Talking Specialty Coffee in
Greece with Yiannis Taloumis,
Owner of Taf in Athens
Sarah Allen: What is Taf 's mission?
Yiannis Taloumis: Taf's mission is to expand specialty coffee
in the Greek and the European market. To inform and give the
opportunity to consumers to have a better knowledge regarding
quality coffee in order to receive a taste experience. To achieve
this, besides our search for the best coffees and the artisan way of
roasting these coffees, the role of the very well-trained baristas that
are always on the front lines is very important.
Yiannis Taloumis (in white shirt), who operates his family's specialty-coffee
company, Taf, travels the world to source the best coffees he can find. He and his
staff engage in regular cuppings at the company's Athens headquarters.
SA: Taf is doing very well even in Greece's economically challenged
climate. Why is that?
YT: Despite the continuous economic crisis, Taf continued to
develop on a steady basis and never lost its initial focus on
high quality. My persistence for quality coffee, my research,
and then my best offering to consumers is what keeps us
growing every year by 15 percent. From the beginning of this
economic crisis, I insisted on quality and I believed that the
consumer, despite the difficult financial situation, selects with a
more strict manner the beverage that he will drink. Even though
this is the third year of the financial crisis in Greece, I see that
this is a fact and it works.
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