What is "Single Origin" coffee?
Single Origin coffees are synonymous with distinctiveness. It’s important to know that terroir has a real effect in the coffee industry. In general- Single Origin is a term used for coffees from a single geographical location, as opposed to blends or non- traceable coffees. And by ‘single geographical location’, I mean- a single farm; estate; […]
The Importance of Traceability
From my early day visits to the coffee farms, to now, 10 years of learning about this industry and the product we love so much – Coffee. In this industry we have come to learn so many terms and phases: from “the age of discovery” to “commercialization”, “secret stimulate leaf” to “the great commodity”, from […]
Joel's World Barista Championship Reflections
Winston is on his way to Seoul Korea to represent South Africa at the World Barista Championships in a couple of weeks’ time. We at Origin are all very excited to have him represent us, and Cape Town, South African and African coffee and all of our barista & coffee professionals. It’s given me an […]
WBC 2017 Competition Preparation
The past few weeks have been awfully busy. Other than the usual working schedule at Origin I have also been preparing for the WBC. Although I cannot reveal too much before I compete, I would like to share some experiences leading up to the competition. Working under pressure I’ve never been one to start a […]
My UK coffee culture experience
My overseas travel seems to have coincided with my coffee career. I embarked on my first trip abroad not long after starting my job as a barista at Origin in 2014. Since then I have been on 3 more trips, the most recent a trip to London UK. This was by far my most insightful. […]
Reflections of an Origin National Barista Champion
“The journey is more important than the destination. The challenges and lessons learnt during the build up to competition is what it’s really about.” I’ve repeated this to so many people since winning. And it is true, I find value in the competition because of this but I have to admit it does feel damn […]
Coffee brewing theory: After the workshop
Understanding coffee brewing from all facets can be quite convoluted for some at times. Some people prefer to keep it simple. Understandably so, considering coffees history and consequent evolution over the last few years. So in an attempt to speed up Cape Town’s ‘coffee-logic’, I decided to go a little further down the rabbit hole […]
After the workshop: a description of coffee varieties.
After the workshop: a description of coffee varieties. To date- there are 125 species of coffee. Specialty coffee roasters use only one – Arabica. It’s the most genetically superior species available- and because of this will have a much higher level of quality, complexity and flavour. Arabica consists of many varieties grown globally mostly between […]
Chemex vs Hario V60 - Pour Over showdown
I’m fond of pour over extractions. Hario V60 pour overs in particular. But that’s just me. You’ll have to read on to get the reasoning behind my seemingly biased opinion. I’m going to forgot about talking about the materials, brewing recipes, history, etc and just get to the point. Why are these two brewers different? […]
Understanding Coffee Aroma : after the workshop.
One of the best ways to start to understand the complexity in coffee is to start to interpret aroma compounds. This workshop was divided into three segments. A calibration using an assortment of spices, herbs, nuts etc. in sniffer jars. A presentation on what Coffee aroma is, how it is formed, and a quick look […]