Mas(a) Attributes, Mas(a) Value
Inspired by Mel Bandler's presentation and the two seminars on the SCA's forthcoming system to assess coffee value, this sensory experience explores the different ways in which “fairness” (sustainability) attributes determine a product’s value through the lens of a product operating along a similar "commercial-to-special" continuum, masa harina.
About the Products:
Maseca Masa Harina, dry and hydrated preparations
Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina, dry and hydrated preparations
Masienda White Corn Masa Harina, dry and hydrated preparations
Questions to Consider:
Do the sustainability attributes of the different masa harina products – Maseca, Bob’s Red Mill, and Masienda – contribute to your impression of each product’s quality? How so?
Do you think these products are targeting the same customer? If not, what are the different value propositions?
Imagine that you had been given samples of dry flour and masa for each brand, but that you had not seen the claims on the bags of masa harina. Would you have been able to identify any of the sustainability attributes of the product by smell, taste, and touch? Would your impressions of quality for each have been the same, or different, than they were with the additional information you received from the packaging?
How is the spectrum of masa harina products in this exercise similar to or different from the spectrum of coffee products available to a specialty coffee consumer?