adventuresinolfaction: barista

Monday, 28 May 2012

when i left welly, i received some rather lovely gifts

so i just left my post as a barista at wellington cafe in edinburgh. or i "retired" as jonathan sharp puts it! it was an epic experience learning and training with mr. sharp, and my many talented colleagues and baristas. wellington is often ranked as the best cafe in edinburgh and the time, effort, and dedication that goes into the cafe (and all of the cafes that jonathan sharp opens- kilimanjaro, project, press, and blackwood) is unparalleled in any of my past work experiences, in any sector. i'm working in dorset with gorilla perfume and the saddest thing is that there is not a synesso for a few hundred kilometers. my lovely colleagues stevie and cameron also gifted me a manicure- because i haven't had nice nails for the whole time i've been a barista, which is a perk of the job! i will definitely miss this place. it was the most intense learning curve, with the most amount of practice that i'd ever had to apply, in my life. that a customer who pays 2£ for a coffee does not even need to know that, is a lovely secret.

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

gastrolab, part of the edinburgh international science festival at inspace.

i was invited to curate an event at the edinburgh international science festival. this event was gastrolab at inspace. i invited some of my pals to present to the audience their passion and their beverages. jamie carmichael brewer at williams brothers brewery
gave a talk on the science of beer brewing, presented slides of his mamiya prints of the landscapes of beer brewing on antique microscopes, soundtracked by soundscapes of the beer brewing process by sound artist jonathan prior. you can listen to the soundscapes here. here, here, and here. jamie presented tasting samples of 4 different beers to highlight the difference in taste.
kristen and ross hunter built a cold drip coffee tower using square mile coffee. they presented two taste tests of coffee brewed at different intervals, 6 hrs and 5.5 hours and kristen gave a talk about the process of brewing coffee.
megan barker, scottish barista of the year 2011, and roaster at artisan roast coffee
gave a talk on the aromas of coffee roasting and presented two different roasts in chemix'.
i gave a talk about the history of bitters and bitters role in the history of medicine & presented a crystallized campari and soda that paul tvaroh of lounge bohemia sent up in the post. it was presented for tasting by my good pal, mary clare.
my pal soph of dirty soup made a mingling list. mark daniels of new media scotland set up inspace in such an amazing fashion. it was such a great event and thank you to all my friends who are so talented in what they do for being a part of it and for making me look good.