Open Letter to Coffee Enthusiast Groups

A few weeks ago, I attended my first meeting of a local group of coffee enthusiasts here in Portland, Oregon.  The group is loosely organized, and I had been a member for a few months before  I saw a formally organized event.  I walked away from my first event with this group, happy with the excellent coffee I enjoyed, and with some good coffee conversation.  There are some things I would need to see before taking part in such a meeting again.Here are my suggestions to coffee enthusiast groups, including my advice if you run such a group or are thinking of starting one in your area.[ad#Google Adsense - use me]1. Organization is everythingThe organizer of the event didn't show up.  This wasn't just odd to me, it was insulting.  If you're going to organize an event that people are excited to attend, show up for it.  Anybody who attends such an event probably already has some propensity to engaging conversation.  But don't leave that to chance.  It doesn't need to be run like a business meeting, but somebody should be there to push friendly conversation along.2. Involve the roasterThe event was held at Ristretto Roasters in Portland.  I assumed that the roaster would informally act as some kind of host for this event.  I decided I would mention the roaster on Twitter and give them a chance to respond.  Or at the very least, to be aware that a formal coffee enthusiast event was taking place at one of their locations.  Nobody from Ristretto picked up on the tweet.  And nobody working there that day had an inkling that a coffee enthusiast group was meeting there.  By involving the roaster, our event would have had a excellent dimension of education to it.  We're coffee enthusiasts, surely we have much to learn from a roaster.Follow me on Twitter for regular coffee news, website updates, and fun discussion.3. Involve an expertThis may sound like the last piece of advice repeated, but it can be separate.  Have an expert prepared to share something with those that attend.  It doesn't need to be the owner of the roastery, it could be the organizer.  But, have somebody bring some expertise or a unique perspective to the conversation.  Arrange for a "speaker".So, I suppose it's easy to complain, and another thing altogether to take action.  I haven't decided if I will proceed with organizing such an event myself.  If I do, I will certainly follow my own advice, starting with showing up, involving the roaster, and having an expert share something with us.  As I continue to meet roasters in Portland, I'll keep an open mind to a good such environment for local enthusiasts to meet.