Comments on: Third Wave Coffee, or First Wave Pompousness?

By: Baristas gone wild: Meet fourth-wave coffee - Salon.com

Baristas gone wild: Meet fourth-wave coffee - Salon.com — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:20:56 +0000

[...] this seems like barista pretention gone overboard, you’re not alone. As the Shot blog points out, claiming that good coffee hasn’t existed until this decade is like [...]

By: Baristas gone wild: Meet fourth-wave coffee

Baristas gone wild: Meet fourth-wave coffee — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 06:35:37 +0000

[...] this seems like barista pretention gone overboard, you’re not alone. As the Shot blog points out, claiming that good coffee hasn’t existed until this decade is like [...]

By: TheShot

TheShot — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:13:38 +0000

It’s bad enough that the term “third wave” is being used as some bogus, self-awarded form of vendor certification. What makes it worse that the people who originated the term created it to mean something very different. They created it to define how society approaches their appreciation of coffee — not to describe nor qualify the people who make it and sell it. The term’s originators even disavow any association with its current misuse in today’s commercial coffee vernacular.

As for the elitism and arrogance, that probably can’t be avoided. It’s true that older, established veterans of any given industry lack the new idea potential of its more novice, younger “apprentices”. But as happens in many industries, coffee has its Young Turks who wish to dismiss their lack of experience by claiming the past is irrelevant to modernity — granting them an instant, convenient, and unencumbered path towards claiming “expert” status without putting in the years to achieve it.

By: Motorino Coffee

Motorino Coffee — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:29:51 +0000

Wow, how refreshing it is to see some content online that dismisses this “third wave talk” as marketing hype and ego-centric propaganda.

Look, I do think there is some validity in the notion that America is waking up to new ways of looking at coffee and the origin and flavour nuances of the beans.

But I also agree completely with this post that espresso has been done very well by the Italians for decades. And that all this talk of a third wave does imply some sort of revolution rather than the slight evolution that it really is.

I might also add that the current specialty coffee culture or counter-culture does come off as very elitist, arrogant, and even somewhat ignorant to me. You’ve got people who have only been drinking espresso for a few years, and have probably never had a ristretto pulled in a tiny local bar in an italian town that tops anything we have in North America. And these people claim to be experts and impose rules on others when they don’t know what a proper espresso should taste like, and it’s such a subjective thing anyway that it should never be as strictly defined as some make it. Don’t even get me started on the whole Robusta thing, as I can tell you that some of the absolute best espressos I have ever had in my life contained some percentage of Robusta (sometimes more than you’d think). I agree there is no place for Robusta in drip, but espresso is an entirely different beast. Anyway, I digress…

Good job in sticking up to the snobbishness that is pervading this industry.

By: Kayakman

Kayakman — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:42:56 +0000

As the article pointed out, the Third Wave did not event espresso shots. I would add that it did not event place emphasis on the nuanced flavor of the bean, as many had done this before with brewed coffee.

Maybe the Third Wave can be credited for placing emphasis on the nuanced flavor bean in the straight espresso shot.

By: alistair

alistair — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:39:55 +0000

Does Nick even know what the phrase ‘Straw Man’ even means???

What a goofy character. He needs to acquaint himself with wikipedia….quickly.

By: Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated… « CoffeeRatings.com - Our Nomadic Home

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:42:01 +0000

[...] Nick Cho list the site as one of the assets of Murky Coffee that had to be reclaimed for unpaid back taxes? [...]

By: Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » The Brooklyn Paper: Coffee guru espresses his disgust

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 06:35:41 +0000

[...] This week’s The Brooklyn Paper published an article on espresso quality standards and their general absence in the fine borough, interviewing noneother than Third Wave pulpit banger, Nick Cho: The Brooklyn Paper: Coffee guru espresses his disgust. [...]

By: TheShot.coffeeratings.com » When the fourth wave couldn’t come fast enough…

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:10:53 +0000

[...] A little background for the uninitiated. A couple months ago, I posted a rather dismissive article on the contept of third wave coffee that resulted in a bit of discussion among coffee aficionados and, in particular, advocates of the term. Also in particular, Nick Cho and I exchanged a few e-mails in debate over what “third wave” means … and I noted how it is being cited and misused in ways never intended by those who were among the original proponents of the concept. [...]

By: TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Coffee book release event at Ritual Coffee Roasters, June 1

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 02:54:05 +0000

[...] The article is actually a nice briefing on the past ten hopeful years of a better and more sustainable coffee industry — covering globalization, organics, Fair Trade, social and economic issues, and other sustainable practices. Sure, there’s a bit of that regrettable “Third Wave” hocus pocus in there, but it comes off pretty positive for the future of a once highly endangered crop and industry. [...]