Beans Beans Beans

I can be really abstract at times!

Last night at Sangha we were doing a metta bhavana (cultivating loving kindness) meditation and I was distracted. Earlier in the evening I had been at North Tea Power for coffee and the wonderful cup of El Salvador Finca Argentina Washed from Has Bean had impacted too much on me..... it defined the meditation.

Firstly, I thought about a coffee I had made myself.....the Guatemalan Finca bourbon from Tapa in Glasgow. The original pourover than Wayne had made for me in NTP was above average but not amazing (see last Thursday's blip for a brief review). It's not really designed to be used for espresso but as it's such a pain to change the grind in my Ascaso that I used it for as my morning shot yesterday.......nice acidity on the tongue, a nutty richness with a hint of cocoa. Argggg, much better in my machine than NTP's espresso blend.

Wayne said that this blend was dialled for his machine so it could well be than the Guatemalan Finca can cope better with the wider range of temperatures when using a Pavoni. An important lesson learnt was that what can be an amazing coffee using one method or machine may be quite different using another and not to judge on just one taste!

Then I thought of a coffee that I was indifferent towards...the Lavazza I have at work....it's average, pre-ground and mass produced. Acceptable but I drink rather taste it.

Next was to think about coffee I didn't like! Starbucks! Mass produced gunk, under-dosed, normally scorched and made by coffee production operatives rather than baristas (not in every case though). I remember back in about 2002 when the company still cared about taste rather than the bottom line. Still, they have helped develop a coffee drinking culture so its not all negative.

Finally, I thought about the love put into producing good coffee by many whether it is the grower, buyer, roaster or barista and how they all contribute in their own small way to making a happier world for us enlightened coffee geeks!