BeanScene Magazine

If sheer persistence was up for an award, then Neal Robinson would win hands down. For 26 years he has intensively travelled the globe to spread the word on the American brewing style of coffee.

Spending a phenomenal average of 280 days a year “on the road”, there aren’t many people or places associated with coffee that he hasn’t met or doesn’t know like the back of his hand.

He is no stranger to Australia, with its espressocentric coffee culture, but that doesn’t stop Neal from making yet another visit to introduce what is new from Bunn and the world of coffee brewing.

He has been the Senior Vice-President of International Sales for the Bunn-O-Matic Corporation since 1999, having begun his career with the company in 1986 as a District Sales Manager in the South eastern United States. He subsequently served as Regional Sales Manager and then Regional Vice- President of Sales for the South eastern states. In 1993, he was promoted to Senior-Vice President, US Sales and Customer Support, based at Bunn corporate headquarters in Springfield, Illinois.

But, rather than just concentrating on the sales end of the job, he has contributed expert articles to many industry publications including “Café Europa”, “Tea & Coffee Trade Journal” and “Tea & Coffee Asia”. Neal is also a member of the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and the Speciality Coffee Association of America (SCAA). While a member of the SCAE he has served on the Education Committee and as a member of the initial team to implement the Gold Cup Standard program into the SCAE Education platform. Neal has also served on several panels during annual conferences for the SCAE and SCAA, as well as tea and coffee conferences in Europe and Asia/Pacific.

His recent visit to Australia was to present to the local market the highly anticipated TRIFECTA, which is being touted as the latest in single cup brewing technology. It made it’s local debut at Genovese Coffee in Melbourne’s suburban Coburg. The special invitation only event not only impressed, but inspired one and all to look beyond traditional espresso brewing methods at the possibility of single cup brewing with quality the result in the cup.

Neal is a knowledgeable and extremely friendly individual who is a key global figure in coffee. There are not many people he doesn’t know and not many places he hasn’t been in his 26 year tour of duty, aimed at bringing the coffee message to the masses.

Australia, he says, feels like a home away from home, which in his case is Munrro, Louisiana, which explains the deep southern drawl.

“It’s funny you bring that up,” he says. “Back home they all think my accent has softened, but I guess that’s what you get for spending so much time on the road. It’s all part of the game. Working at Bunn has been an incredible experience, it is so much more than just a job. Its a lifestyle choice!”

Bunn was founded in 1839 and boasts Abraham Lincoln as an original employee. It is still very much a family run business and the current management team is still headed up by a 5th generation Bunn. Neal points out the rarity of a a company that is almost 200 years old and is still family owned and operated.

“The positioning of Bunn as a global brand and leader in its field is quite unique and the story behind the TRIFECTA is one of passion, determination and resolve to create a product which pays homage to the humble coffee bean and brews a perfect cup each and every time so that each coffee’s unique voice resonates loud and clear,” he says of the machine’s entry into the market.

“Ultimately, all that matters in the end is what’s in the cup, so it is with this in mind that we created the TRIFECTA.” Although I am honoured at the attention and interest that is lavished upon me as a spokesperson and representative of Bunn and the brewing style of coffee, it’s all about the team, it’s really all about the entire corporation that has made Bunn into what it is today,” Neal says.

What he is failing to say though is that in 2009, he received the SCAE’s highest award for lifetime achievement.

And, the TRIFECTA single cup brewer is filling the gap in the market left when Starbucks bought The Coffee Equipment Company and took its Clover machine off the market.

“The development and creation of our latest offering to the market, the TRIFECTA, has been over two years in the making and it has in all honesty been a labour of love. So much testing, research, development and growth, for both the product and for Bunn as a global player in a world which is slowly becoming more and more aware of quality standards and the importance of what each and every person receives in each and every cup. The TRIFECTA is the culmination of all of this work and we believe it is the voice of coffee. The voice of every barista and brew master, the voice of every single origin and estate coffee and the voice of every customer who walks through each and every door around the world demanding an experience that will enable them to discover just how divine a simple cup of coffee can be.”

For Neal, there is a particular challenge in coming to Australia – “into this market which is so obviously espresso-centric and dealing with a culture so influenced by the Italian espresso market.” Brewed coffee, he says, is relatively unknown in Australia, so what for Americans is the mainstream norm is a niche market here. Neal sees it as a great opportunity to introduce a brewing system and a product which will allow new converts to brewed coffee to experience it as it should be, “rather than through older, less refined and quite primitive methods of brewing that really didn’t do justice to the quality of the coffees being used.”

The industry representatives who were fortunate enough to attend the demonstration conducted in Melbourne, were pleasantly surprised at not only the quality, but also at the ease of use and the aesthetic appeal of the TRIFECTA. After this trip to teach us about the wonders of brewed coffee, I’m sure this wizard will be back with plenty of TRIFECTAS in tow, and judging by the quality of the brew in the cup, the sooner the better.