CAFE YOUNES ON THE NEW COFFEE CULTURE

Many improvements to coffee-making have taken place in the past couple of years, whether in coffee-harvesting and roasting or in coffee-making and brewing. I am personally not impressed with the latter; I do not believe that these improve quality. These gadgets just make our lazy lives easier; a Bluetooth-connected tablet that switches your espresso machine on while you are still in bed! How slothful!

The quality of your favorite caffeinated beverage is mostly related to harvesting and roasting the coffee. Some impressive improvements have been made in order to sell, use and brew a better-quality coffee. The most important results are more consistent roasts, lower emissions and for independent and large coffee businesses, lower operating costs.

New coffee flavors have been discovered to increase the temptation and to further compete with other caffeinated beverages, such as tea, energy drinks and sodas. It is a primitive way to enjoy the highest level of coffee drinking and, in turn, experience coffee nirvana.

However, I believe that the coffee industry is witnessing a rebirth. I am referring to the Fourth Wave, which is focused on people. Our coffee shops adopted that wave a few years back by offering a blend of modern and ‘nostalgic’ design and feel to reflect our 83+ years of history. While maintaining product quality, we are building a new coffee experience by bringing the roasting process to every outlet and integrating the roasting journey to the café experience. Coffee lovers not only witness the live coffee-roasting ‘show’, but are also part of it.