Coffee Lockdown Week 6

Being a coffee snob means the coffee you were satisfied with in your previously coffee-disadvantaged-life was of a lesser grade. Of course people have different taste preferences, even the tea drinkers have their preferred brand. But everyone has that "limit-of-quality" line they draw when it comes to rather staying without it than drinking it. Some people may still drink good quality instant such as Douwe Egberts or a fine aroma such as Jacobs. To me, that line got drawn at any instant coffee. Some people call it coffee snobbery, but I call it appreciation. And a load of respect. You see it has to do with the bean. 

The original bean from the coffee plant is treated (or mistreated) through the process from seed to cup. For a coffee tree to produce, it needs 3 to 4 years for a carefully nurtured coffee tree to produce fruit. This fruit is called a coffee cherry, which is as bright red as its well-known edible counterpart. When deep red, they are ready to be picked. 

It is a labour intensive job where the pickers take a few days and each day only pick the ripe ones from the tree. This type of harvesting is done to preserve finer beans such as Arabica. Approximately 70kg coffee cherries produce roughly 14kg beans. Yikes. No wonder coffee has a hefty price tag. 

After the harvest the cherry goes through various drying and cleaning processes to produce a green bean. And only then it is sold to be roasted. 

So this is why I respect the humble bean and the way it is treated. And the closer the roasting and brewing is to the original bean, the more authentic and original the coffee. The less the processing the better. This is why I prefer to at least grind my own beans to make the blend of my choice. Instant to me is a bean already ground and packed in a pod. It is still the aroma and taste of that finer Arabica that gets me every time. My home brands range from local roasters such as Bloem Roasters, Jaru and Stereo. And of course, Nespresso! Still thankful coffee can be sold, I clutch my brew every day as I sit out Lockdown, and dream of the day I can again order my favourite flat white from my favourite baristas. 

Coffee Lockdown Week 5

LOCKDOWN 2020 WEEK 5

As the news of the Lockdown levels  and the intricate details unfold, coffee lovers are steeling themselves for yet another few weeks without their favourite java on-the-go. Fortunately there isn't a ban on the sale of coffee pods or beans. I was watching on the news how New Zealanders, who were down to phase 3 and 2, were queueing for their morning coffee, feeling a tinge of jealousy at the sight of "normal life", albeit masked. When we get out of this bizarre situation, and we will, coffee-to-go will be the thing to do first. When the time comes, a few rules will have to be strictly adhered to. Remember to take your own cup. Coffee in ceramic or glass just tastes that much better than a paper cup. This way you know where your cup comes from and how it is cleaned. And take your sanitizer along for good measure. How we look when we get it and in what we will have it is definitely going to ask compliance, but the point is when we get there, we will GET THE COFFEE. That's all that matters. Getting out of coffee foam prison will also be something to celebrate. Not to mention supporting the people of the industry who are hit hard by the rules this abominable virus has caused. I am looking forward with fervent anticipation to this day.  Until then, home coffee rules and is most definitely better than nothing. Cheers!