Taking a part in building that bridge.

Coffee is often referred to as the elixir of the gods. The definition of coffee and how it’s prepared is a topic of great debate.  For some, coffee is just hot water and instant-coffee to taste, but for parts of an emerging coffee culture, the so-called “coffee purists”, coffee is made with a little bit of science.  Drawing a bridge between coffee purists and your average consumer is often met with great resistance from both parts of the spectrum.

Consider the following:  A modern barista grinds 30 grams of coffee beans.  He/ she will flush the paper filter of his single cup brewer to reduce to the risk that his brew will take on the taste of paper. He/she settles only 29 grams firmly into the base of the brewer before the commencement of a gentle stream of 49 grams of hot water which through the virtues of human error becomes 50 grams of hot water.   In this case the hot water was heated to the critical temperature range of 201-205 degrees Fahrenheit.  He/ she allows the coffee grounds to absorb the 50 grams of hot water and bloom like a new sponge first introduced to moisture, bringing to life the coffee grounds whose individual surface areas has multiplied.  Once bloomed, the coffee grounds take on an additional stream of 150 grams of hot water before the barista gently stirs this muddle of water and coffee to ensure even brewing. Lastly, he/she pours the final 215 grams of hot water bringing the sum of hot water to 415 grams.  The final cup might hold 370 grams of brewed coffee, but rest assured that the barista calculated the loss of water into this entire process.  To this particular barista and many like him/her, this is coffee.   For the average consumer this should equate to the best cup of coffee they’ve ever had, and so the consumer is told every time he/she visits a different coffee shop with a different barista who is convinced their method is superior.  But how many baristas are conscious that such intricately prepared coffee is foreign to most consumers?  Furthermore how many baristas extend a hand in building the bridge between instant-coffee and precisely crafted artisan coffee and, furthermore, encourage instant-coffee consumers to visit the other side?

I myself was an instant-coffee consumer.  I also remember my own first drink of coffee prepared in the above-described fashion; my expectations were low because my instant-coffee was comforting and just fine.  My view completely changed upon taking that first drink.  Coffee would never be the same to me.  As a barista, this has been my quest: to lead consumers over that bridge and introduce the complexity of the distinct notes, flavors and science of coffee.  That is why I founded Con Ciencia Coffee and where I derived the name of my mission. “Ciencia” is the Spanish word meaning “science” and “conciencia” is conscience.  Con Ciencia Coffee: Coffee with a Conscience.