The number of times I get asked for a strong latte or a weak cappuccino s frightening.

The misunderstanding is almost universal in the so-called food service industry.

This is the skinny (pardon the pun)

It is all about ratios, in our third wave coffee universe.

a cappuccino is 1:3-5 ( 1 part espresso to between 3 to five parts micro texured milk)

A latte is 1:7-9

That is it. So if you want a strong latte order a damn flat white.

As for those of you chucking a single shot in a 250ml cup and calling it  cap, that is just wrong. A single extracted properly has about 30mls of volume. that leaves 220mls for the milk, or a ratio of over 1:7. properly latte territory. Making it bitter is just a cost cutting cover cover up.

As for the old school dictum that I was taught back in the day, with a Cap as 1/3 Espresso, 1/3 Milk 1/3 Foam, that is just hokey. in the 250ml cup we used, that is 30ml espresso (we used singles back then) 30ml milk and 30 ml foam, the cup would have been barely a third full! We just never bothered doing the math. I will deny that we then went and “prettied” it up with cocao sprinkles!

You know the first time you smelled vanilla? Or ground coffee? I dream that one day coffee will deliver that promise in the cup. I know we are getting closer. I taste complexity every day.

I dream that bitterness will no longer be sold as an excuse for flavour. The words “acquired taste” will become a distant memory.

I dream that every cafe will have properly trained and knowledgeable Baristas pouring their coffee.

I dream that every barista will be challenged to strive to constantly pour a better cup. That indifferent extraction of the coffee will be a thing of the past. That every machine will be properly cared for and kept clean.

I dream that coffee equipment will be selected for it’s ability to pour better coffee by extracting the flavours perfectly. Perhaps in new or even novel ways.

I dream that a coffee grinder will be developed that remains cool enough to allow all of the flavour locked in the beans to remain undiminished and become available to the cup.

I dream that coffee will be about the flavour. Tradition and story too, but really about the flavour. That all roasters will be concerned about the flavour in the beans and not aspire merely to the colour of the roast.

I dream that coffee will be discussed by the average Joe in the same way food and movies get discussed. Not by brand but by knowledgeable converstion about preferences for flavour.

.

I have a dream about artisanal coffee

This is TRUTH.

David Donde

The point is this, there is the principle of Fair Trade and the brand Fairtrade. One is a system of certification and licensing which often results in unintended consequences and the other is about fairness and buying on an ethical basis as a principle.

Fairtrade (one word) shows the outside world that you care. It proves it. It does create some quirky results. It guarantees a farmer a higher price than the commodity price of coffee, however he has to manage to get certified. A bureaucratic process that usually involves fees. This prevents many farmers from seizing the opportunity. Fairtrade comes at the expense of free trade. The poor farmer who never got a certificate is eternally prejudiced to lower sales prices and will have poorer workers. The exact opposite of the intended result.

Those of us truly indulging in speciality coffee NEVER buy commodity grade/price coffee and usually ensure the premium goes back to the farmer. This is the principle of Relationship coffee that we adore so much.

Fairtade certification does engage the consumer better however, and perhaps is the way forward if we are to get clients to care.

What should we do?

“is bitterness necessary to produce a strong cup of coffee”

My coffee journey itself is based upon a different idea :

” can coffee in the cup deliver upon the promise made by the aromas of freshly ground coffee?”

 

When you ask the right questions the answers become self apparent. That gorgeous aroma doesn’t exude a hint of bitterness. Why on earth would we want it in the cup? It is the same let down my Mother’s vanilla essence bulshitted me with as a kid. Gorgeous aroma, bitter nothingness when you took a swig. If this hasn’t bored you see this link.

We have taken advantage of the artisanal roasting process to deliver that gorgeous complexity of a perfect cup of coffee without that clawing bitterness, especially in the aftertaste.

Question is, does anyone out there hark for bitter coffee?

The trouble is that we don’t believe it is ever good enough.

Yes, you, like us want the best micro-lots of green coffees from the best estates.

Yes we, like you, demand the coffees that are the best examples of the Terroir where they are grown.

Yes we all believe that Relationship sourcing models are vital, not just to feel good and do good, but for sustainablity. a Fair Trade certification is simply not enough.

Yes we believe that the artisan process is the way. Heavy Cast Iron roasting barrels for some reason just make coffee taste better. We wish we knew why though.

Yes we believe that better barista techniques are just around the corner. We will remain part of the Barista community both to contribute and to search them out.

If you are like minded and agree that there is always room for growth and improvement, we are going to enjoy each others company.

And as for that flat white I enjoyed at the Depot yesterday. The best cup of my life. So far…

I love being part of this.

Thank you everybody

David

They were Peter Bacon, former Sun International CEO, Sheryl Ozinsky, independent consultant specializing in tourism and the environment, Ross Bowers, marketing manager for Rhino Africa, Jason Stewart from HaveYouHeard and David Donde, Truths visionary.

The topic: Sustaining the Hospitality Sector, Post World Cup.

The message was different to one that I have heard before. Each speaker bought clarity on  understanding the importance of Sustaining the Legacy.

How do we, as South Africans, sustain the legacy of what has been an outstanding event?

Just like any brand you need to have a true, deep, repeatable story.

The people of South Africa need to come together and begin to tell this story.

Tourists must hear it and transmit it to the rest of  the world.

Jason Stewart from ‘HaveYouHeard’ stated that usually, one in three statements are acted upon – there is no better marketing tool than word-of-mouth.

The question is therefore: How do we as South Africans get the tourist to say the right thing?

- Our attitude to what we have been given is imperative.

- Individuals and corporations alike need to empower themselves and others through education and training.

- We need to get up to speed on reducing our carbon footprint whilst educating and empowering others to do the same..

- Using social media to promote South Africa as a quality destination.

- Sending visitors home as enthusiastic, positive advertisements and

- Having them repeat the Story.

What can be more valuable than real people with real experience and enthusiasm promoting our country for us? Bringing those tourists back for a repeat visit and encouraging them to not only visit the major cities but give them opportunities to discover more of the Country and Continent.

Yours,

Kate

We believe in quality above all else.

We believe in continuous learning. We believe in challenging the fundamental principles applying to everything that we do. Both through the teachings of those cleverer than us around us and through questioning the principles we work with.

What silly assumptions have been believed in that are actually invalid. Where have we confused cause and effect?

We believe that if anything is worth doing it is worth being the best in the world at it.

We believe in Sustainability. We believe that in order to be the best it is a simple matter of buying the best and not messing it up. In order to buy the best there is a premium. This puts you first in the queue for quality and allows the supplier the opportunity to continuously improve upon their quality.

Now we happen to make coffee. These principles apply to every facet of our coffee. How we source our coffee right through production to how we ship our coffee and even to how we get our customers to increase the enjoyment of their cup. An early questions were: “is bitterness necessary for a strong cup?” and “shouldn’t coffee deliver on the promise of the aroma of freshly ground beans?” and “can one improve profits through paying for quality?”

How does this apply to the other things we do, or will do one day?

What is there that we haven’t begun to question yet?

We roast coffee. Properly.

Flavour, not bitterness. No Sugar Required

Like plungers, drip-filters, our Abid filters, syphon filters, Aero-press. The reason? My best cuppa this week was a tie between the Vengeance (currently Ethiopia, Harrar) and the Donde’s Chaos (currently our Mexican, organic coop) both of which were on a larger grind setting (6 as opposed to 5 or 5.5) and a shorter brewing time (2:30 total minutes and not 4:00). And it’s actually fun playing around with the various brewing parameters to see what happens.

My question to you Mr or Mrs reader is would you care if I organised such (with baristas who knew how to explain each method and coffee used) coffee tasting experiences? Come on! Interactive and informative coffee rituals and not just the coffee.

Zane

Lo and it was said “we honour them, we combine them, as it must be done.”

Little did he in those earliest of days even consider for a merest moment that they might combine such offerings wherein that with the foursquare special, therein where thou arivest for the earlybird special and tweetest thou joy via the holy foursquare doctirine and gettest two cups for fifteen rand and, so with thou own cup gettest them for a mere eleven Rondt

and lo smitten at a mere five and a half a cup,