Beware of Coffee Influencers

If you are taking time to read this blog post, it is likely you are coffee enthusiast like so many of us who have become enamored with the seemingly endless variety of combination of flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel that can be had with brewed coffee.  With so many different expressions of roasted coffee, different brewing preparations, different coffee grinders, different brewing devices, and different brewing accessories on the market, it is easy to find oneself overwhelmed with choice paralysis and to turn to the internet for assistance.  In our digital age, there is no shortage of "experts" clamoring for clicks, likes, follows, subscribers, and financial support.  We commonly refer to these people as “coffee influencers.”  If I had one word of advice for home enthusiasts and coffee entrepreneurs alike, it would be, “Beware of Coffee Influencers!” Beware of blindly following the loudest voice with the most polished digital production. 

It is bizarre how cult like this space can become and how preference can quickly turn into dogma.  This is equally true in the coffee roasting space as it is in the coffee brewing space.  If you have been in either space for any amount of time, you have undoubtedly experienced how fickle the prevailing dogma can be at times whether the topic is roast level, roast curves, brewing equipment, or brewed coffee extraction percentages.    

It is easier than one might expect to get caught up in the frenzy.  I distinctly remember the moment I found myself guilty of this in the world of coffee roasting.  I have found myself enamored with the roasting theory of a particular professional roaster who had suddenly become very popular online, in podcasts, and at coffee educational events.  No matter how much I tried to force the coffee I was roasting into the paradigm of certain roast curves this person advocated for, I found that I did not prefer how the coffee tasted.  It is hard to explain how easily it is to find oneself pursuing an idealistic roast curve at the expense of roasting coffee you enjoy drinking.  It is likewise hard to explain how easily people find themselves blindly adhering to the dogma of a coffee influencer when it comes to brewing coffee at the expense of their enjoyment of the coffee they are brewing.  If you stick around in this community for any length of time, you will quickly learn how fickle many of these coffee influencers are and how quickly there dogma changes.  At the end of the day, coffee is preferential.  By all means be curious and explore new coffee experiences, but embrace your preferences.