I was then asked to be Rick Steins in house barista & train & keep an eye on coffee standards for all his establishments. A few years after that I was contacted by chef Martin Blunos & his team, asking if I would like to be involved with their new concept called Foodies – experts in their fields all under one roof – pizza, wine, restaurant, fishmongers, veg, cheese, food from different countries & of course coffee. I was asked to run the coffee shop & roast the coffee on-site. I had a big decision to make as I loved working for Rick Steins but this was an opportunity that I could not turn down & was a way to move forward in the coffee world , so after 3 years of living in beautiful Padstow working for Rick Stein I moved to Exeter to work at Foodies.
This wasn’t what my blog was supposed to be about but I got carried away, I wanted to say that I have never & will never stop learning about coffee. (There is just so much history & it is always developing from the coffee species & production to the roasts & the brewing methods.) I went on from Foodies to run a coffee shop in Ludlow Shropshire & then to be a barista trainer all over the UK for a company based in Yorkshire. My Skills & what I am most familiar with in coffee is being a barista. I have not been to a coffee growing country to see first hand the coffee being grown & produced, this is my next big step in coffee & I am sure I will learn so much more from this. I subscribe to ‘Roast’ Magazine & ‘Barista’ Magazine & have the coffee books & read coffee blogs etc, but it can not be compared to actually seeing things first hand.
I have recently become aware of the term ‘third wave coffee’ & that is what I wanted my blog on today, but I think I need to learn more & get involved before I do a full blog on it. At the moment I rely on the importers to provide me with coffees from different countries. I more often than not go on the taste of the coffee when creating a blend, so for example if I want more chocolate tones I will add Brazil or Ethiopian Mocha & if I want more Citrus fruits I will add a Kenyan. I will then get the background of the coffee after that. From what I understand ‘Third Wave Coffee’ is about the traceability & knowing exactly where & how the coffee grows & is produced & having a good relationship with the farmers. This type of coffee will no doubt result in great quality & have a great flavour, So I am all for looking further in to this, I have contacted my traders for some samples & information. Although the ‘third wave coffee’ does not stop there & I already adhere to some of the rules. To be a ‘third wave coffee shop’ for example you would need to also know about the roast & be a skilled brewer, assisting in coffee becoming a culinary art rather than just a commodity.
I would say most of my coffee blends are ‘third wave coffees’ but I know I have a few that don’t have the traceability, as I say, this is a new term to me & it is something I will be learning about further & I will write another blog on any thoughts.
Right; I am off to do a Women’s Institute coffee talk now. I will get some pictures to put on Facebook, I mainly talk about the history & production of coffee & give the ladies a chance to try my coffee through a cupping session at the end. I wish I could take my espresso machine but it is to big & heavy…
So that’s me for now – See Ya & keep drinking good coffee! x
