December 24th 1999, I was at the Anchorage airport (Alaska). The flights were not on schedule due to a heavy snow storm. My flight to Florida was delayed by at least 2 hours and I had nothing else to do after a brief business stint there. It was then that I was strolling around when a noticed a Caribou’s Coffee outlet. Starbucks was not far away, but I had never tried Caribou’s before. Someone said that have the best espresso machines that exist. After zillions of (tasteless) and ineffective cups of coffee from the automatic coffee makers at the business place I was at I wanted to try something that was…well..different.
My friend Vince insisted that this place boasted the top espresso machines, so I ordered a medium espresso with cream, an item which appeared on the menu followed by this slogan: ‘The basic and the best.’ When I got my order, I was immediately struck by the rich, smooth color of the expresso. Color really can add or detract from the taste of something that you’re eating, enabling you to really savor it if the color is right. The first sip revealed to me what my friend Vince wanted to get across to me.
The richness of the coffee combined with the cream they had put in it really made it worthwhile ordering. As sips went on to cups I drifted off to memories of my childhood, when my father used to work for Bodum (manufacturers of the best coffee machines in the world!). As I sat near him at his work place where he used to inspect parts of the coffee machines to see if they were in their right places, quality check, procedure implementation etc, he used to say Son! The best coffee machines have to have an expression of your soul in themso when a customer makes coffee with these, he/ she knows that this is a machine that was meant to make good coffee, and good coffee is what keeps us going right?
While I was lost in thought, I heard the announcement that my plane was leaving and with thanks I returned my empty coffee cup and went to the gate.