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Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur
    #10945133 -




Continuing with the negative slant towards the wealthy today, I made another observation about some of the fluff and filler that bides the idle time of the privileged few.

The raw materials being sold to us are essentially drugs: caffeine, sugar, and alcohol. But a whole smörgåsbord of cultural peacocking and ritualistic (consumer) behavior has developed around it.

Mostly poor, underpaid farmers and pickers are the ones who grow and manufacture the actual substance that the rich companies smooth over into a bullshit product. They strategically surround the product with sophisticated descriptions that are always non-English sounding so as to further increase the exotic appeal. For the truffles, for the roasts and beans, for the inumerable styles of drinks and glasses, an endless (albeit creative) rearrangement of essentially the same shit enables people to: get status points, feel sophisticated, achieve a consumer high, obtain knowledge and bragging rights among friends, etc.

Names and descriptions are borrowed from French or Italian, with faux references to "subtle" tastes that only exist in the feeble mind of the gullible consumers. Instead of small and large, we have the more elegant sounding grande and vinte. These fuckers have even gone so far as to brand a 'free trade' version of the wares (mainly coffee), all the while reeling in new customers who are thinking they actually make a difference beyond the fat wallets of the company owners.


Coffee farmer:




Cocoa farmer:




Wine grapes:


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945182 -

What's wrong with Fair Trade?

The point of Fair Trade is to provide a reasonable working wage for the farmers.

Furthermore, saying that things like wine and coffee don't have subtle taste differences is just ignorant.

This post is fail :thumbdown:


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No statements made in any post or message by myself should be construed to mean that I am now, or have ever been, participating in or considering participation in any activities in violation of any local, state, federal, or fashion police laws. All posts are works of fiction.

For well you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Under closer inspection I realised it was a funky ball of tits from outer space.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: circularvortex]
    #10945225 -

Quote:
What's wrong with Fair Trade?



Nowhere did I suggest something is wrong with fair trade. Mind grabbing that statement for me? I merely criticized the companies' decisions to use it as a marketing ploy.

Quote:
The point of Fair Trade is to provide a reasonable working wage for the farmers.


That would be the definition; you can find it at Starbucks and on the packaging as well.


Quote:
Furthermore, saying that things like wine and coffee don't have subtle taste differences is just ignorant.


I was just recently hired in a chocolate shop actually, so I'm well aware of the catch-phrases, creative terms, posh descriptions, elegant packaging and verbal charlatanism that you think is somehow inextricable from the product.

Our palates are well defined, but isn't it curious there is an absence of this sophisticated nomenclature in the very cultures that have a long history of cultural use?

You only get the bullshit with the capitalistic package.

Your logic is a "fail".

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: circularvortex]
    #10945237 -

I know I hit the wrong reply button.
Anyways, op-
Coffee, chocolate, and wine are hardly expensive commodities. Well maybe the wine but coffee is cheap and chocolate is cheap, if the rich assholes want to waste their money on pricey common goods then let them be.


--------------------

I want to show you life for what it's worth, from beginning to end from when your life was first launched 'till when it descends back to earth. From pyramiding at it's peak 'till when it turns back into dirt..

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945243 -

No offense, but if I was going to start a cultural crusade against the creme da le creme of society, I'd go after something that doesn't come in such a shiny box.


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monstermitch's technique to construct a monotob
agar's GRAIN LC
THE OFFICIAL "BEST DEALS" THREAD

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Brennus]
    #10945268 -

Quote:
Coffee, chocolate, and wine are hardly expensive commodities. Well maybe the wine but coffee is cheap and chocolate is cheap, if the rich assholes want to waste their money on pricey common goods then let them be.


People are free to do as they please, no doubt. I was just pointing out the ironies that exist between the physical substance (created by the poor) and the intangible business models (created by the rich) which are both used to pimp otherwise simple products.

By the way, it is a pretty serious commodity considering "[g]reen Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil."

Quote:
No offense, but if I was going to start a cultural crusade against the creme da le creme of society, I'd go after something that doesn't come in such a shiny box.


Can't fight or win them all.

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945274 -

ohh I got ya. Yeah it really is ridiculous. Everything is like that, though, and it seems less than ideal.


--------------------

I want to show you life for what it's worth, from beginning to end from when your life was first launched 'till when it descends back to earth. From pyramiding at it's peak 'till when it turns back into dirt..

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945312 -

I agree with OP 100%, and I am a professional barista who also serves wine.
:gameover:

I'm not sure how this stuff gets so unbelievably hyped-up, I think the fact that coffee-drinking in the morning and wine-sipping at night are such consistent rituals for the economically well-off that the only way they can keep this ritual feeling fresh is by noting that tonight's selection is slightly tangier than last night's, less astringent, and comes with a much cleaner finish in order to demonstrate how amazing and nuanced their palate is.

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Sophistic Radiance]
    #10945341 -

Quote:
I agree with OP 100%, and I am a professional barista who also serves wine.


Right on! And humorous enough, the chocolate shop I work at also hosts a weekly wine tasting... because Lord knows the cocoa bean is a direct cousin of the grape. :grin:

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945373 -

> Most everyone consumes these things in the developed world.

> Rich people--who also partake--desire to be distinctly different, and specifically, more refined than the average person.

> In this case, it is accomplished by the elaborate production and maintenance of artificial labels and references, which are essentially nonexistent.

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945391 -

Earlier today a guy came in and tried two of our wines, said he preferred one because it was less bitter and less astringent. I was like, okay, good for you. :lol: I'm not doubting that there are very subtle, nuanced differences between different varieties of legal drugs, but developing such a sophisticated palate for those differences is classic conspicuous consumption, a pastime to spice up the dreary lives of the rich.

Maybe I'll change my tune a bit when I can take a bong rip, then say that its otherwise-mild spiciness is supported by a musky body, give it a 90/100, and be paid a fat check. :thumbup:


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Enlil said:
You really are the worst kind of person.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Arden]
    #10945430 -

I make myself a latte everyday in the morning because it tastes good and wakes me up, not because I'm trying to feel rich or something.


And of course better quality product tastes better...

I'll take a high cacao chocolate bar over the the American shite we call chocolate.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Sophistic Radiance]
    #10945442 -

Tchan909 said:
I agree with OP 100%, and I am a professional barista who also serves wine.
:gameover:

I'm not sure how this stuff gets so unbelievably hyped-up, I think the fact that coffee-drinking in the morning and wine-sipping at night are such consistent rituals for the economically well-off that the only way they can keep this ritual feeling fresh is by noting that tonight's selection is slightly tangier than last night's, less astringent, and comes with a much cleaner finish in order to demonstrate how amazing and nuanced their palate is.


Marvelous, youre an absolute riot my good sir.

Yeah people that get all giddy over that shit are funny


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Jesus loves you.

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Knifey Mcstab]
    #10945446 -

Don't get me wrong, I can take a sip of wine or coffee and tell you ALL about how it tastes, and I need my morning cappuccino, and I refuse to drink low-quality alcohol anymore, but I have to agree with the OP's central point, that the level of attention paid to just how painstakingly refined and nuanced the finished product can be is a fat crock of shit when it comes down to it.

Case in point: there are barista tournaments. Tournaments. The baristas are judged based on how awesome a design they can make in a cup of espresso with their steamed milk. The winner's immaculately contrasted rosetta might taste like shit, but no one at the tournament would know or care. It's a fucking tournament!


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Enlil said:
You really are the worst kind of person.


Edited by Tchan909 (08/27/09 02:43 AM)

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Sophistic Radiance]
    #10945462 -

But it's done with everything, not just coffee, chocolate, and wine.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Knifey Mcstab]
    #10945467 -

Knifey Mcstab said:
I make myself a latte everyday in the morning because it tastes good and wakes me up, not because I'm trying to feel rich or something.


And of course better quality product tastes better...

I'll take a high cacao chocolate bar over the the American shite we call chocolate.


:werd: :dancingshroom:


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Bufotenine Yopo/Cebil Info | Guide to Hunting/Using Fly Agarics
Good Drug Books
PCPiHKAL|Rhodium

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Knifey Mcstab]
    #10945468 -

The only things that separate a cup of Folger's made with a hodgepodge of robusta beans from one made with the highest-quality arabica beans and most delicate roasts are the flavor, texture, maybe caffeine potency.

The same cannot be said for processed food vs. organic food, etc.

Edited by Tchan909 (08/26/09 11:55 PM)

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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Sophistic Radiance]
    #10945497 -

Tchan909 said:
The only things that separate a cup of Folger's made with a hodgepodge of rusticas from one made with the highest-quality arabica beans and most delicate roasts are the flavor, texture, maybe caffeine potency.

The same cannot be said for processed food vs. organic food, etc.


Flavor and texture are pretty important things, especially to me.

I don't like folders, it's not fresh and it doesn't appeal to me.

I grind my beans up fresh so they taste that way.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Knifey Mcstab]
    #10945516 -

Again, right with you here, but I care about those things because I live in the middle class of a RICH fucking country, and that is why I have the time and motivational slack to actually get my panties in a bunch about such triflin' bullshit that has no impact on my life thirty minutes from now.


--------------------
Enlil said:
You really are the worst kind of person.


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Re: Coffee, Chocolate, and Wine: Posh illusions of grandeur [Re: Sophistic Radiance]
    #10945518 -

Tchan909 said:
The only things that separate a cup of Folger's made with a hodgepodge of rusticas from one made with the highest-quality arabica beans and most delicate roasts are the flavor, texture, maybe caffeine potency.


Rustica? That's tobacco.

I assume you mean robusta (aka Coffea canephora)? It is more potent (has a higher caffeine content), but it doesn't have the same sensuous flavors you can get from Coffea arabica.  It tastes a whole lot more like cardboard.

If you don't believe there's a world of difference between Folgers and a good arabica roasted by a good roaster, I'd be hesitant to believe that you have tastebuds on your tongue.


--------------------
Bufotenine Yopo/Cebil Info | Guide to Hunting/Using Fly Agarics
Good Drug Books
PCPiHKAL|Rhodium

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