Edmund Buston popped into the plan yesterday, which was nice.
Unfortunately it was simply a random sales call promoting Lavazza coffees, rather than him having heard about my work and wanting to make my acquaintance! But it was good all the same.
We had a bit of a chat about the championships – Edmund’s bristling with confidence that he’ll win the 2008 UKBC’s – especially now James Hoffmann is out of the running – so there’s a challenge to anyone else who’s competing! I won’t be entering this time around as I discovered the Bristol and Wales heat will be mid-January: I’m currently preparing to get married at the beginning of February, as well as trying to buy a house, and working full time – I think it would be a bit too much to try and enter the championships as well! I simply haven’t got time to prepare a decent set, and don’t feel I’d do myself justice, so I’ll set my sights on embarking on the competitions in 2009.
My boss was keen to show-off his barista’s abilities, and Edmund wanted to demonstrate the Lavazza, so we both made some coffee. I have to admit the pressure got to me a little; my arm seized-up for the pour and, although happy with my espresso and my milk, I poured a bit of a rubbish rosetta (wobbly and unsymmetrical, but still quite sharp and crisp) on my latte – which was a disappointment! Edmund poured a couple of nice hearts a better rosetta.
Most entertaining quote from Buston?
“People don’t give a s**t about coffee”
Generally speaking, he’s right, of course. My response was that I felt people would at least subconsciously notice the difference between a nicely made cup of coffee and a badly made one from somewhere else down the road – even if they don’t know what to look/taste for, or care about what they’re drinking.
I can only hope that’s true …otherwise, I really don’t know why I bother! I would make life a lot less frustrating and disheartening for myself if I adopted the same outlook, but I just can’t help hoping that, with the intervention of a skilled hand and a little gentle persuasion, people will begin to care more about their coffee…
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