisj » Mon May 22, 2006 11:03 am

definitely second KevinH's comment about some kind of trade mark to show that skilled and caring barisi work there....

Consumer membership might be interesting if not overly pricey and assuming SCAE resource would be of value to non-trade.
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Postby Jo2 » Mon May 22, 2006 11:21 am

I second the trade-mark, however there should be plenty of facilities then where the barista's can become skilled... Not just the London School Of Coffee...
Also, a cheap consumer membership that will give you a discount on several coffee-related magazines and maybe even in the above mentioned trade-marked coffeebars...
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Postby Steve » Mon May 22, 2006 11:49 am

Good stuff keep it coming I'll remark after the post die's down a little

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Postby espressomattic » Mon May 22, 2006 12:52 pm

Have to agree with the stamp of approval idea.

Depending on what rescources they made available to consumers, a consumer membership wouldn't go amiss. I would see this as being aimed at sad folk like ourselves really. Magazines another good idea, twice yearly or so detailing latest crops/beans. Or even a good quality newsletter that you can subscribe to. This could include news on Farms and the like such as the situation in Bolivia etc.

Other than that I am with the otherss.

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Postby Guest » Mon May 22, 2006 1:43 pm

stamp of approval would never work, would be left up there when the staff leave and there would not be enough money to fund monitoring

quality in coffee shops is determined by commercial decisions and therefore is down to the owners who all know what they are doing, but make decisions on a commercial basis.
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Postby monkey66 » Mon May 22, 2006 2:24 pm

A stamp of approval only has meaning if standards are monitored, which is involved and expensive (i'm reminded many years ago when my old company became members of 'The guild of master craftsmen', to qualify as a member you have to pay membership...I always smile when I see somebody displaying the logo...absoultly worthless).

However, as a keen enthuiast, some sort of membership that gave me access to training, events, information and discounts would be of intrest to me.
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Postby Teme » Mon May 22, 2006 4:00 pm

1) I agree that the stamp of approval might be difficult to implement in terms of the monitoring (if that's what people want).
2) As a consumer I'm with monkey66 - training and events would be cool. Basic stuff is important but how about some cupping sessions, home-barista jams, latte art training etc as well? I wouldn't mind doing a pro barista certification at some stage, but is that currently possible for a pure enthusiast? Not as far as I know.
3) How about some discounts on equipment for SCAE members from reputable (SCAE member) vendors - possibly supported by the manufacturers?

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Postby Raf » Mon May 22, 2006 4:06 pm

Love the discount idea.
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

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Postby BazBean » Mon May 22, 2006 5:50 pm

How many times has half decent coffee been murdered by poorly trained/ motivated Baristas?

shooting from the hip on this one but,

most shop owners will probably not like to pay for something which does not turn an instant profit so this may kill off this idea but i like the idea of certificated barista`s.
simular to the basic food hygiene certificate people need to handle food.

a paid memership could allow for heavily discounted training or indeed used to fund training for baristas by independant trainers freelance or employed by SCAE,and a frameable certificate issued upon pass... this would also hopefully raise the moral of the worker and hopefully inspire them to keep to a standard.
the certificate is displayed along with maybe a sticker for the window to help idiots like me who trawl and trawl around strange citys on a quest to find a half bloody decent drinkable coffee with out ordering a praying whilst peering over the shoulder to watch the pour ..!!!.
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Postby lukas » Mon May 22, 2006 7:37 pm

I love the idea of having "official amateur" and professionally organized jams/meetings/cuppings. That would just be great!
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Postby CakeBoy » Mon May 22, 2006 10:17 pm

It would be nice to have a membership for us geeks and for there to be some form of quality certification for those producing coffee beverages, though as has been said it would have to be monitored regularly. Maybe annual re-evaluation could be financed by those awarded quality marks having to pay a fee, rather like the AA diamons for hotels or the Michelin Guide for eateries. This may not be viable yet in such a young industry as it may not be rich enough or willing enough to support the set-up costs, but it is the one sure fire way of ensuring standards once the scheme takes off and membership is desirable for financial and status reasons.
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Postby wallisj » Tue May 23, 2006 7:45 am

Definitely liking the idea of a mini amateur barista jam / cupping / trade events

The halifax event was superb to just chat and mingle ... definitely needs to be a regular feature within TMC
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Postby scottwhite » Tue May 23, 2006 8:26 am

I can't see most traders willing to pay for this at all unfortunately.

The problem is a lot of traders don't realise the value of their machine or the business it brings in, I have seen people switch coffee supplier to save £10.00 a week, I kid you not.
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