Philosophy
The Dormouse Confidential has the goal of providing readers and visitors with a knowledge-base and unbiased reviews for coffees and teas available at our affiliated web-store and elsewhere. While we hope that you consider purchasing your coffee and tea through us, we aren’t naive enough to believe that you should. The main goal behind this web site is to provide a platform for information and discussion.
While there are plenty of self-proclaimed experts and connoisseurs in the world who maintain sites and stores where you can find information similar to what you find here, I feel that there there is an overabundance of eliticism and use of jargon meant to confuse the average person, not educate them. Like all social constructs that separate the “experts” from the “uncultured masses”, terminology and information are used to prevent people from becoming part of a club. If everyone understood what was being said, there’d be little reason for the egotism associated with being the connoisseur.
What you’ll find here is more in the spirit of lifting the veil on the subject of coffee and, and less in the spirit of separating things into boxes of “good” and “bad”. While I make no claims as to being an expert, it is my mission to put concepts, terminology, techniques and classifications into the hands of you, the reader, in the plainest language I can muster. If at any time you feel that my explanations are lacking or incorrect, I welcome any corrections you propose.
Who (Full Disclosure)
Michael Dupay, the moderator and main contributor to The Dormouse Confidential, is in cahoots with David Olson and Janet Hammer, all co-owners of www.beanlover.com, an online source for gourmet coffee beans and teas. Michael has five years experience in managing an espresso bar in the Twin Cities area and has been responsible for training the employees to make espresso-based beverages using the techniques he learned while living in the city of Seattle.
When he is not busy writing articles for this site, Michael is employed as a chemistry consultant for an engineering firm. He is owned and maintained by his wife Michelle, his daughter Rowan, and a cat named Buddha. Michael owns very little himself.
When time permits, Michael writes poetry, short fiction, music and the occasional philosophical rambling.
