4 Signs You’re a Third Wave Coffee Snob | Specialty Coffee

Is it wrong to be a third wave coffee snob? That’s a debate we’ll leave open for the time-being…diplomatic as we are!

In any case, it goes without saying that the UK’s obsession with specialty coffee (also called speciality coffee) has never been more intense. According to a recent industry study, at least three new coffee shops open every day in Great Britain, contributing to an industry already valued at £9 billion. Give it a few more years and there will be more coffee shops in Britain than pubs. As speciality coffee and the third wave coffee movement in general continue gathering momentum… well, let’s just say we’ve only seen the start of things to come.

We’ve become a nation of specialty coffee lovers, with a growing contingency of coffee connoisseurs and outright caffeine snobs. Not that those in the latter bracket have any shame in their coffee-based geekery, and nor should they – it’s a good time to be a serious coffee-addict!

So for those who aren’t yet sure if they qualify for such a title, here are four tell-tale signs that you have well and truly crossed the line into coffee-geek territory:

1) You take specialty coffee and gadgets to work

First of all, if you’re not particularly impressed with the coffee machine at work, you have two choices. Grit your teeth and deal with it, or bring your own cafetière or pour over station to keep on your desk. Go with either of the latter two options and you are definitely a coffee snob. Particularly if you then spend any amount of time during the day preaching your superiority to the poor souls drinking the ‘mud’ produced in the canteen.

2) You’d rather go without coffee than go in a chain

If you genuinely cannot stand even a single product served by Starbucks, Costa or any of the other major chains, fair enough. However, if you’ve actually no idea what their products are like yet refuse to step through the door on principle alone, you’re in the realms of snobbery. Of course, nothing can beat the ambience and incredible specialty coffee of your favourite independent shop. But when cravings hit and you’re far from home, mainstream might not be as bad as you think!

3) Your speciality coffee order takes forever

Most coffee connoisseurs and snobs will refuse, often on principle, to order any of the generic coffees on the menu. Instead, they have their own concoction in mind that’s so weird and specific that it takes forever to make. But rather than taking any shame in holding up the queue, you’re quite pleased how many people are paying attention to your sophisticated third wave coffee order.

4) It’s third wave coffee or no coffee for you

Last but not least, if you wouldn’t be seen dead ordering a coffee that doesn’t fall into the specialty coffee bracket…well, you can probably figure out the rest!  While most coffee-lovers are happy to let their standards slip from time to time, the more advanced third wave coffee snobs would rather have a warm glass of unfiltered tap water than resort to anything mass produced.

Hayman is more that happy to serve the best and freshest speciality coffee to snobs and no snobs alike! To discover the most amazing menu of third wave coffee, including the world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, best Kona coffee Hawaii, and Panama Geisha coffee beans (aka Gesha coffee), click here, we offer free worldwide shipping!