Very poor planning. 5,000 kits is simply not enough especially when encouraging people to buy multiple to share with friends and family. This seems more suited for a Patreon exclusive event. He has over 7,000 supporters there giving him $20,000 USD every month.
Ironically, by selling out so quickly they are really damaging the quality of the results they will get. The overwhelming majority of those kits just got sold to a bunch of coffee nerds with notifications set for his channel and not the broad consumer base they say they want to reach.
and.... they're sold out of taste kits
My wife is going to have sooo much fun teasing me for this…
I like me some coffee but this guy comes off as a snob and gate-keeper in the videos I've watched.
I'm extremely anti-gatekeeping any hobby, and I've never gotten any bad vibes off him. He nearly always addresses the fact that many of the minutae that he focuses on are for the extreme nerds with extra money/time to spare. He even regularly talks about how many of the ideal processes he talks about, he doesn't do because it's a PITA.
He's very slow to recommend expensive/time consuming products, and he's quick to offer more reasonable alternatives.
That said, he's a coffee nerd with money to spare, so he definitely gets excited and involved with things that are a bit beyond your average bear.
Yea, that's the main thing for me. He is willing to go, yea, this is great, but also not practical. He's not the uncompromising nerd that says there's only one way to do things else you're not a true believer.
I find him sincere, eccentric, and just really, REALLY into coffee.
Everything I have watched has been welcoming, educational, and entertaining. Seems like a well adjusted nerd who wants to share and learn everything he can about a topic he is passionate about. Literally got into coffee because of his videos.
I've never seen anything from Hoffmann that suggests that he's a gatekeeper. He's extremely revered in the world of coffee (some attribute the advent of third wave coffee in UK to him), but the guy seems sincere and genuinely excited about coffee. I'm a student and don't have too much money to spare, but I've gotten great recommendations from him many times. I'm really confused what video of him gave you that idea.
More than half the kits are gone already. I love that people are willing to do these kind of taste tests.
Excited to take part this time! Also something my wife will make fun of me for but I'll rope her in alongside me.
this thing really just feels like a cometeer marketing gimmick
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