Master Barista Tells How To Make A Good Coffee

Master Barista Tells How To Make A Good Coffee

Who really needs a barista if you have a good coffee machine to deliver the goods? You wouldn't ask this question after a session with Master Barista Fritz Storm, who was in the city brewing up (I want to say a storm!) brilliant cups of coffee at Le Meridien on Wednesday evening. He'll convince you that making a great cup of coffee isn't as easy as pressing a button.


To explain the nuances of good coffee, Storm took us right to the beginning of the coffee-making process. "As many as 5,000 beans make a kilo of coffee," revealed the former world champion. "This means that someone needs to physically handpick 2,500 ripe beans just to make that one pack of coffee."

The most important part of making good coffee is sourcing the right beans or the right blend of beans. This is something you can pick up at a good store. But Storm has a few guidelines on picking up the right coffee. "Make sure it has been packed as recently as possible," he said. This is because the longer the beans lie in a packet or tin the more flavour they start to lose. And anything that has been packaged more than three months ago is a no-no.

Once you've brought your "good" coffee home, don't labour under the illusion that you'll open it and then save it for special occasions. Once the packet is open, the coffee will slowly but steadily lose its flavour. So make sure you consume the coffee as soon as possible. It is probably also a good idea to start purchasing smaller packs.

And definitely invest in a good coffee grinder when you get yourself a fancy coffee machine. Storm believes that people usually scrounge on the grinder, but that, he said, is probably more important than even the coffee machine.

"I want my cappuccino steaming hot" is what you probably tell the barista at your local coffee spot. And with that stinging hot liquid that is almost at a boil, you've just managed to ruin your coffee. "A cup of cappuccino should only be around 60 degrees," explained Storm.

Heating the milk too much, he added, kills a lot of essential proteins in it and also alters its taste, which could further kill some of the subtler flavours of the coffee beans. He also recommends the use of whole milk to get a nice creamy cappuccino.

"Even the water you use to brew your coffee is very important," Storm said, "Your espresso, after all, does mainly consist of water." He warned against the use of hard water, especially tap water, because the minerals in it may not only affect how your coffee tastes, but also eventually ruin your machine.

What, then, is the point of having a barista? Let's just put it in Storm's words and say, "A good barista can make the coffee taste only as good as it is and no better, but a bad barista can ruin a great coffee in under a couple of minutes."