Grumpy Mule on the Word of Mouth Blog

Grumpy Mule got a brief mention on the Guardian's Word of Mouth blog yesterday in relation to judging speciality food and drink products and the 2009 Great Taste Awards. Reading this light-hearted article, you can well imagine that there are pros and cons to sampling waves of food and drink products from the yummy and tempting like chocolate (and surely coffee fits into this too) to the somewhat less appealing (you'd have to be glad there isn't a "salad" category).

For us, winning awards like this are gratefully received and very helpful when your products are fighting for consumers attention on the shelves of delis and food shops. It also makes us feel like we're heading in the right direction when it comes to the quality of our coffees, particular as the tea and coffee categories remain popular to enter.

However, it reminded me to put these successes into perspective. It can dent the ego when your products don't quite make the cut, or if you face fair - yet discouraging - remarks from the judges about the taste and flavour, but ultimately your customers will decide whether your product is enjoyable and worth a repeat purchase.

This is a different situation altogether, but when judging in coffee competitions at origin we're often reminded that "behind every coffee there is a family" and that is very sobering advice when you realize that an award in these circumstances can be truly life altering. It makes your decisions very difficult to make, and reminds you not to dwell on the negative aspects of what you're tasting - it might not taste fantastic, but someone put a great deal of effort and hope into producing that coffee.