Purpose and size
Since 2000, the Daily Grind has distinguished itself as the leading importer
of the finest Arabica coffee in the Greater Vancouver region. We import
only the best from virtually every coffee growing region of the world
and we pride ourselves on selecting and roasting to perfection for every
individual – yes, we roast to order. Custom roasting means that
you are always guaranteed exceptional fresh tasting coffee at a reasonable
price. The Daily Grind caters for virtually every need -- whole bean,
ground, pods, caffeinated, decaf, single-origin, espressos, blends, organic--easily
and conveniently, delivered to your home or office. Whether for your home
use or for resale, we are in the unique position to offer custom blends,
as well as supply the labeling and packaging to your exact specifications.
Our ability to provide spectacular gourmet coffees is based on the expertise
of our 10 member coffee buying team which visits coffee growing regions,
evaluating thousands of samples each year. Only a selected few of the
sampled coffees meet our rigorous criteria which ensure that our products
continue to delight your palate.
Having started as a home-based business, within only five years, the Daily
Grind has expanded into a 50 employee enterprise with four retail locations
through out the lower mainland. To serve you even better, we have recently
ventured into the mail-order sector with a rapidly growing customer base
around the world and are currently exploring online retailing options.
To ensure we deliver products that meet and exceed your expectations we
have developed an ordering system that allows you to specify exactly how
you would like your coffee. Our ordering database is guaranteed to revolutionaries
your coffee experience.
Collection and domain
Describing coffee in consistent terms is a challenge not only because
taste is a complex sensation but because coffee presents a bewildering
array of taste characteristics usually described in ambiguous terms. This
thesaurus is the first part of a module on taste characteristics as determined
by a combination of properties inherent in the green bean (as a result
of the soil and growing conditions) and those conferred by the roasting
process. Eventually, the taste module is expected to include terms for
all chemical and physical properties, processing and preparation (roasting,
flavouring, blending and grinding); geographical regions of origin and
how these contribute to coffee taste properties.
Why did we choose to first develop the taste module of the coffee thesaurus?
It is undoubtedly the most important and defining of coffee characteristics
but also the most difficult to describe in unambiguous terms. So far,
the taste module consists of 55 preferred terms. As our business continues
to grow, we intend to have a consumer education program comprising tasting
sessions and ethnic nights featuring coffees from certain geographic areas.
The program will be supported by a collection of print and electronic
resources and publication of an electronic newsletter on such diverse
topics as the history of coffee, fair trade, brewing techniques and coffee
recipes. Subsequent thesaurus modules will be necessary to index these
more general resources.
Users
The primary purpose of the thesaurus is to facilitate ordering by the
Daily Ground’s online customers via a database. The database provides
information about the possible coffee characteristics and equips customers
with the vocabulary to specify the exact desired combination of flavour,
body, aroma, geographical origin of coffee etc. when they make their custom
roast orders. The indexers are the tasters, assigning thesaurus terms
to describe each coffee sample approved for the Daily Grind in terms that
are both meaningful from their standpoint and useful to consumers. The
tasters must articulate and define the different characteristics of coffee
from different parts of the world in consistent terms so as to determine
what single origin coffees can generate the unique blends that have become
the Daily Grind’s hallmark. The thesaurus is thus an invaluable
tool in bridging the gap between the tasters’ and customers’
vocabulary - supporting our goal to satisfy each individual customer’s
taste, whether they seek a single origin, blended or flavoured coffee,
custom roasted to perfection. Another key user group is the marketing
team responsible for creating the write-up for packaging and promotional
material for the Daily Grind products. As the thesaurus develops subsequent
modules on the history of coffee, recipes, brewing techniques etc. it
will be used by the coffee education unit to index its online and print
resources. It may eventually gain acceptance among the growing non-professional
online coffee connoisseur community.
Indexing language
Coffee tasting terminology tends to be very ambiguous
so it is necessary to have very specific vocabulary to capture the many
possible nuances of coffee characteristics. Since the users are a fairly
heterogeneous group of consumers, lay-terms were chosen over technical
vocabulary. Even though some of the far-flung customers who enjoy gourmet
coffee may be coffee connoisseurs well acquainted with subtle concepts,
we selected consumer-oriented controlled vocabulary sources instead of
the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) colour
wheel for professional tasters. The result was an indexing language
accessible to a diverse group of consumers and general members of the
public.
Maintenance
The Daily Grind is committed to the maintenance of the thesaurus and will invest the necessary resources to ensure that it is updated as needed. Updates will be required as the Daily Grind ventures into new products for which there is no existing vocabulary. The database administrator, who has extensive indexing experience, will be responsible for the maintenance of the thesaurus and subsequent development. Due to his multiple responsibilities, he may hire a consultant for some of the subsequent development but he possesses the skills and knowledge to maintain and develop the thesaurus in consultation with the tasters.