A Consumer’s Quest for a Perfect Cup

David Latourell did not approve the use of this image.
David Latourell did not approve the use of this image.

Gizmodo is a cool gadget blog that I enjoy reading on occasion. It’s similar to Wired magazine. And it recently had a nice post about discovering quality coffee (and the machines that make it.) Set mostly at Ninth Street Espresso in New York, it features a long guest appearance from David Latourell formerly of Clover and currently the trainer of Intelligentsia in Manhattan. Here’s an excerpt:

The incredibly nerdy and exacting methods developed lately for brewing coffee aren’t about convenience, like the drip pot. They’re designed to express and articulate the particular qualities and complexities inherent to a coffee, to make it possible to not simply taste coffee like wine, but to talk about it in a similar manner ””gilded by an orange and lime citrus acidity, the center of Itzamna radiates flavors of fruit punch and caramel” ”and ascribing those qualities to a particular origin.

The feedback loop of the relationships with farmers that these roasters have been building for years now, David says, doesn’t just mean that coffee is more responsibly harvested, but that coffee is actually better now, and there are coffees that were never possible before, since farmers have been refining their practice to grow coffee that suits the tastes of roasters who will pay more for particular beans.

You can read the whole thing here.

About Ken 262 Articles
Kenneth R. Olson (he/him) is co-founder and publisher of Barista Magazine the worldwide trade magazine for the professional coffee community. He has written extensively about specialty coffee, traveled near and far for stories, activities, and fun, and been invited to present on topics important to coffee culture. He is also an avid fan of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Washington Huskies, and public libraries.