“Well since I’ve got a full card and free drink coming to me, I think I’ll get a fancy coffee!”
Alright! I love making the “fancy” coffees for customers. There’s an excitement surrounding them. The coffees with flavors as far ranging as melon and almonds or hibiscus and chocolate. Brewed by hand and served with care, all of our “fancy” coffees are delicious and I’m proud to say that. I do have a problem with them, though.
The coffees are not fancy. At all. Ignoring the obviously intricate harvesting, pulping, and drying processes that all coffees undergo, the “fancy” Single Origin coffees available via pour-over are the least complicated drinks on our menu.
There is one location from which they originate. There is no pressure being forced onto the coffee to extract it’s solubles as in espresso. Our pour-over technique essentially allows the coffee to sit in water and do what it does best. We add no syrups, we don’t blend, it’s the height of what some could call “just” coffee. And it’s the most exciting, “fanciest” thing that many of my customers have glanced their eyes on in a cafe. And that’s great, but it’s not fancy.
Does it matter that a drink made so simply be considered fancy? Probably not. People enjoy the coffee and are excited to try it. But I do hope that we as an industry can take opportunities while brewing these coffees to discuss what they’re and that they are so delicious because they’re so simple. With groups like Coffee Common having events around the world and baristas getting involved behind their bars with creative new menus, we’re pushing the world of coffee into a simpler, more delicious place.
And check this one out for good measure from Metro New York.
