Its not like I went to every cafe in the city, and I hate sweeping statements more than most, but good lord the coffee in Paris was rough. Its been a while since I’ve tasted really bad stuff and while I sit on this plane to Italy, tapping these words away furiously on my laptop and getting worried looks from my neighbors (the beard has grown), I’m trying to figure out why its bothering me so much…

I was back home in Ireland unexpectedly early last week due to the passing of my Grandad. He was 89, married 63 years and was one of the funniest men I knew, and most likely responsible for my own sense of humor that if nothing else has made me laugh, if often unaccompanied. He wanted us to sing ‘How Great Thou Art’ at his funeral, insisting that we all stand and point at his coffin as he was carried out. We didn’t, even thought the priest thought it was hilarious and thought we should.

It was lovely being home for all the usual reasons. Sadly though, in my absence my parents had gone through the end of all the beans I’d brought home on my last trip and in despair had invested in some pre ground stuff from the local supermarket. I was able to spend the following days surviving on tea refusing to bother brewing the muddy stuff they’d bought which may have been a little snobby of me and I was surprised I was able to go without for 4 days, but seemingly my missing cheap black tea with milk while abroad needed addressing first. It seems they need coffee more than I do.

However, when Jen and I set off for Paris last Friday, I must say I was looking forward to enjoying true French pastries and sipping even only OK coffee on the quiet streets of Montmatre or Marais. The first morning, I woke up and looked up the NY Times website and searched ‘best breakfast Paris’ which didn’t come up with much so I looked up ‘best croissant’ and found an article about a boulangerie called Laduree which was only a few blocks away.

Seemingly this place was famous for carrying two different types of croissants, their original recipe, and one brought in by a new owner who thought it needed a change but was greeted with many disgruntled parisians who wanted the old one. So now, you can either try their croissant l’ancienne, or croissant traditionnel. Having always wanted to taste the perfect croissant we set off.

Initially I was a little put off by the extravagant style of Laduree. I suppose it was fitting for Rue Royale with Dior and Cartier across the road, but I was immediately anxious we were about to be ripped off and that Laduree may be just another tourist trap, a classic example of style over substance. The windows are filled with what looked like bars of soaps, colorful macaroons and lots of small pretty packaging, and looking in we could see a throng of people buying goodies over a counter.

We edged our way inside, and found rather than getting take out, we could have a seat and be served by a waiter. To hurry this along and get to the point, the service was a lot more pleasant than many of our other experiences in Paris, but were the others lacked manners, they made up in their efficiency; Laduree took 15 to 20 minutes to bring us a two cappuccinos, a croissant and a pain au chocolat, another 15 minutes to bring the bill once asked, and then another 15 to collect it and bring back change. But the coffee Stephen, and the food,…

As you can see in the photo, the cappuccinos were pretty rough. It looked liked they’d grated chocolate on top, which I guess if you’re gonna use chocolate is probably a nice way of doing it. Jen had asked in her superior french that the coffees weren’t too hot, something I find hard to warrant the delay in preparation but you never know. Maybe its like when you ask for no pickle in your Big Mac and it takes forever, not that I ever go to Mc Donalds….being the slow food bio dynamic creature that I am…….

So moving on, the froth clearly was very frothy. I hate that word. Well no, I hate froth. That horrible aerated hallmark of badly textured, often burnt milk. The word foam evokes much nicer sensory memories. For me, in the context of milk, foam means OK, froth means nasty.

Oddly the temperature was OK, but I think they may have just added some cold milk at the end. The taste itself was just rank. I really really don’t like dirty machines, especially that dirty machine taste. Well this cappuccino just tasted like licking a dirty portafilter basket with a hint of chocolate (from the actual chocolate – not a nuance of the coffee) and a little bit of flat un-sweet froth. Bitter, ashy and wrong.

The croissants however were incredible. Everything from the texture, to the aroma, to the sound of them tearing to the heavenly taste. Has anyone ever put heavenly down as a descriptor for their coffee? That’d be hilarious. Someone should do it in competition, unless their judges are atheists, in which case they’d be looking for a non existent flavor descriptor which might be tough.

So the bill comes, and its €15.70. First reactions are a little alarmed but then we figure well considering our central location in the city, the luxury surroundings and the famed pastries, I guess it was to be expected. However, on closer inspection, we realise that the two croissants came to only €5.10, and that the two cappuccinos were priced at €5.30 each!

Initially I was prepared to accept the cost of the bill. The croissants exceeded my expectations and were clearly the result of quality ingredients, quality preparation and years of tradition and experimentation. I doubt very much that the same can be said for the cappuccinos.

Oddly, Jen and I went back the next morning to try the french toast, easily the best I’ve ever had and priced at only €6.20. Fascinated, we combed through the menu to find that a coke cost €6.50! Why on earth would they charge more for a coke than their french toast. I mean if the french toast was €15, I probably could understand, and honestly would probably happily pay it, but why on earth would you charge more for a coke!

I don’t like naming and shaming, and have never done it before online, but this left me truly baffled. It is unlikely Laduree are aware of their low quality coffee offering, and I doubt they chose to make it so low, however, why they would price the coffee and a coke above their excellent food offering is beyond me.

I’m writing this from my hotel room in Sao Paulo with large jet planes flying by meters from my window. I flew in a few hours ago, and feel quite lucky to have slept most of the direct flight from Frankfurt. You may be wondering how I’m writing yet another post that doesn’t fit what I promised to deliver in the poll a few posts back, but please know that I am writing that one up and will post it soon.

The reason for this post is to congratulate Colin Harmon on becoming the new Irish Barista Champion the day before yesterday. Colin works for Karl Purdy of Coffee Angel, himself a past Irish Champion who placed 15th in Bern. I was fortunate to be the head judge for the finals; a first for me but a task I now treat with a lot more respect – bloody difficult. Colin did a great job especially when he realised his incredible strength and yanked the left pf in so tight that he couldn’t get the right one in on the two group machine. He went to call a technical time out but a second later said he’d just go on, and ended up finishing well under despite having to use just one portafilter for his entire routine. Seems obstacles are to be a theme for Irish Baristas in this competition.

You can read more about Colin’s build up to the competition and I’m sure his preparations for Atlanta here.

I will post either about something from the poll or Brazil soonish.

So I haven’t forgotten your demands, but I’m gonna just write this quick in between post.

I’m in LA at the moment helping Intelligentsia prepare for the Western Regional Barista Competition. With 5 of the 6 finalists in the USBC last year hailing from this region, the competition is due to be tight.

In addition, the good people who’ve been working towards this for months have got some really cool events planned and a little bit of innovation in the layout of the whole thing. The event will be uploaded live on ustream, and theres already a blog where you’ll find lots updates in the lead up and throughout the competition.

Theres talk of me emceeing, along with my good pal Kyle Glanville and I’m told they’re working on finding translators for my thick brogue for the poor LA locals.

I’ve been struggling to write anything for this in a while. The reason for this is not anything to do with my recent change of employment, but rather its got more to do with just not being quite sure what anyone’d be interested in hearing about. 

As you can no doubt quite easily believe, this is quite a quiet blog, both in output and readers. And while I’m aware this year I’m having is fairly unique and may be of some interest to someone, every post I start to write feels a little too familiar or samey.

I’m writing this on my first ever flight with Alaska Airlines, from Chicago to Seattle. Between this paragraph and the last I spent 25 minutes wondering what to write and trying to read what the person two rows ahead is typing on her laptop. I suspect, from her attire, its a fantasy novel, probably her first. I hoe it works out for her.

So heres what we’ll do. Seeing as I’m an indecisive, nosy individual, I’ll let you decide what you’re possibly interested in hearing about. I promise I will write a decent post on whatever you choose, and should numbers be very low, it will confirm my long held belief that no one really reads this or is bothered to hear what I’ve been doing anyway.

Which would you rather hear about? 1) Meeting Roberto Diaz, the farmer of El Bosque in Guatemala 2) Lets Talk Coffee in Armenia 3) A week with Geoff Watts in Cali. 4) The farms, consejos, cafes, baristas, personalities and varietal garden of El Salvador, some of them at least. 5) 10 days in Taiwan 6) My New GS3 7) The Canadian Barista Competition Where I now work. View Results Make your own poll

edit: I must apologise, the only new employer I have is myself. I had heard rumours lately of where my new place or work might be, and seeing as they were all news to me, I thought it’d be funny to throw it in as an option. So baring that in mind, the next highest post is my week in Cali with Geoff.

I’m currently in Tacoma Seattle, helping judge the NWRBC. I may even post about it, but I’ll leave it a few days to see if any other option other than ‘my new job’ gets requests.

Seemed like a funny idea at the time, sorry to cause confusion. Its like the ‘news to me’ thing all over again.

This week, I decided to step away from my role in Square Mile Coffee Roasters. It wasn’t a light decision and resulted only after long discussion with James who has already announced it here.

I have been involved in Square Mile from the beginning and stepping away now just as the business is really establishing itself in London and contributing heavily to the burgeoning coffee community does seem a little odd. I have learned much from James and Anette and still feel incredibly excited about what Square Mile will achieve over the next few months and in the future. It has been a great honour to work with both of them and consider them close friends.

However in the last few months, I have been traveling extensively and learning at a rate thats been both daunting and inspiring. As wonderful as this has been, it has resulted in a very diminished role in the company preventing me from contributing as much as I’d like.

Being the last champion, James was very keen to allow me to get the most out of this year and avail of every opportunity and very kindly gave me that freedom. Knowing I might never have a year like it again, I have been able to visit  four origin countries in the last three months alone and discover all over again just how little I know about coffee, certainly on the agronomy side at least. 

I have come to realise that I want to maintain this rate of learning, continue to travel and still make time to see my family and of course Jenny who is really far too patient and understanding to deserve a big lump like me. To have that and still play an effective role in Square Mile Coffee is just not possible, and it is for that reason I decided it was necessary to leave.

Questions?

But I think its a good thing. 

It feels like these days I’m in the middle of my year; traveling a lot and learning at a rate I never thought possible. I’m writing this from California’s sunny Hermosa beach after just coming from chilly Montreal to judge at the Canadian Barista Competition. While I ponder on my turning another year older yesterday, and where coffee has brought me to date, I can’t help but compare myself to my peers and observe how many baristas are now moving into new roles in the industry, often out from behind the bar.

Without wanting to criticise the other excellent judges in Canada, I couldn’t help but feel the judges who’d started behind the bar were that bit more attentive and aware of the flaws and attributes each performance brought. The question was raised if it should be baristas judging baristas in competition, or as an alternative, should every judge  be required to a quick run through regardless of their background. That may not be a popular idea and there is also the possible problem of bias in such a small industry.

I certainly don’t think the only good judges are baristas, and have judged with, and been judged by some truly stellar non baristas. But it has gotten me thinking about young baristas who are now looking to move forward in their coffee career. I know many who’ve gone on to do training, roasting, consultancy or even open up their own cafes, and when I was lucky enough to attend the SCAA’s Joint Board Committee Meetings last month, I was amazed at how many baristas formed the bulk of the volunteers. 

There is nothing really new in this, or controversial, but for me I think I’m a little excited about it all. We’re seeing more and more baristas move into prominent positions in the industry, positions where they can have a direct influence on how it develops. We’re going to see the job description of baristas change, and we will see people respecting it and paying for it; though how long God knows. 

I believe judges and associations should always hold a healthy mix of baristas, and the plenty of other necessary and important roles in coffee, but I guess I’ve been given a greater sense of perspective recently, which has really highlighted just how important the barista is. Again this may seem like something you’re all very much aware of, but there was a question raised at the SCAA event, asking why so much focus was being put on the baristas as opposed to say producers or roasters. Richard Rhinehart’s answer was something I knew but somehow hadn’t taken in.

In response, he more or less questioned how many times roasters or farmers had the opportunity to engage the end consumer and educate them; maybe 6 a year? maybe 20? maybe even 200? Compare that with how many hundreds of thousands of times a minute ‘baristas’, good or bad, are in a position to educate and garner respect for the drink and the work that went into it.

Its never been presented that clearly to me before. I’ve been so enamored by the agricultural side of coffee recently that I suppose I’d lost sight of the potential and sheer amount of work that needs to be done at the brewing point globally. 

I’m sorry if this sounds like a stating the obvious post, but its kind of whats on my mind right now, which I guess is the point of blogging nonsense. Or are you guys just reading for the giggles? I bet you are.

Any thoughts?

I’m back in Ireland for a few days, and had to listen to my parents talk about their most recent trip abroad. Normally its a dreary experience, that i politely sit through, but I thought it’d be fun if Dad shared this one with you.

On a recent trip to Chicago , my wife Geraldine and I were strolling down West Randolph in the Loop when what should we see but an impressive coffee bar with the familiar Intelligentsia logo above the door. It was familiar because our son Stephen had already installed Intelligentsia mugs and coffee in our kitchen back home in Ireland some years previously, and very nice coffee it was too.

The place was busy but we reached the counter quickly. Geraldine ordered a cappuccino and a pastry and I asked for a ‘flat white’ only to be met with a blank look. I explained that it was a common coffee drink that i’d tasted in London and that, as far as I could tell, it was made from a double espresso topped up with warm milk in a smallish cup.

We picked up our order further down the bar. Geraldine’s cappuccino, dispensed by a serious looking big guy, looked great with perfect latte art. He handed me a very small glass containing  espresso with a perfect small heart poured on top. Not what I expected but I said nothing and we turned our attention to finding a seat; not easy. All tables, indoor and outdoor, were occupied, some with customers who, judging by the laptops, books and stationery looked like they were there for the day, perhaps for the week.

Not sure what to do, Geraldine approached the counter and asked if it would be OK to share a table with those already installed.  The barista behind the bar smiled and said, ’sure, get acquainted’. So we sat ourselves down. 

Geraldine thought her cappuccino was one of the best she had ever tasted, a comment Stephen doesn’t seem to appreciate. My coffee was fine but so small I had to resist the temptation to drink it all in one go and sip it instead to make it last. A gentleman at an adjoining table turned aside from his Mac and asked me the name of the coffee I was drinking. I explained that I had ordered a ‘flat white’ but had got what in Spain would be called a ‘cortado’. He digested this information without comment. I’m still not sure what a flat white is, or what exactly I got served.

When we were leaving, my wife Geraldine mentioned to the barista that our son, Stephen Morrissey said the coffee here would be excellent and that indeed it was. This didn’t seem to register with the barista, despite our son’s boasting about his far flung fame. We were gutted.

He seemed more interested in my comments about ‘flat whites’ and their origins in Australia. This was a drink, he said, that he’d already received several requests for so he guessed that he would have to do ‘further research’.

All in all, it was nice to experience one of the places that had made such an impression on Stephen in his coffee travels. 

Brendan Morrissey

It seems funny that on the eve of the day I go to this;

this arrived at the roastery;

Read more about the above, and my trip to Nicaragua here.

Hello. So rather than structure a post thats pretty and wordy, heres an update of what I’ve gotten up to since flying thudly into Nicaragua 6 days ago.

I’ve stayed in a fancy hotel.

I’ve eaten rice and beans for breakfast.

I’ve swam in such a way that I got a mosquito bit on the sole of my foot.

I’ve been constantly frustrated that what little spanish I have is both horribly limited and severely useless due to the heavy barcelona accent I seem to have.

I’ve gone to the lavatory more than a man should in so few days.

I met and worked with Ellie Matuzzakka, who is both wonderful and horrible, but horrible in the way I find so damn charming. Right?

I met Mark Inman who I hate for abandoning his country, but love for his public speaking skills. 

I met Ric Reinhart, who actually I’d met before in Vancouver, and then insisted on asking him how he knew I’d been to Vancouver as I’d never mentioned it to him.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with my co trainers Raul, Luis Cappuccino and Rodrigo.

I’ve been to a farm, and feel the same way I did when I attended the WBC in seattle. I know way too little about this stuff.

I’m a little embarrassed at how surprised I am at how developed Nicaragua is in comparison to what I was expecting. I’m not sure if it means I’m racist or anything, but while I have seen some considerable poverty, the hotel I stayed in was quite fancy. It feels like a mixed bag kind of country, and I’ll leave it feeling slightly uncomfortable about how well off I am. 

I’m very excited about the next stage of my trip, which is Guatemala. I’ll be giving a workshop or two, and hoepfully, I’ll be visiting El Bosque, whose coffee formed 50% of the blend Anette designed for us.

I just shot a gun into a pool, and am hairier as a result.

I’ve made friends with a man from the Domican Republic, who has some funny ideas about aged coffees. It’ll never last.

I’ve eaten cherries, and can’t get over how sweet they are.

I’ve travelled around Managua on the back of a truck with Mark Inman and am hairier because of it.

I’ve seen cocoa trees, banana trees, orange trees and a spider that could kill me in 6 hours but was already being eaten by a fly that was harmless to me. Ha.

I’ve been bitten by three mosquitos, but no sign of malaria yet. Not that I’ve a clue what the symptoms of Malaria are?

thats all for now