Coffee and love. Love and coffee

Coffee. You learn something new every day. At least try.

Over the years I have picked up pet projects that help me understand something new or remember something I had forgotten.

Photography. Film. Editing. Running. Publishing. Power lifting. Physio.

My most recent one. Freshly brewed coffee. I grew up with instant. Not brewed. My first taste of a brewed cup was system shock. I hated it.

Like sashimi, best coffee comes via traditions and rituals.

A good teacher can make you fall in love. A bad one…

To truly benefit a willing student must first empty his cup.

I came back to coffee after 19 years. I had stopped cold turkey in ’01. It was the only beverage I could drink during my own extended Covid recovery.

My journey of discovery started with Faisal Khan casually mentioning I didn’t know what I was missing if I was still drinking instant.

Followed by Norbert Almeida showing me that I didn’t know what I was doing with the beans I had.

The final lesson, yesterday. Shahid Mustafa sharing something that coffee aficionados know but I didn’t.

The secret ingredient is water. 75 ml, per shot. No more.

Followed by how we add milk.

Pour your shot in a cup. Then gently add frothed milk. Pour on the sides, not on the coffee, directly.

Let it sit for 30 seconds. The flavors will diffuse. Then serve as is, don’t stir.

Not really rocket science but it still took me 5 months to get here. The search for a perfect cup that I myself had brewed and poured.

And yet it would have taken much longer without my teachers and instructors.

Two final gifts, from them. Both significantly upgrade your game and the quality of your coffee.

a) Start with whole beans. Freshly ground is better than just ground. Only ground what you need.

b) Everything you heard about Moka pot is true. If you can afford it, pick one up.

Rituals and traditions are not just about process. They are more about love of the craft and of those we serve these cups.

Two very different kinds of love.

They create magic when we bring them together in a room. Make it with love and it will show.

True for everything else in life and work too. Not just coffee.