Primarily a tea drinker, I occasionally get the urge for a nice hot cup of coffee or cappuccino. And when I do, I love to order hazelnut flavored coffee and think myself to have fairly refined coffee palate as I breathe in the wonderful aromas and take a sip to appreciate its smooth nutty flavor.
I had heard about the illy Barista Workshop happening last Saturday at the Fairway Market in Stamford and I decided to check it out. Giorgio Milos, illy Master Barista and a leading coffee expert, was conducting the workshop.
As the workshop began, I soon realized that I was quiet a coffee idiot! I had no clue about the correct brewing temperatures, brewing methods, proportions of coffee to water and so on.
Quite simply, coffee is a complex subject! Like fine wines from different parts of the world, it too reflects different flavors and characteristics based on where it was cultivated. Did you know that there is a coffee bean that grows in India close to an area where black pepper is grown….and that coffee reflects notes of black pepper? How fascinating!
Another fascinating point that Giorgio Milos brought up was that when you use a pour and drip method to brew coffee, be sure to rinse you paper filter with hot water and discard that water….otherwise the taste of paper gets into the coffee you drink. Who knew?!!!
The workshop was very well done, and the best part was that while the cost of the course was $20 – we all got to take home a wonderful gift bag filled with goodies worth over $50. We even got a visit from the folks from “Coffee the Musical” who performed a few songs for us, about coffee. It was an unexpectedly interesting and fun event.
Click here to learn more about Fairway Market’s upcoming events.
