In Australia we are blessed to have an outstanding coffee scene with loads of local cafe bars popping up all over the place. Not to mention the number of coffee franchises that have also jumped on the coffee bang wagon, all claiming they make the perfect cup of espresso. But how can you trust that your coffee has been made with loving hands? Here are some of my tips for the coffee loving pursuer.
1. Latte Art
This is not a must be it is certainly a big tick in my books. If your coffee is presented with care and the delicacies of a three pronged rosetta, you can probably be sure that it was made well. What to look out for in good latte art is obviously smoothly textured milk had isn’t to hot as that when you sip it you don’t burn your lips instantly. I have worked in a few cafes and time and time again I got customers asking for extra hot coffee. However I can’t stress this enough, espresso coffee is not instant coffee. This type of coffee is not meant to be served piping hot. So before you take your coffee back to the barista and complain - think first that perhaps your barista is doing you a favour by serving your drink at an appropriate temperature. After all I bet that this barista has drunk a lot more coffee in their time than you. Not to say that your preferences as the customer are just plain wrong, but at least give it a go - you never know you might like it :)
2. Look for a Barista who loves a chat and literally involves themself in the making of the coffee
What do I mean by that? Check out this guy...
Scott Callaghan (read more on him here)
A barista who literally gets close to the action will as far as my experience goes, make a better coffee. Chances are they will actually care about the coffee they place in front of you. Rather than the teenager with pimples that will serve you at any one of those great Australian coffee franchisees I mentioned before (don't worry I started there too - so I can make fun of them). If you're chasing a perfect cup of coffee, I encourage you to actually talk to the barista, strike up a conversation with them and build a repour as well. What harm can it do? Chances are you'll be the first person to say hello to them all day, and next time when they recognise you, they'll take note and make you a great coffee - or even better slide it under the counter and give it to you for free!!!
3. Lastly look for cafes with a clean grinder and hopper
Its pretty simple, if the place cares enough about cleaning their hopper (its the vat of coffee beans in that photo just above) they will also care enough about getting the grind of the beans right and hiring a good barista etc etc. It’s a simple point but next time check out the hopper of your local cafe and have a look...
We all know that at the end of the day coffee is a personal thing and if you love the taste of your local shopping centres drop that’s great! But I employ you to get out and try new coffees and cafes, there's new ones popping up all over the place and you'll be helping an independent cafe owner out by simply seeing what they've got to offer...
Got any more thoughts of coffee? Or want to say something about the cafe culture in Australia or for that matter around the world? There’s a comment box open and I'd be grateful to hear about your opinions and thoughts. Maybe you have more tips for choosing which cafe you enter into. Think I'm crazy? I dunno. But that’s my triple rosetta up there so at least I practice what I preach!
