5/11/2007
Good Things Come In 3's (A Call to Coffee Action)
This post is part summation of the SCAA convention, part manifesto.
The third day of the convention wrapped up three days of coffee
carnivale. We all know that good things come in 3's: father, son and
holy ghost; tonto, tarzan and frankenstein, Jesus, mary & joseph
what am I talking about. The thing about coffee is that it loosens the
tongue, along with the fact that everyone at the show is selling
something and it makes for a surfeit of conviviality. Plus with all
the parties and cinco de mayo, I wasn't sure if it was a coffee or a
tequila convention. Which brings up a thorny point. Why do these bars
in Long Beach now have tequila menus stretching almost into the
hundreds, not to mention margaritas. You have blanco, reposado and
anejo-the three amigos of the blue agave. But in how many countries
does the blue agave grow? Pretty much just in Mexico. Coffee, on the
other hand, grows all around the world in a belt that buckles around
the equator. Wherefore art thou, coffee list? You are probably more
familiar with regular, decaf and just plain black than arabica, bourbon
or caturra. The SCAA had a series of seminars called culinary pathways
with two topics of particular interest: one of them had to do with
pairing coffee with food and the other was entitled restaurant seeks
roaster: improving your coffee by choosing the right roaster.
The
first seminar I have addressed before, especially in my posts about
wine. Most people seem in the dark about how to pair coffee and food
but it is really a skill that everyone possesses just uses in other
ways. It is like trying to find someone to date. You have two
choices: find someone with whom you share a lot of common interests,
who is very similar to you; or find someone who is different but in a
way that your differences work together in harmony. So for coffee
first look for the basics: aroma, acidity, body, flavor and finish.
If the coffee and the dish you are pairing it with both have similar
attributes like chocolate flavors, bravo. Then you can move to the
next level and try to find complimentary attributes. If you combine a
low acidity, chocolaty Brazil with a dish featuring spicy, acidy
peppers, chapeau (hat's off as the french say). You are a player.
The
next seminar topic remains equally vexing for those of us with a coffee
agenda. Most restaurants will spend time to put together a fantastic
wine list then will order coffee from whomever delivers their paper
products and dishsoap. Is that the kind of thinking that makes for a
dinning experience? Ending your dinner with a commodity and a check.
When your coffee program is indistinguishable from the local gas
station, when you store your wine in a cellar and your coffee above the
stove, it is time to call a roaster and by roaster I mean someone who
knows about the craft of roasting coffee. Actually, you should call
the roaster before you open. The roaster should do three things for
you: first, he should be an open book about his operations; how does
he buy beans, how are they roasted, how are they packaged. Take a tour
of the roastery. If you can't take a tour chances are the coffee is
being roasted somewhere they don't want you to see. Second, he should
be able to do a cupping featuring his coffees and the ones you are
currently using or thinking about using. Blind cuppings are a good way
to avoid any prejudices. Thirdly, he should be able to put together a
package of equipment (with training) and coffees suited to your
particular situation, budget, space, clientele and menu. The equipment
manufacturers need to do a better job of providing solutions to
restaurants unique situations to be sure.
The National
Restaurant Association show will take place next week in Chicago and
they will not have anything comparable to the seminars offered at the
Specialty Coffee Association show. We should forge ahead,
nevertheless, with our program of equipment, quality and service. If
you can get $2-3 for a ho-hum cup of coffee, why not offer a French
press for $5-10. You must be able to talk about it the same way you do
for wine. Let your roaster help you develop the language to bring this
message to your clientele. Develop someone in-house to be your coffee
sommelier. Hold a coffee tasting paired with a unique cuisine. You
might even distinguish your restaurant from the hoi polloi.
The
next cinco de mayo when you decide to overindulge in the blue agave,
just remember the health benefits of coffee the next morning. Tequila!
posted by roastmaster at 12:00 AM
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