I love our community, and I’m incredibly excited that whilst many challenges will continue following the impacts of covid, we are now able to find ways to rebuild our hospitality industry and look to the future of great coffee.
As we do that I hope we can take the benefits of wider access to, and understanding of, specialty coffee from our customers, with a renewed focus on some of the energy, collaboration and desire to be different that kickstarted third wave coffee culture.
Whilst the years leading up to 2020 saw incredible growth, they also saw a great deal of consolidation of standards and styles that has led to many cafes losing the individuality (in menu, roast, brewing styles and service) that once separated them from the chains.
One way we could really drive some uniqueness would be in challenging the value of the 1:2 espresso ratio.
Whilst it’s a handy training aid and a great starting point for many coffees, it is rarely the best possible recipe for a coffee’s unique flavour balance, and encouraging baristas to really taste and make intentional decisions around their recipe would develop more conversation, more understanding, more unique expression from cafes, and more diversity in what and how we serve our customers.
One way we could really drive some uniqueness would be in challenging the value of the 1:2 espresso ratio.
Dale, World Barista Champion
