UNM wrote:
Any barista doing latte art in a takeaway cup needs to get over themselves Great coffee is three parts grower, six parts roaster and one part barista Your thoughts?
I cant tell you how many 'pretty' coffees I've had that tasted like s***! As to one part barista - what a joke! Coffee is surely the only product I know that can be and often is completely stuffed by the 'end user' - doesn't matter how good the bean is or how well it's roasted - if its made on a machine that runs too hot, or hasn't been well maintained, or if the group head is not purged between extractions, or the handle wiped out with a dry cloth, or stored properly, or used at the appropriate date post roast, or ground to order, or dosed properly, or tamped correctly, or served in a preheated cup, with the milk textured correctly (and not reheated), and served with a 'decent' milk (not the rubbish that most places use) - well, these are only some of the variables that can be stuffed up by the barista - so I would say that they have a considerable impact upon the end product It's not like a bottle of wine where you open it up and pour a glass (ok I know there are considerable other variables involved here as well - but they're much more manageable and harder to stuff up) - the barista can and often does completely ruin what would otherwise be a perfectly respectable beverage To my mind some consideration and respect should also be given to the farmer (or farmers) who grew the beans in the first place - the climate and other growing conditions that impact upon the bean, the processing and treatment of same - and the sustainability or otherwise of the harvest - not to mention the lifestyle and living conditions of those who grew and produced it - 'from crop to cup' as the saying inevitable goes...
