I am often embarrassed when it comes time to order a coffee. I don’t understand the jargon and I don’t know how to taste the drink. To avoid embarrassing myself, I therefore ask for a good old filter coffee.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
When she learned that, the journalist Ève Dumas had the excellent idea of dragging me into a cupping. Nothing better than diving into an ultra-sharp practice to tame a world that intimidates me, right?
As I didn’t want to disappoint her, I accepted the challenge.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
Before grinding and then brewing the coffee, it must first be weighed.
Then, I googled “ cupping »…
It is a tasting during which we are interested in the tastes and aromas of coffee in different stages. No way am I showing up here unprepared!
* * *
I first called Geneviève Loignon. The owner of La Finca café offers tasting workshops to many neophytes and enthusiasts. Besides, how can this enthusiasm be explained?
“Ten years ago, we all drank Caballero de Chile while having dinner,” laughs the entrepreneur. As with wine, we are now interested in the origin and quality of the coffee we drink. In addition, with the pandemic, we have never made so much coffee at home… People want to improve. »
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The world of coffee has evolved enormously in the last 10 years and people are more and more curious about it.
And what advice would she give to a completely uneducated person?
Tastes sweet, sour and full-bodied coffees. Think about the SAQ tablets and try to define your preferences. The baristas will be happy to explain what you drink and guide you to the best…
Geneviève Loignon, owner of the La Finca café
Really ?
Second preparatory call: Gabriel Rousseau, co-owner of Cafés Névé.
“Be honest, can I look stupid ordering a coffee?”
– It all depends on the level of confidence with which you do it… Most of the time, if someone asks me for a flat white with certainty, chances are that I could serve him anything. Except a mocha, let’s say! »
Gabriel explains to me that coffee is made of shades. There is no firm consensus on what it is, for example, a flat white. Froth ratios and beverage heat vary, around the world. It’s normal to be lost…
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The tastes of coffee are discussed!
“Ideally, I end all my requests with a question mark?” As in: “I would like a flat white ?” »
– Of course, I’m going to feel that we can discuss your tastes. I’m going to describe to you what I’m about to do and check that it’s really what you want… But hey, do you remember the morning you entered Le Névé crying?
(It was eight years ago and I had just lost my job. Gabriel had left his counter to hug me.)
“My job is to give you a pat on the back and say, ‘Your day is going to be fine,’ he continues. If someone orders something inaccurate with certainty, I will happily offer it to them! »
Nobody needs to be lectured about the ratio of their drink compared to the European standard… We want our customers to be happy.
Gabriel Rousseau, co-owner of Cafés Névé
So I remember that there are sweet and acidic coffees. That I better end each sentence with a question mark and that in the worst case, the experts I’m about to meet will still try to make me happy.
I am ready ?
* * *
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
Rose-Aimée Autumn T. Morin and Ève Dumas try to detect the aromas of freshly ground coffee.
I join Ève Dumas at Gia, a new restaurant in the Saint-Henri district of Montreal. Its co-founder, Ryan Gray, leads us into a small room at the back of the building.
Leaning over a counter, Brendan Adam pours ground coffee into eight numbered glasses.
Ryan and Brendan are co-owners of the coffee roasting company PS Today, they host one of their clients, Keaton Ritchie. This tasting session is to allow him to choose what he will add to the menu of the Larrys restaurant…
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Keaton Ritchie, sommelier and coffee specialist for several years, tastes one of the coffees from the next “collection” of the Larrys, where he works.
“It’s not to intimidate you, but Keaton is one of the pioneers of third-wave cafés in Montreal,” Eve slips in with a smirk.
Great.
The coffees we are going to discover today come from Colombia and Rwanda. They are the work of farmers who addressed themselves to local communities, failing to know how to export their products. Since he discovered them, Brendan Adam advises them. Far too many producers depend on foreign buyers who do not value their autonomy, he laments.
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Patrick Latreille, head roaster at Café PS, smells the ground beans.
Then comes the first round of tasting. We must smell the contents of each glass and silently record our observations. I start: tobacco, cherries, fruits, chocolate… My knowledge of wine serves me.
The problem is that after the fifth glass, I no longer smell anything. Do I have COVID-19?
Keaton Ritchie notices my distress. “Don’t think too much,” he advises me.
Second round: we stir each container before smelling it again. This time, even the last cups release odors of red fruits or sugar.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
Rose-Aimée Autumn T. Morin smells of brewed coffee.
Third step: we gently dip a spoon into each coffee, now infused, then… We feel it. Again. #5 has hints of canned baby corn. (I hope we don’t have to read our notes aloud.)
Phase 4: we taste! Should I spit it out? It’s up to me, Brendan replies. I choose to drink. As long as your heart pumps with stress, you might as well have it pumping with caffeine.
Then comes the time of the unveiling…
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Brendan Adams is co-owner of Café PS and founder of green bean import company Semilla.
Brendan first asks his client to tell us what he thought of each sample. Keaton Ritchie talks to us about apricots, grains and orange blossoms. Some of the terms he uses are also found in my notes. Each time, I circle them with pride. (Canned baby corn won’t be included.)
I’m pocket, but it’s more accessible than I thought. I think I even have fun!
Brendan Adam finally reveals the origin of the coffees tasted. I don’t catch much of his speech, but I do notice his excitement. He is delighted to reveal to us the specificities of each grain, including the type of soil and the climate in which it was born. Above all, he speaks to us of humans. And that is a language that I understand.
He tells us about the producers who, on the other side of the world, deserve to be considered for everything we have just tasted. Of those whose work we forget every morning.
Can we really be intimidated by so much passion and humanity, deep down?
(I was scared for nothing.)