Napier's Georgia Cafe on Tennyson is a finalist for the Hellers Outstanding Coffee Establishment category in the 2017 Hawke's Bay Hospitality Awards.
Mark Story chats to owner Benny Fernandez.
From a customer's perspective the repetitive nature of making coffee looks onerous. How does a barista rise above that and sustain the
passion?
Well, for us, consistency is key. Coffee, as a commodity, is very, very subjective. Everyone has differing tastes, which makes coffee 'quality' very much a highly debated topic. We serve coffee the best way we see fit, with a focus on quality and repeatability. We weigh our shots in (dry) and out (wet) to achieve a very high repeatability benchmark. This is harder to achieve than you'd expect! As well as skill and experience, we rely on technology to deliver constant feedback. We use a refractometer to measure total dissolved solids (TDS) in coffee to achieve the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity and body through extraction. The challenge of improving quality, speed and repeatability through technique, equipment and processes is what keeps out baristi engaged. You have to have a passion for coffee, too, naturally.
You have an appreciably personalised stance with customers. Is that training, or an individual philosophy?
We have a pretty intimate space, and like to employ a similar feel to our approach to service. I'd like to think we have a customised approach to the way we engage with our friends and, this is reflected in the way we serve up our brews. Everyone has their own wee quirks when it comes to coffee. Extra hot, triple shot etc. We cater for all tastes with no judgement.
What's the biggest coffee myth?
There's a belief that good espresso has to have a thick layer of 'crema' (thick, oily micro-bubbles) on top. Although this may have been the case in the good old days of dark roasts and Robusta (coffee variety) blends, some of the best espresso I've tasted had little or no crema at all. Light roasts, which offer more complexity and sweetness if extracted correctly, often produce little crema.
What trends have you witnessed in terms of recent blends?
Consumer expectations are evolving, for the better. With that, we have to look at the way we source, process, extract and serve coffee. We like to have an emphasis on traceability, and love telling a story about our single origin offerings. We can always trace our coffee back to country of origin, even our blends. In some cases, with very special, low-yielding coffee, we can trace the beans all the way back to single farms, talk about the farmer and bring some history to the story. As a result, there is a step change around how we serve coffee. To draw out some of the nuances and finer characteristics of super-rare or interesting coffee, we must adopt non-pressurised (filter etc) brewing methods, which we specialise in.