The impact of the third wave of coffee specialty on consumers
The third wave is strongly connected with a new beverage called Flat White in the United Kingdom different. It is significant due to its geographical and gastronomic roots in history. It was founded in response to a surge of Australian baristas and entrepreneurs who launched coffee shops in London, starting with Flat White, which reopened in Soho in 2005.
It necessitated a more scientific, “data-driven” approach to both the espresso shot and milk texturing than British baristas were used to, and it became synonymous with a more competent and sophisticated approach to Southern Hemisphere coffee. Other innovations, such as cold-brewed coffee, were included to detract from the more traditional Italian-style beverage options.
The Flat White has subsequently been associated with another part of London, the erstwhile East End of the City, which is now home to a slew of digital start-ups and internet advertising businesses employing a “hipster” workforce.
McWilliams notes in his study of the “Flat White Economy” that those employed in this sector are typically well-educated young professionals earning low professional salaries who save money by living a “backpacker lifestyle,” renting small inexpensive rooms and thus seeking out public spaces and like-minded individuals with whom to socialize and pursue their passions (McWilliams, 2015).
Due to their financial circumstances, they cannot afford the fine dining and champagne bar lifestyles of London’s banking elite; experiencing specialty coffee provides them with an alternative, more affordable commodity about which they may study and demonstrate their taste and sophistication.
The barriers between operators and consumers have effectively dissolved to the point that “third-wave coffee” has become an iconic item at the core of the counterculture. Many third-wave coffee shop owners see their establishments primarily as vehicles for promoting their love of coffee, rather than as sources of revenue. By using social media sites like Facebook to enroll their clients as online “friends,” artisan roasters have carved themselves niche markets.
The relationship between second- and third-wave coffee makers has been analogous to that between high-street retailers and the couture sector, with innovations in the latter regularly filtering into the former in response to client demand. For example, the Flat White has become a standard product in the majority of UK coffee shop chains, with 14% of customers purchasing it on a regular basis, only one point behind tea.
In America, the “Third Wave” may be seen as a return to the spirit of the original specialist needs, as they were at the time Rothgeb was created. Skeie created the notion as a “reaction to consumers interested in automating or home specialty coffee,” or second-wave coffee shop chains, she said (Skeie, 2003).
It’s important mentioning that consumers were already being included in discussions about specialty coffee, most notably through the internet. Ken Davids launched Coffee Review in 1997 with the goal of connecting consumers and roasters across the continent with objective evaluations based on a 100-point scale similar to that used by Robert Parker for wine.
In 2001, Mark Prince launched the community website Coffee Geek to connect passionate homebrewers, especially espresso machine owners, who wanted to get the most out of their machines, including re-engineering them and evaluating new machines as they become available. These discussions were formerly known as Alt-Coffee. Subscribers might be regarded as “prosumers,” or amateurs who utilize professional equipment and so generate revenue for the manufacturer.
However, interpreting The Third Wave via a national lens is erroneous. Rather than that, it has developed a worldwide fan base that reflects both its members’ mobile lifestyles and the internet activities of a virtual community.
Third-wave enthusiasts the world over read blogs such as James Hoffman’s, who has seven, and utilize them as a kind of “open-source blueprint” for developing a third-wave service.
Perfect Daily Grind, a 2015 digital magazine, considers its mission as connecting all facets of the third-wave community’s supply chain, from producer to consumer. It anticipates 2 million page views in 2016 across its many social media channels, with readers equally dispersed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia (Perfect Daily Grind, 2016).
By contrast, the Third Wave built its own consuming 484 by drawing on a variety of coffee consumption cultures and historical precedents. The Art and Science of Coffee Rituals The emphasis on light-roasted filter coffees as a high-quality alternative to espresso has been particularly strong in Nordic coffee culture, partly as a result of the use of barista competitions in Scandinavia, which established the precedent for the World Barista Championship.
But also as a result of the use of light-roasted filter coffees as a high-quality alternative to espresso. Similarly, the veneration for the V60 and associated Japanese items, as well as the reintroduction of the Chemex (a 1940s-era brewing technology), suggests a desire to move away from second-wave gourmet espresso beverages.
In contrast to the ready-to-drink canned drinks that have come to dominate the Japanese mass-market both inside and outside the house, these Japanese goods were at the heart of a minority culture of out-of-home consumption that developed in coffee shops, notably during the 1950s and 1960s (Ueshima, 2013).
The most notable development in the at-home market is not the rise of single-serve systems at the expense of traditional home brewing methods, but rather the growing interest in third-wave. While around 13% of the population in the United States uses a capsule machine on a regular basis, capsules account for almost a quarter of all ground coffee sales in Western Europe, and single-serve machine sales have overtaken drip brewing equipment sales (Comunicaffe, 2016).
Second, New trends in coffee consumers
Capsule systems are similar in their simplicity and consistency to the bulk coffee items for the home that were so popular throughout the industrial era fresh. Their convenience arises from the simplicity and purity of the distribution system. Except for the milk frother, they need no effort or talent to operate and leave no mess behind. Simultaneously, the end product is very consistent and repeatable from delivery to delivery.
Unlike previous domestic items, capsule systems, on the other hand, promise to replicate the quality of year for coffee consumed outside the home and charge a comparable premium, rather than competing on price. While some just duplicate the luxury espresso drinks experienced at a coffee shop, others, often in partnership with their operators, provide more. Tassimo and Costadothers, in a manner reminiscent of the third wave, portray themselves as providing pathways to coffee connoisseurship.
Of course, the most well-known example is Nespresso, which was founded in the 1980s but has grown at a 30% annual pace throughout Europe since the turn of the century (Matzler et al., 2013). This has been substantiated by the development of a portfolio of distinctive coffee blends and origins, as well as the explanation of their sensory and sustainability origins.
Seasonal and limited edition coffees contribute to the diversification of Grand Cru coffees (another term drawn from wine appreciation) in order to appeal to a broader variety of client palates. Customers may choose their favorite product or a mixed selection, which enables them to try a variety of options without the staling and cross-contamination risks associated with the ground or whole beans.
However, Nespresso has succeeded not only in elevating coffee to a luxury commodity, but also in positioning itself as a luxury brand (Brem et al., 2016). The goal has been to create a customer experience that is influenced equally by both the purchase process and consumption. Nespresso opened its first retail facility in Paris in 2000, and the firm has since expanded to 467 locations in 60 countries by the end of 2015.
These are always located in prime locations in major cities, near boutiques for premium apparel brands. Collaborating on accessories with high-end brands such as Porsche is another approach to strengthening brand relations. Customers must join the Nespresso Club in order to buy online or over the phone, which enables the company to collect large amounts of data about their preferences and target their marketing accordingly. All of this has enabled them to charge a large premium over bagged ground coffee for their coffee goods.
A recent estimate puts the premium over a midmarket branded espresso at 970 percent by weight. This calculation does not take into consideration the cost of the green beans used or the expenditures associated with supporting the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program’s sustainability activities.
Since 2012, when numerous patents protecting Nespresso’s unique techniques expired, the worldwide market for single-portion coffee has increased by 47%. Other roasters have developed their own methods or capsules compatible with Nespresso, often in an effort to undercut Nespresso. Certain “third wave” operators are already offering high-end capsules, realizing the potential for sensory delivery in the house.
Keurig, America‘s dominating brand, which owes its dominance in part to its use of American cup sizes and brewing characteristics rather than Nespresso’s European ones, is also having its position eroded. Domestic markets are increasingly duplicating the divides in consumer experience and desire that exist in the out-of-home local coffee market.