Like most cultures, coffee culture is no different in reality. A group of people united by a common interest. What better place than a coffee shop. There is always a buzz and buzz of activity. Somehow it attracts so many like-minded people, and in other ways so much variety. From businessmen to housewives, from students to teachers. Hundreds of years ago, they were popular meeting places for artists. A few years ago, Wine Masters were popping up everywhere, and now the latest trend seems to be turning into Barrister. We were lucky enough to be able to interview Winston, one of the best Barristers in the country.
These days, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, the coffee seems to be yelling at me! Coffee culture, coffee culture! Most people have coffee making machines and there are stores dedicated to selling only coffee. We have so many options that it is difficult to know what coffee to drink, when, where and why. I will be attending a Barristers course early next month and will be back with much more information on the different coffee beans and how to choose between them.
In the meantime, I’m not sure about you, but I’m getting very confused between the different ways of drinking coffee. Gone are the days when we could only choose between an espresso and a cappuccino. And what’s worse, when I grew up, we drank instant or filtered coffee. Now we have a whole range of ways to drink our coffee:
– Latte: A coffee mixed with a frothy milk foam.
– Americana: Made by adding hot water to a mug with some espresso in it.
– Iced coffee: Cold coffee with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
– Cappuccino: A cup of coffee covered by a layer of frothy milk foam.
– Skinny cappuccino. The same as a cappuccino, but made with skim milk.
– Flat white: A cup of coffee with milk.
– Espresso: Extremely strong and dense, with “crema” (coffee foam on top). Therefore, crema coffee is an alternative name for an Italian espresso.
– Macchiato: A cup of frothy milk, filled with an espresso.
– Moccachino: a coffee with milk with added chocolate.
– Beaten. An iced coffee, served black or white.
And to make coffee even more attractive, many countries around the world have their own specialty coffees, such as:
Caffe Au Lait: France
Egg coffee: Vietnam
Turkish coffee: Turkey
Bombon Coffee: Spain
Cuban Coffee: Cuba
Wiener: Vienna
Palazzo: United States
Caffe De Ola: Mexico
To top it off we have alcoholic coffee drinks, like an Irish coffee, Bavarian coffee, Royal coffee, Kalua coffee and even coffee liqueurs.
I must say that my favorite is still a cappuccino. It has to be made with the best quality coffee beans and full of foam at the top of the cup. If you can convince me otherwise, please share with me how you love your coffee.
Winston’s interview.
How did you get involved with espresso? How it all started?
Without getting too romantic, there was a complaint in my local newspaper about the bad coffee served in my city. That was about 5 years ago. After reading that, I started trying different coffees trying to figure out what a really good cup of coffee was. This eventually led me to Origin Coffee Roasting, where I took a barista course while studying in 2013. I worked part time at a roaster in Somerset West and at a market in Woodstock until I completed my studies in June 2014. I started working at full time at Origin in August 2014.
What keeps you working as a barista? Is the work repetitive?
No, it is not repetitive. It may seem that way because, at the opposite end of the bar, it seems like we’re only serving coffee every day, but that’s far from it. We are using different coffees every day so there are a lot of tastings involved, the weather is always changing which means the coffee is poured differently throughout the day so we have to work accordingly, we meet different people every day, we face different challenges on a daily basis. base, etc. Far from being repetitive. And that is exactly why I continue to work as a barista.
Where do you find your inspiration?
I find my inspiration by looking at all the people involved in the coffee cycle. From the farmer to the green coffee buyer, the roaster, the barista and finally the consumer. Knowing that I am involved in this process gives me the inspiration to do my best to serve up the best cup of coffee possible. To justice for those who have played their part before me.
What’s new in today’s coffee industry?
To be honest, I think quality has become the novelty in the coffee industry. More and more cafes are trying to produce better coffee, which makes things very competitive in terms of quality. This propels the industry in a positive direction. More coffees are also starting to use alternative or filter methods like the aeropress and the v60 pourover to make filtered coffee. It is best enjoyed black without sugar to ensure that the discomfort and characteristics of the coffee can be captured.
What kind of coffee do you like / don’t like to make?
I like to make all kinds of coffee. There are espresso-based coffees such as the typical American and latte and there are filter coffee such as the French press or the streamlined press. I can’t say that I don’t like making certain types of coffees, but I am sometimes embarrassed when customers want an unusual order that takes the emphasis off the coffee. For example, a large single-shot milk and soy milk will completely outshine the taste of coffee. But at the end of the day coffee is subjective and we can’t tell customers what they like or don’t like, we can only give them advice and hopefully guide them.
What is the most time consuming coffee?
I would say that the filtering methods we use in our coffee are the most time consuming. The French press takes about 5 minutes to complete. While the espresso base takes about 2 minutes.
What can you tell me about the Coffee Culture?
Coffee culture. Where do I start? Well, right now in the coffee industry (all over the world) we are experiencing what we call “Third Wave”. The “first wave” would be defined as the way our parents could have had their coffee. Instant coffee or a dark roast Italian blend in the home filter machine. There was no true coffee or coffee culture. Then, with the advent of Starbucks and other commercial coffee chains, the “Second Wave” of individual coffee growers evolved. People became more aware of what they were drinking and the trend for espresso-based drinks to go like lattes and cappuccinos began.
Right now we are experiencing the “Third Wave” in which people in coffee have become more aware of the quality of the coffee they buy. Some companies even establish direct trade with farmers to help improve cultivation methods, export, etc.
Green coffee beans are precisely roasted and great care is taken in preparing espresso and filter-based beverages. Along with this, consumers are also aware of the quality of the coffee in the cafes. Consumers know what they want when buying coffee, more than before. And they are also much more educated. Because of this, there are more cafes opening and more consumers visiting the cafes, hence a growing coffee culture. Bigger than before.
Tell me about the competitions you have won and what awaits you.
Most recently I won the South African National Aeropress title. The aeropress is basically a filter device used to make coffee. And I won the national competition, so I will be competing in the Aeropress world championships in Dublin, Ireland in June. I also came second in the Western Cape Barista competition and eighth in the National Barista competition. In the future, I would like to participate in more competitions with the aim of winning and competing in the World Barista Competition.
Your dream?
My dream is to put Africa on the map for coffee. As a continent, we produce some of the best tasting coffees in the world but, except in South Africa, we do not necessarily serve this as it should be served. Most of the high-quality coffee produced in Africa is exported and lower-quality commercial coffees remain. I would like to change this. Coffee was founded in Africa, so I feel like we have a responsibility to serve the best African coffees in our cafes.
