"Nothing special. I rarely drink coffee, usually only when it's offered to me at a relative's house. I can't really say no to that. I hardly ever drink coffee at the office. It's not healthy anyway..." In fact, my former self would have answered like that.
As a native Italian, coffee should be an obvious part of my culture. It wasn't that I didn't like coffee. As a child, I occasionally had a latte macchiato: hot milk with a sip of coffee from a moka pot. A clever way to introduce children to the fine and unmistakable taste and thus keep the tradition alive.
What does coffee mean to me? I have asked myself this question several times, and some of the answers were so profound and emotional that I decided to write them down in this blog and share them with you. Because coffee is much more than just a drink in your cup. It is the reason for sharing moments with other people and with yourself.
Childhood memories
The highlight of my arrival in my hometown in Sicily was hugging Nonno and Nonna. That gave me an indescribable feeling of warmth, love and security. In the morning hours, my grandfather was often out and about in the piazza - a public square that often serves as a social meeting place. I remember his eyes full of joy when he saw me again after a long time. Once he was sitting alone on a bench and I asked him where his friends were. He replied: "Meglio solo che male accompagnato," which means: "It is better to be alone than in bad company." However, when he had company, he proudly introduced me to his companions and immediately afterwards I was invited to have a "caffè" in his local bar.
After lunch, it was my grandmother's turn to pour the coffee from the Moka. In the hot summer months, we had "Caffè Freddo," straight from the freezer.
Today, I still have these beautiful memories. However, when I stroll through the narrow, cobbled streets of my village, the unmistakable smell of moka brings a smile to my face and I imagine that somewhere at this very moment, coffee moments like mine are being created.
First the work, then the calling
Eventually the day came when I would also work with coffee professionally. Among other things, I worked in the product development team for home espresso machines. As a "non-coffee drinker," I slowly felt my way into this new territory. I really had no idea. I just knew that the topic would be complex and I was willing to learn so that I could best put myself in the role of a home barista. The rest is history, and luckily I haven't finished learning to this day.
This time, my next career move was focused on coffee. Because of my love for coffee, I wanted to explore new horizons and simply learn and experience more about it.
So it happened that as a former product manager I moved to a roastery, where I ensured a high quality standard in serving our catering customers every day. In barista training courses I imparted specialist knowledge, methodology and, above all, my passion for this wonderful natural product. The fact that I was able to get to know many good people was enriching enough to work for coffee.
Coffee creates good moments
What would my life be like today without coffee? I'm sure I would have developed in a completely different direction, both personally and professionally, met other people and made new friends. I don't know for sure. But what I do know for sure is that things are better with coffee. I don't just mean meeting up for a coffee and talking about everything under the sun, but also the limitless connections that can arise from a shared love of coffee.
In a coffee shop with the barista, at a cupping event, at a coffee festival or at championships with roasters and producers - or simply with people who love coffee or want to be inspired - I sometimes find myself wanting to introduce this natural product to friends and acquaintances who only know and enjoy coffee as a drink. So far, everyone has found it exciting, or at least that was my impression.
Coffee is a great icebreaker and opens up lots of opportunities for exchange (and of course it doesn't always have to be about coffee). The community is generally in a good mood and there's something celebratory about meeting up.
As the saying goes, like attracts like, and you can literally feel this passion.
More awareness of nature
Over the last few years, coffee has not only given me many encounters with interesting people, but has also deepened my connection to nature.
My curiosity about coffee has also opened my eyes to other natural products. What grows where? When is it harvested? What processing processes are there? What does it taste like?
It is always exciting to find parallels with other natural products. Let's take cocoa as an example: the growing areas are often very similar, and the cocoa beans are dried in the sun like coffee. There are even producers who are inspired by the processing processes used in wine production and transfer these to their own coffee in order to develop new flavors - such as anaerobic fermentation or carbonic maceration.
And what does coffee mean to you?
Maybe you found your own parallels in my post. Maybe I was able to inspire you in some things or maybe you just like drinking coffee - and that's a good thing. If you want, you can share your own meaning for this wonderful drink and natural product in the comments below. I would be happy and interested!
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