Coffee: The Last Culinary Frontier
One would ask: “What does coffee have to do with cheese?” Everything I might say.
For instance, there are three major coffee producing continents: The Americas, Africa and South East Asia, with each country on each continent bringing its own flavor and subtleties despite the fact that they come from the same species of tree. Coffee shares this fickle trait with cheese. One can make a goat cheese anywhere in the world, from the same breed, but the flavors will change depending on the location that the cheese is being made.
However, the difference of flavor depending on origin is not the only common trait that coffee and cheese share.
Do you remember (10 years ago, or even less in certain places) when you asked what cheeses were featured in the restaurant cheese plate? The answer was usually brie, a goat, a blue and a cheddar or Swiss cheese.
Coffee is still at that basic culinary level in most restaurants.
Indeed when asked about coffee, from the late night diner to the 3-star Michelin restaurants, the question is the same: REGULAR OR DECAF?
Coffee has so much more to offer that it is the reason why Artisanal is exploring the java bean. I myself can not drink coffee anywhere else. It’s not about snobbism, it is just about that I finally know what a good cup of coffee is after 20 something years of drinking it!
The coffee we roast daily comes from either single estate or single farm. This is how you really get the nuances of coffee from one continent, from one country to another. When people ask me what is my favorite coffee I am now proud to answer the same way I answer when people ask me about my favorite cheese: it depends on my mood, on the weather.