I’m going to write this week’s article back to front and start by saying that if you enjoy instant coffee, that is absolutely fine.
Coffee, like many things in life, is about personal taste. Within this parameter, there is not a wrong or right decision.
In addition to being quick and easy, some modern instant coffees now offer excellent quality, particular the slightly more expensive pure instant coffees.
In the business world, they say it costs 10 ten times as much to gain a customer than it does to keep one.
Just last week, while staying at a three-star guesthouse in Port Elizabeth, occupying space in my amenities tray was some tear-packet instant coffee.
This was the really cheap stuff, the instant powder that stretches the boundaries when being labelled as coffee.
Despite my somewhat biased preference for fresh coffee, I would however have been very happy if this had been a pure instant coffee and would have been even happier if the room had been equipped with a plunger and some freshly ground coffee.
Good coffee is relatively inexpensive and readily available.
Considering the current cost of one night’s accommodation in a mid-range medium or high-end establishment, I personally feel that a mere R1 or R2 more spent on client satisfaction is not too much to ask.
The growing coffee culture is also spreading its slow and steady way into the workplace.
It is so pleasing to see those businesses which take pride in offering both their clients and staff a good cuppa. In addition to the enjoyment of coffee, coffee has proved itself as an energy booster – just imagine the improvement in workplace productivity!
Alan Hawkins is the chief roaster and founder of Cutman & Hawk Coffee. www.elcoffee.co.za.
