The Two Falls
My wife and I took our honeymooner trip to Kauai, HI. It's a small island in the northwest of the archipelago. One of the best things about the trip was the amount of free time combined with the unrestricted access to miles of wild nature.
One day, we decided to visit a beach a bit off the beaten track that required a 2-mile hike to reach. Counting the 2 miles back, that's 4 miles. Not too bad. Once we arrived at said beach, we noticed a sign guiding us inland that led to a 300-foot waterfall. This sounded enticing. It was, after all, only another 2 miles.
About a mile towards this hidden waterfall, we realized that we were dramatically understocked on water for what was now an 8-mile hike. But, stubborn as I was, we pressed on. This ended quite painfully; I had to beg water off a couple of strangers we ran into, the water at the falls was undrinkable, there were no bathrooms, and we got soaked walking upriver.
Despite all this, the waterfall was breathtaking. See for yourself.
The picture doesn't give the full sense of it, though. The sounds of water crashing, the freezing water at the foot, the smell of the land around us during the walk, and the people we encountered made the trip to the waterfall a powerful experience, despite the strain it put on my new marriage.
Now, at the same time, we had a little waterfall in our hotel complex. It was nice to watch and listen to while we sat in the hot tub.
The Two Brews
I'm not saying the comparison between us and Starbucks is as stark as the two waterfalls. I am saying that our approach to coffee is. As one Pour Jons employee puts it, Starbucks, although it has dramatically increased the popularity of gourmet coffee in America, has lost the sense of the beauty of coffee.
I could list all the differences between us and them, but the biggest one is this:
Their goal is to give a consistent menu of the same drinks in every location.
Our goal is to give consistently good value in the time and personal attention we give to each drink and each person.
It's going to take us a couple minutes more to make your drink. Ours is not going to have as many pumps of syrup in it. You probably won't have a name on your paper cup, unless you ask for it. But golly gee willakers, at Pour Jons your drink is made by a barista and not by an espresso machine.
The way our menu is designed reflects what has historically been considered the ideal way to brew coffee: taking a little extra time to do things precisely and intentionally. We won't use sugar to cover up bad flavor. The coffee bean has all the good stuff and we just try not to get in the way.
Sure, the way we do coffee introduces some challenging flavors if you've stuck with that Caramel Macchiato all these years. But I guarantee that if you go out of your way to try something that challenges you a little bit, you'll rise to the occasion. Pretty soon you'll be looking in a cup filled with straight espresso and wonder how you got there. Or you'll have that new tea and ask why you hadn't tried it before. Or maybe you'll stick with your old favorite. We just hope you go out of your way to come to Pour Jons for a drink worth the extra effort.
And, if you're lucky like me, you'll have a companion bold enough to go with you on the trip.
~B.L. @ Pour Jons
No comments:
Post a Comment