Coffee curation and the pursuit of flavour
Flavour topics – part 3 In essence, these three posts have all been about the way we think of flavour; the way we consider it and turn it into concepts in our head, which are then discussed and exchanged. In the first post I wanted to touch on the fascinating nature of taste, that we can not only interpret flavour differently from a conscious point of view, but that we can have different sensory input altogether even from the same physical tasting object. As we moved in to the second post I wanted to look at the allocation of flavour,...
Read moreFlavour Topics - part 2 Speciality coffee, single estate farms, lighter roasts, provenance and flavour notes are a relatively new thing, an emerging approach developing and gaining ground, sprouting out of the entrenched traditional approaches to this drink that make up coffee’s place and history. This isn’t just centuries of tradition but in the case of the North West coast of America and Australia, decades of coffee culture, yes they are sitting on the shoulders of older traditions, but in their own right the approaches are each established enough to set boundaries and define approaches. I have always found...
Read moreFlavour Topics - Part 1 When talking of coffee, the discussion of flavour and taste are never too far away. In fact what defines speciality coffee is that it is a culinary product, one that’s all about flavour. The way we all experience flavour is something of a minefield to untangle, I find it to be a common topic of discussion, it influences service, it drives the craft of brewing, it defines the livelihoods of those that grow coffee, those that roast and, well, everybody involved really. I have touched on taste and flavour in a fair few posts previously...
Read moreChoose a fixed recipe, dial in to that recipe and stop there. Bingo. Done. This will display the best of the coffee and, if for some reason it doesn’t taste right then the coffee must be faulty, because of the roaster or something else that happened elsewhere. The barista’s responsibility has nicely been absolved. Yes, under these circumstances (the set recipe ideal) there is a responsibility to brew to a specific recipe and meet the numbers, but there is not a relationship with the numbers that is explicitly taste driven (what I mean by taste driven is using one’s palate...
Read moreBarista – Part 3 Environments for Barista nourishment. It is interesting to wonder how our environments shape us, how we react to them, and how what’s available to us feeds into where we can go. The shape of the barista role is moulded by requirements of the environment. I have mentioned in the last post that there are different forms of a barista, and that environments themselves largely define the different roles. Now let’s say that we are interested in the role of the barista when defined as a knowledgeable coffee professional. Someone who is taste focused and applies processes...
Read moreBarista - part 2 In the last post I looked at defining the brewing role in terms of creative direction and input from the maker; how the brewer affects the brew. However, I see the barista role as more than this; I see it as sharing with and involving the drinker, I see it as providing context for the drink you are brewing, it’s about multi-tasking, it’s about cleaning milk jugs and wiping surfaces, it’s about working with others in a team, it’s about service and hospitality. Interestingly for us, we have not found it particularly useful to advertise for...
Read moreBarista - Part 1 I would like to write a small series of articles that focus more exclusively the role of the barista. Starting with :- The Prism of the Barista Recently I have felt inclined to explain the role of the barista, as I see it. Mine is a definition of the barista, a description of a coffee professional in speciality coffee who is preparing coffee with a culinary purpose, with flavour and provenance the point of interest. The term itself means many other things to many people. Over the next couple of posts I want to explore...
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