Food News

After having a long conversation this morning about cold drip coffee with my barista, Simon Dardick at Devon Café, I should probably accept I’ve taken coffee to the next level.  I’m regularly using words like terroir, and have established a set of roasters I’m partial to – Proud Mary, Golden Cobra, Little Marionette and in recent months Marrickville’s Coffee Alchemy. So it’s only natural that I’ve picked up a copy of Coffee Encounters: Adventures to Origin [RRP $69.99] to fuel my lust for knowledge. The beautifully photographed tome takes you through the lifecycle of coffee: from grower to picker to roaster to the café where it ends up in your cup. It highlights movers and shakers in the industry, both internationally and here at home; and identifies a bunch of cafes in each state where coffee is well respected. However, as Melbourne’s Nolan Hirte (Proud Mary) reminds us: “The coffee should be the real hero, not the roaster.” You’ll like this book if you enjoyed coffee before it was cool (or served in jam jars)…
www.smudgepub.com.au