A little over a month ago, on a Friday evening, nursing a bottle of wine, and feeling rather in love with the world, I made this blog post. The result was thirty people sending and receiving bags of coffee from all over the world; thirty people who put their faith in complete strangers to uphold their side of the bargain. It has broadly been very successful, with the only caveats being an inevitable couple of lost/delayed packages expected of these kind of international shipments.
Musings on Coffee Culture From Ireland
Archives for category: Places and Faces
It was an odd few days, a very different WBC to last year’s. The atmosphere at the show was simultaneously wonderfully convivial and at times disconcertingly surreal. I found my mind switching between awe at the assembled talent and resources, and reeling against what I hope most will forgive me for calling the sometimes boderline absurdity of this subculture. It is a happy kind of absurdity I must add.
One of the great things I enjoy about coffee, is sharing a coffee I love with someone. Recently I’ve been running Saturday cupping sessions at 3FE, and seeing week after week people getting those new experiences has been really fulfilling. I also feel I spend far too much time on this blog being cantankerous, this I hope will be my penance for dozens of long winded blog posts.
For the last 12-18 months, it seems there has been a steady succession of challenges and activities to occupy my focus: the 2009 Irish Barista Championship (judging and coaching), WBC Atlanta (coaching), getting the Uber Project blog off the ground, attending the Gold Cup course (while it only took a day, it maintained my interest for weeks), the Irish Cupping Competition, 3FE opening etc. Though I remain involved in a couple of ongoing coffee-related projects, there has been a recent absence of something meaty, challenging.
Despite a dearth of personal and professional free time, I find myself longing for something to obsess over, something to push me out of my comfort zone. That something I hope, is the 2010 Irish Barista Championships, this time, however, as a competitor.
Ok, so I got a gift of an aeropress at Christmas, something which I already own. I can no longer bear to see its boxed visage in the kitchen.
So to remedy this situation I am asking that people respond in the comments with suggested captions for the below image.