Hundreds of coffee orders by rote
A Timaru cafe owner and barista Ash Manson believes he can remember 600 individual coffee orders.
After seven years, seven months, one day and 10 or so hours, Manson finished up at the popular 2 Stags Cafe on Stafford St on Wednesday.
He said memorising someone’s order came down to recognising their face, and it took a person coming in four or five times ‘‘relatively close together’’ for their order to stick.
It was a skill that did not apply to other areas of his life.
‘‘I imagine if I worked in a bar it would be the same thing, a lot of it is repetition. I just get used to it.’’
While he was looking forward to a change and some time off, he said he would miss the people who frequented the cafe. And on Wednesday it was apparent his customers would miss him, too.
Geraldine engineer Garry Blackler travelled in to Timaru especially for a last cup with Manson; ‘‘to see what he’s up to and wish him well’’. He had been a regular since the cafe opened, and he said he was impressed by Manson’s ability to memorise orders. Blackler would indeed miss the great coffee, saying it was the ‘‘best in town’’.
Manson’s last day had been a busy one - as of 11am he had gone through 5.5 kilograms of coffee beans and 28 litres of milk.
‘‘That’s quite a lot for this time of day, it’s a Christmas Friday kind of busy.’’
Farewell gifts piled up behind the counter on Wednesday, including alcohol, balloons, vouchers and cards, and he was experiencing a mixture of emotions - happy, sad, joyous and celebratory. He had also received several hugs.
Manson said seven and a half years ago he and friend were considering going into business when the site become available.
‘‘It wasn’t for us at the start, but the price dropped and it became something we were after, something we could do. So we did it.’’
He and his business partner - who left a few years ago, came up with the name 2 Stags Cafe between them, and it was also a nod to Manson’s late father, Ross Manson.
When asked what was next after cafe life, Manson replied ‘‘fishing and hunting’’.
Queenstown based husband and wife Colin and Mary Chittock are taking over the business.