This blog post is sponsored by Wilbur Curtis Company. Kevin Curtis, Executive Vice President of Wilbur Curtis Company, is part of the third generation of the Curtis family and oversees all of the sales and marketing operations for Wilbur Curtis. An active member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, Kevin has been an instrumental part of the success and global presence Wilbur Curtis enjoys today.
SB: What sets Curtis Gold Cup apart from other coffee brewers on the market? What, in your opinion, are the best features of the brewing system? The Curtis Gold Cup® (CGC) is different than other “single cup” brewers. We designed the brewer to create American-style drip type coffee, a cup at a time. Most other single-cup brewers on the market use an “expressed method”; basically, they brew using pressurized water. In our experience, drip-type brewing extracts every little flavor nuance the roaster had in mind when crafting his coffee.
As far as the best features, the beauty of the CGC is that it is completely engineered to brew a Golden Cup of coffee. Its patented brew cone with advanced geometry keeps the standard filter “floating” in the cone and siphon technology effectively allows the grounds to bloom before coffee flows into the cup, then accurately stops the flow when brewing is complete. Our AFS spray head replicates the motion and wetting action that a barista creates when brewing coffee by hand. And the CGC will replicate it exactly every time the brew button is pushed.
Additionally, we’ve added design features into the CGC to minimize the water’s path inside the system, streamlining brew time. We’ve also included our touch screen Generation 4 digital control. The G4 control is pre-programmed with various brew “recipes”, plus it allows the user to fine tune any recipe to craft their own perfect brew.
SB: Coffee trends abound, from an increased interest in cold coffee drinks to gourmet beans grown in specific regions for a certain taste. What do you think is driving consumers’ love for coffee, and what trends are you seeing right now? Quality is key, and consumers’ palettes are becoming more and more discerning. Like wine, people are beginning to taste and understand the flavor profiles various coffee growing regions of the world offer. Like a winemaker, the roaster is truly an artist maximizing the best of each bean. The industry has recognized this and operations from QSRs and theme restaurants to specialty coffee houses have continued to upgrade their coffees and offer new, exciting varieties. There are even fine restaurants now that “pair” coffees with desserts to further enhance the dining experience and increase check averages.
SB: What was the impetus for developing the Curtis Gold Cup brewing system? We knew we had winning brewing technology with our Gold Cup Series of larger volume batch brewing systems. We had developed systems such as our IntelliFresh™ that will hold brewed coffee perfectly for up to two hours … without any loss in quality. Also, we recently introduced the Curtis Thermal FreshTrac™ that enables operators to monitor coffee’s freshness from a distance, further enhancing the quality of their coffee programs. It seems like the long way around, but to answer your question, the Curtis Gold Cup was developed to provide this same ultimate quality brew in a single cup. It’s perfect for operations that need quality — one cup at a time and eliminates the costly waste of disposing of volumes when only a few cups are needed. The CGC also compliments a batch brewer in non-peak times, and offers restaurants a new path to profit from unique, higher-end coffees.
SB: Will consumers love of coffee continue? What’s next for Curtis Gold Cup? Absolutely. Consumers’ love of coffee is still growing strong. Specialty coffee houses continue to be social gathering places and tastes are more finicky, so consumers are willing to pay for better quality and enjoy a better experience regardless of the venue. And, these offerings are going mainstream. As far as the Curtis Gold Cup … we feel the brewer is right on the mark. What’s next for the CGC … just wait and see!
SB: Bonus question! Cream? Sugar? Straight? How do you take your coffee? I’m a purist when it comes to coffee; I like it straight. No cream or sugar. To my palette any additions mask the flavor and uniqueness of each roast. Interestingly enough, my wife Jan is a cream and sugar “adder.” Although she recently experienced a new, single origin roast that has some unique notes of sweetness, so there was no need for cream or sugar. She drinks that brew straight black. I think we’ll make her a convert soon.