“Make sure your next move is slick” Kenrick Lamar raps on his song War is My Love. For Reza Kosar, the words proved to be inspirational when he found himself ready to start a new chapter in his career. That next move would prove to be Slick Coffee, a roastery and consultancy based in Muscat, Oman.
I’ve known Reza since we took the Q together in 2016. Since then we’ve stayed in touch and served on judging panels together. He also is the Oman distributor for Etkin, a company I co-own. I share this to say that I’m not an unbiased observer, but I often tell people Reza is the best roaster I know. I always expect great things from Reza, but that admiration reached new heights when he showed me Slick’s packaging.
Slick offers three metrics to understand a coffee: cupping score, flavor profile, and mouthfeel.
The cupping score is communicated with a color-coded system. As a Q grader, Reza is licensed to grade coffee on a 100-point scale used globally by coffee farmers and traders alike. Many roasters, however, are hesitant to share this information with consumers due to potential misunderstandings. A cupping score of 87 points is exceptional, but to consumers accustomed to grade inflation, it might sound average.
For flavor profile, Reza developed different geometric patterns. Whether it’s the comforting familiarity of a classic Ethiopia natural, or the exotic complexity of an anoxic process, these visual clues compliment the tasting notes.
Most interesting for me is mouthfeel, which Slick communicates with textured, three-dimensional stickers. Whether it’s creamy and heavy, or silky and delicate, Reza developed different textured patterns to communicate the mouthfeel of the coffee. As a barista trainer and educator, I’ve long seen coffee professionals, let alone consumers, struggle to grasp body and mouthfeel when evaluating a coffee. How incredible for customers to be able to touch a surface as a reference point!
On the label, Slick invites its customers to experience both the science and craft of coffee. With such thoughtful packaging, I think it would be safe to add the aesthetic as well.