Cupping
June 15th 2008 07:13
I thought about this a couple of months ago before it had such a locker room official name; thought it would make a great little money earner in Sydney especially on rainy days, and weeks later there was an article about it in the New York Times where cupping has become the new gourmand phenomena. I was crushed. Or perhaps finely ground.
But I was still curious to see how it would work so I thought to try it when I was in Wellington, crowned as it is by me the coffee centre of the universe. (It's not just me - check out guide books and articles on Wellington sometime and you'll see words like caffeine fuelled city...cafe society and so forth)
The idea of cupping is to treat coffee sampling like a wine tasting: take a small shot of the potion and comment on the surroundings and the knowledgable server and all other ambiant features, followed by a description of the tipple itself. I could use words like nutty and earthy and composty, adjectives usually reserved for pinot noirs and poose. But it was too hard. Unlike wine where there is a reference point to grapes and the terroir, and a whole stack of pre-packaged wine words to describe flavour and aroma, coffee has no touchstone, no reservoir of terminology. It’s not that the flavour variation and notes aren’t there. It’s just that without a background knowledge they’re had to identify and even if you are that perceptive, it’s even harder to articulate.
The other thing is that there is a huge difference between ingesting 10 twenty mill bursts of wine and 10 twenty mill bursts of coffee. One turns you into a relaxed bon vivant. The other turns you into Kyle Sandilands.
So until a body of information builds that I can plaigarise and they work out the kinks to cupping (they are working on it: try Coffee Research for more information) here’s a whole bunch of cafes you need to try if you like coffee and are in Wellington.
I’d love to hear your solutions to the problems currently presented by cupping. Does it have potential or is it just a bit of a shit idea?
By the way, all the coffee and café’s below are made and roasted in Wellington and is prepared to a ludicrously high standard. Beans are taken very seriously here and all of it is really good.
Mojo
Mojo declares itself a coffee cartel and they’re not doing a bad job at backing it up. They’re becoming as ubiquitous in Wellington as StarMarts. They do a pretty mean coffee. And they have a retro colour scheme too which is kind of nice. What sets Mojo apart for me is its location on the waterfront (just to the north of Loaded Hog – can’t miss it). They also have Hofbrau on tap which is kind of cool.
Fuel
Fuel are all over the place too. Mostly in little carts. They’re the guerillas of the coffee world in Wellies: mobile, covert, concentrating on high calibre work. I think they add silk worms or something into their milk because they take out the prize for the smoothest flat white by a long way.
There’s a Fuel around the corner from the main area in Wellington airport (towards the domestic gates). It's the best coffee you'll get at an airport anywhere in the world. Betcha.
Havana Coffee Works
In Wigan Street just off Cuba (geddit?) all tucked up and around the corner, these guys are the pioneers….kind of (I haven’t gone into detailed research on the history of the city's beans but I lived there for quite a long time and I reckon it would have to be close to the first). The Wigan Street premises is their factory, or works if you will, so its kind of like watching how your hamburger’s made but in a good way.
Fidels
They have no plans to change the name of Raul, which is good. They’re staying true to the roots. Fidels is more about the alty atmosphere of upper Cuba and the general vibe than the actual coffee, which explains why I didn’t pay attention and find out what kind of coffee they use. It’s yum though.
Revive
My old favourite in Woodward Street off Lambton Quay. They do the whole bowl thing, which is pretty standard in Wellington, but somehow they just do it kind of a little bit better.
Supreme
Probably the best. Hunt around for the cafes with its brown and orangey sign. Or buy the beans next to Revive in Woodward Street – it’s such good coffee even if you’re a useless barista it’s hard to fuck up. I have the lattes to prove it.
espresso van
But I was still curious to see how it would work so I thought to try it when I was in Wellington, crowned as it is by me the coffee centre of the universe. (It's not just me - check out guide books and articles on Wellington sometime and you'll see words like caffeine fuelled city...cafe society and so forth)
The idea of cupping is to treat coffee sampling like a wine tasting: take a small shot of the potion and comment on the surroundings and the knowledgable server and all other ambiant features, followed by a description of the tipple itself. I could use words like nutty and earthy and composty, adjectives usually reserved for pinot noirs and poose. But it was too hard. Unlike wine where there is a reference point to grapes and the terroir, and a whole stack of pre-packaged wine words to describe flavour and aroma, coffee has no touchstone, no reservoir of terminology. It’s not that the flavour variation and notes aren’t there. It’s just that without a background knowledge they’re had to identify and even if you are that perceptive, it’s even harder to articulate.
Mojo rising
The other thing is that there is a huge difference between ingesting 10 twenty mill bursts of wine and 10 twenty mill bursts of coffee. One turns you into a relaxed bon vivant. The other turns you into Kyle Sandilands.
So until a body of information builds that I can plaigarise and they work out the kinks to cupping (they are working on it: try Coffee Research for more information) here’s a whole bunch of cafes you need to try if you like coffee and are in Wellington.
I’d love to hear your solutions to the problems currently presented by cupping. Does it have potential or is it just a bit of a shit idea?
By the way, all the coffee and café’s below are made and roasted in Wellington and is prepared to a ludicrously high standard. Beans are taken very seriously here and all of it is really good.
Mojo
Mojo declares itself a coffee cartel and they’re not doing a bad job at backing it up. They’re becoming as ubiquitous in Wellington as StarMarts. They do a pretty mean coffee. And they have a retro colour scheme too which is kind of nice. What sets Mojo apart for me is its location on the waterfront (just to the north of Loaded Hog – can’t miss it). They also have Hofbrau on tap which is kind of cool.
Fuel
Fuel are all over the place too. Mostly in little carts. They’re the guerillas of the coffee world in Wellies: mobile, covert, concentrating on high calibre work. I think they add silk worms or something into their milk because they take out the prize for the smoothest flat white by a long way.
There’s a Fuel around the corner from the main area in Wellington airport (towards the domestic gates). It's the best coffee you'll get at an airport anywhere in the world. Betcha.
Havana Coffee Works
In Wigan Street just off Cuba (geddit?) all tucked up and around the corner, these guys are the pioneers….kind of (I haven’t gone into detailed research on the history of the city's beans but I lived there for quite a long time and I reckon it would have to be close to the first). The Wigan Street premises is their factory, or works if you will, so its kind of like watching how your hamburger’s made but in a good way.
Fidels
They have no plans to change the name of Raul, which is good. They’re staying true to the roots. Fidels is more about the alty atmosphere of upper Cuba and the general vibe than the actual coffee, which explains why I didn’t pay attention and find out what kind of coffee they use. It’s yum though.
Revive
My old favourite in Woodward Street off Lambton Quay. They do the whole bowl thing, which is pretty standard in Wellington, but somehow they just do it kind of a little bit better.
Supreme
Probably the best. Hunt around for the cafes with its brown and orangey sign. Or buy the beans next to Revive in Woodward Street – it’s such good coffee even if you’re a useless barista it’s hard to fuck up. I have the lattes to prove it.
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