Bitter Beans Make Smooth Coffee

Let’s say I open up a small coffee shop. I have world class baristas, the best beans and machines money can buy, and we make utterly killer coffee. Business is slow but good. But then a new neighbour moves in and starts competing. It’s not Starbucks, it’s a McDonalds “Bistro” franchise. They sell something they call espresso, and make all the fancy drinks in addition to the usual McD’s fare. Obviously they are doing so because they’ve seen that my business is making money, and they want a slice of that pie. They have a huge customer base and massive presence. People will flock to them because of that. People will drink their brown swill and think it’s proper coffee. Worse, people that might be future customers of mine might taste that swill first, and improperly think that all espresso tastes like swill. I might lose a customer that should…