Slow Coffee, a contradictio in terminis?

It seems a contradiction in terminis? How could coffee possibly be slow? Coffee has grown to be a symbol of a lifestyle in the fast lane. So when the quintessence of our fast living society becomes slow, is that a symbol of a whole society that is slowing down? One where the intimate and local creates a new sense of being and belonging?

Ever since I lived in Italy in the beginning of the nineties, have I sworn to espresso coffee. The Italian way. When I lived in London (also in the beginning of the nineties) I would go out of my way to find a decent cup of coffee. Later life got easier because the espresso hype caught up with me, and it seems espresso is now everywhere to be found; on my kitchen counter, in the kitchen of the office, and even when I visited Shanghai in 2008, there was an espresso bar at every corner. For a long time Star Bucks even had a cafe inside the Forbidden City in Beijing. It was closed in 2007. The world-master barrista of 2006 was Danish, Copenhagen and Stockholm has some of the finest coffee bars.

Coffee has gone through a number of loops of reinvention and upgrading since the beginning of the nineties. Much like in other gourmet categories like wine and cheese a whole army of connoisseurs, experts and barristas have popped out of nowhere, and have taught us about coffee; understanding the fine details leading to a perfect cup; how important freshly grind beans are, exactly which pressure is right, and about the importance of the origins, type and treatment of the beans. Starbucks even gives Coffee masterclasses in HongKong. Coffee is no longer confined to being the social lubricant @ home that it used to be, it is now a culinary experience best enjoyed in specialized coffee houses. Coffee is no longer a bitter drink for old folks, it's almost a cocktail, and Starbucks will make it any way you want it. Caffeine has gone from being evil, to being an excellent provider of anti-oxidants, which makes it almost healthy.

So now when espresso has finally established itself in the mindset of mr. Average, automatic espresso machines have penetrated into even the most provincial kitchens, then comes slow coffee and turns the world upside down. The new Slow Coffee is made with drip filters. Cup by cup. The freshly grind beans are given time to soak in boiling water, until all the fine essences are extracted, then it slowly drips into the cup. That brewing process becomes a slow ritual of waiting and contemplation. The cups are big like tea-mugs, which turns drinking into sipping and carefully tasting every mouthful, to discover all the layers of the flavors. 

Now when coffee has slowed down, will we all slow down?

The Village Coffee serving Slow Coffee @ opening Cris

The Village Coffee serving Slow Coffee @ opening Cris

The Village Coffee serving Slow Coffee @ opening Cris

The Village Coffee serving Slow Coffee @ opening Cris

De jongens van de koffee

Filterkoffie weer hip?

screamingbeans

thevillagecoffee

World-of-Coffee, Bern, Switzerland

The beverage industry seem to be having a hard time reaching the youth you observe if you have a look at all the more recent products launces attempts at pleasing the youth. Cola Blak, a coffee essented soft drink or Café Fresco ice coffee in a ready-to-go cardboard cup from the cool-shelve. The youth allegedly dislike warm drinks because they are not refreshing and dislike the bitterness of coffee preferring sweet. 

Speaking about coffee, there was certainly something boiling at the World-of-Coffee in Bern in May, something that must be reaching out to another audience than the Bacardi Breezer youth. The World-of-Coffee is an annually returning fair, every year it takes place in a different city, this year 9300 attendees. At the fair The world championship of Barrista and the world Championship of latte art is held, yes you heard me right! Complete with fan-crowds in supporter t-shirts, real-time big screen projection, jury and participants from different countries.

The Crowd

The Crowd

This year Klaus Thomson from Denmark won The World Championship Barrista. Now Denmark is not exactly the first country that comes to mind when one thinks about sophisticated coffee drinks, theatrical coffee bars and coffee connoisseurship. And what may also sound unbelievable is that that Stockholm has one of the most vibrant of coffee cultures in Europe according to the Wallpaper Navigator. So the phenomenon of the new coffee culture is reaching far beyond the borders of the traditional caffionista countries like Italy, France and Spain. And the new coffee drinking seems to be about something quite different to the traditional coffees served in Mediterranean countries. The new coffee culture includes drinks like Frappuccinos (milk slush w/instant coffee) or Expressionista (ice expresso w/jasmine and maple syrup) something that would only make the head of an Italian shake disapprovingly. The Italians are all about refining the classic recipes to perfection.

UK’s Jame Hofman during WCB

The Jury evaluates

Cafe Latte Art

OK, back to the world-of-coffee even if we still fail to understand how this event is sponsored, it certainly is for sure it does a good job at pulling coffee drinking to another level, a level beyond the social lubricant, inoffensive, breaking-the-ice-drink that coffee is often tagged as in Northern Europe. Firstly there was the already mentioned hyped World Championship Barrista, there was the coffee tasting panels, coffee conferences, coffee workshops and as it suits a fair; exhibitions by different companies and producers of hard- and software.



The coffee tasting panel was a row of tables of people in white jackets very laboratory like. Different crops of coffee was tasted and given points. The jury would not just sit and drink coffee cosily, they where tasting the coffee in a way that could only remind me of how a wine-connoisseur would taste a glass a wine, carefully noting down all the different sensory experiences that the coffee would cause. Talking about the origins of the coffee using wine-like vocabulary: Cru and Grand Cru. An activity obviously being taken very, very serious by the panel members.

 The coffee conferences where arranged around 3 themes; Traceability, Origin Countries, how to be a winner and the best cup; all offering a day of lectures around the theme. We had the opportunity to attend 2 lectures; the history of Cappuccino and CoSIC, the worldwide panel of coffee scientists. Joanne Smits sr. product designer for Espresso listened to “the history of cappuccino” and learned that the current coffee rave has a lot to thank to the Italian immigrants in the North-West of US. They imported Italian espresso machines with dual boiler systems and re-interpreted Italian coffee culture to a US-version that includes softening the taste by increasing the use of hot milk, making the drinks healthier by using low-fat milk and creating a cosy atmosphere with sofas that invite for longer visits.


I listened to CoSIC, the worldwide panel of Coffee Scientists that statistically proven does a great job at converting the public opinion about coffee. Whenever some bad publicity is in the media the panel of coffee scientists step forward and publish their scientifically correct contra propaganda; the not assuming but really researched knowledge about coffees effect on the human body etcetc.


The where workshops in the areas of roasting and grinding, brewing, Barista grinding, tasting, ingredients, home equipment and coffee recipes etc. co-ordinated by experts in the filed. The workshop “cooking with coffee” was given by Chefs from “Cercle de Chefs de Cuisine de Berne”, who taught how to create coffee-flavoured sauces to serve with your roast.


So when some people say that coffee drinking is on the way to becoming the new red wine one could follow the lead after having visited the world-of-coffee which certainly leaves one thinking that the art of coffee making and drinking is being elevated to a higher level involving sophistication and connoisseurship.

www.worldofcoffee.org
www.coffeegeek.com
www.worldbaristachampionship.com
www.world-latteart-championship.com

Coffee pop-up

I saw this nice coffee kiosk, espresso on wheels, coffee pop-up shop in Gent on a central square. Quite awesome that also coffee can be put into a little van and sold on-the-go. The little coffee kiosk is completely packed with products such as special coffees and taste-makers as liquors and caramels. By the way they also make hot chocolate and teas.